22
A Journey on a Gryf
Tarzan and Jane skirted the shore of Jad-bal-lul and crossed the
river at the head of the lake. They moved in leisurely fashion
with an eye to comfort and safety, for the ape-man, now that he
had found his mate, was determined to court no chance that might
again separate them, or delay or prevent their escape from Pal-ul-don.
How they were to recross the morass was a matter of little concern
to him as yet--it would be time enough to consider that matter when
it became of more immediate moment. Their hours were filled with
the happiness and content of reunion after long separation; they
had much to talk of, for each had passed through many trials and
vicissitudes and strange adventures, and no important hour might
go unaccounted for since last they met.
It was Tarzan's intention to choose a way above A-lur and the
scattered Ho-don villages below it, passing about midway between
them and the mountains, thus avoiding, in so far as possible, both
the Ho-don and Waz-don, for in this area lay the neutral territory
that was uninhabited by either. Thus he would travel northwest
until opposite the Kor-ul-ja where he planned to stop to pay his
respects to Om-at and give the gund word of Pan-at-lee, and a plan
Tarzan had for insuring her safe return to her people. It was upon
the third day of their journey and they had almost reached the
river that passes through A-lur when Jane suddenly clutched Tarzan's
arm and pointed ahead toward the edge of a forest that they were
approaching. Beneath the shadows of the trees loomed a great bulk
that the ape-man instantly recognized.
"What is it?" whispered Jane.
"A gryf," replied the ape-man, "and we have met him in the worst
place that we could possibly have found. There is not a large tree
within a quarter of a mile, other than those among which he stands.
Come, we shall have to go back, Jane; I cannot risk it with you
along. The best we can do is to pray that he does not discover us."
"And if he does?"
"Then I shall have to risk it."
"Risk what?"
"The chance that I can subdue him as I subdued one of his fellows,"
replied Tarzan. "I told you--you recall?"
"Yes, but I did not picture so huge a creature. Why, John, he is
as big as a battleship."
The ape-man laughed. "Not quite, though I'll admit he looks quite
as formidable as one when he charges."
They were moving away slowly so as not to attract the attention of
the beast.
"I believe we're going to make it," whispered the woman, her voice
tense with suppressed excitement. A low rumble rolled like distant
thunder from the wood. Tarzan shook his head.
"'The big show is about to commence in the main tent,'" he quoted,
grinning. He caught the woman suddenly to his breast and kissed
her. "One can never tell, Jane," he said. "We'll do our best--that
is all we can do. Give me your spear, and--don't run. The only
hope we have lies in that little brain more than in us. If I can
control it--well, let us see."
The beast had emerged from the forest and was looking about through
his weak eyes, evidently in search of them. Tarzan raised his voice
in the weird notes of the Tor-o-don's cry, "Whee-oo! Whee-oo!
Whee-oo!" For a moment the great beast stood motionless, his attention
riveted by the call. The ape-man advanced straight toward him, Jane
Clayton at his elbow. "Whee-oo!" he cried again peremptorily. A
low rumble rolled from the gryf's cavernous chest in answer to the
call, and the beast moved slowly toward them.
"Fine!" exclaimed Tarzan. "The odds are in our favor now. You can
keep your nerve?--but I do not need to ask."
"I know no fear when I am with Tarzan of the Apes," she replied
softly, and he felt the pressure of her soft fingers on his arm.
And thus the two approached the giant monster of a forgotten
epoch until they stood close in the shadow of a mighty shoulder.
"Whee-oo!" shouted Tarzan and struck the hideous snout with the
shaft of the spear. The vicious side snap that did not reach its
mark--that evidently was not intended to reach its mark--was the
hoped-for answer.
"Come," said Tarzan, and taking Jane by the hand he led her around
behind the monster and up the broad tail to the great, horned back.
"Now will we ride in the state that our forebears knew, before which
the pomp of modern kings pales into cheap and tawdry insignificance.
How would you like to canter through Hyde Park on a mount like
this?"
"I am afraid the Bobbies would be shocked by our riding habits,
John," she cried, laughingly.
Tarzan guided the gryf in the direction that they wished to go.
Steep embankments and rivers proved no slightest obstacle to the
ponderous creature.
"A prehistoric tank, this," Jane assured him, and laughing and
talking they continued on their way. Once they came unexpectedly
upon a dozen Ho-don warriors as the gryf emerged suddenly into
a small clearing. The fellows were lying about in the shade of a
single tree that grew alone. When they saw the beast they leaped
to their feet in consternation and at their shouts the gryf issued
his hideous, challenging bellow and charged them. The warriors
fled in all directions while Tarzan belabored the beast across the
snout with his spear in an effort to control him, and at last he
succeeded, just as the gryf was almost upon one poor devil that
it seemed to have singled out for its special prey. With an angry
grunt the gryf stopped and the man, with a single backward glance
that showed a face white with terror, disappeared in the jungle he
had been seeking to reach.
The ape-man was elated. He had doubted that he could control the
beast should it take it into its head to charge a victim and had
intended abandoning it before they reached the Kor-ul-ja. Now he
altered his plans--they would ride to the very village of Om-at
upon the gryf, and the Kor-ul-ja would have food for conversation
for many generations to come. Nor was it the theatric instinct
of the ape-man alone that gave favor to this plan. The element of
Jane's safety entered into the matter for he knew that she would
be safe from man and beast alike so long as she rode upon the back
of Pal-ul-don's most formidable creature.
As they proceeded slowly in the direction of the Kor-ul-ja, for the
natural gait of the gryf is far from rapid, a handful of terrified
warriors came panting into A-lur, spreading a weird story of the
Dor-ul-Otho, only none dared call him the Dor-ul-Otho aloud. Instead
they spoke of him as Tarzan-jad-guru and they told of meeting him
mounted upon a mighty gryf beside the beautiful stranger woman whom
Ko-tan would have made queen of Pal-ul-don. This story was brought
to Lu-don who caused the warriors to be hailed to his presence,
when he questioned them closely until finally he was convinced that
they spoke the truth and when they had told him the direction in
which the two were traveling, Lu-don guessed that they were on their
way to Ja-lur to join Ja-don, a contingency that he felt must be
prevented at any cost. As was his wont in the stress of emergency, he
called Pan-sat into consultation and for long the two sat in close
conference. When they arose a plan had been developed. Pan-sat
went immediately to his own quarters where he removed the headdress
and trappings of a priest to don in their stead the harness and
weapons of a warrior. Then he returned to Lu-don.
"Good!" cried the latter, when he saw him. "Not even your fellow-priests
or the slaves that wait upon you daily would know you now. Lose no
time, Pan-sat, for all depends upon the speed with which you strike
and--remember! Kill the man if you can; but in any event bring the
woman to me here, alive. You understand?"
"Yes, master," replied the priest, and so it was that a lone warrior
set out from A-lur and made his way northwest in the direction of
Ja-lur.
The gorge next above Kor-ul-ja is uninhabited and here the wily
Ja-don had chosen to mobilize his army for its descent upon A-lur.
Two considerations influenced him--one being the fact that could he
keep his plans a secret from the enemy he would have the advantage
of delivering a surprise attack upon the forces of Lu-don from a
direction that they would not expect attack, and in the meantime he
would be able to keep his men from the gossip of the cities where
strange tales were already circulating relative to the coming of
Jad-ben-Otho in person to aid the high priest in his war against
Ja-don. It took stout hearts and loyal ones to ignore the implied
threats of divine vengeance that these tales suggested. Already
there had been desertions and the cause of Ja-don seemed tottering
to destruction.
Such was the state of affairs when a sentry posted on the knoll
in the mouth of the gorge sent word that he had observed in the
valley below what appeared at a distance to be nothing less than
two people mounted upon the back of a gryf. He said that he had
caught glimpses of them, as they passed open spaces, and they seemed
to be traveling up the river in the direction of the Kor-ul-ja.
At first Ja-don was inclined to doubt the veracity of his informant;
but, like all good generals, he could not permit even palpably false
information to go uninvestigated and so he determined to visit the
knoll himself and learn precisely what it was that the sentry had
observed through the distorting spectacles of fear. He had scarce
taken his place beside the man ere the fellow touched his arm and
pointed. "They are closer now," he whispered, "you can see them
plainly." And sure enough, not a quarter of a mile away Ja-don saw
that which in his long experience in Pal-ul-don he had never before
seen--two humans riding upon the broad back of a gryf.
At first he could scarce credit even this testimony of his own eyes,
but soon he realized that the creatures below could be naught else
than they appeared, and then he recognized the man and rose to his
feet with a loud cry.
"It is he!" he shouted to those about him. "It is the Dor-ul-Otho
himself."
The gryf and his riders heard the shout though not the words. The
former bellowed terrifically and started in the direction of the
knoll, and Ja-don, followed by a few of his more intrepid warriors,
ran to meet him. Tarzan, loath to enter an unnecessary quarrel,
tried to turn the animal, but as the beast was far from tractable
it always took a few minutes to force the will of its master upon
it; and so the two parties were quite close before the ape-man
succeeded in stopping the mad charge of his furious mount.
Ja-don and his warriors, however, had come to the realization that
this bellowing creature was bearing down upon them with evil intent
and they had assumed the better part of valor and taken to trees,
accordingly. It was beneath these trees that Tarzan finally stopped
the gryf. Ja-don called down to him.
"We are friends," he cried. "I am Ja-don, Chief of Ja-lur. I and
my warriors lay our foreheads upon the feet of Dor-ul-Otho and pray
that he will aid us in our righteous fight with Lu-don, the high
priest."
"You have not defeated him yet?" asked Tarzan. "Why I thought you
would be king of Pal-ul-don long before this."
"No," replied Ja-don. "The people fear the high priest and now that
he has in the temple one whom he claims to be Jad-ben-Otho many of
my warriors are afraid. If they but knew that the Dor-ul-Otho had
returned and that he had blessed the cause of Ja-don I am sure that
victory would be ours."
Tarzan thought for a long minute and then he spoke. "Ja-don," he
said, "was one of the few who believed in me and who wished to accord
me fair treatment. I have a debt to pay to Ja-don and an account
to settle with Lu-don, not alone on my own behalf, but principally
upon that of my mate. I will go with you Ja-don to mete to Lu-don
the punishment he deserves. Tell me, chief, how may the Dor-ul-Otho
best serve his father's people?"
"By coming with me to Ja-lur and the villages between," replied
Ja-don quickly, "that the people may see that it is indeed the
Dor-ul-Otho and that he smiles upon the cause of Ja-don."
"You think that they will believe in me more now than before?"
asked the ape-man.
"Who will dare doubt that he who rides upon the great gryf is less
than a god?" returned the old chief.
"And if I go with you to the battle at A-lur," asked Tarzan, "can
you assure the safety of my mate while I am gone from her?"
"She shall remain in Ja-lur with the Princess O-lo-a and my own
women," replied Ja-don. "There she will be safe for there I shall
leave trusted warriors to protect them. Say that you will come,
O Dor-ul-Otho, and my cup of happiness will be full, for even now
Ta-den, my son, marches toward A-lur with a force from the northwest
and if we can attack, with the Dor-ul-Otho at our head, from the
northeast our arms should be victorious."
"It shall be as you wish, Ja-don," replied the ape-man; "but first
you must have meat fetched for my gryf."
"There are many carcasses in the camp above," replied Ja-don, "for
my men have little else to do than hunt."
"Good," exclaimed Tarzan. "Have them brought at once."
And when the meat was-brought and laid at a distance the ape-man
slipped from the back of his fierce charger and fed him with his
own hand. "See that there is always plenty of flesh for him," he
said to Ja-don, for he guessed that his mastery might be short-lived
should the vicious beast become over-hungry.
It was morning before they could leave for Ja-lur, but Tarzan found
the gryf lying where he had left him the night before beside the
carcasses of two antelope and a lion; but now there was nothing
but the gryf.
"The paleontologists say that he was herbivorous," said Tarzan as
he and Jane approached the beast.
The journey to Ja-lur was made through the scattered villages where
Ja-don hoped to arouse a keener enthusiasm for his cause. A party
of warriors preceded Tarzan that the people might properly be
prepared, not only for the sight of the gryf but to receive the
Dor-ul-Otho as became his high station. The results were all that
Ja-don could have hoped and in no village through which they passed
was there one who doubted the deity of the ape-man.
As they approached Ja-lur a strange warrior joined them, one whom
none of Ja-don's following knew. He said he came from one of the
villages to the south and that he had been treated unfairly by
one of Lu-don's chiefs. For this reason he had deserted the cause
of the high priest and come north in the hope of finding a home
in Ja-lur. As every addition to his forces was welcome to the old
chief he permitted the stranger to accompany them, and so he came
into Ja-lur with them.
There arose now the question as to what was to be done with the
gryf while they remained in the city. It was with difficulty that
Tarzan had prevented the savage beast from attacking all who came
near it when they had first entered the camp of Ja-don in the
uninhabited gorge next to the Kor-ul-ja, but during the march to
Ja-lur the creature had seemed to become accustomed to the presence
of the Ho-don. The latter, however, gave him no cause for annoyance
since they kept as far from him as possible and when he passed
through the streets of the city he was viewed from the safety
of lofty windows and roofs. However tractable he appeared to have
become there would have been no enthusiastic seconding of a suggestion
to turn him loose within the city. It was finally suggested that
he be turned into a walled enclosure within the palace grounds and
this was done, Tarzan driving him in after Jane had dismounted.
More meat was thrown to him and he was left to his own devices, the
awe-struck inhabitants of the palace not even venturing to climb
upon the walls to look at him.
Ja-don led Tarzan and Jane to the quarters of the Princess O-lo-a
who, the moment that she beheld the ape-man, threw herself to the
ground and touched her forehead to his feet. Pan-at-lee was there
with her and she too seemed happy to see Tarzan-jad-guru again.
When they found that Jane was his mate they looked with almost
equal awe upon her, since even the most skeptical of the warriors
of Ja-don were now convinced that they were entertaining a god and
a goddess within the city of Ja-lur, and that with the assistance
of the power of these two, the cause of Ja-don would soon be
victorious and the old Lion-man set upon the throne of Pal-ul-don.
From O-lo-a Tarzan learned that Ta-den had returned and that they
were to be united in marriage with the weird rites of their religion
and in accordance with the custom of their people as soon as Ta-den
came home from the battle that was to be fought at A-lur.
The recruits were now gathering at the city and it was decided
that the next day Ja-don and Tarzan would return to the main body
in the hidden camp and immediately under cover of night the attack
should be made in force upon Lu-don's forces at A-lur. Word of
this was sent to Ta-den where he awaited with his warriors upon
the north side of Jad-ben-lul, only a few miles from A-lur.
In the carrying out of these plans it was necessary to leave Jane
behind in Ja-don's palace at Ja-lur, but O-lo-a and her women were
with her and there were many warriors to guard them, so Tarzan
bid his mate good-bye with no feelings of apprehension as to her
safety, and again seated upon the gryf made his way out of the city
with Ja-don and his warriors.
At the mouth of the gorge the ape-man abandoned his huge mount since
it had served its purpose and could be of no further value to him
in their attack upon A-lur, which was to be made just before dawn
the following day when, as he could not have been seen by the enemy,
the effect of his entry to the city upon the gryf would have been
totally lost. A couple of sharp blows with the spear sent the big
animal rumbling and growling in the direction of the Kor-ul-gryf
nor was the ape-man sorry to see it depart since he had never known
at what instant its short temper and insatiable appetite for flesh
might turn it upon some of his companions.
Immediately upon their arrival at the gorge the march on A-lur was
commenced.
