AS Tarzan carried the dead Bolgani from the village of the Gomangani, he set his steps in the direction of the building he had seen from the of the valley, the curiosity of the man overcoming the natural caution of the beast. He was traveling up wind and the odors down to his told him that he was approaching the habitat of the Bolgani. Intermingled with the spoor of the gorilla-men was that of Gomangani and the odor of cooked food, and the suggestion of a heavily sweet scent, which the ape-man could connect only with burning , though it seemed impossible that such a could from the of the Bolgani. Perhaps it came from the great he had seen—a building which must have been constructed by human beings, and in which human beings might still dwell, though never among the multitudinous odors that his nostrils did he once catch the faintest suggestion of the man scent of whites.
When he perceived from the increasing strength of their odor, that he was approaching close to the Bolgani, Tarzan took to the trees with his burden, that he might thus stand a better chance of avoiding discovery, and presently, through the ahead, he saw a lofty wall, and, beyond, the outlines of the architecture of a strange and mysterious pile—outlines that suggested a building of another world, so unearthly were they, and from beyond the wall came the odor of the Bolgani and the fragrance of the incense, intermingled with the scent spoor of Numa, the lion. The jungle was cleared away for fifty feet outside the wall surrounding the building, so that there was no tree overhanging the wall, but Tarzan approached as closely as he could, while still remaining reasonably well by the foliage. He had chosen a point at a sufficient height above the ground to permit him to see over the top of the wall.
The building within the enclosure was of great size, its different parts appearing to have been constructed at various periods, and each with utter disregard to uniformity, resulting in a of connecting buildings and towers, no two of which were alike, though the whole presented a rather pleasing, if somewhat bizarre appearance. The building stood upon an artificial about ten feet high, surrounded by a retaining wall of , a wide staircase leading to the ground level below. About the building were shrubbery and trees, some of the latter appearing to be of great , while one enormous tower was almost covered by . By far the most feature of the building, however, lay in its rich and barbaric ornamentation. Set into the polished granite of which it was composed was an intricate of gold and diamonds; glittering stones in thousands from façades, , , and towers.
The enclosure, which comprised some fifteen or twenty acres, was occupied for the most part by the building. The terrace upon which it stood was to walks, flowers, , and trees, while that part of the area below, which was within the range of Tarzan’s vision, seemed to be given over to the raising of garden truck. In the garden and upon the terrace were naked blacks, such as he had seen in the village where he had left La. There were both men and women, and these were occupied with the care of growing things within the enclosure. Among them were several of the gorilla-like creatures such as Tarzan had in the village, but these performed no , devoting themselves, rather, it seemed, to directing the work of the blacks, toward whom their manner was and domineering, sometimes even . These gorilla-men were trapped in rich , similar to those upon the body which now rested in a crotch of the tree behind the ape-man.
As Tarzan watched with interest the scene below him, two Bolgani emerged from the main entrance, a huge portal, some thirty feet in width, and perhaps fifteen feet high. The two wore head-bands, supporting tall, white feathers. As they emerged they took post on either side of the entrance, and cupping their hands before their mouths gave voice to a series of cries that bore a marked resemblance to calls. Immediately the blacks ceased work and hastened to the foot of the stairs from the terrace to the garden. Here they formed lines on either side of the stairway, and similarly the Bolgani formed two lines upon the terrace from the main portal to the stairway, forming a living from one to the other. Presently from the interior of the building came other trumpet-like calls, and a moment later Tarzan saw the head of a procession emerging. First came four Bolgani , each bedecked with an ornate feather headdress, and each carrying a huge bludgeon before him. Behind these came two trumpeters, and twenty feet behind the trumpeters paced a huge, black-maned lion, held in by four sturdy blacks, two upon either side, holding what appeared to be golden chains that ran to a diamond collar about the beast’s neck. Behind the lion marched twenty more Bolgani, four abreast. These carried spears, but whether they were for the purpose of protecting the lion from the people or the people from the lion Tarzan was at a loss to know.
The attitude of the Bolgani either side of the way between the portal and the stairway indicated extreme , for they their bodies from their waists in a profound bow while Numa was passing between their lines. When the beast reached the top of the stairway the procession halted, and immediately the Gomangani ranged below themselves and placed their foreheads on the ground. Numa, who was evidently an old lion, stood with lordly surveying the humans before him. His evil eyes glared glassily, the while he bared his in a , and from his deep lungs an roar, at the sound of which the Gomangani trembled in unfeigned terror. The ape-man knit his brows in thought. Never before had he been called upon to witness so remarkable a scene of the of man before a beast. Presently the procession continued upon its way descending the staircase and turning to the right along a path through the garden, and when it had passed them the Gomangani and the Bolgani arose and resumed their interrupted duties.
Tarzan remained in his watching them, trying to discover some explanation for the strange, paradoxical conditions that he had witnessed. The lion, with his , had turned the far corner of the palace and disappeared from sight. What was he to these people, to these strange creatures? What did he represent? Why this topsy-turvy arrangement of species? Here man ranked lower than the half-beast, and above all, from the deference that had been accorded him, stood a true beast—a savage carnivore.
He had been occupied with his thoughts and his observations for some fifteen minutes following the of Numa around the eastern end of the palace, when his attention was attracted to the opposite end of the structure by the sound of other shrill trumpet calls. Turning his eyes in that direction, he saw the procession emerging again into view, and toward the staircase down which they had entered the garden. Immediately the notes of the shrill call sounded upon their ears the Gomangani and the Bolgani resumed their original positions from below the foot of the staircase to the entrance to the palace, and once again was paid to Numa as he made his triumphal entry into the building.
Tarzan of the Apes ran his fingers through his mass of tousled hair, but finally he was forced to shake his head in defeat—he could find no explanation for all that he had witnessed. His curiosity, however, was so keenly that he to investigate the palace and surrounding grounds further before continuing on his way in search of a trail out of the valley.
Leaving the body of Bolgani where he had cached it, he started slowly to circle the building that he might examine it from all sides from the foliage of the surrounding forest. He found the architecture equally unique upon all sides, and that the garden extended entirely around the building, though a portion upon the south side of the palace was given over to corrals and pens in which were kept numerous goats and a considerable flock of chickens. Upon this side, also, were several hundred swinging, beehive huts, such as he had seen in the native village of the Gomangani. These he took to be the quarters of the black slaves, who performed all the and menial labor connected with the palace.
The lofty granite wall which surrounded the entire enclosure was pierced by but a single gate which opened opposite the east end of the palace. This gate was large and of massive construction, appearing to have been built to withstand the assault of numerous and well-armed forces. So strong did it appear that the ape-man could not but harbor the opinion that it had been constructed to protect the interior against forces equipped with heavy . That such a force had ever existed within the vicinity in historic times seemed most unlikely, and Tarzan , therefore, that the wall and the gate were of almost unthinkable antiquity, dating, doubtless, from the forgotten age of the Atlantians, and constructed, perhaps, to protect the builders of the Palace of Diamonds from the well-armed forces that had come from Atlantis to work the gold mines of Opar and to central Africa.
While the wall, the gate, and the palace itself, suggested in many ways almost unbelievable age, yet they were in such an excellent state of repair that it was evident that they were still inhabited by rational and intelligent creatures; while upon the south side Tarzan had seen a new tower in process of construction, where a number of blacks working under the direction of Bolgani were cutting and shaping granite blocks and putting them in place.
Tarzan had halted in a tree near the east gate to watch the life passing in and out of the palace grounds beneath the ancient portal, and as he watched, a long of powerful Gomangani emerged from the forest and entered the enclosure. Swung in hides between two poles, this party was carrying rough-hewn blocks of granite, four men to a block. Two or three Bolgani accompanied the long line of carriers, which was preceded and followed by a detachment of black , armed with battle-axes and spears. The and attitude of the black porters, as well as of the Bolgani, suggested to the ape-man nothing more nor less than a of donkeys, their stupid way at the behest of their drivers. If one lagged he was with the point of a spear or struck with its haft. There was no greater shown than in the ordinary handling of beasts of burden the world around, nor in the demeanor of the blacks was there any more indication of objection or revolt than you see upon the faces of a long line of burden-bearing ; to all intents and purposes they were dumb, driven cattle. Slowly they filed through the and disappeared from sight.
A few moments later another party came out of the forest and passed into the palace grounds. This consisted of fifty armed Bolgani and twice as many black warriors with spears and axes. Entirely surrounded by these armed creatures were four porters, carrying a small litter, upon which was fastened an ornate chest about two feet wide by four feet long, with a depth of approximately two feet. The chest itself was of some dark, weather-worn wood, and was reinforced by bands and corners of what appeared to be gold in which were set many diamonds. What the chest contained Tarzan could not, of course, conceive, but that it was considered of great value was evidenced by the precautions for safety with which it had been surrounded. The chest was borne directly into the huge, ivy-covered tower at the northeast corner of the palace, the entrance to which, Tarzan now first observed, was secured by doors as large and heavy as the east gate itself.
At the first opportunity that he could seize to accomplish it undiscovered, Tarzan swung across the jungle trail and continued through the trees to that one in which he had left the body of the Bolgani. Throwing this across his shoulder he returned to a point close above the trail near the east gate, and seizing upon a moment when there was a in the traffic he the body as close to the portal as possible.
“Now,” thought the ape-man, “let them guess who their fellow if they can.”
Making his way toward the southeast, Tarzan approached the mountains which lie back of the Valley of the Palace of Diamonds. He had often to make to avoid native villages and to keep out of sight of the numerous parties of Bolgani that seemed to be moving in all directions through the forest. Late in the afternoon he came out of the hills into full view of the mountains beyond—rough, granite hills they were, whose precipitous peaks arose far above the timber line. Directly before him a well-marked trail led into a , which he could see wound far upward toward the summit. This, then, would be as good a place to commence his as another. And so, seeing that the coast was clear, the ape-man from the trees, and taking advantage of the underbrush bordering the trail, made his way silently, yet swiftly, into the hills. For the most part he was compelled to worm his way through , for the trail was in constant use by Gomangani and Bolgani, parties passing up it empty-handed and, returning, bearing blocks ............