The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1921-07-30

u0&f Pf~eouc0 kbAx ne Almost
brushed against ~ h hurried to-
ward the secret passage that leads
from the temple Of Jad-ben Ohio. far
beneath the palace. 10 the city be.
yond. nor did he sense the silent
creature following IN his footsteps.
CHAPTER XVI
The Sscrcs Way
II was . bAfried gryf that bel,
lowed In angry rage ~ TarsAn's
sleek brown body. cutting the moon.
III water. shot thru the aperture In
the wall Of the gpf pool and out
into the lake beyond. The apes man
smiled A. he thought OF the com.
parative ease with which he had de-.
featcd the purpose Of the high
priest. but hts face clpuded again
at the ensuing remembrance OF the
grave danger that threatened his
mate. HIS sole object now must be
to return A. quicl1y ~ he might to
the chamber where he had last seen
her on the third floor Of the Temple
Of the 0ryf. but how he vaa 10 lind
hts way again into the temple
grounds vas . question not sasy a
solution.
In the moonlight he could - the
sheer cliff rising from the water for
. great distances along the shore---far
beyond the precincts Of the temple
and the palace towering high
above him. . seemingly imprceushl
barrier against his return. swim.
ming close In. he akirted the wall
searching diligently for some foot
hold. however slight. upon iss
smooth. forbIddang surface. Above
him and quite out Of reach were nu.
merous aperturex. but theru verp no
meAns II hand BY which he could
reach them. Presently. however. his
hopes were raised BY the ught Of an
opening level with the surface Of
The water II lay just ahead and .
few strokes brought him to tau
tious strokes that brought forth no
sound from the yielding watern Al
The nearer side OF the opening he
stopped and reconnoitered- There
vas no one in sight Carefully be
raised his body to the threshold Of
the entranceway. his smooth brown
hide efissening In the moonlight a.
2 sned The water In tiny sparkfias
Sivu1o1a
Bsfors him stretehed . gioomy
corridor. unltghtsd ave for the fnant
mumina&ton e the atffnsed u,oeu.
light that penefxatsd 4 Tor but .
shert d<stAnes iron The cpenane.
Aoving ~ rapidly ~ reasunzbis eau.
ttoo waxSanted. TnrzAa followed the
corridor into the bowels Of the cave.
There vas an abrupt turn and then
. flight II steps ~ the top Of which
lay another corridor running parallel
with the face 81 the cliff. This pas
9gs was dimiy lighted By Pickering
cfensets sst In inches In the walls a.
considerable distances apart A
quick survey showed the ape man
numerous openings upon each ssde
of The corridor and his quick ear
caught the sounds that indicated
that there were other beings not far
distant--priestx. he concluded. m
some Of the apartments letting upon
the psssagsway.
To pass undetected thru this hive
OF enemies appearcd quite beyond
the range Of possibility. He must
aGain seek dIsguise ard knowing
from experience how best TO secure
|such ~ crcpt stealthily along the
corridor toward tho nearest door.
way. Like Numa. the Hon. stalking
. wary prey. he crept with CULVER.
ing ncstrils to the hanginrs that
shut off his view from the interior
Of the Apartment beyond. A mo-
mont later his head disappeared
within: then hts shoulders and his
1.-THE body. and the hanging dropped
quietly into place again. A moment
later there filtered 10 the vacant
corridor without . brief. saspfne
eurgie and again silence. A minute
passed; . second. and . third, and
then the hangfngx were thrust aside
and . grfmly masked priest Of the
temple Of lad bepOtho strobe into
the passage.
With bold steps he moved along
and was about TO turn into a divcrx.
ing gallery when his attention was
aroused by voices coming from q
room on his left Instantly the figure
halted and crossing the corridor
stood with an ear close to the skins
that concealed the occupants Of the
room from him. and him fron them.
Presently he leaped back Into the
concealing shadows Of the dlvergfng
gallery and Immediately thereafter
the hangings by which he had been
listening parted and priest
emerged TO turn quickly down the
main corridor. The eavesdroppcr
waited until the other had gained a
little distance and then stepping
from his place Of conccalment fol.
lowed silently behind.
The way led along the corridor
which ran parallel with the face Of
the cliff for some little distance and
then Pan-sat. taking q cresset from
one of the wall inches. turned
abruptly into a small apartment at
his Scft. The tracker followed eau.
tiously IN time TO see the rays OF the
Pickering light dimly visible from an
aperture in the floor before him.
Here he found a series Of steps. SINH.
lar TO those used by the Waz-don In
scaling the cliff TO their caves lead.
ing to a lower level.
First satisfying himself that his
guide was continuing upon his way
unsuspecfing, the other descended
after him and continued his stcalthy
stalking. The passageway was now
both narrow and low. giving but
bare headrocm TO q tail man. and
IL was broken often by flights Of
steps leading always downward. The
steps In each unit seldom numbered
more than six and sometimes there
was only one or two but In the ag.
gregate the trscker imagined that
they had descended between 80 and
rs feet from the level Of the upper
corridor when the passaseway termi.