The Son of Tarzan

sight of a strange figure moving through the trees toward him. It was the boy, yet could it be? In his hand was a long spear, down his back hung an oblong shield such as the black warr

ophies. Proudly he called attention to each of his newly won p

ies. And now that I have a spear I shall show Numa, too, what it means to have me for a foe. Only the white men and the gr

in to speedily. All the while his training went on under the guidance of Akut. No longer was there a single jungle spoor but was an open book to the keen eyes of the lad, and those other indefinite spoor that elude the senses of civilized man and are only partially appreciable to his savage cousin came to be familiar friends of the eager b

dam. Yet, though he loved it, he had not let his selfish desires outweigh the sense of duty that had brought him to a realization of the moral wrong which lay beneath the adventurous escapade that had brought him to Africa. His love of father and mother was strong within him, too strong to permit unalloyed happiness which was undoubtedly causing them days of sorrow. And so he held tight to his determination to find a por

ward, too, to meeting white men again-creatures of his own kind-for there had been many occasions upon which he had longed for other companionship than that of the old ape. The affair with the blacks still rankled in his heart. He had approached them in such innocent good fellowship and with such childlike ass

would be a welcome visitor. They would befriend him. And there were also the great apes-the friends of his father and of Akut. How glad they would be to receive the son of Tarzan of the Apes! He hoped that he could come upon them before he found a trading post upon the coast. He wanted to be able to tell his father that he had known his old friends of the jungle, that he had h

heir consternation at sight of a naked white boy trapped in the war togs of a

d head erect, defying danger. Where Akut took to the trees at the first scent of Numa, the lad laughed in the face of the king of beasts and walked boldly past him. Good fortune was with him for a long time. The lions he met were well-fed, perhaps, or the very boldness of the strange creature which invaded their doma

wise-the chances are that he will not. The lion is a creature of high nervous development. He thinks, therefore he reasons. Having a nervous system and brains he is the possessor of temperament, which is affected variously by extran

to the trees. Akut! I, the son of Tarzan, will protect you," and the boy, laughing, ke

r and closer to the dread destroyer he came, until, with a sudden, angry growl, the lion rose from his bed not ten paces from the youth. A huge fellow he was, thi

o retreat. The nearest tree lay several yards to his left-the lion could be upon him before he had covered half the distance, and that the beast intended to charge non

h chances-there was but a single chance, and that was the thorn tree. If the lion charged it would be too late-the lad must charge first, and to the astonishment of Akut and none the less of Numa, the

in terror and amazement. The lion stood with wide, round eyes awaiting the attack, ready to rear u

y spring, and, before the bewildered beast could guess the trick that had been played upon h

is thorny retreat in which he might find the least agony. He had saved his life; but at considerable cost in suffering. It seemed to him that the lion would never leave, and it was a full hour before the angry brut

rned had left him; while the impression upon his mind was one that wa

he taking of chances might further the attainment of some che

ed by the sharp thorns. The great anthropoid licked the wounds of his human friend, nor, aside from th

ir journey toward the coast, and once more the bo

eling an old but well-marked spoor-a spoor that set his heart to leaping-the spoor of man, of white men, for among the prints of naked feet were the well defined outlines of

off in pursuit. Akut demurred. He wanted nothing of men. To him the lad was a fellow ape, for he was the son of the king of apes. He tried to dissuade the boy, telling him that soon they should come upon a tribe of their own folk where some day when he was older the boy should be kin

heart he had nursed the hope that he and the lad would never be separated. He saw all his fondly cherished plans fading away, and yet he remained loyal to the lad and to his wis

s but a few hours distant from them whose trained and agile muscles could carry their bodies swiftly through t

n to whom the attainment of their goal meant only sorrow. And it was the boy who first

. On either side walked a giant white man, heavy blonde beards almost obliterating their countenances. The boy's lips formed a glad cry of salutation as his eyes first discovered the whites-a cry that was never uttered, for almost immediately he witnessed that which

caravan, and now was following slowly in the wake of the sordid, brutal spectacle. Presently Akut came up with him. To the beast there was less of horror in the sight than to the lad, yet even the great ape growled beneath his breath a

hem and kill them the first time they beat their people as they are beating them now; but," he added, after

es caught sight of him. The man gave a shout of alarm, instantly levelling his rifle upon the boy and firing. The bullet struck just in front of its mark, scatt

ind sounded to their frightened ears the coming of The Sheik and his bloodthirsty entourage. They were in a blue funk, and the sight of the naked white warrior stepping silently out of the jungle through which the

eir descriptions of it varied so greatly that Jenssen, who had seen nothing himself, was inclined to be a trifle skeptical. One of the blacks insisted that the thing had been eleven feet tall, with a man's body and the head of an elephant. Another had

effect of the unfriendly reception he had received at the hands of the blacks, an

eces at sight. Black men would kill me with their spears or arrows. And now white men, men of my own kind, have fired up

drew close

d. Only the great apes will welcome the son of Tarzan. You have seen that men want

s, amplified by gestures and signs. It may not be literally translated i

sed in deep thought-bitter thoughts in which hatred and revenge predominated. Final

response, and a moment later he had leaped nimbly upon a small and unwary rodent that had been surprised at a