Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 94, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 April 1920 — TARZAN AND THE Jewels of Opar [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TARZAN AND THE Jewels of Opar

By EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS

XM&orqf "Tasem if thiAf" Tana*’*

CapffigM, NM, by A a Heang * Oa ■ l_ SYNOPBI& CHAPTER I.—Hiding in the tangle after killing hie captain in a fit of brooding madnees, Lieut Albert Warper. Belgian officer, is captured by Achmet Zek, Arab slave raider, who spares his life and proposes to him a scheme to kidnap Jane, wife of Tarsan (Lord Greystoke) and sell her Into slavery. Werper accepts. CHAPTER IL—Posing as Jules Freeoult. French traveler, Werper is hospitably received by the Greystokes. He learns his host to In financial straits and plans an expedition to the treasure vaults of Opar to procure gold. Werper informs Achmet Zek of the opportunity to seize Lady Greystoke, and follows Tarsan to learn the secret of Onar CHAPTER HL—Spying on Tarsan, Werper sees him load his blacks with Sold from the treasure chamber of the un Worshipers. A convulsion of Nature causes the collapse of the vault imprisoning both men. CHAPTER IV.—Werper recovers from the shock and finding Tarzan apparently dead he leaves him. Seeking a way to safety Werper is seized by priests of the Flaming God, a degenerate race. He is about to be offered up as a sacrifice when the ceremonies are Interrupted by the appearance of a hunger-maddened Hon. CHAPTER V.—Believing Tarzan dead his black followers return home with the gold. Achmet Zek, acting on Warper's Information, has attacked the Greystoke home, burned it, and carried off Lady Greystoke. Mugambi, Tarzan’s lieutenant, is severely wounded but recovers and follows the raiders. Cmattek V*.—xx)rd Greystoke recovers consciousness, but the accident has destroyed his memory and he is again Tarzan of the Apes. Fleeing from the scene of his misfortune he ‘finds himself in the jewel room of Opar. He fills his pouch with the "pretty pebbles." Reaching the sacrificial chamber he Is, recognized by La, high priestess, whom he had known in previous years. He slays the lion and releases Werper. The latter sees the jewels and covets them. CHAPTER vn.—Tarzan and Werper watch the former’s party return to the ruined Greystoke home and bury the gold. Tarzan has no memory of the place. Ho buries the jewels, which Werper digs up, and escapes while Tarzan sleeps. CHAPTER Vni. —teaching Achmet Eek's stronghold, Werper tells mtn of the gold but not of the jewels. Lady Grey■toke Is there, a prisoner. Achmet discovers Werper has the Jewels, and the Belgian, fearing for his life, escapes with the gems. CHAPTER IX.—Tarzan misses Werper but does not discover the theft of the jewels. He resumes the life of a wild nan. La and the priests of the Flamins 3od seek Tarzan and Werper to recover the sacrificial knife, which the latter had jarrled off. They capture Tarzan. CHAPTER X.—The priests make ready to offer Tarzan as a sacrifice to the naming God. La offers him life In exchange for his love. He refuses, and to Jie jungle language calls Tantor, the elephant, to his rescue. Tantor comes, but n an Insane rage destroys all In his path. La frees Tarzan and he saves her from the elephant.

CHAPTER XI. A Priestess but Yet a Woman. At first La closed her eyes and clung to Tarzan la terror, though she made 'no outcry; but presently she gained sufficient courage to look about her, to look down at the ground" beneath, and even to keep her eyes open during the wide, perilous swings from tree to tree, and then there came over her a sense of safety because of her confidence in the perfect physical creature in whose strength and nerve and agility her fate lay. A strange anomaly was La of Opar—a creature of circumstance torn by conflicting emotions. Now the cruel and bloodthirsty creature of a heartless god and again a melting woman filled with compassion and tenderness. Sometimes the incarnation of Jealousy and revenge and sometimes a sobbing maiden, generous and forgiving; at once a virgin and a wanton; but always—a woman. Such was La. A hapless" priest seeking shelter In the jungle chanced to show himself to enraged Tantor. The great beast turned to one side, bore down upon the crooked little man, snuffed him out, and then, diverted from his course, blundered away toward the south. In a few minutes even the noise of his trumpeting was lost In the distance. Tarzan dropped to the ground and La slipped to her feet from his back. •‘Call your people together,” said Tar zan. "They will kill ma.” replied La. . _ “They will not kill you,” contradicted the ape-man. “No one will kill you while Tarzan of the Apes Is here. Call them and we will talk with them.” La raised her voice in a weird, flutelike call that carried far into the jungle on every side. From near and far came answering shouts In the barking tones of the Oparign priests: “We come! We come!” Again and again. La repeated her summons until singly and in pairs the greater portion of her following approached and halted a short distance away from 'the high priestess and her savior. They came with seowUng brows and threatening mien. When all had come Tarzan ad dressed • them. . “Your La is safe," said the ape-man. “Had she slain me she would now herself be dead and manyjmore of you ; ’but she spared me that I might save her- Go your way with her back to Opar, and Tarzan will go his way into the jungle. Let there be peace ah ways between Tarsan and La. What is your answer?” ■ -, y / The priests puiDbled sou smok

their heads. They spoke together and La and Tarzan could see that they were not favorably Inclined toward the proposition. They did not wish to take La back and they did wish to complete the sacrifice of Tarzan to the Flaming God. At last the ape-man became Impatient “You will obey the commands of your queen,” he said, “and go back to Opar with her or Tarzan of the Apes will call together the other creatures of the jungle and slay you alt La saved me that I might save you and her. , I know not where the sacred knife is; but you can fashion another. Had I not taken it from La you would have slain me and now your god must be glad that I took it since J have saved his priestess from love-mad Tantor. Will you go back to Opar with Tai, promising that no harm shall befall her?" The priests gathered together In a little knot arguing and discussing. It became evident to Tarzan that one of their number was preventing the acceptance of his proposal. This was the high priest, whose heart was filled with jealous rage because La openly acknowledged her love stranger, wnen oy tne worm customs m their edit she should have belonged to him. Seemingly there was to be no solution of the problem, until another priest stepped forward and, raisins his hand, addressed La. ‘■nadj, the high priest,” he announced, “would sacrifice you both to the Flaming God; but all of us except Oadj would gladly return to Opar with our queen.” “You are many against one," spoke up Tarzan. “Why should you not have your will? Go your way with La to Opar, and if Cadj interferes slay him.” ' The priests of Opar welcomed this suggestion with loud cries of approval. They rushed forward and seized Oadj. They talked In loud, menacing tones into his ear. They threatened him with bludgeon and knife until at last he acquiesced in their demands, though sullenly, and then Tarzan stepped close before Cadj.

“Priest,” he said, “La goes back to her temple under the protection of her priests and the threat of Tarzan of the Apes that whoever harms her shall die. Tarzan will go again to Opar before the next rains, and if harm has befallen La, woe betide Cadj the high priest.” Sullenly Cadj promised not to harm his queen. “Protect her,” cried Tarzan to the other Oparians. "Protect her so that when comes again he will find La there ® greet him." will be there to greet thee,” exclaimed the high priestess, “and La will wait, longing, always longing, until you come again. Oh, tell me that you will come!” “Whe knows?” asked the ape-man as he swung quickly into the trees and raced off toward the east. For a moment La stood looking after him, then her head drooped, a sigh

escaped her lips, and like an pld woman she took up the march toward distant Opar. Through the trees raced Tarzan of the Apes until the darkness of night had settled upon the Jungle, then he lay down and slept, with no thought beyond the morrow and with even La but the shadow of a memory within his consciousness. But a few marches to the north Lady Greystoke looked forward to the day when her mighty lord and master should discover the crime of Achmet Zek, and be speeding to rescue and avenge, and even as she pictured the coming of John Clayton the object of hbr thoughts squatted almost naked beside » fallen log, beneath which he was searching with grimy fingers for a chance beetle or a luscious grub. • •••••• Two days elapsed following the theft of the jewels before Tarzan gave them a thought. Then, as they chanced to enter his mind, he conceived a desire to play with them again, and, having nothing better to do "than satisfy the first whim which possessed him, he my and started across the plain from the forest in which he had spent the preceding day. no mark showed where the gems had been burled, and though th* spot resembled the balance of an unbroken stretch several miles In length, where the reeds terminated at the edge Of the meadowland, y»t the apehis treasures.

With his hunting knife he upturned the loose earth, beneath which the pouch should be; but, though he excavated to a greater distance than the depth of the original hole there was no sign of pouch or jewels. Tarzan’s brow clouded as he discovered that be had been despoiled. Little or uo reasoning was required to convince him of the identity of the guilty party, and with the same celerity that had marked his decision to unearth the jewels he set out upon the trail of the thief. , Though the spoor was two days old, and practically obliterated in many places, Tarzan followed It with comparative ease. The man he followed was two days ahead of him when Tarzan took up the pursuit, and each day he gained upon the ape-man. The latter, however, felt not the slightest doubt as to the outcome. Some day he would overhaul his quarry—he could bide his time in peace until that day dawned. Doggedly he followed the faint spoor, pausing by day only to kill and eat, and at night only to sleep and refresh himself. Occasionally he passed parties of savage warriors; but these he gave a wide berth, for he was hunting with a purpose that was not to be distracted by the minor accidents of the trail.

The parties were of the collecting hordes of the Wazlri and their allies which Basull had scattered his messengers broadcast to summon. They were marching to a common rendezvous In preparation for an assault upon the stronghold of Achmet Zek; but to Tarzan they were enemies—he retained no conscious memory of any friendship for the black men. _ It was night when he halted outside the palisaded village of the Arab raider. Perched in the branches of a great tree he gazed down UPQO the life within the Inclosure. To this place hud the spoor led him. His quarry must be within; but how was he to find him among so many huts? Tarzan, although cognizant of his mighty powers, realized also his limitations. He knew J:hat he could not successfully cope with great numbers in open battle. He must resort to the stealth and trickery of the wild beast If he were to succeed.

Patiently he waited until the streets were deserted by all save the sentries «t the gates,.thence dropped Ughtlv to the ground, circled to tne opposite side of the village and approached the palisade. At his side hung a long rawhide—i natural and more dependable evoluHon from the grass rope of his child- ;. >< <i. Loosening this, he spread the noose upon the ground behind him, and with a quick movement of his wrist tossed the coils over one of the sharpened projections of the summit of the palisade. Drawing the noose taut, he tested the solidity of its hold. Satisfied, the wpe-man ran nimbly up the vertical wall, aided by the rope which he clutched in both hands. Onse at the top it required but 'a moment to gather the dangling rope once more, into its coils, make it fast again at his waist, take a quick glance downward within the palisade, and, assured that no one lurked directly beneath him, drop softly to the ground. Now he was within the village. Before him stretched a series of tents and native huts. It was not necessary

that he enter each habitation through a door, a window or an open ahiulrj nnmrrhhl hlnr whether br no - his prey lay within. For some time he found one disappointment following upon the heels of another in quick succession. No spoor of the Belgian was discernible. But at last he came to a tent where the smell of the thief was strong. Tarzan listened, his ear close to the canvas at the rear, but no sound came from within. At last he cut one of the pin ropes, raised the bottom of the canvas, and intruded his head within the interior. All was quiet and dark. Tarzan crawled cautiously within —the scent of the Belgian was strong; but it was not live scent Even before he had mined the interior' minutely Tarzan knew that no one was within it. In ope corner he found a pile' of blankets and clothing scattered about but no pouch of pretty pebbles. At the side where the blankets and clothing lay the ape-man discovered that the tent wall had been loosened at the bottom, and presently he sensed that the Belgian had recently passed out of the tent by this avenue. Tarzan was not long in following the way that his prey had fled. The spoor led always in the shadow and at the rear of the huts and tents of the village— it was quite evident to Tarzan that the Belgian had gone alone and secretly upon his mission. At the back of a native hut the spoor led through a small hole recently cut in the brush wall and into the dark Interior beyond. Fearlessly Tarkan followed the trail. On hands and knees he crawled through the small aperture. Within the hut his nostrils were assailed by many odors; but dear and distinct among them was one that half aroused a latest memory of the past—it was the faint and delicate odor of a woman. With the cognisance of It there rose In the breast of the ape-man a strange flueasiness—the result of an irresistible force which he was destined to become acquainted with anew—the instinct which draws the male to his mate. In the same hut was the scent spoor •f the Belgian, too, and as both these assailed the nostrils of the ape-man, mingling one with the other, a jealous rage leaped and burned within him, though his memory held before the mirror of recollection no image of the She to which he had attached his de- _ dr* _ - . ■ .. .S - 2 2 22 cr 2

Like the tent he had Investigated ] the hut, too. was empty, and after ( satisfying hunself that his stolen pouch was Secreted nowhere within, | tie left, as he had entered, by the hole , in the rear wall. i Here he took the spoor of the Bel(ian, followed it across the clearing, over the palisade, and out Into the ' dark jungle beyond. (TO BE CONTINUED.)

“Protect Her,” Cried Tarzan.