When the expedition returned,
following their fruitless endeavor
to succor D'Arnot, Captain Dufranne
was anxious to steam away as
quickly as possible, and all
save
Jane had acquiesced.
"No," she said, determinedly, "I
shall not go, nor should you,
for there are two friends in
that jungle who will come out
of it some day expecting to find
us awaiting them.
"Your officer,
Captain Dufranne, is one of
them, and the forest
man who has saved the lives of
every member of my father's party
is the other.
"He left me
at the edge of the jungle two
days ago to hasten
to the aid of my father and Mr.
Clayton, as he thought, and he
has stayed to rescue Lieutenant
D'Arnot; of that you may be sure.
"Had he been
too late to be of service to
the lieutenant
he would have been back before
now--the fact that he is not
back is sufficient proof to me
that he is delayed because Lieutenant
D'Arnot is wounded, or he has
had to follow his captors further
than the village which your sailors
attacked."
"But poor D'Arnot's uniform
and all his belongings were found
in that village, Miss Porter," argued
the captain, "and the natives
showed great excitement when
questioned as to the white man's
fate."
"Yes, Captain,
but they did not admit that
he was dead and
as for his clothes and accouterments
being in their possession--why
more civilized peoples than these
poor savage negroes strip their
prisoners of every article of
value whether they intend killing
them or not.
"Even the soldiers
of my own dear South looted
not only the
living but the dead. It is strong
circumstantial evidence, I will
admit, but it is not positive
proof."
"Possibly your forest man,
himself was captured or killed
by the savages," suggested Captain
Dufranne.
The girl laughed.
"You do not know him," she
replied, a little thrill of pride
setting her nerves a-tingle at
the thought that she spoke of
her own.
"I admit that he would be worth
waiting for, this superman of
yours," laughed the captain. "I
most certainly should like to
see him."
"Then wait for him, my dear
captain," urged the girl, "for
I intend doing so."
The Frenchman would have been
a very much surprised man could
he have interpreted the true
meaning of the girl's words.
They had been walking from
the beach toward the cabin as
they talked, and now they joined
a little group sitting on camp
stools in the shade of a great
tree beside the cabin.
Professor Porter was there,
and Mr. Philander and Clayton,
with Lieutenant Charpentier and
two of his brother officers,
while Esmeralda hovered in the
background, ever and anon venturing
opinions and comments with the
freedom of an old and much-indulged
family servant.
The officers arose and saluted
as their superior approached,
and Clayton surrendered his camp
stool to Jane.
"We were just discussing poor
Paul's fate," said Captain Dufranne. "Miss
Porter insists that we have no
absolute proof of his death--nor
have we. And on the other hand
she maintains that the continued
absence of your omnipotent jungle
friend indicates that D'Arnot
is still in need of his services,
either because he is wounded,
or still is a prisoner in a more
distant native village."
"It has been suggested," ventured
Lieutenant Charpentier, "that
the wild man may have been a
member of the tribe of blacks
who attacked our party--that
he was hastening to aid THEM--his
own people."
Jane shot a quick glance at
Clayton.
"It seems vastly more reasonable," said
Professor Porter.
"I do not agree with you," objected
Mr. Philander. "He had ample
opportunity to harm us himself,
or to lead his people against
us. Instead, during our long
residence here, he has been uniformly
consistent in his role of protector
and provider."
"That is true," interjected
Clayton, "yet we must not overlook
the fact that except for himself
the only human beings within
hundreds of miles are savage
cannibals. He was armed precisely
as are they, which indicates
that he has maintained relations
of some nature with them, and
the fact that he is but one against
possibly thousands suggests that
these relations could scarcely
have been other than friendly."
"It seems improbable then that
he is not connected with them," remarked
the captain; "possibly a member
of this tribe."
"Otherwise," added another
of the officers, "how could he
have lived a sufficient length
of time among the savage denizens
of the jungle, brute and human,
to have become proficient in
woodcraft, or in the use of African
weapons."
"You are judging him according
to your own standards, gentlemen," said
Jane. "An ordinary white man
such as any of you--pardon me,
I did not mean just that--rather,
a white man above the ordinary
in physique and intelligence
could never, I grant you, have
lived a year alone and naked
in this tropical jungle; but
this man not only surpasses the
average white man in strength
and agility, but as far transcends
our trained athletes and `strong
men' as they surpass a day-old
babe; and his courage and ferocity
in battle are those of the wild
beast."
"He has certainly won a loyal
champion, Miss Porter," said
Captain Dufranne, laughing. "I
am sure that there be none of
us here but would willingly face
death a hundred times in its
most terrifying forms to deserve
the tributes of one even half
so loyal--or so beautiful."
"You would not wonder that
I defend him," said the girl, "could
you have seen him as I saw him,
battling in my behalf with that
huge hairy brute.
"Could you
have seen him charge the monster
as a bull might charge
a grizzly--absolutely without
sign of fear or hesitation--you
would have believed him more
than human.
"Could you
have seen those mighty muscles
knotting under
the brown skin--could you have
seen them force back those awful
fangs--you too would have thought
him invincible.
"And could
you have seen the chivalrous
treatment which he
accorded a strange girl of a
strange race, you would feel
the same absolute confidence
in him that I feel."
"You have won your suit, my
fair pleader," cried the captain. "This
court finds the defendant not
guilty, and the cruiser shall
wait a few days longer that he
may have an opportunity to come
and thank the divine Portia."
"For the Lord's sake honey," cried
Esmeralda. "You all don't mean
to tell ME that you're going
to stay right here in this here
land of carnivable animals when
you all got the opportunity to
escapade on that boat? Don't
you tell me THAT, honey."
"Why, Esmeralda! You should
be ashamed of yourself," cried
Jane. "Is this any way to show
your gratitude to the man who
saved your life twice?"
"Well, Miss
Jane, that's all jest as you
say; but that there
forest man never did save us
to stay here. He done save us
so we all could get AWAY from
here. I expect he be mighty peevish
when he find we ain't got no
more sense than to stay right
here after he done give us the
chance to get away.
"I hoped I'd
never have to sleep in this
here geological
garden another night and listen
to all them lonesome noises that
come out of that jumble after
dark."
"I don't blame you a bit, Esmeralda," said
Clayton, "and you certainly did
hit it off right when you called
them `lonesome' noises. I never
have been able to find the right
word for them but that's it,
don't you know, lonesome noises."
"You and Esmeralda had better
go and live on the cruiser," said
Jane, in fine scorn. "What would
you think if you HAD to live
all of your life in that jungle
as our forest man has done?"
"I'm afraid I'd be a blooming
bounder as a wild man," laughed
Clayton, ruefully. "Those noises
at night make the hair on my
head bristle. I suppose that
I should be ashamed to admit
it, but it's the truth."
"I don't know about that," said
Lieutenant Charpentier. "I never
thought much about fear and that
sort of thing--never tried to
determine whether I was a coward
or brave man; but the other night
as we lay in the jungle there
after poor D'Arnot was taken,
and those jungle noises rose
and fell around us I began to
think that I was a coward indeed.
It was not the roaring and growling
of the big beasts that affected
me so much as it was the stealthy
noises--the ones that you heard
suddenly close by and then listened
vainly for a repetition of--the
unaccountable sounds as of a
great body moving almost noiselessly,
and the knowledge that you didn't
KNOW how close it was, or whether
it were creeping closer after
you ceased to hear it? It was
those noises--and the eyes.
"MON DIEU!
I shall see them in the dark
forever--the eyes
that you see, and those that
you don't see, but feel--ah,
they are the worst."
All were silent for a moment,
and then Jane spoke.
"And he is out there," she
said, in an awe-hushed whisper. "Those
eyes will be glaring at him to-night,
and at your comrade Lieutenant
D'Arnot. Can you leave them,
gentlemen, without at least rendering
them the passive succor which
remaining here a few days longer
might insure them?"
"Tut, tut, child," said Professor
Porter. "Captain Dufranne is
willing to remain, and for my
part I am perfectly willing,
perfectly willing--as I always
have been to humor your childish
whims."
"We can utilize the morrow
in recovering the chest, Professor," suggested
Mr. Philander.
"Quite so, quite so, Mr. Philander,
I had almost forgotten the treasure," exclaimed
Professor Porter. "Possibly we
can borrow some men from Captain
Dufranne to assist us, and one
of the prisoners to point out
the location of the chest."
"Most assuredly, my dear Professor,
we are all yours to command," said
the captain.
And so it was arranged that
on the next day Lieutenant Charpentier
was to take a detail of ten men,
and one of the mutineers of the
Arrow as a guide, and unearth
the treasure; and that the cruiser
would remain for a full week
in the little harbor. At the
end of that time it was to be
assumed that D'Arnot was truly
dead, and that the forest man
would not return while they remained.
Then the two vessels were to
leave with all the party.
Professor Porter did not accompany
the treasure-seekers on the following
day, but when he saw them returning
empty-handed toward noon, he
hastened forward to meet them
--his usual preoccupied indifference
entirely vanished, and in its
place a nervous and excited manner.
"Where is the treasure?" he
cried to Clayton, while yet a
hundred feet separated them.
Clayton shook his head.
"Gone," he
said, as he neared the professor.
"Gone! It cannot be. Who could
have taken it?" cried Professor
Porter.
"God only knows, Professor," replied
Clayton. "We might have thought
the fellow who guided us was
lying about the location, but
his surprise and consternation
on finding no chest beneath the
body of the murdered Snipes were
too real to be feigned. And then
our spades showed us that SOMETHING
had been buried beneath the corpse,
for a hole had been there and
it had been filled with loose
earth."
"But who could have taken it?" repeated
Professor Porter.
"Suspicion might naturally
fall on the men of the cruiser," said
Lieutenant Charpentier, "but
for the fact that sub-lieutenant
Janviers here assures me that
no men have had shore leave--that
none has been on shore since
we anchored here except under
command of an officer. I do not
know that you would suspect our
men, but I am glad that there
is now no chance for suspicion
to fall on them," he concluded.
"It would never have occurred
to me to suspect the men to whom
we owe so much," replied Professor
Porter, graciously. "I would
as soon suspect my dear Clayton
here, or Mr. Philander."
The Frenchmen smiled, both
officers and sailors. It was
plain to see that a burden had
been lifted from their minds.
"The treasure has been gone
for some time," continued Clayton. "In
fact the body fell apart as we
lifted it, which indicates that
whoever removed the treasure
did so while the corpse was still
fresh, for it was intact when
we first uncovered it."
"There must have been several
in the party," said Jane, who
had joined them. "You remember
that it took four men to carry
it."
"By jove!" cried Clayton. "That's
right. It must have been done
by a party of blacks. Probably
one of them saw the men bury
the chest and then returned immediately
after with a party of his friends,
and carried it off."
"Speculation is futile," said
Professor Porter sadly. "The
chest is gone. We shall never
see it again, nor the treasure
that was in it."
Only Jane knew what the loss
meant to her father, and none
there knew what it meant to her.
Six days later Captain Dufranne
announced that they would sail
early on the morrow.
Jane would have begged for
a further reprieve, had it not
been that she too had begun to
believe that her forest lover
would return no more.
In spite of herself she began
to entertain doubts and fears.
The reasonableness of the arguments
of these disinterested French
officers commenced to convince
her against her will.
That he was a cannibal she
would not believe, but that he
was an adopted member of some
savage tribe at length seemed
possible to her.
She would not admit that he
could be dead. It was impossible
to believe that that perfect
body, so filled with triumphant
life, could ever cease to harbor
the vital spark--as soon believe
that immortality were dust.
As Jane permitted herself to
harbor these thoughts, others
equally unwelcome forced themselves
upon her.
If he belonged to some savage
tribe he had a savage wife --a
dozen of them perhaps--and wild,
half-caste children. The girl
shuddered, and when they told
her that the cruiser would sail
on the morrow she was almost
glad.
It was she, though, who suggested
that arms, ammunition, supplies
and comforts be left behind in
the cabin, ostensibly for that
intangible personality who had
signed himself Tarzan of the
Apes, and for D'Arnot should
he still be living, but really,
she hoped, for her forest god--even
though his feet should prove
of clay.
And at the last minute she
left a message for him, to be
transmitted by Tarzan of the
Apes.
She was the last to leave the
cabin, returning on some trivial
pretext after the others had
started for the boat.
She kneeled down beside the
bed in which she had spent so
many nights, and offered up a
prayer for the safety of her
primeval man, and crushing his
locket to her lips she murmured:
"I love you,
and because I love you I believe
in you. But
if I did not believe, still should
I love. Had you come back for
me, and had there been no other
way, I would have gone into the
jungle with you--forever."
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