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 descended 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 outcry 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 victory cry, the sight
of the uniform suggested a means whereby he might pass to and
fro through Wilhelmstal with the minimum chance of detection.
Pages:
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128