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17 - The Torture of Fire · Tarzan and the Golden Lion

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  Speaker 1: Chapter seventeen, The Torture of Fire Flora Hawks and her
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  Speaker 1: four confederates, pursued by Luvini and his two hundred warriors,
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  Speaker 1: stumbled through the darkness of the jungle night. They had
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  Speaker 1: no objective for guided entirely as they had been by
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  Speaker 1: the Blacks, they knew not where they were and were
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  Speaker 1: completely lost. The sole idea dominating the mind of each
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  Speaker 1: was to put as much distance between themselves and the
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  Speaker 1: camp of the Ivory Raiders as possible, for no matter
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  Speaker 1: what the outcome of the battle there might have been,
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  Speaker 1: their fate would be the same should the victorious party
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  Speaker 1: capture them. They had stumbled on for perhaps half an
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  Speaker 1: hour when during a momentary rest, they heard plainly behind
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  Speaker 1: them the sound of pursuit, and again they plunged on
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  Speaker 1: in their aimless flight of terror. Presently, to their surprise
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  Speaker 1: they discerned the glow of a light ahead. What could
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  Speaker 1: it be? Had they made a complete circle, and was
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  Speaker 1: this again the camp they had been fleeing. They pushed
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  Speaker 1: on to reconnoiter, until at last they saw before them
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  Speaker 1: the outlines of a camp surrounded by a thorn boma,
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  Speaker 1: in the center of which was burning a small camp fire.
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  Speaker 1: About the fire were congregated half a hundred black warriors,
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  Speaker 1: and as the fugitives crept closer, they saw among the
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  Speaker 1: blacks of face, you're standing out clearly in the light
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  Speaker 1: of the camp fire, a white woman. And behind them
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  Speaker 1: rose louder and louder the sound of pursuit. From the
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  Speaker 1: gestures and gesticulations of the blacks around the campfire, it
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  Speaker 1: was evident that they were discussing the sounds of the
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  Speaker 1: battle they had recently heard in the direction of the
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  Speaker 1: raiders camp, for they often pointed in that direction. And
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  Speaker 1: now the woman raised her hand for silence, and they
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  Speaker 1: all listened, and it was evident that they too heard
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  Speaker 1: the coming of the warriors who were pursuing Flora Hawks
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  Speaker 1: and her confederates. There is a white woman there, said
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  Speaker 1: Flora to the others. We do not know who she is,
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  Speaker 1: but she is our only hope. For those who are
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  Speaker 1: pursuing us will overtake us quickly. Perhaps this woman will
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  Speaker 1: protect us. Come. I am going to find out. And
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  Speaker 1: without waiting for an answer, she walked boldly toward the Boma.
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  Speaker 1: They had come but a short distance when the keen
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  Speaker 1: eyes of the Waziri discovered them. And instantly the boma
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  Speaker 1: wall was ringed with bristling spears. Stop, cried one of
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  Speaker 1: the warriors. We are the Wazii of Tarzan. Who are you?
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  Speaker 1: I am an englishwoman called Flora in reply, I and
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  Speaker 1: my companions are lost in the jungle. We have been
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  Speaker 1: betrayed by our Our headman is pursuing us now with warriors.
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  Speaker 1: There are but five of us, and we asked your protection.
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  Speaker 1: Let them come, said Jane to the Waziri. As Flora
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  Speaker 1: Hawks and the four men entered the boma. Beneath the
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  Speaker 1: scrutiny of Jane Clayton and the Waziri, another pair of
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  Speaker 1: eyes watched from the foliage of the great tree that
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  Speaker 1: overhung the camp upon the opposite side, gray eyes, to
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  Speaker 1: which a strange light came as they recognized the girl
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  Speaker 1: and her companions. As the newcomers approached Lady Greystoke, the
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  Speaker 1: latter gave an exclamation of surprise. Flora, She said, in astonishment,
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  Speaker 1: Flora Hawks, what in the world are you doing here?
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  Speaker 1: The girl startled too, came to a full stop. Lady Greystoake,
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  Speaker 1: she ejaculated. I do not understand, continued Lady Greystoak, I
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  Speaker 1: do not know that you were in Africa. For a
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  Speaker 1: moment the globe. Flora was overcome by consternation, but presently
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  Speaker 1: her native wit came to her assistance. I am here
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  Speaker 1: with mister Blueber and his friends, she said, who came
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  Speaker 1: to make scientific researches and brought me along because I
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  Speaker 1: had been to Africa with you and Lord Greystoke and
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  Speaker 1: knew something of the manners and customs of the Cuny.
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  Speaker 1: And now our boys have turned against us, and unless
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  Speaker 1: you can help us, we are lost. Are they West
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  Speaker 1: Coast boys, asked Jane, Yes, replied Flora. I think my
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  Speaker 1: Wazii can handle them. How many of them are there?
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  Speaker 1: About two hundred, said Kraskey. Lady Greystoke shook her head.
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  Speaker 1: The odds are pretty heavy, she commented, and then she
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  Speaker 1: called to Usola, who was in charge. There are two
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  Speaker 1: hundred West Coast boys coming after these people, she said.
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  Speaker 1: We shall have to fight to defend them. We are Waziri,
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  Speaker 1: replied Usla simply, and a moment later, the van of
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  Speaker 1: Luvini's forces broke into view at the outer rim of
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  Speaker 1: the camp fire's reach. At sight of the glistening warriors
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  Speaker 1: ready to receive them, the West coast boys halted Luvini,
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  Speaker 1: taking in the inferior numbers of the enemy at a glance,
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  Speaker 1: stepped forward a few paces ahead of his men, and
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  Speaker 1: commenced to shout taunts and insults, demanding the return of
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  Speaker 1: the whites to him. He accompanied his words with frantic
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  Speaker 1: and grotesque steps, at the same time waving his rifle
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  Speaker 1: and shaking his fist. Presently, his followers took up his refrain,
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  Speaker 1: until the whole band of two hundred was shrieking and
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  Speaker 1: yelling and threatening while they leaped up down as they
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  Speaker 1: work themselves into a frenzy of excitement that would impart
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  Speaker 1: to them the courage necessary for the initiating of a charge.
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  Speaker 1: The Waziri behind the Boma Wall, schooled and disciplined by
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  Speaker 1: Tarzan of the Apes, had long since discarded the fantastic
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  Speaker 1: overture to battle so dear to the hearts of other
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  Speaker 1: warlike tribes, and instead stood stolid and grim, awaiting the
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  Speaker 1: coming of the foe. They have a number of rifles,
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  Speaker 1: commented Lady Greystoke. That looks rather bad for us. There
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  Speaker 1: are not over half a dozen who can hit anything
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  Speaker 1: with their rifles, said Krasky. You men are all armed.
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  Speaker 1: Take your places among my waziri. Warn your men to
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  Speaker 1: go away and leave us alone. Do not fire until
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  Speaker 1: they attack, But at the first overt act, commence firing
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  Speaker 1: and keep it up. There is nothing that so discourages
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  Speaker 1: a West coast black as the rifle fire of white men.
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  Speaker 1: Flora and I will remain at the back of the camp,
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  Speaker 1: near that great tree. She spoke authoritatively, as one who
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  Speaker 1: is accustomed to command and knows whereof she speaks. The
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  Speaker 1: men obeyed her, even Bluebir, though he trembled pitiably as
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  Speaker 1: he moved forward to take his place in the front
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  Speaker 1: ranks among the Waziri. Their move and the light of
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  Speaker 1: the camp fire were plainly discernible to Luvini and also
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  Speaker 1: to the other who watched from the foliage of the
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  Speaker 1: tree beneath which Jane Clayton and Flora Hawks took refuge.
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  Speaker 1: Luvini had not come to fight. He had come to
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  Speaker 1: capture Flora Hawks. He turned to his men. There are
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  Speaker 1: only fifty of them, he said, We can kill them easily.
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  Speaker 1: But we did not come to make war. We came
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  Speaker 1: to get the white girl back again. Stay here and
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  Speaker 1: make a great show against those sons of jackals, keep
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  Speaker 1: them always looking at you, advance a little and then
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  Speaker 1: fall back again. And while you are thus keeping their
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  Speaker 1: attention attracted in this direction, I will take fifty men
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  Speaker 1: and go to the rear of their camp and get
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  Speaker 1: the white girl. And when I have her, I will
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  Speaker 1: send word to you, and immediately you can return to
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  Speaker 1: the village, where behind the palisade we shall be safe
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  Speaker 1: against a tech Now this plan well suited the West
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  Speaker 1: Coast Blacks, who had no stomach for the battle looming
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  Speaker 1: so imminent. And so they danced and yelled and menaced
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  Speaker 1: more vociferously than before, for they felt they were doing
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  Speaker 1: it all with perfect impunity, since presently they should retire
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  Speaker 1: after a bloodless victory to the safety of their palisade.
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  Speaker 1: As Luvini, making a dar crept through the concealment of
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  Speaker 1: the dense jungles to the rear of the camp, while
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  Speaker 1: the den of the West Coast Blacks arose to almost
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  Speaker 1: deafening proportions. There dropped suddenly to the ground before the
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  Speaker 1: two white women. From the tree above them the figure
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  Speaker 1: of a white giant, naked except for loincloth and leopard skin,
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  Speaker 1: his godlike contour picked out by the flickering light of
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  Speaker 1: the beast fire, John exclaimed, Lady Greystoak, thank god it
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  Speaker 1: is you, sh cautioned the white giant, placing a forefinger
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  Speaker 1: to his lips. And then suddenly he wheeled upon flora hawks.
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  Speaker 1: Eat these you a want, he cried, and seizing the girl,
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  Speaker 1: he threw her lightly across his shoulders, and before Lady
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  Speaker 1: Greystoke could interfere, before she half realized what had occurred,
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  Speaker 1: he had lightly leaped the protecting boma in the rear
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  Speaker 1: of the camp and disappeared into the jungle beyond. For
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  Speaker 1: a moment, Jane Clayton stood reeling as one stunned by
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  Speaker 1: an unexpected blow, and then with a stifled moan, she
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  Speaker 1: sank sobbing to the ground, her face buried in her arms.
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  Speaker 1: It was thus that Luvini and his warriors found her,
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  Speaker 1: as they crept stealthily over the boma and into the
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  Speaker 1: camp in the rear of the defenders, upon the opposite
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  Speaker 1: side of the beast fire. They come for a white woman,
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  Speaker 1: and they had found one, and roughly dragging her to
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  Speaker 1: her feet, smothering her cries with rough and filthy palms,
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  Speaker 1: they bore her out into the jungle toward the pallisaded
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  Speaker 1: village of the Ivory Raiders. Ten minutes later, the white
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  Speaker 1: Men and the Waziri saw the West Coast Blacks retire
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  Speaker 1: slowly into the jungle, still yelling and threatening, as though
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  Speaker 1: bent on the total annihilation of their enemies. The battle
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  Speaker 1: was over without a shot being fired or a spear hurled.
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  Speaker 1: Lie me, said Throc, What was all that Bloman fuss about? Anyhow?
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  Speaker 1: I thought they was going to hate us up and
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  Speaker 1: the blot has never done nothing but yell, and here
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  Speaker 1: we are. And that's that. The juice swalled out his chest.
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  Speaker 1: It takes more than a bunch of neggers to bluff
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  Speaker 1: Adolf Blueber, he said pompously. Kresky looked after the departing
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  Speaker 1: Blacks and then, scratching his head, turned back toward the
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  Speaker 1: camp fire. I can't understand it, he said. And then
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  Speaker 1: suddenly we're a Flora and lady Greystok. It was then
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  Speaker 1: that they discovered that the two women were missing. The
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  Speaker 1: Wazir were frantic. They called the name of their mistress aloud,
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  Speaker 1: but there was no reply. Come cried Usla. We the
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  Speaker 1: Waziri shall fight after all, and running to the Boma it, and,
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  Speaker 1: followed by his fifty blacks, set out in pursuit of
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  Speaker 1: the West Coast boys. It was but a moment or
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  Speaker 1: two before they overtook them, but that which ensued resembled
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  Speaker 1: more a route than a battle. Fleeing and terror toward
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  Speaker 1: their palisade with the Waziri at their heels, the West
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  Speaker 1: Coast Blacks threw away their rifles that they might run
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  Speaker 1: the faster, but Lavigni and his party had had sufficient
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  Speaker 1: starts so that they were able to reach the village
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  Speaker 1: and gain the safety of the palisade before pursued, and
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  Speaker 1: pursuers reached it. Once inside the gate, the defenders made
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  Speaker 1: a stand, for they realized that if the Waziri entered,
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  Speaker 1: they should all be massacred, and so they fought as
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  Speaker 1: a cornered rat will fight, with the result that they
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  Speaker 1: managed to hold off the attackers until they could close
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  Speaker 1: and bar the gate. Built as it had been as
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  Speaker 1: a defense against far greater numbers, the village was easy
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  Speaker 1: to defend, where there were less than fifty Waziri now
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  Speaker 1: and nearly two hundred fighting men within the village to
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  Speaker 1: defend it against them. Realizing the futility of blind attack,
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  Speaker 1: Usula withdrew his forces a short distance from the palisade,
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  Speaker 1: and there they squatted, their fierce, scowling faces glaring at
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  Speaker 1: the gateway, while Usula pondered schemes for outwitting the enemy,
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  Speaker 1: which he realized he could not overcome by force alone.
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  Speaker 1: It is only lady Greystoke that we want, he said.
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  Speaker 1: Vengeance can wait until another day. But we do not
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  Speaker 1: know that she is within the village, reminded one of
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  Speaker 1: his men. Where else could she be, then asked Usela.
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  Speaker 1: It is true that you may be right, she may
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  Speaker 1: not be within the village, but that I intend to
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  Speaker 1: find out. I have a plan. See the wind is
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  Speaker 1: from the opposite side of the village. Ten of you
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  Speaker 1: will accompany me. The others will advance again before the
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  Speaker 1: gate and make much noise and pretend that you are
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  Speaker 1: about to attack. After a while, the gate will open
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  Speaker 1: and they will come out that I promise you. I
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  Speaker 1: will try to be here before that happens. But if
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  Speaker 1: I am not, divide into two parties and stand upon
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  Speaker 1: either side of the gateway and let the West Coast
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  Speaker 1: Blacks escape. We do not care for them, watch only
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  Speaker 1: for Lady Greystoke. And when you see her, take her
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  Speaker 1: away from those who guard her. Do you understand? His
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  Speaker 1: companions nodded. Then come, he said, and, selecting ten men,
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  Speaker 1: disappeared into the jungle. Luvinia carried Jane Clayton to a
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  Speaker 1: hut not far from the gateway to the village. Here
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  Speaker 1: he had bound her securely and tied her to a stake,
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  Speaker 1: still believing that she was Flora Hawks, and then he
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  Speaker 1: left her to hurry back toward the gate that he
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  Speaker 1: might take command of his forces in defense of the village.
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  Speaker 1: So rapidly had the events of the past hour transpired
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  Speaker 1: that Jane Clayton was still half dazed from the series
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  Speaker 1: of shocks that she had been called upon to endure,
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  Speaker 1: dwarfing to nothingness. The menace of her present position was
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  Speaker 1: the remembrance that her Tarzan had deserted her in her
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  Speaker 1: hour of need and carried off into the jungle another woman.
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  Speaker 1: Not even the remembrance of what Usula had told her
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  Speaker 1: concerning the accident that Tarzan had sustained and which supposedly
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  Speaker 1: again had affected his memory, could reconcile her to the
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  Speaker 1: brutality of his desertion. And now she lay face down
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  Speaker 1: in the filth of the Arab hut sobbing, as she
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  Speaker 1: had not for many years. As she lay there, torn
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  Speaker 1: by grief, Usula and his tin crept stealthily and silently
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  Speaker 1: around the outside of the palisade to the rear of
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  Speaker 1: the village. Here they found great quantities of dead brush
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  Speaker 1: left from the clearing which the Arabs had made when
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  Speaker 1: constructing their village. This they brought and piled along the
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  Speaker 1: palisade close against it, until nearly three quarters of the
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  Speaker 1: palisade upon the side of the village was banked high
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  Speaker 1: with it. Finding that it was difficult to prosecute their
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  Speaker 1: work in silence, Usula despatched one of his men to
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  Speaker 1: the main body upon the opposite side of the village,
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  Speaker 1: with instructions that they were to keep up a continuous
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  Speaker 1: din of shouting to drown the sound of the operations
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  Speaker 1: of their fellows. The plan worked to perfection, Yet, even
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  Speaker 1: though it permitted usulain his companions to labor with redoubled efforts,
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  Speaker 1: it was more than an hour before the brush pile
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  Speaker 1: was disposed. To his satisfaction, Luvini, from an aperture in
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  Speaker 1: the palisade, watched the main body of the Waziri, who
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  Speaker 1: were now revealed by the rising of the moon, and
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  Speaker 1: finally he came to the conclusion that they did not
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  Speaker 1: intend to attack that night, and therefore he might relax
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  Speaker 1: his watchfulness and utilize the time in another and more
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  Speaker 1: agreeable manner, instructing the bulk of his warriors to remain
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  Speaker 1: near the gate and ever upon the alert with orders
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  Speaker 1: that he besummoned. The moment that the Waziri showed any
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  Speaker 1: change in attitude, Luvini repaired to the hut in which
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  Speaker 1: he had left Lady Greystoak. The Black was a huge
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  Speaker 1: fellow with low receding forehead and prognathous jaw, a type
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  Speaker 1: of the lowest form of African negro. As he entered
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  Speaker 1: the hut with a lighted torch, which he stuck in
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  Speaker 1: the floor, his bloodshot eyes gazed greedily at the still
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  Speaker 1: form of the woman lying prone before him. He licked
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  Speaker 1: his thick lips, and, coming closer, reached out and touched her.
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  Speaker 1: Jane Clayton looked up and, recoiling and revulsion, shrunk away
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  Speaker 1: at sight of the woman's face. The Black looked his surprise.
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  Speaker 1: Who are you? He demanded in the Pigeon English of
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  Speaker 1: the coast. I am Lady Greystoke, wife of Tarzan of
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  Speaker 1: the Apes, replied Jane Clayton. If you are wise, you
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  Speaker 1: will release me at once. Surprise and terror showed in
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  Speaker 1: the eyes of Luvini, and another emotion as well, but
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  Speaker 1: which could dominate the muddy brain. It was difficult then
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  Speaker 1: to tell. For a long time he sat gazing at her,
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  Speaker 1: and slowly the greedy, gloating expression upon his face dominated
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  Speaker 1: and expunged the fear that had at first been written
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  Speaker 1: there and in the change, Jane Clayton read her doom
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  Speaker 1: with fumbling fingers. Luvini and tied the knots of the
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  Speaker 1: bonds that held Jane Clayton's wrists and ankles. She felt
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  Speaker 1: his hot breath upon her, and saw his bloodshot eyes
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  Speaker 1: and the red tongue that momentarily licked the thick lips.
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  Speaker 1: The instant that she felt the last throng with which
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  Speaker 1: she was tied fall away. She leaped to her feet
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  Speaker 1: and sprang for the entrance to the hut, But a
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  Speaker 1: great hand reached forth and seized her, and as Luvini
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  Speaker 1: dragged her back toward him, she wheeled like a mad
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  Speaker 1: tigress and struck repeatedly at his grinning, ugly face. By
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  Speaker 1: brute force, ruthless and indomitable, he beat down her weak resistance,
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  Speaker 1: and slowly and surely dragged her closer to him. Oblivious
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  Speaker 1: to aught else, deaf to the cries of the Waziri
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  Speaker 1: before the gate, and to the sudden new commotion that
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  Speaker 1: arose in the village, the two struggled on the woman
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  Speaker 1: from the first for doomed to defeat against the rear palisade,
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Usula had already put burning torches to his brush pile
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  Speaker 1: at half a dozen different places. The flames, fanned by
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  Speaker 1: a gentle jungle breeze, had leaped almost immediately into a
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  Speaker 1: roaring conflagration, before which the dry wood of the palisade
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  Speaker 1: crumbled in a shower of ruddy sparks, which the wind
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  Speaker 1: carried to the thatched roofs of the huts beyond, until
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  Speaker 1: in an incredibly short period of time the village was
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  Speaker 1: a roaring inferno of flames, and even as Usula had predicted,
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  Speaker 1: the gate swung open, and the West Coast Blacks swarmed
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  Speaker 1: forth in terror toward the jungle. Upon either side of
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: the gateway. The Waziri stood looking for their mistress. But
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  Speaker 1: though they waited and watched in silence until no more
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  Speaker 1: came from the gateway of the village, and until the
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  Speaker 1: interior of the palisade was a seething hill of fire,
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  Speaker 1: they saw nothing of her. Long after they were convinced
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  Speaker 1: that no human being could remain alive in the village,
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  Speaker 1: they still waited and hoped. But at last Usula gave
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  Speaker 1: up the useless vigil. She was never there, he said,
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  Speaker 1: And now we must pursue the blacks and capture some
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  Speaker 1: of them, from whom we may learn the whereabouts of
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  Speaker 1: Lady Greystoke. It was daylight before they came upon a
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  Speaker 1: small band of stragglers who were in camp a few
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  Speaker 1: miles toward the west. These they quickly surrounded, winning their
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  Speaker 1: immediate surrender by promises of immunity in event that they
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  Speaker 1: would answer truthfully the questions that Usula should propound. Where
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  Speaker 1: is Luvini, demanded Usula, who had learned the name of
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  Speaker 1: the leader of the West Coast Boys from the Europeans
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: the evening before. We do not know. We have not
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: seen him since he left the village, replied one of
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: the blacks. We were some of the slaves of the Arabs.
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: And when we escaped the palisade last night, we ran
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: away from the others, but we thought that we should
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: be safeer alone than with Luvini. He is even crueler
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: than the Arabs. Did you see the white women that
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: he brought to the camp last night? Demanded Usola. He
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: brought but one white woman, replied the other. What did
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: he do with her? Where is she? Now, asked Usila.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: I do not know when he brought her. He bound
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: her hand and foot and put her in the hut
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: which he occupied near the village gate. We have not
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: seen her since. Usula turned and looked at his companions.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: A great fear was in his eyes, a fear that
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: was reflected in the countenances of the others. Come, he said,
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: we shall return to the village, and you will go
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: with us, he added, addressing the west coast blacks. And
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: if you have lied to us, he made a significant
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: movement with his forefinger across his throat. We have not
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: lied to you, replied the others. Quickly they retraced their
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: steps toward the ruins of the Arab village, nothing of
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: which was left save a few piles of smoldering embers,
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: where was the hut in which the white woman was confined,
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: demanded Usla. As they entered the smoking ruins, Here, said
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: one of the blacks, and walked quickly a few paces
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: beyond what had been the village gateway. Suddenly he halted
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: and pointed at something which lay upon the ground. There,
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: he said, is the white woman you seek? Usula and
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: the others pressed forward, raging grief contended for mastery of
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: them as they beheld lying before them. The charred remains
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: of a human body, it is, she said Usa, turning
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: away to hide his grief as the tears rolled down
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: his ebb and cheeks. The other Waziri were equally affected,
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: for they all had loved the mate of the big Wanna.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: Perhaps it is not, she suggested one of them. Perhaps
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: it is another, we can tell, quickly, cried a third.
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: If her rings are among the ashes, it is indeed,
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: she and he knelt and searched for the rings which
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: lady Greystoke habitually wore. Usla shook his head despairingly. It
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: is she, he said, There is the very stake to
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: which she was fastened. He pointed to the blackened stub
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: of a stake close beside the body. And as for
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: the rings, even if they are not there, it will
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: mean nothing, for Lavini would have taken them away from
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: her as soon as he captured her. There was time
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: for every one else to leave the village, except she,
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: who was bound and could not leave. No, it cannot
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: be another. The Waziri scooped a shallow grave and reverently
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: deposited the ashes there, marking the spot with a little
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: cairn of stones. End of chapter