it the
knoll himself and learn precisely what it was that the sentry had
observed through the distorting spectacles of fear. He had scarce taken
his place beside the man ere the fellow touched his arm and pointed.
"They are closer now," he whispered, "you can see them plainly." And
sure enough, not a quarter of a mile away Ja-don saw that which in his
long experience in Pal-ul-don he had never before seen--two humans
riding upon the broad back of a gryf.

At first he could scarce credit even this testimony of his own eyes,
but soon he realized that the creatures below could be naught else than
they appeared, and then he recognized the man and rose to his feet with
a loud cry.

"It is he!" he shouted to those about him. "It is the Dor-ul-Otho
himself."

The gryf and his riders heard the shout though not the words. The
former bellowed terrifically and started in the direction of the knoll,
and Ja-don, followed by a few of his more intrepid warriors, ran to
meet him. Tarzan, loath to enter an unnecessary quarrel, tried to turn
the animal, but as the beast was far from tractable it always took a
few minutes to force the will of its master upon it; and so the two
parties were quite close before the ape-man succeeded in stopping the
mad charge of his furious mount.

Ja-don and his warriors, however, had come to the realization that this
bellowing creature was bearing down upon them with evil intent and they
had assumed the better part of valor and taken to trees, accordingly.
It was beneath these trees that Tarzan finally stopped the gryf. Ja-don
called down to him.

"We are friends," he cried. "I am Ja-don, Chief of Ja-lur. I and my
warriors lay our foreheads upon the feet of Dor-ul-Otho and pray that
he will aid us in our righteous fight with Lu-don, the high priest."

"You have not defeated him yet?" asked Tarzan. "Why I thought you would
be king of Pal-ul-don long before this."

"No," replied Ja-don. "The people fear the high priest and now that he
has in the temple one whom he claims to be Jad-ben-Otho many of my
warriors are afraid. If they but knew that the Dor-ul-Otho had returned
and that he had blessed the cause of Ja-don I am sure that victory
would be ours."

Tarzan thought for a long minute and then he spoke. "Ja-don," he said,
"was one of the few who believed in me and who wished to accord me fair
treatment. I have a debt to pay to Ja-don and an account to settle with
Lu-don, not alone on my own behal