e looked upon almost as equals
by the Oparians. Among the legends of Opar were tales of godlike men
of the olden time and of black men who had come more recently; but
these latter had been enemies who killed and robbed. And, too, these
legends always held forth the hope that some day that nameless
continent from which their race had sprung, would rise once more out of
the sea and with slaves at the long sweeps would send her carven,
gold-picked galleys forth to succor the long-exiled colonists.

The coming of Tarzan had aroused within La's breast the wild hope that
at last the fulfillment of this ancient prophecy was at hand; but more
strongly still had it aroused the hot fires of love in a heart that
never otherwise would have known the meaning of that all-consuming
passion, for such a wondrous creature as La could never have felt love
for any of the repulsive priests of Opar. Custom, duty and religious
zeal might have commanded the union; but there could have been no love
on La's part. She had grown to young womanhood a cold and heartless
creature, daughter of a thousand other cold, heartless, beautiful women
who had never known love. And so when love came to her it liberated
all the pent passions of a thousand generations, transforming La into a
pulsing, throbbing volcano of desire, and with desire thwarted this
great force of love and gentleness and sacrifice was transmuted by its
own fires into one of hatred and revenge.

It was in a state of mind superinduced by these conditions that La led
forth her jabbering company to retrieve the sacred emblem of her high
office and wreak vengeance upon the author of her wrongs. To Werper
she gave little thought. The fact that the knife had been in his hand
when it departed from Opar brought down no thoughts of vengeance upon
his head. Of course, he should be slain when captured; but his death
would give La no pleasure--she looked for that in the contemplated
death agonies of Tarzan. He should be tortured. His should be a slow
and frightful death. His punishment should be adequate to the
immensity of his crime. He had wrested the sacred knife from La; he
had lain sacreligious hands upon the High Priestess of the Flaming God;
he had desecrated the altar and the temple. For these things he should
die; but he had scorned the love of La, the woman, and for this he
should die horribly with great anguish.

The march of La and her priests was not without its adventures