n in which
grew trees and shrubs and flowers in riotous profusion. Without
waiting to ascertain whether the garden was empty or contained Ho-don,
Waz-don, or wild beasts, Tarzan dropped lightly to the sward on the
inside and without further loss of time commenced a systematic
investigation of the enclosure.

His curiosity was aroused by the very evident fact that the place was
not for general use, even by those who had free access to other parts
of the palace grounds and so there was added to its natural beauties an
absence of mortals which rendered its exploration all the more alluring
to Tarzan since it suggested that in such a place might he hope to come
upon the object of his long and difficult search.

In the garden were tiny artificial streams and little pools of water,
flanked by flowering bushes, as though it all had been designed by the
cunning hand of some master gardener, so faithfully did it carry out
the beauties and contours of nature upon a miniature scale.

The interior surface of the wall was fashioned to represent the white
cliffs of Pal-ul-don, broken occasionally by small replicas of the
verdure-filled gorges of the original.

Filled with admiration and thoroughly enjoying each new surprise which
the scene offered, Tarzan moved slowly around the garden, and as always
he moved silently. Passing through a miniature forest he came presently
upon a tiny area of flowerstudded sward and at the same time beheld
before him the first Ho-don female he had seen since entering the
palace. A young and beautiful woman stood in the center of the little
open space, stroking the head of a bird which she held against her
golden breastplate with one hand. Her profile was presented to the
ape-man and he saw that by the standards of any land she would have
been accounted more than lovely.

Seated in the grass at her feet, with her back toward him, was a female
Waz-don slave. Seeing that she he sought was not there and apprehensive
that an alarm be raised were he discovered by the two women, Tarzan
moved back to hide himself in the foliage, but before he had succeeded
the Ho-don girl turned quickly toward him as though apprised of his
presence by that unnamed sense, the manifestations of which are more or
less familiar to us all.

At sight of him her eyes registered only her surprise though there was
no expression of terror reflected in them, nor did she scream or even
raise her well-modulated voice as she address