Argosy All-Story Weekly, January 13, 1923 — page 136: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

a 598 bles and Throck, beefy and cumbersome, got into action with less celerity than the Russian, but, like him, they showed no in- dication of fear. ** Down!” cried Kraski, suiting the action to the word. “Lie down and let them have it!” Scarcely had the three men dropped among the long grass when a score of pygmy hunters came into the open and a volley of arrows whizzed above the prone men, while from a near-by tree two steel-gray eyes looked down upon the ambush. Bluber lay upon his belly with his face buried in his arms, his useless rifle lying at his side; but Kraski, Peebles and Throck, fighting for their lives, pumped lead into the circling band of yelling pygmies. Kraski, and Peebles each dropped a na- tive with his rifle, and then the foe with- drew into the concealing safety of the sur- rounding jungle. For a moment there was a cessation of hostilities. Utter silence reigned, and then a voice broke the quiet from the verdure of a near-by forest giant. “Do not fire until I tell you,” it said in English, ‘‘ and I will save you.” Bluber raised his head. ‘ Come qvick! Come. qvick!” he cried. “ Ve vill not shoot. Safe me, safe me, und I giff you five pounds.” From the tree from which the voice had issued there came a single low, long-drawn, whistled note, and then silence for a time. The pygmies, momentarily surprised by the mysterious voice emanating from the foliage of a tree, ceased their activities, but presently, hearing nothing to arouse their fear, they emerged from the cover bushes and launched another volley of arrows to- ward the four men lving among the grasses in the clearing. Simultaneously the figure of a giant white leaped from the lower branches of a patriarch of the jungle, as a great black-maned lion sprang from the thicket below. “ Oi!” shrieked Bluber, and again buried his face in his arms. For an instant the pygmies stood terri- fied, and then their leader cried, “It is Tarzan!” and turned and fled into the jungle. meV GS: it is Tarzan—Tarzan of the ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. Apes!” cried Lord Greystoke. ‘It is Tar- zan and the golden lion.” But he spoke in the dialect of the pygmies, and the whites understood no word of what he said. Then he turned to them. ‘‘ The gomangani have gone,” he said; “ get up.” The four men crawled to their feet. “Who are you, and what are you doing here?” demanded Tarzan of the Apes. * But I do not need to ask who you are. You are the men who drugged me and left me helpless in your camp, a prey to the first passing lion or savage native.” Bluber stumbled forward, rubbing his palms together and cringing and smiling. “Oi! Oi! Mr. Tarzan, ve did not know you. Neffer vould ve did vat ve done, had ve known it vas Tarzan of the Apes. Safe me! ‘Ten pounds—tventy pounds—any- t’ing. Name your own price. Safe me und it is yours.” Tarzan ignored the jew and turned to- ward the others. “I am looking for one of your men,” he said—“ a black named Luvini. He killed my wife. Where is he?” “We know nothing of that,” said Kras- ki, “ Luvini betrayed us and deserted us. Your wife and another white woman were in our camp at the time. None of us knows what became of them. They were behind us when we took our post to defend the camp from our men and the slaves of the Arabs. Your Waziri were there. After the enemy had withdrawn we found that the two white women had disappeared.. We do not know what became of them. We are looking for them now.” “My Waziri told me as much,” said Tarzan, “‘but have you seen aught of Luvini since?” ** No, we have not,” replied Kraski. “What are you doing here?” demanded Tarzan. “We came with Mr. Bluber on a scien- tific expedition,” replied the Russian. “ We have had a great deal of trouble. Our head- men, askarvi and porters have mutinied and deserted. We are absolutely alone and helpless.” “Oi! O27!” cried Bluber. ‘Safe us! Safe us! But keep dot lion avay. He makes me nerfous.”’ Gomichbook (E@)