登陆注册
5169900000034

第34章

Whether or not its gleaming walls held the secret of his lost mate he could not even guess but if she lived at all within the precincts of Pal-ul-don it must be among the Ho-don, since the hairy black men of this forgotten world took no prisoners.And so to A-lur he would go, and how more effectively than upon the back of this grim and terrible creature that the races of Pal-ul-don held in such awe?

A little mountain stream tumbles down from Kor-ul-gryf to be joined in the foothills with that which empties the waters of Kor-ul-lul into the valley, forming a small river which runs southwest, eventually entering the valley's largest lake at the City of A-lur, through the center of which the stream passes.An ancient trail, well marked by countless generations of naked feet of man and beast, leads down toward A-lur beside the river, and along this Tarzan guided the gryf.Once clear of the forest which ran below the mouth of the gorge, Tarzan caught occasional glimpses of the city gleaming in the distance far below him.

The country through which he passed was resplendent with the riotous beauties of tropical verdure.Thick, lush grasses grew waist high upon either side of the trail and the way was broken now and again by patches of open park-like forest, or perhaps a little patch of dense jungle where the trees overarched the way and trailing creepers depended in graceful loops from branch to branch.

At times the ape-man had difficulty in commanding obedience upon the part of his unruly beast, but always in the end its fear of the relatively puny goad urged it on to obedience.Late in the afternoon as they approached the confluence of the stream they were skirting and another which appeared to come from the direction of Kor-ul-ja the ape-man, emerging from one of the jungle patches, discovered a considerable party of Ho-don upon the opposite bank.Simultaneously they saw him and the mighty creature he bestrode.For a moment they stood in wide-eyed amazement and then, in answer to the command of their leader, they turned and bolted for the shelter of the nearby wood.

The ape-man had but a brief glimpse of them but it was sufficient indication that there were Waz-don with them, doubtless prisoners taken in one of the raids upon the Waz-don villages of which Ta-den and Om-at had told him.

At the sound of their voices the gryf had bellowed terrifically and started in pursuit even though a river intervened, but by dint of much prodding and beating, Tarzan had succeeded in heading the animal back into the path though thereafter for a long time it was sullen and more intractable than ever.

As the sun dropped nearer the summit of the western hills Tarzan became aware that his plan to enter A-lur upon the back of a gryf was likely doomed to failure, since the stubbornness of the great beast was increasing momentarily, doubtless due to the fact that its huge belly was crying out for food.The ape-man wondered if the Tor-o-dons had any means of picketing their beasts for the night, but as he did not know and as no plan suggested itself, he determined that he should have to trust to the chance of finding it again in the morning.

There now arose in his mind a question as to what would be their relationship when Tarzan had dismounted.Would it again revert to that of hunter and quarry or would fear of the goad continue to hold its supremacy over the natural instinct of the hunting flesh-eater? Tarzan wondered but as he could not remain upon the gryf forever, and as he preferred dismounting and putting the matter to a final test while it was still light, he decided to act at once.

How to stop the creature he did not know, as up to this time his sole desire had been to urge it forward.By experimenting with his staff, however, he found that he could bring it to a halt by reaching forward and striking the thing upon its beaklike snout.

Close by grew a number of leafy trees, in any one of which the ape-man could have found sanctuary, but it had occurred to him that should he immediately take to the trees it might suggest to the mind of the gryf that the creature that had been commanding him all day feared him, with the result that Tarzan would once again be held a prisoner by the triceratops.

And so, when the gryf halted, Tarzan slid to the ground, struck the creature a careless blow across the flank as though in dismissal and walked indifferently away.From the throat of the beast came a low rumbling sound and without even a glance at Tarzan it turned and entered the river where it stood drinking for a long time.

Convinced that the gryf no longer constituted a menace to him the ape-man, spurred on himself by the gnawing of hunger, unslung his bow and selecting a handful of arrows set forth cautiously in search of food, evidence of the near presence of which was being borne up to him by a breeze from down river.

Ten minutes later he had made his kill, again one of the Pal-ul-don specimens of antelope, all species of which Tarzan had known since childhood as Bara, the deer, since in the little primer that had been the basis of his education the picture of a deer had been the nearest approach to the likeness of the antelope, from the giant eland to the smaller bushbuck of the hunting grounds of his youth.

Cutting off a haunch he cached it in a nearby tree, and throwing the balance of the carcass across his shoulder trotted back toward the spot at which he had left the gryf.The great beast was just emerging from the river when Tarzan, seeing it, issued the weird cry of the Tor-o-don.The creature looked in the direction of the sound voicing at the same time the low rumble with which it answered the call of its master.Twice Tarzan repeated his cry before the beast moved slowly toward him, and when it had come within a few paces he tossed the carcass of the deer to it, upon which it fell with greedy jaws.

同类推荐
  • 灵宝无量度人上品妙经符图

    灵宝无量度人上品妙经符图

    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。
  • 阿毗达磨俱舍论本颂

    阿毗达磨俱舍论本颂

    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。
  • 竹谱详录

    竹谱详录

    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。
  • Helen of Troy

    Helen of Troy

    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。
  • 佛说目连所问经

    佛说目连所问经

    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
  • 海岛生存记

    海岛生存记

    新书《天使联盟之龙王神力》现已发布,欢迎新老朋友捧场!
  • 民国之绝代商女

    民国之绝代商女

    【小荷初露锋芒待发】被卖到初家当了小妻?又跨进方家做了丫鬟!这娃纸的命怎么这么苦?她要扛起!崛起!勤奋学起!一把檀木算盘,便是她最强有力的资本,出色的天赋,让她很快便成为方家最年轻,也是唯一的一位女帐薄先生。【烽火动荡十里洋场】一场意外的救助,让她与官场军少结下了不解之缘,安详静谧的生活被彻底打乱。他在官场叱咤,她于商界风云,强强对抗?还是,强强联手?官职的交接,文化的更迭,生意场上的兴衰,令她一天天长大,一天天懂得成长的代价。她是一枚遭亲人嫌弃的棋子?还是一颗闪耀在商界的红顶明星?【名扬四海富可敌国】她,坚持一生不做官,只做商;她,爱财,但从来都是取之有道;她,喜欢把钱散给穷人时的潇洒;她,执着钱生钱,利滚利的痛快!【江南无恨携手一生】爱她有多深,就是苍天捉弄他几分?繁华锦绣,终不是她此生所要,她要的,不过是平淡安定。而他,要的却是天下社稷,垂名青史?他与她,一段缘?一段孽?本文一对一,宠文,偶尔小虐,无伤大雅,短暂的小虐是为了更腻歪的宠爱!
  • 高阳版《胡雪岩全传》6

    高阳版《胡雪岩全传》6

    讲透一代商圣胡雪岩的天才与宿命,影响中国一代企业家的经典!马云读了两遍!胡雪岩传记小说至高经典,其他版本大多是这套书的删减版或改编版。高阳版《胡雪岩全传》出版40年来无可逾越,是商人必备的生存手册。胡雪岩从店伙计到大清巨富花了30年,倾家荡产只花了8天!“有井水处有金庸,有村镇处有高阳。”武侠小说有金庸,历史小说有高阳!高阳的历史小说,注重历史的真实性,又擅长讲故事,读起来轻松畅快,有读者评为“华语历史小说不可逾越的高峰”。翻开本书,看当代历史小说巨匠高阳,重现一代商圣胡雪岩的辉煌与宿命。
  • 将九州

    将九州

    天有损,而妖魔纵横,神州大陆,乱象渐生。乱世之中,我是一个朝不保夕的小军卒,大千世界,我将成为逆命苍生的大魔头。开新书了,各位书友多多支持。
  • 关于女巫的使用方法

    关于女巫的使用方法

    莫名其妙穿越的端冉很无奈,除了自己的性别貌似出错了之外,她还不得不面临一个残酷的现实……他……或者说是她……并不是一名拥有超凡力量的光荣女巫,而只是一个普通的贵族小姐而已这世界有一种魔法一般的力量,只有觉醒后的女性……被称为女巫的人才能拥有,她只想知道,为什么连隔壁老王家的女儿都成功了,而她这个主角,还是连个小火球都搓不出来的凡人?她只不过想要平凡的活着,但这个处在工业革命时代,日新月异的诡异世界,想要简单的活着,似乎一点也不简单……
  • 拜水问道:都江堰与青城山

    拜水问道:都江堰与青城山

    关于都江堰与青城山有一种说法叫做“拜水都江堰,问道青城山”,不仅仅是因为都江堰是世界保留下来的最为古老宏大的水利工程,或者青城山是有“第五洞天”之城的道教名山。也因为都江堰两千年来对巴蜀大地农耕的重要作用,或者青城山对宣扬道教文化及青城武功的巨大贡献。
  • 重回仙乡

    重回仙乡

    我很久以来都一直幻想着,如果有一天我能够穿越到一个妖魔鬼怪遍地走,仙神道法满天飘的真实世界会怎么样?无奈无论我怎么想象都无法得到切身感受。于是我就想,不如我就创造一群人,让他们代替我去到那处世界去体会一番,通过观察他们身上发生的故事和酸甜苦辣,也许也会有一番别样的乐趣,你说呢?
  • 跟着天王当童星

    跟着天王当童星

    天王巨星丑闻缠身,大型户外亲子真人秀节目意外找上门。一线娱记宏图满志,误食最新药剂秒变小孩被天王捡回家。夏朵朵只想做一个安静的潜伏娱记,一手掌握天王最新资讯,然一个不小心,她居然成了史上最抢戏童星!
  • 梦至忘尘方初醒

    梦至忘尘方初醒

    她,人前是受尽驱逐的弟子;人后,却是忘尘山未来掌权之人。他,人前是被卖入青楼的可怜人;人后是神秘莫测的千机公子。因世俗谣言,她尊贵尽失,被退婚沦为世人笑柄。因童言可期,他玩转谋略,以另外一种身份守在她身边。直到有一天,某女喝醉以后:“嘿,你娶我吧!”某男才惊觉,不知不觉间心早已经属于一人。
  • 太上灵宝净明院真师密诰

    太上灵宝净明院真师密诰

    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。