well again that I
scarcely know what I am saying, really. But come, tell me all that has
happened to you."

Chapter XXI

The Village of Torture

As the little expedition of sailors toiled through the dense jungle
searching for signs of Jane Porter, the futility of their venture
became more and more apparent, but the grief of the old man and the
hopeless eyes of the young Englishman prevented the kind hearted
D'Arnot from turning back.

He thought that there might be a bare possibility of finding her body,
or the remains of it, for he was positive that she had been devoured by
some beast of prey. He deployed his men into a skirmish line from the
point where Esmeralda had been found, and in this extended formation
they pushed their way, sweating and panting, through the tangled vines
and creepers. It was slow work. Noon found them but a few miles
inland. They halted for a brief rest then, and after pushing on for a
short distance further one of the men discovered a well-marked trail.

It was an old elephant track, and D'Arnot after consulting with
Professor Porter and Clayton decided to follow it.

The path wound through the jungle in a northeasterly direction, and
along it the column moved in single file.

Lieutenant D'Arnot was in the lead and moving at a quick pace, for the
trail was comparatively open. Immediately behind him came Professor
Porter, but as he could not keep pace with the younger man D'Arnot was
a hundred yards in advance when suddenly a half dozen black warriors
arose about him.

D'Arnot gave a warning shout to his column as the blacks closed on him,
but before he could draw his revolver he had been pinioned and dragged
into the jungle.

His cry had alarmed the sailors and a dozen of them sprang forward past
Professor Porter, running up the trail to their officer's aid.

They did not know the cause of his outcry, only that it was a warning
of danger ahead. They had rushed past the spot where D'Arnot had been
seized when a spear hurled from the jungle transfixed one of the men,
and then a volley of arrows fell among them.

Raising their rifles they fired into the underbrush in the direction
from which the missiles had come.

By this time the balance of the party had come up, and volley after
volley was fired toward the concealed foe. It was these shots that
Tarzan and Jane Porter had heard.

Lieutenant Charpentier, who had been bringing up the rear of the
column, now cam