As the leopard leaped for the great ape Meriem gasped in surpriseand horror--not for the impending fate of the anthropoid, but atthe act of the youth who but for an instant before had angrilystruck his strange companion; for scarce had the carnivore burstinto view than with drawn knife the youth had leaped far out abovehim, so that as Sheeta was almost in the act of sinking fangsand talons in Akut's broad back The Killer landed full upon theleopard's shoulders.

The cat halted in mid air, missed the ape by but a hair'sbreadth, and with horrid snarlings rolled over upon its back,clutching and clawing in an effort to reach and dislodge theantagonist biting at its neck and knifing it in the side.

Akut, startled by the sudden rush from his rear, and followinghoary instinct, was in the tree beside the girl with an agilitylittle short of marvelous in so heavy a beast. But the momentthat he turned to see what was going on below him brought him asquickly to the ground again. Personal differences were quicklyforgotten in the danger which menaced his human companion, norwas he a whit less eager to jeopardize his own safety in theservice of his friend than Korak had been to succor him.

The result was that Sheeta presently found two ferocious creaturestearing him to ribbons. Shrieking, snarling and growling, thethree rolled hither and thither among the underbrush, whilewith staring eyes the sole spectator of the battle royal crouchedtrembling in the tree above them hugging Geeka frantically toher breast.

It was the boy's knife which eventually decided the battle, andas the fierce feline shuddered convulsively and rolled over uponits side the youth and the ape rose and faced one another acrossthe prostrate carcass. Korak jerked his head in the direction ofthe little girl in the tree.

"Leave her alone," he said; "she is mine."

Akut grunted, blinked his blood-shot eyes, and turned towardthe body of Sheeta. Standing erect upon it he threw out hisgreat chest, raised his face toward the heavens and gave voiceto so horrid a scream that once again the little girl shudderedand shrank. It was the victory cry of the bull ape that has madea kill. The boy only looked on for a moment in silence; then heleaped into the tree again to the girl's side. Akut presentlyrejoined them. For a few minutes he busied himself licking hiswounds, then he wandered off to hunt his breakfast.

For many months the strange life of the three went on unmarkedby any unusual occurrences. At least without any occurrencesthat seemed unusual to the youth or the ape; but to the littlegirl it was a constant nightmare of horrors for days and weeks,until she too became accustomed to gazing into the eyeless socketsof death and to the feel of the icy wind of his shroud-like mantle. Slowly she learned the rudiments of the only common medium ofthought exchange which her companions possessed--the language ofthe great apes. More quickly she perfected herself in jungle craft,so that the time soon came when she was an important factor in thechase, watching while the others slept, or helping them to trace thespoor of whatever prey they might be stalking. Akut accepted her ona footing which bordered upon equality when it was necessary for themto come into close contact; but for the most part he avoided her.The youth always was kind to her, and if there were many occasionsupon which he felt the burden of her presence he hid it from her. Finding that the night damp and chill caused her discomfort and evensuffering, Korak constructed a tight little shelter high among theswaying branches of a giant tree. Here little Meriem slept incomparative warmth and safety, while The Killer and the ape perchedupon near-by branches, the former always before the entrance to thelofty domicile, where he best could guard its inmate from the dangersof arboreal enemies. They were too high to feel much fear of Sheeta;but there was always Histah, the snake, to strike terror to one's soul,and the great baboons who lived near-by, and who, while never attackingalways bared their fangs and barked at any of the trio when they passednear them.

After the construction of the shelter the activities of the threebecame localized. They ranged less widely, for there was alwaysthe necessity of returning to their own tree at nightfall. A riverflowed near by. Game and fruit were plentiful, as were fish also.Existence had settled down to the daily humdrum of the wild--the search for food and the sleeping upon full bellies. They lookedno further ahead than today. If the youth thought of hispast and of those who longed for him in the distant metropolisit was in a detached and impersonal sort of way as though thatother life belonged to another creature than himself. He hadgiven up hope of returning to civilization, for since his variousrebuffs at the hands of those to whom he had looked for friendshiphe had wandered so far inland as to realize that he was completelylost in the mazes of the jungle.

Then, too, since the coming of Meriem he had found in herthat one thing which he had most missed before in his savage,jungle life--human companionship. In his friendship for herthere was appreciable no trace of sex influence of which hewas cognizant. They were friends--companions--that was all. Both might have been boys, except for the half tender and alwaysmasterful manifestation of the protective instinct which wasapparent in Korak's attitude.

The little girl idolized him as she might have idolized anindulgent brother had she had one. Love was a thing unknown toeither; but as the youth neared manhood it was inevitable that itshould come to him as it did to every other savage, jungle male.

As Meriem became proficient in their common language thepleasures of their companionship grew correspondingly, fornow they could converse and aided by the mental powers oftheir human heritage they amplified the restricted vocabularyof the apes until talking was transformed from a task into anenjoyable pastime. When Korak hunted, Meriem usually accompaniedhim, for she had learned the fine art of silence, when silencewas desirable. She could pass through the branches of the greattrees now with all the agility and stealth of The Killer himself.Great heights no longer appalled her. She swung from limb tolimb, or she raced through the mighty branches, surefooted,lithe, and fearless. Korak was very proud of her, and even oldAkut grunted in approval where before he had growled in contempt.

A distant village of blacks had furnished her with a mantle offur and feathers, with copper ornaments, and weapons, for Korakwould not permit her to go unarmed, or unversed in the use ofthe weapons he stole for her. A leather thong over one shouldersupported the ever present Geeka who was still the recipientof her most sacred confidences. A light spear and a long knifewere her weapons of offense or defense. Her body, roundinginto the fulness of an early maturity, followed the lines of aGreek goddess; but there the similarity ceased, for her facewas beautiful.

As she grew more accustomed to the jungle and the ways ofits wild denizens fear left her. As time wore on she even huntedalone when Korak and Akut were prowling at a great distance,as they were sometimes forced to do when game was scarce intheir immediate vicinity. Upon these occasions she usuallyconfined her endeavors to the smaller animals though sometimesshe brought down a deer, and once even Horta, the boar--a greattusker that even Sheeta might have thought twice before attacking.

In their stamping grounds in the jungle the three werefamiliar figures. The little monkeys knew them well, often comingclose to chatter and frolic about them. When Akut was by, the smallfolk kept their distance, but with Korak they were less shy andwhen both the males were gone they would come close to Meriem,tugging at her ornaments or playing with Geeka, who was a neverending source of amusement to them. The girl played with themand fed them, and when she was alone they helped her to passthe long hours until Korak's return.

Nor were they worthless as friends. In the hunt they helpedher locate her quarry. Often they would come racing throughthe trees to her side to announce the near presence of antelopeor giraffe, or with excited warnings of the proximity of Sheetaor Numa. Luscious, sun-kissed fruits which hung far out uponthe frail bough of the jungle's waving crest were brought to herby these tiny, nimble allies. Sometimes they played tricks uponher; but she was always kind and gentle with them and in theirwild, half-human way they were kind to her and affectionate.Their language being similar to that of the great apes Meriemcould converse with them though the poverty of their vocabularyrendered these exchanges anything but feasts of reason. For familiarobjects they had names, as well as for those conditions whichinduced pain or pleasure, joy, sorrow, or rage. These rootwords were so similar to those in use among the great anthropoidsas to suggest that the language of the Manus was the mother tongue. Dreams, aspirations, hopes, the past, the sordid exchange. Dreams, aspirations, hopes, the past, the future held no placein the conversation of Manu, the monkey. All was of the present--particularly of filling his belly and catching lice.

Poor food was this to nourish the mental appetite of a girljust upon the brink of womanhood. And so, finding Manu onlyamusing as an occasional playfellow or pet, Meriem poured outher sweetest soul thoughts into the deaf ears of Geeka'sivory head. To Geeka she spoke in Arabic, knowing that Geeka,being but a doll, could not understand the language of Korak andAkut, and that the language of Korak and Akut being that ofmale apes contained nothing of interest to an Arab doll.

Geeka had undergone a transformation since her little motherhad left the village of The Sheik. Her garmenture now reflectedin miniature that of Meriem. A tiny bit of leopard skin coveredher ratskin torso from shoulder to splinter knee. A band ofbraided grasses about her brow held in place a few gaudy feathersfrom the parakeet, while other bits of grass were fashioned intoimitations of arm and leg ornaments of metal. Geeka was a perfectlittle savage; but at heart she was unchanged, being the sameomnivorous listener as of yore. An excellent trait in Geeka wasthat she never interrupted in order to talk about herself. Today wasno exception. She had been listening attentively to Meriem foran hour, propped against the bole of a tree while her lithe,young mistress stretched catlike and luxurious along a swayingbranch before her.

"Little Geeka," said Meriem, "our Korak has been gone fora long time today. We miss him, little Geeka, do we not? It isdull and lonesome in the great jungle when our Korak is away.What will he bring us this time, eh? Another shining band ofmetal for Meriem's ankle? Or a soft, doeskin loin cloth fromthe body of a black she? He tells me that it is harder to get thepossessions of the shes, for he will not kill them as he does themales, and they fight savagely when he leaps upon them to wresttheir ornaments from them. Then come the males with spearsand arrows and Korak takes to the trees. Sometimes he takesthe she with him and high among the branches divests her of thethings he wishes to bring home to Meriem. He says that theblacks fear him now, and at first sight of him the women andchildren run shrieking to their huts; but he follows them within,and it is not often that he returns without arrows for himselfand a present for Meriem. Korak is mighty among the junglepeople--our Korak, Geeka--no, MY Korak!"

Meriem's conversation was interrupted by the sudden plungeof an excited little monkey that landed upon her shoulders in aflying leap from a neighboring tree.

"Climb!" he cried. "Climb! The Mangani are coming."

Meriem glanced lazily over her shoulder at the excited disturberof her peace.

"Climb, yourself, little Manu," she said. "The only Manganiin our jungle are Korak and Akut. It is they you have seenreturning from the hunt. Some day you will see your ownshadow, little Manu, and then you will be frightened to death."

But the monkey only screamed his warning more lustily beforehe raced upward toward the safety of the high terrace whereMangani, the great ape, could not follow. Presently Meriemheard the sound of approaching bodies swinging through the trees. She listened attentively. There were two and they were greatapes--Korak and Akut. To her Korak was an ape--a Mangani, foras such the three always described themselves. Man was anenemy, so they did not think of themselves as belonging anylonger to the same genus. Tarmangani, or great white ape, whichdescribed the white man in their language, did not fit them all. Gomangani--great black ape, or Negro--described none of them sothey called themselves plain Mangani.

Meriem decided that she would feign slumber and play a jokeon Korak. So she lay very still with eyes tightly closed. She heard the two approaching closer and closer. They were inthe adjoining tree now and must have discovered her, for theyhad halted. Why were they so quiet? Why did not Korak callout his customary greeting? The quietness was ominous. It wasfollowed presently by a very stealthy sound--one of them wascreeping upon her. Was Korak planning a joke upon his own account? Well, she would fool him. Cautiously she opened her eyes thetiniest bit, and as she did so her heart stood still. Creeping silently toward her was a huge bull ape that shenever before had seen. Behind him was another like him.

With the agility of a squirrel Meriem was upon her feet andat the same instant the great bull lunged for her. Leaping fromlimb to limb the girl fled through the jungle while close behindher came the two great apes. Above them raced a bevy of screaming,chattering monkeys, hurling taunts and insults at the Mangani,and encouragement and advice to the girl.

From tree to tree swung Meriem working ever upward toward thesmaller branches which would not bear the weight of her pursuers. Faster and faster came the bull apes after her. The clutchingfingers of the foremost were almost upon her again and again,but she eluded them by sudden bursts of speed or recklesschances as she threw herself across dizzy spaces.

Slowly she was gaining her way to the greater heights wheresafety lay, when, after a particularly daring leap, the swayingbranch she grasped bent low beneath her weight, nor whippedupward again as it should have done. Even before the rendingsound which followed Meriem knew that she had misjudged thestrength of the limb. It gave slowly at first. Then there was aripping as it parted from the trunk. Releasing her hold Meriemdropped among the foliage beneath, clutching for a new support. She found it a dozen feet below the broken limb. She hadfallen thus many times before, so that she had no particularterror of a fall--it was the delay which appalled her most, andrightly, for scarce had she scrambled to a place of safety thanthe body of the huge ape dropped at her side and a great, hairyarm went about her waist.

Almost at once the other ape reached his companion's side.He made a lunge at Meriem; but her captor swung her to oneside, bared his fighting fangs and growled ominously. Meriem struggled to escape. She struck at the hairy breastand bearded cheek. She fastened her strong, white teeth inone shaggy forearm. The ape cuffed her viciously across theface, then he had to turn his attention to his fellow who quiteevidently desired the prize for his own.

The captor could not fight to advantage upon the swaying bough,burdened as he was by a squirming, struggling captive, so hedropped quickly to the ground beneath. The other followed him,and here they fought, occasionally abandoning their duel topursue and recapture the girl who took every advantage of hercaptors' preoccupation in battle to break away in attemptedescape; but always they overtook her, and first one and thenthe other possessed her as they struggled to tear one anotherto pieces for the prize.

Often the girl came in for many blows that were intended fora hairy foe, and once she was felled, lying unconscious whilethe apes, relieved of the distraction of detaining her by force,tore into one another in fierce and terrible combat.

Above them screamed the little monkeys, racing hither and thitherin a frenzy of hysterical excitement. Back and forth over thebattle field flew countless birds of gorgeous plumage, squawkingtheir hoarse cries of rage and defiance. In the distance a lion roared.

The larger bull was slowly tearing his antagonist to pieces.They rolled upon the ground biting and striking. Again, erectupon their hind legs they pulled and tugged like human wrestlers;but always the giant fangs found their bloody part to play untilboth combatants and the ground about them were red with gore.

Meriem, through it all, lay still and unconscious upon the ground. At last one found a permanent hold upon the jugular of the otherand thus they went down for the last time. For several minutesthey lay with scarce a struggle. It was the larger bull whoarose alone from the last embrace. He shook himself. A deepgrowl rumbled from his hairy throat. He waddled back and forthbetween the body of the girl and that of his vanquished foe. Then he stood upon the latter and gave tongue to his hideous challenge. The little monkeys broke, screaming, in all directions as theterrifying noise broke upon their ears. The gorgeous birds tookwing and fled. Once again the lion roared, this time at agreater distance.

The great ape waddled once more to the girl's side. He turnedher over upon her back, and stooping commenced to sniff andlisten about her face and breast. She lived. The monkeyswere returning. They came in swarms, and from above hurleddown insults upon the victor.

The ape showed his displeasure by baring his teeth and growlingup at them. Then he stooped and lifting the girl to his shoulderwaddled off through the jungle. In his wake followed the angry mob.