第87章

A water snake swam out upon the surface of the lake and the man pursued it, crawling upon his hands and knees.The snake swam toward the shore just within the mouth of the river where tall reeds grew thickly and Obergatz followed, making grunting noises like a pig.He lost the snake within the reeds but he came upon something else--a canoe hidden there close to the bank.He examined it with cackling laughter.There were two paddles within it which he took and threw out into the current of the river.He watched them for a while and then he sat down beside the canoe and commenced to splash his hands up and down upon the water.He liked to hear the noise and see the little splashes of spray.He rubbed his left forearm with his right palm and the dirt came off and left a white spot that drew his attention.He rubbed again upon the now thoroughly soaked blood and grime that covered his body.He was not attempting to wash himself; he was merely amused by the strange results."I am turning white," he cried.His glance wandered from his body now that the grime and blood were all removed and caught again the white city shimmering beneath the hot sun.

"A-lur--City of Light!" he shrieked and that reminded him again of Tu-lur and by the same process of associated ideas that had before suggested it, he recalled that the Waz-ho-don had thought him Jad-ben-Otho.

"I am Jad-ben-Otho!" he screamed and then his eyes fell again upon the canoe.A new idea came and persisted.He looked down at himself, examining his body, and seeing the filthy loin cloth, now water soaked and more bedraggled than before, he tore it from him and flung it into the lake."Gods do not wear dirty rags," he said aloud."They do not wear anything but wreaths and garlands of flowers and I am a god--I am Jad-ben-Otho--and I go in state to my sacred city of A-lur."

He ran his fingers through his matted hair and beard.The water had softened the burrs but had not removed them.The man shook his head.His hair and beard failed to harmonize with his other godly attributes.He was commencing to think more clearly now, for the great idea had taken hold of his scattered wits and concentrated them upon a single purpose, but he was still a maniac.The only difference being that he was now a maniac with a fixed intent.He went out on the shore and gathered flowers and ferns and wove them in his beard and hair--blazing blooms of different colors--green ferns that trailed about his ears or rose bravely upward like the plumes in a lady's hat.

When he was satisfied that his appearance would impress the most casual observer with his evident deity he returned to the canoe, pushed it from shore and jumped in.The impetus carried it into the river's current and the current bore it out upon the lake.

The naked man stood erect in the center of the little craft, his arms folded upon his chest.He screamed aloud his message to the city: "I am Jad-ben-Otho! Let the high priest and the under priests attend upon me!"

As the current of the river was dissipated by the waters of the lake the wind caught him and his craft and carried them bravely forward.Sometimes he drifted with his back toward A-lur and sometimes with his face toward it, and at intervals he shrieked his message and his commands.He was still in the middle of the lake when someone discovered him from the palace wall, and as he drew nearer, a crowd of warriors and women and children were congregated there watching him and along the temple walls were many priests and among them Lu-don, the high priest.When the boat had drifted close enough for them to distinguish the bizarre figure standing in it and for them to catch the meaning of his words Lu-don's cunning eyes narrowed.The high priest had learned of the escape of Tarzan and he feared that should he join Ja-don's forces, as seemed likely, he would attract many recruits who might still believe in him, and the Dor-ul-Otho, even if a false one, upon the side of the enemy might easily work havoc with Lu-don's plans.