n by avarice, following
upward, until at last he stood upon the summit of the rocky hill.

Tarzan was nowhere in sight. For a time Werper hid behind one of the
lesser boulders that were scattered over the top of the hill, but,
seeing or hearing nothing of the Englishman, he crept from his place of
concealment to undertake a systematic search of his surroundings, in
the hope that he might discover the location of the treasure in ample
time to make his escape before Tarzan returned, for it was the
Belgian's desire merely to locate the gold, that, after Tarzan had
departed, he might come in safety with his followers and carry away as
much as he could transport.

He found the narrow cleft leading downward into the heart of the kopje
along well-worn, granite steps. He advanced quite to the dark mouth of
the tunnel into which the runway disappeared; but here he halted,
fearing to enter, lest he meet Tarzan returning.

The ape-man, far ahead of him, groped his way along the rocky passage,
until he came to the ancient wooden door. A moment later he stood
within the treasure chamber, where, ages since, long-dead hands had
ranged the lofty rows of precious ingots for the rulers of that great
continent which now lies submerged beneath the waters of the Atlantic.

No sound broke the stillness of the subterranean vault. There was no
evidence that another had discovered the forgotten wealth since last
the ape-man had visited its hiding place.

Satisfied, Tarzan turned and retraced his steps toward the summit of
the kopje. Werper, from the concealment of a jutting, granite
shoulder, watched him pass up from the shadows of the stairway and
advance toward the edge of the hill which faced the rim of the valley
where the Waziri awaited the signal of their master. Then Werper,
slipping stealthily from his hiding place, dropped into the somber
darkness of the entrance and disappeared.

Tarzan, halting upon the kopje's edge, raised his voice in the
thunderous roar of a lion. Twice, at regular intervals, he repeated
the call, standing in attentive silence for several minutes after the
echoes of the third call had died away. And then, from far across the
valley, faintly, came an answering roar--once, twice, thrice. Basuli,
the Waziri chieftain, had heard and replied.

Tarzan again made his way toward the treasure vault, knowing that in a
few hours his blacks would be with him, ready to bear away another
fortune in the strangel