ble upon all those near him. With one accord they shrank back,
the spokesman almost collapsing in evident terror. His apologies, when
finally the paralysis of his fear would permit him to voice them, were
so abject that the ape-man could scarce repress a smile of amused
contempt.

"Have mercy, O Dor-ul-Otho," he pleaded, "on poor old Dak-lot. Precede
me and I will show you to where Ko-tan, the king, awaits you,
trembling. Aside, snakes and vermin," he cried pushing his warriors to
right and left for the purpose of forming an avenue for Tarzan.

"Come!" cried the ape-man peremptorily, "lead the way, and let these
others follow."

The now thoroughly frightened Dak-lot did as he was bid, and Tarzan of
the Apes was ushered into the palace of Kotan, King of Pal-ul-don.

9

Blood-Stained Altars

The entrance through which he caught his first glimpse of the interior
was rather beautifully carved in geometric designs, and within the
walls were similarly treated, though as he proceeded from one apartment
to another he found also the figures of animals, birds, and men taking
their places among the more formal figures of the mural decorator's
art. Stone vessels were much in evidence as well as ornaments of gold
and the skins of many animals, but nowhere did he see an indication of
any woven fabric, indicating that in that respect at least the Ho-don
were still low in the scale of evolution, and yet the proportions and
symmetry of the corridors and apartments bespoke a degree of
civilization.

The way led through several apartments and long corridors, up at least
three flights of stone stairs and finally out upon a ledge upon the
western side of the building overlooking the blue lake. Along this
ledge, or arcade, his guide led him for a hundred yards, to stop at
last before a wide entrance-way leading into another apartment of the
palace.

Here Tarzan beheld a considerable concourse of warriors in an enormous
apartment, the domed ceiling of which was fully fifty feet above the
floor. Almost filling the chamber was a great pyramid ascending in
broad steps well up under the dome in which were a number of round
apertures which let in the light. The steps of the pyramid were
occupied by warriors to the very pinnacle, upon which sat a large,
imposing figure of a man whose golden trappings shone brightly in the
light of the afternoon sun, a shaft of which poured through one of the
tiny apertures of the dome.

"Ko-tan!" c