There were no white officers there, but it was none the less apparent
to Tarzan that these men were from some German native command,
and he guessed that they had slain their officers and taken to the
jungle with their women, or had stolen some from native villages
through which they must have passed. It was evident that they were
putting as much ground between themselves and the coast as possible
and doubtless were seeking some impenetrable fastness of the vast
interior where they might inaugurate a reign of terror among the
primitively armed inhabitants and by raiding, looting, and rape
grow rich in goods and women at the expense of the district upon
which they settled themselves.
Between two of the black women marched a slender white girl. She
was hatless and with torn and disheveled clothing that had evidently
once been a trim riding habit. Her coat was gone and her waist half
torn from her body. Occasionally and without apparent provocation
one or the other of the Negresses struck or pushed her roughly.
Tarzan watched through half-closed eyes. His first impulse was to
leap among them and bear the girl from their cruel clutches. He had
recognized her immediately and it was because of this fact that he
hesitated.
What was it to Tarzan of the Apes what fate befell this enemy
spy? He had been unable to kill her himself because of an inherent
weakness that would not permit him to lay hands upon a woman, all
of which of course had no bearing upon what others might do to
her.
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