thus glaring at the lad, then slowly,
stealthily, crouching, they crept toward him. It was thus that Tarzan
came upon them, bursting into the chamber swiftly and silently; but not
so silently that the keen-eared beasts did not note his coming. With
angry growls they turned from Tibo upon the ape-man, as, with a smile
upon his lips, he ran toward them. For an instant one of the animals
stood its ground; but the ape-man did not deign even to draw his
hunting knife against despised Dango. Rushing in upon the brute he
grasped it by the scruff of the neck, just as it attempted to dodge
past him, and hurled it across the cavern after its fellow which
already was slinking into the corridor, bent upon escape.

Then Tarzan picked Tibo from the floor, and when the child felt human
hands upon him instead of the paws and fangs of the hyenas, he rolled
his eyes upward in surprise and incredulity, and as they fell upon
Tarzan, sobs of relief broke from the childish lips and his hands
clutched at his deliverer as though the white devil-god was not the
most feared of jungle creatures.

When Tarzan came to the cave mouth the hyenas were nowhere in sight,
and after permitting Tibo to quench his thirst in the spring which rose
near by, he lifted the boy to his shoulders and set off toward the
jungle at a rapid trot, determined to still the annoying howlings of
Momaya as quickly as possible, for he shrewdly had guessed that the
absence of her balu was the cause of her lamentation.

"He is not dead at the bottom of the river," cried Bukawai. "What does
this fellow know about making magic? Who is he, anyway, that he dare
say Bukawai's magic is not good magic? Bukawai sees Momaya's son. He
is far away and alone and in great danger. Hasten then with the ten
fat goats, the--"

But he got no further. There was a sudden interruption from above,
from the branches of the very tree beneath which they squatted, and as
the five blacks looked up they almost swooned in fright as they saw the
great, white devil-god looking down upon them; but before they could
flee they saw another face, that of the lost little Tibo, and his face
was laughing and very happy.

And then Tarzan dropped fearlessly among them, the boy still upon his
back, and deposited him before his mother. Momaya, Ibeto, Rabba Kega,
and Mbonga were all crowding around the lad trying to question him at
the same time. Suddenly Momaya turned ferociously to fall upon
Bukawai,