The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1914-11-26

lence Of the ruined temple there rang
close to their ears the same hideous
shrek they had heard the previous
night. and with Mortified cries the
black warriors turned and fed through
the empty halls Of the age old edifce.
Behind them stood Tarzan of the
Apes where they had left him. a grim
smile upon his lips. waiting for the en-
envy he fully expected was about to
pounce upon him. Blu again silence
reigned except for the faint suggestion
OF the sound Of naked feet moving
stealthily in nearby places.
Then Tarzan wheeled and passed on
into the depths Of the temple. From
room to room he went until he came to
one at which a rude barred door still
stood. and as he put his shoulder
against il to push it in again the shrek
Of warning rang out almost beside him.
1t was evident that he was being warn
ed to refrnin from desecrating this par
ticular room. Or could it be that with
In lay the secret to the treasure stores?
At any rate. the very fact that the
strange. invisible guardians Of this
weird place had some reason for wish
ing him not to enter this particular
chamber was sufficient TO treble Tar
zan's desire to do 50. and though the
shrieking was repeated continuously he
kept his shoulder to the door until 1t
gave way before his giant strength to
swing open upon creaking wooden
hinges.
Within all was black as the tomb
There was no window to let in the
faintest ray Of light. and as the CORR
dor upon which 1t opened was itself in
semidarkness. ever the open door shed
no relieving rays within. Feeling be
fore him upon the floor with the butt
Of his spear. Tarzan entered the sty-
gian gloom. Suddenly the door behind
him closed and at the same time hands
clutched him from every direction out
of the darkness.
The ape-man fought with all the saw
age fury of self preservation backed by
the herculean strength that was his.
But though he felt his blows land and
his teeth sink into soft flesh. there
seemed always to be new hands to take
the place of those that he fought of.
At last they dragged him down. and
slowly. very slowly. they overcame him
by the mere weight of their numbers.
And then they bound him.
He had heard no sound except the
heavy breathing of his antagonists and
the noise Of the battle. He knew not
what manner Of creatures had captur-
ed him. but that they were human
seemed evident from the fact that they
had bound him.
Presently they lifted him from the
floor. and half dragging. half pushing
him. they brought him out Of the black
chamber through another doorway into
an inner courtyard of the temple. Here
he saw his captOrs. There must have
been 100 of ~them-short. stocky men.
with great boards that covered their
faces and fell upon their hairy breasts.
The thick. matted hair upon their
heads grew low over their receding
brows and hung about their shoulders
and their backs. Their crooked legs
were short and heavy. their arms long
and muscular. About their loins they
wore the skins of leopards and of lions.
and great necklaces of the claws of
these same animals depended upon
their breasts. Massive c~irclets of vir
gin gold adorned their arms and legs.
For weapons they carried heaey, knot
ted bludgeons. and in the belts that
confined their single garments each had
Il long. wicked looking knife.
But the feature of them that made
the most startling impression upon
their prisoner was their white skins
neither in color nor feature was there
a trace Of the negroid about them. Yet,
with their rcceding foreheads, wicked
little close set eyes and yellow fangs,
they were far from prepOssessing in
appearance.
During the fight within the dark
chamber and while they had beendrag-
ging Tarzan to the inner court no word
had beer spoken. but now several Of
them exchanged granting. monosyl-
Liable conversation In a language unfa-
miliar to the ape-man. n presently
they left him lying upon the concrete
floor while they trooped off on their
short legs into another part of the tem-
pie beyond the court.
He had lain within the court for
several hours before the first rays Of
sunlight penetrated the vertical shaft.
Almost simultaneously he heard. the
pattering of bare feet In the corridors
about him. and a moment later saw the
galleries above him fill with crafty
faces as a score or more entered the
courtyard with him.
For a moment every eye was bent
upon the monday sun. and then in uni
son the people in the galleries and
those in the court below took up the
refrain Of a low. weird chant. Presently
those about Tarzan began to dance to
the cadence of their solemn song.
For ten minutes or more they kept
up their mOnotonous chant and steps,
and then suddenly and in perfect uni
son they turned toward their victim
with appraised biudgeOns and emitting
fearful bowls. the while they contorted
their features into the most diabolical