The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1920-02-13
CHAPTER XIII.

IarZdn AQatn Leads the mdngdnt.
Achmet Eek with two of his follow
ers had circled far TO the south to in
tercept the fight of his deserving lieu
tenant, Werper Others had spread
out In various directions, so that vast
circle had been formed by them during
the night, and now they were beating
in toward the center.
A slight noise IN the jungle upon the
opposite side of the clearing brought
Achmet Eek to immediate and alert
attention. He gathered his rifle In
readiness for instant use, at the same
time motioning his followers to silence
and concealment.
Presently the foliage parted and
woman's face appeared. glancing fear.
fully from side to side. A moment
later. evidently satisfied that no i'm
mediate danger lurked before her, she
stepped out into the clearing in full
view of the Arab.
Achmet Eek caught his breath with
a muttered exclamation of incredulity
and an imprecation. The woman was
the prisoner he had thought safely
guarded at his camp!
Apparently she was alone, but Ach-
met Eek waited that he might make
sure of it before Selling her. Slowly
Jane Clayton started across the clear
ing. Though she was almost despair
ing of ever reaching safety she still
was determined to fight on, until death
or success terminated her endeavors.
AS the Arabs watched her from the
safety of their concealment and Ach-
met Eek noted with satisfaction that
she was walking directly into his
clutches, another pair of eyes looked
down upon the entire scene from the
foliage of an adjacent tree.
Puzzled. troubled eyes they were. for
all their gray savage CLINT, for their
owner was struggling with an In
tangible suggestion of the familiarity
of the face and figure of the woman
below him.
A sudden crashing of the bushes at
the point from which Jane Clayton
had emerged into the clearing brought
her to a sudden stop and attracted the
attention of the Arabs and the watcher
in the tree to the same point.
The woman wheeled about to see
what new danger menaced her from
behind, and as she did so great
anthropoid ape waddled into view. Be
hind him come another and another;
but Lady Greystoke did not wait to
learn how many more of the hideous
creatures were so close upon her trail.
With smothered scream she rushed
toward the opposite jungle, and as she
reached the bushes there, Achmet Eek
and his two henchmen rose up and
seized her. At the same instant a
naked, brown giant dropped from the
| branches of a tree at the right of the
clearing.
Turning toward the astonished apes
he gave voice to a short volley of low
! gutturals, and without waiting to note
the effect of his words upon them.
wheeled and charged for the Arabs.
Achmet Eek was dragging Jane Clay
ton toward his tethered horse. His
two men were hastily christening all
three mounts. The woman, struggling
to escape the Arab, turned and saw the
ape-man running toward her. A glad
| light of hope illumined her face.
John !' she cried THANK God that
you have come in time!"
Behind Tarzan came the great apes,
wondering, but pbedient to his sum-
mons. The Arabs saw that they would
not have time to mount and make their
escape before the beasts and the man
were upon them. Achmet Eek recog.
nized the latter as the redoubtable enc
my of such as he, ana ne saw, too, in
the circumstances an opportunity to
rid himself forever of the menace of
the ape-man's presence.
Calling on his men to follow his ex-
ample he raised his rife and leveled
it upon the charging giant. His fol-
lowers, acting with no less alacrity
than himself, fired almost simultane-
ously, and with the reports of the
rifles. Tarzan of the Apes and two of
his hairy henchmen pitched forward
among the jungle grasses.
The noise of the rifle shots brought
the balance of the apes to a wondering
pause. and taking advantage of their
momentary distraction, Achmet Eek
and his followers leaped to their
horses backs and galloped away with
the now hopeless and grief-stricken
woman.
Back to the village they rode. and
once again Lady Greystoke found her.
self incarcerated in the filthy little
hut from which she had thought to
have escaped for good.
Singly and In twos the searchers who
had ridden out with Achmet Eek upon
the trail of the Belgian returned empty
handed. With the report of each the
raiders rage and :hagrin increased.
until he was In such a transport of
ferocious anger that none dared ap-
proach him.
With the escape of the Arabs the
great apes had turned their attention
to their fallen comrades. Tarzan was
the first to regain consciousness. Sit
ting up he looked about him. Blood
was flowing from wound in his Shout
der. The shock had thrown him down
and daZed him; but he was far from
dead. Rising slowly to his feet he let
his eyes wander toward the spot where
last he had seen the She who had
aroused within his savage breast such
strange emotions.