_Sir James_
As Tarzan and Zeyd journeyed toward the village in which the ape-man
purposed to enlist an escort for the Arab upon the first stage of his
return journey toward his desert home, the Beduin had time to meditate
much upon many matters, and having come to trust and respect his savage
guide he at last unbosomed himself to Tarzan.
"Great Sheykh of the Jungle," he said one day, "by thy kindness thou
hast won the undying loyalty of Zeyd who begs that thou wilt grant him
one more favor."
"And what is that?" asked the ape-man.
"Ateja, whom I love, remains here in the savage country in constant
danger so long as Fahd be near her. I dare not now return to the menzil
of Ibn Jad even could I find it, but later, when the heat of Ibn Jad's
anger will have had time to cool, then I might come again among them
and convince him of my innocence, and be near Ateja and protect her
from Fahd."
"What, then, would you do?" demanded Tarzan.
"I would remain in the village to which you are taking me until Ibn Jad
returns this way toward el-Guad. It is the only chance that I have to
see Ateja again in this life, as I could not cross the Soudan alone and
on foot should you compel me to leave your country now."
"You are right," replied the ape-man. "You shall remain here six
months. If Ibn Jad has not returned in that time I shall leave word
that you be sent to my home. From there I can find a way to return you
in safety to your own country."
"May the blessings of Allah be upon thee!" cried Zeyd.
And when they came at last to the village Tarzan received the promise
of the chief to keep Zeyd until Ibn Jad returned.
After he had left the village again the ape-man headed north, for he
was concerned over the report that Zeyd had given him of the presence
of a European prisoner among the 'Aarab. That Stimbol, whom he had sent
eastward toward the coast, should be so far north and west as Zeyd had
reported appeared inconceivable, and so it seemed more probable that
the prisoner was young Blake, for whom Tarzan had conceived a liking.
Of course the prisoner might not be either Stimbol or Blake, but who
ever he was Tarzan could not readily brook the idea of a white man
being permitted to remain a prisoner of the Beduins.
But Tarzan was in no hurry, for Zeyd had told him that the prisoner
was to be held for ransom. He would have a look about for Blake's
camp first and then follow up the spoor of the Arabs. His progress,
therefore, was leisurely. On the second day he met the apes of Toyat
and for two days he hunted with them, renewing his acquaintance with
Gayat and Zutho, listening to the gossip of the tribe, often playing
with the balus.
Leaving them, he loafed on through the jungle, stopping once for half
a day to bait Numa where he lay upon a fresh kill, until the earth
trembled to the thunderous roars of the maddened king of beasts as the
ape-man taunted and annoyed him.
Sloughed was the thin veneer of civilization that was Lord Greystoke;
back to the primitive, back to the savage beast the ape-man reverted
as naturally, as simply, as once changes from one suit to another. It
was only in his beloved jungle, surrounded by its savage denizens,
that Tarzan of the Apes was truly Tarzan, for always in the presence
of civilized men there was a certain restraint that was the outcome of
that inherent suspicion that creatures of the wild ever feel for man.
Tired of throwing ripe fruit at Numa, Tarzan swung away through the
middle terraces of the forest, lay up for the night far away and in the
morning, scenting Bara the deer, made a kill and fed. Lazy, he slept
again, until the breaking of twigs and the rustle of down tramped
grasses awoke him.
He sniffed the air with sensitive nostrils and listened with ears that
could hear an ant walk, and then he smiled. Tantor was coming.
For half a day he lolled on the huge back, listening to Manu the Monkey
chattering and scolding among the trees. Then he moved on again.
A day or two later he came upon a large band of monkeys. They seemed
much excited and at sight of him they all commenced to jabber and
chatter.
"Greetings, Manu!" cried the ape-man. "I am Tarzan, Tarzan of the Apes.
What happens in the jungle?"
"Gomangani! Gomangani!" cried one.
"Strange Gomangani!" cried another.
"Gomangani with thunder sticks!" chattered a third.
"Where?" asked the ape-man.
"There! There!" they shouted in chorus, pointing toward the northeast.
"Many sleeps away?" asked Tarzan.
"Close! Close!" the monkeys answered.
"There is one Tarmangani with them?"
"No, only Gomangani. With their thunder sticks they kill little Manu
and eat him. Bad Gomangani!"
"Tarzan will talk with them," said the ape-man.
"They will kill Tarzan with their thunder sticks and eat him,"
prophesied a gray-beard.
The ape-man laughed and swung off through the trees in the direction
Manu had indicated. He had not gone far when the scent spoor of blacks
came faintly to his nostrils and this spoor he followed until presently
he could hear their voices in the distance.
Silently, warily Tarzan came through the trees, noiseless as the
shadows that kept him company, until he stood upon a swaying limb
directly above a camp of negroes.
Instantly Tarzan recognized the safari of the young American, Blake,
and a second later he dropped to the ground before the astonished eyes
of the blacks. Some of them would have run, but others recognized him.
"It is Big Bwana!" they cried. "It is Tarzan of the Apes!"
"Where is your head man?" demanded Tarzan.
A stalwart negro approached him. "I am head man," he said.
"Where is your master?"
"He is gone, many days," replied the black.
"Where?"
"We do not know. He hunted with a single askar. There was a great
storm. Neither of them ever returned. We searched the jungle for them,
but could not find them. We waited in camp where they were to have
joined us. They did not come. We did not know what to do. We would
not desert the young Bwana, who was kind to us; but we feared that he
was dead. We have not provisions to last more than another moon. We
decided to return home and tell our story to the friends of the young
Bwana."
"You have done well," said Tarzan. "Have you seen a company of the
desert people in the jungle?"
"We have not seen them," replied the head man, "but while we were
searching for the young Bwana we saw where desert people had camped. It
was a fresh camp."
"Where?"
The black pointed. "It was on the trail to the north Galla country in
Abyssinia and when they broke camp they went north."
"You may return to your village," said Tarzan, "but first take those
things which are the young Bwana's to his friends to keep for him and
send a runner to the home of Tarzan with this message: Send one hundred
Waziri to Tarzan in the north Galla country. From the water hole of the
smooth, round rocks follow the trail of the desert people."
"Yes, Big Bwana, it will be done," said the head man.
"Repeat my message."
The black boy did as he was bidden.
"Good!" said Tarzan. "I go. Kill not Manu the monkey if you can find
other food, for Manu is the cousin of Tarzan and of you."
"We understand, Big Bwana."
In the castle of Prince Gobred in the City of Nimmr James Hunter Blake
was being schooled in the duties of a Knight of Nimmr. Sir Richard had
taken him under his protection and made himself responsible for his
training and his conduct.
Prince Gobred, quick to realize Blake's utter ignorance of even the
simplest observances of knighthood, was frankly skeptical, and Sir
Malud was almost openly antagonistic, but the loyal Sir Richard was a
well beloved knight and so he had his way. Perhaps, too, the influence
of the Princess Guinalda was not without its effect upon her sire, for
first among the treasures of the Prince of Nimmr ranked his daughter
Guinalda; and Guinalda's curiosity and interest had been excited by the
romance of the coming of this fair stranger knight to the buried and
forgotten city of Nimmr.
Sir Richard had clothed Blake from his own wardrobe until a weaver,
a cutter of cloth, a seamstress and an armorer could fashion one for
him. Nor did it take long. A week found Sir James clothed, armored and
horsed as befitted a Knight of Nimmr, and when he spoke to Sir Richard
of payment for all this he found that money was almost unknown among
them. There were, Sir Richard told him, a few pieces of coin that their
ancestors had brought here seven hundred and thirty-five years before,
but payment was made by service.
The knights served the prince and he kept them. They protected the
laborers and the artisans and in return received what they required
from them. The slaves received their food and clothing from the prince
or from whichever knight they served. Jewels and precious metals often
changed hands in return for goods or service, but each transaction was
a matter of barter as there were no standards of value.
They cared little for wealth. The knights valued most highly their
honor and their courage upon which there could be no price. The artisan
found his reward in the high perfection of his handicraft and in the
honors that it brought him.
The valley provided food in plenty for all; the slaves tilled the
ground; the freedmen were the artisans, the men-at-arms, the herders
of cattle; the knights defended Nimmr against its enemies, competed
in tourneys and hunted wild game in the valley and its surrounding
mountains.
As the days passed Blake found himself rapidly acquiring a certain
proficiency in knightly arts under the wise tutorage of Sir Richard.
The use of sword and buckler he found most difficult, notwithstanding
the fact that he had been proficient with the foils in his college
days, for the knights of Nimmr knew naught of the defensive use of
their two edged weapons and seldom used the point for other purpose
than the _coup-de-grace_. For them the sword was almost wholly a
cutting weapon, the buckler their sole defense; but as Blake practiced
with this weapon it dawned upon him that his knowledge of fencing
might be put to advantage should the necessity arise, to the end that
his awkwardness with the buckler should be outweighed by his nicer
defensive handling of his sword and his offensive improved by the
judicious use of the point, against which they had developed little or
no defense.
The lance he found less difficult, its value being so largely dependent
upon the horsemanship of him who wielded it, and that Blake was a
splendid horseman was evidenced by his polo rating as an eight goal man.
The ballium, or outer court, which lay between the inner and outer
walls of the castle and entirely surrounded it, was, upon the north or
valley side, given over entirely to knightly practice and training.
Here the ballium was very wide, and against the inner wall was built
a wooden grand stand that could be quickly removed in the event of an
attack upon the castle.
Justs and tilts were held here weekly, while the great tourneys that
occurred less often were given upon a field outside the castle wall
upon the floor of the valley.
Daily many knights and ladies came to watch the practice and training
that filled the ballium with life and action and color during the
morning hours. Good-natured banter flew back and forth, wagers were
laid, and woe betide the contender who was unhorsed during these
practice bouts, for the thing that a knight dreaded even more than he
dreaded death was ridicule.
In the formal jousts that were held weekly greater decorum was observed
by the audience, but during the daily practice their raillery verged
upon brutality.
It was before such an audience as this that Blake received his
training, and because he was a novelty the audiences were larger than
usual, and because the friends of Sir Malud and the friends of Sir
Richard had tacitly acknowledged him as an issue both the applause and
the ridicule were loud and boisterous.
Even the Prince came often and Guinalda always was there. It was
soon apparent that Prince Gobred leaned slightly to the side of Sir
Malud, with the natural result that Malud's party immediately acquired
numerous recruits.
The training of the lads who were squires to the knights and who would
one day be admitted to the charmed circle of knighthood occupied the
earlier hours of the morning. This was followed by practice tilts
between knights, during which Sir Richard or one of his friends
undertook the training of Blake at the far side of the ballium, and it
was during this practice that the American's outstanding horsemanship
became apparent, even Gobred being led to applause.
"'Od's bodikins," he exclaimed, "the man be a part of his charger!"
"'Twas but chance that saved him from a fall," said Malud.
"Mayhap," agreed Gobred, "but at that me likes the looks of him within
a saddle."
"He doeth not too ill with his lance," admitted Malud. "But, 'od's
blud! didst ever see a more awkward lout with a buckler? Methinks
he hath had more use for a trencher." This sally elicited roars of
laughter in which the Princess Guinalda did not join, a fact which
Malud, whose eyes were often upon her, was quick to note. "Thou still
believest this churl to be a knight, Princess Guinalda?" he demanded.
"Have I said aught?" she asked.
"Thou didst not laugh," he reminded her.
"He is a stranger knight, far from his own country and it seemeth not a
knightly nor a gentle thing to ridicule him," she replied. "Therefore I
did not laugh, for I was not amused."
Later that day as Blake joined the others in the great court, he ran
directly into Malud's party, nor was it at all an accident, as he never
made any effort to avoid Malud or his friends and was, seemingly,
oblivious to their thinly veiled taunts and insinuations. Malud himself
attributed this to the density and ignorance of a yokel, which he
insisted Blake to be, but there were others who rather admired Blake
for his attitude, seeing in it a studied affront that Malud was too
dense to perceive.
Most of the inmates of the grim castle of Nimmr were inclined
pleasantly toward the newcomer. He had brought with him an air
of freshness and newness that was rather a relief from the hoary
atmosphere that had surrounded Nimmr for nearly seven and a half
centuries. He had brought them new words and new expressions and new
views, which many of them were joyously adopting, and had it not been
for the unreasoning antagonism of the influential Sir Malud, Blake had
been accepted with open arms.
Sir Richard was far more popular than Malud, but lacked the latter's
wealth in horses, arms and retainers and consequently had less
influence with Prince Gobred. However there were many independent
souls who either followed Sir Richard because they were fond of him or
arrived at their own decisions without reference to the dictates of
policy, and many of these were staunch friends to Blake.
Not all of those who surrounded Malud this afternoon were antagonistic
to the American, but the majority of them laughed when Malud laughed
and frowned when he frowned, for in the courts of kings and princes
flourished the first order of "yes men."
Blake was greeted by many a smile and nod as he advanced and bowed low
before the Princess Guinalda who was one of the company and, being of
princely blood, intitled to his first devoirs.
"Thou didst well this morning, Sir James," said the princess, kindly.
"It pleases me greately to see thee ride."
"Methinketh 'twould be a rarer treat to see him serve a side of
venison," sneered Malud.
This provoked so much laughter that Malud was encouraged to seek
further applause.
"Odzooks!" he cried, "arm him with a trencher and carving knife and he
would be at home."
"Speaking of serving," said Blake, "and Sir Malud's mind seems to be
more occupied with that than with more knightly things, does any of you
know what is necessary quickly to serve fresh pig?"
"Nay, fair sir knight," said Guinalda, "we know not. Prithee tell us."
"Yes, tell us," roared Malud, "thou, indeed, shouldst know."
"You said a mouthful, old scout, I do know!"
"And what be necessary that you may quickly serve fresh pig?" demanded
Malud, looking about him and winking.
"A trencher, a carving knife and you, Sir Malud," replied Blake.
It was several seconds before the thrust penetrated their simple minds
and it was the Princess Guinalda who first broke into merry laughter
and soon all were roaring, while some explained the quip to others.
No, not all were laughing--not Sir Malud. When he grasped the
significance of Blake's witticism he first turned very red and then
went white, for the great Sir Malud liked not to be the butt of
ridicule, which is ever the way of those most prone to turn ridicule
upon others.
"Sirrah," he cried, "darest thou affront Malud? 'Od's blud, fellow! Low
born varlet! Only thy blood canst atone this affront!"
"Hop to it, old thing!" replied Blake. "Name your poison!"
"I knowest not the meaning of thy silly words," cried Malud, "but I
know that an' thou doest not meet me in fair tilt upon the morrow I
shalt whip thee across the Valley of the Holy Sepulcher with a barrel
stave."
"You're on!" snapped back Blake. "Tomorrow morning in the south ballium
with----"
"Thou mayst choose the weapons, sirrah," said Malud.
"Don't call me sirrah, I don't like it," said Blake very quietly, and
now he was not smiling. "I want to tell you something, Malud, that may
be good for your soul. You are really the only man in Nimmr who didn't
want to treat me well and give me a chance, a fair chance, to prove
that I am all right.
"You think you are a great knight, but you are not. You have no
intelligence, no heart, no chivalry. You are not what we would call in
my country a good sport. You have a few horses and a few men-at-arms.
That is all you have, for without them you would not have the favor of
the Prince, and without his favor you would have no friends.
"You are not so good or great a man in any way as is Sir Richard,
who combines all the qualities of chivalry that for centuries have
glorified the order of knighthood; nor are you so good a man as I, who,
with your own weapons, will best you on the morrow when, in the north
ballium, I meet you on horseback with sword and buckler!"
The members of the party, upon seeing Malud's wrath had gradually
fallen away from Blake until, as he concluded his speech, he stood
alone a few paces apart from Malud and those who surrounded him. Then
it was that one stepped from among those at Malud's side and walked to
Blake. It was Guinalda.
"Sir James," she said with a sweet smile, "thou spokest with thy mouth
full!" She broke into a merry laugh. "Walk with me in the garden, sir
knight," and taking his arm she guided him toward the south end of the
eastern court.
"You're wonderful!" was all that Blake could find to say.
"Dost really think I be wonderful?" she demanded. "'Tis hard to know
if men speak the truth to such as I. The truth, as people see it, is
spoke more oft to slaves than princes."
"I hope to prove it by my conduct," he said.
They had drawn a short distance away from the others now and the girl
suddenly laid her hand impulsively upon his.
"I brought thee away, Sir James, that I might speak with thee alone,"
she said.
"I do not care what the reason was so long as you did it," he replied,
smiling.
"Thou art a stranger among us, unaccustomed to our ways, unversed in
knightly practice--so much so that there are many who doubt thy claims
to knighthood. Yet thou art a brave man, or else a very simple one,
or thou wouldst never have chosen to meet Sir Malud with sword and
buckler, for he be skilled with these while thou art clumsy with them.
"Because I thinkest that thou goest to thy death tomorrow I have
brought thee aside to speak with thee."
"What can be done about it now?" asked Blake.
"Thou art passing fair with thy lance," she said, "and it is still not
too late to change thy selection of weapons. I beg thee to do so."
"You care?" he asked. There can be a world of meaning in two words.
The girl's eyes dropped for an instant and then flashed up to his and
there was a touch of hauteur in them. "I am the daughter of the Prince
of Nimmr," she said. "I care for the humblest of my father's subjects."
"I guess that will hold you for a while, Sir James," thought Blake, but
to the girl he said nothing, only smiled.
Presently she stamped her foot. "Thou hast an impudent smile, sirrah!"
she exclaimed angrily. "Meliketh it not. Then thou art too forward with
the daughter of a prince."
"I merely asked you if you cared whether I was killed. Even a cat could
ask that."
"And I replied. Why then didst thou smile?"
"Because your eyes had answered me before your lips had spoken and I
knew that your eyes had told the truth."
Again she stamped her foot angrily. "Thou art indeed a forward boor,"
she exclaimed. "I shall not remain to be insulted further."
Her head held high she turned and walked haughtily away to rejoin the
other party.
Blake stepped quickly after her. "Tomorrow," he whispered, "I meet Sir
Malud with sword and buckler. With your favor upon my helm I could
overthrow the best sword in Nimmr."
The Princess Guinalda did not deign to acknowledge that she had heard
his words as she walked on to join the others clustered about Sir
Malud.