against him. Lu-don led them to the largest of the altar courts.
Taking his place behind the western altar he motioned Ko-tan to a place upon the platform at the left hand of the altar and directed Tarzan to a similar place at the right.
As Tarzan ascended the platform his eyes narrowed angrily at the sight which met them. The basin hollowed in the top of the altar was filled with water in which floated the naked corpse of a new-born babe. 'What means this?' he cried angrily, turning upon Lu-don.
The latter smiled malevolently. 'That you do not know,' he replied, 'is but added evidence of the falsity of your claim. He who poses as the son of god did not know that as the last rays of the setting sun flood the eastern altar of the temple the lifeblood of an adult reddens the white stone for the edification of Jad-ben-Otho, and that when the sun rises again from the body of its maker it looks first upon this western altar and rejoices in the death of a new-born babe each day, the ghost of which accompanies it across the heavens by day as the ghost of the adult returns with it to Jad-ben-Otho at night.
'Even the little children of the Ho-don know these things, while he who claims to be the son of Jad-ben-Otho knows them not; and if this proof be not enough, there is more. Come, Waz-don,' he cried, pointing to a tall slave who stood with a group of other blacks and priests on the temple floor at the left of the altar.
The fellow came forward fearfully. 'Tell us what you know of this creature,' cried Lu-don, pointing to Tarzan.
'I have seen him before,' said the Waz-don. 'I am of the tribe of Kor-ul-lul, and one day recently a party of which I was one encountered a few of the warriors of the Kor-ul-ja upon the ridge which separates our villages. Among the enemy was this strange creature whom they called Tarzan-jad-guru; and terrible indeed was he for he fought with the strength of many men so that it required twenty of us to subdue him. But he did not fight as a god fights, and when a club struck him upon the head he sank unconscious as might an ordinary mortal.
'We carried him with us to our village as a prisoner but he escaped after cutting off the head of the warrior we left to guard him and carrying it down into the gorge and tying it to the branch of a tree upon the opposite side.'
'The word of a slave against that of a god!' cried Ja-don, who had shown previously a friendly interest in the pseudo godling.
'It is only a step in the progress toward truth,' interjected Lu-don. 'Possibly the evidence of the only princess of the house of Ko-tan will have greater weight with the great chief from the north, though the father of a son who fled the holy offer of the priesthood may not receive with willing ears any testimony against another blasphemer.'
Ja-don's hand leaped to his knife, but the warriors next him laid detaining fingers upon his arms. 'You are in the temple of Jad-ben-Otho, Ja-don,' they cautioned and the great chief was forced to swallow Lu-don's affront though it left in his heart bitter hatred of the high priest.
And now Ko-tan turned toward Lu-don. 'What knoweth my daughter of this matter?' he asked. 'You would not bring a princess of my house to testify thus publicly?'
'No,' replied Lu-don, 'not in person, but I have here one who will testify for her.' He beckoned to an under priest. 'Fetch the slave of the princess,' he said.
His grotesque headdress adding a touch of the hideous to the scene, the priest stepped forward dragging the reluctant Pan-at-lee by the wrist.
'The Princess O-lo-a was alone in the Forbidden Garden with but this one slave,' explained the priest, 'when there suddenly appeared from the foliage nearby this creature who claims to be the Dor-ul-Otho. When the slave saw him the princess says that she cried aloud in startled recognition and called the creature by name—Tarzan- jad-guru—the same name that the slave from Kor-ul-lul gave him. This woman is not from Kor-ul-lul but from Kor- ul-ja, the very tribe with which the Kor-ul-lul says the creature was associating when he first saw him. And further the princess said that when this woman, whose name is Pan-at-lee, was brought to her yesterday she told a strange story of having been rescued from a Tor-o-don in the Kor-ul-gryf by a creature such as this, whom she spoke of then as Tarzan-jad-guru; and of how the two were pursued in the bottom of the gorge by two monster gryfs, and of how the man led them away while Pan-at-lee escaped, only to be taken prisoner in the Kor-ul-lul as she was seeking to return to her own tribe.
'Is it not plain now,' cried Lu-don, 'that this creature is no god. Did he tell you that he was the son of god?' he almost shouted, turning suddenly upon Pan-at-lee.
The girl shrank back terrified. 'Answer me, slave!' cried the high priest.
'He seemed more than mortal,' parried Pan-at-lee.
'Did he tell you that he was the son of god? Answer my question,' insisted Lu-don.
'No,' she admitted in a low voice, casting an appealing look of forgiveness at Tarzan who returned a smile of encouragement and friendship.
'That is no proof that he is not the son of god,' cried Ja-don. 'Dost think Jad-ben-Otho goes about crying 'I am god! I am god!' Hast ever heard him Lu-don? No, you have not. Why should his son do that which the father does not do?'
'Enough,' cried Lu-don. 'The evidence is clear. The creature is an impostor and I, the head priest of Jad- ben-Otho in the city of A-lur, do condemn him to die.' There was a moment's silence during which Lu-don evidently paused for the dramatic effect of his climax. 'And if I am wrong may Jad-ben-Otho pierce my heart with his lightnings as I stand here before you all.'
The lapping of the wavelets of the lake against the foot of the palace wall was distinctly audible in the utter and almost breathless silence which ensued. Lu-don stood with his face turned toward the heavens and his arms outstretched in the attitude of one who bares his breast to the dagger of an executioner. The warriors and the priests and the slaves gathered in the sacred court awaited the consuming vengeance of their god.
It was Tarzan who broke the silence. 'Your god ignores you Lu-don,' he taunted, with a sneer that he meant to still further anger the high priest, 'he ignores you and I can prove it before the eyes of your priests and your people.'
'Prove it, blasphemer! How can you prove it?'
'You have called me a blasphemer,' replied Tarzan, 'you have proved to your own satisfaction that I am an impostor, that I, an ordinary mortal, have posed as the son of god. Demand then that Jad-ben-Otho uphold his godship and the dignity of his priesthood by directing his consuming fires through my own bosom.'
Again there ensued a brief silence while the onlookers waited for Lu-don to thus consummate the destruction of this presumptuous impostor.
'You dare not,' taunted Tarzan, 'for you know that I would be struck dead no quicker than were you.'
'You lie,' cried Lu-don, 'and I would do it had I not but just received a message from Jad-ben-Otho directing that your fate be different.'
A chorus of admiring and reverential 'Ahs' arose from the priesthood. Ko-tan and his warriors were in a state of mental confusion. Secretly they hated and feared Lu-don, but so ingrained was their sense of reverence for the office of the high priest that none dared raise a voice against him.
None? Well, there was Ja-don, fearless old Lion-man of the north. 'The proposition was a fair one,' he cried. 'Invoke the lightnings of Jad-ben-Otho upon this man if you would ever convince us of his guilt.'
'Enough of this,' snapped Lu-don. 'Since when was Ja-don created high priest? Seize the prisoner,' he cried to the priests and warriors, 'and on the morrow he shall die in the manner that Jad-ben-Otho has willed.'
There was no immediate movement on the part of any of the warriors to obey the high priest's command, but the lesser priests on the other hand, imbued with the courage of fanaticism leaped eagerly forward like a flock of hideous harpies to seize upon their prey.
The game was up. That Tarzan knew. No longer could cunning and diplomacy usurp the functions of the weapons of defense he best loved. And so the first hideous priest who leaped to the platform was confronted by no suave ambassador from heaven, but rather a grim and ferocious beast whose temper savored more of hell.
The altar stood close to the western wall of the enclosure. There was just room between the two for the high priest to stand during the performance of the sacrificial ceremonies and only Lu-don stood there now behind Tarzan, while before him were perhaps two hundred warriors and priests.
The presumptuous one who would have had the glory of first laying arresting hands upon the blasphemous impersonator rushed forward with outstretched hand to seize the ape-man. Instead it was he who was seized; seized by steel fingers that snapped him up as though he had been a dummy of straw, grasped him by one leg and
