d learned to read the simple, child's
primer and had fully realized the true and wonderful purpose of the
little bugs.

No longer did he feel shame for his hairless body or his human
features, for now his reason told him that he was of a different race
from his wild and hairy companions. He was a M-A-N, they were A-P-E-S,
and the little apes which scurried through the forest top were
M-O-N-K-E-Y-S. He knew, too, that old Sabor was a L-I-O-N-E-S-S, and
Histah a S-N-A-K-E, and Tantor an E-L-E-P-H-A-N-T. And so he learned
to read. From then on his progress was rapid. With the help of the
great dictionary and the active intelligence of a healthy mind endowed
by inheritance with more than ordinary reasoning powers he shrewdly
guessed at much which he could not really understand, and more often
than not his guesses were close to the mark of truth.

There were many breaks in his education, caused by the migratory habits
of his tribe, but even when removed from his books his active brain
continued to search out the mysteries of his fascinating avocation.

Pieces of bark and flat leaves and even smooth stretches of bare earth
provided him with copy books whereon to scratch with the point of his
hunting knife the lessons he was learning.

Nor did he neglect the sterner duties of life while following the bent
of his inclination toward the solving of the mystery of his library.

He practiced with his rope and played with his sharp knife, which he
had learned to keep keen by whetting upon flat stones.

The tribe had grown larger since Tarzan had come among them, for under
the leadership of Kerchak they had been able to frighten the other
tribes from their part of the jungle so that they had plenty to eat and
little or no loss from predatory incursions of neighbors.

Hence the younger males as they became adult found it more comfortable
to take mates from their own tribe, or if they captured one of another
tribe to bring her back to Kerchak's band and live in amity with him
rather than attempt to set up new establishments of their own, or fight
with the redoubtable Kerchak for supremacy at home.

Occasionally one more ferocious than his fellows would attempt this
latter alternative, but none had come yet who could wrest the palm of
victory from the fierce and brutal ape.

Tarzan held a peculiar position in the tribe. They seemed to consider
him one of them and yet in some way different. The older males either
ignored