Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-01
CHAPTER XXI
r,,. Maniac

..rinp large enough 10 pei"
). mass had been removed as
bcoy !" .rd the warriors whispering
lsrlaa ,hs stone door Of his prison
pvo' .,rce had the rope Of hide oeeh
Long To ,ecure one end to the re-
.,u,us Ol.'u. bar that he had left n, lot TINS
n..u .nno.s wa, the work Of but momea'' l,,,n
pu,pOSs'; .s;,s the warriors whispered win.
sno s w.. brown body Of the ape-man
.u., .,,a,,d through the small aperture anu
s%pr disappeared below the SILL a.. col, ,ef,
iar .',, w,tbin the walled area the'
.ompri.ed r, the palace and 'emp,r rnoitered
eOu' s"a buildings. He had reeonno'..,su % os.er
inG 90, o' -. might from the window after
:. = had removed enough oars ~, " r, onen =.
~, - ~, to pass his head through the ,o. opsn
nim :, tb,t he knew what lay 'mme,
di't''y ,. S.,erted S alleyway leading In
s'.' w.. direction of the outer gave .na, ..aa
opened from ''e
the city. III, facilitate his
.n. ue might even pass out OF tne
49, .Ss and the city without detect'oh'
p 70 bs could elude the guard at the
Ia. cate the rest would be easy he
p I.."ds along confidently. exhibiting no
49, of detection, for he reasoned 'na'
. .... would he disarm suspicion. In
.uu' s.,pncss he easily could pass FOL
wv uo.don and in truth. though nc
...d several after leaving the deserted
p pu.r M one accosted or detained him
.nd tbus he came at last to the guaro
a. balf dozen warriors before the pal
.cs cate. These he attempted to pass
- -. same unconcerned fashion ant
:. MIGHT have succeeded had 1t not
h..r for one who came running rapidly
trom the direction Of the temple shout
,ng. "Let no one pass the gates! Th'
nrisouer has escaped from the pal
ul.ja!'
Instantly warrior barred his way
and simultaneously the fellow recog
n;,od him. "Xot tor !" he exclaimed
"Uere he is now. Fall upon him
Fall upon him Back! Back before
kill you. s, :. ~
be said that they rushed forward. l
n was their wish to fall upon him ther
was n noticeable lack of enthusiasm
other than that which directed their ef
forts to persuade some one else to faI
mon him. His fame as fighter ha,
been too long topic of conversation
Tor the good Of the morale Of Mo-sar'
warriors. 1t were safer to stand at
distance and hurl their clubs and thi
they did, but the ape man had learne
something Of the use of this weapo
sluce he had arrived in Pal-ul- don
And as he learned great had grown hi
respect for this most primitive Of arms
He had come to realize that the blac
uyages he had known had never ap
preciated the possibilities Of their kno
sticks, nor had he. and he had dis
covered, too, why the Pal-ul- dons ha
turned their ancient spears into plow
shares and pinned their faith to tn
heavy ended club alone. In deadly ex
ecuton 1t was far more effective tina
q spear, and it answered. too, ever
purpose Of a shield, combining the tw
In one and thus reducing the burdc
Of the warrior. Thrown as they thro'
it, after the manner of the hammer
throwers of the Olympian games, n
ordinary shield would prove more
weakness than strength, while one tina
would be strong enough to prove Il pro
lection would be too heavy to carry
Only another club, deftly welded (
defect the course of an enemy missile
Is In any way effective against thes
formidable weapons. and, too, the wa
club Of Pal-ul-don can be thrown wit
accuracy far greater distance tina
any spear.
And now was put to the test tina
which Tarzan had learned from Om- a
and Ta.den. His eyes and his muscle
trained by lifetime of necessity move
with the rapidity of light and his brai
functioned with an uncanny celerit
that suggested nothing less than pre-
science and these more than compen
sated for his lack Of experience witt
the war club he handled so dextrously.
Weapon after weapon he warded 0
and always he moved with a single ide
IN mind-to place himself within reac
Of one of his antagonists. But the
were wary, for they feared this strang
creature to whom the superstitious fear
Oh many OF them attributed the miracu
ious powers of deity. They manage
70 Keep between Tarzan and the gate
way, and all the time they bawle
Justify for endorsements. Shoul
these come before he had made his es
cape the ape-m man realized that tn
odds against him would be insurmount
aoie' and so he redoubled his effort
70 carry out his design.
Following their usual tactics, tw
OF three of the warriors were alwav
eircling behind him collecting tn
thrown clubs when TarMn's atten
uon was directed elsewhere. lie him
selt retrieved several Of them whic
ne hurled with such deadly effect n
70 dispose of two of his antagonists
put now he heard the approach q
hurrying warriors, the patter of thei
uare teet upon the stone payemen
and then the savage cries which wer
" poiSter the courage of their fellow
and NIL the enemy with fear.
uhere was no time to lose. Tarza
held club In either hand, and, swing
ing ing one he hurled it at a warrior be
,v,e rvshoS nun, and as the man lodged h
rushed In and seized him, at tL" sam
ume casting his second club ot nm
V,ner Uiie OF his opponents. The Ho. do
%un Wnom he grapplcd reached in
Ssaa S@ntly for his knife. but the ape ma
SH'pea Ssu pea MS wrist. There was sud
seh twist, the swapping of a bone an
an agonized scream. then the wa werrin rio
WAS was lifted bodily from his feet an
aela aeS as q shield between his fellow
fHu thronthe the fugitive as the latter backe
stood tSdsn H. ths gateway. Beside Tara
sut,a s,VUu the single torch that lighted III
entrance en,rance to the palace grounds ri
"t1frlors "t ,E were advancing to the succo
vi % their fellows when the apc. ina
sriSea snT a his captive high above his hca
mung him full in the face of ri
nttnnkar