The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1914-09-03

land some OF my children shall follow
you to see that you do not disobey
me. Otherwise there may be two dead
Frenchmen in the desert"
Rokoff shrugged. Then / shall hav,
to wait until tomorrow. 1t is already
dark"
"As you WILL" said the sheik. "Ru'
by an hour after dawn you must be
gone from my douar. have little lik
ing for unbelievers and none at all foI
a coward"
Rokoff would have made some kipG
of retort, but he checked himself. fOl
he realized that it would require but
little excuse for the old man to turn
upon him. Together they left the tent
At the door ftokoff could not resist the
temptation 10 turn and fling a parting
taunt at Tarzan.
sleep well. monsieur" he said.
and do not forget to pray well, for
when you die tomorrow it will be in
such agony that YOU will be unable t.
pray for Disappearing"
No one had bothered to bring TarZan
either food or water since noon. and
consequently he suffered considerably
from thirst. He wondered if 1t would
be worth while to ask his guard for
water. but. after making two or three
requests without receiving any re
Spouse, he decided that it would not.
Far up in the mountains he heard a
tiOn nor How vntYsh ca FOR ono mn
be s~oliloQuized, in the haunts of wild
beasts than in the haunts of men.
Never in all his jungle life had be
been more relentlesSly tracked down
than in the past few months of his ex-
%perience among civilized men. Never
had he been any nearer death.
Again the lion roared. 1t sounded a
little nearer TarZan felt the old. wild
impulse to reply with the challenge of
his kind. His kind? He had almost
forgotten that he was Il man and not
an ape. He tugged ut his bonds. God.
If he could but get them near those
strong teeth Of his. He felt a wild
wave Of madness sweep owe him as
his efforts to regain his liberty met
with failure.
Numa was roaring almost continu-
ally now. 1t was quite evident that be
was coming down into the desert to
hunt. 1t was the roar Of a hungry
lion. TarZan envied him, for he was
free. No one would tie him with
ropes and slaughter him like a sheep.
1t was that which CALLED the ape-man.
He did not fear to die, mott was the
humiliation of defeat before death.
without ever "a chance to battle for his
life.
1t must be near midnight, thought
Tarzan. He had several hours to live.
Possibly be would yet find a way to
take Rokoff with him on the long jour
ney. He could hear the savage lord
of the desert quite close by nov Pos
sibly he sought his meat from among
the penned animals within the douar.
For a long time silence reigned, then
TarZan's trained ears caught the sound
of a stealthily moving body. 1t came
from the side of the tent nearest the
mountains-the back. Nearer and
nearer it came. He waited, listening
intently. for it to pass. For a time
there was silence without. such a ter
rtble silence that Tarzan was surprised
he did not hear the breathing of
the animal he felt sure must be crouch
ing close to the back wall of his tent.
Thnraf t. io mnuino o~oin ClnCor |
1t creeps. Tarzan turns his head in the
direction of the sound. The inside of
the tent is black as ink. Slowly the
back rises from the ground. forced up
by the head and shoulders Of a body
that looks all black in the blackness.
Beyond is a faint glimpse Of the dimly
moonlighted desert.
A grim smile plays about Tarzan's
At least Rokof will be cheated.
How mad he will be. And death will
be more merciful than he could have
hoped for at the hands of the Russian.
Now the back Of the tent drops into
place and all Is darkness again-what-
ever 1t Is is inside the tent with him.
He hears 1t creeping close to him-now
1t is beside him. He closes his eyes
and waits for the mighty paw. Upon
his upturned face falls the gentle touch
Of a soft hand cropping in the dark. and
then a girls voice In a scarcely audi
BILE whisper pronounces his name.
"Yes. 1t Is l." he whispers In reply. |
But In the name of heaven who are
1.-The Ouled-Nail Of Sidi Aissa," came
the answer. While she spoke Tarzan
could feel her working about his bonds.
Occasionally the cold steel of a knife
touched his flesh. A moment later he
was free. /
Gomez she whispered.
On hands and knees he followed her
out Of the tent by the way she had
come. She continued crawling thus
fat to the ground until she reached a
little patch Of shrub. There she halt
ed until he gained her side. For a mo-
ment he looked at her before he spoke.
II cannot understand" he said at
last. "Why are you here? How did
you know that I was a prisoner In that
tent? How does 1t happen that it is