To him they had been little different from any of the various forms of life he had been accustomed to in his native jungle, where practically all were his enemies.
"Your pride has been wounded," said D'Arnot, in conclusion.
"It is the fact that this man overcame you that hurts the most.
But you need feel no shame.You would not make apologies for defeat had you been penned in that small room with an African lion, or with the great Gorilla of the jungles.
"And yet you were battling with muscles that have time and time again been pitted, and always victoriously, against these terrors of the dark continent.It is no disgrace to fall beneath the superhuman strength of Tarzan of the Apes."And then, as the men stood looking first at Tarzan and then at their superior the ape-man did the one thing which was needed to erase the last remnant of animosity which they might have felt for him.With outstretched hand he advanced toward them.
"I am sorry for the mistake I made," he said simply."Let us be friends." And that was the end of the whole matter, except that Tarzan became a subject of much conversation in the barracks of the police, and increased the number of his friends by four brave men at least.
On their return to D'Arnot's apartments the lieutenant found a letter awaiting him from an English friend, William Cecil Clayton, Lord Greystoke.The two had maintained a correspondence since the birth of their friendship on that ill-fated expedition in search of Jane Porter after her theft by Terkoz, the bull ape.
"They are to be married in London in about two months,"said D'Arnot, as he completed his perusal of the letter.
Tarzan did not need to be told who was meant by "they."He made no reply, but he was very quiet and thoughtful during the balance of the day.
That evening they attended the opera.Tarzan's mind was still occupied by his gloomy thoughts.He paid little or no attention to what was transpiring upon the stage.Instead he saw only the lovely vision of a beautiful American girl, and heard naught but a sad, sweet voice acknowledging that his love was returned.And she was to marry another!
He shook himself to be rid of his unwelcome thoughts, and at the same instant he felt eyes upon him.With the instinct that was his by virtue of training he looked up squarely into the eyes that were looking at him, to find that they were shining from the smiling face of Olga, Countess de Coude.As Tarzan returned her bow he was positive that there was an invitation in her look, almost a plea.
The next intermission found him beside her in her box.
"I have so much wished to see you," she was saying.
"It has troubled me not a little to think that after the service you rendered to both my husband and myself no adequate explanation was ever made you of what must have seemed ingratitude on our part in not taking the necessary steps to prevent a repetition of the attacks upon us by those two men.""You wrong me," replied Tarzan."My thoughts of you have been only the most pleasant.You must not feel that any explanation is due me.Have they annoyed you further?""They never cease," she replied sadly."I feel that I must tell some one, and I do not know another who so deserves an explanation as you.You must permit me to do so.It may be of service to you, for I know Nikolas Rokoff quite well enough to be positive that you have not seen the last of him.
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wish to tell you may be of aid to you in combating any scheme of revenge he may harbor.I cannot tell you here, but tomorrow I shall be at home to Monsieur Tarzan at five.""It will be an eternity until tomorrow at five," he said, as he bade her good night.
From a corner of the theater Rokoff and Paulvitch saw Monsieur Tarzan in the box of the Countess de Coude, and both men smiled.
At four-thirty the following afternoon a swarthy, bearded man rang the bell at the servants' entrance of the palace of the Count de Coude.The footman who opened the door raised his eyebrows in recognition as he saw who stood without.
A low conversation passed between the two.
At first the footman demurred from some proposition that the bearded one made, but an instant later something passed from the hand of the caller to the hand of the servant.Then the latter turned and led the visitor by a roundabout way to a little curtained alcove off the apartment in which the countess was wont to serve tea of an afternoon.
A half hour later Tarzan was ushered into the room, and presently his hostess entered, smiling, and with outstretched hands.
"I am so glad that you came," she said.
"Nothing could have prevented," he replied.
For a few moments they spoke of the opera, of the topics that were then occupying the attention of Paris, of the pleasure of renewing their brief acquaintance which had had its inception under such odd circumstances, and this brought them to the subject that was uppermost in the minds of both.
"You must have wondered," said the countess finally, "what the object of Rokoff's persecution could be.It is very simple.
The count is intrusted with many of the vital secrets of the ministry of war.He often has in his possession papers that foreign powers would give a fortune to possess--secrets of state that their agents would commit murder and worse than murder to learn.
"There is such a matter now in his possession that would make the fame and fortune of any Russian who could divulge it to his government.Rokoff and Paulvitch are Russian spies.They will stop at nothing to procure this information.The affair on the liner--I mean the matter of the card game--was for the purpose of blackmailing the knowledge they seek from my husband.
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They intended to hold this club over him--the price of an avowal on their part that the count was but the victim of the plot of enemies who wished to besmirch his name was to have been the papers they seek.
