"Where are your people?" Tar-gash asked again.
Tarzan shook his head. "I do not know," he said.
"Where is your country?" asked Tar-gash.
"It is a long way off," replied the ape-man. "It is not in Pellucidar;"
but that the Sagoth could not understand any more than he could
understand that a creature might be lost at all, for inherent in
him was that same homing instinct that marked all the creatures of
Pellucidar and which constitutes a wise provision of nature in a world
without guiding celestial bodies.
Had it been possible to transport Tar-gash instantly to any point
within that mighty inner world, elsewhere than upon the surface of an
ocean, he could have unerringly found his way to the very spot where
he was born, and because that power was instinctive he could not
understand why Tarzan did not possess it.
"I know where there is a tribe of men," he said, presently. "Perhaps
they are your people. I shall lead you to them."
As Tarzan had no idea as to the direction in which the ship lay and as
it was remotely possible that Tar-gash was referring to the members
of the O-220 expedition, he felt that he was as well off following
where Tar-gash led as elsewhere, and so he signified his readiness to
accompany the Sagoth.
"How long since you saw this tribe of men," he asked after a while,
"and how long have they lived where you saw them?"
Upon the Sagoth's reply to these questions, the ape-man felt that he
might determine the possibility of the men to whom Tar-gash referred
being the members of his own party, for if they were newcomers in the
district then the chances were excellent that they were the people
he sought; but his questions elicited no satisfactory reply for the
excellent reason that time meant nothing to Tar-gash. And so the two
set out upon a leisurely search for the tribe of men that Tar-gash knew
of. It was leisurely because for Tar-gash time did not exist; nor had
it ever been a very important factor in the existence of the ape-man,
except in occasional moments of emergency.
They were a strangely assorted pair--one a creature just standing upon
the threshold of humanity, the other an English Lord in his own right,
who was, at the same time, in many respects as primitive as the savage,
shaggy bull into whose companionship chance had thrown him.
At first Tar-gash had been inclined to look with contempt upon this
creature of another race, which he considered far inferior to his own
in strength, agility, courage and woodcraft, but he soon came to hold
the ape-man in vast respect. And because he could respect his prowess
he became attached to him in bonds of loyalty that were as closely akin
to friendship as the savage nature of his primitive mind permitted.
They hunted together and fought together. They swung through the trees
when the great cats hunted upon the ground, or they followed game
trails ages old beneath the hoary trees of Pellucidar or out across her
rolling, grassy, flower-spangled meadowland.
They lived well upon the fat of the land for both were mighty hunters.
Tarzan fashioned a new bow and arrows and a stout spear, and these, at
first, the Sagoth refused even to notice, but presently when he saw
how easily and quickly they brought game to their larder he evinced a
keen interest and Tarzan taught him how to use the weapons and later
how to fashion them.
The country through which they traveled was well watered and was
alive with game. It was partly wooded with great stretches of open
land, where tremendous herds of herbivores grazed beneath the eternal
noonday sun, and because of these great herds the beasts of prey were
numerous--and such beasts!
Tarzan had thought that there was no world like his own world and no
jungle like his own jungle, but the more deeply he dipped into the
wonders of Pellucidar the more enamored he became of this savage,
primitive world, teeming with the wild life he loved best. That there
were few men was Pellucidar's chiefest recommendation. Had there been
none the ape-man might have considered this the land of ultimate
perfection, for who is there more conversant with the cruelty and
inconsideration of man than the savage beasts of the jungle?
The friendship that had developed between Tarzan and the Sagoth--and
that was primarily based upon the respect which each felt for the
prowess of the other--increased as each seemed to realize other
admirable, personal qualities and characteristics in his companion, not
the least of which being a common taciturnity. They spoke only when
conversation seemed necessary, and that, in reality, was seldom.
If man spoke only when he had something worth while to say and said
that as quickly as possible, ninety-eight per cent of the human race
might as well be dumb, thereby establishing a heavenly harmony from
pate to tonsil.
And so the companionship of Tar-gash, coupled with the romance of
strange sights and sounds and odors in this new world, acted upon the
ape-man as might a strong drug, filling him with exhilaration and
dulling his sense of responsibility, so that the necessity of finding
his people dwindled to a matter of minor importance. Had he known
that some of them were in trouble his attitude would have changed
immediately, but this he did not know. On the contrary he was only
aware that they had every facility for insuring their safety and their
ultimate return to the outer world and that his absence would not
handicap them in any particular. However, when he did give the matter
thought he knew that he must return to them, that he must find them,
and that sooner or later he must go back with them to the world from
which they had come.
But all such considerations were quite remote from his thoughts as he
and Tar-gash were crossing a rolling, tree-dotted plain in their search
for the tribe of men to which the Sagoth was guiding him. By comparison
with other plains they had crossed, this one seemed strangely deserted,
but the reason for this was evident in the close-cropped grass which
suggested that great herds had grazed it off before moving on to new
pastures. The absence of life and movement was slightly depressing and
Tarzan found himself regretting the absence of even the dangers of the
teeming land through which they had just come.
They were well out toward the center of the plain and could see the
solid green of a great forest curving upward into the hazy distance
when the attention of both was attracted by a strange, droning noise
that brought them to a sudden halt. Simultaneously both turned and
looked backward and up into the sky from which the sound seemed to come.
Far above and just emerging from the haze of the distance was a tiny
speck. "Quick!" exclaimed Tar-gash. "It is a thipdar," and motioning
Tarzan to follow him he ran swiftly to concealment beneath a large tree.
"What is a thipdar?" asked Tarzan, as the two halted beneath the
friendly shade.
"A thipdar," said the Sagoth, "is a thipdar;" nor could he describe it
more fully other than to add that the thipdars were sometimes used by
the Mahars either to protect them or to hunt their food.
"Is the thipdar a living thing?" demanded Tarzan.
"Yes," replied Tar-gash. "It lives and is very strong and very fierce."
"Then that is not a thipdar," said Tarzan.
"What is it then?" demanded the Sagoth.
"It is an aeroplane," replied Tarzan.
"What is that?" inquired the Sagoth.
"It would be hard to explain it to you," replied the ape-man. "It is
something that the men of my world build and in which they fly through
the air," and as he spoke he stepped out into the opening, where he
might signal the pilot of the plane, which he was positive was the one
carried by the O-220 and which, he assumed, was prosecuting a search
for him.
"Come back," exclaimed Tar-gash. "You cannot fight a thipdar. It will
swoop down and carry you off if you are out in the open."
"It will not harm me," said Tarzan. "One of my friends is in it."
"And you will be in it, too, if you do not come back under the tree,"
replied Tar-gash.
As the plane approached, Tarzan ran around in a small circle to attract
the pilot's attention, stopping occasionally to wave his arms, but the
plane sped on above him and it was evident that its pilot had not seen
him.
Until it faded from sight in the distance, Tarzan of the Apes stood
upon the lonely plain, watching the ship that was bearing his comrade
away from him.
The sight of the ship awakened Tarzan to a sense of his responsibility.
He realized now that someone was risking his life to save him and with
this thought came a determination to exert every possible effort to
locate the O-220.
The passage of the plane opened many possibilities for conjecture. If
it was circling, which was possible, the direction of its flight as it
passed over him would have no bearing upon the direction of the O-220,
and if it were not circling, then how was he to know whether it was
traveling away from the ship in the beginning of its quest, or was
returning to it having concluded its flight.
"That was not a thipdar," said Tar-gash, coming from beneath the tree
and standing at Tarzan's side. "It is a creature that I have never seen
before. It is larger and must be even more terrible than a thipdar. It
must have been very angry, for it growled terribly all the time."
"It is not alive," said Tarzan. "It is something that the men of my
country build that they may fly through the air. Riding in it is one of
my friends. He is looking for me."
The Sagoth shook his head. "I am glad he did not come down," he said.
"He was either very angry or very hungry, otherwise he would not have
growled so loudly."
It was apparent to Tarzan that Tar-gash was entirely incapable of
comprehending his explanation of the aeroplane and that he would
always believe it was a huge, flying reptile; but that was of no
importance--the thing that troubled Tarzan being the question of the
direction in which he should now prosecute his search for the O-220,
and eventually he determined to follow in the direction taken by the
airship, for as this coincided with the direction in which Tar-gash
assured him he would find the tribe of human beings for which they were
searching, it seemed after all the wisest course to pursue.
The drone of the motor had died away in the distance when Tarzan and
Tar-gash took up their interrupted journey across the plain and into
broken country of low, rocky hills.
The trail, which was well marked and which Tar-gash said led through
the hills, followed the windings of a shallow canyon, which was rimmed
on one side by low cliffs, in the face of which there were occasional
caves and crevices. The bottom of the canyon was strewn with fragments
of rock of various sizes. The vegetation was sparse and there was every
indication of an aridity such as Tarzan had not previously encountered
since he left the O-220, and as it seemed likely that both game and
water would be scarce here, the two pushed on at a brisk, swinging walk.
It was very quiet and Tarzan's ears were constantly upon the alert
to catch the first sound of the hum of the motor of the returning
aeroplane, when suddenly the silence was shattered by the sound of
hoarse screeching which seemed to be coming from a point further up the
canyon.
Tar-gash halted. "Dyal," he said.
Tarzan looked at the Sagoth questioningly.
"It is a Dyal," repeated Tar-gash, "and it is angry."
"What is a Dyal?" asked Tarzan.
"It is a terrible bird," replied the Sagoth; "but its meat is good, and
Tar-gash is hungry."
That was enough. No matter how terrible the Dyal might be, it was meat
and Tar-gash was hungry, and so the two beasts of prey crept warily
forward, stalking their quarry. A vagrant breeze, wafting gently down
the canyon, brought to the nostrils of the ape-man a strange, new
scent. It was a bird scent, slightly suggestive of the scent of an
ostrich, and from its volume Tarzan guessed that it might come from a
very large bird, a suggestion that was borne out by the loud screeching
of the creature, intermingled with which was a scratching and a
scraping sound.
Tar-gash, who was in the lead and who was taking advantage of all the
natural shelter afforded by the fragments of rock with which the canyon
bed was strewn, came to a halt upon the lower side of a great boulder,
behind which he quickly withdrew, and as Tarzan joined him he signalled
the ape-man to look around the corner of the boulder.
Following the suggestion of his companion, Tarzan saw the author of the
commotion that had attracted their attention. Being a savage jungle
beast, he exhibited no outward sign of the astonishment he felt as
he gazed upon the mighty creature that was clawing frantically at a
crevice in the cliffside.
To Tarzan it was a nameless creature of another world. To Tar-gash it
was simply a Dyal. Neither knew that he was looking upon a Phororhacos
of the Miocene. They saw a huge creature whose crested head, larger
than that of a horse, towered eight feet above the ground. Its
powerful, curved beak gaped wide as it screeched in anger. It beat its
short, useless wing in a frenzy of rage as it struck with its mighty
three-toed talons at something just within the fissure before it. And
then it was that Tarzan saw that the thing at which it struck was a
spear, held by human hands--a pitifully inadequate weapon with which to
attempt to ward off the attack of the mighty Dyal.
As Tarzan surveyed the creature he wondered how Tar-gash, armed only
with his puny club, might hope to pit himself in successful combat
against it. He saw the Sagoth creep stealthily out from behind their
rocky shelter and move slowly to another closer to the Dyal and behind
it, and so absorbed was the bird in its attack upon the man within the
fissure that it did not notice the approach of the enemy in its rear.
The moment that Tar-gash was safely concealed behind the new shelter,
Tarzan followed him and now they were within fifty feet of the great
bird.
The Sagoth, grasping his club firmly by the small end, arose and ran
swiftly from his concealment, straight toward the giant Dyal, and
Tarzan followed, fitting an arrow to his bow.
Tar-gash had covered but half the distance when the sound of his
approach attracted the attention of the bird. Wheeling about, it
discovered the two rash creatures who dared to interfere with its
attack upon its quarry, and with a loud screech and wide distended beak
it charged them.
The instant that the Dyal had turned and discovered them, Tar-gash had
commenced whirling his club about his head and as the bird charged he
launched it at one of those mighty legs, and on the instant Tarzan
understood the purpose of the Sagoth's method of attack. The heavy
club, launched by the mighty muscles of the beast man, would snap the
leg bone that it struck, and then the enormous fowl would be at the
mercy of the Sagoth. But if it did not strike the leg, what then?
Almost certain death for Tar-gash.
Tarzan had long since had reason to appreciate his companion's savage
disregard of life in the pursuit of flesh, but this seemed the highest
pinnacle to which rashness might ascend and still remain within the
realm of sanity.
And, indeed, there happened that which Tarzan had feared--the club
missed its mark. Tarzan's bow sang and an arrow sank deep into the
breast of the Dyal. Tar-gash leaped swiftly to one side, eluding the
charge, and another arrow pierced the bird's feathers and hide. And
then the ape-man sprang quickly to his right as the avalanche of
destruction bore down upon him, its speed undiminished by the force of
the two arrows buried so deeply within it.
Before the Dyal could turn to pursue either of them, Tar-gash hurled
a rock, many of which were scattered upon the ground about them. It
struck the Dyal upon the side of the head, momentarily dazing him,
and Tarzan drove home two more arrows. As he did so, the Dyal wheeled
drunkenly toward him and as he faced about a great spear drove past
Tarzan's shoulder and plunged deep into the breast of the maddened
creature, and to the impact of this last missile it went down, falling
almost at the feet of the ape-man.
Ignorant though he was of the strength and the methods of attack and
defense of this strange bird, Tarzan nevertheless hesitated not an
instant and as the Dyal fell he was upon it with drawn hunting knife.
So quickly was he in and out that he had severed its windpipe and was
away again before he could become entangled in its death struggle, and
then it was that for the first time he saw the man who had cast the
spear.
Standing erect, a puzzled expression upon his face, was a tall,
stalwart warrior, his slightly bronzed skin gleaming in the sunlight,
his shaggy head of hair bound back by a deer-skin band.
For weapons, in addition to his spear, he carried a stone knife, thrust
into the girdle that supported his G-string. His eyes were well set and
intelligent. His features were regular and well cut. Altogether he was
as splendid a specimen of manhood as Tarzan had ever beheld.
Tar-gash, who had recovered his club, was advancing toward the
stranger. "I am Tar-gash," he said. "I kill."
The stranger drew his stone knife and waited, looking first at Tar-gash
and then at Tarzan.
The ape-man stepped in front of Tar-gash. "Wait," he commanded. "Why do
you kill?"
"He is a gilak," replied the Sagoth.
"He saved you from the Dyal," Tarzan reminded Tar-gash. "My arrows
would not stop the bird. Had it not been for his spear, one or both of
us must have died."
The Sagoth appeared puzzled. He scratched his head in perplexity. "But
if I do not kill him, he will kill me," he said finally.
Tarzan turned toward the stranger. "I am Tarzan," he said. "This is
Tar-gash," and he pointed at the Sagoth and waited.
"I am Thoar," said the stranger.
"Let us be friends," said Tarzan. "We have no quarrel with you."
Again the stranger looked puzzled.
"Do you understand the language of the Sagoths?" asked Tarzan, thinking
that possibly the man might not have understood him.