“You! You!” cried voice after voice as the headmen clamored to make Tarzan of the Apes their king.
“No,” cried the ape-man, holding up his hand for silence, “but there is one here who has lived long among you, and who knows your habits and your customs, your hopes and your needs better than any other. If he will stay with you and rule you he will, I am sure, make you a good king,” and Tarzan pointed to the old man.
The old man looked at Tarzan in bewilderment. “But I want to go away from here,” he said; “I want to get back into the world of civilization, from which I have been buried all these years.”
“You do not know what you are talking about,” replied the ape-man. “You have been gone very long. You will find no friends left back there from whence you came. You will find deceit, and hypocrisy, and greed, and avarice, and cruelty. You will find that no one will be interested in you and that you will be interested in no one there. I, Tarzan of the Apes, have left my jungle and gone to the cities built by men, but always I have been disgusted and been glad to return to my jungle—to the noble beasts that are honest in their loves and in their hates—to the freedom and genuineness of nature.
“If you return you will be disappointed, and you will realize that you have thrown away an opportunity of accomplishing a work well worth your while. These poor creatures need you. I cannot remain to guide them out of darkness, but you may, and you may so mold them that they will be an industrious, virtuous, and kindly people, not untrained, however, in the arts of warfare, for when we have that which is good, there will always be those who are envious and who, if they are more powerful than we, will attempt to come and take what we have by force. Therefore, you must train your people to protect their country and their rights, and to protect them they must have the ability and the knowledge to fight successfully, and the weapons wherewith to wage their wars.”
“You speak the truth, Tarzan of the Apes,” replied the old man. “There is nothing for me in that other world, so, if the Gomangani wish me to be their chief I will remain here.”
The headmen, when he questioned them, assured Tarzan that if they could not have him for chief they would be very glad to have the old man, whom they all knew, either by sight or reputation, as one who had never perpetrated any cruelties upon the Gomangani.
The few surviving Bolgani who had taken refuge in various parts of the palace were sought out and brought to the throne room. Here they were given the option of remaining in the valley as slaves, or leaving the country entirely. The Gomangani would have fallen upon them and slain them, but that their new king would not permit.
“But where shall we go if we leave the Valley of the Palace of Diamonds?” asked one of the Bolgani. “Beyond the city of Opar we know not what exists, and in Opar may we find only enemies.”
Tarzan sat eyeing them quizzically, and in silence. For a long time he did not speak, while several of the Gomangani headmen, and others of the Bolgani, made suggestions for the future of the gorilla-men. Finally the ape-man arose and nodded toward the Bolgani.
“There are about a hundred of you,” he said. “You are powerful creatures and should be ferocious fighters. Beside me sits La, the High Priestess and queen of Opar. A wicked priest, usurping her power, has driven her from her throne, but tomorrow we march upon Opar with the bravest Gomangani of the Valley of the Palace of Diamonds, and there we punish Cadj, the High Priest, who has proven a traitor to his queen; and La, once more, ascends the throne of Opar. But where the seeds of treason have once been broadcast the plant may spring up at any time and where least expected. It will be long, therefore, before La of Opar may have full confidence in the loyalty of her people—a fact which offers you an opportunity and a country. Accompany us, therefore, to Opar, and fight with us to replace La upon her throne, and then, when the fighting is over, remain there as La’s bodyguard to protect her, not only from enemies without, but from enemies within.”
The Bolgani discussed the matter for several minutes, and then one of them came to Tarzan. “We will do as you suggest,” he said.
“And you will be loyal to La?” asked the ape-man.
“A Bolgani is never a traitor,” replied the gorilla-man.
“Good!” exclaimed Tarzan, “and you, La, are you satisfied with this arrangement?”
“I accept them in my service,” replied she.
Early the next morning Tarzan and La set out with three thousand Gomangani and a hundred Bolgani to punish the traitorous Cadj. There was little or no attempt at strategy or deception. They simply marched down through the Valley of the Palace of Diamonds, descended the rocky ravine into the valley of Opar, and made straight for the rear of the palace of La.
A little gray monkey, sitting among the vines and creepers upon the top of the temple walls, saw them coming. He cocked his head, first upon one side and then upon the other, and became so interested and excited that for a moment he forgot to scratch his belly—an occupation he had been assiduously pursuing for some time. The closer the column approached the more excited became Manu, the monkey, and when he realized vaguely the great numbers of the Gomangani he was fairly beside himself, but the last straw that sent him scampering madly
