that it was with difficulty the girl maintained her guard,
and all the time was forced to give ground step by step. She had
reached the point where she was standing squarely against the couch
at the side of the room when, with an incredibly swift movement,
Metak stooped and grasping a low stool hurled it directly at her
head.

She raised the spear to fend off the heavy missile, but she was
not entirely successful, and the impact of the blow carried her
backward upon the couch, and instantly Metak was upon her.

Tarzan and Smith-Oldwick gave little thought as to what had become
of the other two occupants of the room. They were gone, and so far
as these two were concerned they might never return. Tarzan's one
desire was to reach the street again, where, now that both of them
were in some sort of disguise, they should be able to proceed with
comparative safety to the palace and continue their search for the
girl.

Smith-Oldwick preceded Tarzan along the corridor and as they reached
the ladder he climbed aloft to remove the trap. He worked for a
moment and then, turning, addressed Tarzan.

"Did we replace the cover on this trap when we came down? I don't
recall that we did."

"No," said Tarzan, "it was left open."

"So I thought," said Smith-Oldwick, "but it's closed now and locked.
I cannot move it. Possibly you can," and he descended the ladder.

Even Tarzan's immense strength, however, had no effect other than
to break one of the rungs of the ladder against which he was pushing,
nearly precipitating him to the floor below. After the rung broke
he rested for a moment before renewing his efforts, and as he stood
with his head near the cover of the trap, he distinctly heard voices
on the roof above him.

Dropping down to Oldwick's side he told him what he had heard. "We
had better find some other way out," he said, and the two started
to retrace their steps toward the alcove. Tarzan was again in the
lead, and as he opened the door in the back of the niche, he was
suddenly startled to hear, in tones of terror and in a woman's
voice, the words: "O God, be merciful" from just beyond the hangings.

Here was no time for cautious investigation and, not even waiting
to find the aperture and part the hangings, but with one sweep of
a brawny hand dragging them from their support, the ape-man leaped
from the niche into the alcove.

At the sound of his entry the maniac looked up, and as he saw at
first only a man in t