Lafayette Smith and Lady Barbara had been mystified witnesses to
the sudden transformation of the peaceful scene in the camp of Lord
Passmore. All day the warriors had remained in readiness, as though
expecting a summons; and when night fell they still waited.
Evidences of restlessness were apparent; and there was no singing and
little laughter in the camp, as there had been before. The last that
the two whites saw, as they retired for the night, were the little
groups of plumed warriors squatting about their fires, their rifles
ready to their hands; and they were asleep when the summons came and
the sleek, black fighting men melted silently into the dark shadows of
the forest, leaving only four of their number to guard the camp and the
two guests.
When Lady Barbara emerged from her tent in the morning she was
astonished to find the camp all but deserted. The _boy_ who acted in
the capacity of personal servant and cook for her and Smith was there
and three other blacks. All were constantly armed; but their attitude
toward her had not changed, and she felt only curiosity relative to
the other altered conditions, so obvious at first glance, rather than
apprehension.
When Smith joined her a few minutes later he was equally at a loss to
understand the strange metamorphosis that had transformed the laughing,
joking porters and askaris into painted warriors and sent them out
into the night so surreptitiously, nor could they glean the slightest
information from their _boy_, who, though still courteous and smiling,
seemed by some strange trick of fate suddenly to have forgotten the
very fair command of English that he had exhibited with evident pride
on the previous day.
The long day dragged on until mid afternoon without sign of any change.
Neither Lord Passmore nor the missing blacks returned, and the enigma
was as baffling as before. The two whites, however, seemed to find much
pleasure in one another's company; and so, perhaps, the day passed more
rapidly for them than it did for the four blacks, waiting and listening
through the hot, drowsy hours.
But suddenly there was a change. Lady Barbara saw her _boy_ rise and
stand in an attitude of eager listening. "They come!" he said, in his
own tongue, to his companions. Now they all stood and, though they may
have expected only friends, their rifles were in readiness for enemies.
Gradually the sound of voices and of marching men became distinctly
audible to the untrained ears of the two whites, and a little later
they saw the head of a column filing through the forest toward them.
"Why there's the 'Gunner!'" exclaimed Lafayette Smith. "And Jezebel,
too. How odd that they should be together."
"With Tarzan of the Apes!" cried Lady Barbara. "He has saved them both."
A slow smile touched the lips of the ape-man as he witnessed the
reunion of Lady Barbara and Jezebel and that between Smith and the
"Gunner"; and it broadened a little, when, after the first burst of
greetings and explanations, Lady Barbara said, "It is unfortunate that
our host, Lord Passmore, isn't here."
"He is," said the ape-man.
"Where?" demanded Lafayette Smith, looking about the camp.
"I am 'Lord Passmore,'" said Tarzan.
"You?" exclaimed Lady Barbara.
"Yes. I assumed this role when I came north to investigate the rumors
I had heard concerning Capietro and his band, believing that they not
only would suspect no danger, but hoping, also, that they would seek to
attack and plunder my safari as they have those of others."
"Geeze," said the "Gunner." "What a jolt they would of got!"
"That is why we never saw 'Lord Passmore,'" said Lady Barbara,
laughing. "I thought him a most elusive host."
"The first night I left you here," explained Tarzan, "I walked into
the jungle until I was out of sight, and then I came back from another
direction and entered my tent from the rear. I slept there all night.
The next morning, early, I left in search of your friends and was
captured myself. But everything has worked out well, and if you have no
other immediate plans I hope that you will accompany me back to my home
and remain a while as my guests while you recover from the rather rough
experiences Africa has afforded you. Or, perhaps," he added, "Professor
Smith and his friend wish to continue their geological investigations."
"I, ah, well, you see," stammered Lafayette Smith; "I have about
decided to abandon my work in Africa and devote my life to the geology
of England. We, or, er--you see, Lady Barbara--"
"I am going to take him back to England and teach him to shoot before I
let him return to Africa. Possibly we shall come back later, though."
"And you Patrick," asked Tarzan, "are you remaining to hunt, perhaps?"
"Nix, mister," said Danny, emphatically. "We're goin' to California and
buy a garage and filling station."
"We?" queried Lady Barbara.
"Sure," said the "Gunner"; "me and Jez."
"Really?" exclaimed Lady Barbara. "Is he in earnest, Jezebel?"
"Oke, kid--isn't it ripping?" replied the golden one.
* * * * *