He could not even judge accurately as to the distance it might
lie from him, and he knew that from the moment that it disappeared
beyond the hills it might have traveled a considerable distance at
right angles to its original course before it crashed to earth. If
its occupants were killed or badly injured the ape-man might search
futilely in their immediate vicinity for some time before finding
them.
There was but one thing to do and that was to travel to a point
as close as possible to where he judged the plane had landed, and
then to follow in ever-widening circles until he picked up their
scent spoor. And this he did.
Before he left the valley of plenty he made several kills and
carried the choicest cuts of meat with him, leaving all the dead
weight of bones behind. The dense vegetation of the jungle terminated
at the foot of the western slope, growing less and less abundant
as he neared the summit beyond which was a sparse growth of sickly
scrub and sunburned grasses, with here and there a gnarled and hardy
tree that had withstood the vicissitudes of an almost waterless
existence.
From the summit of the hills Tarzan's keen eyes searched the arid
landscape before him. In the distance he discerned the ragged
tortuous lines that marked the winding course of the hideous gorges
which scored the broad plain at intervals--the terrible gorges that
had so nearly claimed his life in punishment for his temerity in
attempting to invade the sanctity of their ancient solitude.
Pages:
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273