The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1914-12-24

new heart and rejoiced that she had
fallen among people upon whom the
refining and s~oftening influence Of re-
ligion evidently had fallen. They
would treat her humanely. of that she
was now quite sure.
And so. when they led her from her
dungeon through long. dark corridors
and up a fight Of concrete steps to a
brilliant courtyard. she went willingly
gladly-for was she not among
the servants of God? 1t might be, of
course. that their Interpretation of the
supreme being differed from her own,
but that they owned a god was suff1-
cient evidence to her that they were
kind and good.
But when she saw a stone altar In
the center of the courtyard and dark
brown stains upon it and the nearby
concrete of the floor she began to won.
der and to doubt. And as they stoOp-
ed and bound her ankles and secured
her wrists behind her her doubts were
turned to fear. A moment later as she
was lifted and placed across the affairs
top hope left her entirely, and she
trembled in an agony Of fright.
During the grOtesque dance Of the
vOtaries which followed she lay frozen
in horror. nor did she require the sight
of the thin blade in the hand Of the
high priestess as it rose slowly above
hnr RI anlinhtnn hnr frrthAr &C, 30 I,n,
doom.
AS the hand began its descent Jane
Porter closed her eyes and sent up a
silent prayer to the Maker she was so
to face. Then she succumbed to
the strain upon her tired nerves and
swoOned.
Day and night Tarzan Of the Apes
raced through the %priHeval forest to-
ward the ruined city in which he was
positive the woman he loved lay either
a prisoner or dead.
In a day and a night he covered the
same distance that the fifty frightful
men had taken the better part Of a
WYNN W tloNCtoC, lok Va lbC
Apes travelled along the middle ter
race high above the tangled obstacles
that impede progress upon the ground.
The story the young bull aye had
told made it clear to him that the girl
captive had teen Jane Porter, for there
was not another small, white "she" in
all the jungle. The bulls" he had rec
Ognized from the apes crude descrip-
ton as the g~rotesque parOdies upon hui
mainly who inhabit the ruins of Opar.
And the girls fate he could picture as
plainly as though he were an eyewit-
ness to it. When they would lay her
across that grim altar he could not
guess, but that her dear, frail body
would eventually find its way there he
vas confident.
But finally. after what seemed long
ages to the impatient ape-man, he top
ped the barrier cliffs that hemmed the
desolate valley, and below him lay the
grim and awful ruins Of the now hide
Gus city Of Opar. At a rapid trOt he
started across the dry and dusty,
bowlder strewn ground toward the goal
of his desires.
Would he be In time to rescue? He
hoped against hope. At least he could
be revenged. and in his wrath it seem
ed to him that he was equal to the task
of wiping out the entire population Of
that terrible city. 1t was nearly noon
when he reached the great bOwlder at
the top of which terminated the secret
passage to the pits beneath the city.
Like Il cat he scaled the precipitous
sides of the frowning granite kopje. A
moment later he was running through
the darkness of the long, straight tun-
mel that led to the treasure vault.
Through this he passed, then on and
on until at last he came to the well
like shaft upon the opposite side OF
which lay the dungeon with the false
wall.
AS he paused a moment upon the
brink Of the well a faint sound came
to him through the opening above. His
quick ears caught and translated it. 1t
was the dance Of death that preceded
a sacrifice, and the singsong ritual of
the high priestess. He could even rec
Ognize the girls voice.
Could it be that the ceremony mark
ed the very thing he had so fastened
to prevent! A wave Of horror swept
over him. Was he. after all, to be just
a moment too late? Like a frightened
deer he leaped across the narrow
chasm to the continuation Of the pas
sage 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 through the
first small hole he made and carrying
the balance of the wall with him to
clatter resoundingly upon the cement
floor Of the dungeon.
With a 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
against such muscles as his. 1t needed
but a moments effort to convince him
Of the futility Of endeavoring to force
that impregnable barrier. There was
but one other way, and that led back