Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-08-02

CHAPTER XIV.
BACK TO THE PRIMITIVE
As TARTAN struck the water, his frs
n impulse was to swim clear Of Tn
ship and possible danger from her pro
pellers. He knew whom TO thank for hi
present predieament, and as he lay II
the sea, just supporting himself by
gentle movement OF his hands, his chic
emotion was one Of chasrin that he ha'
been so easily bested by Rokoff.
He lay thus for some time, watching
the reeeding and rapidly diminishing
lights Of the steamer, without 1t evei
once occurring to him to call for help
He never had called for help IN his life
and SO II Is not strange that he did not
think OF It now. Always had he de.
| pended upon his own prowess and re.
sourcefulness. nor had there ever been
since the days of Kala, any to answer
an appeal for succor. When 1t did oc-
cur to him 1t was too late.
There was, thought Tarzan, possible
/ one chance in hundred thousand that
he might be picked up. and an even
smaller chance that he would reach land,
80 he determined that to combine what
slight chances there were, he would swim
| slowly in the direction Of the coast--the
ship might have been closer in than he
had known.
His strokes were long and easy--it
would be many hours before those giant
muscles would commence to feel fatigue
As he SWAIN, guided toward the east by
the stars, he noticed that he felt the
weight of his shoes, and so he removed
them. His trousers went next, and he
would have removed his coat at the same
time but for the precious papers In its
pocket. To reassure himself that he still
had them. he slipped his hand In to feel,
but, to his CONSERVATION, they were gone.
Now he knew that something more than
revenge had prompted Rokoff to pitch
him overboard-the Russian had managed
to obtain possession of the papers Tarzan
had wrestled from him at Bou Saada.
The ape-man swore softly, and let his
coat and shirt sink into the Atlantic.
Before many hours he had Invested him
self of his remaining garments, and was
swimming easily and unencumbered to-
ward the east
The first faint evidence of dawn was
paling the stars ahead Of him, when the
dim outlines of a low-lying black mass
loomed up directly in his track A few
strong strokes brought him to its side
It was the bottom of a wave-washed
derellct. Tarzan clambered upon 1.-THE
would rest there until daylight at least.
He had no intention to remain there in
dCllN6-h prey 10 HuilBbi anu tllllSLs IL
he must die he preferred dying in action
making some semblance of All attempt
to save himself.
The sea was quiet, so that the wreck
had only gently undulatlng motion
that was soothing to the swimmer who
had had no sleep for 20 hours. Tarzan
of the Apes curled up upon the Shiny
timbers and was soon asleep.
The heat of the sun awoke- him early |
4I., Fr,. Itr, ar,N
sation was OF thirst, which grew almost |
to the proportions OF suffering with full
returning consciousness; but a moment |
later II was forgotten in the joy of two |
almost simultaneous discoveries The |
first was a mass of wreckage floating |
bottom up rose and fell an overturned
lifeboat; the other was the faint. dim
line of q far-dlstant shore showing on
the horizon in the east.
Tarzan dove into the water and swan
around the wreck to the lifeboat. The
cool ocean refreshed him almost as much
as would a draft of water, so that 1t
was with renewed vigor that he brought
the smaller boat alongside the derelict,
and. after many herculean efforts, sue
,eeded in dragging 1t onto the Shiny
ships bottom. There he righted and eX-
lmined 1.-THE boat was quite sound. and
moment later fioated upright alongside
pieces of wreckage that might answer
1im as paddles. and presently was maxi
ng good Roadway toward the far-off
hore
II was late in the afternoon by the
ime he came close enough to distinguish
objects on land, or to make out the con-
our of the shore line. Before him lay
What appeared to be the entrance to a
little, land-locked harbor. The wooded
'oint to the north was strangely fa-
niliar, Could 1t be possible that fate had
brown him up at the very threshold of
rs own beloved Jungle! But as the bow
4 his boat entered the mouth of the
arbor the last shred of doubt was
leared away for there before him upon
he farther shore, under the shadows of
is primeval forest, stood his own cabin
built before his birth by the hand of
is long-dead father. John Clayton. Lord
ireystroke.
With long sweeps OF his giant muscles
arzan sent the little craft speeding to-
'ard the beach. Its prov had scarcely |
ouched when the ape-man leaped to
hore-his heart beat fast in joy and ex-
ltation as each long-familiar object
anne beneath his rowing eyes-the cabin. =
ne beach, the little brook, the dense
ingle, the black, impenetrable forest
he myriad birds in their brilliant
Iumage-the gorgeous tropical blooms
pom the festooned creepers falling in
reat loops from the giant trees.
Tarzan of the Apes had come into his ]
'Yn again. and that all the world might
now 1t he threw back his young head
nd gave voice TO the fierce, wild chal-
nge Of his tribe. For moment silence
'tgned upon the jungle. and then, low
ld weird, came an answering challenge {
II was the deep roar OF Numa, the lion; s
nd from a great distance, family, the 7
arsome answering below OF a bull ape
farzan went to the brook first, and q
aked his thirst. Then he approached a
8 cabin. The door was still closed and {
tehed as he and D'Arnot had left H. z
e raised the latch and entered Nothing I
d been disturbed; there were the table, I
E bed and the little crib built by his /
ther-the shelves and eupboards just ! D