The king ape fell upon his head
and lay very still.
"I am Tarzan of the Apes!" cried the ape-man. "I come to dance the
Dum-Dum with my brothers," and he made a motion to the drummers,
who immediately took up the cadence of the dance where they had
dropped it to watch their king slay the foolish Tarmangani.
It was then that Go-lat raised his head and slowly crawled to his
feet. Tarzan approached him. "I am Tarzan of the Apes," he cried.
"Shall Tarzan dance the Dum-Dum with his brothers now, or shall he
kill first?"
Go-lat raised his bloodshot eyes to the face of the Tarmangani.
"Kagoda!" he cried "Tarzan of the Apes will dance the Dum-Dum with
his brothers and Go-lat will dance with him!"
And then the girl in the tree saw the savage man leaping, bending, and
stamping with the savage apes in the ancient rite of the Dum-Dum.
His roars and growls were more beastly than the beasts. His
handsome face was distorted with savage ferocity. He beat upon his
great breast and screamed forth his challenge as his smooth, brown
hide brushed the shaggy coats of his fellows. It was weird; it
was wonderful; and in its primitive savagery it was not without
beauty--the strange scene she looked upon, such a scene as no other
human being, probably, ever had witnessed--and yet, withal, it was
horrible.
As she gazed, spell-bound, a stealthy movement in the tree behind
her caused her to turn her head, and there, back of her, blazing
in the reflected moonlight, shone two great, yellow-green eyes.
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