Argosy All-Story Weekly, March 15, 1924 — page 149: what you’re looking at

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

778 minutes that these fought, before explana- tions could be made and understood, gave the fugitives time to pass among the trees to the west side of the city, and, turning north, make for the hills that were dimly visible in the light of a clear but moonless night. Oratharc, who said that he knew the hill trails perfectly; led the way, the others fol- lowing as closely as they could; Komodoflo- rensal and Tarzan bringing up the rear. Thus they moved on in silence through the night, winding along precipitous mountain. trails, leaping now: and again from rock to rock where: the ‘trail itself had been able to. find no footing; sliding into dank ravines, clambering through heavy brush and tim- ber along tunnel-like trails that followed their windings, or crept up their opposite sides to narrow ridge or broad plateau; and all night long no sign of pursuit devel- _ oped. The morning came at :ast, and with it, from the summit of a lofty ridge, a pano- rama of broad plain stretching to the north, of distant hills, ‘of forests, and of streams. They decided then to descend to one of the numerous parklike glades that they could see nestling in the hills below them, and there rest their mounts and permit them to feed, for the work of the night. had been | hard upon them. | They knew that in the hills they might hide almost indefinitely, so wild and so little traveled were they, and so they went into camp an hour after sunrise in a tiny cup- like valley surrounded by great trees, and watered and fed their mounts with a sense of security greater than they had felt since they left Veltoptismakus. Oratharc went out on foot and killed a _ couple of quail, and Tarzan speared a large fish in the stream. ‘These they prepared and ate, and then, the men taking turns. on guard, they slept until afternoon, for none had had sleep the night before. Taking up their flight again in mid- afternoon, they were well out upon the plain when darkness overtook them. Komodoflo- rensal and Zoanthrohago were riding on the flanks, and all were searching for a suitable - camping place. It was Zoanthrohago who found it, and-when they all gathered about ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. him ‘Tarzan saw nothing in the waning light of day that appeared any more like a good camping place than any other spot on. the open plain. There was a little clump of trees, but they had passed many such clumps, and there was nothing about this one that appeared to offer any greater security than another. As a matter of fact, to Tarzan it was anything but a desirable camp site.’ There was no water; there was little shelter from the wind and none from an enemy; but perhaps they were going into the trees. That would be better. He looked up at the lofty. branches lovingly. How enormous these trees seemed! He knew them for what they were, and that they were trees of only average size, yet to him now they reared giants. “TJ will go in first,” he heard Komodoflo- rensal say, and turned to learn what he re- ferred. to. The three other 1 men were standing” ‘at the mouth of a large hole, into which they were looking. Tarzan knew that the open- ing was the ‘mouth of the burrow of:a ratel, the African member of the badger family, and he wondered why-any of them wished _ to enter it.” : Tarzen had never cared for the flesh of the ratel. He stepped over and joined the others, and -as he did so he saw Komodoflo- rensal crawl into the opening, his drawn sword in his hand. “ ‘Why is he doing that?” he asked Zoan- ’ throhago. “ To drive out or kill the cambon,. if he is there,” replied the prince, giving the ratel its Minunian name. * And why?” asked Tarzan. you do not eat its flesh?” ‘No, but we want its home for the night,” ‘replied Zoanthrohago. ‘I had for- gotten that you are not a Minunian. . We will spend the night in the underground chambers of the cambon, safe from the attacks of the cat or the lion. It would ibe better were we there now—this is a bad hour of the night for Minunians to be abroad on the plain-or in the forest, for it is at this hour that the lion hunts.” A few minutes later Komodoflorensal BGOMMGIOOK their heads aloft like veritable “ Surely. CO