“Tarzan of the Apes has been here,” they cried excitedly. “He has been here with all his Waziri—a thousand great warriors—and though we fought, they overcame us, and taking the gold they went away. Tarzan of the Apes spoke strange words to me before they left. He said that he had killed one of your number who had dared to call himself Tarzan of the Apes. We do not understand it. He went away alone to hunt when you went in the morning, and he came back shortly with a thousand warriors, and he took all the gold and he threatened to kill us and you if you ever return to this country again.” “Vot, vot?” cried Bluber, “der gold iss gone? _Oi! Oi!_” And then they all commenced to ask questions at once until Flora silenced them. “Come,” she said to the leader of the askari, “we will return to the boma and then you shall tell me slowly and carefully all that has happened since we left.” She listened intently to his narrative, and then questioned him carefully upon various points several times. At last she dismissed him. Then she turned to her confederates. “It is all clear to me,” she said. “Tarzan recovered from the effects of the drug we administered. Then he followed us with his Waziri, caught Esteban and killed him and, finding the camp, has taken the gold away. We shall be fortunate indeed if we escape from Africa with our lives.” “_Oi! Oi!_” almost shrieked Bluber, “der dirty crook. He steals all our gold, und ve lose our two t’ousand pounds into the bargain. _Oi! Oi!_” “Shut up, you dirty Jew,” growled Throck. “If it hadn’t a’ been for you and the dago this ’ere thing would never a ’appened. With ’im abraggin’ about ’is ’unting and not bein’ able to kill anything, and you a-squeezin’ every bloomin’ hapenny, we’re in a rotten mess—that we are. This ’ere Tarzan bounder he bumped off Esteban, which is the best work what ’e ever done. Too bloody bad you weren’t ’ere to get it too, and what I got a good mind to do is to slit your throat meself.” “Stow the guff, Dick,” roared Peebles; “it wasn’t nobody’s fault, as far as I can see. Instead of talkin’ what we oughter do is to go after this ’ere Tarzan feller and take the bloomin’ gold away from ’im.”