Such was the state of affairs when a sentry posted on the knoll in the mouth of the gorge sent word that he had observed in the valley below what appeared at a distance to be nothing less than two people mounted upon the back of a gryf. He said that he had caught glimpses of them, as they passed open spaces, and they seemed to be traveling up the river in the direction of the Kor-ul-ja.
At first Ja-don was inclined to doubt the veracity of his informant; but, like all good generals, he could not permit even palpably false information to go uninvestigated and so he determined to visit the knoll himself and learn precisely what it was that the sentry had observed through the distorting spectacles of fear. He had scarce taken his place beside the man ere the fellow touched his arm and pointed. “They are closer now,” he whispered, “you can see them plainly.” And sure enough, not a quarter of a mile away Ja-don saw that which in his long experience in Pal-ul-don he had never before seen—two humans riding upon the broad back of a gryf.
At first he could scarce credit even this testimony of his own eyes, but soon he realized that the creatures below could be naught else than they appeared, and then he recognized the man and rose to his feet with a loud cry.
“It is he!” he shouted to those about him. “It is the Dor-ul-Otho himself.”
The gryf and his riders heard the shout though not the words. The former bellowed terrifically and started in the direction of the knoll, and Ja-don, followed by a few of his more intrepid warriors, ran to meet him. Tarzan, loath to enter an unnecessary quarrel, tried to turn the animal, but as the beast was far from tractable it always took a few minutes to force the will of its master upon it; and so the two parties were quite close before the ape-man succeeded in stopping the mad charge of his furious mount.
Ja-don and his warriors, however, had come to the realization that this bellowing creature was bearing down upon them with evil intent and they had assumed the better part of valor and taken to trees, accordingly. It was beneath these trees that Tarzan finally stopped the gryf. Ja-don called down to him.
“We are friends,” he cried. “I am Ja-don, Chief of Ja-lur. I and my warriors lay our foreheads upon the feet of Dor-ul-Otho and pray that he will aid us in our righteous fight with Lu-don, the high priest.”
“You have not defeated him yet?” asked Tarzan. “Why I thought you would be king of Pal-ul-don long before this.”
“No,” replied Ja-don. “The people fear the high priest and now that he has in the temple one whom he claims to be Jad-ben-Otho many of my warriors are afraid. If they but knew that the Dor-ul-Otho had returned and that he had blessed the cause of Ja-don I am sure that victory would be ours.”
Tarzan thought for a long minute and then he spoke. “Ja-don,” he said, “was one of the few who believed in me and who wished to accord me fair treatment. I have a debt to pay to Ja-don and an account to settle with Lu-don, not alone on my own behalf, but principally upon that of my mate. I will go with you Ja-don to mete to Lu-don the punishment he deserves. Tell me, chief, how may the Dor-ul-Otho best serve his father’s people?”
“By coming with me to Ja-lur and the villages between,” replied Ja-don quickly, “that the people may see that it is indeed the Dor-ul-Otho and that he smiles upon the cause of Ja-don.”
“You think that they will believe in me more now than before?” asked the ape-man.
“Who will dare doubt that he who rides upon the great gryf is less than a god?” returned the old chief.
“And if I go with you to the battle at A-lur,” asked Tarzan, “can you assure the safety of my mate while I am gone from her?”
“She shall remain in Ja-lur with the Princess O-lo-a and my own women,” replied Ja-don. “There she will be safe for there I shall leave trusted warriors to protect them. Say that you will come, O Dor-ul-Otho, and my cup of happiness will be full, for even now Ta-den, my son, marches toward A-lur with a force from the northwest and if we can attack, with the Dor-ul-Otho at our head, from the northeast our arms should be victorious.”
“It shall be as you wish, Ja-don,” replied the ape-man; “but first you must have meat fetched for my gryf.”
“There are many carcasses in the camp above,” replied Ja-don, “for my men have little else to do than hunt.”
“Good,” exclaimed Tarzan. “Have them brought at once.”
And when the meat was brought and laid at a distance the ape-man slipped from the back of his fierce charger and fed him with his own hand. “See that there is always plenty of flesh for him,” he said to Ja-don, for he guessed that his mastery might be short-lived should the vicious beast become over-hungry.
It was morning before they could leave for Ja-lur, but Tarzan found the gryf lying where he had left him the night before beside the carcasses of two antelope and a lion; but now there was nothing but the gryf.
“The paleontologists say that he was herbivorous,” said Tarzan as he and Jane approached the beast.
The journey to Ja-lur was made through the scattered villages where Ja-don hoped to arouse a keener enthusiasm for his cause. A
