Chapter Fourteen

The Alali women, fifty strong, sallied forth into the forest to chastise

their recalcitrant males. They carried their heavy bludgeons and

many-feathered pebbles, but most formidable of all was their terrific

rage. Never in the memory of one of them had man dared question their

authority, never had he presumed to show aught but fear of them; but now,

instead of slinking away at their approach, he had dared defy them, to

attack them, to slay them! But such a condition was too preposterous, too

unnatural, to exist, nor would it exist much longer. Had they had speech

they would have said that and a number of other things. It was looking

black for the men; the women were in an ugly mood--but what else could be

expected of women who were denied the power of speech? And in this temper

they came upon the men in a large clearing where the renegades had built

a fire and were cooking the flesh of a number of antelope. Never had the

women seen their men so sleek and trim. Always before had they appeared

skinny to the verge of cadaverousness, for in the past they had never

fared so well as since the day that Tarzan of the Apes had given weapons

to the son of The First Woman. Where before they had spent their lives

fleeing in terror from their terrible women, with scarce time to hunt for

decent food, now they had leisure and peace of mind and their weapons

brought them flesh that otherwise they might not have tasted once in a

year. From caterpillars and grubworms they had graduated to an almost

steady diet of antelope meat.

But the women gave very little heed at the moment to the physical

appearance of the men. They had found them. That was enough. They were

creeping nearer when one of the men looked up and discovered them, and so

insistent are the demands of habit that he forget his new-found

independence and leaping to his feet, bolted for the trees. The others,

scarce waiting to know the cause of his precipitancy, followed close upon

his heels. The women raced across the clearing as the men disappeared

among the trees upon the opposite side. The former knew what the men

would do. Once in the forest they would stop behind the nearest trees and

look back to see if their pursuers were coming in their direction. It was

this silly habit of the males that permitted their being easily caught by

the less agile females.

But all the men had not disappeared. One had taken a few steps in the mad

race for safety and had then halted and wheeled about, facing the

oncoming women. He was the son of The First Woman, and to him Tarzan had

imparted something more than knowledge of new weapons, for from the Lord

of the Jungle, whom he worshipped with doglike devotion, he had acquired

the first rudiments of courage, and so it now happened that when his more

timorous fellows paused behind the trees and looked back they saw this

one standing alone facing the charge of fifty infuriated shes. They saw

him fit arrow to bow, and the women saw, too, but they did not

understand--not immediately--and then the bow string twanged and the

foremost woman collapsed with an arrow in her heart; but the others did

not pause, because the thing had been done so quickly that the full

purport of it had not as yet penetrated their thick skulls. The son of

The First Woman fitted a second arrow and sped it. Another woman fell,

rolling over and over, and now the others hesitated--hesitated and were

lost, for that momentary pause gave courage to the other men peering from

behind the trees. If one of their number could face fifty women and bring

them to halt what might not eleven men accomplish? They rushed forth then

with spears and arrows just as the women renewed their assault. The

feathered pebbles flew thick and fast, but faster and more accurately

flew the feathered arrows of the men. The leading women rushed

courageously forward to close quarters where they might use their

bludgeons and lay hold of the men with their mighty hands, but they

learned then that spears were more formidable weapons than bludgeons,

with the result that those who did not fall wounded, turned and fled.

It was then that the son of The First Woman revealed possession of a

spark of generalship that decided the issue for that day, and, perhaps,

for all time. His action was epochal in the existence of the

Zertalacolols. Instead of being satisfied with repulsing the women,

instead of resting upon laurels gloriously won, he turned the tables upon

the hereditary foe and charged the women, signaling his fellows to

accompany him, and when they saw the women running from them, so enthused

were they by this reversal of a custom ages old, they leaped swiftly in

pursuit.

They thought that the son of The First Woman intended that they should

slay all of the enemy and so they were surprised when they saw him

overhaul a comely young female and, seizing her by the hair, disarm her.

So remarkable did it seem to them that one of their number, having a

woman in his power, did not immediately slay her, they were constrained

to pause and gather around him, asking questions in their strange sign

language.

"Why do you hold her?"

"Why do you not kill her?"

"Are you not afraid that she will kill you?" were some of the many that

were launched at him.

"I am going to keep her," replied the son of The First Woman. "I do not

like to cook. She shall cook for me. If she refuses I shall stick her

with this," and he made a jab toward the young woman's ribs with his

spear, a gesture that caused her to cower and drop fearfully upon one

knee.

The men jumped up and down in excitement as the value of this plan and

the evident terror of the woman for the man sank into their dull souls.

"Where are the women?" they signed to one another; but the women had

disappeared.

One of the men started off in the direction they had gone. "I go!" he

signaled. "I come back with a woman of my own, to cook for me!" In a mad

rush the others followed him, leaving the son of The First Woman alone

with his she. He turned upon her.

"You will cook for me?" he demanded.

To his signs she but returned a sullen, snarling visage. The son of The

First Woman raised his spear and with the heavy shaft struck the girl

upon the head, knocking her down, and he stood over her, himself snarling

and scowling, menacing her with further punishment, while she cowered

where she had fallen. He kicked her in the side.

"Get up!" he commanded.

Slowly she crawled to her knees and embracing his legs gazed up into his

face with an expression of doglike adulation and devotion.

"You will cook for me!" he demanded again.

"Forever!" she replied in the sign language of their people.

Tarzan had remained but a short time in the little room adjoining that in

which Zuanthrohago had received Elkomoelhago, when he was summoned to

appear before them alone, and as he entered the room his master motioned

him to approached the desk behind which the two men sat. There was no

other person in the room, even the warriors having been dismissed.

"You are quite positive that he understands nothing of our language?"

demanded the king.

"He has not spoken a word since he was captured," replied Zoanthrohago.

"We had supposed him some new form of Zertalalcolol until it was

discovered that he possessed a language through which he was able to

communicate with the other Trohanadalmakusian slave. It is perfectly safe

to speak freely before him, All-Wise."

Elkomoelhago cast a quick, suspicious glance at his companion. He would

have preferred that Zoanthrohago of all men address him as

All-Glorious--it was less definite in its implication. He might deceive

others, even himself, as to his wisdom, but he was perfectly aware that

he could not fool Zoanthrohago.

"We have never discussed fully," said the king, "the details of this

experiment. It was for this purpose that I came to the laboratory today.

Now that we have the subject here let us go into the matter fully and

determine what next step we should take."

"Yes, All-Wise," replied Zoanthrohago.

"Call me Thagosoto," snapped Elkomoelhago.

"Yes, Thagosoto," said the prince, using the Minunian word for

Chief-Royal, or King, as Elkomoelhago had commanded. "Let us discuss the

matter, by all means. It presents possibilities of great importance to

your throne." He knew that what Elkomoelhago meant by discussing the

matter consisted only in receiving from Zoanthrohago a detailed

explanation of how he had reduced the stature of the slave Zuanthrol to

one quarter its original proportions; but he proposed, if possible, to

obtain value received for the information, which he knew the king would

use for his own aggrandizement, giving Zoanthrohago no credit whatever

for his discoveries or all the long moons he had devoted to accomplishing

this marvelous, scientific miracle.

"Before we enter into this discussion, O, Thagosoto," he said, "I beg

that you will grant me one boon, which I have long desired and have

hitherto hesitated to request, knowing that I did not deserve the

recognition I crave for my poor talents and my mean service to thy

illustrious and justly renowned rule."

"What boon do you wish?" demanded Elkomoelhago, crustily. At heart he

feared this wisest of men, and, like the coward that he was, with him to

fear was to hate. If he could have destroyed Zoanthrohago he would gladly

have done so; but he could not afford to do this, since from this

greatest of walmaks came whatever show of scientific ability the king

could make, as well as all the many notable inventions for the

safeguarding of the royal person.

"I would sit at the royal council," said Zoanthrohago, simply.

The king fidgeted. Of all the nobles of Veltopismakus here was the very

last he would wish to see numbered among the royal councilors, whom he

had chosen with especial reference to the obtuseness of their minds.

"There are no vacancies," he said, at last.

"The ruler of all men might easily make a vacancy," suggested

Zoanthrohago, "or create a new post--Assistant Chief of Chiefs, for

example, so that when Gofoloso was absent there would be one to take his

place. Otherwise I should not have to attend upon your council meetings,

but devote my time to the perfection of our discoveries and inventions."

Here was a way out and Elkomoelbago seized it. He had no objection to

Zoanthrohago being a royal councilor and thus escaping the burdensome

income tax, which the makers of the tax had been careful to see proved no

burden to themselves, and he knew that probably that was the only reason

that Zoanthrohago wished to be a councilor. No, the king had no objection

to the appointment provided it could be arranged that the new minister

was present at no council meetings, for even Elkomoelhago would have

shrunk a bit from claiming as his own all the great discoveries of

Zoanthrohago had Zoanthrohago been present.

"Very well," said the king, "you shall be appointed this very day--and

when I want you at the council meetings I will send for you."

Zoanthrohago bowed. "And now," he said, "to the discussion of our

experiments, which we hope will reveal a method for increasing the

stature of our warriors when they go forth to battle with our enemies,

and of reducing them to normal size once more when they return."

"I hate the mention of battles," cried the king, with a shudder.

"But we must be prepared to win them when they are forced upon us,"

suggested Zoanthrohago.

"I suppose so," assented the king; "but once we perfect this method of

ours we shall need but a few warriors and the rest may be turned to

peaceful and useful occupations. However, go on with the discussion."

Zoanthrohago concealed a smile, and rising, walked around the end of the

table and stopped beside the ape-man. "Here," he said, placing a finger

at the base of Tarzan's skull, "there lies, as you know, a small, oval,

reddish gray body containing a liquid which influences the growth of

tissues and organs. It long ago occurred to me that interference with the

normal functioning of this gland would alter the growth of the subject to

which it belonged. I experimented with small rodents and achieved

remarkable results; but the thing I wished to accomplish, the increase of

man's stature I have been unable to achieve. I have tried many methods

and some day I shall discover the right one. I think I am on the right

track, and that it is merely now a matter of experimentation. You know

that stroking your face lightly with a smooth bit of stone produces a

pleasurable sensation. Apply the same stone to the same face in the same

manner, but with greatly increased force and you produce a diametrically

opposite sensation. Rub the stone slowly across the face and back again

many times, and then repeat the same motion rapidly for the same number

of times and you will discover that the results are quite different. I am

that close to a solution; I have the correct method but not quite, as

yet, the correct application. I can reduce creatures in size, but I

cannot enlarge them; and although I can reduce them with great ease, I

cannot determine the period or endurance of their reduction. In some

cases, subjects have not regained their normal size under thirty-nine

moons, and in others, they have done so in as short a period as three

moons. There have been cases where normal stature was regained gradually

during a period of seven suns, and others where the subject passed

suddenly from a reduced size to normal size in less than a hundred

heartbeats; this latter phenomenon being always accompanied by fainting

and unconsciousness when it occurred during waking hours."

"Of course," commented Elkomoelhago. "Now, let us see. I believe the

thing is simpler than you imagine. You say that to reduce the size of

this subject you struck him with a rock upon the base of the skull.

Therefore, to enlarge his size, the most natural and scientific thing to

do would be to strike him a similar blow upon the forehead. Fetch the

rock and we will prove the correctness of my theory."

For a moment Zoanthrohago was at a loss as to how best to circumvent the

stupid intention of the king without humiliating his pride and arousing

his resentment; but the courtiers of Elkomoelhago were accustomed to

think quickly in similar emergencies and Zoanthrohago speedily found an

avenue of escape from his dilemma.

"You sagacity is the pride of your people, Thagosoto," he said, "and your

brilliant hyperbole the despair of your courtiers. In a clever figure of

speech you suggest the way to achievement. By reversing the manner in

which we reduced the stature of Zuanthrol we should be able to increase

it; but, alas, I have tried this and failed. But wait, let us repeat the

experiment precisely as it was originally carried out and then, by

reversing it, we shall, perhaps, be enabled to determine why I have

failed in the past."

He stepped quickly across the room to one of a series of large cupboards

that lined the wall and opening the door of it revealed a cage in which

were a number of rodents. Selecting one of these he returned to the

table, where, with wooden pegs and bits of cord he fastened the rodent

securely to a smooth board, its legs spread out and its body flattened,

the under side of the lower jaw resting firmly upon a small metal plate

set flush with the surface of the board. He then brought forth a small

wooden box and a large metal disc, the latter mounted vertically between

supports that permitted it to be revolved rapidly by means of a hand

crank. Mounted rigidly upon the same axis as the revolving disc was

another which remained stationary. The latter disc appeared to have been

constructed of seven segments, each of a different material from all the

others, and from each of these segments a pad, or brush, protruded

sufficiently to press lightly against the revolving disc.

To the reverse side of each of the seven segments of the stationary disc

a wire was attached, and these wires Zoanthrohago now connected to seven

posts projecting from the upper surface of the wooden box. A single wire

attached to a post upon the side of the box had at its other extremity a

small, curved metal plate attached to the inside of a leather collar.

This collar Zoanthrohago adjusted about the neck of the rodent so that

the metal plate came in contact with its skin at the base of the skull

and as close to the hypophysis gland as possible.

He then turned his attention once more to the wooden box, upon the top of

which, in addition to the seven binding posts, was a circular instrument

consisting of a dial about the periphery of which were a series of

hieroglyphics. From the center of this dial projected seven tubular,

concentric shafts, each of which supported a needle, which was shaped or

painted in some distinguishing manner, while beneath the dial seven small

metal discs were set in the cover of the box so that they lay in the arc

of a circle from the center of which a revolving metal shaft was so

arranged that its free end might be moved to any of the seven metal discs

at the will of the operator.

The connections having all been made, Zoanthrobago moved the free end of

the shaft from one of the metal discs to another, keeping his eyes at all

times intently upon the dial, the seven needles of which moved variously

as he shifted the shaft from point to point.

Elkomoelhago was an intent, if somewhat bewildered, observer, and the

slave, Zuanthrol, unobserved, had moved nearer the table that he might

better watch this experiment which might mean so much to him.

Zoanthrohago continued to manipulate the revolving shaft and the needles

moved hither and thither from one series of hieroglyphics to another,

until at last the walmak appeared satisfied.

"It is not always easy," he said, "to attune the instrument to the

frequency of the organ upon which we are working. From all matter and

even from such incorporeal a thing as thought there emanate identical

particles, so infinitesimal as to be scarce noted by the most delicate of

my instruments. These particles constitute the basic structure of all

things whether animate or inanimate, corporeal or incorporeal. The

frequency, quantity and rhythm of the emanations determine the nature of

the substance. Having located upon this dial the coefficient of the gland

under discussion it now becomes necessary, in order to so interfere with

its proper functioning that the growth of the creature involved will be

not only stopped but actually reversed, that we decrease the frequency,

increase the quantity and compound the rhythm of these emanations. This I

shall now proceed to do," and he forthwith manipulated several small

buttons upon one side of the box, and grasping the crank handle of the

free disc revolved it rapidly.

The result was instantaneous and startling. Before their eyes

Elkomoelhago, the king, and Zuanthrol, the slave, saw the rodent shrink

rapidly in size, while retaining its proportions unchanged. Tarzan, who

had followed every move and every word of the walmak, leaned far over

that he might impress indelibly upon his memory the position of the seven

needles. Elkomoelhago glanced up and discovered his interest.

"We do not need this fellow now," he said, addressing Zoanthrohago. "Have

him sent away."

"Yes, Thagosoto," replied Zoanthrohago, summoning a warrior whom he

directed to remove Tarzan and Komodoflorensal to a chamber where they

could be secured until their presence was again required.