CHAPTER XVII



THE TORTURE OF FIRE


Flora Hawkes and her four confederates, pursued by Luvini
and his two hundred warriors, stumbled through the darkness
of the jungle night. They had no objective, for, guided
entirely as they had been by the blacks, they knew not where
they were and were completely lost. The sole idea dominating
the mind of each was to put as much distance between
themselves and the camp of the ivory raiders as possible,
for no matter what the outcome of the battle there might
have been, their fate would be the same should the
victorious party capture them. They had stumbled on for
perhaps half an hour when, during a momentary rest, they
heard plainly behind them the sound of pursuit, and again
they plunged on in their aimless flight of terror.

Presently, to their surprise, they discerned the glow of a
light ahead. What could it be? Had they made a complete
circle, and was this again the camp they had been fleeing?
They pushed on to reconnoiter, until at last they saw before
them the outlines of a camp surrounded by a thorn boma, in
the center of which was burning a small camp-fire. About the
fire were congregated half-a-hundred black warriors, and as
the fugitives crept closer they saw among the blacks a
figure standing out clearly in the light of the camp-fire--
a white woman--and behind them rose louder and louder the
sound of pursuit.

From the gestures and gesticulations of the blacks around
the camp-fire it was evident that they were discussing the
sounds of the battle they had recently heard in the
direction of the raiders' camp, for they often pointed in
that direction, and now the woman raised her hand for
silence and they all listened, and it was evident that they,
too, heard the coming of the warriors who were pursuing
Flora Hawkes and her confederates.

"There is a white woman there," said Flora to the others. "We
do not know who she is, but she is our only hope, for those
who are pursuing us will overtake us quickly. Perhaps this
woman will protect us.  Come, I am going to find out;" and
without waiting for an answer she walked boldly toward the
boma.

They had come but a short distance when the keen eyes of the
Waziri discovered them, and instantly the boma wall was
ringed with bristling spears.

"Stop!" cried one of the warriors.  "We are the Waziri of
Tarzan. Who are you?"

"I am an Englishwoman," called Flora in reply. "I and my
companions are lost in the jungle. We have been betrayed by
our safari--our head-man is pursuing us now with warriors.
There are but five of us and we ask your protection."

"Let them come," said Jane to the Waziri.

As Flora Hawkes and the four men entered the boma beneath
the scrutiny of Jane Clayton and the Waziri, another pair of
eyes watched from the foliage of the great tree that
overhung the camp upon the opposite side--gray eyes to
which a strange light came as they recognized the girl and
her companions.

As the newcomers approached Lady Greystoke the latter gave
an exclamation of surprise. "Flora!" she exclaimed, in
astonishment. "Flora Hawkes, what in the world are you doing
here?"

The girl, startled too, came to a full stop.  "Lady
Greystoke!" she ejaculated.

"I do not understand," continued Lady Greystoke. "I did not
know that you were in Africa."

For a moment the glib Flora was overcome by consternation,
but presently her native wit came to her assistance. "I am
here with Mr. Bluber and his friends," she said, "who came
to make scientific researches, and brought me along because
I had been to Africa with you and Lord Greystoke, and knew
something of the manners and customs of the country, and now
our boys have turned against us and unless you can help us
we are lost."

"Are they west coast boys?" asked Jane.

"Yes," replied Flora.

"I think my Waziri can handle them. How many of them are
there?"

"About two hundred," said Kraski.

Lady Greystoke shook her head. "The odds are pretty heavy,"
she commented, and then she called to Usula, who was in
charge. "There are two hundred west coast boys coming after
these people," she said; "we shall have to fight to defend
them."

"We are Waziri," replied Usula, simply, and a moment later
the van of Luvini's forces broke into view at the outer rim
of the camp-fire's reach.

At sight of the glistening warriors ready to receive them
the west coast boys halted. Luvini, taking in the inferior
numbers of the enemy at a glance, stepped forward a few
paces ahead of his men and commenced to shout taunts and
insults, demanding the return of the whites to him. He
accompanied his words with fantastic and grotesque steps, at
the same time waving his rifle and shaking his fist.
Presently his followers took up the refrain until the whole
band of two hundred was shrieking and yelling and
threatening, the while they leaped up and down as they
worked themselves into a frenzy of excitement that would
impart to them the courage necessary for the initiating of a
charge.

The Waziri, behind the boma wall, schooled and disciplined
by Tarzan of the Apes, had long since discarded the
fantastic overture to battle so dear to the hearts of other
warlike tribes and, instead, stood stolid and grim awaiting
the coming of the foe.

"They have a number of rifles," commented Lady Greystoke;
“that looks rather bad for us."

"There are not over half-a-dozen who can hit anything with
their rifles," said Kraski.

"You men are all armed. Take your places among my Waziri.
Warn your men to go away and leave us alone. Do not fire
until they attack, but at the first overt act, commence
firing, and keep it up--there is nothing that so
discourages a west coast black as the rifle fire of white
men. Flora and I will remain at the back of the camp, near
that large tree." She spoke authoritatively, as one who is
accustomed to command and knows whereof she speaks. The men
obeyed her; even Bluber, though he trembled pitiably as he
moved forward to take his place in the front ranks among the
Waziri.

Their movements, in the light of the camp-fire, were all
plainly discernible to Luvini, and also to that other who
watched from the foliage of the tree beneath which Jane
Clayton and Flora Hawkes took refuge.  Luvini had not come
to fight. He had come to capture Flora Hawkes. He turned to
his men. "There are only fifty of them," he said. "We can
kill them easily, but we did not come to make war. We came
to get the white girl back again.  Stay here and make a
great show against those sons of jackals. Keep them always
looking at you. Advance a little and then fall back again,
and while you are thus keeping their attention attracted in
this direction I will take fifty men and go to the rear of
their camp and get the white girl, and when I have her I
will send word to you and immediately you can return to the
village, where, behind the palisade, we shall be safe
against attack."

Now this plan well suited the west coast blacks, who had no
stomach for the battle looming so imminent, and so they
danced and yelled and menaced more vociferously than before,
for they felt they were doing it all with perfect impunity,
since presently they should retire, after a bloodless
victory--to the safety of their palisade.

As Luvini, making a detour, crept through the concealment of
the dense jungles to the rear of the camp while the din of
the west coast blacks arose to almost deafening proportions,
there dropped suddenly to the ground before the two white
women from the tree above them, the figure of a white giant,
naked except for loin cloth and leopard skin--his godlike
contour picked out by the flickering light of the beast
fire.

"John!" exclaimed Lady Greystoke. "Thank God it is you."

"Sssh!" cautioned the white giant, placing a forefinger to
his lips, and then suddenly he wheeled upon Flora Hawkes.
"It is you I want," he cried, and seizing the girl he threw
her lightly across his shoulders, and before Lady Greystoke
could interfere--before she half-realized what had
occurred--he had lightly leaped the protecting boma in the
rear of the camp and disappeared into the jungle beyond.
For a moment Jane Clayton stood reeling as one stunned by
an unexpected blow, and then, with a stifled moan, she sank
sobbing to the ground, her face buried in her arms.

It was thus that Luvini and his warriors found her as they
crept stealthily over the boma and into the camp in the rear
of the defenders upon the opposite side of the beast fire.
They had come for a white woman and they had found one, and
roughly dragging her to her feet, smothering her cries with
rough and filthy palms, they bore her out into the jungle
toward the palisaded village of the ivory raiders.

Ten minutes later the white men and the Waziri saw the west
coast blacks retire slowly into the jungle, still yelling
and threatening, as though bent on the total annihilation of
their enemies--the battle was over without a shot fired or
a spear hurled.

"Blime," said Throck, "what was all the bloomin' fuss about
anyhow?"

"Hi thought they was goin' to heat hus hup, an' the
blighters never done nothin' but yell, an' 'ere we are, 'n
that's that."

The Jew swelled out his chest. "It takes more as a bunch of
niggers to bluff Adolph Bluber," he said pompously.

Kraski looked after the departing blacks, and then,
scratching his head, turned back toward the camp-fire.  "I
can't understand it," he said, and then, suddenly, "Where
are Flora and Lady Greystoke?"

It was then that they discovered that the women were
missing.

The Waziri were frantic. They called the name of their
mistress aloud, but there was no reply. "Come!" cried Usula,
"we, the Waziri shall fight, after all," and running to the
boma he leaped it, and, followed by his fifty blacks, set
out in pursuit of the west coast boys.

It was but a moment or two before they overtook them, and
that which ensued resembled more a rout than a battle.
Fleeing in terror toward their palisade with the Waziri at
their heels, the west coast blacks threw away their rifles
that they might run the faster, but Luvini and his party had
had sufficient start so that they were able to reach the
village and gain the safety of the palisade before pursued
and pursuers reached it. Once inside the gate the defenders
made a stand for they realized that if the Waziri entered
they should all be massacred, and so they fought as a
cornered rat will fight, with the result that they managed
to hold off the attackers until they could close and bar the
gate. Built as it had been as a defense against far greater
numbers the village was easy to defend, for there were less
than fifty Waziri now, and nearly two hundred fighting men
within the village to defend it against them.

Realizing the futility of blind attack Usula withdrew his
forces a short distance from the palisade, and there they
squatted, their fierce, scowling faces glaring at the
gateway while Usula pondered schemes for outwitting the
enemy, which he realized he could not overcome by force
alone.

"It is only Lady Greystoke that we want," he said;
"vengeance can wait until another day."

"But we do not even know that she is within the village,"
reminded one of his men.

"Where else could she be, then?" asked Usula.

"It is true that you may be right--she may not be within
the village, but that I intend to find out. I have a plan.
See; the wind is from the opposite side of the village.  Ten
of you will accompany me, the others will advance again
before the gate and make much noise, and pretend that you
are about to attack. After awhile the gate will open they
will come out. That I promise you. I will try to be here
before that happens, but if I am not, divide into two
parties and stand upon either side of the gateway and let
the west coast blacks escape; we do not care for them. Watch
only for Lady Greystoke, and when you see her take her away
from those who guard her.  Do you understand?" His
companions nodded. "Then come", he said, and selecting ten
men disappeared into the jungle.

Luvini had carried Jane Clayton to a hut not far from the
gateway to the village.  Here he had bound her securely and
tied her to a stake, still believing that she was Flora
Hawkes, and then he had left her to hurry back toward the
gate that he might take command of his forces in defense of
the village.

So rapidly had the events of the past hour transpired that
Jane Clayton was still half dazed from the series of shocks
that she had been called upon to endure. Dwarfing to
nothingness the menace of her present position was the
remembrance that her Tarzan had deserted her in her hour of
need, and carried off into the jungle another woman.  Not
even the remembrance of what Usula had told her concerning
the accident that Tarzan had sustained, and which had
supposedly again affected his memory, could reconcile her to
the brutality of his desertion, and now she lay, face down,
in the filth of the Arab hut, sobbing as she had not for
many years.

As she lay there torn by grief, Usula and his ten crept
stealthily and silently around the outside of the palisade
to the rear of the village. Here they found great quantities
of dead brush left from the clearing which the Arabs had
made when constructing their village.  This they brought and
piled along the palisade, close against it, until nearly
three-quarters of the palisade upon that side of the village
was banked high with it.  Finding that it was difficult to
prosecute their work in silence, Usula despatched one of his
men to the main body upon the opposite side of the village,
with instructions that they were to keep up a continuous din
of shouting to drown the sound of the operations of their
fellows. The plan worked to perfection, yet even though it
permitted Usula and his companions to labor with redoubled
efforts, it was more than an hour before the brush pile was
disposed to his satisfaction.

Luvini, from an aperture in the palisade, watched the main
body of the Waziri who were now revealed by the rising of
the moon, and finally he came to the conclusion that they
did not intend to attack that night, and therefore he might
relax his watchfulness and utilize the time in another and
more agreeable manner. Instructing the bulk of his warriors
to remain near the gate and ever upon the alert, with orders
that he be summoned the moment that the Waziri showed any
change in attitude, Luvini repaired to the hut in which he
had left Lady Greystoke.

The black was a huge fellow, with low, receding forehead and
prognathous jaw--a type of the lowest form of African
negro. As he entered the hut with a lighted torch which he
stuck in the floor, his bloodshot eyes gazed greedily at the
still form of the woman lying prone before him. He licked
his thick lips and, coming closer, reached out and touched
her. Jane Clayton looked up, and recoiling in revulsion,
shrunk away.  At sight of the woman's face the black looked
his surprise.

"Who are you?" he demanded in the pigdin English of the
coast.

"I am Lady Greystoke, wife of Tarzan of the Apes," replied
Jane Clayton.  "If you are wise you will release me at
once."

Surprise and terror showed in the eyes of Luvini, and
another emotion as well, but which would dominate the muddy
brain it was difficult, then, to tell. For a long time he
sat gazing at her, and slowly the greedy, gloating
expression upon face dominated and expunged the fear that
had at; first been written there, and in the change Jane
Clayton read her doom.

With fumbling fingers Luvini untied the knots of the bonds
that held Jane Clayton's wrists and ankles. She felt his hot
breath upon her and his bloodshot eyes and the red tongue
that momentarily licked the thick lips. The instant that she
felt the last thong with which she was tied fall away she
leaped to her feet and sprang for the entrance to the hut,
but a great hand reached forth and seized her, and as Luvini
dragged her back toward him, she wheeled like a mad tigress
and struck repeatedly at his grinning, ugly face.  By brute
force, ruthless and indomitable, he beat down her weak
resistance and slowly and surely dragged her closer to him.
Oblivious to aught else, deaf to the cries of the Waziri
before the gate and to the sudden new commotion that arose
in the village, the two struggled on, the woman, from the
first, foredoomed to defeat.

Against the rear palisade Usula had already put burning
torches to his brush pile at half-a-dozen different places.
The flames, fanned by a gentle jungle breeze, had leaped
almost immediately into a roaring conflagration, before
which the dry wood of the palisade crumbled in a shower of
ruddy sparks which the wind carried to the thatched roofs
the huts beyond, until in an incredibly short period of time
the village was a roaring inferno of flames. And even as
Usula had predicted the gate swung open and the west coast
blacks swarmed forth in terror toward the jungle. Upon
either side of the gateway the Waziri stood, looking for their
mistress, but though they waited and watched silence until
no more came from the gateway of village, and until the
interior of the palisade a seething hell of fire, they saw
nothing of her.

Long after they were convinced that no human being could
remain alive in the village they still waited and hoped; but
at last Usula gave up the vigil.

"She was never there," he said, "and now we pursue the
blacks and capture some of them, from whom we may learn the
whereabouts of Lady Greystoke."

It was daylight before they came upon a small of
stragglers, who were in camp a few miles of the west. These
they quickly surrounded, winning their immediate surrender
by promises of immunity in the event that they would answer
truthfully the questions that Usula should propound.

"Where is Luvini?" demanded Usula, who had learned the name
of the leader of the west coast boys from the Europeans the
evening before.

"We do not know; we have not seen him since we left the
village," replied one of the blacks. "We were some of the
slaves of the Arabs, and when we escaped the palisade last
night we ran away from the others, for we thought that we
should be safer alone than with Luvini, who is even crueller
than the Arabs."

"Did you see the white women that he brought to the camp
last night?" demanded Usula.

"He brought but one white woman," replied the other.

"What did he do with her?  Where is she now?" asked Usula.

"I do not know.  When he brought her he bound her hand and
foot and put her in the hut which he occupied near the
village gate. We have not seen her since."

Usula turned and looked at his companions. A great fear was
in his eyes, a fear that was reflected in the countenances
of the others.

"Come!" he said, "we shall return to the village. And you
will go with us," he added, addressing the west coast
blacks, "and if you have lied to us--" he made a
significant movement with his forefinger across his throat.

"We have not lied to you," replied the others.  Quickly they
retraced their steps toward the ruins of the Arab village,
nothing of which was left save a few piles of smoldering
embers.

"Where was the hut in which the white woman was confined?"
demanded Usula, as they entered the smoking ruins.

"Here," said one of the blacks, and walked quickly a few
paces beyond what had been the village gateway. Suddenly he
halted and pointed at something which lay upon the ground.
"There," he said, "is the white woman you seek."

Usula and the others pressed forward. Rage and grief
contended for mastery of them as they beheld, lying before
them, the charred remnants of a human body.

"It is she," said Usula, turning away to hide his grief as
the tears rolled down his ebon cheeks. The other Waziri were
equally affected, for they all had loved the mate of the Big
Bwana.

"Perhaps it is not she," suggested one of them; "perhaps it
is another."

"We can tell quickly," cried a third. "If her rings are
among the ashes it is indeed she," and he knelt and searched
for the rings which Lady Greystoke habitually wore.

Usula shook his head despairingly. "It is she," he said,
"there is the very stake to which she was fastened"--he
pointed to the blackened stub of a stake close beside the
body--"and as for the rings, even if they are not there it
will mean nothing, for Luvini would have taken them away
from her as soon as he captured her.  There was time for
everyone else to leave the village except she, who was bound
and could not leave--no, it cannot be another."

The Waziri scooped a shallow grave and reverently deposited
the ashes there, marking the spot with a little cairn of
stones.