Chapter 23 Jenny was robbed

Jenny Porter and William Cecil Clayton stood silently looking at the lion that had nearly eaten them, and said nothing for a while.The girl publicly expressed her attitude towards Clayton in the impulsiveness just now, and now she is the first to open the door to speak. "Who saved us?" she said softly. "God knows!" Clayton didn't want to say more. "If it's a friend, why doesn't he dare to show up?" Jenny continued, "We should call him out, at least thank him." Clayton shouted a few times with a dull expression, but no one answered. Jenny Potter couldn't help shivering. "Mysterious jungle!" she murmured, "a dreadful jungle, frightening even in the form of friendship."

"We'd better go back to the shack!" said Clayton. "You'll be safer there at least. I've got no protection for you anyway," he added sadly and bitterly. "Don't say that, William!" she argued hastily, sorry for the trauma she had caused him by what she had just said. "You have done your best. You have always been noble, courageous, and self-sacrificing." .You are not superhuman.It is not your fault.There is only one person I know in this world who can do better than you.Just now because of impulse,I said it seriously.Actually,I didn't want to hurt you.I I just hope that from now on we can understand each other and truly realize that I can never marry you, such a marriage is too cruel!"

"I think I see what you mean!" he replied. "Hopefully this will never be brought up again, at least until we return to civilization." The next day Thrane became so ill that he was almost unconscious, and there was nothing they could do.Clayton was in no hurry to do anything else.Because of Miss Jenny, he had a kind of fear of the Russian, and deep down, he even wanted him to die.He always felt that something unexpected might happen to him, and Jenny fell into the hands of this beast. If that happened, it would be much worse than Jenny left alone in this harsh jungle, facing the threat of death.

Clayton drew the heavy spear from the lion and armed himself.And so he felt more secure when he went hunting in the woods that morning than he had ever been since he was stranded on the wild beach.As a result, he walked farther and farther away from the shack. Thrane kept talking nonsense because of his high fever.Jenny was very frightened and wanted to hide as far away as possible, but in fact she could only go down from the tree shed to the ground—she dared not go too far.She sat on the rough ladder Clayton had lashed for her, looking out to sea with a hope that had never been extinguished--perhaps seeing a steamship.

With her back to the jungle, she didn't see a savage face swaying in the grass, a pair of small, bloodshot eyes fixed on her very close together, and occasionally glanced at the empty beach, trying to make sense of it. Is there anyone else around her. After a while, another wild man's head appeared, and then a second, and a third.Thrane, who was lying in the shack on the tree, began to talk nonsense.Then the heads of those savages disappeared as silently as when they were exposed.But although the man on the tree kept howling, the girl remained indifferent.This scene relieved the savages, and after a while, they poked their heads out again.

Those weird and ugly guys came out of the jungle one by one, tiptoeing towards Jenny who didn't notice it.The chattering voice from the grass finally caught Jenny's attention. She turned her face away, screamed in fright at the scene in front of her, and stood up unsteadily.The savages rushed over immediately, and a guy stretched out his long gorilla-like arms, picked her up by the waist, carried her on his shoulders, turned around and ran deep into the dense forest.A dirty paw was over Jenny's mouth to keep her from screaming.After several weeks of torment, Jenny was physically and mentally exhausted. She could no longer bear this kind of shock, and her nerves collapsed and she lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she found that she had come to a dense virgin forest.It was late at night, and she was lying on a small clearing in the forest. A bright spring fire was lit in the middle of the clearing, and 50 men with very terrifying appearances were squatting around the fire.Their heads and cheeks were covered with matted hair, and their long arms rested on their bow-legged knees, and they munched like wild beasts on very unclean food.There was a pot hanging by the fire, and meat was cooking in it.There was a guy who picked up a hunk of meat from the pot with a pointy twig. Noticing that the captured captive had regained consciousness, a fellow who was devouring it nearby threw a disgusting piece of stew at her in his dirty hands.The stew rolled all the way to Jenny, she felt a nausea, and quickly closed her eyes.

For many days they walked through the dense jungle.Miss Jenny was exhausted, her feet were sore, and she had been pushed and pulled halfway by those devilish savages through long, hot, dreary days.Sometimes, when she fell to the ground, the nearest hideous-looking guy would punch and kick her.Her shoes were lost long before the destination of the trip—the soles were worn out long ago.Because of pulling and dragging among the thorn bushes, the clothes were torn into strips, and the previously white and tender skin was scratched and scarred with blood. In the last two days of this ordeal, she was exhausted, and no matter how much she kicked, beat, or insulted, she could no longer stand up on her bloodied feet.The monster's persecution has reached the limit that can be tolerated, and Jenny's physical strength is exhausted, and she can't even crawl.

The beasts surrounded her, threatening, yelling, kicking, and clubbing her as if they were driving animals.Jenny lay on the ground with her eyes closed, muttering a prayer for a speedy death.She knew that only death could save her from endless suffering.However, death did not come.After a while, the 50 demons realized that the victim they had captured could no longer walk, so they had to carry her on their backs and walked the rest of the way. When the evening was approaching one day, Jenny saw a majestic city and its collapsed city walls looming in front of her eyes.But she was weak and sick, and nothing excited the slightest interest in her.She knew that no matter where they took her, there was only one end for her in the hands of these vicious half-human, half-animal monsters.

After passing through two city walls, they finally entered the ruined city, and she was taken into a dilapidated tall building.A large group of monsters who looked like the savages who brought her here surrounded her tightly, but there were also women among them. They were not as hideous as men. Seeing them, for the first time, a ray of hope rose in Jenny's heart. The light dilutes the pain and sorrow in my heart.Unfortunately, this hope was quickly dashed.For the women showed no sympathy for her, though they did not abuse her as much as the men. After looking up and down enough, they took her to a dark room in the basement, let her lie on the bare floor, and left a bowl of water and a bowl of rice.

For a whole week, she only saw a few women, and their duty was to bring her food and water.Her physical strength is slowly recovering, and she will soon be able to meet the standard of offering sacrifices to the Vulcan.Fortunately, she knew nothing about it. After Tarzan threw his spear and rescued Clayton and Jenny Potter from the teeth of the lion, he was filled with infinite sadness because of the trauma that touched the heart. He was glad he had stemmed the tide of jealousy and rage just in time.Clayton almost died at the hands of Tarzan.After he recognized the girl and her companions, when he aimed at the Englishman's heart with his bow and arrow, and his tense muscles gradually relaxed, Tarzan suddenly lost his reason and was swept away by a savage impulse. . According to the brutal and savage principles of the jungle, to see the girl of his dreams--lover, lover--in someone else's arms, he would have had but one choice.But just when he was about to kill Clayton, the integrity and kindness inherited from his parents prevailed again, extinguishing the burning anger in his chest and saving him.He thanked God a thousand times that noble sentiments triumphed over intolerance and envy before the sharp poisoned dart was released from his fingers. Now.The thought of going back to the Wanqirui tribe became loathsome.He didn't want to see anyone, at least he wanted to be alone in the jungle for a while, until the knife of grief was blunted.Just like his ape brother, he would rather hide somewhere alone and suffer in silence. That night, he slept on the "little stage" of the Kochak tribe.For several days, he went hunting from here, and did not return until late at night.On the afternoon of the third day, he came back early and lay down on the soft grass in the circular open space for a while, when he heard a familiar voice coming from far away from the south.This is the sound of a group of great apes swimming in the jungle.He can never be wrong.Lying on the grass and listening for a few minutes, I heard that they were climbing towards the "little stage". Tai Shan got up lazily and stretched himself.His keen ears listened with great attention to every movement moving in this direction. The apes came against the wind, and it took a while for Tarzan to smell them.In fact, without this "circumstantial evidence", he also believed that his judgment was correct. Before the group of apes approached the "little stage", Tarzan hid in the thick woods on the opposite side of the circular field, hoping to see the new friends secretly.Before long, a fierce, hairy face emerged from among the lower branches opposite him.A pair of small eyes glanced at the "small stage" and then turned back, chirping to report the situation to the members behind.Taishan naturally understood what it said.It is the "pioneer" of this team, and it is telling other members of the tribe that there are no other "people" in this forest clearing, and everyone can come to the "little stage" to play and play without incident. The leader of this group of apes was the first to lightly jump onto the lawn like a soft carpet, and then one by one, nearly 100 great apes in total jumped onto the "small stage" one after another.Some of them are already adults, and some are younger. There are a few baby apes that are still suckling tightly hugging their mother's hairy neck. Tarzan recognized many members of the tribe.The tribe is much the same as it was when he first arrived as a child.Many of the little apes of his childhood are now in their prime.At that time, in this jungle, he played and played with them, and he didn't know if they still remembered him—the memory of apes is extremely poor, and it is not easy to remember things two years ago. Tarzan heard from their conversation that they had come to elect a new king--the late Ape King had died by falling from a dead tree branch 100 feet high. Tarzan went as far as the top of a branch from which he had a good view of the activities of the apes.A female ape with sharp eyes saw him first.It yelled in a piercing voice to remind everyone to pay attention.Several big apes stood up, trying to get a better view of the "intruder".With their fangs bared and the hairs on their necks standing on end, they slowly walked towards him, making guttural howls from their throats. "Kanas, I'm Tarzan the ape." Tarzan spoke to an ape with the pitifully rare vocabulary in the tribe. "You should remember me. We played tricks on Numa the lion together when we were little apes. We hid in a very small place. high branches and throw twigs and nuts at it." The ape seemed to have realized something, with a surprised expression on his face. "And you, Mango," said Tarzan to another ape, "don't you remember your former king? He killed Kochak the mighty. Look at me! Am I not that Tarzan from before?Am I not the great hunter, the invincible fighter?You have known me for many years! " At this time, all the apes surrounded him, but they didn't want to harm him, but out of curiosity.They chattered among themselves. "What do you want to come to our place now?" Kanas asked. "I don't want to do anything, I just want to stay here quietly for a while." Tarzan the ape replied. The apes discussed together for a while, and finally Kanas spoke. "Then come here honestly, Tarzan," he said. Thus, Tarzan the Ape jumped lightly onto the grass and stood among the group of fierce and ugly apes—so far, he completed a cycle of evolution, and returned to the beasts again as a beast. There's no welcome scene here when humans reunite after two years apart, and most of the apes carry on doing things interrupted by Tarzan's presence, as if he never left the tribe at all. There are a few little apes who have no impression of Mount Tai because they are still young.They use hands and feet together, turning around around him, and sniffing with their noses from time to time.One even bared its teeth and snarled at him like it was about to fight.If Taishan took a few steps back and roared a few times, these young apes would probably be satisfied. However, Tarzan the Ape did not back down.Instead, with his muscular, very powerful hand, he slapped the ape across the head, sending it rolling across the grass.The ape got up and rushed towards him again.The other ones also opened their teeth and claws, and swarmed up-or they tried to swarm up.However, before the biting and screaming guys succeeded, Tarzan's fingers had already grabbed the opponent's throat. After a while, the ferocious ape lay there motionless, no longer struggling.Taishan let go of his hands and stood up.He didn't want to kill anyone, he just wanted to teach these youngsters a lesson, so that those apes who stood by would understand that Tarzan the ape is still the real master here. This trick really worked, and from then on, those young apes avoided him far away—this was the rule of the Kochak tribe, and young apes always kept a respectful distance from the strong.The older ape did not dare to object to Taishan's privileges.For a few days, the mother apes with their young were still wary of Taishan.If he got too close to them, they bared their teeth and rushed towards him with a roar.Tarzan was very cautious, always avoiding them quietly, because this is also the rule among the apes-only a mad ape hurts a female ape.Later, they gradually got used to the existence of Mount Tai. He hunted with them as before.They found him to be very clever, always able to find the best food, and often he could use that tricky rope to trap the delicacies that they usually seldom tasted.So everyone respected him again as they did when they elected him as king in the past.Before leaving the "little stage" and continuing to wander in the big forest, they once again elected him as leader. Tarzan the Ape is quite satisfied with his turn of fate.He was not happy--happiness seemed to have been lost to him.However, at least he is far away from the world, and will not bring up those sad things in the past because of what he has heard and seen.He had long since given up his desire to return to civilized society, and now he made up his mind not to see his black friends in the Wan Qirui tribe.He begins life as an ape, and dies as an ape too. But he could not forget that the woman he loved was so close to the jungle that haunted their tribe; nor could he dispel the fear that she must be constantly in danger.Although that day was very short, he still witnessed Clayton's inability to protect Miss Jenny.The more Taishan thought about it, the more he felt deeply guilty. In the end, he came to hate how he could let Jenny Potter's safety go because of his personal sorrow and jealousy.As the days passed, he was filled with shame and regret, and his heart grew more and more painful.Just when he had almost made up his mind to return to the beach and secretly protect Jenny Potter and Clayton, a terrible news came.This news changed his plan, and he immediately ran eastward like a madman, completely disregarding life and death. Before Tarzan returned to the tribe, there was a young ape who could not find a mate in his tribe, so he went through the dense jungle to snatch the "bride" from the neighboring tribes as usual, just like the European knight-errants in the Middle Ages. ". As soon as it brought the "bride" back to the tribe, he hurriedly told everyone about its "adventures", for fear that it would be too long and forget everything.It told of many things, one of which was seeing a tribe of powerful, queer-looking apes. "They all have hair on their cheeks, only one has hair," it said. "The hairless ape is a female ape, and her skin is lighter than this stranger." Thumbs up and pointed. Tarzan the Ape became alert all of a sudden. Although the ape was unresponsive, he still asked it a lot of questions like a cannonball. "Do those apes have rather short, bow-legged ones?" "yes." "Are they wrapped in the skins of Numa the lion and Sita the leopard, and have clubs and knives in their hands?" "yes." "Do they have yellow bands on their arms and legs?" "yes." "Is that 'mother ape' thin and small with fair skin?" "Exactly." "She appears to be a member of the tribe, or a captive?" "They drag her around, sometimes grab her by the arm, sometimes by her long hair. They're always kicking and hitting her. But it's kind of fun to watch." "My God!" murmured Tarzan. "Where did you see them? Which way did they go?" continued Tarzan. "The second creek over there." It pointed south. "They were walking along the creek toward the sun when I met them." "When?" Tarzan asked. "Half a month ago." The ape Taishan didn't say anything, he jumped up the big tree, and like a wandering spirit, he rushed to the east of Opa City.