www.freeclassicebooks.com

beneath the belly of a lion while he clung to its long mane and stabbed it until his

point reached its heart. So easy it had seemed before that he experienced a sharp

feeling of resentment that he was unable to do so now, for the quick movements

of the lion prevented him, and presently, to his dismay, as the lion leaped and

threw him about, the ape-man realized that he was swinging inevitably beneath

those frightful talons.

With a final effort he threw himself from Numa's back and sought, by his

quickness, to elude the frenzied beast for the fraction of an instant that would

permit him to regain his feet and meet the animal again upon a more even

footing. But this time Numa was too quick for him and he was but partially up

when a great paw struck him on the side of the head and bowled him over.

As he fell he saw a black streak shoot above him and another lion close upon his

antagonist. Rolling from beneath the two battling lions Tarzan regained his feet,

though he was half dazed and staggering from the impact of the terrible blow he

had received. Behind him he saw a lifeless lion lying torn and bleeding upon the

sand, and before him Numa of the pit was savagely mauling the second lion.

He of the black coat tremendously outclassed his adversary in point of size and

strength as well as in ferocity. The battling beasts made a few feints and passes

at each other before the larger succeeded in fastening his fangs in the other's

throat, and then, as a cat shakes a mouse, the larger lion shook the lesser, and

when his dying foe sought to roll beneath and rake his conqueror with his hind

claws, the other met him halfway at his own game, and as the great talons buried

themselves in the lower part of the other's chest and then were raked downward

with all the terrific strength of the mighty hind legs, the battle was ended.

As Numa rose from his second victim and shook himself, Tarzan could not but

again note the wondrous proportions and symmetry of the beast. The lions they

had bested were splendid specimens themselves and in their coats Tarzan noted

a suggestion of the black which was such a strongly marked characteristic of

Numa of the pit. Their manes were just a trifle darker than an ordinary black-

maned lion but the tawny shade on the balance of their coats predominated.

However, the ape-man realized that they were a distinct species from any he had

seen as though they had sprung originally from a cross between the forest lion of

his acquaintance and a breed of which Numa of the pit might be typical.

The immediate obstruction in his way having been removed, Tarzan was for

setting out in search of the spoor of the girl and Smith-Oldwick, that he might

discover their fate. He suddenly found himself tremendously hungry and as he

circled about over the sandy bottom searching among the tangled network of

innumerable tracks for those of his proteges, there broke from his lips

162

Tarzan the Untamed