easier dinner. So Tarzan came to his cabin unattended, and a few
moments later was curled up in the mildewed remnants of what had
once been a bed of grasses. Thus easily did Monsieur Jean C. Tarzan
slough the thin skin of his artificial civilization, and sink happy
and contented into the deep sleep of the wild beast that has fed
to repletion. Yet a woman's "yes" would have bound him to that
other life forever, and made the thought of this savage existence
repulsive.

Tarzan slept late into the following forenoon, for he had been very
tired from the labors and exertion of the long night and day upon
the ocean, and the jungle jaunt that had brought into play muscles
that he had scarce used for nearly two years. When he awoke he ran
to the brook first to drink. Then he took a plunge into the sea,
swimming about for a quarter of an hour. Afterward he returned to
his cabin, and breakfasted off the flesh of Horta. This done, he
buried the balance of the carcass in the soft earth outside the
cabin, for his evening meal.

Once more he took his rope and vanished into the jungle. This time
he hunted nobler quarry--man; although had you asked him his own
opinion he could have named a dozen other denizens of the jungle which
he considered far the superiors in nobility of the men he hunted.
Today Tarzan was in quest of weapons. He wondered if the women
and children had remained in Mbonga's village after the punitive
expedition from the French cruiser had massacred all the warriors
in revenge for D'Arnot's supposed death. He hoped that he should
find warriors there, for he knew not how long a quest he should
have to make were the village deserted.