Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-05-17
The SONOF TARZAN

| upon the door swung 1t slowly inward upon
| lts hinges The man entered the ROOM clos
| Ing the door behind him.
The moon was temporarily overcast by
| heavy clouds. The interior of the apart
ment was shrouded in gloom. Conlon
| cropped his way toward the bed
In the far corner of the room something
| moved-moved with silent stealthiness
which transcended even the trained silence
of the burglar. Conlon heard nothing. His
| attention was riveted upon the bed, in
| which he thought to find q young boy and
his helpless invalid grandmother
The American sought only the bankroll
| II he could possess himself of this with.
| out detection, well and good; but were he to
| meet resistance, he was prepared for that
| too. The lads clothes lay across chair
| beside the bed.
The Americans fingers felt swiftly
through them-the pockets contained no
| roll OF crisp, new notes. Doubtless they
were beneath the pillows of the bed.
He stepped closer toward the sleeper; his
hand was already halfway beneath the
| pillow, when the thick cloud that had OBJ
| scured the moon rolled aside and the room
| was flooded with light AT the same In
stant the boy opened his eyes and looked
straight into those of Conlon. The man
was suddenly conscious that the boy was
alone In the bed. Then he clutched for his
victims throat
As the lad rose TO meet him Conlon heard
wrists seized by ;he boy, and realized that
beneath those tapering white fingers played
muscles of steel.
He felt other hands at his throat, rough
hairy hands that reached over his shoulders
from behind. He cast terrified glance
backward, and the hairs of his head
stiffened at the sight his eyes revealed, for
grasping him from the rear was huge,
manlike ape.
The barred fighting fangs of the anthro.
poid were close to his throat. The lad
pinoned his wrists. Neither uttered a
sound.
Where was the grandmother? Conlon's
eyes swept the room in single, all.in-
elusive glance. His eyes bulged in horror
at the realization of the truth, which that
glance revealed. In the power of what
creatures of hideous mystery had he placed
himself?
Frantically he fought to beat off the boy
so he could turn upon the fearsome thing at
his back. Freeing one hand. he struck a
savage blow at the lads face.
His act seemed to unloose thousand
devils in the hairy creature clinging to his
throat. Conlon heard a low and savage
snarl 1t was the last thing that the Amer
lean ever heard in this life Then he was
dragged backward upon the floor; heavy
body fell upon him, powerful teeth fastened
themselves in his jugular. his head whirled
in the sudden blackness which rims eter-
nifty
A moment later the ape rose from his
PROSTATE form; but Conlon did not know
he was quite dead
The lad, Mortified, sprang from the bed
to lean low over the body of the man. He
knew that Akut had killed in his defense,
as he had killed Michael Sabrov; but here.
in savage Africa, far from home and
friends, what would they do to him and his
faithful ape?
The lad knew that the penalty of murder
was death. He even knew that an accom-.
plice might suffer the death penalty with
the principal Who was there here who
would plead for them? All would be against
them. 1t was little more than a half-civ-
ilized community. and the chances were
that they would drag Aliut and him forth
in the morning and hang them both to the
nearest tree-he had read of such things
being done in America, and Africa was
worse even, and wilder than the great
West of his mothers native land.
Yes they would both be hanged in the
morning!
Was there no escape? He thought in
silence for few moments. and then with