ssing.

It was during this dance that the ape-man first noticed that some of
the men and many of the women wore ornaments of gold--principally
anklets and armlets of great weight, apparently beaten out of the solid
metal. When he expressed a wish to examine one of these, the owner
removed it from her person and insisted, through the medium of signs,
that Tarzan accept it as a gift. A close scrutiny of the bauble
convinced the ape-man that the article was of virgin gold, and he was
surprised, for it was the first time that he had ever seen golden
ornaments among the savages of Africa, other than the trifling baubles
those near the coast had purchased or stolen from Europeans. He tried
to ask them from whence the metal came, but he could not make them
understand.

When the dance was done Tarzan signified his intention to leave them,
but they almost implored him to accept the hospitality of a great hut
which the chief set apart for his sole use. He tried to explain that
he would return in the morning, but they could not understand. When he
finally walked away from them toward the side of the village opposite
the gate, they were still further mystified as to his intentions.

Tarzan, however, knew just what he was about. In the past he had had
experience with the rodents and vermin that infest every native
village, and, while he was not overscrupulous about such matters, he
much preferred the fresh air of the swaying trees to the fetid
atmosphere of a hut.

The natives followed him to where a great tree overhung the palisade,
and as Tarzan leaped for a lower branch and disappeared into the
foliage above, precisely after the manner of Manu, the monkey, there
were loud exclamations of surprise and astonishment. For half an hour
they called to him to return, but as he did not answer them they at
last desisted, and sought the sleeping-mats within their huts.

Tarzan went back into the forest a short distance until he had found a
tree suited to his primitive requirements, and then, curling himself in
a great crotch, he fell immediately into a deep sleep.

The following morning he dropped into the village street as suddenly as
he had disappeared the preceding night. For a moment the natives were
startled and afraid, but when they recognized their guest of the night
before they welcomed him with shouts and laughter. That day he
accompanied a party of warriors to the nearby plains on a great hunt,
and so dexterous di