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after Tarzan arose, Smith-Oldwick and the girl were aroused by a volley of

thunderous roars and the noise of many padded feet rushing toward them.

Tarzan of the Apes stood directly before the entrance to the cavern, his knife in

his hand, awaiting the charge. The ape-man had not expected any such concerted

action as he now realized had been taken by those watching them. He had known

for some time that other men had joined those who were with the lions earlier in

the evening, and when he arose to his feet it was because he knew that the lions

and the men were moving cautiously closer to him and his party. He might easily

have eluded them, for he had seen that the face of the cliff rising above the mouth

of the cavern might be scaled by as good a climber as himself. It might have been

wiser had he tried to escape, for he knew that in the face of such odds even he

was helpless, but he stood his ground though I doubt if he could have told why.

He owed nothing either of duty or friendship to the girl sleeping in the cavern, nor

could he longer be of any protection to her or her companion. Yet something held

him there in futile self-sacrifice.

The great Tarmangani had not even the satisfaction of striking a blow in self-

defense. A veritable avalanche of savage beasts rolled over him and threw him

heavily to the ground. In falling his head struck the rocky surface of the cliff,

stunning him.

It was daylight when he regained consciousness. The first dim impression borne

to his awakening mind was a confusion of savage sounds which gradually

resolved themselves into the growling of lions, and then, little by little, there came

back to him the recollections of what had preceded the blow that had felled him.

Strong in his nostrils was the scent of Numa, the lion, and against one naked leg

he could feel the coat of some animal. Slowly Tarzan opened his eyes. He was

lying on his side and as he looked down his body, he saw that a great lion stood

straddling him--a great lion who growled hideously at something which Tarzan

could not see.

With the full return of his senses Tarzan's nose told him that the beast above him

was Numa of the Wamabo pit.

Thus reassured, the ape-man spoke to the lion and at the same time made a

motion as though he would arise. Immediately Numa stepped from above him. As

Tarzan raised his head, he saw that he still lay where he had fallen before the

opening of the cliff where the girl had been sleeping and that Numa, backed

against the cliffside, was apparently defending him from two other lions who

paced to and fro a short distance from their intended victim.

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Tarzan the Untamed