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第24节

tarzan and the jewels of opar-第24节

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author of the call。



A half hour later they returned; dragging Mugambi among

them。  The first person the big black's eyes fell upon

as he was hustled into the presence of the Abyssinian

officer; was M。 Jules Frecoult; the Frenchman who had

been the guest of his master and whom he last had seen

entering the village of Achmet Zek under circumstances

which pointed to his familiarity and friendship for the

raiders。



Between the disasters that had befallen his master and

his master's house; and the Frenchman; Mugambi saw a

sinister relationship; which kept him from recalling to

Werper's attention the identity which the latter

evidently failed to recognize。



Pleading that he was but a harmless hunter from a tribe

farther south; Mugambi begged to be allowed to go upon

his way; but Abdul Mourak; admiring the warrior's

splendid physique; decided to take him back to Adis

Abeba and present him to Menelek。  A few moments later

Mugambi and Werper were marched away under guard; and

the Belgian learned for the first time; that he too was

a prisoner rather than a guest。  In vain he protested

against such treatment; until a strapping soldier

struck him across the mouth and threatened to shoot him

if he did not desist。



Mugambi took the matter less to heart; for he had not

the slightest doubt but that during the course of the

journey he would find ample opportunity to elude the

vigilance of his guards and make good his escape。

With this idea always uppermost in his mind; he courted

the good opinion of the Abyssinians; asked them many

questions about their emperor and their country; and

evinced a growing desire to reach their destination;

that he might enjoy all the good things which they

assured him the city of Adis Abeba contained。  Thus he

disarmed their suspicions; and each day found a slight

relaxation of their watchfulness over him。



By taking advantage of the fact that he and Werper

always were kept together; Mugambi sought to learn what

the other knew of the whereabouts of Tarzan; or the

authorship of the raid upon the bungalow; as well as

the fate of Lady Greystoke; but as he was confined to

the accidents of conversation for this information; not

daring to acquaint Werper with his true identity; and

as Werper was equally anxious to conceal from the world

his part in the destruction of his host's home and

happiness; Mugambi learned nothingat least in this way。



But there came a time when he learned a very surprising

thing; by accident。



The party had camped early in the afternoon of a sultry

day; upon the banks of a clear and beautiful stream。

The bottom of the river was gravelly; there was no

indication of crocodiles; those menaces to promiscuous

bathing in the rivers of certain portions of the dark

continent; and so the Abyssinians took advantage of the

opportunity to perform long…deferred; and much needed;

ablutions。



As Werper; who; with Mugambi; had been given permission

to enter the water; removed his clothing; the black

noted the care with which he unfastened something which

circled his waist; and which he took off with his

shirt; keeping the latter always around and concealing

the object of his suspicious solicitude。



It was this very carefulness which attracted the

black's attention to the thing; arousing a natural

curiosity in the warrior's mind; and so it chanced that

when the Belgian; in the nervousness of overcaution;

fumbled the hidden article and dropped it; Mugambi saw

it as it fell upon the ground; spilling a portion of

its contents on the sward。



Now Mugambi had been to London with his master。

He was not the unsophisticated savage that his apparel

proclaimed him。  He had mingled with the cosmopolitan

hordes of the greatest city in the world; he had

visited museums and inspected shop windows; and;

besides; he was a shrewd and intelligent man。



The instant that the jewels of Opar rolled;

scintillating; before his astonished eyes; he

recognized them for what they were; but he recognized

something else; too; that interested him far more

deeply than the value of the stones。 A thousand times

he had seen the leathern pouch which dangled at his

master's side; when Tarzan of the Apes had; in a spirit

of play and adventure; elected to return for a few

hours to the primitive manners and customs of his

boyhood; and surrounded by his naked warriors hunt the

lion and the leopard; the buffalo and the elephant

after the manner he loved best。



Werper saw that Mugambi had seen the pouch and the

stones。  Hastily he gathered up the precious gems and

returned them to their container; while Mugambi;

assuming an air of indifference; strolled down to the

river for his bath。



The following morning Abdul Mourak was enraged and

chagrined to discover that this huge; black prisoner

had escaped during the night; while Werper was

terrified for the same reason; until his trembling

fingers discovered the pouch still in its place beneath

his shirt; and within it the hard outlines of its

contents。







16



Tarzan Again Leads the Mangani





Achmet Zek with two of his followers had circled far to

the south to intercept the flight of his deserting

lieutenant; Werper。  Others had spread out in various

directions; so that a vast circle had been formed by

them during the night; and now they were beating in

toward the center。



Achmet and the two with him halted for a short rest

just before noon。  They squatted beneath the trees upon

the southern edge of a clearing。  The chief of the

raiders was in ill humor。  To have been outwitted by an

unbeliever was bad enough; but to have; at the same

time; lost the jewels upon which he had set his

avaricious heart was altogether too muchAllah must;

indeed be angry with his servant。



Well; he still had the woman。  She would bring a fair

price in the north; and there was; too; the buried

treasure beside the ruins of the Englishman's house。



A slight noise in the jungle upon the opposite side of

the clearing brought Achmet Zek to immediate and alert

attention。  He gathered his rifle in readiness for

instant use; at the same time motioning his followers

to silence and concealment。  Crouching behind the

bushes the three waited; their eyes fastened upon the

far side of the open space。



Presently the foliage parted and a woman's face

appeared; glancing fearfully from side to side。

A moment later; evidently satisfied that no immediate

danger lurked before her; she stepped out into the

clearing in full view of the Arab。



Achmet Zek caught his breath with a muttered

exclamation of incredulity and an imprecation。

The woman was the prisoner he had thought safely guarded

at his camp!



Apparently she was alone; but Achmet Zek waited that he

might make sure of it before seizing her。  Slowly Jane

Clayton started across the clearing。  Twice already

since she had quitted the village of the raiders had

she barely escaped the fangs of carnivora; and once she

had almost stumbled into the path of one of the

searchers。  Though she was almost despairing of ever

reaching safety she still was determined to fight on;

until death or success terminated her endeavors。



As the Arabs watched her from the safety of their

concealment; and Achmet Zek noted with satisfaction

that she was walking directly into his clutches;

another pair of eyes looked down upon the entire scene

from the foliage of an adjacent tree。



Puzzled; troubled eyes they were; for all their gray

and savage glint; for their owner was struggling with

an intangible suggestion of the familiarity of the face

and figure of the woman below him。



A sudden crashing of the bushes at the point from which

Jane Clayton had emerged into the clearing brought her

to a sudden stop and attracted the attention of the

Arabs and the watcher in the tree to the same point。



The woman wheeled about to see what new danger menaced

her from behind; and as she did so a great; anthropoid

ape waddled into view。  Behind him came another and

another; but Lady Greystoke did not wait to learn how

many more of the hideous creatures were so close upon

her trail。



With a smothered scream she rushed toward the opposite

jungle; and as she reached the bushes there; Achmet Zek

and his two henchmen rose up and seized her。  At the

same instant a naked; brown giant dropped from the

branches of a tree at the right of the clearing。



Turning toward the astonished apes he gave voice to a

short volley of low gutturals; and without waiting to

note the effect of his words upon them; wheeled and

charged for the Arabs。



Achmet Zek was dragging Jane Clayton toward his

tethered horse。  His two men were hastily unfastening

all three mounts。  The woman; struggling to escape the

Arab; turned and saw the ape…man running toward her。

A glad light 

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