登陆注册
5232000000059

第59章 The Battle for Teeka(5)

No other bull of the tribe of Kerchak was so good a trailer as Tarzan, for his trained senses were aided by a high order of intelligence. His judgment told him the natural trail for a quarry to follow, so that he need but note the most apparent marks upon the way, and today the trail of Toog was as plain to him as type upon a printed page to you or me.

Following close behind the lithe figure of the ape-man came the huge and shaggy bull ape. No words passed between them.

They moved as silently as two shadows among the myriad shadows of the forest. Alert as his eyes and ears, was Tarzan's patrician nose. The spoor was fresh, and now that they had passed from the range of the strong ape odor of the tribe he had little difficulty in following Toog and Teeka by scent alone. Teeka's familiar scent spoor told both Tarzan and Taug that they were upon her trail, and soon the scent of Toog became as familiar as the other.

They were progressing rapidly when suddenly dense clouds overcast the sun. Tarzan accelerated his pace.

Now he fairly flew along the jungle trail, or, where Toog had taken to the trees, followed nimbly as a squirrel along the bending, undulating pathway of the foliage branches, swinging from tree to tree as Toog had swung before them;but more rapidly because they were not handicapped by a burden such as Toog's.

Tarzan felt that they must be almost upon the quarry, for the scent spoor was becoming stronger and stronger, when the jungle was suddenly shot by livid lightning, and a deafening roar of thunder reverberated through the heavens and the forest until the earth trembled and shook.

Then came the rain--not as it comes to us of the temperate zones, but as a mighty avalanche of water--a deluge which spills tons instead of drops upon the bending forest giants and the terrified creatures which haunt their shade.

And the rain did what Tarzan knew that it would do-- it wiped the spoor of the quarry from the face of the earth.

For a half hour the torrents fell--then the sun burst forth, jeweling the forest with a million scintillant gems;but today the ape-man, usually alert to the changing wonders of the jungle, saw them not. Only the fact that the spoor of Teeka and her abductor was obliterated found lodgment in his thoughts.

Even among the branches of the trees there are well-worn trails, just as there are trails upon the surface of the ground;but in the trees they branch and cross more often, since the way is more open than among the dense undergrowth at the surface. Along one of these well-marked trails Tarzan and Taug continued after the rain had ceased, because the ape-man knew that this was the most logical path for the thief to follow; but when they came to a fork, they were at a loss. Here they halted, while Tarzan examined every branch and leaf which might have been touched by the fleeing ape.

He sniffed the bole of the tree, and with his keen eyes he sought to find upon the bark some sign of the way the quarry had taken. It was slow work and all the time, Tarzan knew, the bull of the alien tribe was forging steadily away from them--gaining precious minutes that might carry him to safety before they could catch up with him.

First along one fork he went, and then another, applying every test that his wonderful junglecraft was cognizant of;but again and again he was baffled, for the scent had been washed away by the heavy downpour, in every exposed place.

For a half hour Tarzan and Taug searched, until at last, upon the bottom of a broad leaf, Tarzan's keen nose caught the faint trace of the scent spoor of Toog, where the leaf had brushed a hairy shoulder as the great ape passed through the foliage.

Once again the two took up the trail, but it was slow work now and there were many discouraging delays when the spoor seemed lost beyond recovery. To you or me there would have been no spoor, even before the coming of the rain, except, possibly, where Toog had come to earth and followed a game trail. In such places the imprint of a huge handlike foot and the knuckles of one great hand were sometimes plain enough for an ordinary mortal to read. Tarzan knew from these and other indications that the ape was yet carrying Teeka.

The depth of the imprint of his feet indicated a much greater weight than that of any of the larger bulls, for they were made under the combined weight of Toog and Teeka, while the fact that the knuckles of but one hand touched the ground at any time showed that the other hand was occupied in some other business--the business of holding the prisoner to a hairy shoulder. Tarzan could follow, in sheltered places, the changing of the burden from one shoulder to another, as indicated by the deepening of the foot imprint upon the side of the load, and the changing of the knuckle imprints from one side of the trail to the other.

There were stretches along the surface paths where the ape had gone for considerable distances entirely erect upon his hind feet--walking as a man walks; but the same might have been true of any of the great anthropoids of the same species, for, unlike the chimpanzee and the gorilla, they walk without the aid of their hands quite as readily as with.

It was such things, however, which helped to identify to Tarzan and to Taug the appearance of the abductor, and with his individual scent characteristic already indelibly impressed upon their memories, they were in a far better position to know him when they came upon him, even should he have disposed of Teeka before, than is a modern sleuth with his photographs and Bertillon measurements, equipped to recognize a fugitive from civilized justice.

But with all their high-strung and delicately attuned perceptive faculties the two bulls of the tribe of Kerchak were often sore pressed to follow the trail at all, and at best were so delayed that in the afternoon of the second day, they still had not overhauled the fugitive.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 平屋杂文:夏丏尊作品精选

    平屋杂文:夏丏尊作品精选

    本书是感悟文学大师经典,本套丛书选文广泛、丰富,且把阅读文学与掌握知识结合起来,既能增进广大读者阅读经典文学的乐趣,又能使我们体悟人生的智慧和生活哲理。本套图书格调高雅,知识丰富,具有极强的可读性、权威性和系统性,非常适合广大读者阅读和收藏,也非常适合各级图书馆装备陈列。
  • 你可爱到犯规

    你可爱到犯规

    莫怼怼和苏皮皮每天都在互撩的路上,真·不要脸和真·皮各种激烈摩擦碰撞。只要有情侣半价就跟他天下第一好?明明是男朋友却要地下恋喊他哥哥?女朋友是真的皮。莫时凛表示:算了算了,自己宠的。从小宠到大的小祖宗,还不能从大宠到老吗?
  • 唐非唐:盛世帝国的谎言与真相

    唐非唐:盛世帝国的谎言与真相

    这个朝代给了我们太多的骄傲,太多可以炫耀的资本,太多可以旧事重提的履历大事。这不是正儿八经的所谓真相史,更不是天马行空的无厘头。作为一本试图解读唐朝历史真相的书,作者只能尝试着去反映那个时代多姿多彩的境遇和心路历程。
  • 管理就是搞定人

    管理就是搞定人

    管理问题仍然层出不穷?为什么鼓励员工做到最好时,他们的表现往往不尽人意?为什么对员工的“大错大罚”会让他们连续不断地犯错?为什么突然拉高员工的“阈值”,往往会导致执行力的下降?为什么公司的规章制度越多,反而管理的效果会越差?管理的原点在于搞定人!任何卓越的管理都离不开对人性的顺应与尊重。本书浓缩了作者20年管理经验精华,精选38个经典案例,从“人才选用”“领导力”“执行力”“极致管理”四个维度详细分析了中国公司管理存在的具体问题,并提出了具体可行的提升方案,助你轻松解决“领导力”“执行力”等诸多管理难题!
  • 腹黑王爷下油锅:浴火狂妃

    腹黑王爷下油锅:浴火狂妃

    大胤国风流成性的七皇子成婚,婚撵内绑着当红花魁云纤纤,新娘却不知所踪,只余浓墨狂书:“七殿下床技高超,贱妾不才,不敢领教,献上尤物一枚,仅以此谢罪。”往来宾客皆目瞪口呆,唯有高堂之上左拥右抱的七皇子依旧淡然,捏着手中书信,双瞳幽深似海,嘴角却微微敛起一抹宠溺的笑。◆◆◆◆◆◆叶蓝荞,大胤首富之女,儿时流落青楼,登台接客之日被父亲寻回,从此嫡母欺辱、姊妹打压。她敛去光芒,只求安心度日,却不料因家族宝藏卷入皇室联姻,对象还是恶名远播的七皇子!本以为投其所好,献上美人就可以逃过一劫,却不想还是误入了恶魔的眼。◆◆◆◆◆◆轩辕谌,大胤国七皇子,因风流纨绔,百花丛中笑,人称花谌。母后被害,宁贵妃执掌后宫,朝中权臣结党营私,奸臣当道,为保皇族基业,他敛去风华,荒唐度日,只盼有朝一日怒指风云,重掌江山!原以为他早已足够淡然,可以小心翼翼地收起所有喜怒哀乐,偏偏有那么一个女人,像上瘾毒药,总叫他欲罢不能。天下女人皆赞叹他的俊美,迷恋他的多情,唯有她,占了他正妃的头衔,心里头却时时惦念着别的男人……嫁他之前,她逃婚、献花魁;嫁他之后,她殷勤为他纳妾,自己却跟外面的男人藕断丝连,甚至还要休夫!终于有那么一夜,他醉酒而归,摸索着她紧闭的房门,一脚踹开了门锁,将她温香软玉般的身子摁在怀里,压上床榻,猩红着眸子怒斥道:“叶蓝荞!你别太过分!你是本王的妃!伺候本王是你的荣耀!”
  • 重生之爱妻入局

    重生之爱妻入局

    “倾尽所有,让你爱我。”顾意带着两世记忆,披荆斩棘,浴火重生而来。这一世,他不会只做配角,默默的爱她。这一世,他只有一个愿望,让纪茹茜爱上他,然后给她幸福。*纪茹茜:A市经济龙脉——纪氏集团的执行总裁;也是A市的商界神话。婚礼当天,被重生而来的闺蜜纪勤睡了未婚夫,却被告之,奸夫淫妇才是真爱。一纸DNA鉴定报告让纪茹茜从凤凰变成麻雀,商业鬼才纪茹茜成了一个笑话——盗窃商业机密,挪用公款,净身出户,流落街头。*最狼狈最绝望的时候,纪茹茜遇上如立云端的顾意——帅哥中的战斗机,总裁中的VIP,富可敌国的财富,强大的政治背景,堪称女人绝缘体的钻石男。顾意为她承包了全世界的鱼塘,任她玩残渣男,虐死渣女,让她一秒变凤凰。她说:“顾意在手,天下我有!”她说:“纪勤,女配不管怎么蹦哒,始终只能是女配。”*【宠妻篇】顾家家训:宠妻至上。顾家男人好榜样:睡得了地板,住得了走廊,跪得起主板,补得了衣裳,吃得下剩饭,付得起药方,带得了孩子,养得起姑娘,耐得住寂寞,争做灰太狼。顾意口头禅:①我统共就这么一个媳妇,我不惯着她,难道惯着你么?②我惧内我光荣!你们这群没有老婆的人是不会懂的!顾意名言:老婆不败家,赚钱给谁花?*【吃醋篇】纪茹茜深夜拍戏回来,被喝醉酒的前未婚夫纠缠。拉扯之间,顾意一脚将渣男踹进水池里。渣男在水里扑腾扑腾,直喊救命。顾意站在岸上,一脸无辜,又费解的道:“怎么回事?怎么好端端的就往水里跳呢?”“拉他上来吧!”纪茹茜不想和渣男再有任何的牵扯。“水不深,反正淹不死。他一直这么撒酒疯下去,有损他的光辉形象。就让他在水里醒醒酒吧!这是我们的无奈之举,他会理解并感激我们的。”顾意好心的建议。当“酒醒”的差不多的时候,顾意又指使旁边的乞丐往水池里撒了两泡童子尿。有着“世界醋王”之称的顾醋醋表示:情敌掉水里,我只能尿尿。*【注①】:另类重生文、甜宠文,双强双腹黑双C,1V1。【注②】:对于女主,没有最宠,只有更宠;对于男主,没有最深情,只有更深情。
  • 论女主的正确死亡方式

    论女主的正确死亡方式

    我叫莫玖,在和蛇精病斗智斗勇中,死于恋爱。我叫莫玖,在王爷后院收拾合法小三时,死于恋爱。我叫莫玖,在身为嫡女的幸福生活中,死于恋爱。我真的是女主么!【情节虚构,请勿模仿】
  • 亡命之徒前传

    亡命之徒前传

    本书从臭名昭著的第二次车臣战争开始。讲述一帮亡命徒在世界各地作战的故事。从籍籍无名到恶名昭著的故事。另:本书续集《我的佣兵生涯》已完本,新书《极限保卫》正持续更新中。希望喜欢本书的朋友能够前往观看。如果觉得不错请不要吝啬收藏与票票。谢谢。
  • 第一绝色:冥君盛宠凉薄妃

    第一绝色:冥君盛宠凉薄妃

    她步步穿心,助他登君主之位,为他不惜自剜双眼,到头来,他却挥剑斩断她的生路。诛仙台上,她玉石俱焚,一战彻九天,杀神谁能挡?——她,东皇国闻名遐迩的天才废物,帝都第一丑女,受辱三年,被抛尸乱葬岗!血眸睁开时,来自王者杀神的灵魂,从此将主宰这个身体。且看她如何音念双修,风云天下!这一世,她风华尽显,以天才之名,艳杀天下。恩她者,百倍还。仇她者,杀无赦!狐狸遇上狼,谁吃谁豆腐?他说:“女人,天上人间任你闯荡,爷罩着你。”他还说:“记得回来就好。”
  • 神秘少主轻点抱

    神秘少主轻点抱

    “芊芋,老大生病了你帮忙照顾一下。”“芊芋,老大心情不好你去哄哄他。”“芊芋,老大今天没吃饭你去点一下外卖。”……身为一个高冷帅气的保镖,到了君墨玖这就变成了贴心小棉袄……