being left to form a doorway. But the most noticeable feature of Phelian architecture consisted of long pointed stakes, which protruded diagonally from the ground at an angle of about forty-five degrees, pointing outward from the base of the walls entirely around the building at intervals of about eighteen inches. The stakes themselves were six or eight inches in diameter and about ten feet long, being sharpened at the upper end, and forming a barrier against which few creatures, however brainless they might be, would venture to hurl themselves.
Drawing closer the two men had a better view of the village, which contained upon that side of the hill they were approaching and upon the top four buildings similar to that which they had first discovered. Close about the base of the hill grew the dense forest, but the hill itself had been entirely denuded of vegetation so that nothing, either large or small, could approach the habitation of the Phelians without being discovered.
No one was in sight about the village, but that did not deceive Thoar, who guessed that anything which transpired upon the hillside would be witnessed by many eyes peering through the openings between the wall logs from the dim interiors of the long buildings, beneath whose low ceilings Phelians must spend their lives either squatting or lying down, since there was not sufficient headroom to permit an adult to stand erect.
'Well,' said Jason, 'here we are. Now, what are we going to do?'
Thoar looked longingly at Jason's two Colts. 'You have refused to use those for fear of wasting the deaths which they spit from their blue mouths,' he said, 'but with one of those we might soon find Jana if she was here or quickly avenge her if she is not.'
'Come on then,' said Jason. 'I would sacrifice more than my ammunition for The Red Flower of Zoram.' As he spoke he descended from the tree and started toward the nearest Phelian dwelling. Close behind him was Thoar and neither saw the eyes that watched them from among the trees that grew thickly upon the river side of the hill —cruel eyes that gleamed from whiskered faces.
XIII THE HORIBS
AVAN, chief of the Clovi, had placed warriors before the entrance to the cavern and as Tarzan approached it to enter they halted him.
'Where are you going?' demanded one.
'Into the cavern,' replied Tarzan.
'Why?' asked the warrior.
'I wish to sleep,' replied the ape-man. 'I have entered often before and no one has ever stopped me.'
'Avan has issued orders that no strangers are to enter or leave the cavern until after the council of the warriors,' exclaimed the guard.
At this juncture Avan approached. 'Let him enter,' he said. 'I sent him hither, but do not let him come out again.'
Without a word of comment or question the Lord of the Jungle passed into the interior of the gloomy cavern of Clovi. It was several moments before his eyes became accustomed to the subdued light within and permitted him to take account of his surroundings.
That portion of the cavern which was visible and with which he was familiar was of considerable extent. He could see the walls on either side, and, very vaguely, a portion of the rear wall, but adjoining that was utter darkness, suggesting that the cavern extended further into the mountainside. Against the walls upon pallets of dry grasses covered with hide lay many warriors and a few women and children, almost all of whom were wrapped in slumber. In the greater light near the entrance a group squatted engaged in whispered conversation as, silently, he moved about the cavern searching for the girl from Zoram. It was she who recognized him first, attracting his attention by a low whistle.
'You have a plan of escape?' she asked as Tarzan seated himself upon a skin beside her.
'No,' he said, 'all that we may do is to await developments and take advantage of any opportunity that may present itself.'
'I should think that it would be easy for you to escape,' said the girl; 'they do not treat you as a prisoner; you go about among them freely and they have permitted you to retain your weapons.'
'I am a prisoner now,' he replied. 'Avan just instructed the warriors at the entrance not to permit me to leave here until after the council of warriors had decided my fate.'
'Your future does not look very bright then,' said Jana, 'and as for me I already know my fate, but they shall not have me, Carb nor any other!'
They talked together in low tones with many periods of long silence, but when Jana turned the conversation upon the world from which Jason had come, the silences were few and far between. She would not let Tarzan rest, but plied him with questions, the answers to many of which were far beyond her powers to understand. Steam and electricity and all the countless activities of civilized existence which are dependent upon them were utterly beyond her powers of comprehension, as were the heavenly bodies or musical instruments or books, and yet despite what appeared to be the darkest depth of ignorance, to the very bottom of which she had plumbed, she was intelligent and when she spoke of those things pertaining to her own world with which she was familiar, she was both interesting and entertaining.
Presently a warrior near them opened his eyes, sat up and stretched. He looked about him and then he arose to his feet. He walked around the apartment awakening the other warriors.
'Awaken,' he said to each, 'and attend the council of the warriors.'
When he approached Tarzan and Jana he recognized the former and stopped to glare down at him.
'What are you doing here?' he demanded.
Tarzan arose and faced the Clovian warrior, but he did not reply to the other's question.
'Answer me,' growled Carb. 'Why are you here?'
'You are not the chief,' said Tarzan. 'Go and ask your question of women and children.'
Carb sputtered angrily. 'Go!' said Tarzan, pointing toward the exit. For an instant the Clovian hesitated, then he continued on around the apartment, awakening the remaining warriors.
'Now he will see that you are killed,' said the girl. 'He had determined on that before,' replied Tarzan. 'We are no worse off than we were.'
Now they lapsed into silence, each waiting for the doom that was to be pronounced upon them. They knew that outside upon the ledge the warriors were sitting in a great circle and that there would be much talking and boasting and argument before any decision was reached, most of it unnecessary, for that has been the way with men who make laws from time immemorial, a great advantage, however, lying with our modern lawmakers in that they know more words than the first ape-men.
As Tarzan and Jana waited a youth entered the cavern. He bore a torch in the light of which he searched about the interior. Presently he discovered Tarzan and came swiftly toward him. It was Ovan.
'The council has reached its decision,' he said. 'They will kill you and the girl goes to Carb.'
Tarzan of the Apes rose to his feet. 'Come,' he said to Jana, 'now is as good a time as any. If we can cross the ledge and reach the trail only a swift warrior can overtake us. And if you are my friend,' he continued, turning to Ovan, 'and you have said that you are, you will remain silent and give us our chance.'
'I am your friend,' replied the youth; 'that is why I am here, but you would never live to cross the ledge to the trail, there are too many warriors and they are all prepared. They know that you are armed and they expect that you will try to escape.'
'There is no other way,' said Tarzan.
'There is another way,' replied the boy, 'and I have come to show it to you.'
'Where?' asked Jana.
'Follow me,' replied Ovan, and he started back into the remote recesses of the cavern, which were fitfully illumined by his flickering torch, while behind him followed Jana and the ape-man.
The walls of the cavern narrowed, the floor rose steeply ahead of them, so that in places it was only with considerable difficulty that they ascended in the semi-darkness. At last Ovan halted and held his torch high above his head, revealing a small, natural chamber, at the far end of which there was a dark fissure.
'In that dark hole,' he said, 'lies a trail that leads to the summit of the mountains. Only the chief and the chief's first son ever know of this trail. If my father learns that I have shown it to you, he will have to kill me, but he
