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 approached and
examined his wounds which he found superficial, 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 unless 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 admit 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 Wilhelmstal lies.
Pages:
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125