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13 - A Strange, Flat Tower · Tarzan and the Golden Lion

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Speaker 1: Chapter thirteen, A strange flat tower. Tarzan, turning, discovered the
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Speaker 1: man standing behind him on the top level of the
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Speaker 1: ivy covered East tower of the Palace of Diamonds. His
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Speaker 1: knife leaped from its sheath at the touch of his
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Speaker 1: quick fingers, but almost simultaneously, his hand dropped to his side,
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Speaker 1: and he stood contemplating the other, with an expression of
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Speaker 1: incredulity upon his face that but reflected a similar emotion
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Speaker 1: registered upon the countenance of the stranger. For what Tarzan
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Speaker 1: saw was no Bolgani nor a Gomangani, but a white man,
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Speaker 1: bald and old and shriveled, with a long white beard.
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Speaker 1: A white man naked but for barbaric ornaments of gold,
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Speaker 1: spangles and diamonds. Gaut exclaimed the strange apparition. Tarzan eyed
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Speaker 1: the other quizzically. That single English word opened up such
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Speaker 1: tremendous possibilities for conjecture as baffled the mind of the
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Speaker 1: ape man.
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Speaker 2: What are you? Who are you?
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Speaker 1: Continued the old man, but this time in the dialect
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Speaker 1: of the great Apes, used an English word a moment ago,
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Speaker 1: said Tarzan, do you speak that languae? Tarzan himself spoken English.
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Speaker 1: Ah dear cot, cried the old man that I should
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Speaker 1: have lived to hear that sweet tongue again. And he too,
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Speaker 1: now spoken English, halting English as might one who was
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Speaker 1: long unaccustomed to voicing the language. Who are you, asked Tarzan.
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Speaker 2: And what are you doing here?
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Speaker 1: It is the same question that I asked you, replied
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Speaker 1: the old man. Do not be afraid to answer me.
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Speaker 1: You are evidently an Englishman, and you have nothing to
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Speaker 1: fear from me. I am here after a woman captured
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Speaker 1: by the BOLGANI, replied Tarzan. The other nodded, yes, he said,
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Speaker 1: I know she is here. Is she safe, asked Tarzan.
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Speaker 1: She has not been harmed. She will be safe until
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Speaker 1: tomorrow the next day, replied the old man. But who
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Speaker 1: are you and how did you find your way here
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Speaker 1: from the outer world. I am Tarzan of the Apes,
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Speaker 1: replied the ape man. I came into this valley looking
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Speaker 1: for a way out of the valley of Opar, where
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Speaker 1: the wife of my companion was in danger. And you,
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Speaker 1: I am an old man, replied the other. And I
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Speaker 1: have been here ever since I was a boy. I
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Speaker 1: was a stowaway on the ship that brought Stanley to Africa.
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Speaker 1: After the establishment of the station on Stanley pool, and
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Speaker 1: I came into the interior with him. I went out
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Speaker 1: from the camp to hunt alone. One day, I lost
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Speaker 1: my way and later was captured by unfriendly natives. They
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Speaker 1: took me farther into the interior to their village, from
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Speaker 1: which I finally escaped, but so utterly confused and lost
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Speaker 1: that I had no idea what direction to take to
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Speaker 1: find a trail to the coast. I wandered thus for months,
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Speaker 1: until finally, upon an accursed day, I found an entrance
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Speaker 1: to this valley. I do not know why they did
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Speaker 1: not put me to death at once, but they did not,
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Speaker 1: and later they discovered that my knowledge could be turned
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Speaker 1: to advantage to them. Since then I have helped them
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Speaker 1: in their quarrying and mining, and in their diamond cutting.
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Speaker 1: I have given them iron drills with hardened points, and
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Speaker 1: drills tipped with diamonds. Now I am practically one of them.
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Speaker 1: But always in my heart has been the hope that
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Speaker 1: some day I might escape from the valley, A hopeless hope,
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Speaker 1: though I may assure you there is no way out,
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Speaker 1: asked Tarzan. There is a way, but it is always guarded.
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Speaker 1: Where is it queried, Tarzan? It is a continuation of
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Speaker 1: one of the mine tunnels, passing entirely through the mountain
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Speaker 1: to the valley beyond. The mines have been worked by
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Speaker 1: the ancestors of this race for almost an incalculable length
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Speaker 1: of time. The mountains are honeycombed with their shafts and tunnels.
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Speaker 1: Back of the gold bearing quartz lies an enormous deposit
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Speaker 1: of altered peridotite, which contains diamonds. In the search for
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Speaker 1: which it evidently became necessary to extend one of the
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Speaker 1: shafts to the opposite side of the mountain, possibly for
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Speaker 1: the purposes of ventilation. This tunnel and the trail leading
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Speaker 1: down into Opar are the only means of ingress to
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Speaker 1: the valley. From time immemorial. They have kept the tunnel guarded,
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Speaker 1: more particularly, I imagine, to prevent a scape of slaves
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Speaker 1: than to thwart the inroads of an enemy, since they
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Speaker 1: believe that there is no fear of the latter emergency.
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Speaker 1: The trail to Opar they do not guard, because they
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Speaker 1: no longer fear the Oparians, and know quite well that
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Speaker 1: none of their Gomongani slaves would dare enter into the
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Speaker 1: valley of the sun worshippers. For the same reason, then,
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Speaker 1: that the slaves cannot escape, we too must remain prisoners
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Speaker 1: here forever. How was the tunnel guarded, asked Tarzan. Two
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Speaker 1: Bogani and a dozen or more Gomangani warriors are always
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Speaker 1: upon duty there, replied the old man. The Gomangani would
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Speaker 1: like to escape. They have tried it many times in
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Speaker 1: the past, I am told, replied the old man, though
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Speaker 1: never since I have lived here, and always they were
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Speaker 1: caught and tortured, and all their race was punished and
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Speaker 1: worked the harder because of these attempts upon the part
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Speaker 1: of a few. They are numerous, the Gomangani. There are
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Speaker 1: probably five thousand of them in the valley, replied the
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Speaker 1: old man. And how many Bogani, the ape man asked?
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Speaker 1: Between ten and eleven hundred five to one, murmured Tarzan.
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Speaker 1: And yet they are afraid to attempt to escape. But
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Speaker 1: you must remember, said the old man, that the Bogani
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Speaker 1: are the dominant and intelligent race. The others are intellectually
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Speaker 1: little above the beasts of the forest. Yet they are men,
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Speaker 1: Tarzan reminded him. In figure only, replied the old man.
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Speaker 1: They cannot band together as men do.
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Speaker 2: They have not as.
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Speaker 1: Yet reached the community plain of evolution. It is true
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Speaker 1: that families reside in a single village, but that idea,
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Speaker 1: together with their weapons, was given to them by the Bogani,
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Speaker 1: that they might not be entirely exterminated by the lions
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Speaker 1: and panthers. Formerly, I Am told each individual Gomangani, when
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Speaker 1: he became old enough to hunt for himself, constructed a
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Speaker 1: hut apart from the others, and took up his solitary life,
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Speaker 1: there being at the time no slightest semblance of family life.
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Speaker 1: Then the Bogani taught them how to build palisaded villages
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Speaker 1: and compelled the men and women to remain in them
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Speaker 1: and rear their children to maturity, after which the children
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Speaker 1: required to remain in the village. So that now some
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Speaker 1: of the communities can claim as many as forty or
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Speaker 1: fifty people, But the death rate is high among them,
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Speaker 1: and they cannot multiply as rapidly as people living under
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Speaker 1: normal conditions of peace and security. The brutalities of the
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Speaker 1: Bogani kill many. The carnivora take a considerable toll five
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Speaker 1: to one, and still they remain in slavery. What cowards
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Speaker 1: they must be, said the ape man. On the contrary,
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Speaker 1: they are far from cowardly, replied the old man. They
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Speaker 1: will face a lion with the utmost bravery. But for
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Speaker 1: so many ages have they been subservient to the will
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Speaker 1: of the Boghani that it has become a fixed habit
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Speaker 1: in them. As the fear of God is inherent in us,
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Speaker 1: so is the fear of the Boghani inherent in the
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Speaker 1: minds of the Gomangani from birth. It is interesting, said Tarzan.
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Speaker 1: But tell me now where the woman is of whom
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Speaker 1: I have come in search. Is your mate, asked the
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Speaker 1: old man. No, replied Tarzan. I told the Gomangani that
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Speaker 1: she was so that they would protect her. She is
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Speaker 1: Lah Queen of o Tar, high priestess of the Flaming God.
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Speaker 1: The old man looked his incredulity impossible, he cried, It
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Speaker 1: cannot be that the Queen of Opar has risked her
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Speaker 1: life by coming to the home of her hereditary enemies.
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Speaker 1: She was forced to it, replied Tarzan, her life being
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Speaker 1: threatened by a part of her people because she had
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Speaker 1: refused to sacrifice me to their god. If the Bolgani
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Speaker 1: knew this, there would be great rejoicing, replied the old man.
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Speaker 1: Tell me where she is, demanded Tarzan. She preserved me
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Speaker 1: from her people, and I must save her from whatever
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Speaker 1: fate the Bolgani contemplate. For her, it is hopeless, said
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Speaker 1: the old man. I can tell you where she is,
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Speaker 1: but you cannot rescue her. I can try, replied the
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Speaker 1: ape man, but you will fail and die. If what
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Speaker 1: you tell me is true, that there is absolutely no
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Speaker 1: chance of my escaping from the valley, I might as
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Speaker 1: well die, replied the ape man. However, I do not
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Speaker 1: agree with you. The old man shrugged. You do not
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Speaker 1: know the Bulgani, he said. Tell me where the woman is,
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Speaker 1: said Tarzan. Look replied the old man, motioning Tarzan to
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Speaker 1: follow him into his apartment, and, approaching a window which
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Speaker 1: faced toward the west, he pointed towards a strange flat
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Speaker 1: tower which rose above the roof of the main building,
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Speaker 1: near the west end of the palace. She is probably
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Speaker 1: somewhere in the interior of that tower, said the old
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Speaker 1: man to Tarzan, But as far as you are concerned,
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Speaker 1: she might as well be at the north pole. Tarzan
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Speaker 1: stood in silence for a moment, his keen eyes taking
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Speaker 1: in every salient detail of the prospect before him. He
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Speaker 1: saw the strange flat top tower which it seemed to him,
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Speaker 1: might be reached from the roof of the main building.
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Speaker 1: He saw too branches of the ancient trees that sometimes
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Speaker 1: topped the roof itself, and except for dim light shining
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Speaker 1: through some of the palace windows, he saw no signs
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Speaker 1: of life. He turned suddenly upon the old man. I
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Speaker 1: do not know you, he said, but I believe I
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Speaker 1: may trust you, since, after all, blood ties are strong,
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Speaker 1: and we are the only men of our race in
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Speaker 1: this valley. You might gain something in favor by betraying me.
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Speaker 1: But I cannot believe that you will do it. Do
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Speaker 1: not fear, said the old man. I hate them. If
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Speaker 1: I could help you, I would, But I know that
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Speaker 1: there is no hope of success. For whatever plan you
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Speaker 1: may have in mind. The woman will never be rescued.
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Speaker 1: You will never leave the valley of the Palace of Diamonds.
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Speaker 1: You will never leave the palace itself unless the Bolgani
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Speaker 1: wish it. The ape man grinned you have been here
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Speaker 1: so long. He said that you are beginning to assume
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Speaker 1: the attitude of mine that keeps the Gomangani in perpetual slavery.
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Speaker 1: If you want to escape, come with me. We may
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Speaker 1: not succeed, But at least you will have a better
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Speaker 1: chance if you try, than as if you are made
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Speaker 1: forever in this tower. The old man shook his head. No,
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Speaker 1: he said, it is hopeless. If escape had been possible,
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Speaker 1: I should have been away from here long ago. Good Bye, then,
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Speaker 1: said Tarzan, and swinging out of the window, he clambered
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Speaker 1: toward the roof below along the stout stem of the
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Speaker 1: old ivy. The old man watched him for a moment
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Speaker 1: until he saw him make his way carefully across the
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Speaker 1: roof toward the flat top tower, where he hoped to
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Speaker 1: find and liberate Law. Then the old fellow turned and
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Speaker 1: hurried rapidly down the crude stairway that rose ladderlike to
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Speaker 1: the center of the tower. Tarzan made his way across
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Speaker 1: the uneven roof of the main building, clambering up the
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Speaker 1: sides of its higher elevations and dropping again to its
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Speaker 1: lower elevations. As he covered a considerable distance between the
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Speaker 1: east tower and the flat top structure of peculiar design
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Speaker 1: in which Law was supposed to be incarcerated, His progress
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Speaker 1: was slow, for he moved with the caution of a
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Speaker 1: beast of prey, stopping often in dense shadows to listen.
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Speaker 1: When at last he reached the tower, he found that
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Speaker 1: it had many openings, letting upon the roof, openings which
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Speaker 1: were closed only with the hangings of the heavy tapestried
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Speaker 1: stuff which he had seen in the tower. Drawing one
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Speaker 1: of these slightly aside, he looked within upon a large
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Speaker 1: chamber bare of furnishings, from the center of which there
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Speaker 1: protruded through a circular aperture the top of a stairway
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Speaker 1: similar to that he had ascended in the East Tower.
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Speaker 1: There was no one in sight within the chamber, and
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Speaker 1: Tarzan cross immediately to the stairway. Peering cautiously into the opening,
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Speaker 1: Tarzan saw that the stairway descended for a great distance,
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Speaker 1: passing many floors. How far it went he could not judge,
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Speaker 1: except it seemed likely that it pierced subterranean chambers beneath
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Speaker 1: the palace. Sounds of life came up to him through
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Speaker 1: the shaft and odors, too, but the latter largely nullified
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Speaker 1: in so far as the scent impressions which they offered.
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Speaker 1: Tarzan were concerned by the heavy incense which pervaded the
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Speaker 1: entire palace. It was this perfume that was to prove
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Speaker 1: the ape man's undoing, for otherwise his keen nostrils would
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Speaker 1: have detected the scent of a nearby Gomangani. The fellow
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Speaker 1: lay behind one of the hangings at an aperture in
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Speaker 1: the tower wall. He had been lying in such a
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Speaker 1: position that he had seen Tarzan enter the chamber, and
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Speaker 1: he was watching him now as the ape man stood
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Speaker 1: looking down the shaft of the stairway. The eyes of
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Speaker 1: the black had at first gone wide and terror at
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Speaker 1: sight of this strange apparition, the like of which he
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Speaker 1: had never seen before. Had the creature been of sufficient
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Speaker 1: intelligence to harbor superstition, he would have thought Tarzana God
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Speaker 1: descended from above. But being too low of an order
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Speaker 1: to possess any imagination whatsoever, he merely knew that he
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Speaker 1: saw a strange creature, and that all strange creatures must
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Speaker 1: be enemies. He was convinced his duty was to apprise
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Speaker 1: his masters of this presence in the palace. But he
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Speaker 1: did not dare move until the apparition had reached a
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Speaker 1: sufficient distance from him to ensure that the movements of
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Speaker 1: the Gomangani would not be noticed by the intruder. He
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Speaker 1: did not care to call attention to himself, for he
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Speaker 1: had found that the more one effaced one's self in
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Speaker 1: the presence of the Bolgani, the less one was likely
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Speaker 1: to suffer. For a long time, the stranger peered down
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Speaker 1: the shaft of the stairway, and for a long time
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Speaker 1: the Gomangani lay quietly watching him. But at last the
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Speaker 1: former descended the stairs and passed out of sight of
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Speaker 1: the watcher, who immediately leaped to his feet and scurried
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Speaker 1: away across the roof of the palace toward a large
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Speaker 1: tower arise at its western end. As Tarzan descended the ladder,
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Speaker 1: the fumes of the incense became more and more annoying.
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Speaker 1: Where otherwise he might have investigated quickly by scent, he
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Speaker 1: was now compelled to listen for every sound, and in
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Speaker 1: many cases to investigate the chambers opening upon the central
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Speaker 1: quarter by entering them. Where the doors were locked, he
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Speaker 1: lay flat and listened close to the aperture at their base.
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Speaker 1: On several occasions he risked calling law by name, but
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Speaker 1: in no case did he receive any reply. He had
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Speaker 1: investigated four landings and was descending to the fifth when
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Speaker 1: he saw standing in one of the doorways. Upon his level,
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Speaker 1: and evidently much excited and possibly terrified. Black. The fellow
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Speaker 1: was of giant proportions and entirely unarmed. He stood looking
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Speaker 1: at the ape man with white eyes, as the latter
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Speaker 1: jumped lightly from the stairway and stood facing him upon
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Speaker 1: the same level. What do you want, finally stammered the Black.
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Speaker 1: Are you looking for the white? She your mate whom
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Speaker 1: the Bolgani took? Yes, replied Tarzan. What do you know
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Speaker 1: of her? I know where she is hidden, replied the Black,
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Speaker 1: And if you will follow me, I will you to her.
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Speaker 1: Why do you offer to do this for me, asked Tarzan,
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Speaker 1: immediately suspicious. Why is it that you do not go
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Speaker 1: at once to your master's and tell them that I
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Speaker 1: am here, that they may send men to capture me.
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Speaker 1: I do not know the reason I was sent to
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Speaker 1: tell you this, replied the Black. The Boghani sent me.
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Speaker 1: I did not wish to come, for I was afraid.
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Speaker 1: Where did they tell you to lead me? Asked Tarzan.
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Speaker 1: I am to lead you into a chamber, the door
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Speaker 1: of which will be immediately bolted upon us. You will
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Speaker 1: then be a prisoner, and you inquired Tarzan, I too
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Speaker 1: shall be a prisoner with you. The Boghani do not
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Speaker 1: care what comes of me. Perhaps you will kill me,
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Speaker 1: but they do not care. If you lead me into
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Speaker 1: a trap, I shall kill you, replied Tarzan. But if
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Speaker 1: you lead me to the woman, perhaps we shall all escape.
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Speaker 1: You would like to escape, would you not? I should
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Speaker 1: like to escape, but I cannot. Have you ever tried, No,
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Speaker 1: I have not. Why should I try to do something
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Speaker 1: that cannot be done. If you leave me into the trap,
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Speaker 1: I shall surely kill you. If you leave me to
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Speaker 1: the woman, you at least have the chance that I
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Speaker 1: do to live. Which will you do? The Black scratched
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Speaker 1: his head and thought the idea, slowly filtering through his
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Speaker 1: stupid mind. At last he spoke, You are very wise,
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Speaker 1: he said, I will lead you through the woman. Go ahead,
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Speaker 1: then said Tarzan, and I will follow you. The Black
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Speaker 1: descended to the next level, and, opening the door, entered
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Speaker 1: a long, straight corridor. He had leisure to reflect upon
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Speaker 1: the means through which the Bulghani had learned of his
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Speaker 1: presence in the tower, and the only conclusion he could
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Speaker 1: arrive at was that the old man had betrayed him,
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Speaker 1: since in so far as Tarzan was aware, he alone
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Speaker 1: knew that the ape man was in the palace. The
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Speaker 1: corridor along which the Black was leading him was very dark,
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Speaker 1: receiving a dim and inadequate illumination from the dimly lighted corridor.
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Speaker 1: They had just left the door into which remained open
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Speaker 1: behind them. Presently, the Black stopped before a closed door.
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Speaker 1: The woman is in there, said the Black, pointing to
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Speaker 1: the door. She is alone, asked Tarzan, No, replied the
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Speaker 1: Black look, and he opened the door, revealing a heavy hanging,
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Speaker 1: which he gently separated, revealing to Tarzan the interior of
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Speaker 1: the chamber beyond. Seizing the Black by the wrist that
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Speaker 1: he might not escape, Tarzan stepped forward and put his
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Speaker 1: eyes to the aperture. Before him lay a large chamber,
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Speaker 1: at one end of which was a raised dais, the
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Speaker 1: base of which was of a dark, ornately carved wood.
17:20
Speaker 1: The central figure upon this dais was a huge black
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Speaker 1: made lion, the same that Tarzan had seen escorted through
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Speaker 1: the gardens of the palace. His golden chains were now
17:29
Speaker 1: fastened to the rings in the floor, while the four
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Speaker 1: blacks stood in statuesque rigidity, two upon either side of
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Speaker 1: the beast. Upon golden thrones. Behind the lions sat three
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Speaker 1: magnificently ornamented Bolgani. At the foot of the steps leading
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Speaker 1: to the stairs stood law between two Gomangani guards. Upon
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Speaker 1: either side of the central aisle were carved benches facing
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Speaker 1: the dais, and occupying the front section of these were
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Speaker 1: some fifty Bolgani, among whom Tarzan almost immediately espied the
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Speaker 1: little old man that he had met in the tower,
17:56
Speaker 1: the sight of whom instantly crystallized the ape man's conviction
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Speaker 1: of the source of his betray trail. The chamber was
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Speaker 1: lighted by hundreds of cressets burning, a substance which gave
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Speaker 1: forth both light and the heavy incense that had assailed
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Speaker 1: Tarzan's nostrils since he first entered the domain of the Bolghani.
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Speaker 1: The long cathedralisque windows upon one side of the apartment
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Speaker 1: were thrown wide, admitting the soft air of the jungle
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Speaker 1: summer night. Through them, Tarzan could see the palace grounds,
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Speaker 1: and that this chamber was upon the same level as
18:20
Speaker 1: the terrace upon which the palace stood. Beyond those windows
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Speaker 1: was an open gateway to the jungle and freedom. But
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Speaker 1: interposed between him and the windows were fifty armed guerrilla men. Perhaps,
18:31
Speaker 1: then strategy would be a better weapon than force with
18:33
Speaker 1: which to carve his way to freedom with law. Yet
18:35
Speaker 1: to the forefront of his mind was evidently a belief
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Speaker 1: in the probability that in the end it would be
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Speaker 1: forced rather than strategy, upon which he must depend. He
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Speaker 1: turned to the Black at his side. Would the Gomangani
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Speaker 1: guarding the lion like to escape from the Bulghani?
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Speaker 2: He asked?
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Speaker 1: The Gomangani, would all escape if they could, replied the Black.
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Speaker 1: If it is necessary for me to enter the room, then,
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Speaker 1: said Tarzan to the Black, Will you accompany me and
18:59
Speaker 1: tell the other Gomangani that if they will fight for me,
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Speaker 1: I will take them out of the valley. I will
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Speaker 1: tell them, but they will not believe, replied the Black.
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Speaker 1: Tell them they will die if they do not help me,
19:10
Speaker 1: Then said Tarzan, I will tell them. As Tarzan turned
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Speaker 1: his attention again to the chamber before him, he saw
19:17
Speaker 1: that the Bogani occupying the central golden throne was speaking.
19:20
Speaker 2: Nobles of Numah, king of beasts, Emperor of all created things.
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Speaker 2: He said, in deep growling tones, Numah has heard the
19:29
Speaker 2: words that this she has spoken, and it is the
19:32
Speaker 2: will of Numa that she die. The Great Emperor is
19:36
Speaker 2: hungry he himself will devour her here in the presence
19:40
Speaker 2: of his nobles and the Imperial Council of three. It
19:44
Speaker 2: is the will of Numah.
19:45
Speaker 1: A growl of approval arose from the beastlike audience, while
19:48
Speaker 1: the great Lion bared his hideous fanks and roared until
19:51
Speaker 1: the palace trembled. His wicked, yellow green eyes fixed terribly
19:55
Speaker 1: upon the woman before him, evidencing the fact that these
19:57
Speaker 1: ceremonies were of sufficient frequency to have accustomed Lion to
20:00
Speaker 1: what he might expect as the logical termination of them
20:04
Speaker 1: day after tomorrow, continued the speaker. The mate of this creature,
20:08
Speaker 1: who is by this time safely imprisoned in the tower
20:11
Speaker 1: of the Emperor's, will be brought before Numa for judgment slaves,
20:16
Speaker 1: he cried suddenly in a loud voice, rising to his
20:19
Speaker 1: feet and glaring at the guards holding.
20:20
Speaker 2: Law drugged the woman through your Emperor.
20:23
Speaker 1: Instantly, the lion became frantic, lashing its tail and straining
20:27
Speaker 1: at its stout chains, roaring and snarling as it reared
20:30
Speaker 1: upon its hind feet and sought to leap upon Law,
20:32
Speaker 1: who was now being forcibly conducted at the steps of
20:34
Speaker 1: the Dais toward the bejeweled man eater so impatiently awaiting her,
20:38
Speaker 1: She did not cry out in terror, but she sought
20:40
Speaker 1: to twist herself free from the detaining hands of the
20:42
Speaker 1: powerful Gomangani, all futilely. However, They had reached the last
20:47
Speaker 1: step and were about to push law into the closet
20:49
Speaker 1: the Lion, when they were arrested by a loud cry
20:51
Speaker 1: from one side of the chamber, a cry that halted
20:54
Speaker 1: the Gomangani and brought the assembled Bogani to their feet
20:57
Speaker 1: in astonishment and anger. For the sight that met their
21:00
Speaker 1: eyes was well qualified to arouse the latter within them.
21:03
Speaker 1: Leaping into the room with raised spear, was the almost
21:05
Speaker 1: naked white man of whom they had heard, but whom
21:08
Speaker 1: none of them had as yet seen. And so quick
21:10
Speaker 1: was he that, in the very instant of entry, even
21:13
Speaker 1: before they could rise to their feet, he had launched
21:15
Speaker 1: his spear.
21:17
Speaker 2: End of Chapter