The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-05-16
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 Couisl it be that the eeremony mark ed the very thing he had so hastened to prevent A wave of horror swept over him Was he. after all, to be just a moment too later Like frightened deer he leaped across the narrow chesn to the continue ton of the pas Bage beyond At the false wall he tore like one possessed to demolish the bar rier that confronted him With giant muscles he forced the opening. thrust Ing his head and shoulders thro ag h the first srnall hole he made and carry1ng the balance of the wall with him. to chatter resoundineIy upon the cement floor of the dungeon
 with single leap he cleared the length of the chamber and threw him self against the ancient door. But here he stopped The mighty bars upon the other side were proof even aEainst such muscles ss his IL needed but moments effort to convince him 0f the futIlity of endeavoring to force that irnpregnable barrier There was b-rt one other way, and that led back through the long tunnels to the bowl der mile beyond the city's " alls and then back across the open as he had come to the city first with his Waziri
 He realized that to rerrace bis steps and enter. the city from above ground would mean that he would be too late to save the girl if it were indeed she wao lay upon the sacriacial altar above him But there seemed no otf er way, and no he turned and ran swift tly back into the bassaeeway beyond che broken wall. At the well he heard al pain the nnonotonous voice of the high D r1estesss and as he glanced aloft the opening, twenty feet above, seemed so ear that he was tempted to leap for itsfn mad endeav6r to reach the inner courty ard that lay So near
 If he could but get one enst 9f his grass rope caught upon some pzojec- 6fon ait the top of that ta1lkal lizinG aper- f1ret Tn tae insta nt's patse and thought an idea occurred to his1i. He would attempt it Tnrni1e back to the tuznb1ed wall. he seized one of the large. fiat slabs that had con13osed 1t. Hsstily making one end of 1is rope fast to the piece of granite, hesreturn ed to the shaft. and. co{hng the bal azace of the rope on the door beside hfrn the ape-man took the helvy slab in both hands. and, swinging r several times to get the distance and the di- rection 6xed, he let the weight fly up zk a si7ghf sngle, SC that ira5tead Of falling straight back into the shaft again 1t grazed the far edge, turnbling over Into the cnurt beyond.
 Tarzan dragged for a m1onzmk upon the slack end of the rope until he felt fhaE the stone was lodged with fair security at the shafts top, then he swung out oyer the black dtpfhs be. neath The moment his full weight rauae upon the rope he felt it slip from above He wnfted there In awful suspense as t dropped in little jerks Inch by inch The stone VI as being dragged up the outside of the mason rY surrounding fhe top of the shaft would it catch ait the very edge or would his weight drag it ovtm to fall npon him as he huTfled into the un- known depths below
 For brief, siekenfng moment Tar gan felt the slipping of the rope to which he clung end heard the scrapfng of the block Of stcne aEninst the ma Bonry ab4ve
 Then. of sz71den, the rope was stilI
 fhe Etnne had causht at the very edge eihgeriy the ape man cIambered I'D the fraM rope. In n moment his head was above the edge of the shaft. The court was empty The inhabs- tants of Opar were viewing the sacri- flee Tarzan could hear the voice of La frum the nearby sacrifcial court The dance had ceased It must be almost time for the knife to fall, but even as he thought these things he was running rapidly toward the sound of the high przestess' voice.
 Fabe guided h4m to the very door way Of the great roo7eN chamber Between him and the altar wae the long row Of prfests and rriestesees nvazt1ns with their golden cups the Bpl1Hng of the warm blood of thear victim
 Lap hand was descending slowly to- ward tz3e bosom Of the f1aiL quiet flg- ura t11at 1ay stretched upon the hard nfune. Tnrzan gave a gasp that was almost a sob as he fecogn1zed the fea- tnres sf the girl he loved. And then thn scar upon his forehead turned to a daning band of scarlet. red mist noased before his eyes, and with the awfn1 roar Of the bull ape gone mad he sprang like huge nor into the nzszst of the votaE5es
 seiziug a cudgeI from tie nearest priest he laid about hin Nike n yerita- Efe demon as he forged his rapid way <sward the altar The hand of La had paused at the first noise of inter EuDtfon- When she saw who the au- Thor or ff was she went white. She had never been able to fathom the se- cret of the strange white man-s es- cape from the dungeon in which she had locked him. She had not intend ed that he should ever leave ODar, for she had looked upon his giant frame and 11andsome face with the eyes of . woman and not those of a priestess.
 In her clever mind she had concoct- ed story of wonderful revelation from the lips of the flaming god him. self in which she had been ordered to receive this white stra neer as q messenger from him to his people on