Tarzan of the Apes - Chapters 13 & 14 - 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 yourself at home and let's dive
in. This week we're reading Tarzan
of the Apes chapter 13 and 14. And last week when I was

(01:13):
uploading everything, I kept having to go over all of the
episodes thinking I had missed chapters but then thinking I had
only missed 1 chapter. I don't know if it was because I
was tired or I just couldn't make my brain see the

(01:36):
chronicological numbers either way.
Last last week I did also have issues with uploading because I
think it was just Spotify that caused me problems but the page

(01:56):
for uploading and the page for the episodes kept having issues
so I was already like my brain was already messy in the 1st
place. But hopefully I have not missed
episodes. If by chance I do end up missing

(02:17):
a chapter or otherwise for thesekind of reads then just let me
know. Sometimes I do try to get a
bunch ahead of time done so thatI could get them uploaded and
saved and buy me a week or two before I have to rush to get
another episode up. And it's very easy if I'm doing

(02:41):
multiple at once to overlook something.
Just trying to keep track of everything.
Last week, Tarzan had learned the hard way that being a King
of the Apes in the most literal sense of his group was no longer

(03:03):
something that was of interest to him.
Soon after he ended up taking over because he figured out that
the responsibilities were a lot different when you had to deal
with them personally, and he hadrealized that he had grown up to

(03:23):
the point that he no longer fit in with the apes.
So he handed it off to his council people to choose someone
else to rule and he walked off because he wanted to find his
own kind. So this week we are reading, as

(03:46):
I said, chapters 13 and 14 of Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice
Burroughs, Red by your lovely host, Kimberly Sue Iverson.
Chapter 13 his own kind. The following morning, Tarzan,

(04:11):
lame and sore from the wounds ofhis battle with turquoise, set
out toward the West and the seacoast.
He travelled very slowly, sleeping in the jungle at night
and reaching his cabin late the following morning.

(04:32):
For several days he moved about but little, only enough to
gather what fruits and nuts he required to satisfy the demands
of hunger. In 10 days he was quite sound
again, except for a terrible half heeled scarf which,

(04:54):
starting above his left eye, ranacross the top of his head,
ending at the right ear. It was the mark left by
turquoise when he had torn the scalp away.
During his convalescence. Tarzan tried to fashion a mantle

(05:15):
from the skin of Sabor, which had lain all this time in the
cabin, but he found the hide haddried as stiff as a board, and
as he knew not of tanning, he was forced to abandon his
cherished plan. Then he determined to filch what

(05:39):
few garments he could from one of the black men of Mubanga's
village, for Tarzan of the Apes had decided to mark his
evolution from the lower orders in every possible manner, and
nothing seemed to him a more distinguishing badge of manhood

(06:02):
than ornaments and clothing. To this end, therefore, he
collected the various arm and leg ornaments he had taken from
the black warriors who had succumbed to his swift and
silent noose, and donned them all after the way he had seen

(06:25):
them worn. About his neck hung the golden
chain from which depended the diamond encrusted Locket of his
mother, the Lady Alice. At his back was a quiver of
arrows slung from a leathern shoulder belt, another piece of

(06:47):
loot from some vanquished black.About his waist was a belt of
tiny strips of rawhide, fashioned by himself as the
support for the homemade scabbard in which hung his
father's hunting knife. The long bow which had been

(07:07):
Cooonga's hung over his left shoulder.
The young Lord Greystoke was indeed a strange and warlike
figure, his mass of black hair falling to his shoulders behind,
and cut with his hunting knife to a rude bang upon his forehead

(07:30):
that it might not fall before his eyes.
His straight and perfect figure,muscled as the best of the
ancient Roman gladiators must have been muscled, and yet, with
the soft, insinuous curves of a Greek God, pulled at a glance

(07:51):
the wondrous combination of enormous strength with
suppleness and speed. A personification was Tarzan of
the Apes, of the primitive man, the hunter, the warrior.
With the noble poise of his handsome head upon those bronze

(08:14):
shoulders, and the fire of life and intelligence in those fine
clear eyes. He might readily have typified
some demigod of a wild and warlike bygone people of his
ancient forest. But of these things Tarzan did

(08:34):
not think. He was worried, because he had
not clothing to indicate to all the jungle folks that he was a
man and not an ape, and grave doubt often entered his mind as
to whether he might not yet become an ape.

(08:55):
Was not hair commencing to grow upon his face?
All the apes had hair upon theirs, but the black men were
entirely hairless, with very fewexceptions.
True, he had seen pictures in his books of men with great

(09:16):
masses of a hair upon lip and cheek and chin, but nevertheless
Tarzan was afraid. Almost daily he wetted his keen
knife and scraped and whittled at his young beard to eradicate
this degrading emblem of apehood.

(09:38):
And so he learned to shave, rudely and painfully, it is
true, but nevertheless effectively.
When he felt quite strong again after his bloody battle with
turquoise, Tarzan set off 1 morning towards Moubanga's

(09:59):
village. He was moving carelessly along a
winding jungle trail instead of making his progress through the
trees, when suddenly he came face to face with a black
warrior. The look of surprise on the
savage face was almost comical, and before Tarzan could unsling

(10:25):
his bow, the fellow had turned and fled down the path.
Crying out in alarm as though toothers before him, Tarzan took
to the trees and pursued, and ina few moments came in view of
the men desperately striving to escape.

(10:46):
There were three of them, and they were racing madly in single
file through the dense undergrowth.
Parisan easily distanced them, nor did they see his silent
passage above their heads, nor note the crouching figure

(11:06):
squatted upon a low branch aheadof them, beneath which the trail
LED them. Tarzan let the 1st 2 pass
beneath him, but as the third came swiftly on, the quiet news
dropped about the black throat. A quick jerk drew it taut.

(11:28):
There was an agonized scream from the victim, and his fellows
turned to see his struggling body rise, as by magic, slowly
into the dense foliage of the trees above.
With frightened shrieks they wheeled once more and plunged on

(11:49):
in their efforts to escape. Tarzan despatched his prisoner
quickly and silently removed theweapons and ornaments, O the
greatest joy of all, a handsome deerskin breech cloth, which he
quickly transferred to his own person.

(12:13):
Now, indeed, was he dressed as aman should be?
None there was who could now doubt his high origin.
How he should have liked to havereturned to the tribe to parade
before their envious gaze, this wondrous spinery.

(12:35):
Taking the body across his shoulder, he moved more slowly
through the trees toward the little palisaded village, for he
again needed arrows. As he approached quite close to
the enclosure, he saw an excitedgroup surrounding the two

(12:57):
fugitives, who, trembling with fright and exhaustion, were
scarce able to recount the uncanny details of their
adventure. Mirando, they said, who had been
ahead of them a short distance, had suddenly come screaming

(13:18):
toward them, crying that a terrible white and naked warrior
was pursuing him. The three of them had hurried
toward the village as rapidly astheir legs would carry them
again. Mirando's shrill cry of mortal

(13:39):
terror had caused them to look back, and there they had seen
the most horrible sight, their companion's body flying upwards
into the trees, his arms and legs beating the air and his
tongue protruding from his open mouth.

(14:02):
No other sound did he utter, norwas there any creature insight
about him. The villagers were worked up
into a state of fear bordering on panic, but wise old Mubanga
affected to feel considerable scepticism regarding the tale

(14:26):
and attributed the whole fabrication to their fright in
the face of some real danger. You tell us this great story, he
said. Because you do not dare to speak
the truth. You do not dare admit that when
the lion sprang upon Mirando youran and left him.

(14:52):
You are cowards. Scarcely had Mubanga ceased
speaking when a great crashing of branches in the trees above
them caused the blacks to look up in renewed terror.
The sight that met their eyes made even wise old Mubanga

(15:16):
shudder, for there, turning and twisting in the air, came the
dead body of Mirando to sprawl with a sickening reverberation
upon the ground at their feet. Again Tarzan came down into the
village and renewed his supply of arrows and ate of the

(15:41):
offering of food which the blacks had made to appease his
wrath. Before he left he carried the
body of Morando to the gate of the village and propped it up
against the palisade in such a way that the dead face seemed to

(16:02):
be peering around the edge of the gate post down the path
which led to the jungle. Then Tarzan returned hunting,
always hunting, to the cabin by the beach.
It took a dozen attempts on the part of the thoroughly

(16:23):
frightened blacks to re enter their village past the horrible
grinning face of their dead fellow, and when they found the
food and arrows gone, they knew what they had only too well
feared that Mirando had seen theevil spirit of the jungle.

(16:47):
That now seemed to them the logical explanation.
Only those who saw this terribleGod of the jungle died, for was
it not true that none left alivein the village had ever seen
him? Therefore those who had died at

(17:11):
his hands must have seen him andpaid the penalty with their
lives. As long as they supplied him
with arrows and food, he would not harm them unless they looked
upon him. So it was ordered by Moubanga
that in addition to the food offering, there should also be

(17:34):
laid out an offering of arrows for this Munun go kiwati.
And this was done from then on. If you ever chance to pass that
far off African village, you will still see before a tiny
thatched Hut built just without the village, a little iron pot

(18:02):
in which is a quantity of food, and beside it a quiver of well
domed arrows. When Tarzan came insight of the
beach where stood his cabin, a strange and unusual spectacle
met his vision. On the Placid waters of the

(18:22):
landlocked harbour floated a great ship, and on the beach a
small boat was drawn up. But most wonderful of all, a
number of white men like himselfwere moving about between the

(18:44):
beach and his cabin. Tarzan saw that in many ways
they were like the men of his picture books.
He crept closer through the trees until he was quite close.
Above them there were ten men, swarthy, suntanned, villainous

(19:05):
looking fellows. Now they had congregated by the
boat and were talking in loud, angry tones with much
gesticulating and shaking of fists.
Presently one of them, a little mean faced, black bearded fellow

(19:26):
with a countenance which reminded Tarzan of Pamba the
rat, laid his hand upon the shoulder of a giant who stood
next him and with whom all the others had been arguing and
quarrelling. The little man pointed inland so
that the giant was forced to turn away from the others to

(19:49):
look in the direction indicated.As he turned, the little mean
faced man drew a revolver from his belt and shot the giant in
the back. The big fellow threw his hands
above his head. His knees bent beneath him, and
without a sound he tumbled forward upon the beach, dead.

(20:14):
The report of the weapon, the 1st that Tarzan had ever heard,
filled him with wonderment, but even this unaccustomed sound
could not startle his healthy nerves into even a semblance of
panic. The conduct of the white

(20:34):
strangers it was that caused himthe greatest perturbation.
He peckered his brows into a frown of deep thought.
It was well thought he that he had not given way to his first
impulse to rush forward and greet these white men as
brothers. They were evidently no different

(20:56):
from the black men, no more civilized than the apes, no less
cruel than Sabor. For a moment the others stood
looking at the little mean facedman and the giant lying dead
upon the beach. Then one of them laughed and

(21:17):
slapped the little man upon the back.
There was much more talk and gesticulating, but less
squirreling. Presently they launched the boat
and all jumped into it and rode away toward the great ship,
where Tarzan could see other figures moving about upon the

(21:38):
deck. When they had clambered aboard,
Tarzan dropped to earth behind agreat tree and crept to his
cabin, keeping it always betweenhimself and the ship.
Slipping in at the door, he found that everything had been
ransacked. His books and pencils strewed

(22:00):
the floor, his weapons and Shields and other little store
of treasures were littered about.
As he saw what had been done, a great wave of anger searched
through him and the new made scar upon his forehead stood
suddenly out a bar of inflamed Crimson against his tawny hide.

(22:28):
Quickly he ran to the cupboard and searched in the far recess
of the lower shelf. Ah, he breathed a sigh of relief
as he drew out the little tin box and opening it found his
greatest treasures undisturbed. The photograph of the smiling,

(22:48):
strong faced young man and the little black puzzle book were
safe. What was that?
His quick ear had caught a faintbut unfamiliar sound.
Running to the window, Tarzan looked toward the harbour, and
there he saw that a boat was being lowered from the great

(23:12):
ship beside the one already in the water.
Soon he saw many people clambering over the sides of the
larger vessel and dropping into the boats.
They were coming back in full force.
For a moment longer Tarzan watched while a number of boxes

(23:33):
and bundles were lowered into the waiting boats.
Then, as they shoved off from the ship's side, the ape man
snatched up a piece of paper, and with a pencil printed on it
for a few moments, until it boreseveral long lines of strong,

(23:55):
well made, almost letter perfectcharacters.
This notice he stuck upon the door with a small, sharp
splinter of wood. Then, gathering up his brushes,
tin box, his arrows, and as manybows and Spears as he could
carry, he hastened through the door and disappeared into the

(24:18):
forest. When the two boats were breached
upon the silvery sand. It was a strange assortment of
humanity that clamoured ashore, some 20 souls in all.
There were 15 of them, rough andvillainous appearing seamen.

(24:40):
The others of the party were of different stamp. 1 was an
elderly man with white hair and large rimmed spectacles.
His slightly stooped shoulders were draped in an I'll fitting
though Immaculate frock coat anda shiny silk hat added to the

(25:03):
incongruity of his garb in an African jungle.
The second member of the party to land was a tall young man in
white ducks, while directly behind came another elderly man
with a very high forehead, in a fussy, excitable manner.

(25:25):
After these came a huge negress,clothed like Solomon as to
colours. Her great eyes rolled in evident
terror, first toward the jungle and then toward the cursing band
of sailors who were removing thebales and boxes from the boats.

(25:47):
The last member of the party to disembark was a girl of about
19, and it was the young man whostood at the boat's prow to lift
her high and dry upon land. She gave him a brave and pretty
smile of thanks, but no words passed between them.

(26:09):
In silence the party advanced toward the cabin.
It was evident that whatever their intentions, all had been
decided upon before they left the ship.
And so they came to the door, the sailors carrying the boxes
and pails, followed by the five who were of so different a

(26:30):
class. The men put down their burdens,
and then one caught sight of thenotice which Tarzan had posted.
Ho mates, he cried. What's here?
This sign was not posted an hourago.
Or always cook. The others gathered about,

(26:52):
craning their necks over the shoulders of those before them,
but as few of them could read atall, and then only after the
most laborious fashion, one finally turned to the little old
man of the top hat and frock coat.
Hi, Professor, he called. Step forward and read the blue

(27:17):
monotis. Thus addressed, the old man came
slowly to where the sailors stood, followed by the other
members of his party. Adjusting his spectacles, he
looked forward for a moment at the placard, and then, turning
away, strolled off, muttering tohimself.

(27:40):
Most remarkable, most remarkable.
Hi, old fossil, cried the man who had first called on him for
assistance. Did she think we wanted of you
to read the Bloomin notice to yourself?
Come back here and read it out loud, you old Barnacle.

(28:01):
The old man stopped, and turningback, said, Oh yes, my dear Sir,
1000 pardons. It was quite thoughtless of me.
Yes, very thoughtless. Most remarkable, most
remarkable. Again he faced the notice and
read it through, and doubtless would have turned off again to

(28:25):
ruminate upon it had not the sailor grasped him roughly by
the collar and howled into his ear.
Read it out loud, you blitheringold.
Eat. Ah, yes, indeed, yes indeed,
replied the professor softly in adjusting his spectacles.

(28:48):
Once more he read aloud. This is the House of Tarzan, the
killer of beasts, and many blackmen do not harm the things which
are Tarzans. Tarzan watches Tarzan of the
Apes. Who the devil is Tarzan?

(29:12):
Cried the sailor who had before spoken.
He evidently speaks English, said the young man.
But what does Tarzan of the Apesmean, Cried the girl.
I do not know, Miss Porter, replied the young man.
Unless we have discovered a runaway Simeon from the London

(29:35):
Zoo, who has brought back a European education to his jungle
home. What do you make of it,
Professor Porter? He asked, turning to the old
man. Professor Archimedes Q Porter
adjusted his spectacles. Ah, yes, indeed, yes, indeed.

(29:57):
Most remarkable, Most remarkable, said the Professor.
But I can add nothing further towhat I have already remarked in
elucidation of this truly momentous occurrence.
And the professor turned slowly in the direction of the jungle.

(30:18):
But Papa, cried the girl, You haven't said anything about it
yet. Tut, tut child, tut tut,
responded Professor Porter in a kindly and indulgent tone.
Do not trouble your pretty head with such weighty and abstruse
problems. And again he wandered slowly off

(30:42):
in still another direction, his eyes bent upon the ground at his
feet, his hands clasped behind him beneath the flowing tails of
his coat. I reckon the daffy old bounder
don't know no more than we do about it, growled the rat faced
sailor. Keep a civil tongue in your

(31:05):
head, cried the young man, his face paling in anger at the
insulting tone of the sailor. You've murdered our officers and
robbed us. We are absolutely in your power.
But you'll treat Professor Porter and Miss Porter with

(31:27):
respect, or I'll break that vileneck of yours with my bare
hands, guns or no guns. And the young fellow stepped so
close to the rat faced sailor that the latter, though he bore
2 revolvers and a villainous looking knife in his belt, slunk

(31:51):
back abashed. You damned coward, cried the
young man. You'd never dare shoot a man
until his back was turned. You don't dare shoot me even
then. And he deliberately turned his
back full upon the sailor and walked nonchalantly away.

(32:15):
As if to put him to the test. The sailor's hand crept slyly to
the butt of one of his revolvers.
His wicked eyes glared vengefully at the retreating
form of the young Englishman. The gaze of his fellows was upon

(32:35):
him, but still he hesitated. At heart he was even a greater
coward than Mr. William Cecil Clayton had imagined. 2 keen
eyes had watched every move of the party from the foliage of a

(32:56):
near by tree. Tarzan had seen the surprise
caused by his notice, and while he could understand nothing of
the spoken language of these strange people, their gestures
and facial expressions told him much.
The act of the little rat faced sailor in killing one of his

(33:22):
comrades had aroused a strong dislike in Tarzan, and now that
he saw him quarrelling with the fine looking young man, his
animosity was still further stirred.
Tarzan had never seen the effects of a firearm before,

(33:44):
though his books had taught him something of them.
But when he saw the rat faced 1 fingering the butt of his
revolver, he thought of the scene he had witnessed so short
a time before, and naturally expected to see the young man
murdered, as had been the huge sailor earlier in the day.

(34:09):
So Tarzan fitted a poisoned arrow to his bow and drew a bead
upon the rat faced sailor. But the foliage was so thick
that he soon saw the arrow wouldbe deflected by the leaves or
some small branch, and instead he launched a heavy spear from

(34:31):
his lofty perch. Clayton had taken but a dozen
steps. The rat faced sailor had half
drawn his revolver. The other sailors stood there
watching the scene intently. Professor Porter had already
disappeared into the jungle, whither he was being followed by

(34:57):
the fussy Samuel T Philander, his secretary and assistant, as
Mirilda. The Negress was busy sorting her
mistress's baggage from the pileof bales and boxes beside the
cabin, and Miss Porter had turned away to follow Clayton

(35:19):
when something caused her to turn again toward the sailor.
And then three things happened almost simultaneously.
The sailor jerked out his weaponand levelled it at Clayton's
back. Miss Porter screamed a warning

(35:40):
and a long metal shod spear shotlike a bolt from above and
passed entirely through the right shoulder of the rat faced
man. The revolver exploded harmlessly
in the air and the seaman crumpled up with a scream of

(36:02):
pain and terror. Clayton turned and rushed back
toward the scene. The sailors stood in a
frightened group with drawn weapons, peering into the
jungle. The wounded man writhed and
shrieked upon the ground. Clayton, unseen by Ennie, picked

(36:26):
up the fallen revolver and slipped it inside his shirt.
Then he joined the sailors and gazing mystified into the
jungle. Who could it have been?
Whispered Jane Porter and the young man turned to see her
standing wide eyed and wonderingclose behind him.

(36:49):
I dare say Tarzan of the Apes iswatching us all right.
He answered in a dubious tone. I wonder now who that spear was
intended for. If for Snipes, then our ape
friend is a friend indeed. By Jove, where are your father

(37:10):
and Mr. Philander? There's someone or something in
that jungle, and it's armed, whatever it is.
Ho, Professor, Mr. Falander? Young Clayton shouted.
There was no response. What's to be done, Miss Porter?

(37:31):
Continued the young man, his face clouded by a frown of worry
and indecision. I can't leave you here alone
with these cut throats, and you certainly can't venture into the
jungle with me. Yet.
Someone must go in search of your father.
He is more than apartment to wandering off aimlessly,

(37:53):
regardless of danger or direction, and Mr. Flander is
only A trifle less impractical than he.
You will pardon my bluntness, but our lives are all in
jeopardy here, and when we get your father back, something must
be done to impress upon him the dangers to which he exposes you

(38:18):
as well as himself by his absentmindedness.
I quite agree with you, replied the girl.
And I am not offended at all. The year old Papa would
sacrifice his life for me without an instant's hesitation,
provided one could keep his mindUN so frivolous a matter for an

(38:42):
entire instant. There is only one way to keep
him in safety, and that is to chain him to a tree.
The poor dear is so impractical.I have it suddenly exclaimed
Clayton. You can use a revolver, can't
you? Yes, why, I have one with it.

(39:07):
You and Esmeralda will be comparatively safe in this cabin
while I am searching for your father and Mr. Flander.
Come call the woman and I will hurry on.
They can't have gone far. Jane did as he suggested, and
when he saw the door close safely behind them, Clayton

(39:31):
turned toward the jungle. Some of the sailors were drawing
the spear from their wounded comrade, and as Clayton
approached, he asked if he couldborrow a revolver from one of
them. While he searched the jungle for
the professor, the rat faced one, Finding he was not dead,

(39:54):
had regained his composure, and with a volley of oaths directed
at Clayton, refused in the name of his fellows to allow the
young man any firearms. This man, Snipes, had assumed
the role of chief since he had killed their former leader, and

(40:18):
so little time had elapsed that none of his companions had as
yet. Questioned his authority,
Clayton's only response was a shrug of the shoulders, but as
he left them he picked up the spear which had transfixed
Snipes and thus primitively armed.

(40:41):
The son of the then Lord Greystoke strode into the dense
jungle. Every few moments he called
aloud the names of the Wanderers.
The watchers in the cabin by thebeach heard the sound of his
voice growing ever fainter and fainter, until at last it was

(41:05):
swallowed up by the myriad noises of the primeval wood.
When Professor Archimedes Q Porter and his assistant, Samuel
T Philander, after much insistence on the part of the
latter, had finally turned theirsteps toward camp, they were as

(41:28):
completely lost in the wild and tangled labyrinth of the matted
jungle AS2 human beings well could be, though they did not
know it. It was by the merest Caprice of
fortune that they headed toward the West Coast of Africa instead

(41:49):
of toward Zanzibar on the opposite side of the Dark
Continent. When in a short time they
reached the beach only to find no camp, insight Philander was
positive that they were north oftheir proper destination, while

(42:10):
as a matter of fact they were about 200 yards South of it.
It never occurred to either of these impractical theorists call
aloud on the chance of attracting their friends
attention. Instead, with all the assurance
that deductive reasoning from a wrong premise induces in one,

(42:34):
Mr. Samuel T Philander grasped Professor Archimedes Q Porter
firmly by the arm, and hurried the weekly protesting old
gentleman off in the direction of Cape Town, 1500 miles to the
South. When Jane and Esmeralda found

(42:57):
themselves safely behind the cabin door, the negress's first
thought was to barricade the portal from the inside.
With this idea in mind, she turned to search for some means
of putting it into execution. But her first view of the
interior of the cabin brought a shriek of terror to her lips,

(43:22):
and like a frightened child, thehuge woman ran to bury her face
on her mistress's shoulder. Jane, turning at the cry, saw
the cause of it lying prone uponthe floor before them, the
whitened skeleton of a man. A further glance revealed a

(43:44):
second skeleton upon the bed. What horrible place are we in?
Murmured the awestruck girl, butthere was no panic in her
fright. At last, disengaging herself
from the frantic clutch of the still shrieking Esmeralda, Jane

(44:05):
crossed the room to look into the little cradle, knowing what
she should see there even beforethe tiny skeleton disclosed
itself in all its pitiful and pathetic frailty.
What an awful tragedy these poor, mute bones proclaimed.

(44:26):
The girl shuddered at the thought of the eventualities
which might lie before herself and her friends in this I'll
fated cabin, the haunt of mysterious, perhaps hostile
beings. Quickly, with an impatient stamp
of her little foot, she endeavoured to shake off the

(44:48):
gloomy forebodings, and turning to Esmeralda, bade her cease her
wailing. Stop, Esmeralda, stop at this
minute, she cried. You are only making it worse.
She ended lamely, a little quiver in her own voice, as she

(45:09):
thought of the three men upon whom she depended for
protection, wandering in the depth of that awful forest.
Soon the girl found that the door was equipped with a heavy
wooden bar upon the inside, and after several efforts the

(45:30):
combined strength of the two enabled them to slip it into
place the first time in 20 years.
Then they sat down upon a bench with their arms about one
another, and waited. Chapter 14 At the Mercy of the

(45:51):
Jungle After Clayton had plungedinto the jungle, the sailors,
mutineers of the arrow, fell into a discussion of their next
step. But on one point all were agreed
that they should hasten to put off to the anchored Arrow, where

(46:14):
they could at least be safe fromthe Spears of their unseen foe.
And so, while Jane Porter and Esmeralda were barricading
themselves within the cabin, thecowardly crew of Cutthroats were
pulling rapidly for their ship in the two boats that had

(46:37):
brought them ashore. So much had Tarzan seen that day
that his head was in a whirl of wonder.
But the most wonderful sight of all to him was the face of the
beautiful white girl. Here at last was one of his own

(46:58):
kind. Of that he was positive.
And the young man and the 2 old men.
They too were much as he had pictured his own people to be,
but doubtless they were as ferocious and cruel as other men
he had seen. The fact that they alone of all

(47:20):
the party were unarmed might account for the fact that they
had killed no one. They might be very different if
provided with weapons. Tarzan had seen the young man
pick up the fallen revolver of the wounded snipes and hide it

(47:41):
away in his breast, and he had also seen him slip it cautiously
to the girl as she entered the cabin door.
He did not understand anything of the motives behind all that
he had seen, but somehow intuitively he liked the young

(48:02):
man and the 2 old men, and for the girl he had a strange
longing which he scarcely understood.
As for the big black woman, she was evidently connected in some
way to the girl, and so he likedher also.

(48:22):
For the sailors, and especially Snipes, he had developed a great
hatred. He knew by their threatening
gestures and by the expression upon their evil faces that they
were enemies of the others of the party, and so he decided to

(48:43):
watch closely. Tarzan wondered why the men had
gone into the jungle. Nor did it ever occur to him
that one could become lost in that maze of undergrowth, which
to him was as simple as is the Main Street of your own hometown
to you. When he saw the sailors row away

(49:07):
toward the ship and knew that the girl and her companion were
safe in his cabin, Tarzan decided to follow the young man
into the jungle and learn what his errand might be.
He swung off rapidly in the direction taken by Clayton, and

(49:28):
in a short time heard faintly inthe distance the now only
occasional calls of the Englishman to his friends.
Presently Tarzan came up with the white man, who, almost
fagged, was leaning against a tree, wiping the perspiration

(49:49):
from his forehead. The ape man, hiding safe behind
a screen of foliage, sat watching this new specimen of
his own race intently. At intervals Clayton called
aloud, and finally it came to Tarzan that he was searching for

(50:10):
the old man. Tarzan was on the point of going
off to look for them himself when he caught the yellow glint
of a sleek hide moving cautiously through the jungle
toward Clayton. It was Sheeta the leopard now.
Tarzan heard the soft bending ofgrasses and wondered why the

(50:35):
young white man was not warned. Could it be he had failed to
note the loud warning? Never before had Tarzan known
Sheeta to be so clumsy. No, the white man did not hear.
Sheeta was crouching for the spring.

(50:56):
And then, shrill and horrible, there arose from the stillness
of the jungle the awful cry of the challenging ape, and Sheeta
turned crashing into the underbrush.
Clayton came to his feet with a start.
His blood ran cold. Never in all his life had so

(51:22):
fearful a sound smote upon his ears.
He was no coward, but if ever man felt the icy fingers of fear
upon his heart, William Cecil Clayton, eldest son of Lord
Greystoke of England, did that day in the fastness of the

(51:47):
African jungle. The noise of some great body
crashing through the underbrush so close beside him, and the
sound of that blood curdling shriek from above tested
Clayton's courage to the limit. But he could not know that it

(52:08):
was to that very voice he owed his life, nor that the creature
who hurled it forth was his own cousin, the real Lord Greystoke.
The afternoon was drawing to a close, and Clayton, disheartened

(52:29):
and discouraged, was in a terrible quandary as to the
proper course to pursue. Whether to keep on in search of
Professor Porter at the almost certain risk of his own death in
the jungle by night, or to return to the cabin, where he

(52:51):
might at least serve to protect Jane from the perils which
confronted her on all sides. He did not wish to return to
camp without her father. Still more he shrank from the
thought of leaving her alone andunprotected in the hands of the

(53:11):
mutineers of the arrow, or to the 100 unknown dangers of the
jungle. Possibly two.
He thought the Professor and Philander might have returned to
camp. Yes, that was more than likely.
At least he would return and seebefore he continued what seemed

(53:32):
to be a most fruitless quest. And so he started stumbling back
through the thick and matted underbrush in the direction that
he thought the cabin lay. To Tarzan's surprise, the young
man was heading further into thejungle in the general direction

(53:53):
of Mubanga's village, and the shrewd young ape man was
convinced that he was lost. To Tarzan this was scarcely
incomprehensible. His judgment told him that no
man would venture toward the village of the cruel blacks
armed only with a spear, which, from the awkward way in which he

(54:18):
carried it, was evidently an unaccustomed weapon to this
white man. Nor was he following the trail
of the old men that they had crossed and left long since,
though it had been fresh and plain before Tarzan's eyes.
Tarzan was perplexed. The fierce jungle would make

(54:42):
easy prey of this unprotected stranger in a very short time if
he were not guided quickly to the beach.
Yes, there was Numa the lion, even now stalking the white man.
A dozen paces to the right Clayton heard the great body

(55:04):
paralleling his course, and now there rose upon the evening air
the beast's thunderous roar. The man stopped with upraised
spear and faced the brush from which issued the awful sound.
The shadows were deepening, Darkness was settling in.

(55:28):
God to die here alone beneath the fangs of wild beasts, to be
torn and rended, to feel the hotbreath of the brute on his face
as the great paw crushed down upon his breast.
For a moment all was still. Clayton stood rigid with raised

(55:54):
spear. Presently a faint rustling of
the Bush apprised him of the stealthy creeping of the thing
behind. It was gathering for the spring.
At last he saw it not 20 feet away, the Long live muscular

(56:15):
body and tawny head of a huge black maned lion.
The beast was upon its belly, moving forward very slowly.
As its eyes met Clayton's, it stopped and deliberately,

(56:35):
cautiously, gathered its hindquarters behind it.
In agony, the man watched, fearful to launch his spear,
powerless to fly. He heard a noise in the tree
above him. Some new danger, he thought, but

(56:57):
he dared not take his eyes from the yellow green orbs before
him. There was a sharp twang as of a
broken banjo string, and at the same instant an arrow appeared
in the yellow hide of the crouching lion.
With a roar of pain and anger, the beast sprang, but somehow

(57:23):
Clayton stumbled to one side, and as he turned again to face
the infuriated king of Beasts, he was appalled at the sight
which confronted him almost simultaneously with the lions
turning to renew the attack, 1/2naked giant dropped from the

(57:47):
tree above, squarely on the brute's back.
With lightning speed, an arm that was banded, layers of iron
muscle encircled the huge neck, and the great beast was raised
from the ground, roaring and pawing the air, raised as easily

(58:11):
as Clayton would have lifted a pet dog.
The scene he witnessed there in the twilight depths of the
African jungle was burned forever into the English man's
brain. The man before him was the
embodiment of physical perfection and giant strength,

(58:36):
yet it was not upon these he depended in his battle with the
great cat for mighty. As for his muscles, they were as
nothing by comparison with pneumas.
To his agility, to his brain, and to his long keen knife, he

(58:56):
owed his supremacy. His right arm encircled the
lion's neck, while the left handplunged the knife time and again
into the unprotected side behindthe left shoulder.
The infuriated beast, pulled up and backwards until he stood

(59:20):
upon his hind legs, struggled impotently in this unnatural
position. Had the battle been of a few
seconds is longer duration, the outcome might have been
different, but it was all accomplished so quickly that the
lion had scarce time to recover from the confusion of its

(59:45):
surprise ere it sank lifeless tothe ground.
Then the strange figure which had vanquished it stood erect
upon the carcass, and throwing back the wild and handsome head,
gave out the fearsome cry which a few moments earlier had so

(01:00:07):
startled Clayton. Before him he saw the figure of
a young man, naked except fur, loincloth and a few barbaric
ornaments about arms and legs. On the breast, a priceless
diamond Locket. Leaning against a smooth brown

(01:00:27):
skin, the hunting knife had beenreturned to its homely sheath,
and the man was gathering up hisbow in quiver from where he had
tossed them, when he leaped to attack the lion.
Clayton spoke to the stranger inEnglish, thanking him for his
brave rescue, and complimenting him on the wondrous strength and

(01:00:53):
dexterity he had displayed. But the only answer was a steady
stare and a faint shrug of the mighty shoulders, which might be
token either disparagement of the service rendered, or
ignorance of Clayton's language.When the bow and quiver had been

(01:01:14):
slung to his back. The wild man, for such Clayton
now thought him, once more drew his knife and deftly carved a
dozen large strips of meat from the lion's carcass.
Then, squatting upon his haunches, he proceeded to eat,
first motioning Clayton to join him.

(01:01:38):
The strong white teeth sank intothe raw and dripping flesh in
apparent relish of the meal, butClayton could not bring himself
to share the uncooked meat with his strange host.
Instead he watched him, and presently there dawned upon him
the conviction that this was Tarzan of the Apes, whose notice

(01:02:04):
he had seen posted upon the cabin door that morning.
If so, he must speak English. Again Clayton attempted speech
with the ape man, but the replies, now vocal were in a
strange tongue, which resembled the chattering of monkeys,

(01:02:26):
mingled with the growling of some wild beast.
No, this could not be Tarzan of the Apes, for it was very
evident that he was an utter stranger to English.
When Tarzan had completed his repast, he rose, and pointing a
very different direction from that which Clayton had been

(01:02:49):
pursuing, started off through the jungle toward the point he
had indicated. Clayton, bewildered and
confused, hesitated to follow him, for he thought he was but
being LED more deeply into the mazes of the forest.
But the ape man, seeing him disinclined to follow, returned,

(01:03:14):
and grasping him by the coat, dragged him along until he was
convinced that Clayton understood what was required of
him. Then he left him to follow
voluntarily. The Englishman, finally
concluding that he was a prisoner, saw no alternative
open but to accompany his captor, and thus they travelled

(01:03:38):
slowly through the jungle while the stable mantle of the
Impenetrable Forest of the Impenetrable Forest.
Night fell upon them, and the stealthy footfalls of padded
paws mingled with the breaking of twigs and the wild calls of

(01:03:58):
the savage life that Clayton felt closing in upon him.
Suddenly Clayton heard the faintreport of a firearm, a single
shot, and in silence in the cabin by the beach, 2 thoroughly
terrified women clung to each other as they crouched upon the

(01:04:19):
low bench in the gathering darkness.
The negress sobbed hysterically,bemoaning the evil day that had
witnessed her departure from herdear Maryland, while the white
girl, dry eyed and outwardly calm, was torn by inward fears
and forebodings. She feared not more for herself

(01:04:43):
than for the three men whom she knew to be wandering in the
abysmal depths of the savage jungle from which she now heard
issuing the almost incessant shrieks and roars, barkings and
growlings of its terrifying and fearsome denizens as they sought

(01:05:08):
their prey. And now there came the sound of
a heavy body brushing against the side of the cabin.
She could hear the great padded pause upon the ground outside.
For an instant all was silence. Even the bedlam of the forest

(01:05:30):
died to a faint murmur. Then she distinctly heard the
beast outside, sniffing at the door not 2 feet from where she
crouched. Instinctively, the girl
shuddered and shrank closer to the black woman.
Hush, she whispered. Hush, Esmeralda, for the woman's

(01:05:57):
sobs and groans seemed to have attracted the thing that stalked
there. Just beyond the thin wall a
gentle scratching sound was heard on the door.
The brute tried to force an entrance, but presently this

(01:06:19):
ceased, and again she heard the great pads creeping stealthily
around the cabin. Again they stopped beneath the
window, on which the terrified eyes of the girl now glued
themselves. God, she murmured.

(01:06:42):
For now, silhouetted against themoonlit sky beyond, she saw,
framed in the tiny square of thelatticed window, the head of a
huge lioness. The gleaming eyes were fixed
upon her in intent ferocity. Look, Esmeralda, she whispered.

(01:07:09):
For God's sake, what shall we do?
Look quick, the window. Esmeralda, cowering still closer
to her mistress, took one frightened glance toward the
little square of moonlight just as the lioness emitted a low,

(01:07:30):
savage snarl. The sight that met the poor
woman's eyes was too much for the already overstrung nerves.
Oh, Gabourel, She shrieked and slid to the floor, an inert and

(01:07:50):
senseless mass. For what seemed an eternity the
great brute stood with its forepaws upon the sill, glaring
into the little room. Presently it tried the strength
of the lattice with its great talons.

(01:08:10):
The girl had almost ceased to breathe when, to her relief, the
head disappeared, and she heard the brute's footsteps leaving
the window. But now they came to the door
again, and once more the scratching commenced, this time

(01:08:32):
with increasing force, until thegreat beast was tearing at the
massive panels in a perfect frenzy of eagerness to seize its
defenseless victims. Could Jane have known the
immense strength of that door built piece by piece, she would

(01:08:58):
have felt less fear of the lioness reaching her by this
Ave. Little did John Clayton imagine,
when he fashioned that crude butmighty portal that one day 20
years later, it would shield a fair American girl, then unborn,

(01:09:22):
from the teeth and talons of a man eater.
For fully 20 minutes the brute alternately sniffed and tore at
the door, occasionally giving voice to a wild, savage cry of
baffled rage. At length, however, she gave up

(01:09:43):
the attempt and Jane heard her returning toward the window,
beneath which she paused for an instant and then launched her
great weight against the time worn lattice.
The girl heard the wooden rods groan beneath the impact, but

(01:10:04):
they held and the huge body dropped back to the ground
below. Again and again the lioness
repeated these tactics, until finally the horrified prisoner
within saw a portion of the lattice give way, and in an

(01:10:24):
instant 1 great paw and the headof the animal were thrust within
the room. Slowly the powerful neck and
shoulders spread the bars apart,and the lived body protruded
farther and farther into the room.

(01:10:46):
As in a trance, the girl rose, her hand upon her breast, wide
eyes staring, horror stricken, into the snarling face of the
beast scarce 10 feet from her. At her feet lay the prostate
form of the negress. If she could but arouse her,

(01:11:11):
their combined efforts might possibly avail to beat back the
fierce and bloodthirsty intruder.
Jane stooped to grasp the black woman by the shoulder.
Roughly, she shook her. Esmeralda, Esmeralda, she cried.

(01:11:32):
Help me or we are lost. Esmeralda opened her eyes.
The first object they encountered was the dripping
fangs of the hungry lioness. With a horrified scream, the
poor woman rose to her hands andknees and in this position

(01:11:55):
scurried across the room shrieking Oh Gabrielle, oh
Gabrielle at the top of her lungs.
Esmeralda weighed some 280 lbs and her extreme haste added to
her extreme corpulency produced a most amazing result when

(01:12:17):
Esmeralda elected to travel on all fours.
For a moment the Lioness remained quiet, with intense
gaze directed upon the flitting Esmeralda, whose goal appeared
to be the cupboard into which she attempted to propel her huge
bulk. But as the shelves were but 9 or

(01:12:39):
10 inches apart, she only succeeded in getting her head
in, whereupon, with a final screech which paled the jungle
noises into insignificance, she fainted once again with the
subsidence of Esmeralda. The lioness renewed her efforts

(01:13:00):
to wriggle her huge bulk throughthe weakening lattice.
The girl, standing pale and rigid against the farther wall,
sought with ever increasing terror for some loophole of
escape. Suddenly her hand, tight pressed
against her bosom, felt the hardoutline of the revolver that

(01:13:24):
Clayton had left with her earlier in the day.
Quickly she snatched it from itshiding place, and, levelling it
full at the lioness's face, pulled the trigger.
There was a flash of flame, the roar of the discharge, and an

(01:13:46):
answering roar of pain and angerfrom the beast.
Jane Porter saw the great form disappear from the window, and
then she too fainted, the revolver falling at her side.
But Sabore was not killed. The bullet had but inflicted a

(01:14:09):
painful wound in one of the great shoulders.
It was the surprise at the blinding flash and the deafening
roar that had caused her hasty but temporary retreat.
In another instant she was back at the lattice, and with renewed

(01:14:31):
fury was clawing at the aperture, but with lessened
effect, since the wounded memberwas almost useless.
She saw her prey, the two women,lying senseless upon the floor.
There was no longer any resistance till he overcome her.

(01:14:54):
Meat lay before her, and Sibora had only to worm her way through
the lattice to claim it. Slowly she forced her great bulk
inch by inch through the opening.
Now her head was through, now 1 great forearm and shoulder.

(01:15:16):
Carefully she drew up the wounded member to insinuate it
gently beyond the tight pressingbars.
A moment more and both shouldersthrough the long sinuous body in
the narrow hips would glide quickly after.

(01:15:37):
It was on this sight that Jane Porter again opened her eyes.
End of chapter 13 and 14 of Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice
Burroughs. Read by your host Kimberly Sue

(01:15:59):
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Tarzan of the Apes - Chapters 13 & 14

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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 - Chapters 13 & 14