an instant he paused, listening intently, "An
aeroplane!" he muttered, and hastened forward at greatly increased
speed.

When Tarzan of the Apes finally reached the edge of the meadowland
where Smith-Oldwick's plane had landed, he took in the entire scene
in one quick glance and grasped the situation, although he could
scarce give credence to the things he saw. Bound and helpless,
the English officer lay upon the ground at one side of the meadow,
while around him stood a number of the black deserters from the
German command. Tarzan had seen these men before and knew who they
were. Coming toward him down the meadow was an aeroplane piloted
by the black Usanga and in the seat behind the pilot was the white
girl, Bertha Kircher. How it befell that the ignorant savage could
operate the plane, Tarzan could not guess nor had he time in which
to speculate upon the subject. His knowledge of Usanga, together
with the position of the white man, told him that the black sergeant
was attempting to carry off the white girl. Why he should be doing
this when he had her in his power and had also captured and secured
the only creature in the jungle who might wish to defend her in so
far as the black could know, Tarzan could not guess, for he knew
nothing of Usanga's twenty-four dream wives nor of the black's
fear of the horrid temper of Naratu, his present mate. He did not
know, then, that Usanga had determined to fly away with the white
girl never to return, and to put so great a distance between himself
and Naratu that the latter never could find him again; but it was
this very thing that was in the black's mind although not even his
own warriors guessed it. He had told them that he would take the
captive to a sultan of the north and there obtain a great price for
her and that when he returned they should have some of the spoils.

These things Tarzan did not know. All he knew was what he saw--a
Negro attempting to fly away with a white girl. Already the
machine was slowly leaving the ground. In a moment more it would
rise swiftly out of reach. At first Tarzan thought of fitting an
arrow to his bow and slaying Usanga, but as quickly he abandoned
the idea because he knew that the moment the pilot was slain the
machine, running wild, would dash the girl to death among the trees.

There was but one way in which he might hope to succor her--a way
which if it failed must send him to instant death and yet he did
not hesitate in an att