Edgar Rice Burroughs - Tarzan 12 - Tarzan and the Lost Empire

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    Tarzan 12 - Tarzan and the Lost Empireby

    Edgar Rice Burroughs

    Chapter One.NKIMA danced excitedly upon the naked, brown shoulder of his master. e chattered andscolded, now lookin! up in"uirin!ly into #ar$an%s face and then off into the &un!le.'(omethin! is comin!, )wana,' said Mu*iro, sub + chief of the a$iri. 'Nkima has heard it.''And #ar$an,' said the ape + man.'#he bi! )wana%s ears are as keen as the ears of )ara the antelope,' said Mu*iro.'ad they not been, #ar$an would not be here today,' replied the ape + man, with a smile. 'ewould not ha*e !rown to manhood had not Kala, his mother, tau!ht him to use all of the sensesthat Mulun!u !a*e him.''hat comes-' asked Mu*iro.'A party of men,' replied #ar$an.'erhaps they are not friendly,' su!!ested the African. '(hall I warn the warriors-'

    #ar$an !lanced about the little camp where a score of his fi!htin! men were busy preparin! theire*enin! meal and saw that, as was the custom of the a$iri, their weapons were in order and athand.'No,' he said. 'It will, I belie*e, be unnecessary, as these people who are approachin! do notcome stealthily as enemies would, nor are their numbers so !reat as to cause us anyapprehension.')ut Nkima, a born pessimist, expected only the worst, and as the approachin! party came nearerhis excitement increased. e leaped from #ar$an%s shoulder to the !round, &umped up and downse*eral times and then, sprin!in! back to #ar$an%s side, sei$ed his arm and attempted to dra! himto his feet.'/un, run0' he cried, in the lan!ua!e of the apes. '(tran!e 1oman!ani are comin!. #hey will killlittle Nkima.''2o not be afraid, Nkima,' said the ape + man. '#ar$an and Mu*iro will not let the stran!ers hurt

    you.''I smell a stran!e #arman!ani,' chattered Nkima. '#here is a #arman!ani with them. #he#arman!ani are worse than the 1oman!ani. #hey come with thundersticks and kill little Nkimaand all his brothers and sisters. #hey kill the Man!ani. #hey kill the 1oman!ani. #hey kille*erythin! with their thundersticks. Nkima does not like the #arman!ani. Nkima is afraid.'#o Nkima, as to the other deni$ens of the &un!le, #ar$an was no #arman!ani, no white man. ewas of the &un!le. e was one of them, and if they thou!ht of him as bein! anythin! other than

    &ust #ar$an it was as a Man!ani, a !reat ape, that they classified him.#he ad*ance of the stran!ers was now plainly audible to e*eryone in the camp. #he a$iriwarriors !lanced into the &un!le in the direction from which the sounds were comin! and thenback to #ar$an and Mu*iro, but when they saw that their leaders were not concerned they went"uietly on with their cookin!.

    A tall Ne!ro warrior was the first of the party to come within si!ht of the camp. hen he saw thea$iri he halted and an instant later a bearded white man stopped beside him.3or an instant the white man sur*eyed the camp and then he came forward, makin! the si!n ofpeace. Out of the &un!le a do$en or more warriors followed him. Most of them were porters, therebein! but three or four rifles in e*idence.#ar$an and the a$iri reali$ed at once that it was a small and harmless party, and e*en Nkima,who had retreated to the safety of a near + by tree, showed his contempt by scamperin! fearlesslyback to climb to the shoulder of his master.'2octor *on arben0' exclaimed #ar$an, as the bearded stran!er approached. 'I scarcelyreco!ni$ed you at first.''1od has been kind to me, #ar$an of the Apes,' said *on arben, extendin! his hand. 'I was on

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    my way to see you and I ha*e found you a full two days march sooner than I expected.''e are after a cattle + killer,' explained #ar$an. 'e has come into our kraal se*eral ni!hts of lateand killed some of our best cattle, but he is *ery cunnin!. I think he must be an old lion to outwit#ar$an for so lon!.')ut what brin!s you into #ar$an%s country, 2octor- I hope it is only a nei!hborly *isit and that notrouble has come to my !ood friend, thou!h your appearance belies my hope.''I, too, wish that it were nothin! more than a friendly call,' said *on arben, 'but as a matter offact I am here to seek your help because I am in trouble + *ery serious trouble, I fear.''2o not tell me that the Arabs ha*e come down a!ain to take sla*es or to steal i*ory, or is it thatthe leopard men are waylayin! your people upon the &un!le trails at ni!ht-''No, it is neither the one nor the other. I ha*e come to see you upon a more personal matter. It isabout my son, 4rich. 5ou ha*e ne*er met him.''No,' said #ar$an6 'but you are tired and hun!ry. 7et your men make camp here. My e*enin! mealis ready6 while you and I eat you shall tell me how #ar$an may ser*e you.'

    As the a$iri, at #ar$an%s command, assisted *on arben%s men in makin! their camp, the doctorand the ape + man sat cross + le!!ed upon the !round and ate the rou!h fare that #ar$an%s a$iricook had prepared.#ar$an saw that his !uest%s mind was filled with the trouble that had brou!ht him in search of theape + man, and so he did not wait until they had finished the meal to reopen the sub&ect, butur!ed *on arben to continue his story at once.

    'I wish to preface the real ob&ect of my *isit with a few words of explanation,' commenced *onarben. '4rich is my only son. 3our years a!o, at the a!e of nineteen, he completed his uni*ersitycourse with honors and recei*ed his first de!ree. (ince then he has spent the !reater part of histime in pursuin! his studies in *arious 4uropean uni*ersities, where he has speciali$ed inarchaeolo!y and the study of dead lan!ua!es. is one hobby, outside of his chosen field, hasbeen mountain climbin! and durin! succeedin! summer *acations he scaled e*ery important

    Alpine peak.'A few months a!o he came here to *isit me at the mission and immediately became interested inthe study of the *arious )antu dialects that are in use by the se*eral tribes in our district andthose ad&acent thereto.'hile pursuin! his in*esti!ation amon! the nati*es he ran across that old le!end of #he 7ost#ribe of the iramwa$i Mountains, with which we are all so familiar. Immediately his mindbecame imbued, as ha*e the minds of so many others, with the belief that this fable mi!ht ha*e

    ori!inated in fact and that if he could trace it down he mi!ht possibly find descendants of one ofthe lost tribes of )iblical history.''I know the le!end well,' said #ar$an, 'and because it is so persistent and the details of itsnarration by the nati*es so circumstantial, I ha*e thou!ht that I should like to in*esti!ate it myself,but in the past no necessity has arisen to take me close to the iramwa$i Mountains.''I must confess,' continued the doctor, 'that I also ha*e had the same ur!e many times. I ha*eupon two occasions talked with men of the )a!e!o tribe that li*e upon the slopes of theiramwa$i Mountains and in both instances I ha*e been assured that a tribe of white men dwellssomewhere in the depths of that !reat mountain ran!e. )oth of these men told me that their tribehas carried on trade with these people from time immemorial and each assured me that he hadoften seen members of #he 7ost #ribe both upon occasions of peaceful tradin! and durin! thewarlike raids that the mountaineers occasionally launched upon the )a!e!o.'#he result was that when 4rich su!!ested an expedition to the iramwa$i I rather encoura!ed

    him, since he was well fitted to undertake the ad*enture. is knowled!e of )antu and hisintensi*e, e*en thou!h brief, experience amon! the nati*es !a*e him an ad*anta!e that fewscholars otherwise e"uipped by education to profit by such an expedition would ha*e, while hisconsiderable experience as a mountain climber would, I felt, stand him in !ood stead durin! suchan ad*enture.'On the whole I felt that he was an ideal man to lead such an expedition, and my only re!ret wasthat I could not accompany him, but this was impossible at the time. I assisted him in e*ery waypossible in the or!ani$ation of his safari and in e"uippin! and pro*isionin! it.'e has not been !one a sufficient len!th of time to accomplish any considerable in*esti!ationand return to the mission, but recently a few of the members of his safari were reported to me as

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    ha*in! returned to their *illa!es. hen I sou!ht to inter*iew them they a*oided me, but rumorsreached me that con*inced me that all was not well with my son. I therefore determined toor!ani$e a relief expedition, but in all my district I could find only these few men who daredaccompany me to the iramwa$i Mountains, which, their le!ends assure them, are inhabited bymali!n spirits + for, as you know, they consider #he 7ost #ribe of the iramwa$i to be a band ofbloodthirsty !hosts. It became e*ident to me that the deserters of 4rich%s safari had spread terrorthrou!h the district.'8nder the circumstances I was compelled to look elsewhere for help and naturally I turned, in myperplexity, to #ar$an, 7ord of the 9un!le. Now you know why I am here.''I will help you, 2octor,' said #ar$an, after the other had concluded.'1ood0' exclaimed *on arben6 'but I knew that you would. 5ou ha*e about twenty men here, Ishould &ud!e, and I ha*e about fourteen. My men can act as carriers, while yours, who areacknowled!ed to be the finest fi!htin! men in Africa, can ser*e as askaris. ith you to !uide uswe can soon pick up the trail and with such a force, small thou!h it be, there is no country that wecannot penetrate.'#ar$an shook his head. 'No, 2octor,' he said, 'I shall !o alone. #hat is always my way. Alone Imay tra*el much more rapidly and when I am alone the &un!le holds no secrets from me + I shallbe able to obtain more information alon! the way than would be possible were I accompanied byothers. 5ou know the &un!le people consider me as one of themsel*es. #hey do not run awayfrom me as they would from you and other men.'

    '5ou know best,' said *on arben. 'I should like to accompany you. I should like to feel that I amdoin! my share, but if you say no I can only abide by your decision.''/eturn to your mission, 2octor, and wait there until you hear from me.''And in the mornin! you lea*e for the iramwa$i Mountains-' asked *on arben.'I lea*e at once,' said the ape + man.')ut it is already dark,' ob&ected *on arben.'#here is a full moon and I wish to take ad*anta!e of it,' explained the other. 'I can lie up in theheat of the day for what rest I need.' e turned and called Mu*iro to him. '/eturn home with mywarriors, Mu*iro,' he instructed, 'and hold e*ery fi!htin! man of the a$iri in readiness in thee*ent that I find it necessary to send for you.''5es, )wana,' replied Mu*iro6 'and how lon! shall we wait for a messa!e before we set out forthe iramwa$i Mountains in search of you-''I shall take Nkima with me and if I need you I shall send him back to fetch and to !uide you.'

    '5es, )wana,' replied Mu*iro. '#hey will be in readiness + all the fi!htin! men of the a$iri. #heirweapons will be at hand by day and by ni!ht and fresh war + paint will be ready in e*ery pot.'#ar$an swun! his bow and his "ui*er of arrows across his back. O*er his left shoulder and underhis ri!ht arm lay the coils of his !rass rope and at his hip dan!led the huntin! + knife of his lon! +dead sire. e picked up his short spear and stood for a moment with head up, sniffin! the bree$e.#he fireli!ht played upon his bron$ed skin.3or a moment he stood thus, e*ery sense alert. #hen he called to Nkima in the ton!ue of the apefolk and as the little monkey scampered toward him, #ar$an of the Apes turned without a word offarewell and mo*ed silently off into the &un!le, his lithe carria!e, his noiseless tread, his ma&esticmien su!!estin! to the mind of *on arben a personification of another mi!hty &un!le animal,Numa the lion, kin! of beasts.

    Chapter #wo.

    4/IC :ON A/)4N stepped from his tent upon the slopes of the iramwa$i Mountains to lookupon a deserted camp.hen he had first awakened, the unusual "uiet of his surroundin!s had aroused within him apresentiment of ill, which was au!mented when repeated calls for his body + ser*ant, 1abula,elicited no response.3or weeks, as the safari had been approachin! the precincts of the feared iramwa$i, his menhad been desertin! by twos and threes until the precedin! e*enin! when they had made thiscamp well upon the mountain slopes only a terrified remnant of the ori!inal safari had remainedwith him. Now e*en these, o*ercome durin! the ni!ht by the terrors of i!norance and superstition,had permitted fear to supplant loyalty and had fled from the impendin! and in*isible terrors of this

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    frownin! ran!e, lea*in! their master alone with the bloodthirsty spirits of the dead.A hasty sur*ey of the camp site re*ealed that the men had stripped *on arben of e*erythin!. Allof his supplies were !one and his !un carriers had decamped with his rifles and all of hisammunition, with the exception of a sin!le 7u!er pistol and its belt of ammunition that had been inthe tent with him.4rich *on arben had had sufficient experience with these nati*es to understand fairly well themental processes based upon their deep + rooted superstition that had led them to this seemin!lyinhuman and disloyal act and so he did not place so much blame upon them as mi!ht anotherless familiar with them.hile they had known their destination when they embarked upon the undertakin!, their coura!ehad been hi!h in direct proportion to the !reat distance that they had been from the iramwa$i,but in proportion as the distance lessened with each day%s march their coura!e had lessened untilnow upon the *ery threshold of horrors beyond the ken of human minds the last *esti!e of self +control had deserted them and they had fled precipitately.#hat they had taken his pro*isions, his rifles and his ammunition mi!ht ha*e seemed the depth ofbaseness had *on arben not reali$ed the sincerity of their belief that there could be no possiblehope for him and that his immediate death was a fore!one conclusion.e knew that they had reasoned that under the circumstances it would be a waste of food tolea*e it behind for a man who was already as !ood as dead when they would need it for theirreturn &ourney to their *illa!es, and likewise, as the weapons of mortal man could a*ail nothin!

    a!ainst the !hosts of iramwa$i, it would ha*e beeen a needless extra*a!ance to ha*esurrendered fine rifles and "uantities of ammunition that *on arben could not use a!ainst hisenemies of the spirit world.:on arben stood for some time lookin! down the mountain slope toward the forest, somewherein the depths of which his men were hastenin! toward their own country. #hat he mi!ht o*ertakethem was a possibility, but by no means a certainty, and if he did not he would be no better offalone in the &un!le than he would be on the slopes of the iramwa$i.e faced about and looked up toward the ru!!ed hei!hts abo*e him. e had come a lon! way toreach his !oal, which now lay somewhere &ust beyond that serrated skyline, and he was of nomind to turn back now in defeat. A day or a week in these ru!!ed mountains mi!ht re*eal thesecret of #he 7ost #ribe of le!end, and surely a month would be sufficient to determine beyond areasonable doubt that the story had no basis in fact, for *on arben belie*ed that in a month hecould fairly well explore such portions of the ran!e as mi!ht naturally lend themsel*es to human

    habitation, where he hoped at best to find relics of the fabled tribe in the form of ruins or burialmounds. 3or to a man of *on arben%s trainin! and intelli!ence there could be no thou!ht that#he 7ost #ribe of le!end, if it had e*er existed, could be anythin! more than a *a!ue memorysurroundin! a few moldy artifacts and some crumblin! bones.It did not take the youn! man lon! to reach a decision and presently he turned back to his tentand, enterin! it, packed a few necessities that had been left to him in a li!ht ha*ersack, strappedhis ammunition belt about him, and stepped forth once more to turn his face upward toward themystery of the iramwa$i.In addition to his 7u!er, *on arben carried a huntin! + knife and with this he presently cut a stoutstaff from one of the small trees that !rew sparsely upon the mountainside a!ainst the time whenhe mi!ht find an alpenstock indispensable.

    A mountain rill furnished him pure, cold water to "uench his thirst, and he carried his pistolcocked, hopin! that he mi!ht ba! some small !ame to satisfy his hun!er. Nor had he !one far

    before a hare broke co*er, and as it rolled o*er to the crack of the 7u!er, *on arben !a*e thanksthat he had de*oted much time to perfectin! himself in the use of small arms.On the spot he built a fire and !rilled the hare, after which he lit his pipe and lay at ease while hesmoked and planned. is was not a temperament to be depressed or discoura!ed by seemin!re*erses, and he was determined not to be hurried by excitement, but to conser*e his stren!th atall times durin! the strenuous days that he felt must lie ahead of him.

    All day he climbed, choosin! the lon! way when it seemed safer, exercisin! all the lore ofmountain + climbin! that he had accumulated, and restin! often. Ni!ht o*ertook him well uptoward the summit of the hi!hest rid!e that had been *isible from the base of the ran!e. hat laybehind, he could not e*en !uess, but experience su!!ested that he would find other rid!es and

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    frownin! peaks before him.e had brou!ht a blanket with him from the last camp and in this he rolled up on the !round.3rom below there came the noises of the &un!le subdued by distance + the yappin! of &ackals andfaintly from afar the roarin! of a lion.#oward mornin! he was awakened by the scream of a leopard, not from the &un!le far below, butsomewhere upon the mountain slopes near by. e knew that this sa*a!e ni!ht prowlerconstituted a real menace, perhaps the !reatest he would ha*e to face, and he re!retted the lossof his hea*y rifle.e was not afraid, for he knew that after all there was little likelihood that the leopard was huntin!him or that it would attack him, but there was always that chance and so to !uard a!ainst it hestarted a fire of dry wood that he had !athered for the purpose the ni!ht before. e found thewarmth of the bla$e welcome, for the ni!ht had !rown cold, and he sat for some time warmin!himself.Once he thou!ht he heard an animal mo*in! in the darkness beyond the ran!e of the fireli!ht, buthe saw no shinin! eyes and the sound was not repeated. And then he must ha*e slept, for thenext thin! that he knew it was dayli!ht and only embers remained to mark where the beast firehad bla$ed.Cold and without breakfast, *on arben continued the ascent from his cheerless camp, his eyes,under the constant ur!in! of his stomach, always alert for food. #he terrain offered few obstaclesto an experienced mountain climber, and he e*en for!ot his hun!er in the thrill of expectancy with

    which he anticipated the possibilities hidden by the rid!e whose summit now lay but a shortdistance ahead of him.It is the summit of the next rid!e that e*er lures the explorer onward. hat new si!hts lie &ustbeyond- hat mysteries will its achie*ement un*eil to the ea!er eyes of the ad*enturer-9ud!ment and experience &oined forces to assure him that when his eyes surmounted the rid!eahead they would be rewarded with nothin! more startlin! than another similar rid!e to bene!otiated6 yet there was always that other hope han!in! like a shinin! beacon &ust below thenext hori$on, abo*e which the rays of its hidden li!ht ser*ed to illuminate the fi!ments of hisdesire, and his ima!ination transformed the fi!ments into realities.:on arben, sane and phle!matic as he was, was now keyed to the hi!hest pitch of excitementas he at last scaled the final barrier and stood upon the crest of the rid!e. )efore him stretched arollin! plateau, dotted with stunted wind + swept trees, and in the distance lay the next rid!e thathe had anticipated, but indistinct and impurpled by the ha$e of distance. hat lay between him

    and those far hills- is pulse "uickened at the thou!ht of the possibilities for exploration anddisco*ery that lay before him, for the terrain that he looked upon was entirely different from whathe had anticipated. No lofty peaks were *isible except in the far distance, and between him andthem there must lie intri!uin! ra*ines and *alleys + *ir!in fields at the feet of the explorer.4a!erly, entirely for!etful of his hun!er or his solitude, *on arben mo*ed northward across theplateau. #he land was !ently rollin!, rock + strewn, sterile, and uninterestin!, and when he hadco*ered a mile of it he commenced to ha*e mis!i*in!s, for if it continued on without chan!e to thedim hills in the distance, as it now seemed was "uite likely the case, it could offer him neitherinterest nor sustenance.

    As these thou!hts were commencin! to oppress him, he became suddenly conscious of a *a!uechan!e in the appearance of the terrain ahead. It was only an impression of unreality. #he hills faraway before him seemed to rise out of a !reat *oid, and it was as thou!h between him and themthere existed nothin!. e mi!ht ha*e been lookin! across an inland sea to distant, ha$y shores +

    a waterless sea, for nowhere was there any su!!estion of water + and then suddenly he came toa halt, startled, ama$ed. #he lollin! plateau ceased abruptly at his feet, and below him, stretchin!far to the distant hills, lay a !reat abyss + a mi!hty canyon similar to that which has made the!or!e of the Colorado world + famous.)ut here there was a marked difference. #here were indications of erosion. #he !rim walls werescarred and water + worn. #owers and turrets and minarets, car*ed from the nati*e !ranite,pointed upward from below, but they clun! close to the canyon%s wall, and &ust beyond them hecould see the broad expanse of the floor of the canyon, which from his !reat hei!ht abo*e itappeared as le*el as a billiard table. #he scene held him in a hypnosis of wonderment andadmiration as, at first swiftly and then slowly, his eyes encompassed the whole astoundin! scene.

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    erhaps a mile below him lay the floor of the sunken canyon, the further wall of which he couldbut *a!uely estimate to be somewhere between fifteen and twenty miles to the north, and this hereali$ed was the lesser dimension of the canyon. 8pon his ri!ht, to the east, and upon his left, tothe west, he could see that the canyon extended to considerable distances + &ust how far he couldnot !uess. e thou!ht that to the east he could trace the wall that hemmed it upon that side, butfrom where he stood the entire extent of the canyon to the west was not *isible, yet he knew thatthe floor that was *isible to him must stretch fully twenty + fi*e or thirty miles from east to west

    Almost below him was a lar!e lake or marsh that seemed to occupy the !reater part of the eastend of the canyon. e could see lanes of water windin! throu!h what appeared to be !reat!rowths of reeds and, nearer the northern shore, a lar!e island. #hree streams, windin! ribbonsfar below, emptied into the lake, and in the far distance was another ribbon that mi!ht be a road.#o the west the canyon was hea*ily wooded, and between the forest and the lake he saw mo*in!fi!ures of what he thou!ht to be !ra$in! !ame.#he si!ht below him aroused the enthusiasm of the explorer to its hi!hest pitch. ere, doubtless,lay the secret of #he 7ost #ribe of the iramwa$i and how well Nature had !uarded this secretwith stupendous barrier cliffs, aided by the superstitions of the i!norant inhabitants of the outerslopes, was now easily understandable.

    As far as he could see, the cliffs seemed sheer and impossible of descent, and yet he knew thathe must find a way + that he would find a way down into that *alley of enchantment.Mo*in! slowly alon! the rim he sou!ht some foothold, howe*er sli!ht, where Nature had lowered

    her !uard, but it was almost ni!ht and he had co*ered but a short distance before he found e*ena su!!estion of hope that the canyon was hemmed at any point by other than unbroken cliffs,whose perpendicular faces rose at their lowest point fully a thousand feet abo*e any possiblefoothold for a human bein!.#he sun had already set when he disco*ered a narrow fissure in the !ranite wall. Crumbledfra!ments of the mother rock had fallen into and partially filled it so that near the surface, at least,it offered a means of descent below the le*el of the cliff top, but in the !atherin! darkness hecould not determine how far downward this rou!h and precarious pathway led.e could see that below him the cliffs rose in terraced battlements to within a thousand feet ofwhere he stood, and if the narrow fissure extended to the next terrace below him, he felt that theobstacles thereafter would present fewer difficulties than those that had baffled him up to thepresent time + for while he would still ha*e some four thousand feet to descend, the formation ofthe cliffs was much more broken at the foot of the first sheer drop and conse"uently mi!ht be

    expected to offer some a*enues of descent of which an experienced mountain climber could takead*anta!e.un!ry and cold, he sat beneath the descendin! ni!ht, !a$in! down into the blackenin! *oidbelow. resently, as the darkness deepened, he saw a li!ht twinklin! far below and then anotherand another and with each his excitement rose, for he knew that they marked the presence ofman. In many places upon the marsh+like lake he saw the fires twinklin!, and at a point which hetook to mark the site of the island there were many li!hts.hat sort of men were they who tended these fires- ould he find them friendly or hostile- erethey but another tribe of Africans, or could it be that the old le!end was based upon truth and thatfar below him white men of #he 7ost #ribe cooked their e*enin! meals abo*e those tantali$in!fires of mystery-hat was that- :on arben strained his ears to catch the faint su!!estion of a sound that aroseout of the shadowy abyss below + a faint, thin sound that barely reached his ears, but he was sure

    that he could not be mistaken + the sound was the *oices of men.And now from out of the *alley came the scream of a beast and a!ain a roar that rumbled upwardlike distant thunder. #o the music of these sounds, *on arben finally succumbed to exhaustion6sleep for the moment offerin! him relief from cold and hun!er.hen mornin! came he !athered wood from the stunted trees near by and built a fire to warmhimself. e had no food, nor all the pre*ious day since he had reached the summit had he seenany si!n of a li*in! creature other than the !ame a mile beneath him on the *erdant meadows ofthe canyon bottom.e knew that he must ha*e food and ha*e it soon and food lay but a mile away in one direction. Ifhe sou!ht to circle the canyon in search of an easier a*enue of descent, he knew that he mi!ht

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    not find one in the hundred miles or more that he must tra*el. Of course he mi!ht turn back. ewas sure that he could reach the base of the outer slopes of the iramwa$i, where he knew that!ame mi!ht be found before exhaustion o*ercame him, but he had no mind to turn back and thethou!ht of failure was only a *a!ue su!!estion that scarcely e*er rose abo*e the threshold of hisconscious mind.a*in! warmed himself before the fire, he turned to examine the fissure by the full li!ht of day. Ashe stood upon its brink he could see that it extended downward for se*eral hundred feet, butthere it disappeared. owe*er, he was by no means sure that it ended, since it was not a *erticalcleft, but tilted sli!htly from the perpendicular.3rom where he stood he could see that there were places in the fissure where descent would be

    &ust possible, thou!h it mi!ht be *ery difficult to reascend. e knew, therefore, that should hereach the bottom of the fissure and find that further descent was impossible he would be cau!htin a trap from which there mi!ht be no escape.

    Althou!h he felt as fit and stron! as e*er, he reali$ed perfectly that the contrary was the fact andthat his stren!th must be ebbin! and that it would continue to ebb still more rapidly the lon!er thathe was forced to expend it in arduous efforts to descend the cliff and without any possibility ofrebuildin! it with food.4*en to 4rich *on arben, youn!, self + confident and enthusiastic, his next step seemed littlebetter than suicidal. #o another the mere idea of attemptin! the descent of these towerin! cliffswould ha*e seemed madness, but in other mountains *on arben had always found a way, and

    with this thin thread upon which to han! his hopes he faced the descent into the unknown. Nowhe was &ust about to lower himself o*er the ed!e of the fissure when he heard the sounds offootsteps behind him. heelin! "uickly, he drew his 7u!er.

    Chapter #hree.7I##74 NKIMA came racin! throu!h the tree tops, &abberin! excitedly, and dropped to the knee of#ar$an of the Apes where the latter lay stretched upon the !reat branch of a &un!le !iant, his backa!ainst the rou!h bole, where he was lyin! up after makin! a kill and feedin!.'1oman!ani0 1oman!ani0' shrilled Nkima. '#hey come0 #hey come0''eace,' said #ar$an. '5ou are a !reater nuisance than all the 1oman!ani in the &un!le.''#hey will kill little Nkima,' cried the monkey. '#hey are stran!e 1oman!ani, and there are no#arman!ani amon! them.''Nkima thinks e*erythin! wants to kill him,' said #ar$an, 'and yet he has li*ed many years and is

    not dead yet.''(abor and (hetta and Numa, the 1oman!ani, had istah the snake like to eat poor little Nkima,'walled the monkey. '#hat is why he is afraid.''2o not fear, Nkima,' said the ape + man. '#ar$an will let no one hurt you.''1o and see the 1oman!ani,' ur!ed Nkima. '1o and kill them. Nkima does not like the1oman!ani.'#ar$an arose leisurely. 'I !o,' he said. 'Nkima may come or he may hide in the upper terraces.''Nkima is not afraid,' blustered the little monkey. 'e will !o and fi!ht the 1oman!ani with #ar$anof the Apes,' and he leaped to the back of the ape + man and clun! there with his arms about thebron$ed throat, from which point of *anta!e he peered fearfully ahead, first o*er the top of onebroad shoulder and then o*er the top of the other.#ar$an swun! swiftly and "uietly throu!h the trees toward a point where Nkima had disco*eredthe 1oman!ani, and presently he saw below him some score of nati*es stra!!lin! alon! the

    &un!le trail. A few of them were armed with rifles and all carried packs of *arious si$es + suchpacks as #ar$an knew must belon! to the e"uipment of a white man.#he 7ord of the 9un!le hailed them and, startled, the men halted, lookin! up fearfully.'I am #ar$an of the Apes. 2o not be afraid,' #ar$an reassured them, and simultaneously hedropped li!htly to the trail amon! them, but as he did so Nkima leaped frantically from hisshoulders and scampered swiftly to a hi!h branch far abo*e, where he sat chatterin! andscoldin!, entirely for!etful of his *ain boastin! of a few moments before.'here is your master-' demanded #ar$an.#he Africans looked sullenly at the !round, but did not reply.'here is the )wana, *on arben-' #ar$an insisted.

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    A tall man standin! near fid!eted uneasily. 'e is dead,' he mumbled.'ow did he die-' asked #ar$an.

    A!ain the man hesitated before replyin!. 'A bull elephant that he had wounded killed him,' hesaid at last.'here is his body-''e could not find it.''#hen how do you know that he was killed by a bull elephant-' demanded the ape + man.'e do not know,' another spoke up. 'e went away from camp and did not return.''#here was an elephant about and we thou!ht that it had killed him,' said the tall man.'5ou are not speakin! true words,' said #ar$an.'I shall tell you the truth,' said a third. 'Our )wana ascended the slopes of the iramwa$i and thespirits of the dead bein! an!ry sei$ed him and carried him away.''I shall tell you the truth,' said #ar$an. '5ou ha*e deserted your master and run away, lea*in! himalone in the forest.''e were afraid,' the man replied. 'e warned him not to ascend the slopes of the iramwa$i.e be!!ed him to turn back. e would not listen to us, and the spirits of the dead carried himaway.''ow lon! a!o was that-' asked the ape + man.'(ix, se*en, perhaps ten marchin!s. I do not remember.''here was he when you last saw him-'

    As accurately as they could the men described the location of their last camp upon the slopes ofthe iramwa$i.'1o your way back to your own *illa!es in the 8rambi country. I shall know where to find you if Iwant you. If your )wana is dead, you shall be punished,' and swin!in! into the branches of thelower terrace, #ar$an disappeared from the si!ht of the unhappy nati*es in the direction of theiramwa$i, while Nkima, screamin! shrilly, raced throu!h the trees to o*ertake him.3rom his con*ersation with the desertin! members of *on arben%s safari, #ar$an was con*incedthat the youn! man had been traitorously abandoned and that in all likelihood he was makin! hisway alone back upon the trail of the deserters.Not knowin! 4rich *on arben, #ar$an could not ha*e !uessed that the youn! man would pushon alone into the unknown and forbiddin! depths of the iramwa$i, but assumed on the contrarythat he would adopt the more prudent alternati*e and seek to o*ertake his men as rapidly aspossible. )elie*in! this, the ape + man followed back alon! the trail of the safari, expectin!

    momentarily to meet *on arben.#his plan !reatly reduced his speed, but e*en so he tra*eled with so much !reater rapidity thanthe nati*es that he came to the slopes of the iramwa$i upon the third day after he hadinter*iewed the remnants of *on arben%s safari.It was with !reat difficulty that he finally located the point at which *on arben had beenabandoned by his men, as a hea*y rain and wind + storm had obliterated the trail, but at last hestumbled upon the tent, which had blown down, but nowhere could he see any si!ns of *onarben%s trail.Not ha*in! come upon any si!ns of the white man in the &un!le or any indication that he hadfollowed his fleein! safari, #ar$an was forced to the conclusion that if *on arben was not indeeddead he must ha*e faced the dan!ers of the unknown alone and now be either dead or ali*esomewhere within the mysterious fastnesses of the iramwa$i.'Nkima,' said the ape + man, 'the #arman!ani ha*e a sayin! that when it is futile to search for a

    thin!, it is like huntin! for a needle in a haystack. 2o you belie*e, Nkima, that in this !reatmountain ran!e we shall find our needle-''7et us !o home,' said Nkima, 'where it is warm. ere the wind blows and up there it is colder. Itis no place for little Manu, the monkey.''Ne*ertheless, Nkima, there is where we are !oin!.'#he monkey looked up toward the frownin! hei!hts abo*e. '7ittle Nkima is afraid,' he said. 'It is insuch places that (heeta, the panther, lairs.'

    Ascendin! dia!onally and in a westerly direction in the hope of crossin! *on arben%s trail, #ar$anmo*ed constantly in the opposite direction from that taken by the man he sou!ht. It was hisintention, howe*er, when he reached the summit, if he had in the meantime found no trace of *on

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    arben, to turn directly eastward and search at a hi!her altitude in the opposite direction. As heproceeded, the slope became steeper and more ru!!ed until at one point near the western end ofthe mountain mass he encountered an almost perpendicular barrier hi!h up on the mountainsidealon! the base of which he picked his precarious way amon! loose boulders that had fallen fromabo*e. 8nderbrush and stunted trees extended at different points from the forest below "uite upto the base of the *ertical escarpment.(o en!rossed was the ape + man in the dan!erous business of pickin! his way alon! themountainside that he !a*e little heed to anythin! beyond the necessities of the trail and hisconstant search for the spoor of *on arben, and so he did not see the little !roup of warriors thatwere !a$in! up at him from the shelter of a clump of trees far down the slope, nor did Nkima,usually as alert as his master, ha*e eyes or ears for anythin! beyond the immediate exi!encies ofthe trail. Nkima was unhappy. #he wind blew and Nkima did not like the wind. All about him hesmelled the spoor of (heeta, the panther, while he considered the paucity and stunted nature ofthe few trees alon! the way that his master had chosen. 3rom time to time he noted, with sinkin!heart, led!es &ust abo*e them from which (heeta mi!ht sprin! down upon them6 and the way wasa way of terror for little Nkima.Now they had come to a particularly precarious point upon the mountainside. A sheer cliff roseabo*e them on their ri!ht and at their left the mountainside fell away so steeply that as #ar$anad*anced his body was pressed closely a!ainst the !ranite face of the cliff as he sou!ht afoothold upon the led!e of loose rubble. 9ust ahead of them the cliff shouldered out boldly a!ainst

    the distant skies. erhaps beyond that clear + cut corner the !oin! mi!ht be better. If it shouldde*elop that it was worse, #ar$an reali$ed that he must turn back.

    At the turn where the footin! was narrowest a stone !a*e beneath #ar$an%s foot, throwin! him offhis balance for an instant and at that same instant Nkima, thinkin! that #ar$an was fallin!,shrieked and leaped from his shoulder, !i*in! the ape + man%s body &ust the impetus that wasre"uired to o*erbalance it entirely.#he mountainside below was steep, thou!h not perpendicular, and if Nkima had not pushed theape + man outward he doubtless would ha*e slid but a short distance before bein! able to stay hisfall, but as it was he lun!ed headforemost down the embankment, rollin! and tumblin! for a shortdistance o*er the loose rock until his body was brou!ht to a stop by one of the many stuntedtrees that clun! tenaciously to the wind + swept slope.#errified, Nkima scampered to his master%s side. e screamed and chattered in his ear and pulledand tu!!ed upon him in an effort to raise him, but the ape + man lay motionless, a tiny stream of

    blood tricklin! from a cut on his temple into his shock of black hair.As Nkima mourned, the warriors, who had been watchin! them from below, clambered "uickly upthe mountainside toward him and his helpless master.

    Chapter 3our.As 4rich *on arben turned to face the thin! that he had heard approachin! behind him, he sawa Ne!ro armed with a rifle comin! toward him.'1abula0' exclaimed the white man, lowerin! his weapon. 'hat are you doin! here-'')wana,' said the warrior, 'I could not desert you. I could not lea*e you to die alone at the handsof the spirits that dwell upon these mountains.':on arben eyed him incredulously. ')ut if you belie*e that, 1abula, are you not afraid that theywill kill you, too-''I expect to die, )wana,' replied 1abula. 'I cannot understand why you were not killed the first

    ni!ht or the second ni!ht. e shall both surely be killed toni!ht.''And yet you followed me0 hy-''5ou ha*e been kind to me, )wana,' replied the man. '5our father has been kind to me. hen theothers talked they filled me with fear and when they ran away I went with them, but I ha*e comeback. #here was nothin! else that I could do, was there-''No, 1abula. 3or you or for me there would ha*e been nothin! else to do, as we see such thin!s,but as the others saw them they found another thin! to do and they did it.''1abula is not as the others,' said the man, proudly. '1abula is a )atoro.''1abula is a bra*e warrior,' said *on arben. 'I do not belie*e in spirits and so there was noreason why I should be afraid, but you and all your people do belie*e in them and so it was a *ery

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    bra*e thin! for you to come back, but I shall not hold you. 5ou may return, 1abula, with theothers.''5es-' 1abula exclaimed ea!erly. '#he )wana is !oin! back- #hat will be !ood. 1abula will !oback with him.''No, I am !oin! down into that canyon,' said *on arben, pointin! o*er the rim.1abula looked down, surprise and wonder reflected by his wide eyes and parted lips.')ut, )wana, e*en if a human bein! could find a way down these steep cliffs, where there is noplace for either hand or foot, he would surely be killed the moment he reached the bottom, for thisindeed must be the 7and of #he 7ost #ribe where the spirits of the dead li*e in the heart of theiramwa$i.''5ou do not need to come with me, 1abula,' said *on arben. '1o back to your people.''ow are you !oin! to !et down there-' demanded the Ne!ro.'I do not know &ust how, or where, or when. Now I am !oin! to descend as far alon! this fissureas I can !o. erhaps I shall find my way down here, perhaps not.'')ut suppose there is no foothold beyond the fissure-' asked 1abula.'I shall ha*e to find footin!.'1abula shook his head. 'And if you reach the bottom, )wana, and you are ri!ht about the spiritsand there are none or they do not kill you, how will you !et out a!ain-':on arben shru!!ed his shoulders and smiled. #hen he extended his hand. '1oodby, 1abula,'he said. '5ou are a bra*e man.'

    1abula did not take the offered hand of his master. 'I am !oin! with you,' he said, simply.'4*en thou!h you reali$e that should we reach the bottom ali*e we may ne*er be able to return-''5es.''I cannot understand you, 1abula. 5ou are afraid and I know that you wish to return to the *illa!eof your people. #hen why do you insist on comin! with me when I !i*e you lea*e to returnhome-''I ha*e sworn to ser*e you, )wana, and I am a )atoro,' replied 1abula.'And I can only thank the 7ord that you are a )atoro,' said *on arben, 'for the 7ord knows that Ishall need help before I reach the bottom of this canyon, and we must reach it, 1abula, unless weare content to die by star*ation.''I ha*e brou!ht food,' said 1abula. 'I knew that you mi!ht be hun!ry and I brou!ht some of thefood that you like,' and, unrollin! the small pack that he carried, he displayed se*eral bars ofchocolate and a few packa!es of concentrated food that *on arben had included amon! his

    supplies in the e*ent of an emer!ency.#o the famished *on arben, the food was like manna to the Israelites, and he lost no time intakin! ad*anta!e of 1abula%s thou!htfulness. #he sharp ed!e of his hun!er remo*ed, *on arbenexperienced a feelin! of renewed stren!th and hopefulness, and it was with a li!ht heart and abuoyant optimism that he commenced the descent into the canyon.1abula%s ancestry, stretchin! back throu!h countless !enerations of &un!le + dwellin! people, lefthim appalled as he contemplated the fri!htful abyss into which his master was leadin! him, but sodeeply had he in*ol*ed himself by his protestations of loyalty and tribal pride that he followed *onarben with no outward show of the real terror that was consumin! him.#he descent throu!h the fissure was less difficult than it had appeared from abo*e. #he tumbledrocks that had partially filled it !a*e more than sufficient footin! and in only a few places wasassistance re"uired, and it was at these times that *on arben reali$ed how fortunate for him hadbeen 1abula%s return.

    hen at last they reached the bottom of the cleft they found themsel*es, at its outer openin!,flush with the face of the cliff and se*eral hundred feet below the rim. #his was the point beyondwhich *on arben had been unable to see and which he had been approachin! with deepanxiety, since there was e*ery likelihood that the conditions here mi!ht put a period to theirfurther descent alon! this route.Creepin! o*er the loose rubble in the bottom of the fissure to its outer ed!e, *on arbendisco*ered a sheer drop of a hundred feet to the le*el of the next terrace and his heart sank. #oreturn the way they had come was, he feared, a feat beyond their stren!th and in!enuity, for therehad been places down which one had lowered the other only with the !reatest difficulty, whichwould be practically unscalable on the return &ourney.

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    It bein! impossible to ascend and as star*ation surely faced them where they were, there was butone alternati*e. :on arben lay upon his belly, his eyes at the outer ed!e of the fissure, and,instructin! 1abula to hold ti!htly to his ankles, he wormed himself forward until he could scan theentire face of the cliff below him to the le*el of the next terrace.

    A few feet from the le*el on which he lay he saw that the fissure lay open a!ain to the base of thecliff, its stoppa!e at the point where they were ha*in! been caused by a lar!e fra!ment of rockthat had wed!ed securely between the sides of the fissure, entirely chokin! it at this point.#he fissure, which had narrowed considerably since they had entered it at the summit, was notmore than two or three feet wide directly beneath the rock on which he lay and extended with little*ariation at this width the remainin! hundred feet to the comparati*ely le*el !round below.If he and 1abula could but !et into this cre*ice he knew that they could easily brace themsel*esa!ainst its sides in such a way as to descend safely the remainin! distance, but how with themeans at hand were they to climb o*er the ed!e of the rock that blocked the fissure and crawlback into the fissure a!ain se*eral feet farther down-:on arben lowered his crude alpenstock o*er the ed!e of the rock fra!ment. hen he extendedhis arms at full len!th the tip of the rod fell considerably below the bottom of the rock on which helay. A man han!in! at the end of the alpenstock mi!ht concei*ably swin! into the fissure, but hwould necessitate a feat of acrobatics far beyond the powers of either himself or 1abula.

    A rope would ha*e sol*ed their problem, but they had no rope. ith a si!h, *on arben drewback when his examination of the fissure con*inced him that he must find another way, but he

    was totally at a loss to ima!ine in what direction to look for a solution.1abula crouched back in the fissure, terrified by the anticipation of what *on arben%s attemptedexploration had su!!ested. #he *ery thou!ht of e*en lookin! out o*er the ed!e of that rockbeyond the face of the cliff left 1abula cold and half paraly$ed, while the thou!ht that he mi!htha*e to follow *on arben bodily o*er the ed!e threw the Ne!ro into a fit of tremblin!6 yet had*on arben !one o*er the ed!e 1abula would ha*e followed him.#he white man sat for a lon! time buried in thou!ht. #ime and a!ain his eyes examined e*erydetail of the formation of the fissure within the ran!e of his *ision. A!ain and a!ain they returnedto the hu!e fra!ment upon which they sat, which was securely wed!ed between the fissure%ssides. ith this out of the way he felt that they could make unimpeded pro!ress to the nextterrace, but he knew that nothin! short of a char!e of dynamite could bud!e the hea*y !raniteslab. 2irectly behind it were loose fra!ments of *arious si$es, and as his eyes returned to themonce a!ain he was struck with the possibility that they su!!ested.

    'Come, 1abula,' he said. 'elp me throw out some of these rocks. #his seems to be our onlypossible hope of escapin! from the trap that I ha*e !ot us into.''5es, )wana,' replied 1abula, and fell to work beside *on arben, thou!h he could notunderstand why they should be pickin! up these stones, some of which were *ery hea*y, andpushin! them out o*er the ed!e of the flat fra!ment that clo!!ed the fissure.e heard them crash hea*ily where they struck the rocks below and this interested andfascinated him to such an extent that he worked fe*erishly to loosen the lar!er blocks of stone forthe added pleasure he deri*ed from hearin! the loud noise that they made when they struck.'It be!ins to look,' said *on arben, after a few minutes, 'as thou!h we may be !oin! to succeed,unless by remo*in! these rocks here we cause some of those abo*e to slide down and thusloosen the whole mass abo*e us + in which e*ent, 1abula, the mystery of #he 7ost #ribe willcease to interest us lon!er.''5es, )wana,' said 1abula, and liftin! an unusually lar!e rock he started to roll it toward the ed!e

    of the fissure. '7ook0 7ook, )wana0' he exclaimed, pointin! at the place where the rock had lain.:on arben looked and saw an openin! about the si$e of a man%s head extendin! into the fissurebeneath them.'#hank Nsenene, the !rasshopper, 1abula,' cried the white man, 'if that is the totem of your clan+ for here indeed is a way to sal*ation.'urriedly the two men set to work to enlar!e the hole by throwin! out other fra!ments that hadlon! been wed!ed in to!ether to close the fissure at this point, and as the fra!ments clattereddown upon the rocks below, a tall, strai!ht warrior standin! in the bow of a du!out upon themarshy lake far below looked up and called the attention of his comrades.#hey could plainly hear the re*erberations of the fallin! fra!ments as they struck the rocks at the

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    foot of the fissure and, keen + eyed, they could see many of the lar!er pieces that *on arbenand 1abula tossed downward.'#he !reat wall is fallin!,' said the warrior.'A few pebbles,' said another. 'It is nothin!.''(uch thin!s do not happen except after rains,' said the first speaker. 'It is thus that it isprophesied that the !reat wall will fall.''erhaps it is a demon who li*es in the !reat rift in the wall,' said another. '7et us hasten and tellthe masters.''7et us wait and watch,' said the first speaker, 'until we ha*e somethin! to tell them. If we wentand told them that a few rocks had fallen from the !reat wall they would only lau!h at us.':on arben and 1abula had increased the si$e of the openin! until it was lar!e enou!h to permitthe passa!e of a man%s body. #hrou!h it the white man could see the rou!h sides of the fissureextendin! to the le*el of the next terrace and knew that the next sta!e of the descent was alreadyas !ood as an accomplished fact.'e shall descend one at a time, 1abula,' said *on arben. 'I shall !o first, for I am accustomedto this sort of climbin!. atch carefully so that you may descend exactly as I do. It is easy andthere is no dan!er. )e sure that you keep your back braced a!ainst one wall and your feeta!ainst the other. e shall lose some hide in the descent, for the walls are rou!h, but we shall!et down safely enou!h if we take it slowly.''5es, )wana. 5ou !o first,' said 1abula. 'If I see you do it then, perhaps, I can do it.'

    :on arben lowered himself throu!h the aperture, braced himself securely a!ainst the oppositewalls of the fissure, and started slowly downward. A few minutes later 1abula saw his masterstandin! safely at the bottom, and thou!h his heart was in his mouth the Ne!ro followed withouthesitation, but when he stood at last beside *on arben he breathed such a loud si!h of reliefthat *on arben was forced to lau!h aloud.'It is the demon himself,' said the warrior in the du!out, as *on arben had stepped from thefissure.3rom where the du!out of the watchers floated, half concealed by lofty papyrus, the terrace at thebase of the fissure was &ust *isible. #hey saw *on arben emer!e and a few moments later thefi!ure of 1abula.'Now, indeed,' said one of the men, 'we should hasten and tell the masters.''No,' said the first speaker. '#hose two may be demons, but they look like men and we shall waituntil we know what they are and why they are here before we !o away.'

    3or a thousand feet the descent from the base of the fissure was far from difficult, a rou!h slopeleadin! in an easterly direction down toward the canyon bottom. 2urin! the descent their *iew ofthe lake and of the canyon was often completely shut off by masses of weather + worn !ranitearound which they sometimes had difficulty in findin! a way. As a rule the easiest descent laybetween these towerin! fra!ments of the main body of the cliff, and at such times as the *alleywas hidden from them so were they hidden from the watchers on the lake.

    A third of the way down the escarpment *on arben came to the *er!e of a narrow !or!e, thebottom of which was densely banked with !reen, the folia!e of trees !rowin! luxuriantly, pointin!un"uestionably to the presence of water in abundance. 7eadin! the way, *on arben descendedinto the !or!e, at the bottom of which he found a sprin! from which a little stream trickleddownward. ere they "uenched their thirst and rested. #hen, followin! the stream down + ward,they disco*ered no obstacles that mi!ht not be easily surmounted.3or a lon! time, hemmed in by the walls of the narrow !or!e and their *iew further circumscribed

    by the forest+like !rowth alon! the banks of the stream, they had no si!ht of the lake or thecanyon bottom, but, finally, when the !or!e debouched upon the lower slopes *on arben haltedin admiration of the landscape spread out before him. 2irectly below, another stream entered thatalon! which they had descended, formin! a little ri*er that dropped steeply to what appeared tobe *i*id !reen meadow land throu!h which it wound tortuously to the !reat swamp that extendedout across the *alley for perhaps ten miles.(o choked was the lake with some feathery + tipped a"uatic plant that *on arben could only!uess as to its extent, since the !reen of the water plant and the !reen of the surroundin!meadows blended into one another, but here and there he saw si!ns of open water that appearedlike windin! lanes or passa!es leadin! in all directions throu!hout the marsh.

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    As *on arben and 1abula stood lookin! out across this ;to them< new and mysterious world, thewarriors in the du!out watched them attenti*ely. #he stran!ers were still so far away that the menwere unable to identify them, but their leader assured them that these two were no demons.'ow do you know that they are not demons-' demanded one of these fellows.'I can see that they are men,' replied the other.'2emons are *ery wise and *ery powerful,' insisted the doubter. '#hey may take any form theychoose. #hey mi!ht come as birds or animals or men.''#hey are not fools,' snapped the leader. 'If a demon wished to descend the !reat wall he wouldnot choose the hardest way. e would take the form of a bird and fly down.'#he other scratched his head in perplexity, for he reali$ed that here was an ar!ument that wouldbe difficult to contro*ert. 3or want of anythin! better to say, he su!!ested that they !o at once andreport the matter to their masters.'No,' said the leader. 'e shall remain here until they come closer. It will be better for us if wecan take them with us and show them to our masters.'#he first few steps that *on arben took onto the !rassy meadow land re*ealed the fact that itwas a dan!erous swamp from which only with the !reatest difficulty were they able to extricatethemsel*es.3lounderin! back to solid !round, *on arben reconnoitered in search of some other a*enue tomore solid !round on the floor of the canyon, but he found that upon both sides of the ri*er theswamp extended to the foot of the lowest terrace of the cliff, and low as these were in comparison

    to their lofty fellows towerin! far abo*e them, they were still impassable barriers.ossibly by reascendin! the !or!e he mi!ht find an a*enue to more solid !round toward the west,but as he had no actual assurance of this and as both he and 1abula were well+ni!h exhaustedfrom the physical strain of the descent, he preferred to find an easier way to the lake shore if itwere possible.e saw that while the ri*er at this point was not swift, the current was rapid enou!h to su!!estthat the bottom mi!ht be sufficiently free from mud to make it possible for them to utili$e it as ana*enue to the lake, if it were not too deep.#o test the feasibility of the idea, be lowered himself into the water, holdin! to one end of hisalpenstock, while 1abula sei$ed the other. e found that the water came to his waist + line andthat the bottom was firm and solid.'Come on, 1abula. #his is our way to the lake, I !uess,' he said.

    As 1abula slipped into the water behind his master, the du!out containin! the warriors pushed

    silently alon! the watery lane amon! the papyrus and with silent paddles was ur!ed swiftlytoward the mouth of the stream where it emptied into the lake.

    As *on arben and 1abula descended the stream they found that the depth of the water did not!reatly increase. Once or twice they stumbled into deeper holes and were forced to swim, but inother places the water shallowed until it was only to their knees, and thus they made their waydown to the lake at the *er!e of which their *iew was shut off by clumps of papyrus risin! twel*eor fifteen feet abo*e the surface of the water.'It be!ins to look,' said *on arben, 'as thou!h there is no solid !round alon! the shore line, butthe roots of the papyus will hold us and if we can make our way to the west end of the lake I amsure that we shall find solid !round, for I am positi*e that I saw hi!her land there as we weredescendin! the cliff.'3eelin! their way cautiously alon!, they came at last to the first clump of papyrus and &ust as *onarben was about to clamber to the solid footin! of the roots, a canoe shot from behind the mass

    of floatin! plants and the two men found themsel*es co*ered by the weapons of a boatload ofwarriors.

    Chapter 3i*e.78K42I, the )a!e!o, carried a !ourd of milk to a hut in the *illa!e of his people on the lowerslopes at the west end of the iramwa$i ran!e.#wo stalwart spearmen stood !uard at the doorway of the hut. 'Nyuto has sent me with milk forthe prisoner,' said 7ukedi. 'as his spirit returned to him-''1o in and see,' directed one of the sentries.7ukedi entered the hut and in the dim li!ht saw the fi!ure of a !iant white man sittin! upon the dirt

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    floor !a$in! at him. #he man%s wrists were bound to!ether behind his back and his ankles weresecured with tou!h fiber strands.'ere is food,' said 7ukedi, settin! the !ourd upon the !round near the prisoner.'ow can I eat with my hands tied behind my back-' demanded #ar$an. 7ukedi scratched hishead. 'I do not know,' he said. 'Nyuto sent me with the food. e did not tell me to free yourhands.''Cut the bond,' said #ar$an, 'otherwise I cannot eat.'One of the spearmen entered the hut. 'hat is he sayin!-' he demanded.'e says, that he cannot eat unless his hands are freed,' said 7ukedi.'2id Nyuto tell you to free his hands-' asked the spearman.'No,' said 7ukedi.#he spearman shru!!ed his shoulders. '7ea*e the food then6 that is all you were asked to do.'7ukedi turned to lea*e the hut. 'ait,' said #ar$an. 'ho is Nyuto-''e is chief of the )a!e!os,' said 7ukedi.'1o to him and tell him that I wish to see him. #ell him also that I cannot eat with my hands tiedbehind my back.'7ukedi was !one for half an hour. hen he returned he brou!ht an old, rusted sla*e chain and anancient padlock.'Nyuto says that we may chain him to the center pole and then cut the bonds that secure hishands,' he said to the !uard.

    #he three men entered the hut where 7ukedi passed one end of the chain around the center pole,pullin! it throu!h a rin! on the other end6 the free end he then passed around #ar$an%s neck,securin! it there with the old sla*e padlock.'Cut the bonds that hold his wrists,' said 7ukedi to one of the spearmen.'2o it yourself,' retorted the warrior, 'Nyuto sent you to do it. e did not tell me to cut the bonds.'7ukedi hesitated. It was apparent that he was afraid.'e will stand ready with our spears,' said the !uardsmen6 'then he cannot harm you.''I shall not harm him,' said #ar$an. 'ho are you anyway and who do you think I am-'One of the !uardsmen lau!hed. 'e asked who we are as thou!h he did not know0''e know who you are, all ri!ht,' said the other warrior.'I am #ar$an of the Apes,' said the prisoner, 'and I ha*e no "uarrel with the )a!e!os.'#he !uardsman who had last spoken lau!hed a!ain derisi*ely. '#hat may be your name,' he said.'5ou men of #he 7ost #ribe ha*e stran!e names. erhaps you ha*e no "uarrel with the )a!e!os,

    but the )a!e!os ha*e a "uarrel with you,' and still lau!hin! he left the hut followed by hiscompanion, but the youth 7ukedi remained, apparently fascinated by the prisoner at whom hestood starin! as he mi!ht ha*e stared at a deity.#ar$an reached for the !ourd and drank the milk it contained, and ne*er once did 7ukedi take hiseyes from him.'hat is your name-' asked #ar$an.'7ukedi,' replied the youth.'And you ha*e ne*er heard of #ar$an of the Apes-''No,' replied the youth.'ho do you think I am-' demanded the ape + man.'e know that you belon! to #he 7ost #ribe.'')ut I thou!ht the members of #he 7ost #ribe were supposed to be the spirits of the dead,' said#ar$an.

    '#hat we do not know,' replied 7ukedi. '(ome think one way, some another6 but you know, for youare one of them.''I am not one of them,' said #ar$an. 'I come from a country farther south, but I ha*e heard of the)a!e!os and I ha*e heard of #he 7ost #ribe.''I do not belie*e you,' said 7ukedi.'I speak the truth,' said #ar$an.7ukedi scratched his head. 'erhaps you do,' he said. '5ou do not wear clothes like the membersof #he 7ost #ribe, and the weapons that we found with you are different.''5ou ha*e seen members of #he 7ost #ribe-' asked #ar$an.'Many times,' replied 7ukedi. 'Once a year they come out of the bowels of the iramwa$i and

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    trade with us. #hey brin! dried fish, snails, and iron and take in exchan!e salt, !oats, and cows.''If they come and trade with you peacefully, why do you make me a prisoner if you think I am oneof them-' demanded #ar$an.'(ince the be!innin! we ha*e been at war with the members of #he 7ost #ribe,' replied 7ukedi. 'Itis true that once a year we trade with them, but they are always our enemies.''hy is that-' demanded the ape + man.')ecause at other times we cannot tell when they will come with many warriors and capture men,women, and children whom they take away with them into the iramwa$i. None e*er returns. edo not know what becomes of them. erhaps they are eaten.''hat will your chief, Nyuto, do with me-' asked #ar$an.'I do not know,' said 7ukedi. '#hey are discussin! the "uestion now. #hey all wish to put you todeath, but there are some who belie*e that this would arouse the an!er of the !hosts of all thedead )a!e!os.''hy should the !hosts of your dead wish to protect me-' demanded #ar$an.'#here are many who think that you members of #he 7ost #ribe are the !hosts of our dead,'replied 7ukedi.'hat do you think, 7ukedi-' asked the ape + man.'hen I look at you I think that you are a man of flesh and blood the same as I, and so I think thatperhaps you are tellin! me the truth when you say that you are not a member of #he 7ost #ribe,because I am sure that they are all !hosts.'

    ')ut when they come to trade with you and when they come to fi!ht with you, can you not tellwhether they are flesh and blood or not-''#hey are *ery powerful,' said 7ukedi. '#hey mi!ht come in the form of men in the flesh or theymi!ht come as snakes or lions. #hat is why we are not sure.''And what do you think the council will decide to do with me-' asked #ar$an.'I think that there is no doubt but that they will burn you ali*e, for thus both you and your spirit willbe destroyed so that it cannot come back to haunt and annoy us.''a*e you seen or heard of another white man recently-' asked #ar$an.'No,' replied the youth. 'Many years a!o, before I can remember, two white men came who saidthat they were not members of #he 7ost #ribe, but we did not belie*e them and they were killed. Imust !o now. I shall brin! you more milk tomorrow.'

    After 7ukedi had left, #ar$an commenced examinin! the chain, padlock, and the center pole ofthe hut in an effort to disco*er some means of escape. #he hut was cylindrical and surmounted

    by a conical roof of !rass. #he side walls were of stakes set upri!ht a few inches in the !roundand fastened to!ether at their tops and bottoms by creepers. #he center pole was much hea*ierand was secured in position by rafters radiatin! from it to the top of the wall. #he interior of thehut was plastered with mud, which had been thrown on with force and then smoothed with thepalm of the hand. It was a common type with which #ar$an was familiar. e knew that there wasa possibility that he mi!ht be able to raise the center pole and withdraw the chain from beneath it.It would, of course, be difficult to accomplish this without attractin! the attention of the !uards,and there was a possibility that the center pole mi!ht be set sufficiently far in the !round to renderit impossible for him to raise it. If he were !i*en time he could exca*ate around the base of it, butinasmuch as one or the other of the sentries was continually pokin! his head into the hut to seethat all was well, #ar$an saw little likelihood of his bein! able to free himself without bein!disco*ered.

    As darkness settled upon the *illa!e #ar$an stretched himself upon the hard dirt floor of the hut

    and sou!ht to sleep. 3or some time the noises of the *illa!e kept him awake, but at last he slept.ow lon! thereafter it was that he was awakened he did not know. 3rom childhood he had sharedwith the beasts, amon! whom he had been raised, the ability to awaken "uickly and in fullcommand of all his faculties. e did so now, immediately conscious that the noise that hadaroused him came from an animal upon the roof of the hut. hate*er it was, it was workin!"uietly, but to what end the ape + man could not ima!ine.#he acrid fumes of the *illa!e cook fires so filled the air that #ar$an was unable to catch the scentof the creature upon the roof. e carefully re*iewed all the possible purposes for which an animalmi!ht be upon the thatched, dry + !rass roof of the )a!e!o hut and throu!h a process ofelimination he could reach but one conclusion. #hat was that the thin! upon the outside wished to

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    come in and either it did not ha*e brains enou!h to know that there was a doorway, or else it wastoo cunnin! to risk detection by attemptin! to pass the sentries.)ut why should any animal wish to enter the hut- #ar$an lay upon his back, !a$in! up throu!hthe darkness in the direction of the roof abo*e him as he tried to find an answer to his "uestion.resently, directly abo*e his head, he saw a little ray of moonli!ht. hate*er it was upon the roofhad made an openin! that !rew lar!er and lar!er as the creature "uietly tore away the thatchin!.#he aperture was bein! made close to the wall where the radiatin! rafters were farthest apart, butwhether this was throu!h intent or accident #ar$an could not !uess. As the hole !rew lar!er andhe cau!ht occasional !limpses of the thin! silhouetted a!ainst the moonlit sky, a broad smileilluminated the face of the ape + man. Now he saw stron! little fin!ers workin! at the twi!s thatwere fastened laterally across the rafters to support the thatch and presently, after se*eral ofthese had been remo*ed, the openin! was entirely closed by a furry little body that wri!!ledthrou!h and dropped to the floor close beside the prisoner.'ow did you find me, Nkima-' whispered #ar$an.'Nkima followed,' replied the little monkey. 'All day he has been sittin! in a hi!h tree abo*e the*illa!e watchin! this place and waitin! for darkness. hy do you stay here, #ar$an of the Apes-hy do you not come away with little Nkima-''I am fastened here with a chain,' said #ar$an. 'I cannot come away.''Nkima will !o and brin! Mu*iro and his warriors,' said Nkima.Of course he did not use these words at all, but what he said in the lan!ua!e of the apes

    con*eyed the same meanin! to #ar$an. )lack apes carryin! sharp, lon! sticks was theexpression that he used to describe the a$iri warriors, and the name for Mu*iro was one of hisown coinin!, but he and #ar$an understood one another.'No,' said #ar$an. 'If I am !oin! to need Mu*iro, he could not !et here in time now to be of anyhelp to me. 1o back into the forest, Nkima, and wait for me. erhaps I shall &oin you *ery soon.'Nkima scolded, for he did not want to !o away. e was afraid alone in this stran!e forest6 in fact,Nkima%s life had been one lon! complex of terror, relie*ed only by those occasions when he couldsnu!!le in the lap of his master, safe within the solid walls of #ar$an%s bun!alow. One of thesentries heard the *oices within the hut and crawled part way in.'#here,' said #ar$an to Nkima, 'you see what you ha*e done. Now you had better do as #ar$antells you and !et out of here and into the forest before they catch you and eat you.''ho are you talkin! to-' demanded the sentry. e heard a scamperin! in the darkness and atthe same instant he cau!ht si!ht of the hole in the roof and almost simultaneously he saw

    somethin! dark !o throu!h it and disappear. 'hat was that-' he demanded, ner*ously.'#hat,' said #ar$an, 'was the !host of your !randfather. e came to tell me that you and yourwi*es and all your children would take sick and die if anythin! happens to me. e also brou!htthe same messa!e for Nyuto.'#he sentry trembled. 'Call him back,' he be!!ed, 'and tell him that I had nothin! to do with it. It isnot I, but Nyuto, the chief, who is !oin! to kill you.''I cannot call him back,' said #ar$an, 'and so you had better tell Nyuto not to kill me.''I cannot see Nyuto until mornin!,' wailed the sentry. 'erhaps then it will be too late.''No,' said #ar$an. '#he !host of your !randfather will not do anythin! until tomorrow.'#errified, the sentry returned to his post where #ar$an heard him fearfully and excitedly discussin!the matter with his companion until the ape + man finally dropped off to sleep a!ain.It was late the followin! mornin! before anyone entered the hut in which #ar$an was confined.#hen came 7ukedi with another !ourd of milk. e was *ery much excited.

    'Is what O!onyo says true-' he demanded.'ho is O!onyo-' asked #ar$an.'e was one of the warriors who stood !uard here last ni!ht, and he has told Nyuto and all the*illa!e that he heard the !host of his !randfather talkin! with you and that the !host said that hewould kill e*eryone in the *illa!e if you were harmed, and now e*eryone is afraid.''And Nyuto-' asked #ar$an.'Nyuto is not afraid of anythin!,' said 7ukedi.'Not e*en of !hosts of !randfathers-' asked #ar$an.'No. e alone of all the )a!e!os is not afraid of the men of #he 7ost #ribe, and now he is *eryan!ry at you because you ha*e fri!htened his people and this e*enin! you are to be burned.

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    7ook0' And 7ukedi pointed to the low doorway of the hut. '3rom here you can see them placin!the stake to which you are to be bound, and the boys are in the forest !atherin! fa!ots.'#ar$an pointed toward the hole in the roof. '#here,' he said, 'is the hole made by the !host ofO!onyo%s !randfather. 3etch Nyuto and let him see. #hen, perhaps, he will belie*e.''It will make no difference,' said 7ukedi. 'If he saw a thousand !hosts with his own eyes, hewould not be afraid. e is *ery bra*e, but he is also *ery stubborn and a fool. Now we shall alldie.''8n"uestionably,' said #ar$an.'Can you not sa*e me-' asked 7ukedi.'If you will help me to escape, I promise you that the !hosts shall not harm you.''Oh, if I could but do it,' said 7ukedi, as he passed the !ourd of milk to the ape + man.'5ou brin! me nothin! but milk,' said #ar$an. 'hy is that-''In this *illa!e we belon! to the )uliso clan and, therefore, we may not drink the milk nor eat theflesh of #imba, the black cow, so when we ha*e !uests or prisoners we sa*e this food for them.'#ar$an was !lad that the totem of the )uliso clan was a cow instead of a !rasshopper, orrainwater from the roofs of houses or one of the hundreds of other ob&ects that are *enerated bydifferent clans, for while #ar$an%s early trainin! had not placed !rasshoppers beyond the pale asfood for men, he much preferred the milk of #imba.'I wish that Nyuto would see me and talk with me,' said #ar$an of the Apes. '#hen he would knowthat it would be better to ha*e me for a friend than for an enemy. Many men ha*e tried to kill me,

    many chiefs !reater than Nyuto. #his is not the first hut in which I ha*e lain a prisoner, nor is it thefirst time that men ha*e prepared fires to recei*e me, yet I still li*e, 7ukedi, and many of them aredead. 1o, therefore, to Nyuto and ad*ise him to treat me as a friend, for I am not from #he 7ost#ribe of the iramwa$i.''I belie*e you,' said 7ukedi, 'and I shall !o and be! Nyuto to hear me, but I am afraid that he willnot.'

    As the youth reached the doorway of the hut, there suddenly arose a !reat commotion in the*illa!e. #ar$an heard men issuin! orders. e heard children cryin! and the poundin! of manynaked feet upon the hard !round. #hen the war + drums boomed and he heard clashin! ofweapons upon shields and loud shoutin!. e saw the !uards before the doorway sprin! to theirfeet and run to &oin the other warriors and then 7ukedi, at the doorway, shrank back with a cry ofterror.'#hey come0 #hey come0' he cried, and ran to the far side of the hut where he crouched in terror.

    Chapter (ix.4/IC :ON A/)4N looked into the faces of the tall, almost naked, warriors whose weaponsmenaced him across the !unwale of their low du!out, and the first thin! to attract his attentionwas the nature of those weapons.#heir spears were unlike any that he had e*er seen in the hands of modern sa*a!es.Correspondin! with the ordinary spear of the African sa*a!e, they carried a hea*y, andformidable &a*elin that su!!ested to the mind of the youn! archaeolo!ist nothin! other than theancient /oman pike, and this similarity was further confirmed by the appearance of the short,broad, two + ed!ed swords that dan!led in scabbards supported by straps passin! o*er the leftshoulders of the warriors. If this weapon was not the !ladius ispanus of the Imperial 7e!ionary,*on arben felt that his studies and researches had been for nau!ht.'Ask them what they want, 1abula,' he directed. 'erhaps they will understand you.'

    'ho are you and what do you want of us-' demanded 1abula in the )antu dialect of his tribe.'e wish to be friends,' added *on arben in the same dialect. 'e ha*e come to *isit yourcountry. #ake us to your chief.'

    A tall Ne!ro in the stern of the du!out shook his head. 'I do not understand you,' he said. '5ouare our prisoners. e are !oin! to take you with us to our masters. Come, !et into the boat. Ifyou resist or make trouble we shall kill you.''#hey speak a stran!e lan!ua!e,' said 1abula. 'I do not understand them.'(urprise and incredulity were reflected in the expression on *on arben%s face, and heexperienced such a sensation as one mi!ht who looked upon a man suddenly resurrected afterha*in! been dead for nearly two thousand years.

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    :on arben had been a close student of ancient /ome and its lon! dead lan!ua!e, but howdifferent was the li*in! ton!ue, which he heard and which he reco!ni$ed for what it was, from thedead and musty pa!es of ancient manuscripts.e understood enou!h of what the man had said to !et his meanin!, but he reco!ni$ed theton!ue as a hybrid of 7atin and )antu root words, thou!h the inflections appeared to be uniformlythose of the 7atin lan!ua!e.In his student days *on arben had often ima!ined himself a citi$en of /ome. e had deli*eredorations in the 3orum and had addressed his troops in the field in Africa and in 1aul, but howdifferent it all seemed now when he was faced with the actuality rather than the fi!ment ofima!ination. is *oice sounded stran!e in his own ears and his words came haltin!ly as he spoketo the tall man in the lan!ua!e of the Caesars.'e are not enemies,' he said. 'e ha*e come as friends to *isit your country,' and then hewaited, scarce belie*in! that the man could understand him.'Are you a citi$en of /ome-' demanded the warrior.'No, but my country is at peace with /ome,' replied *on arben.#he man looked pu$$led as thou!h he did not understand the reply. '5ou are from Castra(an!uinarius.' is words carried the su!!estion of a challen!e.'I am from 1ermania,' replied *on arben.'I ne*er heard of such a country. 5ou are a citi$en of /ome from Castra (an!uinarius.''#ake me to your chief,' said *on arben.

    '#hat is what I intend to do. 1et in here. Our masters will know what to do with you.':on arben and 1abula climbed into the du!out, so awkwardly that they almost o*erturned it,much to the dis!ust of the warriors, who sei$ed hold of them none too !ently and forced them tos"uat in the bottom of the frail craft. #his was now turned about and paddled alon! a windin!canal, bordered on either side of tufted papyrus risin! ten to fifteen feet abo*e the surface of thewater.'#o what tribe do you belon!-' asked *on arben, addressin! the leader of the warriors.'e are barbarians of the Mare Orientis, sub&ects of :alidus Au!ustus, 4mperor of the 4ast6 butwhy do you ask such "uestions- 5ou know these thin!s as well as I.'

    A half hour of steady paddlin! alon! windin! water + lanes brou!ht them to a collection of beehi*ehuts built upon the floatin! roots of the papyrus, from which the tall plants had been cleared &ustsufficiently to make room for the half do$en huts that constituted the *illa!e. ere *on arben and1abula became the center of a curious and excited company of men, women, and children, and

    *on arben heard himself and 1abula described by their captors as spies from Castra(an!uinarius and learned that on the morrow they were to be taken to Castrum Mare, which hedecided must be the *illa!e of the mysterious 'masters' to whom his captors were continuallyalludin!. #he Ne!roes did not treat them unkindly, thou!h they e*idently considered them asenemies.hen they were inter*iewed by the headman of the *illa!e, *on arben, his curiosity aroused,asked him why they had not been molested if all of his people belie*ed, as they seemed to, thatthey were enemies.'5ou are a citi$en of /ome,' replied the headman, 'and this other is your sla*e. Our masters donot permit us barbarians to in&ure a citi$en of /ome e*en thou!h he may be from Castra(an!uinarius, except in self + defense or upon the battlefield in time of war.''ho are your masters-' demanded *on arben.'hy, the citi$ens of /ome who li*e in Castrum Mare, of course, as one from Castra

    (an!uinarius well knows.'')ut I am not from Castra (an!uinarius,' insisted *on arben.'5ou may tell that to the officers of :alidus Au!ustus,' replied the headman. 'erhaps they willbelie*e you, but it is certain that I do not.''Are these people who dwell in Castrum Mare Ne!roes-' asked *on arben.'#ake them away,' ordered the headman, 'and confine them safely in a hut. #here they may askone another foolish "uestions. I do not care to listen to them further.':on arben and 1abula were led away by a !roup of warriors and conducted into one of thesmall huts of the *illa!e. ere they were brou!ht a supper of fish and snails and a dish concoctedof the cooked pith of papyrus.

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    hen mornin! dawned the prisoners were a!ain ser*ed with food similar to that which had been!i*en them the pre*ious e*enin! and shortly thereafter they were ordered from the hut.8pon the water + lane before the *illa!e floated half a do$en du!outs filled with warriors. #heirfaces and bodies were painted as for war and they appeared to ha*e donned all the finery ofbarbaric necklaces, anklets, bracelets, armbands, and feathers that each could command6 e*enthe prows of the canoes bore odd desi!ns in fresh colors.#here were many more warriors than could ha*e been accommodated in the few huts within thesmall clearin!, but, as *on arben learned later, these came from other clearin!s, se*eral ofwhich comprised the *illa!e. :on arben and 1abula were ordered into the chiefs canoe and amoment later the little fleet pushed off into the water + lane. (tron! paddlers propelled thedu!outs alon! the windin! waterway in a northeasterly direction.2urin! the first half hour they passed se*eral small clearin!s in each of which stood a few hutsfrom which the women and children came to the water%s ed!e to watch them as they passed, butfor the most part the water + lane ran between monotonous walls of lofty papyrus, broken onlyoccasionally by short stretches of more open water.:on arben tried to draw the chief into con*ersation, especially relati*e to their destination andthe nature of the 'masters' into whose hands they were to be deli*ered, but the taciturn warriori!nored his e*ery ad*ance and finally *on arben lapsed into the silence of resi!nation.#hey had been paddlin! for hours, and the heat and monotony had become almost unbearable,when a turn in the water + lane re*ealed a small body of open water, across the opposite side of

    which stretched what appeared to be low land surmounted by an earthen rampart, alon! the topof which was a stron! stockade. #he course of the canoe was directed toward two lofty towersthat apparently marked the !ateway throu!h the rampart.3i!ures of men could be seen loiterin! about this !ateway, and as they cau!ht si!ht of the canoesa trumpet sounded and a score of men sallied from the !ateway and came down to the water%sed!e.

    As the boat drew nearer, *on arben saw that these men were soldiers, and at the command ofone of them the canoes drew up a hundred yards offshore and waited there while the chiefshouted to the soldiers on shore tellin! them who he was and the nature of his business.ermission was then !i*en for the chiefs canoe to approach, but the others were ordered toremain where they were.'(tay where you are,' commanded one of the soldiers, e*idently an under + officer, as the du!outtouched the shore. 'I ha*e sent for the centurion.'

    :on arben looked with ama$ement upon the soldiers drawn up at the landin!. #hey wore thetunics and cloaks of Caesar%s le!ionaries. 8pon their feet were the sandal+like cali!ae. A helmet,a leather cuirass, an ancient shield with pike and (panish sword completed the picture ofanti"uity6 only their skin belied the su!!estion of their ori!in. #hey were not white men6 neitherwere they Ne!roes, but for the most part of a li!ht + brown color with re!ular features.#hey seemed only mildly curious concernin! *on arben, and on the whole appeared ratherbored than otherwise. #he under + officer "uestioned the chief concernin! conditions in the*illa!e. #hey were casual "uestions on sub&ects of no particular moment, but they indicated to*on arben a seemin!ly interested and friendly relationship between the Ne!roes of the outlyin!*illa!es in the papyrus swamp and the e*idently ci*ili$ed brown people of the mainland6 yet thefact that only one canoe had been permitted to approach the land su!!ested that other and lesspleasant relations had also existed between them at times. )eyond the rampart *on arben couldsee the roofs of buildin!s and far away, beyond these, the towerin! cliffs that formed the opposite

    side of the canyon.resently two more soldiers emer!ed from the !ateway opposite the landin!. One of them wase*idently the officer for whom they were waitin!, his cloak and cuirass bein! of finer materials andmore elaborately decorated6 while the other, who walked a few paces behind him, was a commonsoldier, probably the messen!er who had been dispatched to fetch him.

    And now another surprise was added to those which *on arben had already experienced sincehe had dropped o*er the ed!e of the barrier cliffs into this little *alley of anachronisms + the officerwas un"uestionably white.'ho are these, /ufinus-' he demanded of the under + officer.'A barbarian chief and warriors from the *illa!es of the western shore,' replied /ufinus. '#hey

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    brin! two prisoners that they captured in the /upes 3lumen. As a reward they wish permission toenter the city and see the 4mperor.''ow many are they-' asked the officer.'(ixty,' replied /ufinus.'#hey may enter the city,' said the officer. 'I will !i*e them a pass, but they must lea*e theirweapons in their canoes and be out of the city before dark. (end two men with them. As to theirseein! :alidus Au!ustus, that I cannot arran!e. #hey mi!ht !o to the palace and ask the praefectthere. a*e the prisoners come ashore.'

    As *on arben and 1abula stepped from the du!out, the expression upon the officer%s face wasone of perplexity.'ho are you-' he demanded.'My name is 4rich *on arben,' replied the prisoner.#he officer &erked his head impatiently. '#here is no such family in Castra (an!uinarius,' heretorted.'I am not from Castra (an!uinarius.''Not from Castra (an!uinarius0' #he officer lau!hed.'#hat is the story he told me,' said the chief, who had been listenin! to the con*ersation.'I suppose that he will be sayin! next that he is not a citi$en of /ome,' said the officer.'#hat is &ust what he does say,' said the chief.')ut wait.' exclaimed the officer, excitedly. 'erhaps you are indeed from /ome herself0'

    'No, I am not from /ome,' *on arben assured him.'Can it be that there are white barbarians in Africa0' exclaimed the officer. '(urely your !armentsare not /oman. 5es, you must be a barbarian unless, as I suspect, you are not tellin! me thetruth and you are indeed from Castra (an!uinarius.''A spy, perhaps,' su!!ested /ufinus.'No,' said *on arben. 'I am no spy nor am I an enemy,' and with a smile, 'I am a barbarian, buta friendly barbarian.''And who is this man-' asked the officer, indicatin! 1abula. '5our sla*e-''e is my ser*ant, but not a sla*e.''Come with me,' directed the officer. 'I should like to talk with you. I find you interestin!, thou!h Ido not belie*e you.':on arben smiled. 'I do not blame you,' he said, 'for e*en thou!h I see you before me I canscarcely belie*e that you exist.'

    'I do not understand what you mean,' said the officer, 'but come with me to my "uarters.'e !a*e orders that 1abula was to be confined in the !uardhouse temporarily, and then he led*on arben back to one of the towers that !uarded the entrance to the rampart.#he !ate lay in a *ertical plane at ri!ht an!les to the rampart with a hi!h tower at either side, therampart cur*in! inward at this point to connect with the tower at the inner end of the !ate. #hismade a cur*ed entrance that forced an enemy attemptin! to enter to disclose its ri!ht orunprotected side to the defenders upon the rampart, a form of camp fortification that *on arbenknew had been peculiar to the ancient /omans.#he officer%s "uarters consisted of a sin!le, small, bare room directly off a lar!er room occupiedby the members of the !uard. It contained a desk, a bench, and a couple of rou!hly made chairs.'(it down.' said the officer, after they had entered, 'and tell me somethin! about yourself. If youare not from Castra (an!uinarius, from whence do you come- ow did you !et into our countryand what are you doin! here-'

    'I am from 1ermania,' replied *on arben.')ah0' exclaimed the officer. '#hey are wild and sa*a!e barbarians. #hey do not speak thelan!ua!e of /ome at all6 not e*en as poorly as you.''ow recently ha*e you come in contact with 1erman barbarians-' *on arben asked.'Oh, I- Ne*er, of course, but our historians knew them well.''And how lately ha*e they written of them-''hy, (an!uinarius himself mentions them in the story of his life.''(an!uinarius-' "uestioned *on arben. 'I do not recall e*er ha*in! heard of him.''(an!uinarius fou!ht a!ainst the barbarians of 1ermania in the =>?th year of /ome.''#hat was about ei!hteen hundred and thirty + se*en years a!o,' *on arben reminded the

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    officer, 'and I think you will ha*e to admit that there may ha*e been much pro!ress in that time.''And why-' demanded the other. '#here ha*e been no chan!es in this country since the days of(an!uinarius and he has been dead o*er ei!hteen hundred years. It is not likely then thatbarbarians would chan!e !reatly if /oman citi$ens ha*e not. 5ou say you are from 1ermania.erhaps you were taken to /ome as a capti*e and !ot your ci*ili$ation there, but your apparel isstran!e. It is not of /ome. It is not of any place of which I ha*e e*er heard. 1o on with your story.''My father is a medical missionary in Africa,' explained *on arben. 'Often when I ha*e *isi