Vengeance and Mercy

Tarzan the Untamed

by Edgar R. Burroughs

VENGEANCE AND MERCY, TARZAN THE UNTAMED by Edgar R. Burroughs
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It was an hour later that Sheeta, the panther, hunting,
chanced to glance upward into the blue sky where his at-
tention was attracted by Ska, the vulture, circling slowly
above the bush a mile away and downwind. For a long minute
the yellow eyes stared intently at the gruesome bird. They saw
Ska dive and rise again to continue his ominous circling and
in these movements their woodcraft read that which, while
obvious to Sheeta, would doubtless have meant nothing to
you or me.

The hunting cat guessed that on the ground beneath Ska
was some living thing of flesh -- either a beast feeding upon
its kill or a dying animal that Ska did not yet dare attack. In
either event it might prove meat for Sheeta, and so the wary
feline stalked by a circuitous route, upon soft, padded feet
that gave forth no sound, until the circling aasvogel> and his
intended prey were upwind. Then, sniffing each vagrant
zephyr, Sheeta, the panther, crept cautiously forward, nor
had he advanced any considerable distance before his keen
nostrils were rewarded with the scent of man -- a Tarmangani.

Sheeta paused. He was not a hunter of men. He was
young and in his prime; but always before he had avoided
this hated presence. Of late he had become more accustomed
to it with the passing of many soldiers through his ancient
hunting ground, and as the soldiers had frightened away a
great part of the game Sheeta had been wont to feed upon, the
days had been lean, and Sheeta was hungry.

The circling Ska suggested that this Tarmangani might be
helpless and upon the point of dying, else Ska would not have
been interested in him, and so easy prey for Sheeta. With
this thought in mind the cat resumed his stalking. Presently
he pushed through the thick bush and his yellow-green eyes
rested gloatingly upon the body of an almost naked Tarman-
gani lying face down in a narrow game trail.

Numa, sated, rose from the carcass of Bertha Kircher's
horse and seized the partially devoured body by the neck and
dragged it into the bush; then he started east toward the lair
where he had left his mate. Being uncomfortably full he was
inclined to be sleepy and far from belligerent. He moved
slowly and majestically with no effort at silence or conceal-
ment. The king walked abroad, unafraid.

With an occasional regal glance to right or left he moved
along a narrow game trail until at a turn he came to a sudden
stop at what lay revealed before him -- Sheeta, the panther,
creeping stealthily upon the almost naked body of a Tar-
mangani lying face down in the deep dust of the pathway.
Numa glared intently at the quiet body in the dust. Recog-
nition came. It was his Tarmangani. A low growl of warning
rumbled from his throat and Sheeta halted with one paw
upon Tarzan's back and turned suddenly to eye the intruder.

What passed within those savage brains? Who may say?
The panther seemed debating the wisdom of defending his
find, for he growled horribly as though warning Numa away
from the prey. And Numa? Was the idea of property rights
dominating his thoughts? The Tarmangani was his, or he
was the Tarmangani's. Had not the Great White Ape mas-
tered and subdued him and, too, had he not fed him? Numa
recalled the fear that he had felt of this man-thing and his
cruel spear; but in savage brains fear is more likely to en-
gender respect than hatred and so Numa found that he re-
spected the creature who had subdued and mastered him.
He saw Sheeta, upon whom he looked with contempt, daring
to molest the master of the lion. Jealousy and greed alone
might have been sufficient to prompt Numa to drive Sheeta
away, even though the lion was not sufficiently hungry to
devour the flesh that he thus wrested from the lesser cat; but
then, too, there was in the little brain within the massive head
a sense of loyalty, and perhaps this it was that sent Numa
quickly forward, growling, toward the spitting Sheeta.

For a moment the latter stood his ground with arched back
and snarling face, for all the world like a great, spotted tabby.

Numa had not felt like fighting; but the sight of Sheeta
daring to dispute his rights kindled his ferocious brain to
sudden fire. His rounded eyes glared with rage, his undulating
tail snapped to stiff erectness as, with a frightful roar, he
charged this presuming vassal.

It came so suddenly and from so short a distance that Sheeta
had no chance to turn and flee the rush, and so he met it with
raking talons and snapping jaws; but the odds were all against
him. To the larger fangs and the more powerful jaws of his
adversary were added huge talons and the preponderance of
the lion's great weight. At the first clash Sheeta was crushed
and, though he deliberately fell upon his back and drew up
his powerful hind legs beneath Numa with the intention of
disemboweling him, the lion forestalled him and at the same
time closed his awful jaws upon Sheeta's throat.

It was soon over. Numa rose, shaking himself, and stood
above the torn and mutilated body of his foe. His own sleek
coat was cut and the red blood trickled down his flank; though
it was but a minor injury, it angered him. He glared down
at the dead panther and then, in a fit of rage, he seized and
mauled the body only to drop it in a moment, lower his head,
voice a single terrific roar, and turn toward the ape-man.

Approaching the still form he sniffed it over from head to
foot. Then he placed a huge paw upon it and turned it over
with its face up. Again he smelled about the body and at
last with his rough tongue licked Tarzan's face. It was then
that Tarzan opened his eyes.

Above him towered the huge lion, its hot breath upon his
face, its rough tongue upon his cheek. The ape-man had
often been close to death; but never before so close as this,
he thought, for he was convinced that death was but a matter
of seconds. His brain was still numb from the effects of the
blow that had felled him, and so he did not, for a moment,
recognize the lion that stood over him as the one he had so
recently encountered.

Presently, however, recognition dawned upon him and with
it a realization of the astounding fact that Numa did not seem
bent on devouring him -- at least not immediately. His po-
sition was a delicate one. The lion stood astraddle Tarzan with
his front paws. The ape-man could not rise, therefore, without
pushing the lion away and whether Numa would tolerate
being pushed was an open question. Too, the beast might con-
sider him already dead and any movement that indicated the
contrary was true would, in all likelihood, arouse the killing
instinct of the man-eater.

But Tarzan was tiring of the situation. He was in no mood
to lie there forever, especially when he contemplated the fact
that the girl spy who had tried to brain him was undoubtedly
escaping as rapidly as possible.

Numa was looking right into his eyes now evidently aware
that he was alive. Presently the lion cocked his head on one
side and whined. Tarzan knew the note, and he knew that it
spelled neither rage nor hunger, and then he risked all on a
single throw, encouraged by that low whine.

"Move, Numa!" he commanded and placing a palm against
the tawny shoulder he pushed the lion aside. Then he rose
and with a hand on his hunting knife awaited that which might
follow. It was then that his eyes fell for the first time on the
torn body of Sheeta. He looked from the dead cat to the live
one and saw the marks of conflict upon the latter, too, and in
an instant realized something of what had happened -- Numa
had saved him from the panther!

It seemed incredible and yet the evidence pointed clearly to
the fact. He turned toward the lion and without fear ap-
proached and examined his wounds which he found super-
ficial, and as Tarzan knelt beside him Numa rubbed an itching
ear against the naked, brown shoulder. Then the ape-man
stroked the great head, picked up his spear, and looked about
for the trail of the girl. This he soon found leading toward the
east, and as he set out upon it something prompted him to feel
for the locket he had hung about his neck. It was gone!

No trace of anger was apparent upon the ape-man's face un-
less it was a slight tightening of the jaws; but he put his hand
ruefully to the back of his head where a bump marked the
place where the girl had struck him and a moment later a
half-smile played across his lips. He could not help but ad-
mit that she had tricked him neatly, and that it must have
taken nerve to do the thing she did and to set out armed only
with a pistol through the trackless waste that lay between
them and the railway and beyond into the hills where Wil-
helmstal lies.

Tarzan admired courage. He was big enough to admit it
and admire it even in a German spy, but he saw that in this
case it only added to her resourcefulness and made her all
the more dangerous and the necessity for putting her out of
the way paramount. He hoped to overtake her before she
reached Wilhelmstal and so he set out at the swinging trot that
he could hold for hours at a stretch without apparent fatigue.

That the girl could hope to reach the town on foot in less
than two days seemed improbable, for it was a good thirty
miles and part of it hilly. Even as the thought crossed his
mind he heard the whistle of a locomotive to the east and knew
that the railway was in operation again after a shutdown of
several days. If the train was going south the girl would sig-
nal it if she had reached the right of way. His keen ears
caught the whining of brake shoes on wheels and a few min-
utes later the signal blast for brakes off. The train had stopped
and started again and, as it gained headway and greater dis-
tance, Tarzan could tell from the direction of the sound that
it was moving south.

The ape-man followed the trail to the railway where it
ended abruptly on the west side of the track, showing that the
girl had boarded the train, just as he thought. There was
nothing now but to follow on to Wilhelmstal, where he hoped
to find Captain Fritz Schneider, as well as the girl, and to re-
cover his diamond-studded locket.

It was dark when Tarzan reached the little hill town of
Wilhelmstal. He loitered on the outskirts, getting his bear-
ings and trying to determine how an almost naked white man
might explore the village without arousing suspicion. There
were many soldiers about and the town was under guard, for
he could see a lone sentinel walking his post scarce a hundred
yards from him. To elude this one would not be difficult; but
to enter the village and search it would be practically impos-
sible, garbed, or ungarbed, as he was.

Creeping forward, taking advantage of every cover, lying
flat and motionless when the sentry's face was toward him, the
ape-man at last reached the sheltering shadows of an outhouse
just inside the lines. From there he moved stealthily from
building to building until at last he was discovered by a large
dog in the rear of one of the bungalows. The brute came
slowly toward him, growling. Tarzan stood motionless be-
side a tree. He could see a light in the bungalow and uni-
formed men moving about and he hoped that the dog would
not bark. He did not; but he growled more savagely and,
just at the moment that the rear door of the bungalow opened
and a man stepped out, the animal charged.

He was a large dog, as large as Dango, the hyena, and he
charged with all the vicious impetuosity of Numa, the lion.
As he came Tarzan knelt and the dog shot through the air for
his throat; but he was dealing with no man now and he found
his quickness more than matched by the quickness of the
Tarmangani. His teeth never reached the soft flesh -- strong
fingers, fingers of steel, seized his neck. He voiced a single
startled yelp and clawed at the naked breast before him with
his talons; but he was powerless. The mighty fingers closed
upon his throat; the man rose, snapped the clawing body once,
and cast it aside. At the same time a voice from the open
bungalow door called: "Simba!"

There was no response. Repeating the call the man de-
scended the steps and advanced toward the tree. In the light
from the doorway Tarzan could see that he was a tall, broad-
shouldered man in the uniform of a German officer. The ape-
man withdrew into the shadow of the tree's stem. The man
came closer, still calling the dog -- he did not see the savage
beast, crouching now in the shadow, awaiting him. When
he had approached within ten feet of the Tarmangani, Tarzan
leaped upon him -- as Sabor springs to the kill, so sprang the
ape-man. The momentum and weight of his body hurled
the German to the ground, powerful fingers prevented an out-
cry and, though the officer struggled, he had no chance and a
moment later lay dead beside the body of the dog.

As Tarzan stood for a moment looking down upon his kill
and regretting that he could not risk voicing his beloved vic-
tory cry, the sight of the uniform suggested a means whereby
he might pass to and fro through Wilhelmstal with the mini-
mum chance of detection. Ten minutes later a tall, broad-
shouldered officer stepped from the yard of the bungalow
leaving behind him the corpses of a dog and a naked man.

He walked boldly along the little street and those who
passed him could not guess that beneath Imperial Germany's
uniform beat a savage heart that pulsed with implacable
hatred for the Hun. Tarzan's first concern was to locate the
hotel, for here he guessed he would find the girl, and where
the girl was doubtless would be Hauptmann Fritz Schneider,
who was either her confederate, her sweetheart, or both, and
there, too, would be Tarzan's precious locket.

He found the hotel at last, a low, two-storied building with
a veranda. There were lights on both floors and people,
mostly officers, could be seen within. The ape-man considered
entering and inquiring for those he sought; but his better judg-
ment finally prompted him to reconnoiter first. Passing around
the building he looked into all the lighted rooms on the first
floor and, seeing neither of those for whom he had come, he
swung lightly to the roof of the veranda and continued his
investigations through windows of the second story.

At one corner of the hotel in a rear room the blinds were
drawn; but he heard voices within and once he saw a figure
silhouetted momentarily against the blind. It appeared to be
the figure of a woman; but it was gone so quickly that he could
not be sure. Tarzan crept close to the window and listened.
Yes, there was a woman there and a man -- he heard distinctly
the tones of their voices although he could overhear no words,
as they seemed to be whispering.

The adjoining room was dark. Tarzan tried the window
and found it unlatched. All was quiet within. He raised the
sash and listened again -- still silence. Placing a leg over the
sill he slipped within and hurriedly glanced about. The room
was vacant. Crossing to the door he opened it and looked out
into the hall. There was no one there, either, and he stepped
out and approached the door of the adjoining room where
the man and woman were.

Pressing close to the door he listened. Now he distinguished
words, for the two had raised their voices as though in argu-
ment. The woman was speaking.

"I have brought the locket," she said, "as was agreed upon
between you and General Kraut, as my identification. I carry
no other credentials. This was to be enough. You have noth-
ing to do but give me the papers and let me go."

The man replied in so low a tone that Tarzan could not
catch the words and then the woman spoke again -- a note of
scorn and perhaps a little of fear in her voice.

"You would not dare, Hauptmann Schneider," she said, and
then: "Do not touch me! Take your hands from me!"

It was then that Tarzan of the Apes opened the door and
stepped into the room. What he saw was a huge, bull-necked
German officer with one arm about the waist of Fraulein
Bertha Kircher and a hand upon her forehead pushing her
head back as he tried to kiss her on the mouth. The girl was
struggling against the great brute; but her efforts were futile.
Slowly the man's lips were coming closer to hers and slowly,
step by step, she was being carried backward.

Schneider heard the noise of the opening and closing door
behind him and turned. At sight of this strange officer he
dropped the girl and straightened up.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion, Lieutenant?" he de-
manded, noting the other's epaulettes. "Leave the room at
once."

Tarzan made no articulate reply; but the two there with
him heard a low growl break from those firm lips -- a growl
that sent a shudder through the frame of the girl and brought
a pallor to the red face of the Hun and his hand to his pistol
but even as he drew his weapon it was wrested from him and
hurled through the blind and window to the yard beyond.
Then Tarzan backed against the door and slowly removed the
uniform coat.

"You are Hauptmann Schneider," he said to the German.

"What of it?" growled the latter.

"I am Tarzan of the Apes," replied the ape-man. "Now you
know why I intrude."

The two before him saw that he was naked beneath the
coat which he threw upon the floor and then he slipped quickly
from the trousers and stood there clothed only in his loin cloth.
The girl had recognized him by this time, too.

"Take your hand off that pistol," Tarzan admonished her.
Her hand dropped at her side. "Now come here!"

She approached and Tarzan removed the weapon and
hurled it after the other. At the mention of his name Tarzan
had noted the sickly pallor that overspread the features of the
Hun. At last he had found the right man. At last his mate
would be partially avenged -- never could she be entirely
avenged. Life was too short and there were too many Germans.

"What do you want of me?" demanded Schneider.

"You are going to pay the price for the thing you did at the
little bungalow in the Waziri country," replied the ape-man.

Schneider commenced to bluster and threaten. Tarzan turned
the key in the lock of the door and hurled the former through
the window after the pistols. Then he turned to the girl. "Keep
out of the way," he said in a low voice. "Tarzan of the Apes
is going to kill."

The Hun ceased blustering and began to plead. "I have a
wife and children at home," he cried. "I have done nothing,"
I --"

"You are going to die as befits your kind," said Tarzan,
"with blood on your hands and a lie on your lips." He started
across the room toward the burly Hauptmann. Schneider was
a large and powerful man -- about the height of the ape-man
but much heavier. He saw that neither threats nor pleas would
avail him and so he prepared to fight as a cornered rat fights
for its life with all the maniacal rage, cunning, and ferocity
that the first law of nature imparts to many beasts.

Lowering his bull head he charged for the ape-man and
in the center of the floor the two clinched. There they stood
locked and swaying for a moment until Tarzan succeeded in
forcing his antagonist backward over a table which crashed to
the floor, splintered by the weight of the two heavy bodies.

The girl stood watching the battle with wide eyes. She saw
the two men rolling hither and thither across the floor and she
heard with horror the low growls that came from the lips of
the naked giant. Schneider was trying to reach his foe's
throat with his fingers while, horror of horrors, Bertha Kircher
could see that the other was searching for the German's
jugular with his teeth!

Schneider seemed to realize this too, for he redoubled his
efforts to escape and finally succeeded in rolling over on top
of the ape-man and breaking away. Leaping to his feet he ran
for the window; but the ape-man was too quick for him and
before he could leap through the sash a heavy hand fell upon
his shoulder and he was jerked back and hurled across the
room to the opposite wall. There Tarzan followed him, and
once again they locked, dealing each other terrific blows,
until Schneider in a piercing voice screamed, "Kamerad!
Kamerad!"

Tarzan grasped the man by the throat and drew his hunting
knife. Schneider's back was against the wall so that though
his knees wobbled he was held erect by the ape-man. Tarzan
brought the sharp point to the lower part of the German's
abdomen.

"Thus you slew my mate," he hissed in a terrible voice.
"Thus shall you die!"

The girl staggered forward. "Oh, God, no!" she cried.
"Not that. You are too brave -- you cannot be such a beast as
that!"

Tarzan turned at her. "No," he said, "you are right, I cannot
do it -- I am no German," and he raised the point of his blade
and sunk it deep into the putrid heart of Hauptmann Fritz
Schneider, putting a bloody period to the Hun's last gasping
cry: "I did not do it! She is not --"

Then Tarzan turned toward the girl and held out his hand.
"Give me my locket," he said.

She pointed toward the dead officer. "He has it." Tarzan
searched him and found the trinket. "Now you may give me
the papers," he said to the girl, and without a word she handed
him a folded document.

For a long time he stood looking at her before ho spoke
again.

"I came for you, too," he said. "It would be difficult to take
you back from here and so I was going to kill you, as I have
sworn to kill all your kind; but you were right when you said
that I was not such a beast as that slayer of women. I could
not slay him as he slew mine, nor can I slay you, who are a
woman."

He crossed to the window, raised the sash and an instant
later he had stepped out and disappeared into the night. And
then Fraulein Bertha Kircher stepped quickly to the corpse
upon the floor, slipped her hand inside the blouse and drew
forth a little sheaf of papers which she tucked into her waist
before she went to the window and called for help.