Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs - Chapters 17 & 18 - Redhead Rewriting Reality

Episode Transcript
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(00:05):
Welcome to Redhead Rewriting Reality by Kimberly Sue Iverson
the story of my life as I figureout who I am after a lifetime of
abuse and share my journey with that.
Sharing my journey of building my author career, the struggles,
bettering self and creating a new life.

(00:25):
I'm a multi genre author who's published more than 53 stories
and coming to you from the Pacific Northwest.
And this podcast is for you because like me, you love
stories, journeys and you just want to relax for a bit.
So let me take care of you. This audio is intended for an

(00:46):
adult audience. Themes and topics may not be
suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is now get
yourself comfy and make yourselfat home.
And let's dive in. Welcome back to the most
pickiest person's podcast on theplanet.

(01:12):
So last, I don't even, OK, I don't even know what time that
was last week, last week, last week at some point, I think it
was, I think it was last week ortwo weeks ago.
Last week probably. But I was trying to record

(01:35):
chapters 17 and 18 with this newmicrophone that I had bought.
That was like a really cheap, small little handheld thing that
had a lot of good reviews. And it's a lavalier.

(01:56):
I had been recording my audio, but then I noticed that when I
went to check the audio and pause it because I had to deal
with the dogs or something, there was silence.
It's going huh, What happened was the microphone.

(02:18):
I hadn't charged them since I bought them, so the battery had
died inside of it. Well, then I once I figured that
out, I had I, I went back to cutback the audio so that when I
started recording, it wasn't this like I don't know how many
minutes of silence that I'd haveto do in edits.

(02:41):
But then somehow I either accidentally hit undo or delete
or something. And I didn't think to hit redo
in case of that. But I had accidentally then got
rid of the entire audio right after I cut that little piece

(03:05):
off and I was going, you know, this is just, this is
frustrating me as heck. That's when Kim's patience
starts to go. And so, so then I was like, OK,

(03:28):
well, there's a, this is a 2 pack I have.
So maybe the other microphone, since I have not touched it will
be able to be used. But by that time, my brother had
gotten up, and I don't record audio when he's up because he
always has the TV on or playing video games or watching YouTube,

(03:53):
which is also the TV. And I don't like that noise in
the background because I try to edit out a lot of the noise.
Like if I'm recording around 3:30 or so, 3:30 to 4:30, the
neighbor comes home from work. He's the one with that big
rumbling truck that you'll hear.And then the lady beside us is a

(04:17):
piano teacher, so she will oftenhave cars coming and going and
kids coming and going and peoplecoming and going from the side
of the house that is on our side.
And they're not always loud, butyou know, sometimes you get
those people that will come through a little bit louder
because they're talking on the phone or they're talking to
their kids or something. And in front of us, we have a

(04:39):
very active family who will sometimes play catch football.
So the moral of the story is this house doesn't have the kind
of insulation that the other house did.
Although there was one time thatI needed to get the podcast out.
So I and it was a day that therewas trash deliveries, a lot of

(05:02):
noise and I think the neighbors were doing a lot of yard work or
something. So I had actually sat under a
blanket or a comforter or something to record the audio
just to buffer the sound becauseI couldn't find a place that was
pretty silent. And I was going to do what I had

(05:22):
to do to get the audio out because that's what you do,
especially if you don't want a ton of background noise.
So I try to make sure that the audio is either loud enough that
for people like my brother who listen to Spotify or YouTube on
the TV. And I know that I have at least

(05:44):
one Facebook friend of mine who has mentioned that's how he
listens to my podcasts or YouTube in general is the TVI
try and think of that and keep in mind those people so that if
I have the audio loud enough, ithelps them hear it without

(06:04):
having to amplify the volume to the point that it gets raspy and
you hear too much background staticky sound.
I don't know if it's just sensitive hearing or a sensory
thing for me now, but that can really irritate me and my head
can go like bonkers with too much at once.

(06:26):
It's often why when my brother'sup, I won't be in that same room
for too long because that's justtoo much noise and the dog and
him, it's too much. So then, yeah, I'm not going to
probably be like a super city dweller, I imagine, unless I can
find a way to tune that out. I also don't want the volume to

(06:50):
low because again, obviously if you're going to have to amplify
that, that's not going to help. But too high will have the same
results even if you turn it down.
So I try to find a middle groundfor the audio volume as much as
what I'm using to record the audio.
The thing that I've been using and I'm using right now that I

(07:13):
went back to is the Samsung Galaxy A-15.
It was a free phone if you triedout Xfinity for a bit.
And both my brother and I, when we were getting ready to be
forced out of the house in December, both of our phones
were acting up really bad. Mine had struggles turning on

(07:36):
and working his head, struggles charging.
So we were like, you know what, we can do this really affordable
pre play, pre pay plan for a little bit to try it out.
And we did. We got the phones, but the phone
is like the microphone though onit is really nice.

(08:01):
So it's what I've been using to record the audio and I've been
trying to learn new methods of tweaking the audio in Audacity.
So you can hear that one in I think the past two episodes 1314
and 11:00 and 12:00. So I do want to make clear that

(08:23):
if you notice the audio being shifty or funky or too loud or
too soft or something going on that you know just isn't
pleasant to your ears in particular, please let me know.
That privately would be awesome.But no, even publicly, it's fine

(08:46):
if you leave a comment 'cause somebody else might pop on that
comment and agree or disagree. If it's just like, you know, one
person here and there. It's not something major that
I'm going to address at that time, but I will keep an eye on
it. But then if it's something that
a lot of people are struggling with, it's something I do want

(09:09):
to figure out how to address andfix because I want to try to do
the best audio possible. I am on a budget right now.
I'm not making anything from this.
So what I do has to be on a budget and free, particularly if
you want to support and help me improve the system that I'm

(09:31):
using or get better things. That's where a lot of the
donations or all of the donations will end up going from
anything that I make on this right now.
Otherwise, I'm going to be limited to free stuff or super,
super cheapo stuff because the budget is not going to allow for

(09:52):
me to upgrade anything right now.
The microphones that I did get, they were on a sale and they
already were pretty cheap, so I think they were like 10 bucks,
maybe 15, but I have to figure out the proper editing for it.
In some of my shorts and my reels.
You might hear the audio shift when I use those or that I

(10:16):
should say, even though there's two.
But I do want to make sure that the audio for this is the best
that I can for you guys. I've gotten a lot of great
feedback from many of you that the tone and the way that I read
or the way that I speak or the annunciations and all that you

(10:39):
guys are enjoying, which is thatmakes me incredibly happy to
hear those things and it helps me to want to keep going.
I do always appreciate anyone's feedback, anyone's comments on
how I'm reading, the tone that I'm using.
I get extremely picky over my own self and I am fully

(11:04):
cognizant of that and I've addressed it.
It's something that I try to always be focused on because I
do have that perfectionist streak, but I'm also trying to
be cognizant of the fact that nothing will be perfect.
There will always be gripes. Plenty of people will not like

(11:25):
me or like how I do things. I don't know if his last year or
two years ago or three years ago, I can't remember, but a
paramedic had told me that he liked to listen to ASMR when he
come home from work. And that's what's always struck
me most. And those are usually the people
that in my mind I'm targeting most people even like me, who

(11:51):
they might be struggling, they might be just exhausted and they
just want something to take themfrom that chaos down into a more
comfort, relaxed space. I'm not trying to target people
who want to get pumped up for the day.

(12:12):
Unless, you know, you do get pumped up from stuff like this,
then awesome, I'd love that too.I listen to podcasts also when
I'm on my recumbent bike or whenI'm exercising, so even how
little I can right now. So I like to listen to podcasts
that can be a little bit more even keeled.

(12:35):
One of my favorites is The Diaryof Aceo.
So I always target more of the people who just need to escape a
bit, relax a bit, zone out, get their mind off of things.
So don't ever hesitate to give me feedback, or even just on

(12:56):
stories you'd like me to read orthings you would like to
address. The other day I was talking to
somebody about how it would evenbe fun for me to have other
people read stories. Like if you wrote a story and

(13:16):
you wanted to read it and then have me upload that so it's in
your own words, I would totally be for that too 'cause I think
that would also be pretty fun. So today we are reading Tarzan
of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapters 17 and 18,

(13:38):
read by your lovely host and super picky host Kimberly Sue
Iverson Chapter 17 Burials. As it was now quite light, the
party, none of whom had eaten orslept since the previous

(13:58):
morning, began to bestirre themselves to prepare food.
The mutineers of the arrow had landed a small supply of dried
meats, canned soups and vegetables, crackers, flour, tea
and coffee for the five they hadmarooned, and these were

(14:19):
hurriedly drawn upon to satisfy the craving of long famished
appetites. The next task was to make the
cabin habitable, and to this endit was decided to at once remove
the gruesome relics of the tragedy which had taken place

(14:39):
there on some bygone day. Professor Porter and Mr. Flander
were deeply interested in examining the skeletons.
The two larger, they stated, hadbelonged to a male and female of
one of the higher white races. The smallest skeleton was given,

(15:01):
but passing attention as its location in the crib left no
doubt as to its having been the infant offspring of this unhappy
couple. As they were preparing the
skeleton of the man for burial, Clayton discovered a massive
ring which had evidently encircled the man's finger at

(15:25):
the time of his death, for one of the Thunder bones of the hand
still lay within the golden bobble.
Picking it up to examine it, Clayton gave a cry of
astonishment, for the ring bore the Crest of the House of
Greystoke. At the same time Jane discovered

(15:50):
the books in the cupboard, and on opening the flyleaf of one of
them, saw the name John Clayton London.
In a second book, which she hurriedly examined, was the
single name Greystoke. Why, Mr. Clayton, she cried.

(16:14):
What does this mean? Here are the names of some of
your own people in these books. And here, he replied gravely, is
the great ring of the House of Greystoke, which has been lost
since my uncle John Clayton, theformer Lord Greystoke,

(16:39):
disappeared, presumably lost at sea.
But how do you account for thesethings being here in this savage
African jungle? Exclaimed the girl.
There is but one way to account for it, Miss Porter, said
Clayton. The late Lord Greystoke was not

(17:03):
drowned. He died here in this cabin, and
this poor thing upon the floor is all that is mortal of him.
Then this must have been Lady Greystoke, said Jane reverently,
indicating the poor mass of bones upon the bed.

(17:24):
The beautiful Lady Alice repliedClayton, of whose many virtues
and remarkable personal charms Ioften have heard my mother and
father speak, poor woman, he murmured sadly, with deep
reverence and solemnity. The bodies of the late Lord and

(17:48):
Lady Greystoke were buried beside their little African
cabin, and between them was placed the tiny skeleton of the
baby of Kala the ape. As Mr. Flander was placing the
frail bones of the infant in a bit of sailcloth, he examined
the skull minutely. Then he called Professor Porter

(18:13):
to his side, and the two argued in low tones for several
minutes. Most remarkable.
Most remarkable, said Professor Porter.
Bless me, said Mr. Flander, we must acquaint Mr. Clayton with

(18:34):
our discovery at once. Tut tut, Mr. Flander, tut, tut.
Remonstrated Professor Archimedes.
Cue Porter. Let the dead pass, bury its
dead. And so the white haired old man
repeated the burial service overthis strange grave while his

(18:57):
four companions stood with bowedand uncovered heads about him.
From the trees Tarzan of the Apes watched the solemn
ceremony, but most of all he watched the sweet face and
graceful figure of Jane Porter in his savage, untutored breast.

(19:21):
New emotions were stirring. He could not fathom them.
He wondered why he felt so greatan interest in these people, why
he had gone to such pains to save the three men.
But he did not wonder why he hadtorn Sabor from the tender flesh

(19:42):
of the strange girl. Surely the men were stupid and
ridiculous and cowardly. Even Manu, the monkey, was more
intelligent than they if these creatures of his own kind.
He was doubtful if his past pride in blood was warranted.

(20:05):
But the girl, ah, that was a different matter.
He did not reason here. He knew that she was created to
be protected and that he was created to protect her.
He wondered why they had dug a great hole in the ground merely

(20:27):
to bury dry bones. Surely there was no sense in
that. No one wanted to steal dry
bones. Had there been meat upon them he
could have understood, for thus alone might one keep his meat
from Dango, the hyena, and the other robbers of the jungle.

(20:48):
When the grave had been filled with earth, the little party
turned back toward the cabin, and Esmeralda, still weeping
copiously for the two she had never heard of before today and
who had been dead 20 years, chanced to glance toward the
harbour. Instantly her tears ceased.

(21:11):
Look at them low down white trash out there, she shrilled,
pointing toward the arrow. They also desecrating us right
here on this here perverted island.
And sure enough, the arrow was being worked toward the open
sea, slowly through the harbour's entrance.

(21:35):
They promised to leave us firearms and ammunition, said
Clayton. The merciless beasts.
It is the work of that fellow they call Snipes, I am sure,
said Jane. King was a scoundrel, but he had
a little sense of humanity. If they had not killed him, I

(22:00):
know that he would have seen that we were properly provided
for before they left us to our fate.
I regret that they did not visitus before sailing, said
Professor Porter. I had proposed requesting them
to leave the treasure with us, as I shall be a ruined man if

(22:22):
that is lost. Jane looked at her father sadly.
Never mind, dear, she said. It wouldn't have done any good,
because it is solely for the treasure that they killed their
officers and landed us upon thisawful shore.

(22:43):
Tut tut child, tut tut, replied Professor Porter.
You are a good child, but inexperienced in practical
matters. And Professor Porter turned and
walked slowly away toward the jungle, his hands clasped
beneath his long coat tails and his eyes bent upon the ground.

(23:06):
His daughter watched him with a pathetic smile upon her lips.
And then, turning to Mr. Flanders, she whispered.
Please don't let him wander off again as he did yesterday.
We depend upon you, you know, tokeep a close watch upon him.
He becomes more difficult to handle each day, replied Mr.

(23:30):
Flander with a sigh and a shake of his head.
I presume he is now off to report to the directors of the
zoo that one of their lions was at large last night.
Oh, Miss Jane, you don't know what I have to contend with.
Yes, I do, Mr. Flander, but while we all love him, you alone

(23:53):
are best fitted to manage him, or regardless of what he may say
to you, he respects your great learning, and therefore has
immense confidence in your judgment.
The poor dear cannot differentiate between erudition
and wisdom. Mr. Flander, with a mildly

(24:16):
puzzled expression on his face, turned to pursue Professor
Porter, and in his mind he was revolving the question of
whether he should feel complimented or aggrieved at
Miss Porter's rather backhanded compliment.

(24:36):
Tarzan had seen the consternation depicted upon the
faces of the little group as they witnessed the departure of
the Arrow, so as the ship was a wonderful novelty to him.
In addition, he determined to hasten out to the point of land
at the north of the harbour's mouth, and obtain A nearer view

(24:59):
of the boat, as well as to learn, if possible, the
direction of its flight. Swinging through the trees with
great speed, he reached the point only a moment after the
ship had passed out of the harbour, so that he obtained an
excellent view of the wonders ofthis strange floating house.

(25:22):
There were some 20 men running, hit her and thither about the
deck, pulling and hauling on ropes.
A light land breeze was blowing,and the ship had been worked
through the harbour's mouth under scant sail, but now that
they had cleared the point everyavailable shred of canvas was

(25:43):
being spread that she might stand out to sea as handily as
possible. Tarzan watched the graceful
movements of the ship in rapt admiration, and longed to be
aboard her. Presently his keen eyes caught
the faintest suspicion of smoke on the far northern horizon, and

(26:06):
he wondered over the cause of such a thing out on the great
water. About the same time the lookout
on the Arrow must have discernedit, for in a few minutes Tarzan
saw the sails being shifted and shortened.
The ship came about, and presently he knew that she was

(26:26):
beating back toward land. A man at the boughs was
constantly heaving into the sea a rope to the end of which a
small object was fastened. Tarzan wondered what the purpose
of this action might be. At last the ship came up
directly into the wind. The anchor was lowered.

(26:47):
Down came the sails. There was great scurrying about
on deck. A boat was lowered, and in it a
great chest was placed. Then a dozen sailors bent to the
oars and pulled rapidly toward the point where Tarzan crouched
in the branches of a tree in thestern of the boat.

(27:09):
As it drew nearer, Tarzan saw the rat faced man.
It was but a few minutes later that the boat touched the beach.
The men jumped out and lifted the great chest to the sand.
They were on the north side of the point so that their presence
was concealed from those at the cabin.

(27:30):
The men argued angrily for a moment.
Then the Rat Faced one with several companions, ascended the
low bluff on which stood the tree that concealed Tarzan.
They looked about for several minutes.
Here is a good place, said the Rat faced sailor, indicating a

(27:51):
spot beneath Tarzan's tree. It is as good as any, replied
one of his companions. If they catch us with a treasure
aboard, it will all be confiscated anyway.
We might as well bury it here onthe chance that some of us will
escape the gallows to come back and enjoy it later.

(28:11):
The rat faced one now called to the men who had remained at the
boat, and they came slowly up the bank carrying picks and
shovels. Hurry you cried Snapes Stoat.
Retorted one of the men in a sturly tone.
You're no Admiral, you damned shrimp.

(28:33):
I'm cap'n here, though I'll haveyou to understand you swab,
shrieked Snipes with a volley offrightful oaths.
Steady, boys, cautioned one of the men who had not spoken
before. It ain't going to get us nothing
by fighting amongst ourselves right enough, said the sailor,

(28:56):
who had resented Snipes's autocratic tones.
But it ain't a goin to get nobody nothing to put on airs in
this Bloomin company neither. You fellows dig here, said
Snipes, indicating a spot beneath the tree.
And while you're digging, Peter can be a Makin of a map of the

(29:17):
location so Wheez can find it again.
You, Tom and Bill take a couple more down and fetch up the
chest. What were you, uh, going to do?
Asked he of the previous altercation.
Just boss, get busy there. Growled Snipes.
You didn't think your captain was going to dig with a shovel,

(29:38):
did you? The men all looked up angrily.
None of them liked Snipes, and this disagreeable show of
authority since he had murdered King, a real head and ringleader
of the mutineers, had only addedfuel to the flames of their
hatred. Do you mean to say that you

(30:00):
don't intend to take a shovel and lend a hand with this work?
Your shoulder's not hurt, so allfired bad as that, said Tarrant,
the sailor, who had before spoken.
Not by a damned sight, replied Snipes, fingering the butt of
his revolver nervously. Then, by God, replied Tarrant,

(30:22):
if you won't take a shovel, you'll take a pickaxe.
With the words he raised his pick above his head, and with a
mighty blow he buried the point and snipes his brain.
For a moment the men stood silently looking at the result
of their fellow's grim humor. Then one of them spoke.

(30:46):
Served the skunk jolly well, right, he said.
One of the others commenced to ply his pick to the ground.
The soil was soft, and he threw aside the pick and grasped a
shovel. Then the others joined him.
There was no further comment on the killing, but the men worked

(31:07):
in a better frame of mind than they had since Snipes had
assumed command. When they had a trench of ample
size to bury the chest, Torrent suggested that they enlarge it
and inter Snipes his body on topof the chest.
It might help fool any, as happened to be digging erebouts,

(31:28):
he explained. The others saw the cutting of
the suggestion and so the trenchwas lengthened to accommodate
the corpse and in the centre a deeper hole was excavated for
the box, which was first wrappedin sailcloth and then lowered to
its place which brought its top about a foot below the bottom of

(31:51):
the grave. Earth was shovelled in and
trampled down about the chest until the bottom of the grave
showed level. In U2 of the men rolled the rat
faced corpse unceremoniously into the grave, after first
stripping it of its weapons and various other articles which the

(32:15):
several members of the party coveted for their own.
Then they filled the grave with earth and tramped upon it until
it would hold no more. The balance of the loose earth
was thrown far and wide, and a mass of dead undergrowth spread
in as natural a manner as possible over the new made grave

(32:41):
to obliterate all signs of the ground having been disturbed.
Their work done, the sailors returned to the small boat and
pulled off rapidly toward the arrow.
The breeze had increased considerably, and as the smoke
upon the horizon was now plainlydiscernible in considerable

(33:05):
volume, the mutineers lost no time in getting under full sail
and bearing away toward the southwest.
Tarzan, an interested spectator of all that had taken place, sat
speculating on the strange actions of these peculiar

(33:28):
creatures. Men were indeed more foolish and
more cruel than the beasts of the jungle.
How fortunate was he who lived in the peace and security of the
great forest? Tarzan wondered what the chest

(33:50):
they had buried contained. If they did not want it, why did
they not merely throw it in the water?
That would have been much easier.
Ah, he thought, but they do wantit.
They have hidden it here becausethey intend returning for it
later. Tarzan dropped to the ground and

(34:14):
commenced to examine the earth about the excavation.
He was looking to see if these creatures had dropped anything
which he might like to own. Soon he discovered a spade
hidden by the underbrush which they had laid upon the grave.

(34:34):
He seized it and attempted to use it as he had seen the
sailors do. It was awkward work and hurt his
bare feet, but he persevered until he had partially uncovered
the body. This he dragged from the grave
and laid to one side. Then he continued digging until

(34:57):
he had unearthed the chest. This, also, he dragged to the
side of the corpse. Then he filled in the smaller
hole below the grave, replaced the body and the earth around
and above it, covered it over with underbrush, and returned to
the chest. Forest sailors had sweated

(35:21):
beneath the burden of its weight.
Tarzan of the Apes picked it up as though it had been an empty
packing case, and with the spadeslung to his back by a piece of
rope, carried it off into the densest part of the jungle.
He could not well negotiate the trees with his awkward burden,

(35:45):
but he kept to the trails and somade fairly good time.
For several hours he travelled alittle north of east until he
came to an impenetrable wall of matted and tangled vegetation.
Then he took to the lower branches and in another 15

(36:06):
minutes he emerged into the Amphitheatre of the Apes, where
they met in council or to celebrate the rites of the Dum
Dum. Near the centre of the clearing
and not far from the drum or altar, he commenced to dig.
This was harder work than turning up the freshly excavated

(36:29):
earth at the grave, but Tarzan of the Apes was persevering, and
so he kept it his labor until hewas rewarded by seeing a hole
sufficiently deep to receive thechest and effectually hide it
from view. Why had he gone to all this
labor without knowing the value of the contents of the chest?

(36:54):
Tarzan of the Apes had a man's figure and a man's brain, but he
was an ape by training an environment.
His brain told him that the chest contained something
valuable, or the men would not have hidden it.
His training had taught him to imitate whatever was new and

(37:15):
unusual, and now the natural curiosity, which is as common to
men as to apes, prompted him to open the chest and examine its
contents. But the heavy lock and massive
iron bands baffled both his cunning and his immense

(37:36):
strength, so that he was compelled to bury the chest
without having his curiosity satisfied.
By the time Tarzan had haunted his way back to the vicinity of
the cabin, feeding as he went, it was quite dark.
Within the little building a light was burning, for Clayton

(37:59):
had found an unopened tin of oilwhich had stood intact for 20
years, a part of the supplies left with the Claytons by Black
Michael. The lamps also were still
usable, and thus the interior ofthe cabin appeared as bright as
day to the astonished Tarzan. He had often wondered at the

(38:24):
exact purpose of the lamps. His reading and the pictures had
told him what they were, but he had no idea of how they could be
made to produce the wondrous sunlight that some of his
pictures had portrayed them as diffusing upon all surrounding
objects. As he approached the window

(38:46):
nearest the door, he saw that the cabin had been divided into
two rooms by a rough partition of boughs and sailcloth.
In the front room were the threemen, the two older, deep in
argument, while the younger, tilted back against the wall on

(39:08):
an improvised stool, was deeply engrossed in reading 1 of
Tarzan's books. Tarzan was not particularly
interested in the men, however, so he sought the other window.
There was the girl. How beautiful her features, how

(39:31):
delicate her snowy skin. She was riding at Tarzan's own
table. Beneath the window, upon a pile
of grasses at the far side of the room, lay the Negress,
asleep. For an hour Tarzan feasted his
eyes upon her while she wrote how he longed to speak to her,

(39:56):
but he dared not attempt it, forhe was convinced that, like the
young man, she would not understand him, and he feared,
too, that he might frighten her away.
At length she arose, leaving hermanuscript upon the table.
She went to the bed, upon which had been spread several layers

(40:20):
of soft grasses. These she rearranged.
Then she loosened the soft mass of golden hair which crowned her
head like a shimmering waterfallturned to burnished metal by a
dying sun. It fell about her Oval face in
waving lines Below her waist it tumbled.

(40:44):
Parzan was spellbound. Then she extinguished the lamp,
and all within the cabin was wrapped in Sumerian darkness.
Still Parzan watched, creeping close beneath the window.
He waited, listening, for half an hour.

(41:04):
At last he was rewarded by the sounds of the regular breathing
within which denotes sleep. Cautiously he intruded his hand
between the meshes of the lattice, until his whole arm was
within the cabin. Carefully he felt upon the desk.

(41:26):
At last he grasped the manuscript upon which Jane
Porter had been writing, and as cautiously withdrew his arm and
hand holding the precious treasure.
Tarzan folded the sheets into a small parcel, which he tucked
into the quiver with his arrows.Then he melted away into the

(41:49):
jungle as softly and as noiselessly as shadow.
CHAPTER 18 THE JUNGLE TOLL Earlythe following morning Tarzan
awoke, and his first thought of the new day, as the last of
yesterday, was of the wonderful writing which lay hidden in his

(42:14):
quiver. Hurriedly he brought it forth,
hoping against hope that he could read what the beautiful
white girl had written there thepreceding evening.
At first glance he suffered A bitter disappointment.
Never before had he so yearned for anything as now he did for

(42:39):
the ability to interpret a message from that golden haired
divinity who had come so suddenly and so unexpectedly
into his life. What did it matter if the
message were not intended for him?
It was an expression of her thoughts, and that was

(43:01):
sufficient for Tarzan of the Apes.
And now to be baffled by strange, uncouth characters, the
like of which he had never seen before.
Why, they even tipped in the opposite direction from all that
he had ever examined, either in printed books or the difficult

(43:26):
script of the few letters he hadfound.
Even the little bugs of the Black Book were familiar
friends, though their arrangement meant nothing to
him. But these bugs were new and
unheard of. For 20 minutes he poured over

(43:46):
them, when suddenly they commenced to take familiar,
though distorted shapes. Ah, they were his old friends,
but badly crippled. Then he began to make out a word
here and a word there. His heart leaped for joy.

(44:08):
He could read it, and he would. In another half hour he was
progressing rapidly, and but foran exceptional word now and
again, he found it very plain sailing.
Here is what he read. West Coast of Africa, about 10°

(44:29):
S latitude, So Mr. Clayton says February 3rd 19 O 9.
Dearest Hazel, it seems foolish to write you a letter that you
may never see, but I simply musttell somebody of our awful
experiences since we sailed fromEurope on the ill-fated Arrow.

(44:56):
If we never return to civilization, as now seems only
too likely, this will at least prove a brief record of the
events which led up to our finalfate, whatever it may be.
As you know, we were supposed tohave set out upon a scientific

(45:16):
expedition to the Congo. Papa was presumed to entertain
some wondrous theory of an unthinkably ancient
civilization, the remains of which lay buried somewhere in
the Congo Valley. But after we were well under

(45:37):
sail, the truth came out. It seems that an old bookworm,
who has a book and curio shop inBaltimore, discovered, between
the leaves of a very old Spanishmanuscript, a letter written in
1550, detailing the adventures of a crew of mutineers of a

(46:04):
Spanish galleon bound from Spainto South Africa, with a vast
treasure of doubloons and piecesof eight, I suppose, for they
certainly sound weird. In Pirity the writer had been
one of the crew, and the letter was to his son, who was, at the

(46:27):
very time the letter was written, master of a Spanish
merchantman. Many years had elapsed since the
events the letter narrated had transpired, and the old man had
become a respected citizen of anobscure Spanish town, but the

(46:51):
love of gold was still so strongupon him that he risked all to
acquaint his son with the means of attaining fabulous wealth for
them both. The writer told how when, but a
week out from Spain, the crew had mutinied and murdered every

(47:12):
officer and man who opposed them, But they defeated their
own ends by this very act, for there was none left competent to
navigate a ship at sea. They were blown, hit her, and
thither for two months, until, sick and dying of scurvy,

(47:32):
starvation, and thirst, they hadbeen wrecked on a small islet.
The galleon was washed high uponthe beach, where she went to
pieces, but not before the survivors, who numbered but 10
souls, had rescued one of the great chests of treasure.

(47:52):
This they buried well upon the island, and for three years they
lived there in constant hope of being rescued.
One by one they sickened and died, until only one man was
left, the writer of the letter. The men had built a boat from

(48:14):
the wreckage of the galleon, buthaving no idea where the island
was located, they had not dared to put to sea.
When all were dead except himself.
However, the awful loneliness soweighed upon the mind of the
sole survivor that he could endure it no longer, and

(48:36):
choosing to risk death upon the open sea rather than madness on
the lonely Isle, he set sail in his little boat after nearly a
year of solitude. Fortunately he sailed due north,
and within a week was in the track of the Spanish merchantmen

(49:00):
plying between the West Indies and Spain, and was picked up by
one of these vessels homeward bound.
The story he told was merely 1 of shipwreck, in which all but a
few had perished, the balance except himself dying after they

(49:21):
reached the island. He did not mention the mutiny or
the chest of buried treasure. The master of the merchantman
assured him that from the position at which they had
picked him up, and the prevailing winds for the past
week, he could have been on no other island than one of the

(49:43):
Cape Verde group, which lie off the West Coast of Africa in
about 16 or 17 N latitude. His letter described the island
minutely as well as the locationof the treasure, and was
accompanied by the crudest, funniest little old map you ever

(50:07):
saw, with trees and rocks all marked by scrawly X's to show
the exact spot where the treasure had been buried.
When Papa explained the real nature of the expedition, my
heart sank, for I know so well how visionary and impractical

(50:29):
the poor dear has always been that I feared that he had again
been duped, especially when he told me he had paid $1000 for
the letter and map. To add to my distress, I learned
that he had borrowed $10,000 more from Robert Candler and had

(50:55):
given his notes for the amount Mr. Candler had asked for.
No security, and you know deary,what that will mean for me if
Papa cannot meet them. Oh, how I detest that, ma'am.
We all tried to look on the bright side of things, but Mr.

(51:18):
Philander and Mr. Clayton, he joined us in London just for the
adventure. Both felt as skeptical as I.
Well, to make a Long story short, we found the island and
the treasure, a great iron boundoak chest wrapped in many layers

(51:40):
of oiled sailcloth and as strongand firm as when it had been
buried nearly 200 years ago. It was simply filled with gold
coin and was so heavy that four men bent underneath its weight.

(52:01):
The horrid thing seems to bring nothing but murder and
misfortune to those who have anything to do with it.
For three days after we sailed from the Cape Verde Islands, our
own crew mutinied and killed every one of their officers.

(52:22):
Oh, it was the most terrifying experience one could imagine.
I cannot even write of it. They were going to kill us too,
but one of them, the leader named King, would not let them.
And so they sailed S along the coast to a lonely spot where

(52:43):
they found a good harbour, and here they landed and have left
us. They sailed away with the
treasure to day, but Mr. Claytonsays they will meet with a fate
similar to the mutineers of the ancient galleon, because King,
the only man aboard who knew aught of navigation, was

(53:06):
murdered on the beach by one of the men the day we landed.
I wish you could know Mr. Clayton.
He is the dearest fellow imaginable, and unless I am
mistaken, he has fallen very much in love with me.
He is the only son of Lord Greystoke, and someday we'll

(53:29):
inherit the title and estates. In addition, he is wealthy in
his own right. But the fact that he is going to
be an English Lord makes me verysad.
You know what my sentiments havealways been relative to American
girls who married titled foreigners.

(53:54):
Oh, if he were only a plain American gentleman, but it isn't
his fault, poor fellow. And in everything except birth
he would do credit to my country.
And that is the greatest compliment I know how to pay any
man. We have had the most weird

(54:16):
experiences since we landed here.
Papa and Mr. Philander lost in the jungle and chased by a real
lion. Mr. Clayton lost and attacked
twice by wild beasts. Esmeralda and I cornered in an
old cabin by a perfectly awful man eating lioness.

(54:42):
Oh, it was simply terrifical, asEsmeralda would say.
But the strangest part of it allis the wonderful creature who
rescued us. I have not seen him, but Mr.
Clayton and Papa and Mr. Philander have, and they say
that he is a perfectly God like white man, tanned to a dusky

(55:07):
brown, with the strength of a wild elephant, the agility of a
monkey, and the bravery of a lion.
He speaks no English, and vanishes as quickly and as
mysteriously after he has performed some valorous deed, as

(55:28):
though he were a disembodied spirit.
Then we have another weird neighbor who printed a beautiful
sign in English and tacked it onthe door of his cabin, which we
have pre empted, warning us to destroy none of his belongings
and signing himself Tarzan of the Apes.

(55:52):
We have never seen him, though we think he is about, for one of
the sailors who was going to shoot Mr. Clayton in the back,
received a spear in his shoulderfrom some unseen hand in the
jungle. The sailors left us but a meager
supply of food, so as we have only a single revolver with but

(56:17):
three cartridges left in it, we do not know how we can procure
meat, though Mr. Philander says that we can exist indefinitely
on the wild fruit and nuts whichabound in the jungle.
I am very tired now, so I shall go to my funny bed of grasses

(56:41):
which Mr. Clayton gathered for me, but we'll add to this from
day-to-day as things happen lovingly.
Jane Porter to Hazel Strong, Baltimore, MD.
Tarzan sat in a brown study for a long time after he finished

(57:03):
reading the letter. It was filled with so many new
and wonderful things that his brain was in a whirl as he
attempted to digest them all. So they did not know that he was
Tarzan of the Apes, he would tell them.
In his tree he had constructed arude shelter of leaves and

(57:26):
boughs, beneath which, protectedfrom the rain, he had placed the
few treasures brought from the cabin.
Among these were some pencils. He took one, and beneath Jane
Porter's signature he wrote, I am Tarzan of the Apes.

(57:49):
He thought that would be sufficient.
Later he would return the letterto the cabin.
In the matter of food, thought Tarzan, they had no need to
worry. He would provide, and he did.
The next morning, Jane found hermissing letter in the exact spot

(58:09):
from which it had disappeared two nights before.
She was mystified, but when she saw the printed words beneath
her signature, she felt a cold, clammy chill run up her spine.
She showed the letter, or ratherthe last sheet with the

(58:30):
signature to Clayton. And to think she said that
uncanny thing was probably watching me all the time that I
was writing. Oh, it makes me shudder just to
think of it. But he must be friendly,
reassured Clayton, for he has returned your letter.

(58:53):
Nor did he offer to harm you, and unless I am mistaken, he
left a very substantial memento of his friendship outside the
cabin door last night, for I just found the carcass of a wild
boar there as I came out. From then on, scarcely a day
passed that did not bring its offering of game or other food.

(59:18):
Sometimes it was a young deer, again a quantity of strange
cooked food, cassava cakes pilfered from the village of
Moabanga, or a boar or leopard, and once a lion.
Tarzan derived the greatest pleasure of his life in hunting

(59:39):
meat for these strangers. It seemed to him that no
pleasure on earth could compare with laboring for the welfare
and protection of the beautiful white girl.
Someday he would venture into the camp in daylight and talk
with these people through the medium of the little bugs which

(01:00:01):
were familiar to them and to Tarzan.
But he found it difficult to overcome the timidity of the
wild thing of the forest, and soday followed day without seeing
a fulfilment of his good intentions.
The party in the camp, emboldened by familiarity,

(01:00:23):
wandered farther and yet fartherinto the jungle in search of
nuts and fruit. Scarcely a day passed that did
not find Professor Porter straying in his preoccupied
indifference toward the jaws of death.
Mr. Samuel T Philander, never what one might call robust, was

(01:00:48):
worn to the shadow of a shadow through the ceaseless worry and
mental distraction resultant from his herculean efforts to
safeguard the professor. A month passed.
Tarzan had finally determined tovisit the camp by daylight.

(01:01:11):
It was early afternoon. Clayton had wandered to the
point at the harbour's mouth to look for passing vessels.
Here he kept a great mass of wood high, piled, ready to be
ignited as a signal should a steamer or a sail top the far

(01:01:33):
horizon. Professor Porter was wandering
along the beach South of the camp, with Mr. Flander at his
elbow, urging him to turn his steps back before the two became
again the sport of some savage beast.
The others gone. Jane and Esmeralda had wandered

(01:01:54):
into the jungle to gather fruit,and in their search were led
farther and farther from the cabin.
Tarzan waited in silence before the door of the little house
until they should return. His thoughts were of the
beautiful white girl. They were always of her.
Now he wondered if she would fear him, and the thought all

(01:02:19):
but caused him to relinquish hisplan.
He was rapidly becoming impatient for her return, that
he might feast his eyes upon herand be near her, perhaps touch
her. The ape man knew no God, but he
was as near to worshipping his divinity as mortal man ever

(01:02:43):
comes to worship. While he waited he passed the
time printing a message to her. Whether he intended giving it to
her, he himself could not have told, but he took infinite
pleasure in seeing his thoughts expressed in print, in which he

(01:03:04):
was not so uncivilized. After all, He wrote, I am Tarzan
of the Apes. I want you, I am yours, you are
mine. We live here together, always in
my house. I will bring you the best of
fruits, the tenderest deer, the finest meats that roam the

(01:03:28):
jungle. I will hunt for you.
I am the greatest of the jungle fighters.
I will fight for you. I am the mightiest of the jungle
fighters. You are Jane Porter, I saw it in
your letter. When you see this, you will know
that it is for you and that Tarzan of the Apes loves you.

(01:03:52):
As he stood straight as a young Indian by the door, waiting,
after he had finished the message, there came to his keen
ears a familiar sound. It was the passing of a great
ape through the lower branches of the forest.

(01:04:12):
For an instant he listened intently, and then from the
jungle came the agonized scream of a woman and Tarzan of the
Apes, dropping his first love letter upon the ground, shot
like a Panther into the forest. Clayton also heard the scream,

(01:04:36):
and Professor Porter and Mr. Flander, and in a few minutes
they came panting to the cabin, calling out to each other a
volley of excited questions. As they approached.
A glance within confirmed their worst fears.

(01:04:56):
Jane and Esmeralda were not there.
Instantly Clayton, followed by the 2 old men, plunged into the
jungle, calling the girl's name aloud.
For half an hour they stumbled on, until Clayton, by merest

(01:05:16):
chance, came upon the prostate form of Esmeralda.
He stopped beside her, feeling for her pulse and then listening
for her heartbeats. She lived.
He shook her. Esmeralda.
He shrieked in her ear. Esmeralda, for God's sake, where

(01:05:41):
is Miss Porter? What has happened, Esmeralda?
Slowly Esmeralda opened her eyes.
She saw Clayton, she saw the jungle about her.
Oh, gabo real. She screamed and fainted again.
By this time Professor Porter and Mr. Flander had come up.

(01:06:05):
What shall we do? Mr. Clayton asked the old
professor. Where shall we look?
God could not have been so cruelas to take my little girl away
from me. Now we must arouse Esmeralda
first, replied Clayton. She can tell us what has
happened, Esmeralda, he cried again, shaking the black woman

(01:06:29):
roughly by the shoulder. Oh, Gabourel, I want to die,
cried the poor woman, but with eyes fast closed.
Let me die. Dear Lord, don't let me see that
awful face again. Come, come, Esmeralda, cried.

(01:06:50):
Clayton, the Lord isn't here. It's Mr. Clayton.
Open your eyes, Esmeralda did asshe was bade.
Oh, Gabourel, Thank the Lord, she said.
Where's Miss Porter? What happened?
Questioned Clayton. Ain't Miss Jane here?

(01:07:14):
Cried Esmeralda, sitting up withwonderful celebrity for one of
her bulk. Oh Lord, now I remember it must
have took her away. And the negress commenced to sob
and wail her lamentations. What took her away?
Cried Professor Porter. A great big giant, all covered

(01:07:39):
with hair. A gorilla?
Esmeralda questioned Mr. Flander, and the three men
scarcely breathed as he voiced the horrible thought.
I thought it was the devil, but I guess it must have been a one
of them grill thunts. Oh my poor baby, my poor little

(01:08:03):
honey. And again Esmeralda broke into
uncontrollable sobbing. Clayton immediately began to
look about for tracks, but he could find nothing save a
confusion of trampled grasses inthe close vicinity, and his
woodcraft was too meagre for thetranslation of what he did see.

(01:08:27):
All the balance of the day they sought through the jungle, but
as night drew on they were forced to give up in despair and
hopelessness, for they did not even know in what direction the
thing had borne Jane. It was long after dark ere they
reached the cabin, in a sad and grief stricken party it was that

(01:08:50):
sat silently within the little structure.
Professor Porter finally broke the silence.
His tones were no longer those of the erudite pedant,
theorizing upon the abstract andthe unknowable, but those of the
man of action, determined, but tinged also by a note of

(01:09:13):
indescribable hopelessness and grief.
Rich rung an answering pang fromClayton's heart.
I shall lie down now, said the old man, and try to sleep early
to Morrow. As soon as it is light.
I shall take what food I can carry, and continue this search

(01:09:34):
until I have found Jane. I will not return without her.
His companions did not reply at once.
Each was immersed in his own sorrowful thoughts, and each
knew, as did the old professor, what the last words meant.
Professor Porter would never return from the jungle.

(01:09:58):
At length Clayton arose, and laid his hand gently upon
Professor Porter's bent old shoulder.
I shall go with you, of course, he said.
I knew that you would offer thatyou would wish to go, Mr.
Clayton, but you must not. Jane is beyond human assistance
now. What was once my dear little

(01:10:21):
girl shall not lie alone and friendless in the awful jungle.
The same vines and leaves will cover us, the same rains beat
upon us. And when the spirit of her
mother is abroad, it will find us together in death, as it has

(01:10:41):
always found us in life. No, it is I alone who may go,
for she was my daughter, and allthat was left on earth for me to
love. I shall go with you, said
Clayton simply. The old man looked up, regarding

(01:11:02):
the strong, handsome face of William Cecil Clayton.
Intently. Perhaps he read there the love
that lay in the heart beneath the love for his daughter.
He had been too preoccupied withhis own scholarly thoughts in
the past to consider the little occurrences, the chance words,

(01:11:25):
which would have indicated to a more practical man that these
young people were being drawn more and more closely to one
another. Now they came back to him one by
one. As you wish, he said.
You may count on me also, said Mr. Flander.

(01:11:48):
No, my dear old friend, said Professor Porter, we may not all
go. It would be cruelly wicked to
leave poor Esmeralda here alone,and three of us would be no more
successful than one. There be enough dead things in
the cruel forest as it is. Come, let us try to sleep a

(01:12:12):
little. End of chapters 17 and 18 of
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Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs - Chapters 17 & 18

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs - Chapters 17 & 18