Chapter 17 "Outsider" visitors

The next morning, Tarzan was injured in a fierce fight with Teganz, and he was limping in pain all over his body.But he endured the pain and walked westward toward the coast. He walked very slowly, and slept in the jungle at night, and did not arrive at the hut until about nine o'clock the next morning. He did not do much for several days, and only went out to gather some wild berries and walnuts when he was very hungry. After ten days he was in good health again, except for a terrible scar which had not fully healed.The scar starts above the left eye, runs across the top of the head, and continues to the right ear.This is the "commemoration" that Teganz tore off his scalp.

While recovering, Tarzan wanted to make himself a cloak from the lion skin that had been kept in the hut.But when I was doing it, I found that the skin was as hard as a board after drying.Because he knew nothing about tanning leather, he had to abandon this long-cherished plan. Later, he made up his mind to steal some clothes from the blacks in Mubenga village.Because Tarzan has made up his mind to do everything possible to distinguish himself from the sequence of lower animals.In his view, the most obvious signs of human beings are ornaments and clothes. To this end, he collected various ornaments to be worn on the arms and legs.

These were taken from the negro warrior who had the misfortune to fall into his swift and noiseless noose.Then, he put them on like them. Around his neck was a gold necklace from which hung his mother, Lady Alice's locket studded with diamonds.Slung across his back was a quiver tied to a leather thong, a "trophy" he'd gotten from another negro. Around his waist was a belt that he wove out of cowhide strips, on which hung a scabbard that he also made himself, and inside the scabbard was his father's hunting knife.Kulonga's beautiful bow was slung across his left shoulder.

Young Lord Greystoke was indeed queer in his attire, and looked combative.His black hair fell to his shoulders. In order not to let the front hair hang down and block the view, he cut it into short bangs with a hunting knife, covering his beautiful forehead. He is straight and flawless, with well-developed muscles and bulges, just like the best ancient Roman sword fighters, and at the same time has the soft and graceful curves of the gods in Greek mythology.At a glance, he is a combination of strength, flexibility and speed. Tarzan the ape is a typical example of primitive man, hunter and fighter.

On his broad shoulders, his beautiful head is always calm, and his clear and bright eyes are shining with the light of life and wisdom.In this ancient jungle, the first ancestor of the fierce and combative man who was past, would have worshiped him as a god if he existed. Taishan naturally never thought of such a thing.He was only anxious that he had no clothes to show all the inhabitants of the jungle that he was a man and not an ape.And he often had doubts in his heart, for fear that he would become an ape again. Because, didn't he also start to grow hair on his face?All the apes have hair on their faces, and the negroes, with very few exceptions, have bare faces.

Yes, from the picture book, I have seen people with long hair on their lips, cheeks, and chin. But Taishan was still a little scared.He has to sharpen that sharp knife almost every day, down to the new beard on his lips - eradicating the symbol of being an ape. In this way he learned to shave his face. Although the shave was not clean and painful, it still had the effect of shaving. After the bloody battle with Teganz, and when he felt very strong again, Taishan went to Mubenga's village one morning.Instead of swinging through the branches as usual, he was walking carelessly along the winding forest path, when he suddenly came face to face with a black warrior.

The look of horror on the Negro's face was ridiculous.Before Tarzan could take down the bow, the fellow had turned around and ran quickly along the path, shouting as he ran, as if there were others ahead. Tai Shan jumped up the tree to follow and chase, and after a while, he saw the few people who were desperately running away. There were three of them, running like crazy through the bushes in a single file. Tarzan easily caught up with them.But they didn't see Mount Tai passing silently above their heads, nor did they notice that he was already squatting on a low branch in front, and the path below was their only way.

Taishan let go of the first two, and when the third one ran across the meter, he raised his arm lightly, and the noose wrapped around the black man's neck impartially, and then he yanked it, tightening the noose. The black man let out a cry of pain.When the two partners turned their faces, they saw that his struggling body seemed to be possessed by a demon, slowly rising towards the top of the densely branched tree. They screamed in fear, turned and ran like hell. Without a sound, Tarzan lowered the Negro, taking off his weapon and ornaments, deftly.Oh, and the thing that pleased him most was that the guy had a nice buckskin waistline.He immediately untied it and wrapped it around himself.

Now, he was dressed like a man.No one can doubt that he was born of higher animals.How much he wanted to go back to the tribe and show off this beautiful "clothes" in front of those jealous eyes. With the body on his shoulders, he walked slowly up the fenced hamlet.Because he needs arrows again. As he approached the fence, he saw an excited crowd surrounding the two escaped fellows.Shocked, exhausted, and shaking, the two men could barely tell the details of the horrific encounter. They said that Mirando was walking not far in front of them, and suddenly ran towards them with a scream, yelling that a terrible, naked white warrior was chasing him.So the three of them ran desperately towards the village together.

Miranda uttered another blood-curdling, ghastly cry, and they turned their heads, and what they saw was horrific: Mirando was flying up the tree, his arms and legs flailing in the air, and his tongue was coming out of his gaping mouth. Spit it out.It's just that he didn't yell anymore, and he didn't see any people or animals around. The villagers all looked panic-stricken.But the clever old Kimotoka was skeptical about these ten stories.He thinks this is a nonsense they made up for their own "fleeing". "You have told a marvelous story," he said. "You dare not tell the truth, and admit that when the lion sprang at Mirando, you left him alone and ran for yourselves. You cowards!"

Before Kimotoka finished speaking, he heard a creaking sound from the big tree above his head.The black people raised their heads in panic, and even the wise old Kimotoka trembled at the scene in front of him.It turned out that Mirando's body was spinning, twisting, falling from the air in all directions, and fell at his feet with a bang. With a cry of alarm, the blacks ran away, and did not stop until the last person disappeared into the dense shadows of the surrounding jungle. Taishan ran into the village, took a lot of arrows, and ate up all the sacrifices made by the black people to pray for the gods to appease the wrath. Before leaving the village, he moved Mirando's body to the gate, stood it up against the gate, and assumed a posture of peeping from behind the gate post towards the path leading to the jungle. Then Tarzan hunted all the way back to the hut on the beach. It took a long time for the terrified Negroes to work up their courage, pass Mirando's horrific, grinning corpse, and tremble back to the village. After discovering that the tribute and arrows were lost again, everyone immediately understood that they were "scared".Mirando obviously saw the ghost in the jungle. Now, the explanation seemed logical to them: only the man who saw this terrible apparition in the jungle died.Didn't everyone in the village who saw him die?Therefore, those who died at his hands must have seen him, and paid with their lives for it. As long as you supply him with arrows and food, he will not harm them unless it touches his palm.Therefore, Wooden strengthened the order that in addition to offering food, a bundle of arrows would be released.Since then, this custom has been handed down. Today, if you have the opportunity to pass by a small village in a remote part of Africa, you will see a small hut outside the village. In the hut, there is a small iron pot with some food in it. Rough Arrow. The beach with log cabins is already in sight.At this time, a strange picture appeared.An unusual sight came into Taishan's eyes. In the harbor surrounded by land, a huge ship floated on the calm water, and there was a small boat on the beach that was being towed ashore. The most amazing thing is that a group of white people like him are walking back and forth between the beach and his hut. Taishan saw that these people were in many places the same as those pictured in the album.He climbed towards them through the leaves and branches until he came to a tree which was very close to them. There were ten of them in total, and they were all dark-skinned guys with fierce faces. Now they were all gathered beside the boat, talking angrily and loudly, making gestures and shaking their fists from time to time. Presently one of them was a small, wretched-looking fellow with a very dark beard--his face reminded Tarzan of a mouse--put his hand on the shoulder of a large man who stood next to him.Just now those people were just arguing and arguing with him. The little man pointed towards the beach, and the big man was forced to turn around, turn his back to the other people, and look in the direction pointed to him.As he turned, the mean-faced little man drew a revolver from his belt and shot the big man in the back. The big man jerked his hands over his head, and his knees wobbled under him.Without saying a word, he fell dead on the beach. When Taishan heard gunshots for the first time, he was very surprised.However, even this thunderous sound, which he had never heard before, would not shake his sound nerves and show a little panic. But the actions of these strange white people made him very disturbed, and he frowned and fell into deep thought.He was glad that he didn't rush over to welcome these white people like his own brothers on the spur of the moment. They are obviously no different from blacks, no more civilized than apes, no more kind-hearted than Lao Shanbao. For a while everyone stood looking at the little man with the mean face and the "big man" lying dead on the beach. Later, a man laughed and patted the little man on the back.They gesticulated and talked, and stopped arguing. In a short while they pushed the skiff into the water, and they all jumped in, and rowed over to the big boat.Taishan saw figures on the deck of the big ship, dangling to and fro. When they had all climbed into the big boat, Tarzan jumped down from a big tree and climbed over to the hut. He sneaked into the hut and found that the house had been searched by them.His books and pencils were thrown on the floor, as were weapons and shields and other treasures. Seeing the hut being ransacked, a wave of anger rushed into Taishan's heart. The scar on his forehead suddenly appeared clearly, and a red line was printed on the tan skin. He hurried to the cabinet and groped around on the bottom floor until he took out the small iron box before he let out a long sigh of relief.He quickly opened the tin box, the most important treasure was not turned over. The photo of the smiling, muscular young man and the little black leather book that puzzled him were all safely inside. Oh, what is this again? His keen ears picked up a faint, but unfamiliar sound. Tai Shan hurriedly ran to the window, looked towards the harbor, and saw a small boat being hoisted down from the big ship and placed beside the small boat just now.After a while, he saw many people climbed out of the big boat and jumped into the small boat.It seemed that they were going to bring a large number of people ashore. Tarzan looked at it for a while longer.At this time, many boxes and packages were loaded into the boat, and then rowed over from the side of the big boat.Tarzan grabbed a piece of paper, and with a pencil, wrote a few lines in neat, strong letters, all in perfectly correct print. He pinned the note to the door with a splinter of wood.Then, he quickly walked out of the hut with his precious iron box, bow, arrow, and spear, and disappeared into the jungle. Two small boats were pulled onto the silvery beach.An incredible motley crew climbed ashore. There were twenty of them, and fifteen of them were hideous, rough sailors. The remaining five are of another type. One was an old man with white hair and wide-rimmed glasses.An ill-fitting but spotless frock coat was draped over the already hunched back, and a shiny satin top hat was worn on the head, which further harmonized the attire with the African jungle wood. The second of them to come ashore was a tall young man in white canvas.Immediately behind him was another elderly man.He has a high forehead, and he always makes a fuss when he speaks and does things, and he is easily excited. Then ashore was a very large Negro woman, the color of her dress was very similar to that of Solomon.A pair of big squeeling and rolling eyes were full of fear.She looked first at the jungle, then at the swearing sailors.They are taking the boxes and packages from the ship. The last of these to come ashore was a girl of about nineteen years old.She was carried up by the young man standing on the bow, so she "landed" without even getting wet on the soles of her shoes.She responded with a brave, beautiful smile, but said nothing to each other. The group walked silently towards the cabin.It was obvious that, whatever their respective thoughts, everything had been decided before going ashore.In this way, they came to the door, and the sailors carried the boxes and bundles, and the five people who were completely different from them followed behind.The sailors put down their belongings, and one saw Ty ① Solomon (solomn): King of the ancient Kingdom of Israel, son of David, known for his wisdom. The note where the mountain is not there. "Hey, guys!" he cried. "What's this? There wasn't this piece of paper an hour ago, and I'd be inhuman!" Everyone gathered around and stretched their necks to watch, but because no one could read a few words, after a long time of effort, they still couldn't figure out the meaning of it.At last a sailor called out to the old man in the top hat and frock coat: "Hey, Professor, come here and see what the hell this is a notice!" The old man walked slowly towards the place surrounded by the sailors, and the others followed.He straightened his glasses, looked at it for a while, turned around and left, muttering to himself: "It's so strange...it's so strange!" "Hey, old man," cried the sailor who had called him here earlier, "you think we're calling you to show you this ball thing for yourself? Come here and read it aloud! You old bastard." The old man stopped, turned, and said, "Ah, yes, my dear sir. I am so sorry.I'm so selfish.Yes, very selfish, this piece of paper is so strange... so strange! " Facing the note, he read it over again, and would have turned away again had the sailor not seized him very roughly by the collar.The sailor shouted into his ears and eyes: "Read it aloud, you big old fool!" "Ah, yes, yes." The old professor replied softly, straightened his glasses again and read aloud: This is the house of Tarzan the killer who killed many beasts and blacks son.Don't mess with Taishan's things, Taishan is watching you. Tarzan "Who's this Tarzan?" said the crew member who had yelled earlier. "He obviously speaks English," said the young man. "But what does 'Tarzan' mean?" asked the girl aloud. "I can't say that, Miss Potter," replied the young man, "perhaps it was an ape who came home from the London Zoo and brought European culture to the African bushes. What do you say, Professor Porter? "He turned around and asked the old man. Professor Archimedes Potter straightened his glasses again. "Ah, yes, it is true. Yes, it is true. The thing is so strange, so strange!" said the professor, "that it is simply incomprehensible. I cannot explain more than what has already been said. "The professor slowly turned his head in the direction of the jungle. "But, father," cried the girl, "you haven't said anything!" "Tut tut, boy, tut tut," replied Professor Porter in an amiable, pampering tone, "don't bother yourself with such deep, difficult questions." He walked slowly in the other direction again, his eyes on the soles of his feet, his hands turned backwards under the smooth "swallowtail" of his long coat. "I don't think the old fool knows much more than we do," said the mouse-faced sailor viciously. "Be civilized, please," said the young man loudly.He turned pale with rage at the sailor's swearing. "You killed our captain and the first, second, and third mates, and robbed our belongings, and we are holding them in your hands. But you have to show some respect to Professor Porter and Miss Porter. Otherwise Even with my bare hands, I can break your neck, whether you have a gun or not." As he spoke, he took a few steps forward.Even though the "rat face" had two pistols and a scary knife pinned to his waist, he couldn't help taking a few steps back. "You bloody coward!" cried the young man, "you never dare to kill anyone face to face. As for me, you dare not turn your back on you!" He turned his back deliberately towards the sailor, He walked away as if nothing had happened, as if to test the sailor's courage. The sailor surreptitiously stretched out a hand and seized the butt of a revolver.His evil eyes looked at the young Englishman who was walking away, flashing fiercely with vengeance.His accomplices were all staring at him, but he hesitated. Deep down, he was more cowardly than William Cecil Clayton imagined. Meanwhile, a pair of eyes watched eagerly the movements of the group from among the branches of a nearby tree.Tarzan had seen the consternation caused by his note.Although he could not understand the meaning of these strangers' words, their gestures and facial expressions made him understand many things. The behavior of that little rat-headed crew member massacring his compatriots aroused strong dissatisfaction in Taishan's heart.Seeing him quarreling with that young and pretty boy now stirred up his loathing even more. Taishan had never seen the power of firearms before, although he knew a little common sense in this area from books.But seeing Rat-Face take hold of the pistol again, he suddenly remembered the terrible scene he had witnessed today, and immediately thought that this young man would be killed by him just like the big crewman a few hours ago. So Tarzan put a poisoned arrow on his bow and aimed it at "Mouse's Face". But the branches and leaves in front of him were too dense, so he shot out immediately, and the arrows he shot would be blocked by the branches and leaves or twigs and deflected in the direction.So he threw down a spear from the great tree. At this time, Clayton walked about a dozen steps away. Rat Face's revolver was half drawn.The rest of the crew stood nervously watching the tragedy that was about to unfold. Professor Porter had disappeared into the woods, and his secretary and assistant, the fussy Samuel Philander, had gone with him. The black woman, Esmeralda, was squatting next to the hut, busily clearing the lady's things from the pile of boxes and packages.Miss Potter walked with Clayton, and somehow turned her head to glance at the sailor. At this time, three things happened almost simultaneously. "Mouse Face" drew out his pistol and aimed it at Clayton's back. Miss Potter screamed, and a spear fell from the sky like a bolt of lightning and penetrated "Mouse Face"'s right shoulder. The revolver blared into the air, and no one was hurt, but the sailor fell to the ground, curled up in pain. Clayton turned and rushed over.The sailors drew their pistols and looked into the depths of the forest in horror.The injured "Mouse Face" screamed and rolled on the ground. Clayton picked up the revolver that fell on the ground while no one was prepared, put it in his arms quietly, and then stared at the dense forest with the water officers in bewilderment. "Who could this be?" said Jenny Potter softly.The young man turned his face and saw that she was standing beside him, her eyes were wide open and her face was full of surprise. "I think it must be that Tarzan of the Apes who is watching us," said the young man doubtfully. "I just wonder who the spear was aimed at. If it was aimed at Snappers, then the The ape is our true friend." "Well, where are your father and Mr. Philander? There's someone or something hiding in this thick wood. Whoever it is, he's armed. Oh, Professor! Mr Philander! ' cried young Clayton, but there was no answer. "What should we do, Miss Potter?" The young man frowned, his face full of anxiety, but hesitant. "I can't leave you with these murderers. You can't venture into the woods with me, but someone has to find your father. He's sure to be walking around in the woods, no matter the danger, no direction. And Mr. Philander is more obstinate than he is. Excuse me, I seem to be blunt. But our lives are in danger. When you find your father, make sure he understands that he is always so absent-minded. It can only put you and him in a dangerous situation." "I quite agree with you," replied the girl, "I'm not at all offended. My sweet old papa wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice everything for me if he just set his mind on serious business, even for a moment.But the poor old man was too stubborn.There was literally no other way of keeping him safe than tying him to a tree. " "I've got it!" Clayton exclaimed suddenly. "Can you shoot?" "Yes. How?" "I have a gun. With this gun, you and Esmeralda will be relatively safe in the cabin while I go to your father and Mr. Philander. act quickly.Call that woman back, I have to hurry.Now they won't get very far. " Jenny had to follow his advice.Seeing that the door was closed, Clayton turned and walked deep into the forest. Several sailors were drawing spears from wounded colleagues.Clayton went over to ask them to borrow a pistol and go to the professor. Seeing that he was not dead, "Mouse Face" calmed down a bit.He gave Clayton a slap in the face, and refused to let his companions lend the young man a gun. Ever since he killed the captain, Snappers had always thought of himself as the boss.Perhaps because of the short time, none of his colleagues had time to question his authority. Clayton shrugged and picked up the spear that had pierced Snapas' shoulder.So the son of the current Lord Greystoke, armed in the most primitive way, walked towards the dense jungle. He called out the lost man's name aloud.Miss Potter and Esmeralda heard the cry from their little hut on the beach farther and farther away, until at last it was completely swallowed up by the mysterious sounds of the primeval forest. Professor Archimedes Potter and his assistant Samuel Ferlander argued for a long time, and finally set foot on the path completely opposite to their "bivouac", in this labyrinthine primeval forest completely Lost, though they know nothing about it. It was sheer luck that they meandered toward the west coast of Africa instead of the island of Zanzibar across the darkened continent. It didn't take long for them to reach the beach, but there was no sign of a "bivouac"! Philander insisted that they had walked to the north of their destination.In fact, it was two hundred yards south of the "bivouac." Neither of these two stubborn "theoreticians" thought that they should shout a few times to attract the attention of their friends.On the contrary, they start from a completely wrong premise, judge and reason, and they are all self-righteous.Regardless of Professor Alchymius Potter's objections, Mr. Samuel Philander dragged the old man towards Cape Town, which was fifteen hundred miles away. After Jenny and Esmeralda entered the hut safely, the first thought of the black woman was to block the door from the inside.So, she looked around to find Lexi who could hit the door.The bulky woman had scarcely cast a glance toward the cabin, then screamed, and ran up to her mistress like a frightened child, and buried her face in her shoulders. Jenny turned her face and saw that the thing that caused Esmeralda to scream was lying on the floor in front of them - a skeleton of a white man, and when she looked closely, there was a second skeleton lying on the bed . "What a terrible place we have come to!" said the girl full of fear.Although she was afraid, she did not appear panicked. ① Zanzibar Island: a region in Tanzania. At a loss. Esmeralda, still screaming, clung to Jenny.After a while Jenny wrenched herself from her grasp and walked to the little cradle that stood across the room.Before the poor, desolate little skeleton appeared in front of her eyes, she already guessed what she would see. These few silent skeletons show the world how tragic things have happened here.The girl trembled at the thought that unfathomable misery might be lurking in this unfortunate cottage, and might at any moment appear before her and her friend's eyes.Oh, the hut full of mystery, and perhaps hostility! She stomped her petite foot impatiently a few times, as if to shake off the gloomy foreboding, then hurried up to Esmeralda and begged her not to howl. "Stop it, Esmeralda, stop it!" she cried. "You're only making things worse." She stopped talking, thinking that the three people she depended on to protect were walking blindly in the depths of the terrifying jungle, her voice trembled uncontrollably. The girl soon discovered that there was a heavy latch on the inside of the door.After some effort, the two women finally inserted the bolt that had not been touched for twenty years. Then, with their arms around each other, they sat on a bench and waited.