'In your twenties, perhaps.' He leaned closer. 'I do not know how old I am. I have lost all track. Perhaps a thousand years; perhaps a few hundred; perhaps much older. Do you believe in God?'
'Yes, most assuredly.'
'Well, don't. There is no such thing—not yet, at least. That has been the trouble with the world. Men have imagined a god instead of seeking god among themselves. They have been led astray by false prophets and charlatans. They have had no leader. God should be a leader, and a leader should be a tangible entity—something men can see and feel and touch. He must be mortal and yet immortal. He may not die. He must be omniscient. All the forces of nature have been seeking throughout all the ages to produce such a god that the world may be ruled justly and mercifully forever, a god who shall control the forces of nature as well as the minds and acts of men.
'Almost such am I, Kavandavanda, high priest of the priests of Kavuru. Already am I deathless; already am I omniscient; already, to some extent, can I direct the minds and acts of men. It is the forces of nature that yet defy me. When I have conquered these, I shall indeed be God.'
'Yes,' agreed Jane, bent upon humoring this madman; 'yes, you shall indeed be God; but remember that mercy is one of the characteristics of godliness. Therefore, be merciful; and set my companion and me free.'
'And have the ignorant barbarians of the outer world swoop down upon us and rob mankind of its sole hope of salvation by destroying me? No!'
'But what purpose can I serve? If you free us, I promise to lead no one here.'
'You can serve the only purpose for which women are fit. Man may only attain godliness alone. Woman weakens and destroys him. Look at me! Look at my priests! You think we are all young men. We are not. A hundred rains have come and gone since the latest neophyte joined our holy order. And how have we attained this deathlessness? Through women. We are all celibates. Our vows of celibacy were sealed in the blood of women; in our own blood will we be punished if we break them. It would be death for a Kavuru priest to succumb to the wiles of a woman.'
Jane shook her head. 'I still do not understand,' she said.
'But you win. Long ago I learned the secret of deathless youth. It lies in an elixir brewed of many things—the pollen of certain plants, the roots of others, the spinal fluid of leopards, and, principally, the glands and blood of women—young women. Now do you understand?'
'Yes.' The girl shuddered.
'Do not recoil from the thought; remember that you will thus become a part of the living god. You will live forever. You will be glorified.'
'But I won't know anything about it; so what good will it do me?'
'I shall know. I shall know that you are a part of me. In that way I shall have you.' He leaned closer to her. 'But I should like to keep you as you are.' His breath was hot upon her cheek. 'And why not? Am I not almost a god? And may not God do as he chooses? Who is there to say him nay?'
He seized her and drew her to him.
Chapter 29 To What Doom
IT WAS almost dusk when Ydeni led his captive through the village of the Kavuru and to the temple of Kavandavan-da . By another trail Tarzan was approaching the clearing before the village. He paused and lifted his head.
'What is it?' asked Brown.
'Is 'is 'ighness coming?' inquired Tibbs.
The ape-man shook his head. 'We are Hearing a village. It is the village of the Kavuru; but nearer still are friends—Waziri.'
'How do you know?' demanded Brown.
Tarzan ignored the question, but motioned for silence; then from his lips came softly the call of the quail— three times he voiced it. For a moment, as he stood listening, there was silence; then once, twice, thrice came the answering call.
Tarzan moved forward again followed by his companions, and a moment later Muviro and Balando came running to drop to their knees before him.
Very briefly and in sorrow Muviro told what had happened. Tarzan listened without comment. No emotion of either sorrow or anger was reflected by his expression.
'Then you think it impossible to gain entrance to the village?' he asked.
'We are too few, Bwana,' replied Muviro, sadly.
'But if Buira still lives, she is there,' Tarzan reminded him, 'and your Mem-sahib and another white girl who belongs to this man.' He gestured toward the American. 'Much that life holds for us three may be behind the gates of that village, and there is the memory of our slain friends. Would you turn back now, Muviro?'
'Muviro follows where Tarzan leads,' replied the black, simply.
'We will go to the edge of the clearing that you speak of, and there we may make our plans. Come.' The ape-man moved silently along the trail, followed by the others.
As they came to the edge of the clearing, he halted. Brown smothered an exclamation of surprise. 'Well! In the name of—. Say, do you see what I see? That's a ship.'
'I forgot to tell you,' said Muviro. 'Two men came in a ship and landed. The Kavuru killed them. You can see their bodies lying beside the ship.'
As Tarzan stood at the edge of the forest beyond the village of the Kavuru it was well for his peace of mind that he did not know what was transpiring in the temple of Ka-vandavanda on the opposite side of the village, for at that very moment the high priest seized Jane and crushed her to him.
Helpless and hopeless, not knowing which way to turn for help, the girl acted upon what appeared an inspiration. Pushing the man's lips from hers, she raised her voice in a single piercing cry: 'Ogdli!'
Instantly the door of the apartment swung open. Kavanda-vanda released her and sprang to his feet. Ogdli crossed the threshold and halted. The two men stood glaring at one another. Ogdli did not ask why the girl had summoned him. He appeared to know.
Kavandavanda's face and neck burned scarlet for a moment; then went deadly white as he strode past Ogdli and out of the room without a word.
The warrior crossed quickly to the girl. 'He will kill us both, now,' he said. 'We must escape; then you will belong to me.'
'But your vows!' cried Jane, clutching at a straw.
'What are vows to a dead man?' asked Ogdli. 'And I am as good as dead now. I shall go and take you with me. I know a secret passage beneath the courtyard and the village. Thus sometimes goes Kavandavanda to search in the forest for secret flowers and roots. When it is dark, we shall go.'
As Kavandavanda strode through the corridors of his palace, his heart black with rage, he met Ydeni coming with his captive.
'What have you there?' he demanded. Ydeni dropped to his knees. 'One of those into whose skull a demon has come to dwell. I have brought him to Kavandavanda.'
'Take him away,' growled the high priest, 'and lock him up. I will see him in the morning.'
Ydeni rose and led Sborov on through the temple. He took him to the second floor and shoved him into a dark room. It was the room of the two snakes. Next to it was the room of the three snakes. Then Ydeni shot a bolt on the outside of the door and went away and left his prisoner without food or water.
In the next room Ogdli was planning the escape. He knew he could not carry it out until after the temple slept. 'I will go away now and hide,' he said, 'so that Kavandavanda cannot find me before it is time to go. Later I shall return and get you.'
'You must take Annette, too,' said Jane—'the other girl. Where is she?'
'In the next room. I put her there when Kavandavanda sent us out of this one.'
'You will take her with us?'
'Perhaps,' he replied; but Jane guessed that he had no intention of doing so.
