er proportion of the warriors, was to attack the palace gates.

The ape-man, leading his little band, moved stealthily through the
winding alleys of A-lur, arriving undetected at the building which hid
the entrance to the secret passageway. This spot being best protected
by the fact that its existence was unknown to others than the priests,
was unguarded. To facilitate the passage of his little company through
the narrow winding, uneven tunnel, Tarzan lighted a torch which had
been brought for the purpose and preceding his warriors led the way
toward the temple.

That he could accomplish much once he reached the inner chambers of the
temple with his little band of picked warriors the ape-man was
confident since an attack at this point would bring confusion and
consternation to the easily overpowered priests, and permit Tarzan to
attack the palace forces in the rear at the same time that Ja-don
engaged them at the palace gates, while Ta-den and his forces swarmed
the northern walls. Great value had been placed by Ja-don on the moral
effect of the Dor-ul-Otho's mysterious appearance in the heart of the
temple and he had urged Tarzan to take every advantage of the old
chieftain's belief that many of Lu-don's warriors still wavered in
their allegiance between the high priest and the Dor-ul-Otho, being
held to the former more by the fear which he engendered in the breasts
of all his followers than by any love or loyalty they might feel toward
him.

There is a Pal-ul-donian proverb setting forth a truth similar to that
contained in the old Scotch adage that "The best laid schemes o' mice
and men gang aft a-gley." Freely translated it might read, "He who
follows the right trail sometimes reaches the wrong destination," and
such apparently was the fate that lay in the footsteps of the great
chieftain of the north and his godlike ally.

Tarzan, more familiar with the windings of the corridors than his
fellows and having the advantage of the full light of the torch, which
at best was but a dim and flickering affair, was some distance ahead of
the others, and in his keen anxiety to close with the enemy he gave too
little thought to those who were to support him. Nor is this strange,
since from childhood the ape-man had been accustomed to fight the
battles of life single-handed so that it had become habitual for him to
depend solely upon his own cunning and prowess.

And so it was that he came into the upper corridor from whic