On the morning of the fourth day the Arabs were compelled to shoot two of their blacks before they could compel the balance to take up the hated ivory, and as they did so a voice rang out, clear and strong, from the jungle: "Today you die, oh, Manyuema, unless you lay down the ivory.
Fall upon your cruel masters and kill them! You have guns, why do you not use them? Kill the Arabs, and we will not harm you.We will take you back to our village and feed you, and lead you out of our country in safety and in peace.
Lay down the ivory, and fall upon your masters--we will help you.Else you die!"As the voice died down the raiders stood as though turned to stone.The Arabs eyed their Manyuema slaves; the slaves looked first at one of their fellows, and then at another--they were but waiting for some one to take the initiative.
There were some thirty Arabs left, and about one hundred and fifty blacks.All were armed--even those who were acting as porters had their rifles slung across their backs.
The Arabs drew together.The sheik ordered the Manyuema to take up the march, and as he spoke he cocked his rifle and raised it.But at the same instant one of the blacks threw down his load, and, snatching his rifle from his back, fired point-black at the group of Arabs.In an instant the camp was a cursing, howling mass of demons, fighting with guns and knives and pistols.The Arabs stood together, and defended their lives valiantly, but with the rain of lead that poured upon them from their own slaves, and the shower of arrows and spears which now leaped from the surrounding jungle aimed solely at them, there was little question from the first what the outcome would be.In ten minutes from the time the first porter had thrown down his load the last of the Arabs lay dead.
When the firing had ceased Tarzan spoke again to the Manyuema:
"Take up our ivory, and return it to our village, from whence you stole it.We shall not harm you."For a moment the Manyuema hesitated.They had no stomach to retrace that difficult three days' trail.
They talked together in low whispers, and one turned toward the jungle, calling aloud to the voice that had spoken to them from out of the foliage.
"How do we know that when you have us in your village you will not kill us all?" he asked.
"You do not know," replied Tarzan, "other than that we have promised not to harm you if you will return our ivory to us.But this you do know, that it lies within our power to kill you all if you do not return as we direct, and are we not more likely to do so if you anger us than if you do as we bid?""Who are you that speaks the tongue of our Arab masters?"cried the Manyuema spokesman."Let us see you, and then we shall give you our answer."Tarzan stepped out of the jungle a dozen paces from them.
"Look!" he said.When they saw that he was white they were filled with awe, for never had they seen a white savage before, and at his great muscles and giant frame they were struck with wonder and admiration.
"You may trust me," said Tarzan."So long as you do as I tell you, and harm none of my people, we shall do you no hurt.Will you take up our ivory and return in peace to our village, or shall we follow along your trail toward the north as we have followed for the past three days?"The recollection of the horrid days that had just passed was the thing that finally decided the Manyuema, and so, after a short conference, they took up their burdens and set off to retrace their steps toward the village of the Waziri.
At the end of the third day they marched into the village gate, and were greeted by the survivors of the recent massacre, to whom Tarzan had sent a messenger in their temporary camp to the south on the day that the raiders had quitted the village, telling them that they might return in safety.