CHAPTER II



THE TRAINING OF JAD-BAL-JA


And so Tarzan of the Apes, and Jane Clayton, and Korak came
home after a long absence and with them came Jad-bal-ja, the
golden lion, and Za, the bitch. Among the first to meet them
and to welcome them home was old Muviro, father of Wasimbu,
who had given his life in defense of the home and wife of
the ape-man.

"Ah, Bwana," cried the faithful black, "my old eyes are made
young again by the sight of you.  It has been long that you
have been gone, but though many doubted that you would
return, old Muviro knew that the great world held nothing
that might overcome his master. And so he knew, too, that
his master would return to the home of his love and the land
where his faithful Waziri awaited him; but that she, whom we
have mourned as dead, should have returned is beyond belief,
and great shall be the rejoicing in the huts of the Waziri
tonight. And the earth shall tremble to the dancing feet of
the warriors and the heavens ring with the glad cries of
their women, since the three they love most on earth have
come back to them."

And in truth, great indeed was the rejoicing in the huts of
the Waziri. And not for one night alone, but for many nights
did the dancing and the rejoicing continue until Tarzan was
compelled to put a stop to the festivities that he and his
family might gain a few hours of unbroken slumber.  The
ape-man found that not only had his faithful Waziri, under
the equally faithful guidance of his English foreman,
Jervis, completely rehabilitated his stables, corrals, and
outbuildings as well as the native huts, but had restored
the interior of the bungalow, so that in all outward
appearances the place was precisely as it had been before
the raid of the Germans.

Jervis was at Nairobi on the business of the estate, and it
was some days after their arrival that he returned to the
ranch. His surprise and happiness were no less genuine than
those of the Waziri. With the chief and warriors he sat for
hours at the feet of the Big Bwana, listening to an account
of the strange land of Pal-ul-don and the adventures that
had befallen the three during Lady Greystoke's captivity
there, and with the Waziri he marveled at the queer pets the
ape-man had brought back with him. That Tarzan might have
fancied a mongrel native cur was strange enough, but that he
should have adopted a cub of his hereditary enemies, Numa
and Sabor, seemed beyond all belief.  And equally surprising
to them all was the manner of Tarzan's education of the cub.

The golden lion and his foster mother occupied a corner of
the ape-man's bedroom, and many was the hour each day that
he spent in training and educating the little spotted,
yellow ball--all playfulness and affection now, but one
day to grow into a great, savage beast of prey.

As the days passed and the golden lion grew, Tarzan taught
it many tricks--to fetch and carry, to lie motionless in
hiding at his almost inaudible word of command, to move from
point to point as he indicated, to hunt for hidden things by
scent and to retrieve them, and when meat was added to its
diet he fed it always in a way that brought grim smiles to
the savage lips of the Waziri warriors, for Tarzan had built
for him a dummy in the semblance of a man and the meat that
the lion was to eat was fastened always at the throat of the
dummy. Never did the manner of feeding vary. At a word from
the ape-man the golden lion would crouch, belly to the
ground, and then Tarzan would point at the dummy and whisper
the single word "kill." However hungry he might be, the lion
learned never to move toward his meat until that single word
had been uttered by its master; and then with a rush and a
savage growl it drove straight for the flesh.  While it was
little it had difficulty at first in clambering up the dummy
to the savory morsel fastened at the figure's throat, but as
it grew older and larger it gained the objective more
easily, and finally a single leap would carry it to its goal
and down would go the dummy upon its back with the young
lion tearing at its throat.

There was one lesson that, of all the others, was most
difficult to learn and it is doubtful that any other than
Tarzan of the Apes, reared by beasts, among beasts, could
have overcome the savage blood-lust of the carnivore and
rendered his natural instinct subservient to the will of his
master.  It took weeks and months of patient endeavor to
accomplish this single item of the lion's education, which
consisted in teaching him that at the word "fetch" he must
find any indicated object and return with it to his master,
even the dummy with raw meat tied at its throat, and that he
must not touch the meat nor harm the dummy nor any other
article that he was fetching, but place it carefully at
the ape-man's feet.  Afterward he learned always to be sure
of his reward, which usually consisted in a double portion
of the meat that he loved best.

Lady Greystoke and Korak were often interested spectators of
the education of the golden lion, though the former
expressed mystification as to the purpose of such elaborate
training of the young cub and some misgivings as to the
wisdom of the ape-man's program.

"What in the world can you do with such a brute after he is
grown?" she asked. "He bids fair to be a mighty Numa. Being
accustomed to men he will be utterly fearless of them, and
having fed always at the throat of a dummy he will look
there at the throat of living men for his food hereafter."

"He will feed only upon what I tell him to feed," replied
the ape-man.

"But you do not expect him to feed always upon men?" she
interrogated, laughingly.

"He will never feed upon men."

"But how can you prevent it, having taught him from cubhood
always to feed upon men?"

"I am afraid, Jane, that you under-estimate the intelligence
of a lion, or else I very much over-estimate it. If your
theory is correct the hardest part of my work is yet before
me, but if I am right it is practically complete now.
However, we will experiment a bit and see which is right. We
shall take Jad-bal-ja out upon the plain with us this
afternoon. Game is plentiful and we shall have no difficulty
in ascertaining just how much control I have over young Numa
after all."

"I'll wager a hundred pounds," said Korak, laughing, "that
he does just what he jolly well pleases after he gets a
taste of live blood."

"You're on, my son," said the ape-man.  I think I am going
to show you and your mother this afternoon what you or
anyone else never dreamed could be accomplished."

"Lord Greystoke, the world's premier animal trainer!" cried
Lady Greystoke, and Tarzan joined them in their laughter.

"It is not animal training," said the ape-man. "The plan
upon which I work would be impossible to anyone but Tarzan
of the Apes. Let us take a hypothetical case to illustrate
what I mean. There comes to you some creature whom you hate,
whom by instinct and heredity you consider a deadly enemy.
You are afraid of him. You understand no word that he
speaks. Finally, by means sometimes brutal he impresses upon
your mind his wishes. You may do the thing he wants, but do
you do it with a spirit of unselfish loyalty? You do not--
you do it under compulsion, hating the creature that forces
his will upon you. At any moment that you felt it was in
your power to do so, you would disobey him. You would even
go further--you would turn upon him and destroy him. On
the other hand, there comes to you one with whom you are
familiar; he is a friend, a protector.  He understands and
speaks the language that you understand and speak. He has
fed you, he has gained your confidence by kindness and
protection, he asks you to do something for him.  Do you
refuse?  No, you obey willingly. It is thus that the golden
lion will obey me."

"As long as it suits his purpose to do so," commented Korak.

"Let me go a step farther then," said the ape-man.  "Suppose
that this creature, whom you love and obey, has the power to
punish, even to kill you, if it is necessary so to do to
enforce his commands.  How then about your obedience?"

"We'll see," said Korak, "how easily the golden lion will
make one hundred pounds for me."

That afternoon they set out across the plain, Jad-bal-ja
following Tarzan's horse's heels. They dismounted at a
little clump of trees some distance from the bungalow and
from there proceeded onward warily toward a swale in which
antelopes were usually to be found, moving up which they
came cautiously to the heavy brush that bordered the swale
upon their side.  There was Tarzan, Jane, and Korak, and
close beside Tarzan the golden lion--four jungle hunters
--and of the four Jad-bal-ja, the lion, was the least
accomplished.  Stealthily they crawled through the brush,
scarce a leaf rustling to their passage, until at last they
looked down into the swale upon a small herd of antelope
grazing peacefully below. Closest to them was an old buck,
and him Tarzan pointed out in some mysterious manner to
Jad-bal-ja.

"Fetch him," he whispered, and the golden lion rumbled a
scarce audible acknowledgment of the command.

Stealthily he worked his way through the brush. The
antelopes fed on, unsuspecting. The distance separating the
lion from his prey was over great for a successful charge,
and so Jad-bal-ja waited, hiding in the brush, until the
antelope should either graze closer to him or turn its back
toward him.  No sound came from the four watching the
grazing herbivora, nor did the latter give any indication of
a suspicion of the nearness of danger.  The old buck moved
slowly closer to Jad-bal-ja.  Almost imperceptibly the lion
was gathering for the charge. The only noticeable movement
was the twitching of his tail's tip, and then, as lightning
from the sky, as an arrow from a bow, he shot from
immobility to tremendous speed in an instant. He was almost
upon the buck before the latter realized the proximity of
danger, and then it was too late, for scarcely had the
antelope wheeled than the lion rose upon its hind legs and
seized it, while the balance of the herd broke into
precipitate flight.

"Now," said Korak, "we shall see."

"He will bring the antelope to me," said Tarzan confidently.

The golden lion hesitated a moment, growling over the
carcass of his kill. Then he seized it by the back and with
his head turned to one side dragged it along the ground
beside him, as he made his way slowly back toward Tarzan.
Through the brush he dragged the slain antelope until he had
dropped it at the feet of his master, where he stood,
looking up at the face of the ape-man with an expression
that could not have been construed into aught but pride in
his achievement and a plea for commendation.

Tarzan stroked his head and spoke to him in a low voice,
praising him, and then, drawing his hunting knife, he cut
the jugular of the antelope and let the blood from the
carcass.  Jane and Korak stood close, watching Jad-bal-ja--
what would the lion do with the smell of fresh, hot blood in
his nostrils? He sniffed at it and growled, and with bared
fangs he eyed the three wickedly.  The ape-man pushed him
away with his open palm and the lion growled again angrily
and snapped at him.

Quick is Numa, quick is Bara, the deer, but Tarzan of the
Apes is lightning. So swiftly did he strike, and so heavily,
that Jad-bal-ja was falling on his back almost in the very
instant that he had growled at his master.  Swiftly he came
to his feet again and the two stood facing one another.

"Down!" commanded the ape-man.  "Lie down, Jad-bal-ja!" His
voice was low and firm. The lion hesitated but for an
instant, and then lay down as Tarzan of the Apes had taught
him to do at the word of command. Tarzan turned and lifted
the carcass of the antelope to his shoulder.

"Come," he said to Jad-bal-ja. "Heel!" and without another
glance at the carnivore he moved off toward the horses.

"I might have known it," said Korak, with a laugh, "and
saved my hundred pounds."

"Of course you might have known it," said his mother.