Home Categories foreign novel Tarzan of the Apes Series Ⅰ Tarzan is Born

Chapter 5 life and death - 1

The morning, though the whole world was full of new vigor, was of no practical importance to the Claytons, though they greeted the dawn with intense relief. No sooner had he finished a very simple breakfast of bacon, coffee, and biscuits than Clayton began to build the house.Because he knew in his heart that only by building four strong high walls and completely isolating himself from the life in the forest can he hope to be safe at night, and he may also get peace of mind. It was a daunting task that took the better part of a month to complete, even though all he had to build was a hut.He built the house out of logs six inches in diameter, filling the gaps between the logs with clay.The clay he found a few feet below the ground.

At one end of the house he had built a fireplace out of stones he had picked up from the beach, also with mud.After the house was built, he put four inches of yellow mud on the outside of the walls. He framed the window with two rows of twigs an inch in diameter, horizontally and vertically, to make a strong grille, strong enough to withstand a powerful beast.This way, they have good ventilation for fresh air without fear of diminishing the security of the cabin. On the "A"-shaped roof, a dense layer of twigs was spread, and the tall grass and palm leaves in the jungle were covered on the branches, and finally a layer of yellow mud was applied.

The doors of the hut were nailed from the boards of the formerly packed boxes.He nailed layer after layer, each intersecting the grain of the wood below, until he had nailed a solid plank three inches thick that could withstand the enormous pressure.They looked at the board and laughed. After this, Clayton encountered the greatest difficulty, because he could not fit the thick door he had made into the frame.But after two days of work, he finally succeeded in making two strong shafts out of solid wood.With these two hinges, the door can be installed and opened and closed very conveniently.

Once the roof was up, they moved in immediately.Then paint the walls and do some finishing touches.When they slept at night, they covered the door with a stack of boxes, so that they had a safer and more comfortable shelter. It is relatively easy to make beds, chairs, tables and cupboards.So, by the end of the second month, they were well settled.Except for the constant haunting fear of wild beast attacks and unbearable loneliness, there seemed to be nothing uncomfortable or unhappy. At night the great beasts howled and roared about the hut.But people also get used to loud noises that are often repeated.Soon, they no longer cared about wolves, tigers and leopards, and could sleep until dawn.

Three times they saw the huge, somewhat human-like figure they had seen the night before, but never once were they close enough to tell whether it was a man or a beast. Those gorgeous birds and little monkeys gradually became familiar with their new friends.Having never seen a human being before, after the initial fear dissipated, they came closer and closer to them, driven by the curiosity of the wild animals of the forests, savages, and moors.In the first month of being here, a few birds dared to peck at the food from the Claytons' hands bite by bite. Clayton wanted to build a few more houses.One afternoon, while he was working, a group of screaming "little friends" ran through the woods and down the hill.They ran and looked back in fear, and stopped when they came to Clayton, chirping and chirping as if to warn him of the imminent danger.

After a while, the thing that the little monkey was afraid of appeared in front of his eyes.It turned out to be the humanoid beast that he and his wife had seen by chance. It was standing half upright, walking through the dense forest, leaning on the ground with the back of its fisted hand from time to time.It was a very large, human-like ape.When it came over, it let out a rough, ugly bark, and sometimes barked a few times like a dog. Clayton is still some distance away from the cabin, he is for his "construction project" To chop down a particularly desirable tree.In the past few months, he hadn't seen any animals that might bring him danger during the day, so he gradually relaxed his vigilance and left his rifle and pistol in the house.Now he saw the great ape trampling the bushes and coming straight towards him; and it came in the direction that cut off the ground's escape, and Clayton felt a shudder run down his spine.

He knew in his heart that it was almost impossible to defeat this ferocious monster with just an ax... and Alice.Ah, my God!What would happen to Alice, he thought? But there was a glimmer of hope running back to the cabin.So he turned back, and ran as fast as he could to the hut, calling to his wife to hurry back and close the heavy door, lest the great ape should cut off his retreat from there. Mrs Greystoke, who was sitting not far from the cottage, heard her husband shout, looked up suddenly, and saw the ape.It was big and clumsy, but it was leaping at it with incredible agility, and it was going to knock Clayton down.

With a low cry, she jumped up and rushed to the cabin.As she entered the room, she glanced back, a glance that almost scared her out of her wits.She saw the huge beast stop her husband, who was cornered, with the ax in both hands, ready to make a final rush on the raging beast. "Shut the door and bar it from the inside, Alice!" cried Clayton. "I can finish the fellow with this ax!" But he knew in his heart that he was facing a tragic death.She also knows. Gigantopithecus was almost a stout bull, weighing about three hundred pounds.A pair of disgusting eyes, set close together, glared fiercely under heavy eyebrows.It paused before its prey, revealing its monstrous canine-like interlaced teeth.

Looking over the shoulder of the beast, Clayton saw that the hut was not more than twenty paces away.At that moment a wave of terror swept over the young wife as she came out of the cabin with a rifle in her hand. She was afraid of weapons and never dared to touch them for a while.But now, like a fearless lioness protecting her offspring, she charged at the ape bravely. "Go back, Alice!" cried Clayton, "for God's sake, go back!" But she didn't listen at all. At this moment, the giant ape rushed over, and Clayton couldn't say anything more. He raised the axe, and threw all his might upon the beast, but the monstrous creature seized the ax with terrible hands, snatched it from Clayton, and threw it aside.

With a cry, it swooped on the defenseless victim.But before his horny fangs could bite Clayton's neck, a bullet shot into the ape's back from between the shoulders with a piercing explosion.The beast tossed Clayton to the ground, turned and charged at the new foe.In front of it stood the terrified Alice, who wanted to shoot the animal again, but didn't know how to handle the weapon, and the bullets would never reload, and were of no use at all.
Press "Left Key ←" to return to the previous chapter; Press "Right Key →" to enter the next chapter; Press "Space Bar" to scroll down.
Chapters
Chapters
Setting
Setting
Add
Return
Book