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第18节

tarzan and the jewels of opar-第18节

小说: tarzan and the jewels of opar 字数: 每页4000字

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waved her hands to include all her followers。



Cautiously the weird party crept through the jungle in

the wake of the great ape until at last he halted them

with a raised hand and pointed upward and a little

ahead。  There they saw the giant form of the ape…man

stretched along a low bough and even in sleep one hand

grasped a stout limb and one strong; brown leg reached

out and overlapped another。  At ease lay Tarzan of the

Apes; sleeping heavily upon a full stomach and dreaming

of Numa; the lion; and Horta; the boar; and other

creatures of the jungle。  No intimation of danger

assailed the dormant faculties of the ape…manhe saw

no crouching hairy figures upon the ground beneath him

nor the three apes that swung quietly into the  tree

beside him。



The first intimation of danger that came to Tarzan was

the impact of three bodies as the three apes leaped

upon him and hurled him to the ground; where he

alighted half stunned beneath their combined weight and

was immediately set upon by the fifty hairy men or as

many of them as could swarm upon his person。  Instantly

the ape…man became the center of a whirling; striking;

biting maelstrom of horror。  He fought nobly but the

odds against him were too great。  Slowly they overcame

him though there was scarce one of them that did not

feel the weight of his mighty fist or the rending of

his fangs。







13



Condemned To Torture and Death





La had followed her company and when she saw them

clawing and biting at Tarzan; she raised her voice and

cautioned them not to kill him。  She saw that he was

weakening and that soon the greater numbers would

prevail over him; nor had she long to wait before the

mighty jungle creature lay helpless and bound at her

feet。



〃Bring him to the place at which we stopped;〃 she

commanded and they carried Tarzan back to the little

clearing and threw him down beneath a tree。



〃Build me a shelter!〃 ordered La。  〃We shall stop here

tonight and tomorrow in the face of the Flaming God; La

will offer up the heart of this defiler of the temple。

Where is the sacred knife?  Who took it from him?〃



But no one had seen it and each was positive in his

assurance that the sacrificial weapon had not been upon

Tarzan's person when they captured him。  The ape…man

looked upon the menacing creatures which surrounded him

and snarled his defiance。  He looked upon La and

smiled。  In the face of death he was unafraid。



〃Where is the knife?〃 La asked him。



〃I do not know;〃 replied Tarzan。  〃The man took it with

him when he slipped away during the night。  Since you

are so desirous for its return I would look for him and

get it back for you; did you not hold me prisoner; but

now that I am to die I cannot get it back。  Of what

good was your knife; anyway?  You can make another。

Did you follow us all this way for nothing more than a

knife?  Let me go and find him and I will bring it back

to you。〃



La laughed a bitter laugh; for in her heart she knew

that Tarzan's sin was greater than the purloining of

the sacrificial knife of Opar; yet as she looked at him

lying bound and helpless before her; tears rose to her

eyes so that she had to turn away to hide them; but she

remained inflexible in her determination to make him

pay in frightful suffering and in eventual death for

daring to spurn the love of La。



When the shelter was completed La had Tarzan

transferred to it。  〃All night I shall torture him;〃

she muttered to her priests; 〃and at the first streak

of dawn you may prepare the flaming altar upon which

his heart shall be offered up to the Flaming God。

Gather wood well filled with pitch; lay it in the form

and size of the altar at Opar in the center of the

clearing that the Flaming God may look down upon our

handiwork and be pleased。〃



During the balance of the day the priests of Opar were

busy erecting an altar in the center of the clearing;

and while they worked they chanted weird hymns in the

ancient tongue of that lost continent that lies at the

bottom of the Atlantic。  They knew not the meanings of

the words they mouthed; they but repeated the ritual

that had been handed down from preceptor to neophyte

since that long…gone day when the ancestors of the

Piltdown man still swung by their tails in the humid

jungles that are England now。



And in the shelter of the hut; La paced to and fro

beside the stoic ape…man。  Resigned to his fate was

Tarzan。  No hope of succor gleamed through the dead

black of the death sentence hanging over him。  He knew

that his giant muscles could not part the many strands

that bound his wrists and ankles; for he had strained

often; but ineffectually for release。  He had no hope

of outside help and only enemies surrounded him within

the camp; and yet he smiled at La as she paced

nervously back and forth the length of the shelter。



And La?  She fingered her knife and looked down upon her

captive。  She glared and muttered but she did not

strike。  〃Tonight!〃 she thought。  〃Tonight; when it is

dark I will torture him。〃 She looked upon his perfect;

godlike figure and upon his handsome; smiling face and

then she steeled her heart again by thoughts of her

love spurned; by religious thoughts that damned the

infidel who had desecrated the holy of holies; who had

taken from the blood…stained altar of Opar the offering

to the Flaming Godand not once but thrice。

Three times had Tarzan cheated the god of her fathers。

At the thought La paused and knelt at his side。  In her

hand was a sharp knife。  She placed its point against

the ape…man's side and pressed upon the hilt; but

Tarzan only smiled and shrugged his shoulders。



How beautiful he was!  La bent low over him; looking

into his eyes。  How perfect was his figure。  She

compared it with those of the knurled and knotted men

from whom she must choose a mate; and La shuddered at

the thought。  Dusk came and after dusk came night。

A great fire blazed within the little thorn boma about

the camp。  The flames played upon the new altar erected

in the center of the clearing; arousing in the mind of

the High Priestess of the Flaming God a picture of the

event of the coming dawn。  She saw this giant and

perfect form writhing amid the flames of the burning

pyre。  She saw those smiling lips; burned and

blackened; falling away from the strong; white teeth。

She saw the shock of black hair tousled upon Tarzan's

well…shaped head disappear in a spurt of flame。  She

saw these and many other frightful pictures as she

stood with closed eyes and clenched fists above the

object of her hateah! was it hate that La of Opar

felt?



The darkness of the jungle night had settled down upon

the camp; relieved only by the fitful flarings of the

fire that was kept up to warn off the man…eaters。

Tarzan lay quietly in his bonds。  He suffered from

thirst and from the cutting of the tight strands about

his wrists and ankles; but he made no complaint。

A jungle beast was Tarzan with the stoicism of the beast

and the intelligence of man。  He knew that his doom was

sealedthat no supplications would avail to temper the

severity of his end and so he wasted no breath in

pleadings; but waited patiently in the firm conviction

that his sufferings could not endure forever。



In the darkness La stooped above him。  In her hand was

a sharp knife and in her mind the determination to

initiate his torture without further delay。  The knife

was pressed against his side and La's face was close to

his when a sudden burst of flame from new branches

thrown upon the fire without; lighted up the interior

of the shelter。  Close beneath her lips La saw the

perfect features of the forest god and into her woman's

heart welled all the great love she had felt for Tarzan

since first she had seen him; and all the accumulated

passion of the years that she had dreamed of him。



Dagger in hand; La; the High Priestess; towered above

the helpless creature that had dared to violate the

sanctuary of her deity。  There should be no torture

there should be instant death。  No longer should the

defiler of the temple pollute the sight of the lord god

almighty。  A single stroke of the heavy blade and then

the corpse to the flaming pyre without。  The knife arm

stiffened ready for the downward plunge; and then La;

the woman; collapsed weakly upon the body of the man

she loved。



She ran her hands in mute caress over his naked flesh;

she covered his forehead; his eyes; his lips with hot

kisses; she covered him with her body as though to

protect him from the hideous fate she had ordained for

him; and in trembling; piteous tones she begged him for

his love。  For hours the frenzy of her passion

possessed the burning hand…maiden of the Flaming God;

until at last sleep overpowered her and she lapsed into

unconsciousness beside the man she had sworn to torture

and 

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