Chapter 18 jungle distress

After Clayton stepped into the jungle, the crew—the Arrow's rebels—began to discuss what to do next.One thing everyone agreed on was to hurry back to the "Arrow" moored in the harbour.There at least they will not be attacked by spears.So, while Jenny Porter and Esmeralda were "fortifying" themselves at the door of their cabin, the group of cowardly desperadoes hurried in the same two boats that brought them ashore. Head to the harbor. Taishan saw too many things that day, and all kinds of magical and magnificent colors kept lingering in his mind.But for him, there was nothing more beautiful than the face of that beautiful white girl.

In this forest, there are at least his kind, and he is convinced of this.That young man and those two old men were exactly what he imagined to be his "own people". But there was no doubt that they must have been as murderous as the others he had seen.Presumably the only reason for not being able to kill was the lack of a weapon.It would be different if they were also armed. Tarzan saw the young man pick up the pistol that the wounded Snapas had dropped on the floor and hide it in his bosom, and saw him sneak it into the girl's hand as she entered the cabin. He did not understand what motive lay behind all that he saw.

But purely out of instinct, he liked the young man and the two old men.As for the girl, he had a strange longing that he didn't even understand.He also liked the big black woman, because she obviously had some kind of connection with girls. He could not help feeling a hatred for the sailors, especially Snapas.He saw by their menacing gestures and the evil look on their faces that they were the enemies of the others.He made up his mind to pay close attention to the development of the situation. Tarzan wondered why those people got into the dense forest, and he never even dreamed that people could get lost in the bushes.For him, the labyrinth of winding paths is as clear to others as the main roads of their hometown.

Seeing that the sailors were already rowing to the ship, and that the girl and her companion were safe in the hut, Tarzan resolved to follow the young man into the woods, and find out what he was doing.He swung the branches and walked quickly in the direction of Clayton's disappearance, and after a while he faintly heard the voice of the Englishman calling for his friend. In the blink of an eye, Tarzan caught up with Clayton.The white man was exhausted and was leaning against a tree to wipe the sweat from his brow. The "man-ape" hid himself behind the dense branches and leaves, eagerly looking at this newly-acquainted "similar".

Clayton shouted loudly from time to time, and Tarzan finally understood that he was looking for the old man. Tai Shan was about to fly away, and went out to look for them himself, when he suddenly saw a yellow light flashing faintly in the dense forest, and a beast with smooth fur was cautiously approaching Clayton. It turned out to be Zita the leopard.Taishan had already heard the rustling of the grass, but the young man didn't notice it at all.Taishan was very strange, how could he not hear such a loud noise?Taishan never thought that Xita's movements would be so "sloppy".

The white man, whose hearing was not comparable to that of Tarzan, didn't hear any noise at all.By this time Zita had crouched down, ready to pounce on him.Suddenly the deadly stillness of the jungle was cut through by the terrible scream of an ape challenging an enemy.Zita turned his head, burrowed into the bushes, and fled. Clayton stood up suddenly in fright, and the blood all over his body became cold.He had never heard such a terrible howling sound.He is not a coward, but if anyone has ever felt what it is like to have cold fingers scratching at his heart, William Cecil Clayton, the eldest son of Lord Greystoke of England, was in the depths of the African jungle this day , can be regarded as having a deep experience.

A gigantic creature fled suddenly from the surrounding bushes, and a frightening scream sounded above his head, which was the greatest test of Clayton's courage.But it would never have occurred to him that the scream had saved his life; much less that it had come from his own cousin, the real Lord Greystoke. It was dusk, and Clayton was disappointed and afraid, and fell into a dilemma.He didn't know whether he should risk his life and continue to search for Professor Potter in the dark of night, or return to the beach house.There, he can at least protect Jenny who is in "dangerous situations".

He didn't want to go back to the "bivouac" empty-handed, and he didn't want to leave Jenny alone in the hands of the rebels on the "Arrow".At heart, stay amidst the many unimaginable dangers of the jungle. He thought again, maybe the professor and Philander had gone back to the "bivouac".Yes, that's quite possible.And at least he should go back and figure it out before continuing on this possibly pointless search.So he stumbled through the dense undergrowth in the direction where he thought the cabin stood. Taishan was surprised to find that this young man was actually walking towards the village of Mubenjia deep in the dense forest.The clever "ape" immediately realized that he was lost.

This is simply incomprehensible to Taishan.His good sense told him that no one would venture into the villages of those fierce negroes with only a spear.Moreover, his clumsy appearance made it obvious at a glance that he was not good at using this weapon.Nor was he following the path taken by the two old men, who had already crossed the path and left here.All this, in Taishan's eyes, is really clear. Taishan was at a loss.If this unprotected young man is not brought back to the beach quickly, the ferocious Lin Mang will easily swallow him up in a short time. Yes, there is also Numa the lion in this dense forest.Oh, at this moment, it is sneaking around a dozen steps to the right of the white man.

Clayton could already hear the sound of the pet animal as it stalked parallel to him.Then suddenly in the twilight came the thunderous roar of the beast, and the young man stopped, and raising his spear, he looked straight into the bush from which the dreadful cry came.There was only a dark shadow of a tree, and the night was getting darker. God!A man dies here alone, torn to pieces by the fangs of beasts, their huge claws crushing their chests, and you can feel their hot breath on your face. For a moment, there was a dead silence all around.Clayton stood upright with the long cane in his hand.After a while, there was a rustling sound from the bushes, and the beast was sneaking up behind him, ready to pounce.Only then did Clayton see a lithe, flexible, yet very strong and gigantic male lion less than twenty feet away from him.It has a tawny head with a black mane.

The behemoth was on its belly, looking forward very slowly.When its eyes met Clayton's, it stopped and carefully retracted its hind legs. The young man looked at it with anguish.He dared not throw the spear, nor did he have the strength to run away. At this time, he heard something ringing in the big tree above his head.Thinking about it, there must be a new danger.But he dared not take his eyes off the pair of yellow eyes with green light in front of him.Suddenly, there was a sound like a banjo being plucked in the air, and a poisoned arrow had already been shot at the yellow skin of the squatting lion. The giant beast rushed forward because of pain and anger.Clayton stumbled, and finally stepped aside. When he turned his head to look at the furious king of beasts again, he was shocked by what he saw.At the moment when the lion turned its head to attack again, a half-naked giant jumped down from the big tree above him and sat on the lion impartially. Then, like a flash of lightning, an iron arm with a muscle like a hill tightened around the lion's thick neck.In the blink of an eye, the beast was already hanging upside down in the air by its hind legs.It growled and scratched, but the "giant" seemed at ease.It looked like Clayton was carrying a puppy. Witnessed in the African bush under a twinkling starry sky will forever be etched in the Briton's mind. The man in front of him was the embodiment of perfect shape and great strength.However, his fight against the behemoth did not rely on strength alone.Because although he is strong and muscular, he is still hard to match compared with the lion Numa. It was a quick mind and a sharp hunting knife that gave him the upper hand. He strangled the lion's neck with his right arm, and stabbed several times at the back of its exposed left shoulder with a knife in his left hand.The furious beast rushed up and down, struggled hard, and finally stood up on its hind legs, using an extremely awkward posture, struggling feebly. If the battle had continued for a few more seconds, the consequences might have been completely different. But it was all over so quickly that the lion, before he could fully wake up from his fright, fell motionless to the ground. Then the strange figure arose from the lion's carcass, and throwing back its wild, handsome head, uttered the terrible cry which had so frightened Clayton just now. Clayton saw, and before him stood the figure of a young man, naked except for a loincloth, with some ornamentation favored by savages on his legs and arms, but smooth, Dark skin, flashing a locket inlaid with precious diamonds. The hunting knife has been inserted into the homemade scabbard.The man was picking up a bow and quiver.It was the one he dropped when he jumped from the tree to fight the lion just now. Clayton spoke to the stranger in English.Thank him for risking himself to save himself, and praise him for his strength and dexterity.The man just stared at him and shrugged his sturdy shoulders a little, implying that such things were trivial, and probably ignorant of Clayton's language. With bow and quiver slung over his back, the savage—so Clayton thought—drawn his hunting knife, and deftly cut off a dozen strips of flesh from the lion.He squatted on the ground and ate, and while eating, motioned for Clayton to come and enjoy it too. His strong white teeth chewed on the bloody raw meat, eating it deliciously.But Clayton couldn't share uncooked raw meat with this strange "Frozen Taoist". He just stared at him, and gradually a thought came to his mind: this person must be the "Tarzan of the Ape". This morning, he saw the note he pinned on the door of the hut. If so, he must speak English. Clayton tried to speak a few words to the 'man-ape' again. But his answer was a chirping sound similar to monkey 'speaking', mixed with howling similar to other beasts. No, it can't be Tarzan of the Apes.Obviously, he doesn't know anything about English. After Tarzan's delicious meal, he stood up and pointed in the opposite direction to the road Clayton had been walking on, then strode away and walked in this direction through the jungle. Clayton was puzzled and hesitated.He thought the savage was going to take him deep into this "maze".Seeing that he didn't keep up, Tai Shan came back again, grabbed his coat, and pulled him forward.He didn't let go until he believed that Clayton understood what he meant. The British believed that he had become a prisoner and had no other choice but to follow the "captor" on this dangerous road.In this way, they walked slowly in the jungle.At this time, the dark night had enveloped the entire forest.The beast stalking in the dark, with its paws falling on the grass and trees, made a sarcastic sound, mixed with the snapping of branches being broken, and the wild howling of beasts, tightly surrounding and oppressing Clayton. Suddenly Clayton heard a faint gunshot, just one, and then silence. As the night grew darker, two utterly terrified women sat hugging each other on a low bench in the cottage near the waterfront. The Negro woman wept hysterically and complained about the bad day that got her out of dear Maryland.Although the Caucasian girl didn't cry and looked calm on the outside, her heart was hurt like a knife because of various ominous premonitions and fears.Now she no longer thinks about herself, she is even more anxious about the three men walking blindly in the bottomless abyss of the boundless forest.The shrieks, growls, barks, and howls of the ferocious, terrible bush-dwellers in search of food hardly ceased for a moment. ① Maryland (Mary land): American state name. Now there was the sound of a huge body scraping against the wall of the hut.She could also hear the huge claw moving back and forth on the ground.For a moment, the whole world was silent, and even the noise of the forest became a murmur.Then, she heard very clearly that the beast outside was sniffing the door less than two feet away from her. The girl trembled involuntarily, and hugged the black woman more tightly. "Hush!" she whispered, "Shut up, Esmeralda," for it seemed that the woman's whimpers and groans had ended the beast that was pacing back and forth outside the thin walls. There was the sound of claws scratching on the door panel.The beast wants to break in.But after a while the sound disappeared.She heard it walking around the cabin again. After a while, the sound of walking stopped at the window, and the girl's frightened eyes were fixed there motionless. "My God!" she murmured.In the moonlight, the lattice window reflected the silhouette of a huge lion's head, and a pair of shining eyes looked at her fiercely. "Look, Esmeralda!" she whispered. "For God's sake, what shall we do? Look! Quick! Windows!" Esmeralda trembled and hugged the mistress more tightly.She stole a glance at the small square window frame illuminated by the moon, just as the lioness let out a low, murderous howl. What the poor woman saw was too much for her already overloaded nerves. "Oh my God!" she screamed, throwing herself on the floor unconscious. It seems that after a long time, the giant beast's front paw is still resting on the window sill, looking into the room with a pair of shining eyes.After a while, its huge claws grabbed the grille on the window, as if to test how much force it could withstand. The girl was so frightened that she almost couldn't breathe.Fortunately, that head disappeared from the window just at this time.She heard the lion leave the window and go to the door again, and immediately the sound of the claws scratching on the door panel sounded again.It's just that this time it exerted more strength, shaking the thick wooden board frantically, wishing to rush in immediately and grab the two unprotected victims. If Miss Jenny knew that the door, nailed with many layers of wood, could withstand a great impact, she would not have to be afraid of the lioness coming in here. When John Clayton nailed this rough but strong door, he never dreamed that twenty years later, it would protect a beautiful American girl who had not yet been born at that time from the giant man-eating beast. The carnage of fangs and claws. The lioness sniffed the door panel for a while, grabbed the door frame for a while, and tossed and turned for a full twenty minutes.Because it was blocked from the door, it became angry from embarrassment, and let out ferocious and savage howls from time to time.Finally, it gave up its attempt to break into the door and returned to the window. It paused under the window for a while, then jumped up and slammed into the grille that had been eroded by the wind and rain with all its strength. The girl heard that although the wooden grille creaked and creaked, it still withstood the violent impact, and the huge thing fell back to the mud floor under the window. The lioness repeated her "tactics" again and again, and the petrified Miss Potter saw several places on the grate finally being knocked open.When I looked again, the lion had put its head and one paw into the hut. The lioness's strong neck and shoulder blades slowly squeezed the wooden bars on the window, and her elastic body squeezed in. The girl stood up in a dazed state, with one hand on her chest, and staring wide-eyed, terrified eyes at the roaring lion only ten feet away. At her feet lay the Negro woman who had fainted from terror.If she can be woken up, and the two of them work together, they may be able to repel this fierce and bloodthirsty "intruder". Jenny bent down, grabbed the black woman by the shoulders, and shook her vigorously. "Esmeralda! Esmeralda!" she cried, "help, or we're all lost!" Esmeralda slowly opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the drooling fangs of the hungry lioness. With a shriek of fright the poor woman sprang to her feet, knelt on the ground, and scrambled about the room, crying out at the top of her voice, "Oh, dear! Oh, dear!" Esmeralda weighed two hundred and eighty pounds.Because of the extreme fear and extreme obesity, the appearance of rolling around on all fours is really confusing and unpredictable. For a while, the lioness lay motionless at the window, nervously watching Esmeralda running around.She seemed to be looking for a cupboard and trying to squeeze her fat body into it.But the cabinet dividers were only nine or ten inches apart, and she squeezed her head in, screamed, and passed out again.Her cry was miserable and piercing, and the cries of wolves, tigers and leopards in the jungle paled in comparison. After Esmeralda passed out, the lioness began to squeeze into the house through the looser and looser grille. The girl was standing against the wall farthest from the window, pale and stiff.Waves of fear hit her one after another, and she really wanted to find a gap to escape with her life.Suddenly, her hand on her chest touched the pistol Clayton had given him. She quickly drew the gun, pointed it at the lion's head, and pulled the trigger. Accompanied by a flash of fire, there was a loud noise, and the beast also roared out of pain and anger. Jenny Potter saw the huge figure disappear from the window, and she too fainted, her pistol dropped by her side. But the lion was not killed by her, the bullet only wounded its leg, but the piercing flames and thunderous gunshots startled it and temporarily stopped its attack. After a while, it returned to the window and scratched the window grill very fiercely.But now the effect is not good, and the injured leg can't use much strength. The lion saw its prey, the two women, lying unconscious on the floor.Now that there is no resistance to overcome, a good meal is at hand, just climb slowly through the middle of the fence and enjoy it. It squeezes in slowly, inch by inch.After a while, the head got into it.After a while, a thick front leg and shoulder blade also squeezed in. It carefully lifted the injured leg and stretched it slowly through the tightly packed fence. It didn't take long for both shoulders to go in.At that time, its slender, soft body and narrow buttocks were "unobstructed". Just at this moment, Jenny Potter opened her eyes.