You or I walking beneath the arcs of Main
Street, or Broadway, or State Street, could not have moved more
surely or with a tenth the speed of the agile ape-man through the
gloomy mazes that would have baffled us entirely.
At dawn he stopped to feed, and then he slept for several hours,
taking up the pursuit again toward noon.
Twice he came upon natives, and, though he had considerable
difficulty in approaching them, he succeeded in each instance in
quieting both their fears and bellicose intentions toward him, and
learned from them that he was upon the trail of the Russian.
Two days later, still following up the Ugambi, he came upon a large
village. The chief, a wicked-looking fellow with the sharp-filed
teeth that often denote the cannibal, received him with apparent
friendliness.
The ape-man was now thoroughly fatigued, and had determined to
rest for eight or ten hours that he might be fresh and strong when
he caught up with Rokoff, as he was sure he must do within a very
short time.
The chief told him that the bearded white man had left his village
only the morning before, and that doubtless he would be able to
overtake him in a short time. The other party the chief had not
seen or heard of, so he said.
Tarzan did not like the appearance or manner of the fellow, who
seemed, though friendly enough, to harbour a certain contempt for
this half-naked white man who came with no followers and offered
no presents; but he needed the rest and food that the village would
afford him with less effort than the jungle, and so, as he knew no
fear of man, beast, or devil, he curled himself up in the shadow
of a hut and was soon asleep.
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