Adventure stories; Fantasy fiction; Tarzan (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
Talaskar first, they followed him, crawling upon hands and knees
through a winding tunnel, feeling their way through the darkness, until
at last a light flared before them and they saw Zuanthrol lighting a
candle in a small chamber, that was only just high enough to permit a
tall man to sit erect within it.
"I got this far," he said to them, "and as it offered a fair hiding
place where we might have light without fear of discovery I came back
after you. Here we can stop a while in comparative comfort and safety
until I can explore the tunnel further. From what I have been able
to judge it has never been used during the lifetime of any living
Veltopismakusian, so there is little likelihood that anyone will think
of looking here for us."
"Do you think they will follow us?" asked Talasker.
"I think they will," replied Komodoflorensal, "and as we cannot go
back it will be better if we push on at once, as it is reasonable to
assume that the opposite end of this tunnel opens into another chamber.
Possibly there we shall find an avenue of escape."
"You are right, Komodoflorensal," agreed Tarzan. "Nothing can be gained
by remaining here. I will go ahead. Let Talaskar follow me, and you
bring up the rear. If the place proves a blind alley we shall be no
worse off for having investigated it."
Lighting their way this time with candles the three crawled
laboriously and painfully over the uneven, rock floor of the tunnel,
which turned often, this way and that, as though passing around
chambers, until, to their relief, the passageway abruptly enlarged,
both in width and height, so that now they could proceed in an erect
position. The tunnel now dropped in a steep declivity to a lower level
and a moment later the three emerged into a small chamber, where
Talaskar suddenly placed a hand upon Tarzan's arm, with a little
in-taking of her breath in a half gasp.
"What is that, Zuanthrol!" she whispered, pointing into the darkness
ahead.
Upon the floor at one side of the room a crouching figure was barely
discernible close to the wall.
"And that!" exclaimed the girl, pointing to another portion of the room.
The ape-man shook her hand from his arm and stepped quickly forward,
his candle held high in his left hand, his right upon his sword. He
came close to the crouching figure and bent to examine it. He laid his
hand upon it and it fell into a heap of dust.
"What is it?" demanded the girl.
"It _was_ a man," replied Tarzan; "but it has been dead many years. It
was chained to this wall. Even the chain has rusted away."
"And the other, too?" asked Talaskar.
"There are several of them," said Komodoflorensal. "See? There and
there."
"At least they cannot detain us," said Tarzan, and moved on again
across the chamber toward a doorway on the opposite side.
"But they tell us something, possibly," ventured Komodoflorensal.
"What do they say?" asked the ape-man.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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