Argosy All-Story Weekly, March 15, 1924 — page 146: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

TARZAN AND at her side, and the cats were returning to the attack. -Janzara arose slowly and half bewil-- dered. She looked about, terror disfiguring her marvelous beauty, and as she did so the man in the adjoining chamber saw her. ‘ Janzara!” he cried. ‘ My princess, I come!” And seizing the bench upon which he had been sitting, and*the only thing within the chamber that might be converted into a weapon, he swung wide the gate and leaped into the chamber where the four were now facing the thoroughly infuriated cats. Both animals, bleeding from’ many wounds, were mad with pain, rage and hun- ger. Screaming and growling, “they threw themselves upon the swords of the. two men, who had pushed the girls behind them and were backing slowly ‘toward the gate, and then the man with the bench joined Tarzan and Komodoflorensal, and the three fought back the charges of the infuriated cats. The bench proved fully as good a weapon of defense as the swords, and so together the five drew slowly back until, quite sud- denly. and without the slightest warning, both cats leaped quickly to one side and darted behind the party as if sensing that the women would prove easier prey. One of them came near to closing upon Janzara had not the man with the bench, imbued apparently with demoniacal fury, leaped. upon it with his strange weapon and beaten it back so desperately that it was forced to abandon the princess. Even then the man did not cease to fol- : low it, but, brandishing the bench, pursued. it and its fellow with such terrifying cries and prodigious blows that, to escape him, both cats suddenly dodged into the chamber that the man had occupied, and before they could return to the attack he with the bench had slammed the gate and fastened them upon its opposite side. Then he wheeled and faced the four. “ Zoanthrohago!” cried the princess. “ Your slave!” replied the noble, drop- ping to one knee and leaning far back with outstretched arms. “You have saved my life, Zoanthro- hago,” said Janzara, ‘“‘ and after all the in- dignities that I have heaped upon you! How can I reward you?” THE ANT-MEN. 15 -““T love you, princess, as you have long known,” replied the man, “ but now it is too Jate, for to-morrow I die by the king’s will. Elkomoelhago has spoken, and, even though you be his daughter, I do not hesi- © tate to say his very ignorance prevents him ever changing a decision once reached.” “TI know,” said Janzara. “He is my sire, but I love him not. He killed my mother in a fit of unreasoning jealousy. He is a fool—the fool of fools.” Suddenly she turned upon the others. “These slaves would escape, Zoanthro- hago,” she cried. “ With my aid they might accomplish it. With their company we might succeed in escaping, too, and in finding an asylum in their own land.” ' “ Tf any one of them is of sufficient power in his own native city,” replied Zoanthro- hago. ‘ This one; ” said Tarzan, seeing a mirac- ulous opportunity for freedom, “9s the son of Adendrohahkis, King of "Trohanadal- makus—the oldest son, and Zertolosto.” Janzara looked at Tarzan a moment after he had done speaking. “ I was wicked, Zuanthrol,” she said; “ but I thought that I wanted you, and being the daughter of a king I have seldom been denied aught that I craved.” And then, to Talaskar: . ‘‘ Take your man, my girl, and may you be happy with him.” And she pushed Talaskar gen- tly toward the ape-man; but Talaskar drew back. : “You are mistaken, Janzara,” she said; “T do not love Zuanthrol, nor does he love me.” | Komodoflorensal looked at Tarzan as if expecting that he would quickly deny the truth of Talaskar’s statement, but: the ape- man only nodded his head in assent. “Do you mean,” demanded Komodoflo- rensal, “ that you do not love Talaskar?” And he looked straight into the eyes of his friend. ‘On the contrary, I love her very much,” replied Tarzan; “ but not in the way that you have believed—or should I say feared? I love her because she is a good girl and a kind girl and a loyal friend, and also be- cause she was in trouble and needed the Jove and protection which you and I alone ~could give her; but as a man loves his mate, FA Ccomiclbooks.c©