第 30 节
作者:击水三千      更新:2021-02-18 22:45      字数:9322
  With the escape of the Arabs the great apes had turned their attention
  to their fallen comrades。         One was dead; but another and the great white
  ape     still  breathed。     The     hairy    monsters     gathered     about    these   two;
  grumbling and muttering after the fashion of their kind。
  Tarzan   was   the   first   to   regain   consciousness。    Sitting   up;   he   looked
  about     him。   Blood      was   flowing    from   a   wound     in  his  shoulder。     The
  shock   had   thrown   him  down   and   dazed   him;   but   he   was   far   from  dead。
  Rising slowly to his feet he let his eyes wander toward the spot where last
  he   had    seen   the  she;   who    had   aroused    within   his   savage   breast    such
  strange emotions。
  〃Where is she?〃 he asked。
  〃The Tarmangani took her   away;〃   replied one of   the apes。  〃Who   are
  you who speak the language of the Mangani?〃                  〃I am Tarzan;〃 replied the
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  Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar
  ape…man; 〃mighty hunter; greatest of fighters。                 When I roar; the jungle is
  silent and trembles with terror。            I am Tarzan of the Apes。            I have been
  away; but now I have come back to my people。〃
  〃Yes;〃 spoke up an old ape; 〃he is Tarzan。               I know him。 It is well that
  he has come back。          Now we shall have good hunting。〃
  The other apes came closer and sniffed at the ape…man。 Tarzan stood
  very still; his fangs half bared; and his muscles tense and ready for action;
  but    there   was   none    there   to   question    his  right   to  be   with   them;    and
  presently; the inspection satisfactorily concluded; the apes again returned
  their attention to the other survivor。
  He  too   was but   slightly  wounded;  a   bullet;   grazing his   skull;   having
  stunned him; so that when he regained consciousness he was apparently as
  fit as ever。
  The apes told Tarzan that they had been traveling toward the east when
  the   scent   spoor   of   the   she   had   attracted   them   and   they   had   stalked   her。
  Now   they   wished   to   continue   upon   their   interrupted   march;   but   Tarzan
  preferred   to   follow   the Arabs   and   take   the   woman   from  them。          After   a
  considerable   argument   it   was   decided   that   they  should   first   hunt   toward
  the east for a few days and then return and search for the Arabs; and as
  time is of little moment to the ape folk; Tarzan acceded to their demands;
  he;   himself;   having   reverted   to   a   mental   state   but   little   superior   to   their
  own。
  Another   circumstance   which   decided   him   to   postpone   pursuit   of   the
  Arabs was the painfulness of his wound。 It would be better to wait until
  that   had   healed   before   he   pitted   himself   again   against   the   guns   of   the
  Tarmangani。
  And so; as Jane Clayton was pushed into her prison hut and her hands
  and feet securely bound; her natural protector roamed off toward the east
  in    company      with    a  score    of  hairy    monsters;     with   whom      he   rubbed
  shoulders as   familiarly as   a few   months before he   had mingled   with   his
  immaculate fellow…members of one of London's most select and exclusive
  clubs。
  But    all  the   time   there    lurked    in  the  back    of   his  injured    brain   a
  troublesome   conviction   that   he   had   no   business   where   he   wasthat   he
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  should be; for some unaccountable reason; elsewhere and among another
  sort of creature。      Also; there was the compelling urge to be upon the scent
  of the Arabs; undertaking the rescue of the woman who had appealed so
  strongly      to   his   savage    sentiments;      though     the    thought…word       which
  naturally     occurred     to   him    in  the   contemplation       of   the   venture;    was
  〃capture;〃 rather than 〃rescue。〃
  To him she was as any other jungle she; and he had set his heart upon
  her as his mate。       For an instant; as he had approached closer to her in the
  clearing where the Arabs had seized her; the subtle aroma which had first
  aroused his desires in the hut that had imprisoned her had fallen upon his
  nostrils;   and   told   him   that   he   had   found   the   creature   for   whom   he   had
  developed so sudden and inexplicable a passion。
  The matter of the pouch of jewels also occupied his thoughts to some
  extent;  so   that   he   found   a  double urge   for   his   return   to   the  camp   of   the
  raiders。     He would   obtain possession   of both  his pretty  pebbles and   the
  she。     Then he would return to the great apes with his new mate and his
  baubles;   and   leading   his   hairy  companions   into   a   far   wilderness   beyond
  the   ken   of   man;   live   out   his   life;   hunting   and   battling   among   the   lower
  orders after the only manner which he now recollected。
  He spoke to his fellow…apes upon the matter; in an attempt to persuade
  them to accompany  him; but all   except Taglat and   Chulk refused。                       The
  latter was young and strong; endowed with a greater intelligence than his
  fellows;     and    therefore     the   possessor     of  better    developed      powers     of
  imagination。        To     him    the   expedition     savored     of   adventure;     and    so
  appealed; strongly。        With Taglat there was another incentivea secret and
  sinister   incentive;   which;   had   Tarzan   of   the   Apes   had   knowledge   of   it;
  would have sent him at the other's throat in jealous rage。
  Taglat     was   no   longer    young;    but   he   was   still  a  formidable      beast;
  mightily muscled; cruel; and; because of his greater experience; crafty and
  cunning。   Too;   he   was   of   giant   proportions;   the   very   weight   of   his   huge
  bulk   serving   ofttimes   to   discount   in   his   favor   the   superior   agility   of   a
  younger antagonist。
  He   was   of   a   morose   and   sullen   disposition   that   marked   him   even
  among his frowning fellows; where such characteristics are the rule rather
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  Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar
  than the exception; and; though Tarzan did not guess it; he hated the ape…
  man with a ferocity that he was able to hide only because the dominant
  spirit   of   the   nobler   creature   had   inspired   within   him   a   species   of   dread
  which was as powerful as it was inexplicable to him。
  These two; then; were to be Tarzan's companions upon his return to the
  village     of  Achmet      Zek。     As    they    set  off;   the   balance    of   the   tribe
  vouchsafed them but a parting stare; and then resumed the serious business
  of feeding。
  Tarzan found difficulty in keeping the minds of his fellows set upon
  the purpose of their adventure; for the mind of an ape lacks the power of
  long…sustained   concentration。           To   set   out   upon   a   long   journey;   with   a
  definite   destination   in   view;   is   one   thing;  to   remember   that   purpose   and
  keep it uppermost in one's mind continually is quite another。                      There are
  so many things to distract one's attention along the way。
  Chulk was; at first; for rushing rapidly ahead as though the village of
  the raiders lay but an hour's march before them instead of several days; but
  within a few minutes a fallen tree attracted his attention with its suggestion
  of   rich   and   succulent   forage   beneath;   and   when   Tarzan;   missing           him;
  returned in search; he found Chulk squatting beside the rotting bole; from
  beneath which he was assiduously engaged in digging out the grubs and
  beetles; whose kind form a considerable proportion of the diet of the apes。
  Unless Tarzan desired to fight there was nothing to do but wait until
  Chulk had exhausted the storehouse; and this he did; only to discover that
  Taglat     was   now    missing。     After     a  considerable      search;   he   found    that
  worthy gentleman contemplating the sufferings of an injured rodent he had
  pounced upon。         He would sit in apparent indifference; gazing in another
  direction; while the crippled creature; wriggled slowly and painfully away
  from   him;   and   then;   just   as   his   victim   felt   assured   of   escape;   he   would
  reach out a giant palm and slam  it down upon the fugitive。                       Again   and
  again   he   repeated   this   op