'It is a weapon,' she said. 'Be careful or it will kill some one.'
'How does it kill?' asked Elija.
'What is he saying?' demanded Smith.
'He is asking how the pistol kills,' replied the girl.
A brilliant idea occurred to the American. 'Tell him to give it to me, and I will show him,' he said.
But when she translated the offer to Elija he demurred. 'He could then kill me with it,' he said, shrewdly.
'He wont give it to you,' the girl told Smith. 'He is afraid you want to kill him.'
'I do,' replied the man.
'Tell him,' said Elija, 'to explain to me how I may kill some one with it.'
'Repeat my instructions to him very carefully,' said Smith, after Lady Barbara had translated the demand of the prophet. 'Tell him how to grasp the pistol,' and when Lady Barbara had done so and Elija held the weapon by the grip in his right hand, 'now tell him to place his index finger through the guard, but warn him not to pull the trigger.'
Elija did as he was bid. 'Now,' continued Smith, 'explain to him that in order to see how the weapon operates he should place one eye to the muzzle and look down the barrel.'
'But I can see nothing,' expostulated Elija when he had done as Lady Barbara directed. 'It is quite dark down the little hole.'
'He says it is too dark in the barrel for him to see anything,' repeated Lady Barbara to the American.
'Explain to him that if he pulls the trigger there will be a light in the barrel,' said Smith.
'But that will be murder,' exclaimed the girl.
'It is war,' said Smith, 'and in the subsequent confusion we may escape.'
Lady Barbara steeled herself. 'You could see nothing because you did not press the little piece of metal beneath your index finger,' she explained to Elija.
'What will that do?' demanded the prophet.
'It will make a light in the little hole,' said Lady Barbara. Elija again placed his eye against the muzzle; and this time he pulled the trigger; and as the report cracked the tense silence of the watching villagers Elija, the son of Noah, pitched forward upon his face.
Instantly Lady Barbara sprang toward Smith, who simultaneously sought to break away from the grip of the men who held him; but they, although astonished at what had occurred, were not to be caught off their guard, and though he struggled desperately they held him.
For an instant there was a hushed silence; and then pandemonium broke loose as the villagers realized that their prophet was dead, slain by the wicked charm of a demon; but at the very outset of their demands for vengeance their attention was distracted by a strange and remarkable figure that sprang from the hut of Elija, stooped and picked up the pistol that had fallen from the hands of the dead man, and leaped to the side of the prisoner struggling with his guards.
This was such a man as none of them had ever seen—a giant white man with a tousled shock of black hair and with grey eyes that sent a shiver through them, so fierce and implacable were they. Naked he was but for a loin cloth of skin, and the muscles that rolled beneath his brown hide were muscles such as they never had seen before.
As the newcomer sprang toward the American one of the men guarding Smith, sensing that an attempt was being made to rescue the prisoner, swung his club in readiness to deal a blow against the strange creature advancing upon him. At the same time the other guard sought to drag Smith from the compound.
The American did not at first recognize Tarzan of the Apes, yet, though he was not aware that the stranger was bent upon his rescue, he sensed that he was an enemy of the Midians, and so struggled to prevent his guard from forcing him away.
Another Midian seized Lady Barbara with the intention of carrying her from the scene, for all the villagers believed that the strange giant was a friend of the prisoners and had come to effect their release.
Smith was successful in tearing himself free from the man who held him, and immediately sprang to the girl's assistance, felling her captor with a single blow, just as Tarzan levelled the American's pistol at the guard who was preparing to cudgel him.
The sound of this second shot and the sight of their fellow dropping to the ground, as had Elija, filled the Midians with consternation; and for a moment they fell back from the three, leaving them alone in the center of the compound.
'Quick!' called Tarzan to Smith. 'You and the girl get out of here before they recover from their surprise. I will follow you. That way,' he added, pointing toward the south.
As Lafayette Smith and Lady Barbara hurried from the village Tarzan backed slowly after them, keeping the little pistol in full view of the frightened villagers, who, having seen two of their number die beneath its terrifying magic, were loath to approach it too closely.
Until out of range of a thrown club Tarzan continued his slow retreat; then he wheeled and bounded off into the night in pursuit of Lafayette Smith and Lady Barbara Collis.
Chapter 20
The Best Three out of Five
Though Jezebel was terrified by the black faces of her captors and by the strange beasts they bestrode, the like of which she had never even imagined, her fear for herself was outweighed by her sorrow. Her one thought was to escape and return to the side of the 'Gunner,' even though she believed him dead from the terrific blow that his assailant had struck him.
She struggled violently to free herself from the grasp of the man in front of whom she rode; but the fellow was far too powerful; and, though she was difficult to hold, at no time was there the slightest likelihood that she might escape. Her efforts, however, angered him and at last he struck her, bringing to the girl a realization of the futility of pitting her puny strength against his. She must wait, then, until she could accomplish by stealth what she could not effect by force.
The village of the raiders lay but a short distance from the point at which she had been captured, and but a few minutes had elapsed since that event when they rode up to its gates and into the central compound.
The shouts that greeted the arrival of a new and beautiful prisoner brought Capietro and Stabutch to the doorway of their hut.
'Now what have the black devils brought in?' exclaimed Capietro.
'It looks like a young woman,' said Stabutch.
'It is,' cried Capietro, as the
'The price of a chief's ransom, perhaps,' replied one of the blacks.
'Where did you find her?'
'Above the village a short distance, when we were returning from scouting. A man was with her. The man who escaped with the help of the ape-man.'
'Where is he! Why did you not bring him, also?' demanded Capietro.
'He fought us, and we were forced to kill him.'
'You have done well,' said Capietro. 'She is worth two of him—in many ways. Come girl, hold up your head, let us have a look at that pretty face. Come, you need not fear anything—if you are a good girl you will find Dommic Capietro a good fellow.'
'Perhaps she does not understand Italian,' suggested Stabutch.
'You are right, my friend; I shall speak to her in English.'
Jezebel had looked up at Stabutch when she heard him speak a language she understood. Perhaps this man would be a friend, she thought; but when she saw his face her heart sank.
