Infiveminuteshehadwormedhiswaytothegreattreethatoverhungthepalisadeatoneendofthevillage，andfromhispointofvantagelookeddownuponthesavagehordebeneath。HecountedfiftyArabsandestimatedthattherewerefivetimesasmanyManyuema。Thelatterweregorgingthemselvesuponfoodand，undertheverynosesoftheirwhitemasters，preparingthegruesomefeastwhichisthePIECEDERESISTANCEthatfollowsavictoryinwhichthebodiesoftheirslainenemiesfallintotheirhorridhands。
Theape—mansawthattochargethatwildhorde，armedastheywerewithguns，andbarricadedbehindthelockedgatesofthevillage，wouldbeafutiletask，andsohereturnedtoWaziriandadvisedhimtowait;thathe，Tarzan，hadabetterplan。
ButamomentbeforeoneofthefugitiveshadrelatedtoWazirithestoryoftheatrociousmurderoftheoldchief’swife，andsocrazedwithragewastheoldmanthathecastdiscretiontothewinds。Callinghiswarriorsabouthim，hecommandedthemtocharge，and，withbrandishingspearsandsavageyells，thelittleforceofscarcelymorethanahundreddashedmadlytowardthevillagegates。BeforetheclearinghadbeenhalfcrossedtheArabsopenedupawitheringfirefrombehindthepalisade。
WiththefirstvolleyWazirifell。Thespeedofthechargersslackened。Anothervolleybroughtdownahalfdozenmore。Afewreachedthebarredgates，onlytobeshotintheirtracks，withouttheghostofachancetogaintheinsideofthepalisade，andthenthewholeattackcrumpled，andtheremainingwarriorsscamperedbackintotheforest。
Astheyrantheraidersopenedthegates，rushingafterthem，tocompletetheday’sworkwiththeutterexterminationofthetribe。Tarzanhadbeenamongthelasttoturnbacktowardtheforest，andnow，asheranslowly，heturnedfromtimetotimetospeedawell—aimedarrowintothebodyofapursuer。