the return of tarzan-第36章
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the unconscious man; new thoughts presented themselves to
the ape…manthoughts born of the refining influences of
civilization; and of its cruelties。 It came to him that
seldom if ever did civilized man kill a fellow being without
some pretext; however slight。 It was true that Tarzan wished
this man's weapons and ornaments; but was it necessary to take
his life to obtain them?
The longer he thought about it; the more repugnant became
the thought of taking human life needlessly; and thus
it happened that while he was trying to decide just what
to do; they had come to a little clearing; at the far side of
which lay a palisaded village of beehive huts。
As the warrior emerged from the forest; Tarzan caught a
fleeting glimpse of a tawny hide worming its way through the
matted jungle grasses in his wakeit was Numa; the lion。
He; too; was stalking the black man。 With the instant that
Tarzan realized the native's danger his attitude toward his
erstwhile prey altered completelynow he was a fellow man
threatened by a common enemy。
Numa was about to chargethere was little time in which
to compare various methods or weigh the probable results
of any。 And then a number of things happened; almost
simultaneouslythe lion sprang from his ambush toward the
retreating blackTarzan cried out in warningand the black
turned just in time to see Numa halted in mid…flight by a
slender strand of grass rope; the noosed end of which
had fallen cleanly about his neck。
The ape…man had acted so quickly that he had been
unable to prepare himself to withstand the strain and shock
of Numa's great weight upon the rope; and so it was that
though the rope stopped the beast before his mighty talons
could fasten themselves in the flesh of the black; the strain
overbalanced Tarzan; who came tumbling to the ground not
six paces from the infuriated animal。 Like lightning Numa
turned upon this new enemy; and; defenseless as he was;
Tarzan of the Apes was nearer to death that instant than he
ever before had been。 It was the black who saved him。
The warrior realized in an instant that he owed his life
to this strange white man; and he also saw that only a miracle
could save his preserver from those fierce yellow fangs that
had been so near to his own flesh。
With the quickness of thought his spear arm flew back;
and then shot forward with all the force of the sinewy
muscles that rolled beneath the shimmering ebon hide。
True to its mark the iron…shod weapon flew; transfixing
Numa's sleek carcass from the right groin to beneath the
left shoulder。 With a hideous scream of rage and pain the
brute turned again upon the black。 A dozen paces he had
gone when Tarzan's rope brought him to a stand once more
then he wheeled again upon the ape…man; only to feel the
painful prick of a barbed arrow as it sank half its length
in his quivering flesh。 Again he stopped; and by this time
Tarzan had run twice around the stem of a great tree with
his rope; and made the end fast。
The black saw the trick; and grinned; but Tarzan knew
that Numa must be quickly finished before those mighty
teeth had found and parted the slender cord that held him。
It was a matter of but an instant to reach the black's side
and drag his long knife from its scabbard。 Then he signed
the warrior to continue to shoot arrows into the great beast
while he attempted to close in upon him with the knife; so
as one tantalized upon one side; the other sneaked cautiously
in upon the other。 Numa was furious。 He raised his voice
in a perfect frenzy of shrieks; growls; and hideous moans;
the while he reared upon his hind legs in futile attempt
to reach first one and then the other of his tormentors。
But at length the agile ape…man saw his chance; and rushed
in upon the beast's left side behind the mighty shoulder。
A giant arm encircled the tawny throat; and a long blade sank
once; true as a die; into the fierce heart。 Then Tarzan arose;
and the black man and the white looked into each other's eyes
across the body of their killand the black made the sign of
peace and friendship; and Tarzan of the Apes answered in kind。
Chapter 15
From Ape to Savage
The noise of their battle with Numa had drawn an excited
horde of savages from the nearby village; and a moment
after the lion's death the two men were surrounded by
lithe; ebon warriors; gesticulating and jabberinga
thousand questions that drowned each ventured reply。
And then the women came; and the childreneager; curious;
and; at sight of Tarzan; more questioning than ever。
The ape…man's new friend finally succeeded in making
himself heard; and when he had done talking the men and
women of the village vied with one another in doing honor
to the strange creature who had saved their fellow and
battled single…handed with fierce Numa。
At last they led him back to their village; where they
brought him gifts of fowl; and goats; and cooked food。
When he pointed to their weapons the warriors hastened
to fetch spear; shield; arrows; and a bow。 His friend of the
encounter presented him with the knife with which he had
killed Numa。 There was nothing in all the village he could
not have had for the asking。
How much easier this was; thought Tarzan; than murder
and robbery to supply his wants。 How close he had been to
killing this man whom he never had seen before; and who
now was manifesting by every primitive means at his
command friendship and affection for his would…be slayer。
Tarzan of the Apes was ashamed。 Hereafter he would at least wait
until he knew men deserved it before he thought of killing them。
The idea recalled Rokoff to his mind。 He wished that he
might have the Russian to himself in the dark jungle for a
few minutes。 There was a man who deserved killing if ever
any one did。 And if he could have seen Rokoff at that moment
as he assiduously bent every endeavor to the pleasant task
of ingratiating himself into the affections of the beautiful
Miss Strong; he would have longed more than ever to mete
out to the man the fate he deserved。
Tarzan's first night with the savages was devoted to a wild
orgy in his honor。 There was feasting; for the hunters had
brought in an antelope and a zebra as trophies of their skill;
and gallons of the weak native beer were consumed。 As the
warriors danced in the firelight; Tarzan was again impressed
by the symmetry of their figures and the regularity of their
featuresthe flat noses and thick lips of the typical West
Coast savage were entirely missing。 In repose the faces of the
men were intelligent and dignified; those of the women
ofttimes prepossessing。
It was during this dance that the ape…man first noticed
that some of the men and many of the women wore ornaments
of goldprincipally anklets and armlets of great weight;
apparently beaten out of the solid metal。 When he
expressed a wish to examine one of these; the owner removed
it from her person and insisted; through the medium of signs;
that Tarzan accept it as a gift。 A close scrutiny of the
bauble convinced the ape…man that the article was of
virgin gold; and he was surprised; for it was the first time
that he had ever seen golden ornaments among the savages
of Africa; other than the trifling baubles those near the
coast had purchased or stolen from Europeans。 He tried
to ask them from whence the metal came; but he could not
make them understand。
When the dance was done Tarzan signified his intention
to leave them; but they almost implored him to accept the
hospitality of a great hut which the chief set apart for his
sole use。 He tried to explain that he would return in the
morning; but they could not understand。 When he finally
walked away from them toward the side of the village opposite
the gate; they were still further mystified as to his intentions。
Tarzan; however; knew just