9
Blood-Stained Altars
The entrance through which he caught his first glimpse of the
interior was rather beautifully carved in geometric designs, and
within the walls were similarly treated, though as he proceeded
from one apartment to another he found also the figures of animals,
birds, and men taking their places among the more formal figures
of the mural decorator's art. Stone vessels were much in evidence
as well as ornaments of gold and the skins of many animals, but
nowhere did he see an indication of any woven fabric, indicating
that in that respect at least the Ho-don were still low in the
scale of evolution, and yet the proportions and symmetry of the
corridors and apartments bespoke a degree of civilization.
The way led through several apartments and long corridors, up at
least three flights of stone stairs and finally out upon a ledge
upon the western side of the building overlooking the blue lake.
Along this ledge, or arcade, his guide led him for a hundred yards,
to stop at last before a wide entrance-way leading into another
apartment of the palace.
Here Tarzan beheld a considerable concourse of warriors in an
enormous apartment, the domed ceiling of which was fully fifty feet
above the floor. Almost filling the chamber was a great pyramid
ascending in broad steps well up under the dome in which were a
number of round apertures which let in the light. The steps of the
pyramid were occupied by warriors to the very pinnacle, upon which
sat a large, imposing figure of a man whose golden trappings shone
brightly in the light of the afternoon sun, a shaft of which poured
through one of the tiny apertures of the dome.
"Ko-tan!" cried Dak-lot, addressing the resplendent figure at
the pinnacle of the pyramid. "Ko-tan and warriors of Pal-ul-don!
Behold the honor that Jad-ben-Otho has done you in sending as his
messenger his own son," and Dak-lot, stepping aside, indicated
Tarzan with a dramatic sweep of his hand.
Ko-tan rose to his feet and every warrior within sight craned his
neck to have a better view of the newcomer. Those upon the opposite
side of the pyramid crowded to the front as the words of the old
warrior reached them. Skeptical were the expressions on most of the
faces; but theirs was a skepticism marked with caution. No matter
which way fortune jumped they wished to be upon the right side
of the fence. For a moment all eyes were centered upon Tarzan and
then gradually they drifted to Ko-tan, for from his attitude would
they receive the cue that would determine theirs. But Ko-tan was
evidently in the same quandary as they--the very attitude of his
body indicated it--it was one of indecision and of doubt.
The ape-man stood erect, his arms folded upon his broad breast,
an expression of haughty disdain upon his handsome face; but to
Dak-lot there seemed to be indications also of growing anger. The
situation was becoming strained. Dak-lot fidgeted, casting apprehensive
glances at Tarzan and appealing ones at Ko-tan. The silence of the
tomb wrapped the great chamber of the throneroom of Pal-ul-don.
At last Ko-tan spoke. "Who says that he is Dor-ul-Otho?" he asked,
casting a terrible look at Dak-lot.
"He does!" almost shouted that terrified noble.
"And so it must be true?" queried Ko-tan.
Could it be that there was a trace of irony in the chief's tone?
Otho forbid! Dak-lot cast a side glance at Tarzan--a glance that
he intended should carry the assurance of his own faith; but that
succeeded only in impressing the ape-man with the other's pitiable
terror.
"O Ko-tan!" pleaded Dak-lot, "your own eyes must convince you that
indeed he is the son of Otho. Behold his godlike figure, his hands,
and his feet, that are not as ours, and that he is entirely tailless
as is his mighty father."
Ko-tan appeared to be perceiving these facts for the first time
and there was an indication that his skepticism was faltering. At
that moment a young warrior who had pushed his way forward from the
opposite side of the pyramid to where he could obtain a good look
at Tarzan raised his voice.
"Ko-tan," he cried, "it must be even as Dak-lot says, for I am
sure now that I have seen Dor-ul-Otho before. Yesterday as we were
returning with the Kor-ul-lul prisoners we beheld him seated upon
the back of a great gryf. We hid in the woods before he came too
near, but I saw enough to make sure that he who rode upon the great
beast was none other than the messenger who stands here now."
This evidence seemed to be quite enough to convince the majority of
the warriors that they indeed stood in the presence of deity--their
faces showed it only too plainly, and a sudden modesty that caused
them to shrink behind their neighbors. As their neighbors were
attempting to do the same thing, the result was a sudden melting
away of those who stood nearest the ape-man, until the steps of
the pyramid directly before him lay vacant to the very apex and
to Ko-tan. The latter, possibly influenced as much by the fearful
attitude of his followers as by the evidence adduced, now altered
his tone and his manner in such a degree as might comport with
the requirements if the stranger was indeed the Dor-ul-Otho while
leaving his dignity a loophole of escape should it appear that he
had entertained an impostor.
"If indeed you are the Dor-ul-Otho," he said, addressing Tarzan, "you
will know that our doubts were but natural since we have received
no sign from Jad-ben-Otho that he intended honoring us so greatly,
nor how could we know, even, that the Great God had a son? If you
are he, all Pal-ul-don rejoices to honor you; if you are not he,
swift and terrible shall be the punishment of your temerity. I,
Ko-tan, King of Pal-ul-don, have spoken."
"And spoken well, as a king should speak," said Tarzan, breaking
his long silence, "who fears and honors the god of his people. It
is well that you insist that I indeed be the Dor-ul-Otho before
you accord me the homage that is my due. Jad-ben-Otho charged me
specially to ascertain if you were fit to rule his people. My first
experience of you indicates that Jad-ben-Otho chose well when he
breathed the spirit of a king into the babe at your mother's breast."
The effect of this statement, made so casually, was marked in the
expressions and excited whispers of the now awe-struck assemblage.
At last they knew how kings were made! It was decided by Jad-ben-Otho
while the candidate was still a suckling babe! Wonderful! A
miracle! and this divine creature in whose presence they stood knew
all about it. Doubtless he even discussed such matters with their
god daily. If there had been an atheist among them before, or an
agnostic, there was none now, for had they not looked with their
own eyes upon the son of god?
"It is well then," continued the ape-man, "that you should assure
yourself that I am no impostor. Come closer that you may see that I
am not as are men. Furthermore it is not meet that you stand upon
a higher level than the son of your god." There was a sudden scramble
to reach the floor of the throne-room, nor was Ko-tan far behind
his warriors, though he managed to maintain a certain majestic
dignity as he descended the broad stairs that countless naked feet
had polished to a gleaming smoothness through the ages. "And now,"
said Tarzan as the king stood before him, "you can have no doubt
that I am not of the same race as you. Your priests have told you
that Jad-ben-Otho is tailless. Tailless, therefore, must be the
race of gods that spring from his loins. But enough of such proofs
as these! You know the power of Jad-ben-Otho; how his lightnings
gleaming out of the sky carry death as he wills it; how the rains
come at his bidding, and the fruits and the berries and the grains,
the grasses, the trees and the flowers spring to life at his divine
direction; you have witnessed birth and death, and those who honor
their god honor him because he controls these things. How would
it fare then with an impostor who claimed to be the son of this
all-powerful god? This then is all the proof that you require, for
as he would strike you down should you deny me, so would he strike
down one who wrongfully claimed kinship with him."
This line of argument being unanswerable must needs be convincing.
There could be no questioning of this creature's statements
without the tacit admission of lack of faith in the omnipotence of
Jad-ben-Otho. Ko-tan was satisfied that he was entertaining deity,
but as to just what form his entertainment should take he was
rather at a loss to know. His conception of god had been rather a
vague and hazy affair, though in common with all primitive people
his god was a personal one as were his devils and demons. The
pleasures of Jad-ben-Otho he had assumed to be the excesses which
he himself enjoyed, but devoid of any unpleasant reaction. It
therefore occurred to him that the Dor-ul-Otho would be greatly
entertained by eating--eating large quantities of everything that
Ko-tan liked best and that he had found most injurious; and there
was also a drink that the women of the Ho-don made by allowing
corn to soak in the juices of succulent fruits, to which they had
added certain other ingredients best known to themselves. Ko-tan
knew by experience that a single draught of this potent liquor
would bring happiness and surcease from worry, while several would
cause even a king to do things and enjoy things that he would
never even think of doing or enjoying while not under the magical
influence of the potion, but unfortunately the next morning
brought suffering in direct ratio to the joy of the preceding day.
A god, Ko-tan reasoned, could experience all the pleasure without
the headache, but for the immediate present he must think of the
necessary dignities and honors to be accorded his immortal guest.
No foot other than a king's had touched the surface of the apex
of the pyramid in the throneroom at A-lur during all the forgotten
ages through which the kings of Pal-ul-don had ruled from its high
eminence. So what higher honor could Ko-tan offer than to give place
beside him to the Dor-ul-Otho? And so he invited Tarzan to ascend
the pyramid and take his place upon the stone bench that topped it.
As they reached the step below the sacred pinnacle Ko-tan continued
as though to mount to his throne, but Tarzan laid a detaining hand
upon his arm.
"None may sit upon a level with the gods," he admonished, stepping
confidently up and seating himself upon the throne. The abashed
Ko-tan showed his embarrassment, an embarrassment he feared to
voice lest he incur the wrath of the king of kings.
"But," added Tarzan, "a god may honor his faithful servant by
inviting him to a place at his side. Come, Ko-tan; thus would I
honor you in the name of Jad-ben-Otho."
The ape-man's policy had for its basis an attempt not only to
arouse the fearful respect of Ko-tan but to do it without making
of him an enemy at heart, for he did not know how strong a hold
the religion of the Ho-don had upon them, for since the time that
he had prevented Ta-den and Om-at from quarreling over a religious
difference the subject had been utterly taboo among them. He was
therefore quick to note the evident though wordless resentment of
Ko-tan at the suggestion that he entirely relinquish his throne to
his guest. On the whole, however, the effect had been satisfactory
as he could see from the renewed evidence of awe upon the faces of
the warriors.
At Tarzan's direction the business of the court continued where
it had been interrupted by his advent. It consisted principally in
the settling of disputes between warriors. There was present one
who stood upon the step just below the throne and which Tarzan was
to learn was the place reserved for the higher chiefs of the allied
tribes which made up Ko-tan's kingdom. The one who attracted Tarzan's
attention was a stalwart warrior of powerful physique and massive,
lion-like features. He was addressing Ko-tan on a question that is
as old as government and that will continue in unabated importance
until man ceases to exist. It had to do with a boundary dispute
with one of his neighbors.
The matter itself held little or no interest for Tarzan, but
he was impressed by the appearance of the speaker and when Ko-tan
addressed him as Ja-don the ape-man's interest was permanently
crystallized, for Ja-don was the father of Ta-den. That the knowledge
would benefit him in any way seemed rather a remote possibility
since he could not reveal to Ja-don his friendly relations with
his son without admitting the falsity of his claims to godship.
When the affairs of the audience were concluded Ko-tan suggested
that the son of Jad-ben-Otho might wish to visit the temple in
which were performed the religious rites coincident to the worship
of the Great God. And so the ape-man was conducted by the king
himself, followed by the warriors of his court, through the corridors
of the palace toward the northern end of the group of buildings
within the royal enclosure.
The temple itself was really a part of the palace and similar
in architecture. There were several ceremonial places of varying
sizes, the purposes of which Tarzan could only conjecture. Each had
an altar in the west end and another in the east and were oval in
shape, their longest diameter lying due east and west. Each was
excavated from the summit of a small hillock and all were without
roofs. The western altars invariably were a single block of stone
the top of which was hollowed into an oblong basin. Those at
the eastern ends were similar blocks of stone with flat tops and
these latter, unlike those at the opposite ends of the ovals were
invariably stained or painted a reddish brown, nor did Tarzan need
to examine them closely to be assured of what his keen nostrils
already had told him--that the brown stains were dried and drying
human blood.
Below these temple courts were corridors and apartments reaching
far into the bowels of the hills, dim, gloomy passages that Tarzan
glimpsed as he was led from place to place on his tour of inspection
of the temple. A messenger had been dispatched by Ko-tan to announce
the coming visit of the son of Jad-ben-Otho with the result that
they were accompanied through the temple by a considerable procession
of priests whose distinguishing mark of profession seemed to consist
in grotesque headdresses; sometimes hideous faces carved from wood
and entirely concealing the countenances of their wearers, or again,
the head of a wild beast cunningly fitted over the head of a man.
The high priest alone wore no such head-dress. He was an old man
with close-set, cunning eyes and a cruel, thin-lipped mouth.
At first sight of him Tarzan realized that here lay the greatest danger
to his ruse, for he saw at a glance that the man was antagonistic
toward him and his pretensions, and he knew too that doubtless of
all the people of Pal-ul-don the high priest was most likely to
harbor the truest estimate of Jad-ben-Otho, and, therefore, would
look with suspicion on one who claimed to be the son of a fabulous
god.
No matter what suspicion lurked within his crafty mind, Lu-don,
the high priest of A-lur, did not openly question Tarzan's right
to the title of Dor-ul-Otho, and it may be that he was restrained
by the same doubts which had originally restrained Ko-tan and
his warriors--the doubt that is at the bottom of the minds of all
blasphemers even and which is based upon the fear that after all
there may be a god. So, for the time being at least Lu-don played
safe. Yet Tarzan knew as well as though the man had spoken aloud
his inmost thoughts that it was in the heart of the high priest to
tear the veil from his imposture.
At the entrance to the temple Ko-tan had relinquished the guidance
of the guest to Lu-don and now the latter led Tarzan through those
portions of the temple that he wished him to see. He showed him
the great room where the votive offerings were kept, gifts from
the barbaric chiefs of Pal-ul-don and from their followers. These
things ranged in value from presents of dried fruits to massive
vessels of beaten gold, so that in the great main storeroom and
its connecting chambers and corridors was an accumulation of wealth
that amazed even the eyes of the owner of the secret of the treasure
vaults of Opar.
Moving to and fro throughout the temple were sleek black Waz-don
slaves, fruits of the Ho-don raids upon the villages of their less
civilized neighbors. As they passed the barred entrance to a dim
corridor, Tarzan saw within a great company of pithecanthropi of
all ages and of both sexes, Ho-don as well as Waz-don, the majority
of them squatted upon the stone floor in attitudes of utter dejection
while some paced back and forth, their features stamped with the
despair of utter hopelessness.
"And who are these who lie here thus unhappily?" he asked of Lu-don.
It was the first question that he had put to the high priest since
entering the temple, and instantly he regretted that he had asked
it, for Lu-don turned upon him a face upon which the expression of
suspicion was but thinly veiled.
"Who should know better than the son of Jad-ben-Otho?" he retorted.
"The questions of Dor-ul-Otho are not with impunity answered with
other questions," said the ape-man quietly, "and it may interest
Lu-don, the high priest, to know that the blood of a false priest
upon the altar of his temple is not displeasing in the eyes of
Jad-ben-Otho."
Lu-don paled as he answered Tarzan's question. "They are the offerings
whose blood must refresh the eastern altars as the sun returns to
your father at the day's end."
"And who told you," asked Tarzan, "that Jad-ben-Otho was pleased that
his people were slain upon his altars? What if you were mistaken?"
"Then countless thousands have died in vain," replied Lu-don.
Ko-tan and the surrounding warriors and priests were listening
attentively to the dialogue. Some of the poor victims behind the
barred gateway had heard and rising, pressed close to the barrier
through which one was conducted just before sunset each day, never
to return.
"Liberate them!" cried Tarzan with a wave of his hand toward the
imprisoned victims of a cruel superstition, "for I can tell you in
the name of Jad-ben-Otho that you are mistaken."
