With the breaking of dawn Tarzan and Valthor arose, for the latter was
to set out upon his journey to Athne early. The previous evening a
slave had been directed to serve breakfast at daybreak, and the two men
now heard him arranging the table in the adjoining room.
"We have met again, and again we part," commented Valthor as he
fastened his sandal straps to the ivory guards that encircled his
ankles. "I wish that you were going with me to Athne, my friend."
"I would go with you were it not for the fact that Gemnon's life would
be forfeited should I leave Cathne while he is responsible for me,"
replied the ape-man, "but you may rest assured that some day I shall
pay you a visit in Athne."
"I never expected to see you alive again after we were separated by the
flood," continued Valthor, "and when I recognized you in the lion pit
I could not believe my own eyes. Four times at least have you saved my
life, Tarzan; and you may be assured of a warm welcome in the house of
my father at Athne whenever you come."
"The debt, if you feel that there was one, is wiped out," Tarzan
assured him, "since you saved my life last night."
"I saved your life! What are you talking about?" demanded Valthor. "How
did I save your life?"
"By sleeping in my bed," explained the lord of the jungle.
Valthor laughed. "A courageous, heroic act!" he mocked.
"But nevertheless it saved my life," insisted the ape-man.
"What saved whose life?" demanded a voice at the door.
"Good morning, Gemnon!" greeted Tarzan. "My compliments and
congratulations!"
"Thanks! But what about?" demanded the Cathnean.
"Upon your notable ability as a sound sleeper," explained Tarzan,
smiling.
Gemnon shook his head dubiously. "Your words are beyond me. What are
you talking about?"
"You slept last night through an attempted assassination, the killing
of the culprit, and the disposition of his body. Phobeg's warning was
no idle gossip."
"You mean that someone came here last night to kill you?"
"And almost killed Valthor instead," and then Tarzan briefly narrated
the events of the attempt upon his life.
"Had you ever seen the man before?" asked Gemnon. "Did you recognize
him?"
"I paid little attention to him," admitted Tarzan; "I threw him out of
the window; but I do not recall having seen him before."
"Was he a noble?"
"No, he was a common warrior. Perhaps, you will recognize him when you
see him."
"I shall have to have a look at him and report the matter at once,"
said Gemnon. "Nemone is going to be furious when she hears this."
"She may have instigated it herself," suggested Tarzan; "she is half
mad."
"Hush!" cautioned Gemnon. "It is death even to whisper that thought.
No, I do not believe it was Nemone; but were you to accuse Erot,
M'duze, or Tomos I could easily agree to that. I must go now, and if I
do not return before you leave, Valthor, be assured that I have enjoyed
entertaining you. It is unfortunate that we are enemies and that the
next time we meet we shall have to endeavor to take one another's head."
"It is unfortunate and foolish," replied Valthor.
"But it is the custom," Gemnon reminded him.
"Then may we never meet, for I could never take pleasure in killing
you."
"Here's to it, then," cried Gemnon, raising his hand as though it held
a drinking horn. "May we never meet again!" and with that he turned and
left them.
Tarzan and Valthor had but scarcely finished their meal when a noble
arrived to tell them that Valthor's escort was ready to depart, and a
moment later, with a brief farewell, the Athnean left.
Tarzan's liking for Valthor, combined with his curiosity to see the
city of ivory, determined him to visit the valley of Thenar before he
returned to his own country; but that is a matter apart, having nothing
to do with this story, which has seen the last of the likeable young
noble of Athne.
By Nemone's command the ape-man's weapons had been returned to him, and
he was engaged in inspecting them, looking to the points and feathers
of his arrows, his bowstring, and his grass rope, when Gemnon returned.
The Cathnean was quite evidently angry and not a little excited. This
was one of the few occasions upon which Tarzan had seen his warder
other than smiling and affable.
"I have had a bad half hour with the Queen," explained Gemnon. "I was
lucky to get away with my life. She is furious over this attempt upon
your life and blames me for neglect of duty. What am I to do? Sit on
your window sill all night?"
Tarzan laughed. "I am an embarrassment," he said lightly, "and I am
sorry; but how can I help it? It was an accident that brought me here;
it is perversity that keeps me, the perversity of a spoiled woman."
"You had better not tell her that, nor let another than me hear you say
it," Gemnon cautioned him.
"I may tell her," laughed Tarzan; "I am afraid I have never acquired
that entirely human accomplishment called diplomacy."
"She has sent me to summon you; and I warn you to exercise a little
judgment, even though you have no diplomacy. She is like a raging lion,
and whoever arouses her further will be in for a mauling."
"What does she want of me?" demanded Tarzan. "Am I to remain in this
house, caged up like a pet dog, to run at the beck of a woman?"
"She is investigating this attempt upon your life and has summoned
others to be questioned," Gemnon explained.
Gemnon led the way to a large audience chamber where the nobles of the
court were congregated before a massive throne on which the Queen sat,
her beautiful brows contracted in a frown. As Tarzan and Gemnon entered
the room, she looked up; but she did not smile. A noble advanced and
led the two men to seats near the foot of the throne.
As Tarzan glanced about the faces of those near him, he saw Tomos,
and Erot, and Xerstle. Erot was nervous; he fidgeted constantly upon
his bench; he played with his fingers and with the hilt of his sword;
occasionally he glanced appealingly up at Nemone, but if she recognized
that he was there, her expression did not acknowledge it.
"We have been awaiting you," said the Queen as Tarzan took his seat.
"It appears that you did not exert yourself to hasten in response to
our command."
Tarzan looked up at her with an amused smile. "On the contrary, your
majesty, I returned at once with the noble Gemnon," he explained
respectfully.
"We have summoned you to tell the story of what happened in your
apartment last night that resulted in the killing of a warrior." She
then turned to a noble standing at her side and whispered a few words
in his ear, whereupon the man quit the room. "You may proceed," she
said, turning again to Tarzan.
"There is little to tell," replied the ape-man, rising. "A man came to
my room to kill me, but I killed him instead."
"How did he enter your room?" demanded Nemone. "Where was Gemnon? Did
he admit the fellow?"
"Of course not," replied Tarzan. "Gemnon was asleep in his own room;
the man who would have killed me was lowered from the window of the
apartment above mine and entered through my window; there was a long
rope tied about his body."
"How did you know he came to kill you? Did he attack you?"
"Valthor, the Athnean, was sleeping in my bed; I was sleeping on the
floor. The man did not see me, for the room was dark. He went to the
bed where he thought I was sleeping. I awoke as he stood over Valthor,
his sword raised in his hand ready to strike. Then I killed him and
threw his body out of the window."
"Did you recognize him? Had you ever seen him before?" asked the Queen.
"I did not recognize him."
There was a noise at the entrance to the audience chamber that caused
Nemone to glance up. Four slaves bore a stretcher into the room and
laid it at the foot of the throne; on it was the corpse of a man.
"Is this the fellow who attempted your life?" demanded Nemone.
"It is," replied Tarzan.
She turned suddenly upon Erot. "Did you ever see this man before?" she
demanded.
Erot rose. He was white and trembled a little. "But your majesty, he is
only a common warrior," he countered; "I may have seen him often, yet
have forgotten him; that would not be strange, I see so many of them."
"And you," the Queen addressed a young noble standing near, "have you
ever seen this man before?"
"Often," replied the noble; "he was a member of the palace guard and in
my company."
"How long has he been attached to the palace?" demanded Nemone.
"Not a month, your majesty."
"And before that? Do you know anything about his prior service?"
"He was attached to the retinue of a noble, your majesty," replied the
young officer hesitantly.
"What noble?" demanded Nemone.
"Erot," replied the witness in a low voice.
The Queen looked long and searchingly at Erot. "You have a short
memory," she said presently, an undisguised sneer in her voice, "or
perhaps you have so many warriors in your retinue that you cannot
recall one who has been out of your service for a month!"
Erot was pale and shaken. He looked long at the face of the dead man
before he spoke again. "I do recall him now, your majesty, but he
does not look the same. Death has changed him; that is why I did not
recognize him immediately."
"You are lying," snapped Nemone. "There are some things about this
affair that I do not understand; what part you have had in it, I do not
know; but I am sure that you had some part, and I am going to find out
what. In the meantime you are banished from the palace; there may be
others," she looked meaningly at Tomos, "but I shall find them all out,
and when I do it will be the lion pit for the lot!"
Rising, she descended from the throne, and all knelt save Tarzan. As
she passed him on her way from the chamber, she paused and looked long
and searchingly into his eyes. "Be careful," she whispered; "your
life is in danger. I dare not see you for a while, for there is one
so desperate that not even I could protect you should you visit my
apartments again. Tell Gemnon to quit the palace and take you to his
father's house. You will be safer there, but even then far from safe.
In a few days I shall have removed the obstacles that stand between us;
until then, Tarzan, goodbye!"
The ape-man bowed, and the Queen of Cathne passed on out of the
audience chamber. The nobles rose. They drew away from Erot and
clustered about Tarzan. In disgust the ape-man drew away. "Come,
Gemnon," he said; "there is nothing to keep us here longer."
Xerstle blocked their way as they were leaving the chamber. "Everything
is ready for the grand hunt," he exclaimed, rubbing his palms together
genially. "I thought this tiresome audience would prevent our starting
today, but it is still early. The lions and the quarry are awaiting us
at the edge of the forest. Get your weapons and join me in the avenue."
Gemnon hesitated. "Who are hunting with you?" he asked.
"Just you and Tarzan and Pindes," explained Xerstle; "a small and
select company that ensures a good hunt."
"We will come," said the ape-man.
As the two returned to their quarters to get their weapons Gemnon
appeared worried. "I am not sure that it is wise to go," he said.
"And why not?" inquired Tarzan.
"This may be another trap for you."
The ape-man shrugged. "It is quite possible, but I cannot remain cooped
up in hiding. I should like to see what a grand hunt is; I have heard
the term so often since I came to Cathne. Who is Pindes? I do not
recall him."
"He was an officer of the guard when Erot became the Queen's favorite,
but through Erot he was dismissed. He is not a bad fellow but weak and
easily influenced; however, he must hate Erot, and so I think you have
nothing to fear from him."
"I have nothing to fear from anyone," Tarzan assured him.
"Perhaps you think not, but be on guard."
"I am always on guard; had I not been I should have been dead long ago."
"Your self-complacency may be your undoing," growled Gemnon testily.
Tarzan laughed. "I appreciate both danger and my own limitations, but I
cannot let fear rob me of my liberty and the pleasures of life; fear is
to be more dreaded than death. You are afraid, Erot is afraid, Nemone
is afraid; and you are all unhappy. Were I afraid, I should be unhappy
but no safer. I prefer to be simply cautious. And by the way, speaking
of caution, Nemone instructed me to tell you to take me from the palace
and keep me in your father's house. She says the palace is no safe
place for me. I really think that it is M'duze who is after me."
"M'duze and Erot and Tomos," said Gemnon; "there is a triumvirate of
greed and malice and duplicity that I should hate to have upon my
trail."
At his quarters, Gemnon gave orders that his and Tarzan's belongings be
moved to the house of his father while the two men were hunting; then
they went to the avenue where they found Xerstle and Pindes awaiting
them. The latter was a man of about thirty, rather good-looking but
with a weak face and eyes that invariably dropped from a direct gaze.
He met Tarzan with great cordiality, and as the four men walked along
the main avenue of the city toward the eastern gate he was most affable.
"You have never been on a grand hunt?" he asked Tarzan.
"No; I have no idea what the term means," replied the ape-man.
"We shall not tell you then, but shall let you see for yourself;
then you will enjoy it the more. Of course you hunt much in your own
country, I presume."
"I hunt for food only or for my enemies," replied the ape-man.
"You never hunt for pleasure?" demanded Pindes.
"I take no pleasure in killing."
"Well, you won't have to kill today," Pindes assured him; "the lions
will do our killing; and I can promise you that you will enjoy the
thrill of the chase, that reaches its highest point in the grand hunt."
Beyond the eastern gate an open, parklike plain stretched for a short
distance to the forest. Near the gate four stalwart slaves held two
lions in leash, while a fifth man, naked but for a dirty loin cloth,
squatted upon the ground a short distance away.
As the four hunters approached the party Xerstle explained to Tarzan
that the leashed beasts were his hunting lions, and as the ape-man's
observant eyes ran over the five men who were to accompany them on the
hunt he recognized the stalwart black seated upon the ground apart as
the man he had seen upon the auction block in the market place; then
Xerstle approached the fellow and spoke briefly with him, evidently
giving him orders. When Xerstle had finished, the black started off
at a trot across the plain in the direction of the forest. Every one
watched his progress.
"Why is he running ahead?" asked Tarzan. "He will frighten away the
quarry."