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clearing between himself and the wall, he dropped lightly to the ground and

moved stealthily out into the open.

The rising moon, just topping the eastern cliffs, cast its bright rays upon the long

stretch of open garden beneath the wall. And, too, it picked out in clear relief for

any curious eyes that chanced to be cast in that direction, the figure of the giant

ape-man moving across the clearing. It was only chance, of course, that a great

lion hunting at the edge of the forest saw the figure of the man halfway between

the forest and the wall. Suddenly there broke upon Tarzan's ears a menacing

sound. It was not the roar of a hungry lion, but the roar of a lion in rage, and, as

he glanced back in the direction from which the sound came, he saw a huge

beast moving out from the shadow of the forest toward him.

Even in the moonlight and at a distance Tarzan saw that the lion was huge; that

it was indeed another of the black-maned monsters similar to Numa of the pit.

For an instant he was impelled to turn and fight, but at the same time the

thought of the helpless girl imprisoned in the city flashed through his brain and,

without an instant's hesitation, Tarzan of the Apes wheeled and ran for the wall.

Then it was that Numa charged.

Numa, the lion, can run swiftly for a short distance, but he lacks endurance. For

the period of an ordinary charge he can cover the ground with greater rapidity

possibly than any other creature in the world. Tarzan, on the other hand, could

run at great speed for long distances, though never as rapidly as Numa when the

latter charged.

The question of his fate, then, rested upon whether, with his start he could elude

Numa for a few seconds; and, if so, if the lion would then have sufficient stamina

remaining to pursue him at a reduced gait for the balance of the distance to the

wall.

Never before, perhaps, was staged a more thrilling race, and yet it was run with

only the moon and stars to see. Alone and in silence the two beasts sped across

the moonlit clearing. Numa gained with appalling rapidity upon the fleeing man,

yet at every bound Tarzan was nearer to the vine-clad wall. Once the ape-man

glanced back. Numa was so close upon him that it seemed inevitable that at the

next bound he should drag him down; so close was he that the ape-man drew his

knife as he ran, that he might at least give a good account of himself in the last

moments of his life.

But Numa had reached the limit of his speed and endurance. Gradually he

dropped behind but he did not give up the pursuit, and now Tarzan realized how

much hinged upon the strength of the untested vines.

172

Tarzan the Untamed