THE CHAMBER OF HORRORS
A BLACK-MANED lion moved through the jungle night. With majestic
unconcern for all other created things he took his lordly way through
the primeval forest. He was not hunting, for he made no efforts toward
stealth, nor, on the other hand, did he utter any vocal sound. He moved
swiftly, though sometimes stopping with uplifted nose to scent the air
and to listen. And thus at last he came to a high wall, along the face
of which he sniffed, until the wall was broken by a half-opened gateway,
through which he passed into the enclosure.
Before him loomed a great building, and presently as he stood watching
it and listening, there broke from the interior the thunderous roar of
an angry lion.
He of the black mane cocked his head upon one side and moved stealthily
forward.
At the very instant that La was about to be thrust into the clutches of
Numa, Tarzan of the Apes leaped into the apartment with a loud cry that
brought to momentary pause the Gomangani that were dragging her to her
doom, and in that brief instant of respite which the ape-man knew would
follow his interruption the swift spear was launched. To the rage and
consternation of the Bolgani they saw it bury itself in the heart of
their Emperor—the great, black-maned lion.
At Tarzan’s side stood the Gomangani whom he had terrified into service,
and as Tarzan rushed forward toward La the black accompanied him, crying
to his fellows that if they would help this stranger they might be free
and escape from the Bolgani forever.
“You have permitted the great Emperor to be slain,” he cried to the poor
Gomangani who guarded Numa. “For this the Bolgani will kill you. Help to
save the strange Tarmangani and his mate and you have at least a chance
for life and freedom. And you,” he added, addressing the two who had
been guarding La, “they will hold you responsible also—your only hope
lies with us.”
Tarzan had reached La’s side and was dragging her up the steps of the
dais where he hoped that he might make a momentary stand against the
fifty Bolgani who were now rushing forward from their seats toward him.
“Slay the three who sit upon the dais,” cried Tarzan to the Gomangani,
who were now evidently hesitating as to which side they would cast their
lot with. “Slay them if you wish your freedom! Slay them if you wish to
live!”
The authoritative tones of his voice, the magnetic appeal of his
personality, his natural leadership won them to him for the brief
instant that was necessary to turn them upon the hated authority that
the three Bolgani upon the dais represented, and as they drove their
spears into the shaggy black bodies of their masters they became then
and forever the creatures of Tarzan of the Apes, for there could be no
future hope for them in the land of the Bolgani.
With one arm around La’s waist the ape-man carried her to the summit of
the dais, where he seized his spear and drew it from the body of the
dead lion. Then, turning about, and facing the advancing Bolgani, he
placed one foot upon the carcass of his kill and raised his voice in the
terrifying victory cry of the apes of Kerchak.
Before him the Bolgani paused, behind him the Gomangani quailed in
terror.
“Stop!” cried Tarzan, raising a palm toward the Bolgani. “Listen! I am
Tarzan of the Apes. I sought no quarrel with your people. I but look for
a passage through your country to my own. Let me go my way in peace with
this woman, taking these Gomangani with me.”
For answer a chorus of savage growls arose from the Bolgani as they
started forward again toward the dais. From their ranks there suddenly
leaped the old man of the east tower, who ran swiftly toward Tarzan.
“Ah, traitor,” cried the ape-man, “you would be the first, then, to
taste the wrath of Tarzan?” He spoke in English and the old man replied
ill the same tongue.
“Traitor?” he exclaimed in surprise.
“Yes, traitor,” thundered Tarzan. “Did you not hurry here to tell the
Bolgani that I was in the palace, that they might send the Gomangani to
lure me to a trap?”
“I did nothing of the kind,” replied the other. “I came here to place
myself near the white woman, with the thought that I might be of service
to her or you if I were needed. I come now, Englishman, to stand at your
side and die at your side, for die you shall, as sure as there is a God
in heaven. Nothing can save you now from the wrath of the Bolgani whose
Emperor you have killed.”
“Come, then,” cried Tarzan, “and prove your loyalty. It were better to
die now than to live in slavery forever.”
The six Gomangani had ranged themselves, three upon either side of
Tarzan and La, while the seventh, who had entered the chamber with
Tarzan unarmed, was taking weapons from the body of one of the three
Bolgani who had been slain upon the dais.
Before this array of force so new to them, the Bolgani paused at the
foot of the steps leading to the dais. But only for a moment they
paused, for there were but nine against fifty, and as they surged up the
steps, Tarzan and his Gomangani met them with battle-ax, and spear, and
bludgeon. For a moment they pressed them back, but the numbers against
them were too great, and once again a wave swept up that seemed likely
to overwhelm them, when there broke upon the ears of the contestants a
frightful roar, which, coming from almost at their sides, brought a
sudden, momentary cessation of the battle.
Turning their eyes in the direction of the sound they saw a huge,
black-maned lion standing upon the floor of the apartment, just within
one of the windows. For an instant he stood like a statue of golden
bronze, and then again the building trembled to the reverberations of
his mighty roar.
Towering above them all Tarzan of the Apes looked down from the dais
upon the great beast below him, and then in quick elation he raised his
voice above the growlings of the Bolgani.
“Jad-bal-ja,” he cried, and pointing toward the Bolgani, “Kill! Kill!”
Scarcely had the words been uttered ere the huge monster, a veritable
devil incarnate, was upon the hairy gorilla-men. And simultaneously
there occurred to the mind of the ape-man a daring plan of salvation for
himself and the others who were dependent upon him.
“Quick,” he cried to the Gomangani, “fall upon the Bolgani. Here at last
is the true Numa, King of Beasts, and ruler of all creation. He slays
his enemies but he will protect Tarzan of the Apes and the Gomangani,
who are his friends.”
Seeing their hated masters falling back before the terrific onslaughts
of the lion, the Gomangani rushed in with battle-axes and clubs, while
Tarzan, casting aside his spear, took his place among them with drawn
knife, and, keeping close to Jad-bal-ja, directed the lion from one
victim to another, lest he fall by mistake upon the Gomangani or the
little, old, white man, or even La, herself. Twenty of the Bolgani lay
dead upon the floor before the balance managed to escape from the
chamber, and then Tarzan, turning to Jad-bal-ja, called him to heel.
“Go!” he said, turning toward the Gomangani, “and drag the body of the
false Numa from the dais. Remove it from the room, for the true Emperor
has come to claim his throne.”
The old man and La were eyeing Tarzan and the lion in amazement.
“Who are you,” asked the former, “that you can work such miracles with a
savage beast of the jungle? Who are you, and what do you intend to do?”
“Wait and see,” said Tarzan with a grim smile. “I think that we shall
all be safe now, and that the Gomangani may live in comfort for a long
time hereafter.”
When the blacks had removed the carcass of the lion from the dais and
thrown it from one of the windows of the chamber, Tarzan sent Jad-bal-ja
to sit in the place upon the dais that had formerly been occupied by the
lion, Numa.
“There,” he said, turning to the Gomangani, “you see the true Emperor,
who does not have to be chained to his throne. Three of you will go to
the huts of your people behind the palace and summon them to the throne
room, that they, too, may see what has transpired. Hurry, that we may
have many warriors here before the Bolgani return in force.”
Filled with an excitement which almost shook their dull minds into a
semblance of intelligence three of the Gomangani hastened to do Tarzan’s
bidding, while the others stood gazing at Tarzan with expressions of
such awe that might only be engendered by the sight of deity. La came
then and stood beside Tarzan, looking up into his face with eyes that
reflected a reverence fully as deep as that held by the blacks.
“I have not thanked you, Tarzan of the Apes,” she said, “for what you
have risked and done for me. I know that you must have come here in
search of me, to save me from these creatures, and I know that it was
not love that impelled you to this heroic and well-nigh hopeless act.
That you have succeeded thus far is little short of miraculous, but I,
in the legends of whose people are recounted the exploits of the
Bolgani, know that there can be no hope of eventual escape for us all,
and so I beseech that you go at once and make good your escape alone, if
possible, for you alone of us have any possible chance of escape.”
“I do not agree with you that we have no chance to escape, La,” replied
the ape-man. “It seems to me that now we not only have every reason to
believe that we are practically assured of escape, but that we may
insure also to these poor Gomangani freedom from slavery and from the
tyranny of the Bolgani. But this is not all. With this I shall not be
satisfied. Not only must these people who show no hospitality to
strangers be punished, but your own disloyal priests as well. To this
latter end I intend to march out of the Valley of the Palace of
Diamonds, down upon the city of Opar with a force of Gomangani
sufficient to compel Cadj to relinquish the power he has usurped and
replace you upon the throne of Opar. Nothing less than this shall
satisfy me, and nothing less than this shall I accomplish before I
leave.”
“You are a brave man,” said the old man, “and you have succeeded beyond
what I thought could be possible, but La is right, you do not know the
ferocity or the resources of the Bolgani, or the power which they wield
over the Gomangani. Could you raise from the stupid minds of the blacks
the incubus of fear that rests so heavily upon them you might win over a
sufficient number to make good your escape from the valley, but that, I
fear, is beyond even you. Our only hope, therefore, is to escape from
the palace while they are momentarily disorganized, and trust to
fleetness and to luck to carry us beyond the limits of the valley before
we are apprehended.”
“See,” cried La, pointing; “even now it is too late—they return.”
Tarzan looked in the direction that she indicated and saw through the
open doorway at the far end of the chamber a large number of gorilla-men
approaching. His eyes moved swiftly to the windows in the other wall.
“But wait,” he said, “behold another factor in the equation!”
The others looked toward the windows which opened upon the terrace, and
they saw beyond them what appeared to be a crowd of several hundred
blacks running rapidly toward the windows. The other blacks upon the
dais cried out excitedly: “They come! They come! We shall be free, and
no longer shall the Bolgani be able to make us work until we drop from
exhaustion, or beat us, or torture us, or feed us to Numa.”
As the first of the Bolgani reached the doorway leading into the
chamber, the Gomangani commenced to pour through the several windows in
the opposite wall. They were led by the three who had been sent to fetch
them, and to such good effect had these carried their message that the
blacks already seemed like a new people, so transfigured were they by
the thought of immediate freedom. At sight of them the leader of the
Bolgani cried aloud for them to seize the intruders upon the dais, but
his answer was a spear hurled by the nearest black, and as he lunged
forward, dead, the battle was on.
The Bolgani in the palace greatly outnumbered the blacks, but the latter
had the advantage of holding the interior of the throne room in
sufficient numbers to prevent the entry of many Bolgani simultaneously.
Tarzan, immediately he recognized the temper of the blacks, called
Jad-bal-ja to follow him, and, descending from the dais, he took command
of the Gomangani. At each opening he placed sufficient men to guard it,
and at the center of the room he held the balance in reserve. Then he
called the old man into consultation.
“The gate in the east wall is open,” he said. “I left it so when I
entered. Would it be possible for twenty or thirty blacks to reach it in
safety and, entering the forest, carry word to the villagers of what is
transpiring here in the palace, and prevail upon them to send all of
their warriors immediately to complete the work of emancipation that we
have begun?”
“It is an excellent plan,” replied the old man. “The Bolgani are not
upon that side of the palace between us and the gate, and if it may ever
be accomplished, now is the time. I will pick your men for you. They
must be head-men, whose words will carry some weight with the villagers
outside the palace walls.”
“Good!” exclaimed Tarzan. “Select them immediately; tell them what we
want and urge upon them the necessity for haste.”
One by one the old man chose thirty warriors, whose duty he carefully
explained to each. They were delighted with the plan and assured Tarzan
that in less than an hour the first of the reinforcements would come.
“As you leave the enclosure,” said the ape-man, “destroy the lock if you
can, so that the Bolgani may not lock it again and bar out our
reinforcements. Carry also the word that the first who come are to
remain outside the wall until a sufficient number have arrived to make
entry into the palace grounds reasonably safe—at least as many as are
within this room now.”
The blacks signified their understanding, and a moment later passed out
of the room through one of the windows and disappeared into the darkness
of the night beyond.
Shortly after the blacks had left the Bolgani made a determined rush
upon the Gomangani guarding the main entrance to the throne room, with
the result that a score or more of the gorilla-men succeeded in cutting
their way into the room. At this first indication of reversal the blacks
showed signs of faltering, the fear of the Bolgani that was inherent in
them showing in their wavering attitude and seeming reluctance to force
a counter attack. As Tarzan leaped forward to assist in checking the
rush of the Bolgani into the throne room he called to Jad-bal-ja, and as
the great lion leaped from the dais the ape-man, pointing to the nearest
Bolgani, cried: “Kill! Kill!”
Straight for the throat of the nearest leaped Jad-bal-ja. The great jaws
closed upon the snarling face of the frightened gorilla-man but once,
and then, at the command of his master the golden lion dropped the
carcass after a single shake and leaped upon another. Three had died
thus in quick succession when the balance of the Bolgani turned to flee
this chamber of horrors; but the Gomangani, their confidence restored by
the ease with which this fierce ally brought death and terror to the
tyrants, interposed themselves between the Bolgani and the doorway,
shutting off their retreat.
“Hold them! Hold them!” cried Tarzan. “Do not kill them!” And then to
the Bolgani: “Surrender and you will not be harmed!”
Jad-bal-ja clung close to the side of his master, glaring and growling
at the Bolgani, and casting an occasional beseeching look at the ape-man
which said plainer than words, “Send me among them.”
Fifteen of the Bolgani who had entered the room survived. For a moment
they hesitated, and then one of them threw his weapons upon the floor.
Immediately the others followed suit.
Tarzan turned toward Jad-bal-ja. “Back!” he said, pointing toward the
dais, and as the lion wheeled and slunk away toward the platform, Tarzan
turned again toward the Bolgani.
“Let one of your number go,” he said, “and announce to your fellows that
I demand their immediate surrender.”
The Bolgani whispered among themselves for a few moments and finally one
of them announced that he would go and see the others. After he had left
the room the old man approached Tarzan.
“They will never surrender,” he said. “Look out for treachery.”
“It is all right,” said Tarzan. “I am expecting that, but I am gaining
time, and that is what we need most. If there were a place near where I
might confine these others I should feel better, for it would cut down
our antagonists by at least that many.”
“There is a room there,” said the old man, pointing toward one of the
doorways in the throne room, “where you can confine them—there are many
such rooms in the Tower of the Emperors.”
“Good,” said Tarzan, and a moment later, following his instructions the
Bolgani were safely locked in a room adjoining the throne room. In the
corridors without they could hear the main body of the gorilla-men in
argument. It was evident that they were discussing the message sent to
them by Tarzan. Fifteen minutes passed, and finally thirty, with no word
from the Bolgani and no resumption of hostilities, and then there came
to the main entrance of the throne room the fellow whom Tarzan had
despatched with his demand for surrender.
“Well,” asked the ape-man, “what is their answer?”
“They will not surrender,” replied the Bolgani, “but they will permit
you to leave the valley provided that you will release those whom you
have taken prisoner and harm no others.”
The ape-man shook his head. “That will not do,” he replied. “I hold the
power to crush the Bolgani of the Valley of Diamonds. Look,” and he
pointed toward Jad-bal-ja, “here is the true Numa. The creature you had
upon your throne was but a wild beast, but this is Numa, King of Beasts,
Emperor of All Created Things. Look at him. Must he be held in leash by
golden chains like some prisoner or slave? No! He is indeed an Emperor.
But there is one yet greater than he, one from whom he takes commands.
And that one is I, Tarzan of the Apes. Anger me and you shall feel not
only the wrath of Numa, but the wrath of Tarzan, as well. The Gomangani
are my people, the Bolgani shall be my slaves. Go and tell your fellows
that, and that if they would live at all they had best come soon and sue
for mercy. Go!”
When the messenger had again departed Tarzan looked at the old man, who
was eyeing him with an expression which might have denoted either awe or
reverence, were it not for the vaguest hint of a twinkle in the corners
of the eyes. The ape-man breathed a deep sigh of relief. “That will give
us at least another half hour,” he said.
“We shall need it, and more, too,” replied the old man, “though, at
that, you have accomplished more than I had thought possible, for at
least you have put a doubt in the minds of the Bolgani, who never before
have had cause to question their own power.”
Presently from the outer corridors the sounds of argument and discussion
gave place to that of movement among the Bolgani. A company, comprising
some fifty of the gorilla-men, took post directly outside the main
entrance of the throne room where they stood in silence, their weapons
ready, as though for the purpose of disputing any effort upon the part
of the inmates of the room to escape. Beyond them the balance of the
gorilla-men could be seen moving away and disappearing through doorways
and corridors leading from the main hallway of the palace. The
Gomangani, together with La and the old man, watched impatiently for the
coming of the black reinforcements, while Tarzan sat upon the edge of
the dais half-reclining, with an arm about the neck of Jad-bal-ja.
“They are up to something,” said the old man. “We must watch carefully
against a surprise. If the blacks would but come now, while the doorway
is held by only fifty, we should overcome them easily, and have, I do
verily believe, some slight chance of escaping from the palace grounds.”
“Your long residence here,” said Tarzan, “has filled you with the same
senseless fear of the Bolgani that the Gomangani hold. From the attitude
of mind which you hold toward them one would think them some manner of
supermen—they are only beasts, my friend, and if we remain loyal to our
cause we shall overcome them.”
“Beasts they may be,” replied the old man, “but they are beasts with the
brains of men—their cunning and their cruelty are diabolical.”
A long silence ensued, broken only by the nervous whisperings of the
Gomangani, whose morale, it was evident, was slowly disintegrating under
the nervous strain of the enforced wait, and the failure of their
fellows of the forest to come quickly to their aid. To this was added
the demoralizing effect of speculation upon what the Bolgani were
planning or what plan they already were putting into effect. The very
silence of the gorilla-men was more terrible than the din of actual
assault. La was the first of the whites to break the silence.
“If thirty of the Gomangani could leave the palace so easily, why might
not we leave also?” she asked.
“There were two reasons,” replied Tarzan. “One was that should we have
left simultaneously the Bolgani, greatly outnumbering us as they did,
could have harassed us and detained us for a sufficient length of time
to have permitted their messengers to reach the villagers ahead of us,
with the result that in a short time we should have been surrounded by
thousands of hostile warriors. The second reason is that I desire to
punish the creatures, so that in future a stranger may be safe in the
Valley of the Palace of Diamonds.” He paused. “And now I shall give you
a third reason why we may not seek to escape at this moment.” He pointed
toward the windows overlooking the terrace. “Look,” he said, “the
terrace and the gardens are filled with Bolgani. Whatever their plan I
think its success depends upon our attempt to escape from this room
through the windows, for, unless I am mistaken, the Bolgani upon the
terrace and in the gardens are making an attempt to hide themselves from
us.”
The old man walked to a part of the room from which he could see the
greater part of the terrace and gardens upon which the windows of the
throne room looked.
“You are right,” he said when he returned to the ape-man’s side; “the
Bolgani are all massed outside these windows with the exception of those
who guard the entrance, and possibly some others at the doorways at
other portions of the throne room. That, however, we must determine.” He
walked quickly to the opposite side of the chamber and drew back the
hangings before one of the apertures, disclosing beyond a small band of
Bolgani. They stood there motionless, not making any effort to seize or
harm him. To another exit, and another, he went, and beyond each
discovered to the occupants of the chamber the same silent gorilla
guardians. He made the circle of the room, passing over the dais behind
the three thrones, and then he came back to Tarzan and La.
“It is as I suspected,” he said, “we are entirely surrounded. Unless
help comes soon we are lost.”
“But their force is divided,” Tarzan reminded him.
“Even so, it is sufficient to account for us,” replied the old man.
“Perhaps you are right,” said Tarzan, “but at least we shall have a
bully fight.”
“What is that!” exclaimed La, and simultaneously, attracted by the same
noise, the inmates of the throne room raised their eyes to the ceiling
above them, where they saw that traps had been lifted from a dozen
openings, revealing the scowling faces of several score of gorilla-men.
“What are they up to now!” exclaimed Tarzan, and as though in answer to
the query the Bolgani above began hurling bundles of burning, oil-soaked
rags, tied in goat skins, into the throne room, which immediately
commenced to fill it with a thick, suffocating smoke, accompanied by the
stench of burning hide and hair.