Adventure stories; Fantasy fiction; Tarzan (Fictitious character) -- Fiction
Pan-at-lee crept stealthily along the rim of the Kor-ul-lul. Just where
her father and brothers would watch she did not know. Sometimes their
spies remained upon the rim, sometimes they watched from the gorge's
bottom. Pan-at-lee was at a loss to know what to do or where to go. She
felt very small and helpless alone in the vast darkness of the night.
Strange noises fell upon her ears. They came from the lonely reaches of
the towering mountains above her, from far away in the invisible valley
and from the nearer foothills and once, in the distance, she heard what
she thought was the bellow of a bull GRYF. It came from the direction
of the Kor-ul-GRYF. She shuddered.
Presently there came to her keen ears another sound. Something
approached her along the rim of the gorge. It was coming from above.
She halted, listening. Perhaps it was her father, or a brother. It was
coming closer. She strained her eyes through the darkness. She did not
move--she scarcely breathed. And then, of a sudden, quite close it
seemed, there blazed through the black night two yellow-green spots of
fire.
Pan-at-lee was brave, but as always with the primitive, the darkness
held infinite terrors for her. Not alone the terrors of the known but
more frightful ones as well--those of the unknown. She had passed
through much this night and her nerves were keyed to the highest
pitch--raw, taut nerves, they were, ready to react in an exaggerated
form to the slightest shock.
But this was no slight shock. To hope for a father and a brother and to
see death instead glaring out of the darkness! Yes, Pan-at-lee was
brave, but she was not of iron. With a shriek that reverberated among
the hills she turned and fled along the rim of Kor-ul-lul and behind
her, swiftly, came the devil-eyed lion of the mountains of Pal-ul-don.
Pan-at-lee was lost. Death was inevitable. Of this there could be no
doubt, but to die beneath the rending fangs of the carnivore,
congenital terror of her kind--it was unthinkable. But there was an
alternative. The lion was almost upon her--another instant and he would
seize her. Pan-at-lee turned sharply to her left. Just a few steps she
took in the new direction before she disappeared over the rim of
Kor-ul-lul. The baffled lion, planting all four feet, barely stopped
upon the verge of the abyss. Glaring down into the black shadows
beneath he mounted an angry roar.
Through the darkness at the bottom of Kor-ul-JA, Om-at led the way
toward the caves of his people. Behind him came Tarzan and Ta-den.
Presently they halted beneath a great tree that grew close to the cliff.
"First," whispered Om-at, "I will go to the cave of Pan-at-lee. Then
will I seek the cave of my ancestors to have speech with my own blood.
It will not take long. Wait here--I shall return soon. Afterward shall
we go together to Ta-den's people."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account