The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1920-01-23
CHAPTER discontinued.

B
For several hours Tarzan lolled
upon his swaying, leafy couch until
once again hunger and thirst sug-
gested an excursion. Stretching lazi-
ly he dropped to the ground and
moved slowly toward the river. Tar
Fan had almost reached the point
where the trail debouched upon the
open river bottom when he saw a
family Of lions approaching along the
path from the direction of the river.
The ape-man counted seven-a male
and two lionesses, full grown, and
four young lions as large and quite as
formidable as their parents. TarZan
halted, growing, and the lions paused,
the great male in the lead barring his
fanges and rumbling forth warning
roar. In his hand the ape-man held
his heavy spear; but he had no inten-
ton of pitting his puny weapon against
seven lions; yet he stood there growl-
ing and roaring and the lions did like
wise. 1t was purely an exhibition of
jungle bluff. Each was trying to
IL lSiLCl thC OluC1. 4NCllhCi WlohNN
to turn back and give way, nor did
either at first desire to precipitate an
encounter. The lions were fed up suf-
fciently so as not to be goaded by
pangs of hunger and as for Tarzan he
seldom ate the meat of the carniv-
ores; but a point of ethics was at
stake and neither side wished to back
| down. So they stood there facing
| enc another, making all sorts of hide
Gus noises the while they hurled jun
gle invective back and forth
There came an interruption which
| Eut an end to the deadlock and it
came from Tarzan's rear. He and the
lions had been making so much noise
| hat neither could hear anything above
their concerted bedlam, and so it was
that Tarzan did not hear the great
bulk bearing down from behind
until an instant before it was upon
him, and then he turned to see Buto,
the rhinoceros, his little pig eyes blaz-
| ing, charging madly toward him and
already so close that escape seemed
| impossible; yet so perfectly were mind
and muscles co-ordinated in this un-
spoiled primitive man that almost
simultaneously with the sense-percep-
ton of the threatened danger he
wheeled and hurled his spear at Buto's
chest. 1t was a heavy spear shod
with iron and behind it were the giant
| muscles of the ape-man, while coming
to meet it was the enormous weight of
Buto and the momentum of his rapid
rush. All that happened in the in
slant that Tarzan turned to meet the
charge of the irascible rhinoceros
might take long to tell, and yet would
have taxed the swiftest lens to record.
As his spear left his hand the ape
man was looking down upon the
mighty horn lowered o toss him, so
close was Buto to him. The spear en-
tered the rhinoceros' neck at it's juno
ton with the left shoulder and passed
almost entirely through the beasts
body, and at the instant that he
launched it, Tarzan leaped straight
into the air, alighting upon Buto's
back. but escaping the mighty horn.
Then Buto espied the lions and bore
madly down upon them while Tarzan
Of the Apes leaped nimbly into the
tangled creeperS at one side of the
trail. The first lion met Butos charge
and was tossed high over the back of
the maddened brute, torn and dying,
and then the six remaining lions were
upon the rhinOceros, rending and
tearing the while they were being
gored or trampled. From the safety
of his perch Tarzan watched the bat
tie royal with the keenest interest.
For time it seemed that Buto, the
rhinoceros, would prove victor in the
CORY battle. Already had he account
ed for four of the seven lions and
badly wounded the three remaining
when, in a temporary lull in the en-
counter, he sank Imply to his knees
and rolled over upon his side. Tar
lungs, and Buto, with victory almost
in sight, succumbed to internal hemor
rhage.
Then Tarzan came down from his
sanctuary and as the wounded lions.
growing, dragged themselves away,
the ape-man cut his spear from the
body of Buto, hacked off a steak and
vanished into the jungle. The episode
was over. 1t had been all in the days
work-something which you and /
might talk about for lifetime Tarzan
dismissed from his mind the moment
that the scene passed from his sight.
Swinging back through the jungle in
a wide circle the ape-man came TO the
river at another point, drank and took
to the trees again and while he hunt
ed, all Obvious of his past and care
ess of his future, there came through
the dark jungles and the open, park
ike places and across the wide
aeadows where grazed the countless
hA refn f.inr