Chapter XXII
Out of the Niche
Numa, the lion, growled futilely in baffled rage as he slippedback to the ground at the foot of the wall after his unsuccessfulattempt to drag down the fleeing ape-man. He poised to make asecond effort to follow his escaping quarry when his nose pickedup a hitherto unnoticed quality in the scent spoor of his intendedprey. Sniffing at the ground that Tarzan's feet had barely touched,Numa's growl changed to a low whine, for he had recognized thescent spoor of the man-thing that had rescued him from the pit ofthe Wamabos.
What thoughts passed through that massive head? Who may say? Butnow there was no indication of baffled rage as the great lion turnedand moved majestically eastward along the wall. At the eastern endof the city he turned toward the south, continuing his way to thesouth side of the wall along which were the pens and corrals wherethe herbivorous flocks were fattened for the herds of domesticatedlions within the city. The great black lions of the forest fedwith almost equal impartiality upon the flesh of the grass-eatersand man. Like Numa of the pit they occasionally made excursions acrossthe desert to the fertile valley of the Wamabos, but principallythey took their toll of meat from the herds of the walled city ofHerog, the mad king, or seized upon some of his luckless subjects.
Numa of the pit was in some respects an exception to the rule whichguided his fellows of the forest in that as a cub he had beentrapped and carried into the city, where he was kept for breedingpurposes, only to escape in his second year. They had tried to teachhim in the city of maniacs that he must not eat the flesh of man,and the result of their schooling was that only when aroused toanger or upon that one occasion that he had been impelled by thepangs of hunger, did he ever attack man.
The animal corrals of the maniacs are protected by an outer wallor palisade of upright logs, the lower ends of which are imbeddedin the ground, the logs themselves being placed as close togetheras possible and further reinforced and bound together by withes.At intervals there are gates through which the flocks are turnedon to the grazing land south of the city during the daytime. It isat such times that the black lions of the forest take their greatesttoll from the herds, and it is infrequent that a lion attempts toenter the corrals at night. But Numa of the pit, having scented thespoor of his benefactor, was minded again to pass into the walledcity, and with that idea in his cunning brain he crept stealthilyalong the outer side of the palisade, testing each gateway with apadded foot until at last he discovered one which seemed insecurelyfastened. Lowering his great head he pressed against the gate, surgingforward with all the weight of his huge body and the strength ofhis giant sinews--one mighty effort and Numa was within the corral.
The enclosure contained a herd of goats which immediately upon theadvent of the carnivore started a mad stampede to the opposite endof the corral which was bounded by the south wall of the city. Numahad been within such a corral as this before, so that he knew thatsomewhere in the wall was a small door through which the goatherdmight pass from the city to his flock; toward this door he made hisway, whether by plan or accident it is difficult to say, though inthe light of ensuing events it seems possible that the former wasthe case.
To reach the gate he must pass directly through the herd which hadhuddled affrightedly close to the opening so that once again therewas a furious rush of hoofs as Numa strode quickly to the side ofthe portal. If Numa had planned, he had planned well, for scarcelyhad he reached his position when the door opened and a herder's headwas projected into the enclosure, the fellow evidently seeking anexplanation of the disturbance among his flock. Possibly he discoveredthe cause of the commotion, but it is doubtful, for it was darkand the great, taloned paw that reached up and struck downward amighty blow that almost severed his head from his body, moved soquickly and silently that the man was dead within a fraction ofa second from the moment that he opened the door, and then Numa,knowing now his way, passed through the wall into the dimly lightedstreets of the city beyond.
Smith-Oldwick's first thought when he was accosted by the figure inthe yellow tunic of a soldier was to shoot the man dead and trustto his legs and the dimly lighted, winding streets to permit hisescape, for he knew that to be accosted was equivalent to recapturesince no inhabitant of this weird city but would recognize himas an alien. It would be a simple thing to shoot the man from thepocket where the pistol lay without drawing the weapon, and withthis purpose in mind the Englishman slipped his hands into theside pocket of his blouse, but simultaneously with this action hiswrist was seized in a powerful grasp and a low voice whispered inEnglish: "Lieutenant, it is I, Tarzan of the Apes."
The relief from the nervous strain under which he had been laboringfor so long, left Smith-Oldwick suddenly as weak as a babe, so thathe was forced to grasp the ape-man's arm for support--and when hefound his voice all he could do was to repeat: "You? You? I thoughtyou were dead!"
"No, not dead," replied Tarzan, "and I see that you are not either.But how about the girl?"
"I haven't seen her," replied the Englishman, "since we werebrought here. We were taken into a building on the plaza close byand there we were separated. She was led away by guards and I wasput into a den of lions. I haven't seen her since."
"How did you escape?" asked the ape-man.
"The lions didn't seem to pay much attention to me and I climbedout of the place by way of a tree and through a window into a roomon the second floor. Had a little scrimmage there with a fellow andwas hidden by one of their women in a hole in the wall. The loonything then betrayed me to another bounder who happened in, but Ifound a way out and up onto the roof where I have been for quitesome time now waiting for a chance to get down into the streetwithout being seen. That's all I know, but I haven't the slightestidea in the world where to look for Miss Kircher."
"Where were you going now?" asked Tarzan.
Smith-Oldwick hesitated. "I--well, I couldn't do anything herealone and I was going to try to get out of the city and in someway reach the British forces east and bring help."
"You couldn't do it," said Tarzan. "Even if you got through theforest alive you could never cross the desert country without foodor water."
"What shall we do, then?" asked the Englishman.
"We will see if we can find the girl," replied the ape-man, andthen, as though he had forgotten the presence of the Englishman andwas arguing to convince himself, "She may be a German and a spy,but she is a woman--a white woman--I can't leave her here."
"But how are we going to find her?" asked the Englishman.
"I have followed her this far," replied Tarzan, "and unless I amgreatly mistaken I can follow her still farther."
"But I cannot accompany you in these clothes without exposing usboth to detection and arrest," argued Smith-Oldwick.
"We will get you other clothes, then," said Tarzan.
"How?" asked the Englishman.
"Go back to the roof beside the city wall where I entered," repliedthe ape-man with a grim smile, "and ask the naked dead man therehow I got my disguise."
Smith-Oldwick looked quickly up at his companion. "I have it," heexclaimed. "I know where there is a fellow who doesn't need hisclothes anymore, and if we can get back on this roof I think we canfind him and get his apparel without much resistance. Only a girland a young fellow whom we could easily surprise and overcome."
"What do you mean?" asked Tarzan. "How do you know that the mandoesn't need his clothes any more."
"I know he doesn't need them," replied the Englishman, "because Ikilled him."
"Oh!" exclaimed the ape-man, "I see. I guess it might be easierthat way than to tackle one of these fellows in the street wherethere is more chance of our being interrupted."
"But how are we going to reach the roof again, after all?" queriedSmith-Oldwick.
"The same way you came down," replied Tarzan. "This roof is lowand there is a little ledge formed by the capital of each column;I noticed that when you descended. Some of the buildings wouldn'thave been so easy to negotiate."
> Smith-Oldwick looked up toward the eaves of the low roof. "It'snot very high," he said, "but I am afraid I can't make it. I'lltry--I've been pretty weak since a lion mauled me and the guardsbeat me up, and too, I haven't eaten since yesterday."
Tarzan thought a moment. "You've got to go with me," he said atlast. "I can't leave you here. The only chance you have of escapeis through me and I can't go with you now until we have found thegirl."
"I want to go with you," replied Smith-Oldwick. "I'm not much goodnow but at that two of us may be better than one."
"All right," said Tarzan, "come on," and before the Englishmanrealized what the other contemplated Tarzan had picked him upand thrown him across his shoulder. "Now, hang on," whispered theape-man, and with a short run he clambered apelike up the front of thelow arcade. So quickly and easily was it done that the Englishmanscarcely had time to realize what was happening before he wasdeposited safely upon the roof.
"There," remarked Tarzan. "Now, lead me to the place you speak of."
Smith-Oldwick had no difficulty in locating the trap in the roofthrough which he had escaped. Removing the cover the ape-man bentlow, listening and sniffing. "Come," he said after a moment'sinvestigation and lowered himself to the floor beneath. Smith-Oldwickfollowed him, and together the two crept through the darkness towardthe door in the back wall of the niche in which the Englishmanhad been hidden by the girl. They found the door ajar and openingit Tarzan saw a streak of light showing through the hangings thatseparated it from the alcove.
Placing his eye close to the aperture he saw the girl and the youngman of which the Englishman had spoken seated on opposite sides ofa low table upon which food was spread. Serving them was a giantNegro and it was he whom the ape-man watched most closely. Familiarwith the tribal idiosyncrasies of a great number of African tribesover a considerable proportion of the Dark Continent, the Tarmanganiat last felt reasonably assured that he knew from what part ofAfrica this slave had come, and the dialect of his people. Therewas, however, the chance that the fellow had been captured inchildhood and that through long years of non-use his native languagehad become lost to him, but then there always had been an elementof chance connected with nearly every event of Tarzan's life, so hewaited patiently until in the performance of his duties the blackman approached a little table which stood near the niche in whichTarzan and the Englishman hid.
As the slave bent over some dish which stood upon the table hisear was not far from the aperture through which Tarzan looked.Apparently from a solid wall, for the Negro had no knowledge ofthe existence of the niche, came to him in the tongue of his ownpeople, the whispered words: "If you would return to the land ofthe Wamabo say nothing, but do as I bid you."
The black rolled terrified eyes toward the hangings at his side.The ape-man could see him tremble and for a moment was fearful thatin his terror he would betray them. "Fear not," he whispered, "weare your friends."
At last the Negro spoke in a low whisper, scarcely audible even tothe keen ears of the ape-man. "What," he asked, "can poor Otobu dofor the god who speaks to him out of the solid wall?"
"This," replied Tarzan. "Two of us are coming into this room. Helpus prevent this man and woman from escaping or raising an outcrythat will bring others to their aid."
"I will help you," replied the Negro, "to keep them within thisroom, but do not fear that their outcries will bring others. Thesewalls are built so that no sound may pass through, and even if itdid what difference would it make in this village which is constantlyfilled with the screams of its mad people. Do not fear their cries.No one will notice them. I go to do your bidding."
Tarzan saw the black cross the room to the table upon which heplaced another dish of food before the feasters. Then he steppedto a place behind the man and as he did so raised his eyes to thepoint in the wall from which the ape-man's voice had come to him,as much as to say, "Master, I am ready."
Without more delay Tarzan threw aside the hangings and steppedinto the room. As he did so the young man rose from the table to beinstantly seized from behind by the black slave. The girl, whoseback was toward the ape-man and his companion, was not at firstaware of their presence but saw only the attack of the slave uponher lover, and with a loud scream she leaped forward to assist thelatter. Tarzan sprang to her side and laid a heavy hand upon herarm before she could interfere with Otobu's attentions to the youngman. At first, as she turned toward the ape-man, her face reflectedonly mad rage, but almost instantly this changed into the vapidsmile with which Smith-Oldwick was already familiar and her slimfingers commenced their soft appraisement of the newcomer.
Almost immediately she discovered Smith-Oldwick but there wasneither surprise nor anger upon her countenance. Evidently the poormad creature knew but two principal moods, from one to the otherof which she changed with lightning-like rapidity.
"Watch her a moment," said Tarzan to the Englishman, "while I disarmthat fellow," and stepping to the side of the young man whom Otobuwas having difficulty in subduing Tarzan relieved him of his saber."Tell them," he said to the Negro, "if you speak their language,that we will not harm them if they leave us alone and let us departin peace."
The black had been looking at Tarzan with wide eyes, evidentlynot comprehending how this god could appear in so material a form,and with the voice of a white bwana and the uniform of a warriorof this city to which he quite evidently did not belong. Butnevertheless his first confidence in the voice that offered himfreedom was not lessened and he did as Tarzan bid him.
"They want to know what you want," said Otobu, after he had spokento the man and the girl.
"Tell them that we want food for one thing," said Tarzan, "andsomething else that we know where to find in this room. Take theman's spear, Otobu; I see it leaning against the wall in the cornerof the room. And you, Lieutenant, take his saber," and then againto Otobu, "I will watch the man while you go and bring forth thatwhich is beneath the couch over against this wall," and Tarzanindicated the location of the piece of furniture.
Otobu, trained to obey, did as he was bid. The eyes of the man andthe girl followed him, and as he drew back the hangings and draggedforth the corpse of the man Smith-Oldwick had slain, the girl's lovervoiced a loud scream and attempted to leap forward to the side ofthe corpse. Tarzan, however, seized him and then the fellow turnedupon him with teeth and nails. It was with no little difficultythat Tarzan finally subdued the man, and while Otobu was removingthe outer clothing from the corpse, Tarzan asked the black toquestion the young man as to his evident excitement at the sightof the body.
"I can tell you Bwana," replied Otobu. "This man was his father."
"What is he saying to the girl?" asked Tarzan.
"He is asking her if she knew that the body of his father was underthe couch. And she is saying that she did not know it."
Tarzan repeated the conversation to Smith-Oldwick, who smiled. "Ifthe chap could have seen her removing all evidence of the crime andarranging the hangings of the couch so that the body was concealedafter she had helped me drag it across the room, he wouldn't havevery much doubt as to her knowledge of the affair. The rug you seedraped over the bench in the corner was arranged to hide the bloodstain--in some ways they are not so loony after all."
The black man had now removed the outer garments from the deadman, and Smith-Oldwick was hastily drawing them on over his ownclothing. "And now," said Tarzan, "we will sit down and eat. Oneaccomplishes little on an empty stomach." As they ate the ape-manattempted to carry on a conversation with the two natives throughOtobu. He learned that they were in the palace which had belongedto the dead man lying upon the floor beside them. He had held anofficial position of some nature, and he and his family were ofthe ruling class but were not members of the court.
When Tarzan questioned them about Bertha Kircher, the young mansaid that she had been taken to the king's palace; and when askedwhy replied: "For the king, of course."
During the conversation both the man and the girl appeared quiterationa
l, even asking some questions as to the country from whichtheir uninvited guests had come, and evidencing much surprise wheninformed that there was anything but waterless wastes beyond theirown valley.
When Otobu asked the man, at Tarzan's suggestion, if he was familiarwith the interior of the king's palace, he replied that he was;that he was a friend of Prince Metak, one of the king's sons, andthat he often visited the palace and that Metak also came here tohis father's palace frequently. As Tarzan ate he racked his brainfor some plan whereby he might utilize the knowledge of the youngman to gain entrance to the palace, but he had arrived at nothingwhich he considered feasible when there came a loud knocking uponthe door of the outer room.
For a moment no one spoke and then the young man raised his voiceand cried aloud to those without. Immediately Otobu sprang for thefellow and attempted to smother his words by clapping a palm overhis mouth.
"What is he saying?" asked Tarzan.
"He is telling them to break down the door and rescue him and thegirl from two strangers who entered and made them prisoners. Ifthey enter they will kill us all."
"Tell him," said Tarzan, "to hold his peace or I will slay him."
Otobu did as he was instructed and the young maniac lapsed intoscowling silence. Tarzan crossed the alcove and entered the outerroom to note the effect of the assaults upon the door. Smith-Oldwickfollowed him a few steps, leaving Otobu to guard the two prisoners.The ape-man saw that the door could not long withstand the heavyblows being dealt the panels from without. "I wanted to use thatfellow in the other room," he said to Smith-Oldwick, "but I amafraid we will have to get out of here the way we came. We can'taccomplish anything by waiting here and meeting these fellows.From the noise out there there must be a dozen of them. Come," hesaid, "you go first and I will follow."
As the two turned back from the alcove they witnessed an entirelydifferent scene from that upon which they had turned their backsbut a moment or two before. Stretched on the floor and apparentlylifeless lay the body of the black slave, while the two prisonershad vanished completely.