The Davenport New Era (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 3, 1918 Page: 2 of 8
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The Son of Tarzan
<By> EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS
Copyright, by Prank A. Moniay Co.
THE SWEDES BUY MERIEM FROM KOVUDOO, AND IN
FIGHTING OVER HER, MALBIHN KILLS JENSSEN
Synopsis.—A scientific expedition off the African coast rescues a
human derelict, Alexis Paulvltch. He brings aboard an ape, Intelligent
and friendly, and reaches London. Jack, son of Lord Greystoke, the
original Tarzan, has Inherited a love of wild Itfe and steals from home
to see the ape, now a drawing card in a music hall. The ape makes
friends with him and refuses to leave Jack despite his trainer.
Tarzan appears and Is joyfully recognized by the ape, for Tarzan had
been king of his tribe. Tarzan agrees to buy Akut, the ape, and send
hira back to Africa. Jack and Akut become great friends. Paulvltch
Is fflled when he attempts murder. A thief tries to kill Jack, but is
killed by Akut. They flee together to the jungle and take up life.
Jack rescues an Arabian girl and takes her into the forest. He Is
wounded and Meriem Is stolen.
CHAPTER IX.
—10—
When Thieves Fall Out.
So the two Swedes approached the
village of Kovifdoo with friendly words
upon their tongues and deep craft In
their hearts.
Their plans were well made. There
was no mention of the white prisoner.
They chose to pretend that they were
not aware that Kovudoo had a white
prisoner. They exchanged gifts with
the old chief, haggling with his pleni-
potentiaries over the value of what
they were to receive for what they
gave, as Is customary and proper when
one has no ulterior motives. Unwar-
ranted generosity would have aroused
suspicion.
During the palaver which followed
they retailed the gossip of the villages
through which they had passed, receiv-
ing irr exchange such news as Kovudoo
possessed. The palaver was long and
tiresome, as these native ceremonies
always are to Europeans. Kovudoo
made no mention of his prisoner, and
from his generous efforts of guides and
presents seemed anxious to assure
himself of the speedy departure of his
guests.
It was Malblhn who, quite casually,
near the close of their talk, mentioned
the fact that the sheik was dead. Kov-
udoo evinced interest and surprise.
"You did not know it?" asked Mal-
bihn. "That Is strange. It was during
the last moon. He fell from hi? horse
when the beast stepped in a hole. The
horse fell upon him. When his men
came up the sheik was quite dead."
Kovudoo scratched his head. He was
much disappointed. No sheik meant no
ransom for the white girl.
"I know where there Is a white girl,"
he said unexpectedly. "If you wish to
buy her she may be had cheap."
Malblhn shrugged. "We have trouble
enough, Kovudoo," he said, "without
burdening ourselves with an old,
broken down she hyena, and as for
paying for one"—Malblhn snapped his
fingers.
"She Is young," said Kovudoo, "und
good looking."
The Swedes luughed. "There are no
good looking white women In the jun-
gle, Kovudoo," said Jenssen. "You
should be ushumed to try to make fun
of old friends."
Kovudoo sprang to his feet. "Come,"
he said, "I will show you."
Malblhn and Jenssen rose to follow
him, and as they did so their eyes met,
and Malblhn slowly dropped one of
his lids in a sly wink. Together they
followed Kovudoo toward his hut. In
the dim Interior they discerned the
figure <>f a woman lying bound upon
a sleeping mat.
tool a single glance and
turned away. "She must be a thou-
sand years old, Kovudoo," he said as
he left the hat.
"She Is young!" cried the savage.
"It is dark In here. You cannot see.
Wait. I will have her brought out in
the sunlight." And he commanded the
two warriors who watched the girl to
cut the bonds from her ankles and
lead her forth for Inspection.
Malblhn and Jenssen evinced no
eagerness, though both were fairly
bursting with it, not to see the girl,
but to obtain possession of her. They
cared not if she had the face of a'mar-
moset or the figure of pot bellied Ko-
vudoo himself. All that they wished
to know was that she was the girl
who had been stolen from the sheik
several years before. They thought
that they would recognize her for such
If she were indeed the same. But even
so, the testimony of the runner Kovu-
doo had sent to the sheik was such as
to assure them that the girl was the
one they had once before attempted
to abduct.
As Meriem was brought forth from
the darkness of the hut's interior the
two men turned, with every appear
ance of disinterestedness, to glance at
her. It was with difficulty that Mal-
blhn suppressed an ejaculation of as-
tonishment. The girl's beauty fairly
took his breath from him. But In-
stantly he recovered his poise and
turned to Kovudoo.
"Well?" he said to the old chief.
"Is she not both young and good
looking?" asked Kovudoo.
"She is not old," replied Malblhn.
"But, even so, she will be a burden.
We did not come from the north after
wives. There are t ore than enough
there for us."
Meriem stood looking straight at the
white men. She expected nothing from
them—they were to her us much ene-
mies as the black men. She hated and
feared them all. Malblhn spoke to her
In Arabic.
"We are friends," he said. "Would
you like to have us take you away
from here?"
Slowly and dimly, as though from a
great distance, recollection of the once
familiar tongue returned to her.
"I should like to go free," she said,
"and go back to Korak."
"You would like to go with us?"
persisted Malblhn. 1
"No," suld Meriem.
Malblhn turned to Kovudoc. "She
does not wish to go with us," he said.
"You are men," returned the black.
"Can you not take her by force?"
"It would only add to our troubles,"
replied the Swede. "No, Kovudoo, we
do not wish her, though, If you wish
to be rid of her, we will take her away
because of our friendship for you."
Now, Kovudoo knew that he had
made a sale. They wanted her. So he
commenced to bargain, and In the end
the person of Meriem passed from the
possession of the black chieftain into
that of the two Swedes in considera-
tion of six yards of Amerikan, three
empty brass cartridge shells and a
shiny new jackknife from New Jersey.
And all but Meriem were more than
pleased with the bargain.
Kovudoo stipulated but a single con-
dition, and that was that the Euro-
peans were to leave his village and
take the girl with them as early the
next morning as they could get start-
ed. After the sale he did not hesitate
to explain his reasons for this demand
He told them of strenuous attempts
of the girl's savage mate to rescue her,
and suggested that the sooner they got
her out of the eou«try the more likely
they were to retain possession of her.
Meriem was agujn bound and placed
under guard, but this time in the tent
of the Swedes. Miilbilin talked to her,
trying to persuade her to accompany
them willingly. He told her that they
would return her to her own village,
but when he discovered that she woulfl
rather die than gq back to the old
sheik he assured her that they would
not take her there—nor, as e matter
of fact, had they any intention of so
doing.
All that night Meriem lay listening
for a Signal from Korak. All about
the jungle life moved through the
darkness. To her sensitive ears came
sounds that the others in th6 camp
could hot heaT, sounds that she inter-
preted as we. might interpret the
But at the Flash of the Explosion He
Stopped.
speech of a friend, but not once came
a single note that betokened the pres-
ence of Korak. But she knew that he
would come. Nothing short of death
Itself could prevent her Korak from
returning to her.
What delayed him, though?
When morning came again and the
night had brought no succoring Korak
Merlem's faith and loyalty were still
unshaken, though misgivings began to
assail her as to the safety of her
frleml. It seemed unbelievable that
serious mishap could have overtaken
her wonderful Korak, who dally passed
unscathed through all the terrors of
the Jungle, let morning came, the
morning meal was eaten, the camp
broken, and the disreputable safari of
the Swedes was again on the move
northward with still no sign of the
rescue by Korak the girl momentarily
expected.
All that day they marched and the
next and the next. Nor did Korak
even so much as show himself to the
patient little waiter moving, silent and
stately, beside her hard captors.
It was on the fourth day that Mer-
iem began definitely to give up hope.
Something had happened to Korak.
She knew It. He would never come
now, and these men would take her
uwi\ Presently they would kill. her.
She would never see her Korak again.
On this day the Swedes rested, for
they had marched rapidly and their
men were tired. Malblhn and Jenssen
had gone frcyn camp to hunt, taking
different directions.
They had been gone about an hour
when the door of Merlem's tent was
lifted and Malbihn entered. His look
portended no <jood to the girl.
Out in the jungle Jenssen hue}
brought down two bucks. His hunting
had not carried him far afield, not
was lie prone to permit It to do so. He
was suspicious of Malblhn. The very
fact that his companion hud refused to
accompany him and elected instead to
hunt aloue iii another direction would
not, under ordinary circumstances,
have seemed fraught with sinister sug-
gestion, but Jenssen knew Malblhn
s well, and so, having secured meat, he
turned immediately back toward camp
while his boys brought In his kill.
He had covered about half the re-
turn journey when a scream came
faintly to his ears from the direction
of camp. He halted to listen. It was
repeated twice. Then silence.
With a muttered curse Jenssen
broke into a rapid run. What a fool
Malbihn was, indeed, thus to chance
jeopardizing a fortune!
Further away from camp than Jens-
sen and upon the opposite side an-
other lieard Merlem's screams^-a
stranger who was not even aware of
the proximity of white men other than
hftbself, a hunter \<lth a handful of
sleek, black warriors.
He, too, listened Intently for a mo-
ment. That the voice was that of a
woman in distress he could not doubt,
and so he also hastened at a run !n
the direction of the affrighted voice,
but lie was much farther away than
Jenssen, so that the latter reached the
tent first.
What the Swede found there roused
no pity within his calloused heart, only
anger against his fellow scoundrel.
Meriem was fighting off her attacker.
Malbihn was showering blows upon
her.
Jenssen, streaming foul curses upon
his erstwhile friend, burst into the
tent. Malblhn, interrupted, dropped
his victim and turned to meet Jens-
sen's infuriated charge.
He whipped a revolver from his hip.
Jenssen, anticipating the lightning
move of the other's hand, drew almost
simultaneously, and both men fired at
once. •
Jenssen was still moving toward
Malblhn at the time, but at the flush
of the explosion he stopped. His re-
volver dropped from nerveless fingers.
For a moment he staggered drunkenly.
Deliberately Malblhn put two more
bullets Into his friend's body at close'
range.
Even In the midst of the excitement
and her terror Meriem found herself
wondering at the tenacity of life
which the hit man displayed. His
eyes were closed, h\s head dropped
forward upon Ills breast, his hands
hung limply before him. ■ Yet still he •
stood there upon his feet, though he
reeled horribly.
It was not until the third bullet had
found Its mark within his body that
he lunged forward upon his face. Then
Malbihn approached him and, with an
oath, kicked him viciously. Then he
turhed once more to Meriem.
Bwana rescues Meriem and
takes her home to his wife, who
adopts the girl.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Van Eyck Born In 1386.
Jan Van Eyck, who Is by some be-
lieved to have Invented oil pulntlng
was born in the year 1889.,
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Tryon, W. M. The Davenport New Era (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 47, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 3, 1918, newspaper, January 3, 1918; Davenport, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc109460/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.