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第5章

the beasts of tarzan-第5章

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was rowed ashore。  Half an hour later the sailors had returned

to the Kincaid; and the steamer was slowly getting under way。



As Tarzan stood upon the narrow strip of beach watching the

departure of the vessel he saw a figure appear at the rail

and call aloud to attract his attention。



The ape…man had been about to read a note that one of

the sailors had handed him as the small boat that bore him

to the shore was on the point of returning to the steamer;

but at the hail from the vessel's deck he looked up。



He saw a black…bearded man who laughed at him in derision

as he held high above his head the figure of a little child。  

Tarzan half started as though to rush through the surf and

strike out for the already moving steamer; but realizing the

futility of so rash an act he halted at the water's edge。



Thus he stood; his gaze riveted upon the Kincaid until it

disappeared beyond a projecting promontory of the coast。



From the jungle at his back fierce bloodshot eyes glared

from beneath shaggy overhanging brows upon him。



Little monkeys in the tree…tops chattered and scolded; and from

the distance of the inland forest came the scream of a leopard。



But still John Clayton; Lord Greystoke; stood deaf and

unseeing; suffering the pangs of keen regret for the

opportunity that he had wasted because he had been so

gullible as to place credence in a single statement of

the first lieutenant of his arch…enemy。



〃I have at least;〃 he thought; 〃one consolationthe

knowledge that Jane is safe in London。  Thank Heaven she;

too; did not fall into the clutches of those villains。〃



Behind him the hairy thing whose evil eyes had been

watching his as a cat watches a mouse was creeping

stealthily toward him。



Where were the trained senses of the savage ape…man?



Where the acute hearing?



Where the uncanny sense of scent?









Chapter 3





Beasts at Bay





Slowly Tarzan unfolded the note the sailor had thrust into

his hand; and read it。  At first it made little impression on

his sorrow…numbed senses; but finally the full purport of the

hideous plot of revenge unfolded itself before his imagination。





〃This will explain to you〃 'the note read' 〃the exact nature

of my intentions relative to your offspring and to you。



〃You were born an ape。  You lived naked in the jungles

to your own we have returned you; but your son shall rise a

step above his sire。  It is the immutable law of evolution。



〃The father was a beast; but the son shall be a manhe

shall take the next ascending step in the scale of progress。  

He shall be no naked beast of the jungle; but shall wear a

loincloth and copper anklets; and; perchance; a ring in his

nose; for he is to be reared by mena tribe of savage cannibals。



〃I might have killed you; but that would have curtailed the

full measure of the punishment you have earned at my hands。



〃Dead; you could not have suffered in the knowledge of

your son's plight; but living and in a place from which you

may not escape to seek or succour your child; you shall suffer

worse than death for all the years of your life in contemplation

of the horrors of your son's existence。



〃This; then; is to be a part of your punishment for having

dared to pit yourself against 



N。  R。



〃P。S。The balance of your punishment has to do with

what shall presently befall your wifethat I shall

leave to your imagination。〃





As he finished reading; a slight sound behind him brought

him back with a start to the world of present realities。



Instantly his senses awoke; and he was again Tarzan of the Apes。



As he wheeled about; it was a beast at bay; vibrant with

the instinct of self…preservation; that faced a huge bull…ape

that was already charging down upon him。



The two years that had elapsed since Tarzan had come out

of the savage forest with his rescued mate had witnessed

slight diminution of the mighty powers that had made him

the invincible lord of the jungle。  His great estates in Uziri

had claimed much of his time and attention; and there he

had found ample field for the practical use and retention of

his almost superhuman powers; but naked and unarmed to do

battle with the shaggy; bull…necked beast that now confronted

him was a test that the ape…man would scarce have welcomed

at any period of his wild existence。



But there was no alternative other than to meet the rage…

maddened creature with the weapons with which nature had

endowed him。



Over the bull's shoulder Tarzan could see now the heads

and shoulders of perhaps a dozen more of these mighty fore…

runners of primitive man。



He knew; however; that there was little chance that they

would attack him; since it is not within the reasoning powers

of the anthropoid to be able to weigh or appreciate the value

of concentrated action against an enemyotherwise they

would long since have become the dominant creatures of

their haunts; so tremendous a power of destruction lies in

their mighty thews and savage fangs。



With a low snarl the beast now hurled himself at Tarzan;

but the ape…man had found; among other things in the haunts

of civilized man; certain methods of scientific warfare that

are unknown to the jungle folk。



Whereas; a few years since; he would have met the brute

rush with brute force; he now sidestepped his antagonist's

headlong charge; and as the brute hurtled past him swung a

mighty right to the pit of the ape's stomach。



With a howl of mingled rage and anguish the great anthropoid

bent double and sank to the ground; though almost

instantly he was again struggling to his feet。



Before he could regain them; however; his white…skinned

foe had wheeled and pounced upon him; and in the act there

dropped from the shoulders of the English lord the last shred

of his superficial mantle of civilization。



Once again he was the jungle beast revelling in bloody

conflict with his kind。  Once again he was Tarzan;

son of Kala the she…ape。



His strong; white teeth sank into the hairy throat of his

enemy as he sought the pulsing jugular。



Powerful fingers held the mighty fangs from his own flesh;

or clenched and beat with the power of a steam…hammer

upon the snarling; foam…flecked face of his adversary。



In a circle about them the balance of the tribe of apes stood

watching and enjoying the struggle。  They muttered low gutturals

of approval as bits of white hide or hairy bloodstained

skin were torn from one contestant or the other。  But they

were silent in amazement and expectation when they saw the

mighty white ape wriggle upon the back of their king; and;

with steel muscles tensed beneath the armpits of his antagonist;

bear down mightily with his open palms upon the back of the

thick bullneck; so that the king ape could but shriek in agony

and flounder helplessly about upon the thick mat of jungle grass。



As Tarzan had overcome the huge Terkoz that time years

before when he had been about to set out upon his quest for

human beings of his own kind and colour; so now he overcame

this other great ape with the same wrestling hold upon

which he had stumbled by accident during that other combat。  

The little audience of fierce anthropoids heard the creaking

of their king's neck mingling with his agonized shrieks

and hideous roaring。



Then there came a sudden crack; like the breaking of a

stout limb before the fury of the wind。  The bullet…head

crumpled forward upon its flaccid neck against the great

hairy chestthe roaring and the shrieking ceased。



The little pig…eyes of the onlookers wandered from the still

form of their leader to that of the white ape that was rising

to its feet beside the vanquished; then back to their king as

though in wonder that he did not arise and slay this

presumptuous stranger。



They saw the new…comer place a foot upon the neck of the quiet

f

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