Nemone leaned close to him; she seized him fiercely by the shoulders.
"I will make you happy here," she whispered passionately. "You do not
know Nemone. Wait! The time will come when you will want to stay--for
me!"
"Erot and M'duze and Tomos may think differently," Tarzan reminded her.
"I hate them!" cried Nemone. "If they interfere this time, I shall
kill them all; this time I shall have my own way; she shall not rob
me of all happiness. But do not speak of her; never speak her name to
me again. And as for Erot," she snapped her fingers. "I crush a worm
beneath my sandal, and no one misses it. No one would miss Erot, least
of all I; I have long been tired of him. He is a stupid, egotistical
fool; but he is better than nothing."
The door opened and Erot entered unceremoniously; he kneeled, but the
act was nearer a gesture than an accomplished fact. Nemone flashed an
angry look at him.
"Before you enter our presence," she said coldly, "see to it that you
are properly announced and that we have expressed a desire to receive
you."
"But your majesty," objected Erot, "have I not been in the habit of--"
"You have gotten into bad habits," she interrupted; "see that you mend
them. Is the diversion arranged?"
"All is in readiness, your majesty," replied the crestfallen Erot.
"Come, then!" directed Nemone, motioning Tarzan to follow her.
In the anteroom they found Gemnon waiting, and the Queen bid him
accompany them. Preceded and followed by armed guards, the three passed
along several corridors and through a number of rooms, then up a
stairway to the second floor of the palace. Here they were conducted to
a balcony overlooking a small enclosed court. The windows opening onto
this court from the first story of the building were heavily barred;
and from just below the top of the parapet, behind which the Queen
and her party sat, sharpened stakes protruded, giving the court the
appearance of a miniature arena for wild animals.
As Tarzan looked down into the courtyard, wondering a little what the
nature of the diversion was to be, a door at one end swung open and a
young lion stepped out into the sunlight, blinking his eyes and looking
about. When he saw those on the balcony looking down at him, he growled.
"He is going to make a good lion," remarked Nemone. "From a cub, he has
always been vicious."
"What is he doing in here?" asked Tarzan, "or what is he going to do?"
"He is going to entertain us," replied Nemone. "Presently an enemy
of Cathne will be turned into the pit with him, the Athnean who was
captured in Thenar."
"And if he kills the lion you will give him his liberty?" demanded
Tarzan.