Adventure stories; Fantasy fiction; Tarzan (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
And as he worked he watched the Alalus youth and wondered of what
use the poor creature could be to him in finding his way through the
encircling thorn forest that he must pass to reach familiar country and
the trail for home. That the poor thing was timid had been evidenced
by its manner when fleeing from the Alali women and its terror when
confronted by Numa. Its speechlessness made it useless as a companion
and it was entirely without woodcraft other than a certain crude,
instinctive kind that was of no use to Tarzan. But it had placed itself
at his side during the altercation in the corral and although it
could not have been of any help to him yet it had won a right to his
consideration by its act. Moreover it was evident, quite evident, that
the creature had attached itself to Tarzan and intended to remain with
him.
An idea occurred to Tarzan as he worked upon his weapons and thought
upon the Alalus--he would make similar weapons for the youth and teach
him how to use them. He had seen that the crude weapons of the Alali
would be no match against one armed with a bow and arrows, or even a
good spear. Accurately they could not hope to throw their missiles as
far as a good bowman could speed his shaft and their bludgeons were
helpless in the face of a well thrown spear.
Yes, he would make weapons for the youth and train him in their use and
then he could be made of service in the hunt and, if necessary, in the
fight, and as Tarzan of the Apes thought upon the matter the Alalus
suddenly paused in his work and bent an ear close to the ground, then
he lifted his head and turned his eyes upon Tarzan, pointing at him,
at his ear, and then at the ground. The ape-man understood that he
was to listen as the other had and when he did so he distinctly heard
approaching footsteps resounding upon a hard worn trail.
Gathering up his belongings he carried them high among the trees to a
safe cache with the remnants of Bara the deer and then returning helped
the youth into the tree beside him. Slowly, already, the Alalus was
becoming more at ease in the trees and could help himself to a greater
extent in climbing into them, but he was still practically helpless in
Tarzan's estimation.
The two had not long to wait before there swung down the trail one
of the terrible women of the amphitheater, and behind her at ten or
fifteen paces another, and behind the second a third. It was not often
that they traveled thus, for theirs was a solitary existence, the Alali
being almost devoid of gregarious instincts, yet they did occasionally
start out upon their hunts together, especially when they were hunting
some dangerous beast that had encroached upon their rights, or when,
failing to collect sufficient men from the forest during the mating
season, the unfortunate ones banded together to make a raid upon the
corrals of a neighboring tribe.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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