he hairless ape wished to frighten him from his
well-chosen station past which edible creatures might be expected
to wander sometime during the watches of the night.

Like lightning the cat reared and struck a vicious blow at his
tormentor with great, bared talons that might well have torn away
the ape-man's face had the blow landed; but it did not land--Tarzan
was even quicker than Sheeta. As the panther came to all fours
again upon the little platform, Tarzan un-slung his heavy spear and
prodded at the snarling face, and as Sheeta warded off the blows,
the two continued their horrid duet of blood-curdling roars and
growls.

Goaded to frenzy the cat presently determined to come up after this
disturber of his peace; but when he essayed to leap to the branch
that held Tarzan he found the sharp spear point always in his
face, and each time as he dropped back he was prodded viciously in
some tender part; but at length, rage having conquered his better
judgment, he leaped up the rough bole to the very branch upon which
Tarzan stood. Now the two faced each other upon even footing and
Sheeta saw a quick revenge and a supper all in one. The hairless
ape-thing with the tiny fangs and the puny talons would be helpless
before him.

The heavy limb bent beneath the weight of the two beasts as Sheeta
crept cautiously out upon it and Tarzan backed slowly away, growling.
The wind had risen to the proportions of a gale so that even the
greatest giants of the forest swayed, groaning, to its force and
the branch upon which the two faced each other rose and fell like
the deck of a storm-tossed ship. Goro was now entirely obscured,
but vivid flashes of lightning lit up the jungle at brief intervals,
revealing the grim tableau of primitive passion upon the swaying
limb.

Tarzan backed away, drawing Sheeta farther from the stem of the
tree and out upon the tapering branch, where his footing became
ever more precarious. The cat, infuriated by the pain of spear
wounds, was overstepping the bounds of caution. Already he had
reached a point where he could do little more than maintain a secure
footing, and it was this moment that Tarzan chose to charge. With
a roar that mingled with the booming thunder from above he leaped
toward the panther, who could only claw futilely with one huge paw
while he clung to the branch with the other; but the ape-man did
not come within that parabola of destruction. Instead he leaped
above menacing c