ss had fallen he set about to put it
into effect. Its success hinged entirely upon the strength of the
vines he had seen surmounting the wall toward the east. In this
direction he made his way, while from out of the forest about him
the cries of the flesh-eaters increased in volume and ferocity. A
quarter of a mile intervened between the forest and the city wall--a
quarter of a mile of cultivated land unrelieved by a single tree.
Tarzan of the Apes realized his limitations and so he knew that
it would undoubtedly spell death for him to be caught in the open
space by one of the great black lions of the forest if, as he had
already surmised, Numa of the pit was a specimen of the forest lion
of the valley.

He must, therefore, depend entirely upon his cunning and his speed,
and upon the chance that the vine would sustain his weight.

He moved through the middle terrace, where the way is always
easiest, until he reached a point opposite the vine-clad portion
of the wall, and there he waited, listening and scenting, until he
might assure himself that there was no Numa within his immediate
vicinity, or, at least, none that sought him. And when he was quite
sure that there was no lion close by in the forest, and none in
the clearing between himself and the wall, he dropped lightly to
the ground and moved stealthily out into the open.

The rising moon, just topping the eastern cliffs, cast its bright
rays upon the long stretch of open garden beneath the wall. And, too,
it picked out in clear relief for any curious eyes that chanced to
be cast in that direction, the figure of the giant ape-man moving
across the clearing. It was only chance, of course, that a great
lion hunting at the edge of the forest saw the figure of the man
halfway between the forest and the wall. Suddenly there broke upon
Tarzan's ears a menacing sound. It was not the roar of a hungry
lion, but the roar of a lion in rage, and, as he glanced back in
the direction from which the sound came, he saw a huge beast moving
out from the shadow of the forest toward him.

Even in the moonlight and at a distance Tarzan saw that the lion
was huge; that it was indeed another of the black-maned monsters
similar to Numa of the pit. For an instant he was impelled to turn
and fight, but at the same time the thought of the helpless girl
imprisoned in the city flashed through his brain and, without an
instant's hesitation, Tarzan of the Apes wheeled and ran for the
wall.