[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
with one hand and swinging from it, they were sometimes only ten feet from
the ground. It was like a roller coaster until they reached a mass of great trees
from which hung thick liana vines. He grabbed those and swung way out, let
go, grabbed another, and moved on; the treetops came down to meet them,
then the ground grew tall, then the treetops were back again. Monkeys
scattered through the trees all around them, scolding, chattering with fear.
Birds rustled to flight. Once, Jean saw a great python raise its head from a
limb and watch them pass with its cold, dark eyes.
Below, running on the ground, darting between trees, Jean could see
the great lion. Once Jean looked back, saw the apes on the ground, looking
up, trying to keep sight of them. The next time she looked, the apes had taken
to the trees themselves, but even though they were born to the jungle,
designed for it, they could not catch her wild man.
As they progressed through the treetops, Jean's confidence increased
until she began to enjoy the strange adventure. It wasn't quite what she
preferred to be doing this bright and sunny morning, but she presumed it was
better than being kidnapped by an ape. And why had that ape wanted her?
Was she supposed to feel flattered?
A week ago, life had been a lot less confusing.
Below, she saw her father and the safari. Tarzan let go of the vine they
were swinging on, dropped rapidly through the brush. Limbs touched her,
tore at her clothes, and just as it looked as if they might dash themselves to
pieces at her father's feet, Tarzan snatched at a supple branch, swung way
out, twisted, grabbed another, then dropped them to the ground next to her
father.
When they landed, Hanson leapt back, bringing up both hands to fight.
Then he saw who it was. Jean stepped into his arms and Hanson held her.
Over her shoulder he spoke to Tarzan. "Thank you ... Whoever you are."
"They call me Tarzan," the ape-man said.
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
"My God," Hanson said. "I thought you were a legend."
Jean turned from her father then, smiled at her rescuer. 'Thank you,
Tarzan."
"Can you believe this, Jean?" Hanson said. "I came to Africa to prove
the existence of the man-apes, and they kidnapped you. Then you were
rescued by a legend I didn't believe existed. Tarzan, the ape-man."
"Will the apes come after us?" Jean asked Tarzan.
"No," Tarzan said. "There are rifles here. They know what rifles do.
They lose interest rather quickly, as well. They will be fighting amongst
themselves to establish a new king."
Jean considered what Tarzan had said. She began to understand what
all the fighting had been about. One ruler had been usurped, only to be
defeated by Tarzan.
At that moment, Jad-bal-ja entered the campsite. He padded over to
Tarzan and lay down at his feet, and put his great head between his paws.
"He looks mopey," Jean said.
"He wanted to fight the great apes," Tarzan said. "That and eat one. He
is hungry."
"Then it would not be a good idea to pet him right now," Jean said.
"It is never a good idea," Tarzan said. "He is a lion, and a lion is always a
lion."
"I've never seen anything like it," Jean said. "You were actually
communicating with those apes, weren't you?"
"Yes," said Tarzan. "I was raised by a tribe not unlike them."
"You're kidding," said Hanson.
"No," said Tarzan. "I am not kidding."
Hanson studied Tarzan a moment. "No. I can see you aren't.
"You communicate with the lion, too," Jean said. "Do you think he fully
understands you?"
"I know he does," Tarzan said. "I speak to him in the language of the
great apes. My first language."
Hanson thought that explained Tarzan's stiff almost formal use of
English. His strange accent-the accent of the beasts.
Jean was warming to the subject, excited. "What about other animals?"
she asked. "Can you speak with them? Are they ... your friends?"
"Animals in their native state," replied Tarzan, "make few friends in the
sense that humans do, even among their own kind. But I have friends among
them." Tarzan waved a hand at the golden lion. "Jad-bal-ja here would fight to
the death to protect me. And I him. Tantor the elephant is my friend, as is
Nkima."
"Nkima?" Jean asked.
"A small monkey that is usually with me," Tarzan said. "Where he is
now, I can't say. He often wanders off. But when he gets in trouble, or is
afraid, he often comes racing to me for protection. He is a coward, and an
outrageous braggart, but I'm fond of him."
"You seem to prefer animals to humans," Jean said.
"I do."
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
"But that's because you've had unpleasant experiences with men,"
Hanson said. "Am I right?"
"You are," Tarzan said. "But let me remind you that you, as of recent,
have had some very unpleasant experiences with men."
"That's true," Jean said. "But I wouldn't call my experience with the
apes a picnic."
Tarzan smiled. "Ultimately, man and beast are not all that different."
Hanson said, "It's amazing. Everything they say about you ... the legends
... they're true."
Tarzan smiled, and this time it was a true smile. "Nothing is ever
completely true about a legend," he said.
5
WILSON LAID THE bundle on the ground in front of Gromvitch and Cannon
and removed the oilcloth from the rifles, ammunition, and supplies. There
were four rifles, two handguns, a limited supply of ammunition, some basic
rations, and a canteen of water.
"We do some hunting, find some water, there's enough ammunition
there to get us to the coast," Gromvitch said.
"I'm not going to the coast," Wilson said. "You do what you want. I'm
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]