size of the hole in the pit
covering was too small to have accommodated the huge bulk of an
elephant. At first they thought that their prey had put one great foot
through the top and then, warned, drawn back; but when they had come to
the pit's verge and peered over, their eyes went wide in astonishment,
for, quiet and still, at the bottom lay the naked figure of a white
giant.

Some of them there had glimpsed this forest god before and they drew
back in terror, awed by the presence which they had for some time
believed to possess the miraculous powers of a demon; but others there
were who pushed forward, thinking only of the capture of an enemy, and
these leaped into the pit and lifted Tarzan out.

There was no scar upon his body. None of the sharpened stakes had
pierced him--only a swollen spot at the base of the brain indicated the
nature of his injury. In the falling backward his head had struck upon
the side of one of the stakes, rendering him unconscious. The blacks
were quick to discover this, and equally quick to bind their prisoner's
arms and legs before he should regain consciousness, for they had
learned to harbor a wholesome respect for this strange man-beast that
consorted with the hairy tree folk.

They had carried him but a short distance toward their village when the
ape-man's eyelids quivered and raised. He looked about him wonderingly
for a moment, and then full consciousness returned and he realized the
seriousness of his predicament. Accustomed almost from birth to
relying solely upon his own resources, he did not cast about for
outside aid now, but devoted his mind to a consideration of the
possibilities for escape which lay within himself and his own powers.

He did not dare test the strength of his bonds while the blacks were
carrying him, for fear they would become apprehensive and add to them.
Presently his captors discovered that he was conscious, and as they had
little stomach for carrying a heavy man through the jungle heat, they
set him upon his feet and forced him forward among them, pricking him
now and then with their spears, yet with every manifestation of the
superstitious awe in which they held him.

When they discovered that their prodding brought no outward evidence of
suffering, their awe increased, so that they soon desisted, half
believing that this strange white giant was a supernatural being and so
was immune from pain.

As they approached their village, they shoute