He feared the rope,
therefore, more than he did the knife of the Maori; but he feared
them both too much to remain within reach of either. Therefore he
chose the pitiless jungle.
Chapter 21
The Law of the Jungle
In Tarzan's camp, by dint of threats and promised rewards, the
ape-man had finally succeeded in getting the hull of a large skiff
almost completed. Much of the work he and Mugambi had done with
their own hands in addition to furnishing the camp with meat.
Schneider, the mate, had been doing considerable grumbling, and
had at last openly deserted the work and gone off into the jungle
with Schmidt to hunt. He said that he wanted a rest, and Tarzan,
rather than add to the unpleasantness which already made camp life
almost unendurable, had permitted the two men to depart without a
remonstrance.
Upon the following day, however, Schneider affected a feeling of
remorse for his action, and set to work with a will upon the skiff.
Schmidt also worked good-naturedly, and Lord Greystoke congratulated
himself that at last the men had awakened to the necessity for the
labour which was being asked of them and to their obligations to
the balance of the party.
It was with a feeling of greater relief than he had experienced for
many a day that he set out that noon to hunt deep in the jungle for
a herd of small deer which Schneider reported that he and Schmidt
had seen there the day before.
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