Chapter 10

Son of Tarzan

by Edgar R. Burroughs

CHAPTER 10, SON OF TARZAN by Edgar R. Burroughs
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As the leopard leaped for the great ape Meriem gasped in surprise
and horror--not for the impending fate of the anthropoid, but at
the act of the youth who but for an instant before had angrily
struck his strange companion; for scarce had the carnivore burst
into view than with drawn knife the youth had leaped far out above
him, so that as Sheeta was almost in the act of sinking fangs
and talons in Akut's broad back The Killer landed full upon the
leopard's shoulders.

The cat halted in mid air, missed the ape by but a hair's
breadth, and with horrid snarlings rolled over upon its back,
clutching and clawing in an effort to reach and dislodge the
antagonist biting at its neck and knifing it in the side.

Akut, startled by the sudden rush from his rear, and following
hoary instinct, was in the tree beside the girl with an agility
little short of marvelous in so heavy a beast. But the moment
that he turned to see what was going on below him brought him as
quickly to the ground again. Personal differences were quickly
forgotten in the danger which menaced his human companion, nor
was he a whit less eager to jeopardize his own safety in the
service of his friend than Korak had been to succor him.

The result was that Sheeta presently found two ferocious creatures
tearing him to ribbons. Shrieking, snarling and growling, the
three rolled hither and thither among the underbrush, while
with staring eyes the sole spectator of the battle royal crouched
trembling in the tree above them hugging Geeka frantically to
her breast.

It was the boy's knife which eventually decided the battle, and
as the fierce feline shuddered convulsively and rolled over upon
its side the youth and the ape rose and faced one another across
the prostrate carcass. Korak jerked his head in the direction of
the little girl in the tree.

"Leave her alone," he said; "she is mine."

Akut grunted, blinked his blood-shot eyes, and turned toward
the body of Sheeta. Standing erect upon it he threw out his
great chest, raised his face toward the heavens and gave voice
to so horrid a scream that once again the little girl shuddered
and shrank. It was the victory cry of the bull ape that has made
a kill. The boy only looked on for a moment in silence; then he
leaped into the tree again to the girl's side. Akut presently
rejoined them. For a few minutes he busied himself licking his
wounds, then he wandered off to hunt his breakfast.

For many months the strange life of the three went on unmarked
by any unusual occurrences. At least without any occurrences
that seemed unusual to the youth or the ape; but to the little
girl it was a constant nightmare of horrors for days and weeks,
until she too became accustomed to gazing into the eyeless sockets
of death and to the feel of the icy wind of his shroud-like mantle.
Slowly she learned the rudiments of the only common medium of
thought exchange which her companions possessed--the language of
the great apes. More quickly she perfected herself in jungle craft,
so that the time soon came when she was an important factor in the
chase, watching while the others slept, or helping them to trace the
spoor of whatever prey they might be stalking. Akut accepted her on
a footing which bordered upon equality when it was necessary for them
to come into close contact; but for the most part he avoided her.
The youth always was kind to her, and if there were many occasions
upon which he felt the burden of her presence he hid it from her.
Finding that the night damp and chill caused her discomfort and even
suffering, Korak constructed a tight little shelter high among the
swaying branches of a giant tree. Here little Meriem slept in
comparative warmth and safety, while The Killer and the ape perched
upon near-by branches, the former always before the entrance to the
lofty domicile, where he best could guard its inmate from the dangers
of arboreal enemies. They were too high to feel much fear of Sheeta;
but there was always Histah, the snake, to strike terror to one's soul,
and the great baboons who lived near-by, and who, while never attacking
always bared their fangs and barked at any of the trio when they passed
near them.

After the construction of the shelter the activities of the three
became localized. They ranged less widely, for there was always
the necessity of returning to their own tree at nightfall. A river
flowed near by. Game and fruit were plentiful, as were fish also.
Existence had settled down to the daily humdrum of the wild--
the search for food and the sleeping upon full bellies. They looked
no further ahead than today. If the youth thought of his
past and of those who longed for him in the distant metropolis
it was in a detached and impersonal sort of way as though that
other life belonged to another creature than himself. He had
given up hope of returning to civilization, for since his various
rebuffs at the hands of those to whom he had looked for friendship
he had wandered so far inland as to realize that he was completely
lost in the mazes of the jungle.

Then, too, since the coming of Meriem he had found in her
that one thing which he had most missed before in his savage,
jungle life--human companionship. In his friendship for her
there was appreciable no trace of sex influence of which he
was cognizant. They were friends--companions--that was all.
Both might have been boys, except for the half tender and always
masterful manifestation of the protective instinct which was
apparent in Korak's attitude.

The little girl idolized him as she might have idolized an
indulgent brother had she had one. Love was a thing unknown to
either; but as the youth neared manhood it was inevitable that it
should come to him as it did to every other savage, jungle male.

As Meriem became proficient in their common language the
pleasures of their companionship grew correspondingly, for
now they could converse and aided by the mental powers of
their human heritage they amplified the restricted vocabulary
of the apes until talking was transformed from a task into an
enjoyable pastime. When Korak hunted, Meriem usually accompanied
him, for she had learned the fine art of silence, when silence
was desirable. She could pass through the branches of the great
trees now with all the agility and stealth of The Killer himself.
Great heights no longer appalled her. She swung from limb to
limb, or she raced through the mighty branches, surefooted,
lithe, and fearless. Korak was very proud of her, and even old
Akut grunted in approval where before he had growled in contempt.

A distant village of blacks had furnished her with a mantle of
fur and feathers, with copper ornaments, and weapons, for Korak
would not permit her to go unarmed, or unversed in the use of
the weapons he stole for her. A leather thong over one shoulder
supported the ever present Geeka who was still the recipient
of her most sacred confidences. A light spear and a long knife
were her weapons of offense or defense. Her body, rounding
into the fulness of an early maturity, followed the lines of a
Greek goddess; but there the similarity ceased, for her face
was beautiful.

As she grew more accustomed to the jungle and the ways of
its wild denizens fear left her. As time wore on she even hunted
alone when Korak and Akut were prowling at a great distance,
as they were sometimes forced to do when game was scarce in
their immediate vicinity. Upon these occasions she usually
confined her endeavors to the smaller animals though sometimes
she brought down a deer, and once even Horta, the boar--a great
tusker that even Sheeta might have thought twice before attacking.

In their stamping grounds in the jungle the three were
familiar figures. The little monkeys knew them well, often coming
close to chatter and frolic about them. When Akut was by, the small
folk kept their distance, but with Korak they were less shy and
when both the males were gone they would come close to Meriem,
tugging at her ornaments or playing with Geeka, who was a never
ending source of amusement to them. The girl played with them
and fed them, and when she was alone they helped her to pass
the long hours until Korak's return.

Nor were they worthless as friends. In the hunt they helped
her locate her quarry. Often they would come racing through
the trees to her side to announce the near presence of antelope
or giraffe, or with excited warnings of the proximity of Sheeta
or Numa. Luscious, sun-kissed fruits which hung far out upon
the frail bough of the jungle's waving crest were brought to her
by these tiny, nimble allies. Sometimes they played tricks upon
her; but she was always kind and gentle with them and in their
wild, half-human way they were kind to her and affectionate.
Their language being similar to that of the great apes Meriem
could converse with them though the poverty of their vocabulary
rendered these exchanges anything but feasts of reason. For familiar
objects they had names, as well as for those conditions which
induced pain or pleasure, joy, sorrow, or rage. These root
words were so similar to those in use among the great anthropoids
as to suggest that the language of the Manus was the mother tongue.
Dreams, aspirations, hopes, the past, the sordid exchange.
Dreams, aspirations, hopes, the past, the future held no place
in the conversation of Manu, the monkey. All was of the present--
particularly of filling his belly and catching lice.

Poor food was this to nourish the mental appetite of a girl
just upon the brink of womanhood. And so, finding Manu only
amusing as an occasional playfellow or pet, Meriem poured out
her sweetest soul thoughts into the deaf ears of Geeka's
ivory head. To Geeka she spoke in Arabic, knowing that Geeka,
being but a doll, could not understand the language of Korak and
Akut, and that the language of Korak and Akut being that of
male apes contained nothing of interest to an Arab doll.

Geeka had undergone a transformation since her little mother
had left the village of The Sheik. Her garmenture now reflected
in miniature that of Meriem. A tiny bit of leopard skin covered
her ratskin torso from shoulder to splinter knee. A band of
braided grasses about her brow held in place a few gaudy feathers
from the parakeet, while other bits of grass were fashioned into
imitations of arm and leg ornaments of metal. Geeka was a perfect
little savage; but at heart she was unchanged, being the same
omnivorous listener as of yore. An excellent trait in Geeka was
that she never interrupted in order to talk about herself. Today was
no exception. She had been listening attentively to Meriem for
an hour, propped against the bole of a tree while her lithe,
young mistress stretched catlike and luxurious along a swaying
branch before her.

"Little Geeka," said Meriem, "our Korak has been gone for
a long time today. We miss him, little Geeka, do we not? It is
dull and lonesome in the great jungle when our Korak is away.
What will he bring us this time, eh? Another shining band of
metal for Meriem's ankle? Or a soft, doeskin loin cloth from
the body of a black she? He tells me that it is harder to get the
possessions of the shes, for he will not kill them as he does the
males, and they fight savagely when he leaps upon them to wrest
their ornaments from them. Then come the males with spears
and arrows and Korak takes to the trees. Sometimes he takes
the she with him and high among the branches divests her of the
things he wishes to bring home to Meriem. He says that the
blacks fear him now, and at first sight of him the women and
children run shrieking to their huts; but he follows them within,
and it is not often that he returns without arrows for himself
and a present for Meriem. Korak is mighty among the jungle
people--our Korak, Geeka--no, MY Korak!"

Meriem's conversation was interrupted by the sudden plunge
of an excited little monkey that landed upon her shoulders in a
flying leap from a neighboring tree.

"Climb!" he cried. "Climb! The Mangani are coming."

Meriem glanced lazily over her shoulder at the excited disturber
of her peace.

"Climb, yourself, little Manu," she said. "The only Mangani
in our jungle are Korak and Akut. It is they you have seen
returning from the hunt. Some day you will see your own
shadow, little Manu, and then you will be frightened to death."

But the monkey only screamed his warning more lustily before
he raced upward toward the safety of the high terrace where
Mangani, the great ape, could not follow. Presently Meriem
heard the sound of approaching bodies swinging through the trees.
She listened attentively. There were two and they were great
apes--Korak and Akut. To her Korak was an ape--a Mangani, for
as such the three always described themselves. Man was an
enemy, so they did not think of themselves as belonging any
longer to the same genus. Tarmangani, or great white ape, which
described the white man in their language, did not fit them all.
Gomangani--great black ape, or Negro--described none of them so
they called themselves plain Mangani.

Meriem decided that she would feign slumber and play a joke
on Korak. So she lay very still with eyes tightly closed.
She heard the two approaching closer and closer. They were in
the adjoining tree now and must have discovered her, for they
had halted. Why were they so quiet? Why did not Korak call
out his customary greeting? The quietness was ominous. It was
followed presently by a very stealthy sound--one of them was
creeping upon her. Was Korak planning a joke upon his own account?
Well, she would fool him. Cautiously she opened her eyes the
tiniest bit, and as she did so her heart stood still.
Creeping silently toward her was a huge bull ape that she
never before had seen. Behind him was another like him.

With the agility of a squirrel Meriem was upon her feet and
at the same instant the great bull lunged for her. Leaping from
limb to limb the girl fled through the jungle while close behind
her came the two great apes. Above them raced a bevy of screaming,
chattering monkeys, hurling taunts and insults at the Mangani,
and encouragement and advice to the girl.

From tree to tree swung Meriem working ever upward toward the
smaller branches which would not bear the weight of her pursuers.
Faster and faster came the bull apes after her. The clutching
fingers of the foremost were almost upon her again and again,
but she eluded them by sudden bursts of speed or reckless
chances as she threw herself across dizzy spaces.

Slowly she was gaining her way to the greater heights where
safety lay, when, after a particularly daring leap, the swaying
branch she grasped bent low beneath her weight, nor whipped
upward again as it should have done. Even before the rending
sound which followed Meriem knew that she had misjudged the
strength of the limb. It gave slowly at first. Then there was a
ripping as it parted from the trunk. Releasing her hold Meriem
dropped among the foliage beneath, clutching for a new support.
She found it a dozen feet below the broken limb. She had
fallen thus many times before, so that she had no particular
terror of a fall--it was the delay which appalled her most, and
rightly, for scarce had she scrambled to a place of safety than
the body of the huge ape dropped at her side and a great, hairy
arm went about her waist.

Almost at once the other ape reached his companion's side.
He made a lunge at Meriem; but her captor swung her to one
side, bared his fighting fangs and growled ominously.
Meriem struggled to escape. She struck at the hairy breast
and bearded cheek. She fastened her strong, white teeth in
one shaggy forearm. The ape cuffed her viciously across the
face, then he had to turn his attention to his fellow who quite
evidently desired the prize for his own.

The captor could not fight to advantage upon the swaying bough,
burdened as he was by a squirming, struggling captive, so he
dropped quickly to the ground beneath. The other followed him,
and here they fought, occasionally abandoning their duel to
pursue and recapture the girl who took every advantage of her
captors' preoccupation in battle to break away in attempted
escape; but always they overtook her, and first one and then
the other possessed her as they struggled to tear one another
to pieces for the prize.

Often the girl came in for many blows that were intended for
a hairy foe, and once she was felled, lying unconscious while
the apes, relieved of the distraction of detaining her by force,
tore into one another in fierce and terrible combat.

Above them screamed the little monkeys, racing hither and thither
in a frenzy of hysterical excitement. Back and forth over the
battle field flew countless birds of gorgeous plumage, squawking
their hoarse cries of rage and defiance. In the distance a lion roared.

The larger bull was slowly tearing his antagonist to pieces.
They rolled upon the ground biting and striking. Again, erect
upon their hind legs they pulled and tugged like human wrestlers;
but always the giant fangs found their bloody part to play until
both combatants and the ground about them were red with gore.

Meriem, through it all, lay still and unconscious upon the ground.
At last one found a permanent hold upon the jugular of the other
and thus they went down for the last time. For several minutes
they lay with scarce a struggle. It was the larger bull who
arose alone from the last embrace. He shook himself. A deep
growl rumbled from his hairy throat. He waddled back and forth
between the body of the girl and that of his vanquished foe.
Then he stood upon the latter and gave tongue to his hideous challenge.
The little monkeys broke, screaming, in all directions as the
terrifying noise broke upon their ears. The gorgeous birds took
wing and fled. Once again the lion roared, this time at a
greater distance.

The great ape waddled once more to the girl's side. He turned
her over upon her back, and stooping commenced to sniff and
listen about her face and breast. She lived. The monkeys
were returning. They came in swarms, and from above hurled
down insults upon the victor.

The ape showed his displeasure by baring his teeth and growling
up at them. Then he stooped and lifting the girl to his shoulder
waddled off through the jungle. In his wake followed the angry mob.