登陆注册
5161700000047

第47章

He noted with surprise the absence of Taglat, whom he had expected to find awaiting him outside the tent of Achmet Zek; but, accustomed as he was to the unreliability of apes, he gave no serious attention to the present defection of his surly companion.So long as Taglat did not cause interference with his plans, Tarzan was indifferent to his absence.

As he approached the hut, the ape-man noticed that a crowd had collected about the entrance.He could see that the men who composed it were much excited, and fearing lest Chulk's disguise should prove inadequate to the concealment of his true identity in the face of so many observers, he commanded the ape to betake himself to the far end of the village, and there await him.

As Chulk waddled off, keeping to the shadows, Tarzan advanced boldly toward the excited group before the doorway of the hut.He mingled with the blacks and the Arabs in an endeavor to learn the cause of the commotion, in his interest forgetting that he alone of the assemblage carried a spear, a bow and arrows, and thus might become an object of suspicious attention.

Shouldering his way through the crowd he approached the doorway, and had almost reached it when one of the Arabs laid a hand upon his shoulder, crying: "Who is this?" at the same time snatching back the hood from the ape-man's face.

Tarzan of the Apes in all his savage life had never been accustomed to pause in argument with an antagonist.The primitive instinct of self-preservation acknowledges many arts and wiles; but argument is not one of them, nor did he now waste precious time in an attempt to convince the raiders that he was not a wolf in sheep's clothing.Instead he had his unmasker by the throat ere the man's words had scarce quitted his lips, and hurling him from side to side brushed away those who would have swarmed upon him.

Using the Arab as a weapon, Tarzan forced his way quickly to the doorway, and a moment later was within the hut.A hasty examination revealed the fact that it was empty, and his sense of smell discovered, too, the scent spoor of Taglat, the ape.Tarzan uttered a low, ominous growl.Those who were pressing forward at the doorway to seize him, fell back as the savage notes of the bestial challenge smote upon their ears.They looked at one another in surprise and consternation.

A man had entered the hut alone, and yet with their own ears they had heard the voice of a wild beast within.

What could it mean? Had a lion or a leopard sought sanctuary in the interior, unbeknown to the sentries?

Tarzan's quick eyes discovered the opening in the roof, through which Taglat had fallen.He guessed that the ape had either come or gone by way of the break, and while the Arabs hesitated without, he sprang, catlike, for the opening, grasped the top of the wall and clambered out upon the roof, dropping instantly to the ground at the rear of the hut.

When the Arabs finally mustered courage to enter the hut, after firing several volleys through the walls, they found the interior deserted.At the same time Tarzan, at the far end of the village, sought for Chulk; but the ape was nowhere to be found.

Robbed of his she, deserted by his companions, and as much in ignorance as ever as to the whereabouts of his pouch and pebbles, it was an angry Tarzan who climbed the palisade and vanished into the darkness of the jungle.

For the present he must give up the search for his pouch, since it would be paramount to self-destruction to enter the Arab camp now while all its inhabitants were aroused and upon the alert.

In his escape from the village, the ape-man had lost the spoor of the fleeing Taglat, and now he circled widely through the forest in an endeavor to again pick it up.

Chulk had remained at his post until the cries and shots of the Arabs had filled his simple soul with terror, for above all things the ape folk fear the thunder-sticks of the Tarmangani; then he had clambered nimbly over the palisade, tearing his burnoose in the effort, and fled into the depths of the jungle, grumbling and scolding as he went.

Tarzan, roaming the jungle in search of the trail of Taglat and the she, traveled swiftly.In a little moonlit glade ahead of him the great ape was bending over the prostrate form of the woman Tarzan sought.

The beast was tearing at the bonds that confined her ankles and wrists, pulling and gnawing upon the cords.

The course the ape-man was taking would carry him but a short distance to the right of them, and though he could not have seen them the wind was bearing down from them to him, carrying their scent spoor strongly toward him.

A moment more and Jane Clayton's safety might have been assured, even though Numa, the lion, was already gathering himself in preparation for a charge; but Fate, already all too cruel, now outdid herself--the wind veered suddenly for a few moments, the scent spoor that would have led the ape-man to the girl's side was wafted in the opposite direction; Tarzan passed within fifty yards of the tragedy that was being enacted in the glade, and the opportunity was gone beyond recall.

同类推荐
  • 大乘四法经论广释开决记

    大乘四法经论广释开决记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 从公三录

    从公三录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 摄大乘论二译

    摄大乘论二译

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 续华严经略疏刊定记

    续华严经略疏刊定记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说华积陀罗尼神咒经

    佛说华积陀罗尼神咒经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 释门归敬仪

    释门归敬仪

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 契约新娘

    契约新娘

    赵宝贝相亲失败,却莫名其妙跟路过的陌生人结了婚,一跃成为豪门富太太。但是她怎么看这块从天而降的大馅饼,都怎么觉得这里面有一股“阴谋”的味道……对此,“大馅饼”的“烹饪者”白策翼抖了抖手里的锅碗瓢盆,微微一笑:“宝贝,吃饭了。”——俗话说,抓住一个人就要先抓住TA的胃。而这就是一个总裁大人抓住迷糊娇妻的胃,最终将她拆吃入腹的美好爱情故事。--情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • “金星英雄”李顺达传

    “金星英雄”李顺达传

    《金星英雄李顺达传》于去年出版,但它的影响在渐渐扩大,这是李顺达的魅力,是李顺达精神的魅力。近日该书又被山西省团省委与新闻出版局推荐为“100种红色经典”。
  • 重生之腹黑毒妻

    重生之腹黑毒妻

    前世,未婚夫利用她平步青云,一世精明能干的母亲被她连累身亡。情伤后错嫁一次,丈夫夺走她的救命灵药给别的女人,让她一命呜呼,含恨九泉。重生后,她再不是当初单纯无能的兰家大小姐,看她甩渣男斗渣女兴家业当女王!前世渣男再演英雄救美好戏意图夺她芳心,情敌口口声声姐妹情深情谊无限,白莲花丈夫更要她宽容大方,且看她揭破这些虚伪小人画皮。这一世,她嗜血狠辣,绝色姿容,地狱重生,却将该下地狱之人送下去。
  • The Black Tulip

    The Black Tulip

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 迷失方向

    迷失方向

    张扬,我们说好要去超市呢,你怎么还在睡呀?我妻子在屋子里喊我。我到底是谁呀,我是张扬么?我是杨光么?我是……我半眯着眼睛,呆呆地看着双手,还好,手里没有什么纸,也没有什么《迷失方向》。我茫然地看着四周,太阳呆呆地贴在空中,不像是真的。我突然觉得,我是不是还在梦里。周公梦蝶,醒来不知道是蝴蝶变成了周公,还是周公变成了只蝴蝶。我现在呢?不知道自己是梦醒了呢,还是刚进入了梦里。真实和梦幻,感觉都是真实的,又感觉都是虚幻的,谁是真实的,谁是虚幻的,谁说得清呢?
  • 安界

    安界

    这是一个生于安乐,死于安乐,没有战争,只有着和平的世界...
  • 迷你恋人

    迷你恋人

    谁是天使镇史上最倒霉的人?樱雪高中的女生静纸音全票当选。月星汐校园摇滚剧,顶级乐手沦为贴身“男保姆”,草根女生化身“掌上明珠”。最尴尬人经历,最幸福的结局!
  • 留守的天空

    留守的天空

    小说讲述的是贵州苗家山寨一群留守儿童的生活与学习的故事。以贵州一个偏远的苗寨小学六年级学生阳晓月、孔祥兵和李家明的视角,展现了农村留守儿童的生活与学习状况,以及他们在面对困难时的勇敢与坚强,还有对生活不灭的美好与向往。
  • 失忆新娘(出版)

    失忆新娘(出版)

    她是谁?在醒来后,她竟然想不起来任何的事情,连自己的名字也忘掉了,只是脑袋好疼。这么大的一座夜影堡里,虽然人很多,但却都冷冰冰的。为了找回自己失去的记忆,去寻找这里的主人,却发现堡主是那么的······不过,他救了她,他绝对是个好人。所以,她不怕他。天哪,他邪魅的微笑,竟然让他的脸柔和很多,那样的俊美迷人,让她怦然的心跳加速。她怎么了呢?夜禅心:失忆小人儿,夜影堡中小丫头,心如禅思,取名禅心陵听鹜:夜影堡堡主,一半俊美,一半邪魅,外冷内热,唯独对她《替身新娘》《失忆新娘》各新华书店,当当网,卓越网均有售!~亲们喜欢,请顺便支持!~汩泉博客:http://m.wkkk.net/sweet14博客泉泉常常更新,亲们有兴趣可以常来逛。