stones he tossed back into the chests.

Unwittingly, the ape-man had stumbled upon the forgotten jewel-room of
Opar. For ages it had lain buried beneath the temple of the Flaming
God, midway of one of the many inky passages which the superstitious
descendants of the ancient Sun Worshipers had either dared not or cared
not to explore.

Tiring at last of this diversion, Tarzan took up his way along the
corridor which led upward from the jewel-room by a steep incline.
Winding and twisting, but always tending upward, the tunnel led him
nearer and nearer to the surface, ending finally in a low-ceiled room,
lighter than any that he had as yet discovered.

Above him an opening in the ceiling at the upper end of a flight of
concrete steps revealed a brilliant sunlit scene. Tarzan viewed the
vine-covered columns in mild wonderment. He puckered his brows in an
attempt to recall some recollection of similar things. He was not sure
of himself. There was a tantalizing suggestion always present in his
mind that something was eluding him--that he should know many things
which he did not know.

His earnest cogitation was rudely interrupted by a thunderous roar from
the opening above him. Following the roar came the cries and screams
of men and women. Tarzan grasped his spear more firmly and ascended
the steps. A strange sight met his eyes as he emerged from the
semi-darkness of the cellar to the brilliant light of the temple.

The creatures he saw before him he recognized for what they were--men
and women, and a huge lion. The men and women were scuttling for the
safety of the exits. The lion stood upon the body of one who had been
less fortunate than the others. He was in the center of the temple.
Directly before Tarzan, a woman stood beside a block of stone. Upon
the top of the stone lay stretched a man, and as the ape-man watched
the scene, he saw the lion glare terribly at the two who remained
within the temple. Another thunderous roar broke from the savage
throat, the woman screamed and swooned across the body of the man
stretched prostrate upon the stone altar before her.

The lion advanced a few steps and crouched. The tip of his sinuous
tail twitched nervously. He was upon the point of charging when his
eyes were attracted toward the ape-man.

Werper, helpless upon the altar, saw the great carnivore preparing to
leap upon him. He saw the sudden change in the beast's expression as
his eyes wandered to som