Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-04

| rior who had entered the temple
short hour before. bnt the faces Of his
fellows were unfamiliar. even to one
another, since It Is seldom that q priest
removes his hideous headdress In the
presence even Of his associates.
Silently they lifted the hangings that
hid the interior Of the room from the
view of those who passed through the
corridor, and stealthily skunk within.
Upon a pile of furs in far corner lay
the sleeping form Of Lady Greystoke.
The bare feet Of the intruders gave
forth no sound as they crossed the
stone floor toward her. A ray Of moon
light entering through a window near
her couch shone full upon her, revealing
the beautiful contours Of an arm and
shoulder In cameo -distinctness against
the dark furry pelt beneath which she
slept, and the perfect profile that was
turned toward the skulking three.
| But. neither the beauty nor the help
lessness Of the sleeper aroused such senti-
inents OF passion or pity as might stir
in the breasts OF normal men. To the
| three priests ahe WINS but lump OF
clay, nor could they conceive aught Of
that passion which had aroused men
to intrigue and to murder for possess
sion Of this beautiful American girl.
and which even now was influencing
the destiny Of undiscovered Pal -ul don.
| Upon the floor Of the chamber were
numerous pelts, and az the leader Of
tho trio came close to the sleeping
woman he stopped and gathered up one
of the smaller Of these. Standing close
to her head he held the rug outsprend
above her face. Now" he whispered.
and simultaneously he threw the rug
over the woman's head dnd his two fcl-
| Law laov aH 1i1Sn n
md pinloning her body while their
leader stifed her cries with the furry
pelt. Quickly and silently they bound
her wrists and gagged her, and dur
ing the brief time that their work re-
quired there WAS no sound that might
have been heard by occupants Of the
adjoining apartments.
Jerking her roughly to her feet, they
forced her toward, a window. but she
refused to walk, throwing herself in
stead upon the floor. They were very
angry and would have resorted to cruel
ties to compel her obedience, but dared
not, since the wrath of Lu- don might
fall heavily upon whoever mutilated bis
fair prize.
And go they were forced to lift and
carry her bodily. Nor was the task any
sinccure. since the captive kicked md
struggled as hest she might. making
their lab0rs rs arduous as possible.
Rut finally they succeeded In getting
her through the window and into the
garden beyond. where one Of the two
priests from the ia -lur temple directed
their stops toward small barred gate
way in the south wall of the enclosure.
| Immediately beyond this flight OF
stone stairs led downward toward the
river, and at the foot Of the stairs were
moored several canoes. Pan-sat had
indeed teen fortunate in enlistipg aid
from those who knew the temple and
the palace so well. or otherwise he
might never have escaped from a-lur
! with his captive. Placing the woman
In the bottom Of light canoe Pan sat
entered it and took up the paddle
His companions unfastcned the moor
ings and showed the little craft out into
the current of the stream. Their trait
! orous work completed. they turned and
! rctraccd their steps toward the temple,
! while Pat sat, padding strongly with
the current. moved rapidly down the
river that would carry him to the Jad
ben-lul and A-lur.
The moon had set and the eastern
horizon still gave no hint of approach
; ing day rs a long file Of warriors wound
> steathly through the darkness into the
city Of A-Mr. Their plans were al
! laid and there seemed no likelihood oi
| their miscarriage.
A messenger had been dispatched t
! Ia dan. whose forces lay northwest OF
the city. Tarzan, with a small con
tingcnt, was to enter the temple
, through the secret pnssageway, the 10
cation of which he alone knew. whit
ia don. with the greater proportion o
the warriors, was to attack the palace
gates.
The ape man. leading his little band
moved stealthily through the windini
alleys of A-lur. arriving undetected n
the building which hid the entrance tt
the s"cset passagcway. This spot, being
best protected by the fact that Its exist
ence was unknown to others than the
priests. was unguarded. To facilitate
the passage of his little company
through the narrow winding, uneven
tunnel. Tarzan lighted torch which
had been brought for the purpose and
preceding his warriors led the way
toward the temple.
be reached the inner chambers of the
temple with his little band of picked
warriors the ape man was confident,
since an attack at this point would
bring confusion and CONSERVATION to
the epsily overpowcred priests, and
permit Tarzan to attack the palace
, forces in the rear ut the same time that
ia don engaged them at the palace gates.
while TIA den and his forces swarmed
the northern walls. Great value had
been placed by ia don on the moral ef-
feet of the Dor ul-O Otho's mysterious
upprnrnnre in the heart of the temple,
advantage OF the old chieftain's belief
that many of I.u- don's warriors still
wavered in their allegiance between the
high priest and the Dor -ul -Otho, being
held to the former more by the fenl
which he engendered in the breasts OF
all his followers than by any love OF
loyalty they might feel toward him.
There Is Pal -ul- donian proverb set
ting forth truth similar to that con
! tained in the old Scotch adage that
! "The best laid schemes o mice and me1
gang aft a.-gley::' Freely translated !,
might read. He who follows the right
trail sometimes reaches the wrong dcs
! tinati0n," and such apparently was thu
fate that lay in the footsteps of thu
great chieftain Of the north and hi
godlike ally.
Tarzan. more familiar with the wind
ings Of the corridors than his fellows
and having the advantage Of the full
light OF the torch, which at best was
| but dim and Pickering affair, was
some distance ahead OF the others. and
in his keen anxiety to close. with the
enemy he gave too little thought tc
those who were to support him. MOI
is this strange, since from childhood
the ape man had been accustomed tc
fight the battles Of life single handed
so that 1t mad become habitual for him
to depend solely upon his own cunning
and prowess.