CHAPTER XII



THE GOLDEN INGOTS


Esteban Miranda had played the role of Tarzan of the Apes
with the Waziri as his audience for less than twenty-four
hours when he began to realize that, even with the lee-way
that his supposedly injured brain gave him, it was going to
be a very difficult thing to carry on the deception
indefinitely.  In the first place Usula did not seem at all
pleased at the idea of merely taking the gold away from the
intruders and then running from them. Nor did his fellow
warriors seem any more enthusiastic over the plan than he.
As a matter of fact they could not conceive that any number
of bumps upon the head could render their Tarzan of the Apes
a coward, and to run away from these west coast blacks and a
handful of inexperienced whites seemed nothing less than
cowardly.

Following all this, there had occurred in the afternoon that
which finally decided the Spaniard that he was building for
himself anything other than a bed of roses, and that the
sooner he found an excuse for quitting the company of the
Waziri the greater would be his life expectancy.

They were passing through rather open jungle at the time.
The brush was not particularly heavy and the trees were at
considerable distances apart, when suddenly, without
warning, a rhinoceros charged them. To the consternation of
the Waziri, Tarzan of the Apes turned and fled for the
nearest tree the instant his eyes alighted upon charging
Buto. In his haste Esteban tripped and fell, and when at
last he reached the tree instead of leaping agilely into the
lower branches, he attempted to shin up the huge bole as a
schoolboy shins up a telegraph pole, only to slip and fall
back again to the ground.

In the meantime Buto, who charges either by scent or
hearing, rather than by eyesight, his powers of which are
extremely poor, had been distracted from his original
direction by one of the Waziri, and after missing the fellow
had gone blundering on to disappear in the underbrush
beyond.

When Esteban finally arose and discovered that the
rhinoceros was gone, he saw surrounding him a semi-circle of
huge blacks, upon whose faces were written expressions of
pity and sorrow, not unmingled, in some instances, with a
tinge of contempt. The Spaniard saw that he had been
terrified into a practically irreparable blunder, yet he
seized despairingly upon the only excuse he could conjure
up.

"My poor head," he cried, pressing both palms to his
temples.

"The blow was upon your head, Bwana," said Usula, "and your
faithful Waziri thought that it was the heart of their
master that knew no fear."

Esteban made no reply, and in silence they resumed their
march.  In silence they continued until they made camp
before dark upon the bank of the river just above a
waterfall. During the afternoon Esteban had evolved a plan
of escape from his dilemma, and no sooner had he made camp
than he ordered the Waziri to bury the treasure.

"We shall leave it here," he said, "and tomorrow we shall
set forth in search of the thieves, for I have decided to
punish them. They must be taught that they may not come into
the jungle of Tarzan with impunity. It was only the injury
to my head that prevented me from slaying them immediately I
discovered their perfidy."

This attitude pleased the Waziri better. They commenced to
see a ray of hope. Once again was Tarzan of the Apes
becoming Tarzan. And so it was that with lighter hearts and
a new cheerfulness they set forth the next morning in search
of the camp of the Englishmen, and by shrewd guessing on
Usula's part they cut across the jungle to intercept the
probable line of march of the Europeans to such advantage
that they came upon them just as they were making camp that
night. Long before they reached them they smelled the smoke
of their fires and heard the songs and chatter of the west
coast carriers.

Then it was that Esteban gathered the Waziri about him.  "My
children," he said, addressing Usula in English, "these
strangers have come here to wrong Tarzan. To Tarzan, then,
belongs the vengeance. Go, therefore, and leave me to punish
my enemies alone and in my own way.  Return home, leave the
gold where it is, for it will be a long time before I shall
need it."

The Waziri were disappointed, for this new plan did not at
all accord with their desires, which contemplated a cheerful
massacre of the west coast blacks. But as yet the man before
them was Tarzan, their Big Bwana, to whom they had never
failed in implicit obedience. For a few moments following
Esteban's declaration of his intention, they stood in
silence shifting uneasily, and then at last they commenced
to speak to one another in Waziri.  What they said the
Spaniard did not know, but evidently they were urging
something upon Usula, who presently turned toward him.

"Oh, Bwana," cried the black. "How can we return home to the
Lady Jane and tell her that we left you injured and alone to
face the rifles of the white men and their askari? Do not
ask us to do it, Bwana.  If you were yourself we should not
fear for your safety, but since the injury to your head you
have not been the same, and we fear to leave you alone in
the jungle. Let us, then, your faithful Waziri, punish these
people, after which we will take you home in safety, where
you may be cured of the evils that have fallen upon you."

The Spaniard laughed.  "I am entirely recovered," he said,
"and I am in no more danger alone than I would be with you,"
which he knew, even better than they, was but a mild
statement of the facts. "You will obey my wishes," he
continued sternly. "Go back at once the way that we have
come. After you have gone at least two miles you may make
camp for the night, and in the morning start out again for
home. Make no noise, I do not want them to know that I am
here. Do not worry about me.  I am all right, and I shall
probably overtake you before you reach home. Go!"

Sorrowfully the Waziri turned back upon the trail they had
just covered and a moment later the last of them disappeared
from the sight of the Spaniard.

With a sigh of relief Esteban Miranda turned toward the camp
of his own people. Fearing that to surprise them suddenly
might invite a volley of shots from the askari he whistled,
and then called aloud as he approached.

"It is Tarzan!" cried the first of the blacks who saw him.
"Now indeed shall we all be killed."

Esteban saw the growing excitement among the carriers and
askari--he saw the latter seize their rifles and that they
were fingering the triggers nervously.

"It is I, Esteban Miranda," he called aloud. "Flora! Flora,
tell those fools to lay aside their rifles."

The whites, too, were standing watching him, and at the
sound of his voice Flora turned toward the blacks. "It is
all right," she said, "that is not Tarzan. Lay aside your
rifles."

Esteban entered the camp, smiling. "Here I am," he said.

"We thought that you were dead," said Kraski. "Some of these
fellows said that Tarzan said that he had killed you."

"He captured me," said Esteban, "but as you see he did not
kill me. I thought that he was going to, but he did not, and
finally he turned me loose in the jungle. He may have
thought that I could not survive and that he would
accomplish his end just as surely without having my blood
upon his hands."

"'E must have knowed you," said Peebles. "You'd die, all
right, if you were left alone very long in the jungle--
you'd starve to death."

Esteban made no reply to the sally but turned toward Flora.
"Are you not glad to see me, Flora?" he asked.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "What is the difference?"
she asked. "Our expedition is a failure.  Some of them think
you were largely to blame." She nodded her head in the
general direction of the other whites.

The Spaniard scowled.  None of them cared very much to see
him. He did not care about the others, but he had hoped that
Flora would show some enthusiasm about his return.  Well, if
she had known what he had in his mind, she might have been
happier to see him, and only too glad to show some kind of
affection.  But she did not know.  She did not know that
Esteban Miranda had hidden the golden ingots where he might
go another day and get them. It had been his intention to
persuade her to desert the others, and then, later, the two
would return and recover the treasure, but now he was piqued
and offended--none of them should have a shilling of it--
he would wait until they left Africa and then he would
return and take it all for himself. The only fly in the
ointment was the thought that the Waziri knew the location
of the treasure, and that, sooner or later, they would
return with Tarzan and get it. This weak spot in his
calculations must be strengthened, and to strengthen it he
must have assistance which would mean sharing his secret
with another, but whom?

Outwardly oblivious of the sullen glances of his companions
he took his place among them. It was evident to him that
they were far from being glad to see him, but just why he
did not know, for he had not heard of the plan that Kraski
and Owaza had hatched to steal the loot of the ivory
raiders, and that their main objection to his presence was
the fear that they would be compelled to share the loot with
him. It was Kraski who first voiced the thought that was in
the minds of all but Esteban.

"Miranda," he said, "it is the consensus of opinion that you
and Bluber are largely responsible for the failure of our
venture. We are not finding fault.  I just mention it as a
fact. But since you have been away we have struck upon a
plan to take something out of Africa that will partially
recompense us for the loss of the gold. We have worked the
thing all out carefully and made our plans. We don't need
you to carry them out. We have no objection to your coming
along with us, if you want to, for company, but we want to
have it understood from the beginning that you are not to
share in anything that we get out of this."

The Spaniard smiled and waved a gesture of unconcern. "It is
perfectly all right," he said. "I shall ask for nothing.  I
would not wish to take anything from any of you." And he
grinned inwardly as he thought of the more than quarter of a
million pounds in gold which he would one day take out of
Africa for himself, alone.  At this unexpected attitude of
acquiescence upon Esteban's part the others were greatly
relieved, and immediately the entire atmosphere of
constraint was removed.

"You're a good fellow, Esteban," said Peebles. "I've been
sayin' right along that you'd want to do the right thing,
and I want to say that I'm mighty glad to see you back here
safe an' sound.  I felt terrible when I 'eard you was
croaked, that I did."

"Yes," said Bluber, "John he feel so bad he cry himself to
sleep every night, ain't it, John?"

"Don't try to start nothin', Bluber," growled Peebles,
glaring at the Jew.

"I vasn't commencing to start nodding," replied Adolph,
seeing that the big Englishman was angry; "of course ve vere
all sorry dat ve t'ought Esteban was killed und ve is all
glad dot he is back."

"And that he don't want any of the swag," added Throck.

"Don't worry," said Esteban, "If I get back to London I'll
be happy enough--I've had enough of Africa to last me all
the rest of my life."

Before he could get to sleep that night, the Spaniard spent
a wakeful hour or two trying to evolve a plan whereby he
might secure the gold absolutely to himself, without fear of
its being removed by the Waziri later.  He knew that he
could easily find the spot where he had buried it and remove
it to another close by, provided that he could return
immediately over the trail along which Usula had led them
that day, and he could do this alone, ensuring that no one
but himself would know the new location of the hiding place
of the gold, but he was equally positive that he could never
again return later from the coast and find where he had
hidden it. This meant that he must share his secret with
another--one familiar with the country who could find the
spot again at any time and from any direction. But who was
there whom he might trust! In his mind he went carefully
over the entire personnel of their safari, and continually
his mind reverted to a single individual--Owaza. He had no
confidence in the wily old scoundrel's integrity, but there
was no other who suited his purpose as well, and finally he
was forced to the conclusion that he must share his secret
with this black, and depend upon avarice rather than honor
for his protection. He could repay the fellow well--make
him rich beyond his wildest dreams, and this the Spaniard
could well afford to do in view of the tremendous fortune at
stake. And so he fell asleep dreaming of what gold, to the
value of over a quarter of a million pounds sterling, would
accomplish in the gay capitals of the world.

The following morning while they were breakfasting, Esteban
mentioned casually that he had passed a large herd of
antelope not far from their camp the previous day, and
suggested that he take four or five men and do a little
hunting, joining the balance of the party at camp that
night. No one raised any objection, possibly for the reason
that they assumed that the more he hunted and the further
from the safari he went the greater the chances of his being
killed, a contingency that none of them would have
regretted, since at heart they had neither liking nor trust
for him.

"I will take Owaza," he said. "He is the cleverest hunter of
them all, and five or six men of his choosing." But later,
when he approached Owaza, the black interposed objections to
the hunt.

"We have plenty of meat for two days," he said. "Let us go
on as fast as we can, away from the land of the Waziri and
Tarzan.  I can find plenty of game anywhere between here and
the coast. March for two days, and then I will hunt with
you."

"Listen," said Esteban, in a whisper. "It is more than
antelope that I would hunt. I cannot tell you here in camp,
but when we have left the others I will explain. It will pay
you better to come with me today than all the ivory you can
hope to get from the raiders."  Owaza cocked an attentive
ear and scratched his woolly head.

"It is a good day to hunt, Bwana," he said. "I will come
with you and bring five boys."

After Owaza had planned the march for the main party and
arranged for the camping place for the night, so that he and
the Spaniard could find them again, the hunting party set
out upon the trail that Usula had followed from the buried
treasure the preceding day. They had not gone far before
Owaza discovered the fresh spoor of the Waziri.

"Many men passed here late yesterday," he said to Esteban,
eyeing the Spaniard quizzically.

"I saw nothing of them," replied the latter. "They must have
come this way after I passed."

"They came almost to our camp, and then they turned about
and went away again," said Owaza. "Listen, Bwana, I carry a
rifle and you shall march ahead of me. If these tracks were
made by your people, and you are leading me into ambush, you
shall be the first to die."

"Listen, Owaza," said Esteban, "we are far enough from camp
now so that I may tell you all. These tracks were made by
the Waziri of Tarzan of the Apes, who buried the gold for me
a day's march from here. I have sent them home, and I wish
you to go back with me and move the gold to another hiding
place. After these others have gotten their ivory and
returned to England, you and I will come back and get the
gold, and then, indeed, shall you be well rewarded."

"Who are you, then?" asked Owaza. "Often have I doubted that
you are Tarzan of the Apes. The day that we left the camp
outside of Opar one of my men told me that you had been
poisoned by your own people and left in the camp. He said
that he saw it with his own eyes--your body lying hidden
behind some bushes--and yet you were with us upon the
march that day. I thought that he lied to me, but I saw the
consternation in his face when he saw you, and so I have
often wondered if there were two Tarzans of the Apes."

"I am not Tarzan of the Apes," said Esteban. "It was Tarzan
of the Apes who was poisoned in our camp by the others. But
they only gave him something that would put him to sleep for
a long time, possibly with the hope that he would be killed
by wild animals before he awoke.  Whether or not he stilt
lives we do not know. Therefore you have nothing to fear
from the Waziri or Tarzan on my account, Owaza, for I want
to keep out of their way even more than you."

The black nodded.  "Perhaps you speak the truth," he said,
but still he walked behind, with his rifle always ready in
his hand.

They went warily, for fear of overtaking the Waziri, but
shortly after passing the spot where the latter had camped
they saw that they had taken another route and that there
was now no danger of coming in contact with them.

When they had reached a point within about a mile of the
spot where the gold had been buried, Esteban told Owaza to
have his boys remain there while they went ahead alone to
effect the transfer of the ingots.

"The fewer who know of this," he said to the black, "the
safer we shall be."

"The Bwana speaks words of wisdom," replied the wily black.

Esteban found the spot near the waterfall without
difficulty, and upon questioning Owaza he discovered that
the latter knew the location perfectly, and would have no
difficulty in coming directly to it again from the coast.
They transferred the gold but a short distance, concealing
it in a heavy thicket near the edge of the river, knowing
that it would be as safe from discovery there as though they
had transported it a hundred miles, for the chances were
extremely slight that the Waziri or anyone else who should
learn of its original hiding place would imagine that anyone
would go to the trouble of removing it but a matter of a
hundred yards.

When they had finished Owaza looked at the sun.

"We will never reach camp tonight," he said, "and we will
have to travel fast to overtake them even tomorrow."

"I did not expect to," replied Esteban, "but I could not
tell them that.  If we never find them again I shall be
satisfied."  Owaza grinned.  In his crafty mind an idea was
formed.

"Why," he thought, "risk death in a battle with the Arab
ivory raiders on the chance of securing a few tusks, when
all this gold awaits only transportation to the coast to be
ours?"