The Beasts of Tarzan, Page 5

  Chapter 5

  Mugambi

  By the time that Tarzan had travelled entirely about the coast of theisland, and made several trips inland from various points, he was surethat he was the only human being upon it.

  Nowhere had he found any sign that men had stopped even temporarilyupon this shore, though, of course, he knew that so quickly does therank vegetation of the tropics erase all but the most permanent ofhuman monuments that he might be in error in his deductions.

  The day following the killing of Numa, Tarzan and Sheeta came upon thetribe of Akut. At sight of the panther the great apes took to flight,but after a time Tarzan succeeded in recalling them.

  It had occurred to him that it would be at least an interestingexperiment to attempt to reconcile these hereditary enemies. Hewelcomed anything that would occupy his time and his mind beyond thefilling of his belly and the gloomy thoughts to which he fell prey themoment that he became idle.

  To communicate his plan to the apes was not a particularly difficultmatter, though their narrow and limited vocabulary was strained in theeffort; but to impress upon the little, wicked brain of Sheeta that hewas to hunt with and not for his legitimate prey proved a task almostbeyond the powers of the ape-man.

  Tarzan, among his other weapons, possessed a long, stout cudgel, andafter fastening his rope about the panther's neck he used thisinstrument freely upon the snarling beast, endeavouring in this way toimpress upon its memory that it must not attack the great, shaggymanlike creatures that had approached more closely once they had seenthe purpose of the rope about Sheeta's neck.

  That the cat did not turn and rend Tarzan is something of a miraclewhich may possibly be accounted for by the fact that twice when itturned growling upon the ape-man he had rapped it sharply upon itssensitive nose, inculcating in its mind thereby a most wholesome fearof the cudgel and the ape-beasts behind it.

  It is a question if the original cause of his attachment for Tarzan wasstill at all clear in the mind of the panther, though doubtless somesubconscious suggestion, superinduced by this primary reason and aidedand abetted by the habit of the past few days, did much to compel thebeast to tolerate treatment at his hands that would have sent it at thethroat of any other creature.

  Then, too, there was the compelling force of the manmind exerting itspowerful influence over this creature of a lower order, and, after all,it may have been this that proved the most potent factor in Tarzan'ssupremacy over Sheeta and the other beasts of the jungle that had fromtime to time fallen under his domination.

  Be that as it may, for days the man, the panther, and the great apesroamed their savage haunts side by side, making their kills togetherand sharing them with one another, and of all the fierce and savageband none was more terrible than the smooth-skinned, powerful beastthat had been but a few short months before a familiar figure in many aLondon drawing room.

  Sometimes the beasts separated to follow their own inclinations for anhour or a day, and it was upon one of these occasions when the ape-manhad wandered through the tree-tops toward the beach, and was stretchedin the hot sun upon the sand, that from the low summit of a near-bypromontory a pair of keen eyes discovered him.

  For a moment the owner of the eyes looked in astonishment at the figureof the savage white man basking in the rays of that hot, tropic sun;then he turned, making a sign to some one behind him. Presentlyanother pair of eyes were looking down upon the ape-man, and thenanother and another, until a full score of hideously trapped, savagewarriors were lying upon their bellies along the crest of the ridgewatching the white-skinned stranger.

  They were down wind from Tarzan, and so their scent was not carried tohim, and as his back was turned half toward them he did not see theircautious advance over the edge of the promontory and down through therank grass toward the sandy beach where he lay.

  Big fellows they were, all of them, their barbaric headdresses andgrotesquely painted faces, together with their many metal ornaments andgorgeously coloured feathers, adding to their wild, fierce appearance.

  Once at the foot of the ridge, they came cautiously to their feet, and,bent half-double, advanced silently upon the unconscious white man,their heavy war-clubs swinging menacingly in their brawny hands.

  The mental suffering that Tarzan's sorrowful thoughts induced had theeffect of numbing his keen, perceptive faculties, so that the advancingsavages were almost upon him before he became aware that he was nolonger alone upon the beach.

  So quickly, though, were his mind and muscles wont to react in unisonto the slightest alarm that he was upon his feet and facing hisenemies, even as he realized that something was behind him. As hesprang to his feet the warriors leaped toward him with raised clubs andsavage yells, but the foremost went down to sudden death beneath thelong, stout stick of the ape-man, and then the lithe, sinewy figure wasamong them, striking right and left with a fury, power, and precisionthat brought panic to the ranks of the blacks.

  For a moment they withdrew, those that were left of them, and consultedtogether at a short distance from the ape-man, who stood with foldedarms, a half-smile upon his handsome face, watching them. Presentlythey advanced upon him once more, this time wielding their heavywar-spears. They were between Tarzan and the jungle, in a littlesemicircle that closed in upon him as they advanced.

  There seemed to the ape-man but slight chance to escape the finalcharge when all the great spears should be hurled simultaneously athim; but if he had desired to escape there was no way other thanthrough the ranks of the savages except the open sea behind him.

  His predicament was indeed most serious when an idea occurred to himthat altered his smile to a broad grin. The warriors were still somelittle distance away, advancing slowly, making, after the manner oftheir kind, a frightful din with their savage yells and the pounding oftheir naked feet upon the ground as they leaped up and down in afantastic war dance.

  Then it was that the ape-man lifted his voice in a series of wild,weird screams that brought the blacks to a sudden, perplexed halt.They looked at one another questioningly, for here was a sound sohideous that their own frightful din faded into insignificance besideit. No human throat could have formed those bestial notes, they weresure, and yet with their own eyes they had seen this white man open hismouth to pour forth his awful cry.

  But only for a moment they hesitated, and then with one accord theyagain took up their fantastic advance upon their prey; but even then asudden crashing in the jungle behind them brought them once more to ahalt, and as they turned to look in the direction of this new noisethere broke upon their startled visions a sight that may well havefrozen the blood of braver men than the Wagambi.

  Leaping from the tangled vegetation of the jungle's rim came a hugepanther, with blazing eyes and bared fangs, and in his wake a score ofmighty, shaggy apes lumbering rapidly toward them, half erect upontheir short, bowed legs, and with their long arms reaching to theground, where their horny knuckles bore the weight of their ponderousbodies as they lurched from side to side in their grotesque advance.

  The beasts of Tarzan had come in answer to his call.

  Before the Wagambi could recover from their astonishment the frightfulhorde was upon them from one side and Tarzan of the Apes from theother. Heavy spears were hurled and mighty war-clubs wielded, andthough apes went down never to rise, so, too, went down the men ofUgambi.

  Sheeta's cruel fangs and tearing talons ripped and tore at the blackhides. Akut's mighty yellow tusks found the jugular of more than onesleek-skinned savage, and Tarzan of the Apes was here and there andeverywhere, urging on his fierce allies and taking a heavy toll withhis long, slim knife.

  In a moment the blacks had scattered for their lives, but of the scorethat had crept down the grassy sides of the promontory only a singlewarrior managed to escape the horde that had overwhelmed his people.

  This one was Mugambi, chief of the Wagambi of Ugambi, and as hedisappeared in the tangled luxuriousness of the rank growth upon theridge's summit only the
keen eyes of the ape-man saw the direction ofhis flight.

  Leaving his pack to eat their fill upon the flesh of theirvictims--flesh that he could not touch--Tarzan of the Apes pursued thesingle survivor of the bloody fray. Just beyond the ridge he camewithin sight of the fleeing black, making with headlong leaps for along war-canoe that was drawn well up upon the beach above the hightide surf.

  Noiseless as the fellow's shadow, the ape-man raced after theterror-stricken black. In the white man's mind was a new plan,awakened by sight of the war-canoe. If these men had come to hisisland from another, or from the mainland, why not utilize their craftto make his way to the country from which they had come? Evidently itwas an inhabited country, and no doubt had occasional intercourse withthe mainland, if it were not itself upon the continent of Africa.

  A heavy hand fell upon the shoulder of the escaping Mugambi before hewas aware that he was being pursued, and as he turned to do battle withhis assailant giant fingers closed about his wrists and he was hurledto earth with a giant astride him before he could strike a blow in hisown defence.

  In the language of the West Coast, Tarzan spoke to the prostrate manbeneath him.

  "Who are you?" he asked.

  "Mugambi, chief of the Wagambi," replied the black.

  "I will spare your life," said Tarzan, "if you will promise to help meto leave this island. What do you answer?"

  "I will help you," replied Mugambi. "But now that you have killed allmy warriors, I do not know that even I can leave your country, forthere will be none to wield the paddles, and without paddlers we cannotcross the water."

  Tarzan rose and allowed his prisoner to come to his feet. The fellowwas a magnificent specimen of manhood--a black counterpart in physiqueof the splendid white man whom he faced.

  "Come!" said the ape-man, and started back in the direction from whichthey could hear the snarling and growling of the feasting pack.Mugambi drew back.

  "They will kill us," he said.

  "I think not," replied Tarzan. "They are mine."

  Still the black hesitated, fearful of the consequences of approachingthe terrible creatures that were dining upon the bodies of hiswarriors; but Tarzan forced him to accompany him, and presently the twoemerged from the jungle in full view of the grisly spectacle upon thebeach. At sight of the men the beasts looked up with menacing growls,but Tarzan strode in among them, dragging the trembling Wagambi withhim.

  As he had taught the apes to accept Sheeta, so he taught them to adoptMugambi as well, and much more easily; but Sheeta seemed quite unableto understand that though he had been called upon to devour Mugambi'swarriors he was not to be allowed to proceed after the same fashionwith Mugambi. However, being well filled, he contented himself withwalking round the terror-stricken savage, emitting low, menacing growlsthe while he kept his flaming, baleful eyes riveted upon the black.

  Mugambi, on his part, clung closely to Tarzan, so that the ape-mancould scarce control his laughter at the pitiable condition to whichthe chief's fear had reduced him; but at length the white took thegreat cat by the scruff of the neck and, dragging it quite close to theWagambi, slapped it sharply upon the nose each time that it growled atthe stranger.

  At the sight of the thing--a man mauling with his bare hands one of themost relentless and fierce of the jungle carnivora--Mugambi's eyesbulged from their sockets, and from entertaining a sullen respect forthe giant white man who had made him prisoner, the black felt an almostworshipping awe of Tarzan.

  The education of Sheeta progressed so well that in a short time Mugambiceased to be the object of his hungry attention, and the black felt adegree more of safety in his society.

  To say that Mugambi was entirely happy or at ease in his newenvironment would not be to adhere strictly to the truth. His eyeswere constantly rolling apprehensively from side to side as now one andnow another of the fierce pack chanced to wander near him, so that forthe most of the time it was principally the whites that showed.

  Together Tarzan and Mugambi, with Sheeta and Akut, lay in wait at theford for a deer, and when at a word from the ape-man the four of themleaped out upon the affrighted animal the black was sure that the poorcreature died of fright before ever one of the great beasts touched it.

  Mugambi built a fire and cooked his portion of the kill; but Tarzan,Sheeta, and Akut tore theirs, raw, with their sharp teeth, growlingamong themselves when one ventured to encroach upon the share ofanother.

  It was not, after all, strange that the white man's ways should havebeen so much more nearly related to those of the beasts than were thesavage blacks. We are, all of us, creatures of habit, and when theseeming necessity for schooling ourselves in new ways ceases to exist,we fall naturally and easily into the manners and customs which longusage has implanted ineradicably within us.

  Mugambi from childhood had eaten no meat until it had been cooked,while Tarzan, on the other hand, had never tasted cooked food of anysort until he had grown almost to manhood, and only within the pastthree or four years had he eaten cooked meat. Not only did the habitof a lifetime prompt him to eat it raw, but the craving of his palateas well; for to him cooked flesh was spoiled flesh when compared withthe rich and juicy meat of a fresh, hot kill.

  That he could, with relish, eat raw meat that had been buried byhimself weeks before, and enjoy small rodents and disgusting grubs,seems to us who have been always "civilized" a revolting fact; but hadwe learned in childhood to eat these things, and had we seen all thoseabout us eat them, they would seem no more sickening to us now than domany of our greatest dainties, at which a savage African cannibal wouldlook with repugnance and turn up his nose.

  For instance, there is a tribe in the vicinity of Lake Rudolph thatwill eat no sheep or cattle, though its next neighbors do so. Near byis another tribe that eats donkey-meat--a custom most revolting to thesurrounding tribes that do not eat donkey. So who may say that it isnice to eat snails and frogs' legs and oysters, but disgusting to feedupon grubs and beetles, or that a raw oyster, hoof, horns, and tail, isless revolting than the sweet, clean meat of a fresh-killed buck?

  The next few days Tarzan devoted to the weaving of a barkcloth sailwith which to equip the canoe, for he despaired of being able to teachthe apes to wield the paddles, though he did manage to get several ofthem to embark in the frail craft which he and Mugambi paddled aboutinside the reef where the water was quite smooth.

  During these trips he had placed paddles in their hands, when theyattempted to imitate the movements of him and Mugambi, but so difficultis it for them long to concentrate upon a thing that he soon saw thatit would require weeks of patient training before they would be able tomake any effective use of these new implements, if, in fact, theyshould ever do so.

  There was one exception, however, and he was Akut. Almost from thefirst he showed an interest in this new sport that revealed a muchhigher plane of intelligence than that attained by any of his tribe.He seemed to grasp the purpose of the paddles, and when Tarzan saw thatthis was so he took much pains to explain in the meagre language of theanthropoid how they might be used to the best advantage.

  From Mugambi Tarzan learned that the mainland lay but a short distancefrom the island. It seemed that the Wagambi warriors had ventured toofar out in their frail craft, and when caught by a heavy tide and ahigh wind from off-shore they had been driven out of sight of land.After paddling for a whole night, thinking that they were headed forhome, they had seen this land at sunrise, and, still taking it for themainland, had hailed it with joy, nor had Mugambi been aware that itwas an island until Tarzan had told him that this was the fact.

  The Wagambi chief was quite dubious as to the sail, for he had neverseen such a contrivance used. His country lay far up the broad UgambiRiver, and this was the first occasion that any of his people had foundtheir way to the ocean.

  Tarzan, however, was confident that with a good west wind he couldnavigate the little craft to the mainland. At any rate, he decided, itwould be preferable to perish on the
way than to remain indefinitelyupon this evidently uncharted island to which no ships might ever beexpected to come.

  And so it was that when the first fair wind rose he embarked upon hiscruise, and with him he took as strange and fearsome a crew as eversailed under a savage master.

  Mugambi and Akut went with him, and Sheeta, the panther, and a dozengreat males of the tribe of Akut.