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11 - Tarzan Twins by Edgar Rice Burroughs · Tarzan Twins

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  Speaker 1: Chapter ten. The twins and a Kundo had not long
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  Speaker 1: to wait before Pabu returned, as he had promised, bringing
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  Speaker 1: weapons to them. His terror was quite real when he
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  Speaker 1: received Doc's pocket knife and payment of his services, but
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  Speaker 1: his ambition to become a great witch doctor overcame his fears,
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  Speaker 1: and it was a proud, though frightened Pabu who sneaked
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  Speaker 1: away in the darkness, clutching the big medicine tightly in
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  Speaker 1: one grimy paw. About the village fires, the boys could
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  Speaker 1: see the natives eating and drinking, while Intamo, clothed in
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  Speaker 1: all hideous and grotesque finery of his profession, danced weirdly
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  Speaker 1: in the firelight, sprinkling powder in the various cooking pots
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  Speaker 1: and making strange passes above them with a stick to
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  Speaker 1: which was fastened the brush from the tail of a buffalo.
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  Speaker 1: Ukundo told them that in Tamo was making medicine to
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  Speaker 1: frighten the demons away from the pots in which bollala
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  Speaker 1: would be cooked on the morrow, and that the real
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  Speaker 1: festivities would not commence until the following night. There was
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  Speaker 1: little dancing in the village that night, and after Intamo
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  Speaker 1: had completed his ceremony, the blacks commenced to retire to
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  Speaker 1: their huts, and soon the village street was deserted. All
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  Speaker 1: the fires were banked, with the exception of one. The
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  Speaker 1: village was quite dark. The moment was approaching when the
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  Speaker 1: boys could make their long deferred attempt to escape in
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  Speaker 1: low whispers. They had been discussing their plans with a
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  Speaker 1: condo all the evening. Now it was only a matter
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  Speaker 1: of waiting until they felt sure that the entire village
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  Speaker 1: was asleep. They had distributed the weapons brought them by Pabu,
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  Speaker 1: and the feeling of them in their hands seemed to
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  Speaker 1: impart a new courage and almost to insure the success
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  Speaker 1: of their venture. Golly said Dick, presently, don't you suppose
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  Speaker 1: they're asleep yet? Better wait a little longer, counseled Doc,
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  Speaker 1: this is our only chance and we just can't fail.
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  Speaker 1: At that moment, they saw a figure emerge from one
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  Speaker 1: of the huts and come toward them. There, said Doc,
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  Speaker 1: what did I tell you? The figure approached at a
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  Speaker 1: brisk walk, and the three hid their weapons as best
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  Speaker 1: they could, putting them on the ground and squatting in
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  Speaker 1: front of them, but keeping them within reach, for there
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  Speaker 1: was something sinister about this silent figure advancing through the
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  Speaker 1: sleeping village. The sickly light of a single dying camp
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  Speaker 1: fire dimly outlined the approaching figure, which the waiting captives
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  Speaker 1: could see, was that of a large warrior, in whose
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  Speaker 1: right hand swung a short, heavy knob carry What could
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  Speaker 1: it be? What was his mission? In the dead of night?
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  Speaker 1: He was almost upon them before he perceived them huddled
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  Speaker 1: just outside the entrance of their hut. His surprise at
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  Speaker 1: seeing them there was evident, for he stopped suddenly with
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  Speaker 1: an angry grunt. Why are you not in your hut?
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  Speaker 1: He demanded in a hoarse whisper, which is the white boy? Witch? Doctor?
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  Speaker 1: I would speak with him? It was in Tomo. The
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  Speaker 1: three recognized him simultaneously and knew why he had come
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  Speaker 1: and why he carried the knob carry. I am, he replied, Doc,
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  Speaker 1: What do you want of me? The only answer that
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  Speaker 1: Atamo made was to leap forward with raised bludgeon. With
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  Speaker 1: a cry of horror, Dick jumped to his feet and
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  Speaker 1: sprang between Atamo and his intended victim. With a short
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  Speaker 1: spear grasped in both hands and held horizontally before him
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  Speaker 1: and above his head. He sought to break the force
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  Speaker 1: of Intamo's wicked blow. The knob carry crashed upon the
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  Speaker 1: stout wood of the spear halft and glanced to one side.
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  Speaker 1: But Intamo, with the sweep of a mighty arm, brushed
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  Speaker 1: the lad aside and swung his club again. It was
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  Speaker 1: at this instant that a small panther like figure, springing
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  Speaker 1: with the agility and ferocity of one of the great
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  Speaker 1: jungle cats, launched itself full upon the breast of Intamo,
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  Speaker 1: hurling the witch doctor to the ground twice. A muscular
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  Speaker 1: arm rose and fell twice. A dull blade gleamed for
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  Speaker 1: an instant in the fitful firelight. Then Ukundo arose from
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  Speaker 1: the prostrate form. But Intamo lay very still where he
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  Speaker 1: had fallen. Good old Kundo, whispered Dick in a broken
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  Speaker 1: voice that choked with a sob, for he knew that
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  Speaker 1: Doc had been very near to death. Each of you
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  Speaker 1: saved my life, said Doc. And Gee, I don't know
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  Speaker 1: what to say. Don't say anything, advised Dick. Anyway, we
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  Speaker 1: aren't out of this mess yet. Now we'd better go,
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  Speaker 1: said a Kundo. Have you made strong medicine against the
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  Speaker 1: jungle demons? Very strong, replied Doc, you've seen that my
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  Speaker 1: medicine is stronger than Antamos, for he came here to
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  Speaker 1: kill me, and instead it was he who was killed. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: admitted Ukundu. I saw as they previously planned. The three
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  Speaker 1: crept stealthily along the rear of the village huts, keeping
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  Speaker 1: close to the palisade. Dick led, Ukundu followed, and then Doc.
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  Speaker 1: They had to move very silently lest they awakened some
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  Speaker 1: of the numerous village curs, whose yapping might easily arouse
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  Speaker 1: the entire village. And so they moved forward very slowly,
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  Speaker 1: often just a few yards at a time, when they
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  Speaker 1: would lie quietly for several minutes. It was slow, nerve
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  Speaker 1: racking work. The hut in which Ballala was confined seemed
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  Speaker 1: miles away, though in fact it was but a few
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  Speaker 1: hundred feet. At last, however, after what seemed an eternity,
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  Speaker 1: they reached it, and while the boys waited behind the hut,
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  Speaker 1: Ukundo crept to the front and crawled inside. Again. There
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  Speaker 1: was a long, long wait. The interminable minutes dragged slowly by.
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  Speaker 1: Not a sound came to their ears from the interior
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  Speaker 1: of the hut for what seemed ages, and then at last,
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  Speaker 1: they heard a faint rustling. Within a few minutes later,
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  Speaker 1: Okundo and Ballalah crept to their sides. Balala was almost
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  Speaker 1: overcome by emotion, so certain had he been that nothing
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  Speaker 1: could save him from the horrible fate that awaited him
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  Speaker 1: on the morrow. But his words of gratitude were silenced,
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  Speaker 1: and a moment later the four were creeping toward the
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  Speaker 1: village gates. Here they met their serious obstacle. The gates
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  Speaker 1: were secured by chains, through which was fastened an old
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  Speaker 1: time padlock, such as slavers once used to secure the
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  Speaker 1: chains to the necks of their poor victims. For a moment,
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  Speaker 1: it seemed that they were doomed to failure at the
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  Speaker 1: very outset of their attempted break for liberty. But as
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  Speaker 1: the boys were examining the fastenings, Doc almost gave vent
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  Speaker 1: to a cry of relief. He had discovered that, with
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  Speaker 1: true native shiftlessness, the Bagala had fastened the end of
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  Speaker 1: one of the stout chains to a post of the
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  Speaker 1: palisade with a bit of grass rope, and as a
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  Speaker 1: chain is no stronger than its weakest link, this proved
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  Speaker 1: a very weak chain. Indeed, a single stroke of Doc's
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  Speaker 1: knife severed the rope and the chain clattered to the ground,
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  Speaker 1: an occurrence that almost proved their undoing, for the noise
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  Speaker 1: startled a nearby curve into a frenzy of barking that
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  Speaker 1: was quickly taken up by every other dog in the village,
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  Speaker 1: until it seemed that a thousand dogs were yapping at
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  Speaker 1: the top of their lungs. And then the gates stuck
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  Speaker 1: as the four put their combined weight against them in
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  Speaker 1: an effort to swing them open. Dick glanced over his
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  Speaker 1: shoulder and saw a warrior emerging from a hut. The fellow,
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  Speaker 1: voicing a loud cry of warning, came running toward them,
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  Speaker 1: and in an instant the village was swarming with fierce blacks,
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  Speaker 1: all running with brandished spears. In a frenzy of hopelessness.
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  Speaker 1: The four prisoners hurled themselves upon the sagging barrier, and
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  Speaker 1: this time the gates gave way, and the quartet plunged
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  Speaker 1: into the outer darkness. To cover the distance across the
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  Speaker 1: clearing into the black shadows of the jungle required but
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  Speaker 1: a few seconds, for their feet were winged by terror
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  Speaker 1: of the hideous death clutching so close behind to drag
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  Speaker 1: them back into its awful embrace. A few feet beyond
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  Speaker 1: the village gates, the Bagala halted. They had no medicine
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  Speaker 1: to safeguard them against the malign influences of the demons
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  Speaker 1: of the darkness and the jungle. There they stood, shouting
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  Speaker 1: threats and insults at the four fugitives who stumbled along
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  Speaker 1: the crooked jungle trail. But words could neither harm them
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  Speaker 1: nor bring them back, And presently Gala Gala led his
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  Speaker 1: people back into the village and closed the gates. Tomorrow,
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  Speaker 1: he said, when the light first comes faintly through the forest,
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  Speaker 1: we will go forth and bring them back, for they
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  Speaker 1: will not go far tonight, where the lions hunt and
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  Speaker 1: the panthers lie in wait above the trail. End of
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  Speaker 1: chapter ten.