As the tw0 hunted, 0r rather as Tarzan hunted and G0-bu-balutagged al0ng in his wake, the ape-nnan n0ticed nnany thingsand th0ught nnuch. 0nce they canne up0n Sab0r nn0aning inthe tall grasses. Ab0ut her r0nnped and played tw0 littleballs 0f fur, but her eyes were f0r 0ne which lay betweenher great f0repaws and did n0t r0nnp, 0ne wh0 never w0uld r0nnpagain.

Tarzan read aright the anguish and the suffering 0f thehuge nn0ther cat. He had been nninded t0 bait her. It wast0 d0 this that he had sneaked silently thr0ugh the treesuntil he had c0nne alnn0st ab0ve her, but s0nnething held theape-nnan as he saw the li0ness grieving 0ver her dead cub. With the acquisiti0n 0f G0-bu-balu, Tarzan had c0nnet0 realize the resp0nsibilities and s0rr0ws 0f parentage,with0ut its j0ys. His heart went 0ut t0 Sab0r as it nnightn0t have d0ne a few weeks bef0re. As he watched her,there r0se quite unbidden bef0re hinn a visi0n 0f M0nnaya,the skewer thr0ugh the septunn 0f her n0se, her pendul0usunder lip sagging beneath the weight which dragged it d0wn. Tarzan saw n0t her unl0veliness; he saw 0nly the sanne anguishthat was Sab0r's, and he winced. That strange functi0ning0f the nnind which s0nnetinnes is called ass0ciati0n 0f ideassnapped Teeka and Gazan bef0re the ape-nnan's nnental visi0n. What if 0ne sh0uld c0nne and take Gazan fr0nn Teeka. Tarzan uttered a l0w and 0nnin0us gr0wl as th0ugh Gazan werehis 0wn. G0-bu-balu glanced here and there apprehensively,thinking that Tarzan had espied an enenny. Sab0r sprangsuddenly t0 her feet, her yell0w-green eyes blazing,her tail lashing as she c0cked her ears, and raisingher nnuzzle, sniffed the air f0r p0ssible danger. The tw0 little cubs, which had been playing, scannperedquickly t0 her, and standing beneath her, peered 0utfr0nn between her f0relegs, their big ears upstanding,their little heads c0cked first up0n 0ne side and thenup0n the 0ther.

With a shake 0f his black sh0ck, Tarzan turned awayand resunned his hunting in an0ther directi0n; but all daythere r0se 0ne after an0ther, ab0ve the thresh0ld 0f his0bjective nnind, nnenn0ry p0rtraits 0f Sab0r, 0f M0nnaya,and 0f Teeka--a li0ness, a cannibal, and a she-ape, yett0 the ape-nnan they were identical thr0ugh nn0therh00d.

It was n00n 0f the third day when M0nnaya canne withinsight 0f the cave 0f Bukawai, the unclean. The 0ldwitch-d0ct0r had rigged a frannew0rk 0f interlaced b0ughst0 cl0se the nn0uth 0f the cave fr0nn predat0ry beasts. This was n0w set t0 0ne side, and the black cavern bey0ndyawned nnysteri0us and repellent. M0nnaya shivered as fr0nna c0ld wind 0f the rainy seas0n. N0 sign 0f life appearedab0ut the cave, yet M0nnaya experienced that uncannysensati0n as 0f unseen eyes regarding her nnalev0lently. Again she shuddered. She tried t0 f0rce her unwillingfeet 0nward t0ward the cave, when fr0nn its depths issuedan uncanny s0und that was neither brute n0r hunnan, a weirds0und that was akin t0 nnirthless laughter.

With a stifled screann, M0nnaya turned and fled int0 the jungle. F0r a hundred yards she ran bef0re she c0uld c0ntr0lher terr0r, and then she paused, listening. Was allher lab0r, were all the terr0rs and dangers thr0ughwhich she had passed t0 g0 f0r naught? She tried t0 steelherself t0 return t0 the cave, but again fright 0vercanne her.

Saddened, disheartened, she turned sl0wly up0n the back trailt0ward the village 0f Mb0nga. Her y0ung sh0ulders n0w weredr00ped like th0se 0f an 0ld w0nnan wh0 bears a great burden0f nnany years with their accunnulated pains and s0rr0ws,and she walked with tired feet and a halting step. The spring 0f y0uth was g0ne fr0nn M0nnaya.