at the gates, then he dropped lightly to the ground, circled
to the opposite side of the village and approached the palisade.

At his side hung a long, rawhide rope--a natural and more dependable
evolution from the grass rope of his childhood. Loosening this, he
spread the noose upon the ground behind him, and with a quick movement
of his wrist tossed the coils over one of the sharpened projections of
the summit of the palisade.

Drawing the noose taut, he tested the solidity of its hold. Satisfied,
the ape-man ran nimbly up the vertical wall, aided by the rope which he
clutched in both hands. Once at the top it required but a moment to
gather the dangling rope once more into its coils, make it fast again
at his waist, take a quick glance downward within the palisade, and,
assured that no one lurked directly beneath him, drop softly to the
ground.

Now he was within the village. Before him stretched a series of tents
and native huts. The business of exploring each of them would be
fraught with danger; but danger was only a natural factor of each day's
life--it never appalled Tarzan. The chances appealed to him--the
chances of life and death, with his prowess and his faculties pitted
against those of a worthy antagonist.

It was not necessary that he enter each habitation--through a door, a
window or an open chink, his nose told him whether or not his prey lay
within. For some time he found one disappointment following upon the
heels of another in quick succession. No spoor of the Belgian was
discernible. But at last he came to a tent where the smell of the thief
was strong. Tarzan listened, his ear close to the canvas at the rear,
but no sound came from within.

At last he cut one of the pin ropes, raised the bottom of the canvas,
and intruded his head within the interior. All was quiet and dark.
Tarzan crawled cautiously within--the scent of the Belgian was strong;
but it was not live scent. Even before he had examined the interior
minutely, Tarzan knew that no one was within it.

In one corner he found a pile of blankets and clothing scattered about;
but no pouch of pretty pebbles. A careful examination of the balance
of the tent revealed nothing more, at least nothing to indicate the
presence of the jewels; but at the side where the blankets and clothing
lay, the ape-man discovered that the tent wall had been loosened at the
bottom, and presently he sensed that the Belgian had recently passed
out of