第 4 节
作者:击水三千      更新:2021-02-18 22:45      字数:9322
  darkness beyond the camp made imperative。 The moans and the coughing
  of the big cats mingled with the myriad noises of the lesser denizens of the
  jungle to   fan the  savage  flame  in   the  breast   of this   savage   English lord。
  He tossed upon his bed of grasses; sleepless; for an hour and then he rose;
  noiseless as a wraith; and while the Waziri's back was turned; vaulted the
  boma wall in the face of the flaming eyes; swung silently into a great tree
  and was gone。
  For    a  time   in  sheer    exuberance      of  animal    spirit  he   raced   swiftly
  through   the   middle   terrace;   swinging   perilously   across   wide   spans   from
  one jungle giant to the next; and then he clambered upward to the swaying;
  lesser boughs of   the   upper terrace   where   the   moon   shone   full upon   him
  and the air was stirred by little breezes and death lurked ready in each frail
  branch。      Here   he   paused   and   raised   his   face   to   Goro;   the   moon。   With
  uplifted arm he stood; the cry of the bull ape quivering upon his lips; yet
  he   remained   silent   lest   he   arouse   his   faithful   Waziri   who   were   all   too
  familiar with the hideous challenge of their master。
  And then he went on more slowly and with greater stealth and caution;
  for now Tarzan of the Apes was seeking a kill。                  Down to the ground he
  came   in   the   utter   blackness   of   the   close…set   boles   and   the   overhanging
  verdure of the jungle。 He stooped from time to time and put his nose close
  to earth。     He sought and found a wide game trail and at last his nostrils
  were     rewarded      with   the  scent    of  the   fresh   spoor   of   Bara;   the   deer。
  Tarzan's     mouth     watered     and   a  low    growl    escaped    his   patrician    lips。
  Sloughed from him was the last vestige of artificial casteonce again he
  was     the  primeval     hunterthe    first  manthe     highest    caste   type   of  the
  human   race。      Up   wind   he   followed   the   elusive   spoor   with   a   sense   of
  perception so transcending that of ordinary man as to be inconceivable to
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  us。    Through       counter    currents    of  the   heavy   stench     of  meat    eaters   he
  traced   the   trail   of   Bara;   the   sweet   and   cloying   stink   of   Horta;   the   boar;
  could not drown his quarry's scent the permeating; mellow musk of the
  deer's foot。
  Presently the body scent of the deer told Tarzan that his prey was close
  at hand。      It sent him into the trees againinto the lower terrace where he
  could   watch   the   ground   below   and   catch   with   ears   and   nose   the   first
  intimation of actual contact with his quarry。                Nor was it long before the
  ape…man   came   upon   Bara   standing   alert   at   the   edge   of   a   moon…bathed
  clearing。 Noiselessly Tarzan crept through the trees until he was directly
  over the deer。       In the ape…man's right hand was the long hunting knife of
  his   father   and   in   his   heart   the   blood   lust   of   the   carnivore。 Just   for   an
  instant    he   poised    above    the   unsuspecting      Bara    and   then    he  launched
  himself downward upon the sleek back。                 The impact of his weight carried
  the deer to its knees and before the animal could regain its feet the knife
  had found its heart。         As Tarzan rose upon the body of his kill to scream
  forth his hideous victory cry into the face of the moon the wind carried to
  his    nostrils   something      which    froze   him    to  statuesque     immobility      and
  silence。     His savage eyes blazed into the direction from which the wind
  had borne down the warning to him and a moment later the grasses at one
  side   of   the   clearing   parted   and   Numa;   the   lion;   strode   majestically   into
  view。     His yellow…green eyes were fastened upon Tarzan as he halted just
  within     the  clearing    and    glared   enviously   at    the   successful     hunter;   for
  Numa had had no luck this night。
  From   the   lips   of   the   ape…man   broke   a   rumbling   growl   of   warning。
  Numa answered but he did not advance。 Instead he stood waving his tail
  gently  to   and   fro;   and   presently  Tarzan   squatted   upon   his   kill   and   cut   a
  generous   portion   from   a   hind   quarter。        Numa   eyed   him   with   growing
  resentment and rage as; between mouthfuls; the ape…man growled out his
  savage   warnings。        Now   this   particular   lion   had   never   before   come   in
  contact with Tarzan of the Apes and he was much mystified。                          Here was
  the   appearance   and   the   scent   of   a   man…thing   and   Numa   had   tasted   of
  human flesh and learned that though not the most palatable it was certainly
  by far the easiest to secure; yet there was that in the bestial growls of the
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  strange creature which reminded him of formidable antagonists and gave
  him pause; while his hunger and the odor of the hot flesh of Bara goaded
  him almost to madness。          Always Tarzan watched him; guessing what was
  passing in the little brain of the carnivore and well it was that he did watch
  him;   for   at   last   Numa   could   stand   it   no   longer。 His   tail   shot   suddenly
  erect and at the same instant the wary ape…man; knowing all too well what
  the   signal   portended;   grasped   the   remainder   of   the   deer's   hind   quarter
  between his teeth and leaped into a nearby tree as Numa charged him with
  all the speed and a sufficient semblance of the weight of an express train。
  Tarzan's     retreat  was    no  indication    that   he  felt  fear。  Jungle    life  is
  ordered   along   different   lines   than   ours   and   different   standards   prevail。
  Had Tarzan been famished he would; doubtless; have stood his ground and
  met the lion's charge。        He had done the thing before upon more than one
  occasion; just as in the past he had charged lions himself; but tonight he
  was far from famished and in the hind quarter he had carried off with him
  was more raw flesh than he could eat; yet it was with no equanimity that
  he    looked    down    upon    Numa     rending    the  flesh   of  Tarzan's    kill。  The
  presumption       of  this  strange    Numa     must   be   punished!     And     forthwith
  Tarzan set out to make life miserable for the big cat。 Close by were many
  trees bearing large; hard fruits and to one of these the ape…man swung with
  the    agility   of  a   squirrel。    Then     commenced        a  bombardment        which
  brought      forth  earthshaking      roars   from    Numa。     One     after   another    as
  rapidly as he could gather and hurl them; Tarzan pelted the hard fruit down
  upon the lion。       It was impossible for the tawny cat to eat under that hail
  of missileshe could but roar and growl and dodge and eventually he was
  driven away entirely from the carcass of Bara; the deer。                He went roaring
  and resentful; but in the very center of the clearing his voice was suddenly
  hushed   and   Tarzan   saw   the   great   head   lower   and   flatten   out;   the   body
  crouch and the long tail quiver; as the beast slunk cautiously toward the
  trees upon the opposite side。
  Immediately Tarzan was alert。           He lifted his head and sniffed the slow;
  jungle breeze。      What was it that had attracted Numa's attention and taken
  him soft…footed and silent away from the scene of his discomfiture? Just as
  the lion   disappeared   among   the   trees   beyond   the   clearing Tarzan   caught
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  upon the down…coming wind the explanation of his new interestthe scent
  spoor of man was wafted strongly to the sensitive nostrils。                     Caching the
  remainder   of   the   deer's   hind   quarter   in   the   crotch   of   a   tree   the   ape…man
  wiped his greasy palms upon his naked thighs and swung off in pursuit of
  Numa。       A  broad;   well…beaten   elephant   path   led into the   forest   from  the
  clearing。     Parallel   to   this   slunk   Numa;   while   above   him   Tarzan   moved
  through the trees; the shadow of a wraith。               The savage cat and the savage
  man   saw   Numa's   quarry  almost   simultaneously;   though both   had   known
  before   it   came   within   the   vision   of   their   eyes   that   it   was   a   black   man。
  Their sensitive nostrils had told them this much and Tarzan's had