he nearby jungle
a pair of fierce eyes watched the activities of the uniformed blacks
with silent intensity and curiosity. From beneath beetling brows the
creature saw the boma constructed, the fires built, and the supper
prepared.

Tarzan and Werper had been lying bound behind a small pile of knapsacks
from the time that the company had halted; but with the preparation of
the meal completed, their guard ordered them to rise and come forward
to one of the fires where their hands would be unfettered that they
might eat.

As the giant ape-man rose, a startled expression of recognition entered
the eyes of the watcher in the jungle, and a low guttural broke from
the savage lips. Instantly Tarzan was alert, but the answering growl
died upon his lips, suppressed by the fear that it might arouse the
suspicions of the soldiers.

Suddenly an inspiration came to him. He turned toward Werper.

"I am going to speak to you in a loud voice and in a tongue which you
do not understand. Appear to listen intently to what I say, and
occasionally mumble something as though replying in the same
language--our escape may hinge upon the success of your efforts."

Werper nodded in assent and understanding, and immediately there broke
from the lips of his companion a strange jargon which might have been
compared with equal propriety to the barking and growling of a dog and
the chattering of monkeys.

The nearer soldiers looked in surprise at the ape-man. Some of them
laughed, while others drew away in evident superstitious fear. The
officer approached the prisoners while Tarzan was still jabbering, and
halted behind them, listening in perplexed interest. When Werper
mumbled some ridiculous jargon in reply his curiosity broke bounds, and
he stepped forward, demanding to know what language it was that they
spoke.

Tarzan had gauged the measure of the man's culture from the nature and
quality of his conversation during the march, and he rested the success
of his reply upon the estimate he had made.

"Greek," he explained.

"Oh, I thought it was Greek," replied the officer; "but it has been so
many years since I studied it that I was not sure. In future, however,
I will thank you to speak in a language which I am more familiar with."

Werper turned his head to hide a grin, whispering to Tarzan: "It was
Greek to him all right--and to me, too."

But one of the black soldiers mumbled in a low voice to a companion: "I
have heard t