The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1914-12-03
CHAPTER XXI.
La. the Priestess.

back acroS the altar. his head
hanging over II edge. his legs Over
the opposite. Then they and the priest
eSses formed in two lines "lth their
little golden cups in readiness to cap.
ture a share of the victims life blood
after the Sacriivial knife had accom-
pliGhed its work.
In the line Of priests an alteration
arose as to who ShoAid nave first place.
A burly brute with all the refined intel
ligence of a gorilla stamped upon his
bestial face was attempting to push a
smaller man to second place, but the
smaller n Appealed to the high priest
Sss. who in IA cold. peremptory voice
sent the larger to the extreme end of
the line. TarZan could hear him growl-
Ing and grumbling as he vent slowly
TO the inferior station.
Then the pricstess, standing above
him. began recitihg what TarZan took
to be an Invocation, the while she
slowly raised her thin, sharp knife
aloft. 1t seemed ages to the ape man
before her arm ceased its upward
progress and the knife halted high
above his unprotected breast.
Then it started downward. slowly at
first. but as the incarnation increased
in rapidity. with greater speed. At the
end of the line TarZan could still hear
the grumblin% of the diSgruntled priest.
The mans voice rose louder and louder.
A pricstess neal him spoke in sharp
tones Of rebuke. The knife vas quite
near to Tarzan's breast now, but it
halted for an instant as the high priest
ess raised her eyes TO shoot her swift
displeasure at the instigator of this
sacrilegious interruption.
There was Il sudden conmotion in
the direction Of the disputants. and
Tarzan rolled his head in their direc-
ton in time to see the burly brute OF
IA priest leap upon the oma opposite
him, dashing out her brains with a sim
gle blow of his heavy cudgel.
His screams of rage were frightful
as he dashed hither and thither, deal
ing terrific blows with his giant weap-
on or sinking his yellow fangs into the
hesh of some luckless victim. And
during it the priestess stood with pois-
ed knife above Tarzan, her eyes fixed
in horror upon the maniacal thing that
was dealing out death and destruction
to her yotaries. Slowly he crept to-
ward her and now he spoke, but this
time there fell upon Tarzan's surprised
| ears a language he could understand;
| the last one that he would ever have
| thought of employing in attempting to
converse with human beings-tbe low
cultural barking of the tribe Of great
antlropoids-his own mother tongue
And the woman answered the man IN
| the same language.
He was threatening. she attempting
to reason with him. for it was quite
evident that she saw that he was past
Der authority. The brute was quite
close now-creeping with clawlikt
hands extended toward her around
the end of the altar. AS the brute
Ieaped past TarZan to clutch his victim
the ape-man gave one superhumaf
wrench at the thongs that held him
The effort sent him rolling from thu
altar to the stone floor on the opposite
side from that on which the priestess
stood. but as he sprang 20 his feet tht
thongs dropped from his freed arms
and at the same time he realized that
he was alone in the inner temple-tht
high priestess and the mad priest hat
disappeared
And then Il muflled scream came
from the c%avernous mouth Of the dark
hole beyond the sacrifcial altar
through which the priestess had en-
tered the temple. Without even {
thought for his own safety or the pos
sibility for escape which this rapid Sc
ries of fortuitouS circumstances haC
thrust upon him. TarZan of the Apes
answered the call Of the woman IL
danger. With Il 1.-THE hound he was a
the gaping entrance to the subterra
mean chamber and a moment late
was running down "A fight Of age ole
concrete steps that led he knew no
where.
The faint light that filtered in from
above showed him Il large. low ceile,
vault from which several doorways le,
off into inky darkness. but there wa
no need to thread an unknown way. TO
there before him lay the objects of hi
search-thc mad brute had the gir
upon the floor. and gorilla-like finger
were clutching frantically mt her throa
as she struggled to escape the. fury o
the awful thing upon her.
As TarZan's heavy hand fell upon hi
shoulder the priest dropped his victim
and turned upon her would he rescuer
With foam fiecked lips and barred fang
the mad sun worshiper hattled witt
the tenfold power of the maniac. II
the blood lust of his fury the creatur
had undergone a sudden reversion t