Jan of the Jungle (19 page)

One of the archers, observing that the advancing tiger did not appear any more ferocious than a house cat confronted by a dish of milk, fitted a barbed arrow to the string, and nudged his companion.

"The youth is waiting for a close, careful shot," he said, "hoping it will be deadly. Watch me spoil his plans." He drew the arrow back to his ear, took deliberate aim, and let fly.

At the twang of the bowstring the feline looked up curiously. Then, as the cruel barb suddenly stung its shoulder, it gave vent to a roar of rage and charged, not at Jan in the center of the arena, but straight for the archer who had launched the arrow.

It was fully fifteen feet from the floor of the arena to the lowest tier, but the tiger made it in a single graceful leap. Before the astonished and horrified archer could draw his sword, the great cat was upon him. A single crunch of the powerful jaws crushed his head to bloody pulp.

All this took place in a few seconds, but during that brief time Jan had not been idle. As the great beast launched itself into the air, he sent an arrow into its side. By the time it had slain the archer he had sent a second arrow after the first.

Then he saw the monster knocking armored soldiers right and left with sledge-hammer blows from its powerful front paws as it made straight for the golden throne. There were cries of horror from the spectators-shrieks of terror from the ladies who sat with the nobles on each side of the throne.

The Emperor stood up and drew his sword. The Empress turned deathly pale, but stood her ground. There was but a thin line of soldiers between the monster and the throne.

Jan cared nothing for the archers and the soldiers. He cared nothing for the fate of the Emperor. All these were his enemies. But the Empress had smiled at him, with a smile that reminded him of Ramona. And she had interceded with her husband for him. She was his friend; and she was in deadly peril.

Dropping his bow, Jan sprinted for the gateway beneath the throne. Reaching it, he leaped upward, grasped the ornamental rim of the arch above it, and drew himself up. Just above the arch hung the imperial banner of Satmu, draped over the wall. Jan seized a golden tassel, pulled himself up, and grasping the edge of the banner, clambered upward.

Flinging an arm over the rim of the wall, he swung his body across. Then he whipped out his shortsword and charged over the fallen warriors in the wake of the flailing, roaring tiger.

Between the throne and the charging fury there remained but one man. He was Telapu, son of Samsu, Captain of the Imperial Guard and Crown Warrior. Despite his armor and his longsword, Telapu could not bring himself to face the monster that had knocked his men about like ninepins. With a shriek of terror, he turned and ran, leaving the Emperor and Empress to face the beast unguarded.

It was at this moment that Jan came up behind the tiger. With a mighty leap he alighted on the shaggy back, and grasping the loose skin of the neck, thrust his shortsword in to the hilt just beneath the shoulder blade.

Sounding a frightful roar, the great cat turned to seize its foe. But it toppled backward. Jan and the tiger rolled together to the lowest tier, where they brought up against the edge of the wall with terrific force.

As they lay there motionless, apparently locked in a death embrace, it was the Emperor who first dashed down the steps to Jan's aid. Lifting a heavy paw which lay across Jan's chest, he dragged his limp body away from that of his terrible foe.

Then he shouted for the royal physician and attendants. The Empress, who had hurried after him, bent over the youth and laid her hand over his heart.

"May Re be praised!" she exclaimed. "He lives! You must see that he is fittingly rewarded for this brave deed, my lord."

"Such reward as is in our power to confer shall be his," replied the Emperor. Then he uttered a sudden exclamation of surprise as he noticed the emblem tattooed in the palm of Jan's right hand. "Look! The sacred lotus! This is no common savage, but a prince of the blood imperial! It accounts for his extraordinary bravery."

"You forget, my lord," said Nefertre, "that Telapu is also of the blood imperial. Does this, then, account for his cowardice?"

"It's a different strain," replied Mena; "a throw-back, which by Heru and Anpu I'll weed from my ranks!...But here's the doctor."

Jan wakened in a soft bed beneath yellow silken coverlets in which were embroidered the imperial coat of arms of Satmu. His head, shoulder and arm were neatly bandaged, and his tattered garments of jaguar skin had been replaced with a silken sleeping wrap.

When he sat up and saw the magnificence of the bedchamber, he thought at first that he had arrived in that beautiful place called heaven, which Ramona had described. But his head swam dizzily, and he subsided to the pillow once more. He recalled rolling down the tiers of the amphitheater in the dying clutch of the tiger, and the conviction, as his head struck the wall, that his time had come to sleep the long sleep.

But there was a saffron-skinned Temukanese slave standing at the foot of his bed. Had this slave also gone to heaven?

"Where are we?" he asked.

"In the Imperial Palace, highness," replied the slave respectfully.

"Where is Prince Koh of Temukan?" asked Jan.

"He awaits the permission of the royal physician to visit your highness, before beginning his journey."

"Tell the royal physician I want to see the prince now," said Jan.

The slave bowed low and withdrew. In a few moments he returned with a tall, dignified man, whose upper lip and jowls were shaven, but whose chin was adorned with a short gray beard, rectangular in shape and plaited with fine gold threads.

"I am Usephais, the doctor, highness," he said. "So you would entertain visitors? It must be that you are recovering rapidly. Let us see."

He unwound Jan's bandages, one by one, and examined his wounds. Then he listened to his heart, and felt his brow for fever.

"Head ache?" he asked.

"Not much," replied Jan, "but it swims when I sit up."

"I know. That will pass. Here drink this."

He dissolved a powder in a glass of wine and held it to the patient's lips.

Jan drank, and immediately felt a grateful glow suffusing him.

"We'll have you up and around in a day or two," said Usephais, "but for the present you must stay in bed. You may see your friend, however."

He withdrew, and within a short time, Prince Koh was kneeling at the bedside.

"I don't know how to thank you," he said, gripping Jan's hand. "Since your brilliant defense of their majesties, yesterday, I've been treated as a visiting prince rather than a captured slave. And I'm to leave for my native kingdom of Temukan today with an escort."

Some time later Jan was visited by the Emperor and Empress. Because of his ignorance of human customs or the formality of courts, he had no idea of the honor bestowed upon him by such a visit, but he flushed 'under their enthusiastic praise of his valor, and something within him that had always longed for the care and love of a real human mother responded to the maternal ministrations of the beautiful Nefertre, who could talk to him so soothingly, and whose cool, soft hand upon his brow seemed to bestow a healing benediction.

By order of the royal physician, he was kept in his apartments for three days. On the fourth he was summoned to the imperial audience chamber.

The page who brought the summons was followed by a half dozen slaves, who bore quilted silken garments, gold-plated armor and weapons. While the Emperor's messenger waited, the slaves quickly dressed Jan in the silken garments, fastened his armor on him, and belted his sword and dagger about his waist. Then he followed the page to the throne room.

Mena was seated on a jewel-studded golden throne, on a dais at one end of the room. Above the back of the throne, a brilliantly polished golden globe, representing the sun, was supported by three images: a blue one of Aset, cut from lapis lazuli; a white one of Asar, carved from alabaster; and a black one of Set, sculptured from polished jet.

Standing at each side of the throne were the leading nobles officials and dignitaries of the realm, including the High Priest of Asar and that of Set, and the High Priestess of Aset.

As Jan and the page entered the room, a major-domo announced:

"His Royal Highness Prince Jan."

Then the page conducted him to the foot of the throne, while every voice was hushed, and every eye was turned upon him.

The Emperor stood up to receive him, an unusual honor, and made public acknowledgement of the crown's indebtedness to him for his act of heroism at the games.

Then the monarch resumed his seat and glanced over to the left where Samsu High Priest of Set, stood with a little group of his black-clad followers.

"I believe you have a petition, Samsu," he said.

"I have, your majesty," replied the High Priest. "The savage who stands before your throne blinded the holy Sebek. I ask that he be given into my hands, that he may be punished for this sacrilege."

"He has already stood trial by combat on that score," replied Mena. "The incident is closed."

"In the name of the great god Set I demand justice!" said Samsu his skull-like face working.

"Well, then, justice you shall have," said Mena. "Telapu!"

Standing at the right of the throne, Samsu's craven son turned deathly pale, and his knees quaked violently when he suddenly heard his name spoken by the Emperor. Nothing had been said to him about his display of cowardice at the games and he was beginning to believe that on account of the influence of his father, the matter had been overlooked.

"Yes, your majesty," he replied, his voice quavering.

"Your services as Captain of the Imperial Guard are no longer required. The title of Crown Warrior is yours no longer. I return you to your father and to the ranks of the black ones. Go!"

The eyes of Samsu flashed an angry green. Here was a decided setback to his ambition. For Mena had no heir, and he had hoped to place his son in line for succession to the throne of Satmu. But he dared not utter a word of protest. As Telapu, pale and tearful, stumbled over to "where he stood, he kept his head bowed.

"Prince Jan," said Mena rising once more. "In the presence of these witnesses, I name you Crown Warrior and Captain of the Imperial Guard."

He raised his hand dismissing the court.

Samsu, his face plainly showing his hate and envy, departed with his disgraced son and his black-clad followers, while the other courtiers crowded around Jan to congratulate him.

SHORTLY AFTER Jan returned to his quarters a page entered and bowed before him.

"Your highness's slave by combat awaits leave to come into your presence," he said.

"My slave by combat? What do you mean?"

"It is the one your highness overcame in the arena. Shall I send him in?"

"Yes."

A moment later a slender, stately individual, whose iron-gray beard was trimmed to a sharp point, and whose neat court attire and well-groomed person proclaimed his gentility, walked into the apartment. Wrapped around his head was a clean white bandage. Jan, who had expected to see the hairy wild man he had vanquished at the games, was astounded. Yet on close scrutiny, there seemed to be a slight resemblance between this man and the one he had stunned with his club.

"Who are you?" asked Jan.

"I am Sir Henry Westgate of the outer world," replied the man, accenting his Satmuan speech as if unfamiliar with its use yet understanding it. "I have been told you came here from the outer world. What language did you speak there?"

"English," replied Jan. "Also a few Indian and Spanish words.

"I am English," said Sir Henry. "These people tell me I become your slave since you vanquished me in the arena. I do not remember fighting you. Can you tell me about it?"

Jan told him how he had first seen him in a cage next to his beneath the seats of the amphitheater and of the fights that followed.

When he had finished, the Englishman said:

"This is terrible-tragic! I must have lost my memory for years. No doubt that blow in the arena restored it. They tell me I was captured, quite naked, with a band of hairy men, who were brought in for the games.

"I was exploring the jungle, looking for a way to this very city, the existence of which I suspected. As I wandered through the wilds I lost many members of my expedition. Some fell prey to wild beasts, some to the long arrows and poisonous darts of the savages, and some to the fever. Finally, when I was reduced to but four followers, I left camp one morning on a lone trip of exploration. After traveling several miles I came to a tall cliff. I am a trained climber, and had brought a rope. After hours of effort I succeeded in reaching the top of that cliff, and found that I was on the top of a long ridge about five hundred feet wide, enclosing a vast green valley. With my field glasses I made out what looked like a good-sized city about fifteen miles from where I stood. I was sure this was the city for which I had been searching.

"There was a shelf about fifty feet below, and beneath this a number of other shelves. I had a sixty-foot rope, and this I made fast about the base of a stunted tree that grew on the cliff top. Then I let myself down over the cliff. I reached the first shelf without mishap, and the second.

"As I was descending to the third I heard shouts below me--sounds manlike and yet beast-like. Looking down; I saw a score of primitive beast-men, bearded, whose bodies were covered with hair. They began to hurl sticks and stones up at me. I tried to scramble back up on the shelf, but a missile struck the side of my head, and all went black.

"I remember nothing more that happened until I returned to consciousness here in the palace three days ago. I know only that years must have passed, because my hair and beard grew so long and turned so gray."

"And now you wish to go back to the outer world?" asked Jan.

No. I prefer to remain here in Satmu, to study its people. It is a privilege for which I would give many years of my life."

"Then do so," said Jan. "If the fact that I knocked you unconscious made you my slave, you are free from now on," and extended his hand, as he had seen white men do. The English scientist took it gratefully.