X.

As the leopard leaped for the great ape Meriem gasped in surprise and

horror—not for the impending fate of the anthropoid, but at the act of

the youth who but an instant before had angrily struck his strange

companion; for scarce had the carnivore burst into view than with drawn

knife the youth had leaped far out above him, so that as Sheeta was

almost in the act of sinking fangs and talons in Akut’s broad back The

Killer landed full upon the leopard’s shoulders.

The cat halted in mid air, missed the ape by but a hair’s breadth, and

with horrid snarlings rolled over upon its back, clutching and clawing

in an effort to reach and dislodge the antagonist biting at its neck

and knifing it in the side.

Akut, startled by the sudden rush from his rear, and following hoary

instinct, was in the tree beside the girl with an agility little short

of marvelous in so heavy a beast. But the moment that he turned to see

what was going on below him brought him as quickly to the ground again.

Personal differences were quickly forgotten in the danger which menaced

his human companion, nor was he a whit less eager to jeopardize his own

safety in the service of his friend than Korak had been to succor him.

The result was that Sheeta presently found two ferocious creatures

tearing him to ribbons. Shrieking, snarling and growling, the three

rolled hither and thither among the underbrush, while with staring eyes

the sole spectator of the battle royal crouched trembling in the tree

above them hugging Geeka frantically to her breast.

It was the boy’s knife which eventually decided the battle, and as the

fierce feline shuddered convulsively and rolled over upon its side the

youth and the ape rose and faced one another across the prostrate

carcass. Korak jerked his head in the direction of the little girl in

the tree.

“Leave her alone,” he said; “she is mine.”

Akut grunted, blinked his blood-shot eyes, and turned toward the body

of Sheeta. Standing erect upon it he threw out his great chest, raised

his face toward the heavens and gave voice to so horrid a scream that

once again the little girl shuddered and shrank. It was the victory cry

of the bull ape that has made a kill. The boy only looked on for a

moment in silence; then he leaped into the tree again to the girl’s

side. Akut presently rejoined them. For a few minutes he busied himself

licking his wounds, then he wandered off to hunt his breakfast.

For many months the strange life of the three went on unmarked by any

unusual occurrences. At least without any occurrences that seemed

unusual to the youth or the ape; but to the little girl it was a

constant nightmare of horrors for days and weeks, until she too became

accustomed to gazing into the eyeless sockets of death and to the feel

of the icy wind of his shroud-like mantle. Slowly she learned the

rudiments of the only common medium of thought exchange which her

companions possessed—the language of the great apes. More quickly she

perfected herself in jungle craft, so that the time soon came when she

was an important factor in the chase, watching while the others slept,

or helping them to trace the spoor of whatever prey they might be

stalking. Akut accepted her on a footing which bordered upon equality

when it was necessary for them to come into close contact; but for the

most part he avoided her. The youth always was kind to her, and if

there were many occasions upon which he felt the burden of her presence

he hid it from her. Finding that the night damp and chill caused her

discomfort and even suffering, Korak constructed a tight little shelter

high among the swaying branches of a giant tree. Here little Meriem

slept in comparative warmth and safety, while The Killer and the ape

perched upon near-by branches, the former always before the entrance to

the lofty domicile, where he best could guard its inmate from the

dangers of arboreal enemies. They were too high to feel much fear of

Sheeta; but there was always Histah, the snake, to strike terror to

one’s soul, and the great baboons who lived near-by, and who, while

never attacking always bared their fangs and barked at any of the trio

when they passed near them.

After the construction of the shelter the activities of the three

became localized. They ranged less widely, for there was always the

necessity of returning to their own tree at nightfall. A river flowed

near by. Game and fruit were plentiful, as were fish also. Existence

had settled down to the daily humdrum of the wild—the search for food

and the sleeping upon full bellies. They looked no further ahead than

today. If the youth thought of his past and of those who longed for him

in the distant metropolis it was in a detached and impersonal sort of

way as though that other life belonged to another creature than

himself. He had given up hope of returning to civilization, for since

his various rebuffs at the hands of those to whom he had looked for

friendship he had wandered so far inland as to realize that he was

completely lost in the mazes of the jungle.

Then, too, since the coming of Meriem he had found in her that one

thing which he had most missed before in his savage, jungle life—human

companionship. In his friendship for her there was appreciable no trace

of sex influence of which he was cognizant. They were

friends—companions—that was all. Both might have been boys, except for

the half tender and always masterful manifestation of the protective

instinct which was apparent in Korak’s attitude.

The little girl idolized him as she might have idolized an indulgent

brother had she had one. Love was a thing unknown to either; but as the

youth neared manhood it was inevitable that it should come to him as it

did to every other savage, jungle male.

As Meriem became proficient in their common language the pleasures of

their companionship grew correspondingly, for now they could converse

and aided by the mental powers of their human heritage they amplified

the restricted vocabulary of the apes until talking was transformed

from a task into an enjoyable pastime. When Korak hunted, Meriem

usually accompanied him, for she had learned the fine art of silence,

when silence was desirable. She could pass through the branches of the

great trees now with all the agility and stealth of The Killer himself.

Great heights no longer appalled her. She swung from limb to limb, or

she raced through the mighty branches, surefooted, lithe, and fearless.

Korak was very proud of her, and even old Akut grunted in approval

where before he had growled in contempt.

A distant village of blacks had furnished her with a mantle of fur and

feathers, with copper ornaments, and weapons, for Korak would not

permit her to go unarmed, or unversed in the use of the weapons he

stole for her. A leather thong over one shoulder supported the ever

present Geeka who was still the recipient of her most sacred

confidences. A light spear and a long knife were her weapons of offense

or defense. Her body, rounding into the fulness of an early maturity,

followed the lines of a Greek goddess; but there the similarity ceased,

for her face was beautiful.

As she grew more accustomed to the jungle and the ways of its wild

denizens fear left her. As time wore on she even hunted alone when

Korak and Akut were prowling at a great distance, as they were

sometimes forced to do when game was scarce in their immediate

vicinity. Upon these occasions she usually confined her endeavors to

the smaller animals though sometimes she brought down a deer, and once

even Horta, the boar—a great tusker that even Sheeta might have thought

twice before attacking.

In their stamping grounds in the jungle the three were familiar

figures. The little monkeys knew them well, often coming close to

chatter and frolic about them. When Akut was by, the small folk kept

their distance, but with Korak they were less shy and when both the

males were gone they would come close to Meriem, tugging at her

ornaments or playing with Geeka, who was a never ending source of

amusement to them. The girl played with them and fed them, and when she

was alone they helped her to pass the long hours until Korak’s return.

Nor were they worthless as friends. In the hunt they helped her locate

her quarry. Often they would come racing through the trees to her side

to announce the near presence of antelope or giraffe, or with excited

warnings of the proximity of Sheeta or Numa. Luscious, sun-kissed

fruits which hung far out upon the frail bough of the jungle’s waving

crest were brought to her by these tiny, nimble allies. Sometimes they

played tricks upon her; but she was always kind and gentle with them

and in their wild, half-human way they were kind to her and

affectionate. Their language being similar to that of the great apes

Meriem could converse with them though the poverty of their vocabulary

rendered these exchanges anything but feasts of reason. For familiar

objects they had names, as well as for those conditions which induced

pain or pleasure, joy, sorrow, or rage. These root words were so

similar to those in use among the great anthropoids as to suggest that

the language of the Manus was the mother tongue. At best it lent itself

to but material and sordid exchange. Dreams, aspirations, hopes, the

past, the future held no place in the conversation of Manu, the monkey.

All was of the present—particularly of filling his belly and catching

lice.

Poor food was this to nourish the mental appetite of a girl just upon

the brink of womanhood. And so, finding Manu only amusing as an

occasional playfellow or pet, Meriem poured out her sweetest soul

thoughts into the deaf ears of Geeka’s ivory head. To Geeka she spoke

in Arabic, knowing that Geeka, being but a doll, could not understand

the language of Korak and Akut, and that the language of Korak and Akut

being that of male apes contained nothing of interest to an Arab doll.

Geeka had undergone a transformation since her little mother had left

the village of The Sheik. Her garmenture now reflected in miniature

that of Meriem. A tiny bit of leopard skin covered her ratskin torso

from shoulder to splinter knee. A band of braided grasses about her

brow held in place a few gaudy feathers from the parakeet, while other

bits of grass were fashioned into imitations of arm and leg ornaments

of metal. Geeka was a perfect little savage; but at heart she was

unchanged, being the same omnivorous listener as of yore. An excellent

trait in Geeka was that she never interrupted in order to talk about

herself. Today was no exception. She had been listening attentively to

Meriem for an hour, propped against the bole of a tree while her lithe,

young mistress stretched catlike and luxurious along a swaying branch

before her.

“Little Geeka,” said Meriem, “our Korak has been gone for a long time

today. We miss him, little Geeka, do we not? It is dull and lonesome in

the great jungle when our Korak is away. What will he bring us this

time, eh? Another shining band of metal for Meriem’s ankle? Or a soft,

doeskin loin cloth from the body of a black she? He tells me that it is

harder to get the possessions of the shes, for he will not kill them as

he does the males, and they fight savagely when he leaps upon them to

wrest their ornaments from them. Then come the males with spears and

arrows and Korak takes to the trees. Sometimes he takes the she with

him and high among the branches divests her of the things he wishes to

bring home to Meriem. He says that the blacks fear him now, and at

first sight of him the women and children run shrieking to their huts;

but he follows them within, and it is not often that he returns without

arrows for himself and a present for Meriem. Korak is mighty among the

jungle people—our Korak, Geeka—no, _my_ Korak!”

Meriem’s conversation was interrupted by the sudden plunge of an

excited little monkey that landed upon her shoulders in a flying leap

from a neighboring tree.

“Climb!” he cried. “Climb! The Mangani are coming.”

Meriem glanced lazily over her shoulder at the excited disturber of her

peace.

“Climb, yourself, little Manu,” she said. “The only Mangani in our

jungle are Korak and Akut. It is they you have seen returning from the

hunt. Some day you will see your own shadow, little Manu, and then you

will be frightened to death.”

But the monkey only screamed his warning more lustily before he raced

upward toward the safety of the high terrace where Mangani, the great

ape, could not follow. Presently Meriem heard the sound of approaching

bodies swinging through the trees. She listened attentively. There were

two and they were great apes—Korak and Akut. To her Korak was an ape—a

Mangani, for as such the three always described themselves. Man was an

enemy, so they did not think of themselves as belonging any longer to

the same genus. Tarmangani, or great white ape, which described the

white man in their language, did not fit them all. Gomangani—great

black ape, or Negro—described none of them so they called themselves

plain Mangani.

Meriem decided that she would feign slumber and play a joke on Korak.

So she lay very still with eyes tightly closed. She heard the two

approaching closer and closer. They were in the adjoining tree now and

must have discovered her, for they had halted. Why were they so quiet?

Why did not Korak call out his customary greeting? The quietness was

ominous. It was followed presently by a very stealthy sound—one of them

was creeping upon her. Was Korak planning a joke upon his own account?

Well, she would fool him. Cautiously she opened her eyes the tiniest

bit, and as she did so her heart stood still. Creeping silently toward

her was a huge bull ape that she never before had seen. Behind him was

another like him.

With the agility of a squirrel Meriem was upon her feet and at the same

instant the great bull lunged for her. Leaping from limb to limb the

girl fled through the jungle while close behind her came the two great

apes. Above them raced a bevy of screaming, chattering monkeys, hurling

taunts and insults at the Mangani, and encouragement and advice to the

girl.

From tree to tree swung Meriem working ever upward toward the smaller

branches which would not bear the weight of her pursuers. Faster and

faster came the bull apes after her. The clutching fingers of the

foremost were almost upon her again and again, but she eluded them by

sudden bursts of speed or reckless chances as she threw herself across

dizzy spaces.

Slowly she was gaining her way to the greater heights where safety lay,

when, after a particularly daring leap, the swaying branch she grasped

bent low beneath her weight, nor whipped upward again as it should have

done. Even before the rending sound which followed Meriem knew that she

had misjudged the strength of the limb. It gave slowly at first. Then

there was a ripping as it parted from the trunk. Releasing her hold

Meriem dropped among the foliage beneath, clutching for a new support.

She found it a dozen feet below the broken limb. She had fallen thus

many times before, so that she had no particular terror of a fall—it

was the delay which appalled her most, and rightly, for scarce had she

scrambled to a place of safety than the body of the huge ape dropped at

her side and a great, hairy arm went about her waist.

Almost at once the other ape reached his companion’s side. He made a

lunge at Meriem; but her captor swung her to one side, bared his

fighting fangs and growled ominously. Meriem struggled to escape. She

struck at the hairy breast and bearded cheek. She fastened her strong,

white teeth in one shaggy forearm. The ape cuffed her viciously across

the face, then he had to turn his attention to his fellow who quite

evidently desired the prize for his own.

The captor could not fight to advantage upon the swaying bough,

burdened as he was by a squirming, struggling captive, so he dropped

quickly to the ground beneath. The other followed him, and here they

fought, occasionally abandoning their duel to pursue and recapture the

girl who took every advantage of her captors’ preoccupation in battle

to break away in attempted escape; but always they overtook her, and

first one and then the other possessed her as they struggled to tear

one another to pieces for the prize.

Often the girl came in for many blows that were intended for a hairy

foe, and once she was felled, lying unconscious while the apes,

relieved of the distraction of detaining her by force, tore into one

another in fierce and terrible combat.

Above them screamed the little monkeys, racing hither and thither in a

frenzy of hysterical excitement. Back and forth over the battle field

flew countless birds of gorgeous plumage, squawking their hoarse cries

of rage and defiance. In the distance a lion roared.

The larger bull was slowly tearing his antagonist to pieces. They

rolled upon the ground biting and striking. Again, erect upon their

hind legs they pulled and tugged like human wrestlers; but always the

giant fangs found their bloody part to play until both combatants and

the ground about them were red with gore.

Meriem, through it all, lay still and unconscious upon the ground. At

last one found a permanent hold upon the jugular of the other and thus

they went down for the last time. For several minutes they lay with

scarce a struggle. It was the larger bull who arose alone from the last

embrace. He shook himself. A deep growl rumbled from his hairy throat.

He waddled back and forth between the body of the girl and that of his

vanquished foe. Then he stood upon the latter and gave tongue to his

hideous challenge. The little monkeys broke, screaming, in all

directions as the terrifying noise broke upon their ears. The gorgeous

birds took wing and fled. Once again the lion roared, this time at a

greater distance.

The great ape waddled once more to the girl’s side. He turned her over

upon her back, and stooping commenced to sniff and listen about her

face and breast. She lived. The monkeys were returning. They came in

swarms, and from above hurled down insults upon the victor.

The ape showed his displeasure by baring his teeth and growling up at

them. Then he stooped and lifting the girl to his shoulder waddled off

through the jungle. In his wake followed the angry mob.