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had made him the invincible lord of the jungle. His great estates in Uziri had

claimed much of his time and attention, and there he had found ample field for

the practical use and retention of his almost superhuman powers; but naked and

unarmed to do battle with the shaggy, bull-necked beast that now confronted him

was a test that the ape-man would scarce have welcomed at any period of his wild

existence.

But there was no alternative other than to meet the rage-maddened creature with

the weapons with which nature had endowed him.

Over the bull's shoulder Tarzan could see now the heads and shoulders of

perhaps a dozen more of these mighty fore-runners of primitive man.

He knew, however, that there was little chance that they would attack him, since

it is not within the reasoning powers of the anthropoid to be able to weigh or

appreciate the value of concentrated action against an enemy--otherwise they

would long since have become the dominant creatures of their haunts, so

tremendous a power of destruction lies in their mighty thews and savage fangs.

With a low snarl the beast now hurled himself at Tarzan, but the ape-man had

found, among other things in the haunts of civilized man, certain methods of

scientific warfare that are unknown to the jungle folk.

Whereas, a few years since, he would have met the brute rush with brute force,

he now sidestepped his antagonist's headlong charge, and as the brute hurtled

past him swung a mighty right to the pit of the ape's stomach.

With a howl of mingled rage and anguish the great anthropoid bent double and

sank to the ground, though almost instantly he was again struggling to his feet.

Before he could regain them, however, his white-skinned foe had wheeled and

pounced upon him, and in the act there dropped from the shoulders of the

English lord the last shred of his superficial mantle of civilization.

Once again he was the jungle beast revelling in bloody conflict with his kind.

Once again he was Tarzan, son of Kala the she-ape.

His strong, white teeth sank into the hairy throat of his enemy as he sought the

pulsing jugular.

Powerful fingers held the mighty fangs from his own flesh, or clenched and beat

with the power of a steam-hammer upon the snarling, foam-flecked face of his

adversary.

The Beasts of Tarzan