44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 |
1 | 61 | 121 | 182 | 242 |
www.freeclassicebooks.com
Chapter V - The Golden Locket
The little British army in East Africa, after suffering severe reverses at the hands
of a numerically much superior force, was at last coming into its own. The
German offensive had been broken and the Huns were now slowly and doggedly
retreating along the railway to Tanga. The break in the German lines had followed
the clearing of a section of their left-flank trenches of native soldiers by Tarzan
and Numa, the lion, upon that memorable night that the ape-man had loosed a
famishing man-eater among the superstitious and terror-stricken blacks. The
Second Rhodesian Regiment had immediately taken possession of the abandoned
trench and from this position their flanking fire had raked contiguous sections of
the German line, the diversion rendering possible a successful night attack on the
part of the balance of the British forces.
Weeks had elapsed. The Germans were contesting stubbornly every mile of
waterless, thorn-covered ground and clinging desperately to their positions along
the railway. The officers of the Second Rhodesians had seen nothing more of
Tarzan of the Apes since he had slain Underlieutenant von Goss and disappeared
toward the very heart of the German position, and there were those among them
who believed that he had been killed within the enemy lines.
"
They may have killed him," assented Colonel Capell; "but I fancy they never
captured the beggar alive."
Nor had they, nor killed him either. Tarzan had spent those intervening weeks
pleasantly and profitably. He had amassed a considerable fund of knowledge
concerning the disposition and strength of German troops, their methods of
warfare, and the various ways in which a lone Tarmangani might annoy an army
and lower its morale.
At present he was prompted by a specific desire. There was a certain German spy
whom he wished to capture alive and take back to the British When he had made
his first visit to German headquarters, he had seen a young woman deliver a
paper to the German general, and later he had seen that same young woman
within the British lines in the uniform of a British officer. The conclusions were
obvious--she was a spy.
And so Tarzan haunted German headquarters upon many nights hoping to see
her again or to pick up some clew as to her whereabouts, and at the same time
he utilized many an artifice whereby he might bring terror to the hearts of the
Germans. That he was successful was often demonstrated by the snatches of
conversation he overheard as he prowled through the German camps. One night
4
6
Page
Quick Jump
|