"You mean--" demanded Tarzan with a scowl.
"That this is a grand hunt," cried Xerstle, "where we hunt man, the
grandest quarry."
The ape-man's eyes narrowed. "I see," he said; "you are cannibals; you
eat the flesh of men."
Gemnon turned away to hide a smile.
"No!" shouted Pindes and Xerstle in unison. "Of course not."
"Then why do you hunt him, if not to eat him?"
"For pleasure," explained Xerstle.
"Oh, yes; I forgot. And what happens if you do not get him? Is he free
then?"
"I should say not; not if we can capture him again," cried Xerstle.
"Slaves cost too much money to be lightly thrown away like that."
"Tell me more of the grand hunt," insisted Tarzan. "I think I am going
to get much satisfaction from this one."
"I hope so," replied Xerstle. "When the quarry reaches the forest we
loose the lions; then the sport commences."
"If the fellow takes to the trees," explained Pindes, "we leash the
lions and drive him out with sticks and stones or with our spears; then
we give him a little start and loose the lions again. Pretty soon they
catch him; and it is the aim of the hunters to be in at the kill, for
there is where the real thrills come. Have you ever seen two lions kill
a man?"
When the black reached the forest, Xerstle spoke a word of command to
the keepers and they unleashed the two great beasts. From their actions
it was evident that they were trained to the sport. From the moment
the black had started out toward the forest the lions had strained and
tugged upon their leashes, so that it was only by the use of their
spears that the keepers restrained the beasts from dragging them across
the plain; and when they were at last set free they bounded away in
pursuit of the unfortunate creature who had been chosen to give Xerstle
and his guests a few hours of entertainment.
Halfway to the forest the lions settled down to a much slower gait, and
the hunters commenced gradually to overhaul them. Xerstle and Pindes
appeared excited, far more excited than the circumstances of the hunt
warranted; Gemnon was silent and thoughtful; Tarzan was disgusted and
bored. But before they reached the forest his interest was aroused, for
a plan had occurred to him whereby he might derive some pleasure from
the day's sport.
The wood, which the hunters presently entered a short distance behind
the lions, was of extraordinary beauty; the trees were very old and
gave evidence of having received the intelligent care of man, as did
the floor of the forest. There was little or no deadwood in the trees
and only occasional clumps of underbrush upon the ground between them.
As far as Tarzan could see among the boles of the trees the aspect was
that of a well-kept park rather than of a natural wood, and in answer
to a comment he made upon this fact Gemnon explained that for ages his
people had given regular attention to the conservation of this forest
from the city of gold to the Pass of the Warriors.
Heavy lianas swung in graceful loops from tree to tree; higher up
toward the sunlight Tarzan caught glimpses of brilliant tropical
blooms; there were monkeys in the trees and gaudy, screaming birds.
The scene filled the ape-man with such a longing for the freedom that
was his life that, for the moment, he almost forgot that Gemnon's life
hinged upon his abandoning all thought of escape while the young noble
was responsible to the Queen for his safekeeping.
Once within the forest Tarzan dropped gradually to the rear of the
party, and then, when none was looking, swung to the branches of a
tree. Plain to his nostrils had been the scent spoor of the quarry from
the beginning of the chase, and now the ape-man knew, possibly even
better than the lions, the direction of the hopeless flight of the
doomed black.
Swinging through the trees in a slight detour that carried him around
and beyond the hunters without revealing his desertion to them, Tarzan
sped through the middle terraces of the forest as only the lord of the
jungle can.
Stronger and stronger in his nostrils waxed the scent of the quarry;
behind him came the lions and the hunters; and he knew that he must
act quickly, for they were no great distance in his rear. A grim smile
lighted his grey eyes as he considered the _dénouement_ of the project
he had undertaken.
Presently he saw the black running through the forest just ahead of
him. The fellow was moving at a dogged trot, casting an occasional
glance behind him. He was a splendidly muscled Galla, a perfect type
of primitive manhood, who seemed bent upon giving the best account of
himself that he might against the hopeless odds that must eventually
win the game in which his life was the stake. There was neither fear
nor panic in his flight, merely inflexible determination to surrender
to the inevitable only as a last resort.
Tarzan was directly above the man now, and he spoke to him in the
language of his people. "Take to the trees," he called down.
The black looked up, but he did not stop. "Who are you?" he demanded.
"An enemy of your master, who would help you escape," replied the
ape-man.
"There is no escape; if I take to the trees they will stone me down."
"They will not find you; I will see to that."
"Why should you help me?" demanded the black, but he stopped now and
looked up again, searching for the man whose voice came down to him in
a tongue that gave him confidence in the speaker.
"I have told you that I am an enemy of your master."
Now the black saw the bronzed figure of the giant above him. "You are
a white man!" he exclaimed. "You are trying to trick me. Why should a
white man help me?"
"Hurry!" admonished Tarzan, "or it will be too late, and no one can
help you."
For just an instant longer the black hesitated; then he leaped for a
low-hanging branch and swung himself up into the tree as Tarzan came
down to meet him.
"They will come soon and stone us both down," he said. There was no
hope in his voice nor any fear, only dumb apathy.