Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-08-02

stronger, When the jungle was sud-
denly shot by livid lightning, and
a deafening roar of thunder rever-
berated through the heavens and
the forest until the earth trembled
and shook. Then came the rain
not as it comes to us of the temper
ate zones, but as a mighty ava
lanche of water-a deluge which
spills tons instead of drops upon the
bending forest giants and the terri
fed creatures which haunt their
shade.
And the rain did what Tarzan
knew that it would dot wiped the
spoor of the quarry from the face
of the earth. For a half hour the
torrents fell-then the sun burst
forth, jeweling the forest with a
million scintillant gems; but today
the ape-man, usually alert to the
changing wonders of the jungle, saw
them not. Only the fact that the
spoor of Teeka and her abductor
was obliterated found lodgment in
his thoughts.
Even among the branches Of the
trees there are well-worn trails,
just as there are trails upon the
surface of the ground; but in the
trees they branch and cross more
often, since the way is more open
than among the dense underground
at the surface. Along one Of these
well-marked trails Tarzan and Taug
continued after the rain had ceased,
because the ape-man knew that this
was the most logical path for the
thief to follow; but when they came
to fork, they were at loss. Here,
they halted, while Tarzan examined
every branch and leaf which might
have been touched by the fleeing
ape.
He shifted the bole of the tree,
and with his keen eyes he sought
to find upon the bark some sign of
the way the quarry had taken. 1t
was slow work and all the time,
Tarzan knew, the bull of the alien
tribe was forging steadily away
from them-gaining precious min
utes that might carry him to safety
before they could catch up with him.
First along one fork he went, and
then another, applying every test
that his wonderful junglecraft was
cognizant Of; but again and again
he was baffled, for the scent had
been washed away by the heavy
downpour, in every exposed place.
For a half hour Tarzan and Taug
searched, until at last, upon the bot
tom of a broad leaf, Tarzan's keen
nose caught the faint trace of the
scent spoor of Toog, where the leaf
had brushed a hairy shoulder as the
great ape passed through the fol-
iage.
Once again the two took up the
trail, but it was slow work now and
there were many discouraging de-
lays when the spoor seemed lost be-
yond recovery. To you or me there
would have been no spoor, even be-
fore the coming Of the rain, except,
possibly, where Toog had come to
earth and followed game trail. In
such places the imprint of huge
handlike foot and the knuckles of
one great hand were sometimes
plain enough for an ordinary mortal
to read. Tarzan knew from these
and other indications that the ape
was yet carrying Teeka. The depth
Of the imprint Of his feet indicated
a much greater weight than that OF
any of the larger bulls, for they
were made under the combined
weight of Toog and Teeka, while the
fact that the knuckles of but one
hand touched the ground at any
time showed that the other hanC
was occupied in some other bust
ness-the business Of holding the
prisoner to hairy shoulder. Tar
zan could follow, in sheltered places
the changing of the burden from one
shoulder to another, as indicated by
the deepening of the foot imprint
upon the side of the load, and the
changing of the knuckle imprint:
from one side of the trail to the
. other.
There were stretches along thu
surface paths where the ape hat
gone for considerable distances en-
tirely erect upon his hind feet
; walking as a man walks; but th'
same might have been true of an!
of the great anthropoids of the SAM
species, for, unlike the chimpanze
and the gorilla, they walk withou
the aid of their hands quite a
readily as with. 1t was such things
E however, which helped to identify t.
Tarzan and to Taug the appearance
of the abductor, and with his indi
t vidual scent characteristic alread.
t indelibly impressed upon thei
: memories, they were in far bette
5 position to know him when the,
r came upon him, even should he hav
disposed of Teeka before, than is
e modern sleuth with his photograph
e and BertilIon measurements, equip
s ped to recognize fugitive from
civilized justice.
: But with all their high-strung an
:. delicately attuned perceptive facul
S ties the two bulls of the tribe o
L Kerchak were often sore pressed t