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Numa, unaccustomed to the idiosyncrasies of construction of an airship and

having gained the forward cockpit, watched the girl clamber out of his reach

without at first endeavoring to prevent her. Having taken possession of the plane

his anger seemed suddenly to leave him and he made no immediate move toward

following Smith-Oldwick. The girl, realizing the comparative safety of her position,

had crawled to the outer edge of the wing and was calling to the man to try and

reach the opposite end of the upper plane.

It was this scene upon which Tarzan of the Apes looked as he rounded the bend

of the gorge above the plane after the pistol shot had attracted his attention. The

girl was so intent upon watching the efforts of the Englishman to reach a place of

safety, and the latter was so busily occupied in attempting to do so that neither at

once noticed the silent approach of the ape-man.

It was Numa who first noticed the intruder. The lion immediately evinced his

displeasure by directing toward him a snarling countenance and a series of

warning growls. His action called the attention of the two upon the upper plane to

the newcomer, eliciting a stifled "Thank God!" from the girl, even though she

could scarce credit the evidence of her own eyes that it was indeed the savage

man, whose presence always assured her safety, who had come so providentially

in the nick of time.

Almost immediately both were horrified to see Numa leap from the cockpit and

advance upon Tarzan. The ape-man, carrying his stout spear in readiness, moved

deliberately onward to meet the carnivore, which he had recognized as the lion of

the Wamabos' pit. He knew from the manner of Numa's approach what neither

Bertha Kircher nor Smith-Oldwick knew--that there was more of curiosity than

belligerency in it, and he wondered if in that great head there might not be a

semblance of gratitude for the kindness that Tarzan had done him.

There was no question in Tarzan's mind but that Numa recognized him, for he

knew his fellows of the jungle well enough to know that while they oft-times forgot

certain sensations more quickly than man there are others which remain in their

memories for years. A well-defined scent spoor might never be forgotten by a

beast if it had first been sensed under unusual circumstances, and so Tarzan

was confident that Numa's nose had already reminded him of all the

circumstances of their brief connection.

Love of the sporting chance is inherent in the Anglo-Saxon race and it was not

now Tarzan of the Apes but rather John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, who smilingly

welcomed the sporting chance which he must take to discover how far-reaching

was Numa's gratitude.

151

Tarzan the Untamed