He lifted her in his arms. "Why are you so weak?" he asked. "Is it from hunger?"
She sobbed a scarcely audible "Yes," and buried her face in the hollow of his neck. She was still half afraid of him. It was true that he did not act like a madman, but what else could account for the remarkable accession of courage and strength that had transformed him in the short time since she had last seen him.
She had known that he was muscular; but she had never attributed to him such superhuman strength as that which he had displayed during his duel with the gorilla, and she had known that he was a coward. But this man was no coward.
He carried her for a short distance, and then put her down on a bed of soft grasses. "I will get you something to eat," he said.
She saw him swing lightly into the trees and disappear, and again she was afraid. What a difference it made when he was near her! She puckered her brows to a sudden thought. Why did she feel so safe with Stanley Obroski now? She had never looked upon him as a protector or as able to protect. Every one had considered him a coward. Whatever metamorphosis had occurred had been sufficiently deep rooted to carry its impression to her subconscious mind imparting this new feeling of confidence.
He was gone but a short time, returning with some nuts and fruit. He came and squatted beside her. "Eat a little at a time," he cautioned. "After a while I will get flesh for you; that will bring back your strength."
As she ate she studied him. "You have changed, Stanley," she said. "Yes?"
"But I like you better. To think that you killed that terrible creature single-handed! It was marvelous."
"What sort of a beast was it?" he asked. "It spoke English."
"It is a mystery to me. It called itself an Englishman and said that it was the Duke of Buckingham. Another one pursued it whom it called Suffolk. A great number of them attacked us at the time that this one took me from the Arabs. They live in a city called London —he pointed it out to me. And Rhonda is a captive there in a castle on a ledge a little above the main part of the city—he said that she was with God in his castle."
"I thought Rhonda had been killed by a lion," said Tarzan.
"So did I until that creature told me differently. Oh, the poor dear! Perhaps it would have been better had the lion killed her. Think of being in the power of those frightful half-men!"
"Where is this city?" asked Tarzan.
"It is back there a way at the foot of the cliff—one can see it plainly from the summit."
The man rose and lifted the girl into his arms again. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"I am going to take you to Orman and West. They should be at the falls before night."
"Oh! They are alive?"
"They were looking for you, and they got lost. They have been hungry, but otherwise they have gotten along all right, They will be glad to see you."
"And then we can get out of this awful country?" she asked.
"First we must find out what became of the others and save Rhonda," he replied,
"Oh, but she can't be saved!" exclaimed the girl. "You should see how those devils fight—the Arabs, even with their guns, were helpless against them. There isn't a chance in the world of saving poor Rhonda, even if she is alive—which I doubt."
"We must try—and, anyway, I wish to see this gorilla city of London."
"You mean you would go there!"
"How else can I see it?"
"Oh, Stanley, please don't go back there!"
"I came here for you."
"Well, then, let Bill West go after Rhonda."
"Do you think he could get her?"
"I don't think any one can get her."
"Perhaps not," he said, "but at least I shall see the city and possibly learn something about these gorillas that talk English. There is a mystery worth solving."
They had reached the south end of the valley where the hills drop down almost to the level of the river. The current here, above the falls, was not swift; and Tarzan waded in with the girl still in his arms.
"Where are you going?" she cried, frightened.
"We have got to cross the river, and it is easier to cross here than below the falls. There the current is much swifter, and there are hippopotamuses and crocodiles. Take hold of my shoulders and hold tight."
He plunged in and struck for the opposite shore, while the terrified girl clung to him in desperation. The farther bank looked far away indeed. Below she could hear the roar of the falls. They seemed to be drifting down toward them.
But presently the strong, even strokes of the swimmer reassured her. He seemed unhurried and unexcited, and gradually she relaxed as though she had absorbed a portion of his confidence. But she sighed in relief as he clambered out on solid ground.
Her terror at the river crossing was nothing to that which she experienced in the descent of the escarpment to the foot of the falls—it froze her to silent horror.
The man descended as nimbly as a monkey; the burden of her weight seemed nothing to him. Where had Stanley Obroski acquired this facility that almost put to shame the mountain goat and the monkey?
Half way down he called her attention to three figures near the foot of the cliff. "There are Orman and West and the Arab," he said, but she did not dare look down.
The three men below them were watching in astonishment—they had just recognized that of the two descending toward them one was Obroski and the other a girl, but whether Naomi or Rhonda they could not be sure.
Orman and West ran forward to meet them as they neared the foot of the cliff. Tears' came to Orman's eyes as he took Naomi in his arms; and West was glad to see her too, but he was saddened when he discovered that it was not Rhonda.
"Poor girl!" he muttered as they walked back to their little camp. "Poor Rhonda! What an awful death!"
"But she is not dead," said Naomi.
"Not dead! How do you know?"
"She is worse than dead, Bill," and then Naomi told all that she knew of Rhonda's fate.
When she was through, Tarzan rose. "You have enough of that buck left to last until you can make a kill?" he asked.
"Yes," replied Orman.
"Then I'll be going," said the ape-man.
"Where?" asked the director.
"To find Rhonda."
West leaped to his feet. "I'll go with you, Stanley," he cried.
"But, my God, man! you can't save her now. After what Eyad has told us of those beasts and Naomi's experience with them you must know that you haven't a chance." Orman spoke with great seriousness.
"It is my duty to go anyway," said West, "not Stanley 's; and I'm going."
"You'd better stay here," advised Tarzan. "You wouldn't have a chance."
"Why wouldn't I have as good a chance as you?" demanded West.
"Perhaps you would, but you would delay me." Tarzan turned away and walked toward the foot of the escarpment.
Naomi Madison watched him through half closed eyes. "Good bye, Stanley!" she called.
"Oh, good-bye!" replied the ape-man and continued on.
They saw him seize a trailing liana and climb to another handhold; the quick equatorial night engulfed him before he reached the top.
West had stood silently watching him, stunned by his grief. "I'm going with him," he said finally and started for the escarpment.
"Why, you couldn't climb that place in the daytime, let alone after dark," warned Orman.
"Don't be foolish, Bill," counseled Naomi. "We know how you feel, but there's no sense throwing away another life uselessly. Even Stanley'll never come back." She commenced to sob.
"Then I won't either," said West; "but I'm goin'."
Chapter Twenty-Four
God
Beyond the summit of the escarpment the ape-man moved silently through the night. He heard familiar noises, and his nostrils caught familiar scents that told him that the great cats roamed this strange valley of the gorillas.