The Greystoke Legacy (7 page)

Jane watched in disbelief as Tarzan bit into the pig and tore a strip of hairy flesh with his teeth. He happily chewed and nodded to the pig again.

Jane felt a chill of horror, transfixed by Tarzan's bloodstained teeth as he devoured the meat.

Tarzan smiled and once again sank his jaws into the raw flesh.

R
obbie stared down the mudslide where they had found Jane's sneaker. She had either slipped down there or had been taken against her will. He clambered down, using tree roots to support him. At the bottom, the recent rain had turned the babbling brook into a torrent that could have easily swept an adult downstream. They found no further signs of Jane or their attackers so guessed that they had taken to the water. Archie and Clark were racked with indecision about what to do next, which only served to frustrate Robbie.

He had been indecisive for months, back in New York, and it had led to terrible things. He wasn't about to let history repeat itself.

In his shack, Archie had gathered what supplies he could and stuffed them into a backpack. He'd loaded a shotgun while Clark and Mister David attempted to make him see reason.

“You do not know the jungle,” warned Mister David.

“Mate, you go peltin' out there without prep and you'll be in the same sinkhole she is!” said Clark.

“I'm better prepared,” snapped Archie. He pointed at Mister David, “And you can come with me.”

“Of course,” said Mister David, “when we have the equipment to search properly.”

Archie turned for the door, but Clark blocked his path. “She's a tough girl. That gives us time to prepare! You ain't as young as you used to be.”

From his vantage point at the door, Robbie could see Archie's shoulders sag in defeat. Clark played his trump card.

“If Tafari is behind this,
if
those brutes have taken her . . . at least she'll still be alive. Even they wouldn't risk hurting her, she's worth too much as a ransom.”

Archie's knuckles whitened as he gripped his shotgun. “If they're behind this, they're not getting away with it.”

Clark put a comforting hand on Archie's shoulder. “You're not wrong, mate. And we're behind you.” Robbie could see Clark meant every word, but Mister David didn't look convinced. “But let's be smart, eh? Let's think about this.”

Archie leaned the shotgun against the wall and nodded. He crossed to the window and nervously rubbed his stubble.

“We have to tell the authorities. Get an air search in.”

“That will mean dismantling the camp,” warned Mister David. “If they find us . . .”

Archie shrugged. That was the least of his problems. “So we dismantle it.”

“If we push it, we can make the town in five hours, little longer if we have to travel at night,” said Clark as a plan formulated in his mind. “Enough time to dismantle the
laager
.”

Archie knew enough Afrikaans words to know he meant the camp. “That's a waste of manpower . . .” Archie began.

Clark held up his hand to cut him off. “What if we tell the authorities and Jane comes walkin' out of there all smilin'? Then we get arrested if they find out about this place and you'll be seein' your daughter from behind bars—if you're lucky! Or what if she comes back to find her dad mauled to death because he ran into the bush unprepared, eh?”

Robbie could see Archie was wrestling with his conscience. He wanted Archie to shout and complain, then crash out into the jungle to pursue Jane, but he was taking Clark's advice to heart.

Clark pressed on. “Mister David led a search party out as far as they could, and they didn't find nothin'.” Archie's face looked gray, etched with worry. “That's a good sign. Means she's alive and mobile. Also means we can't just walk out there and expect to find her today. We've got four hours to sunset then we're stuck.

“Be realistic, an aerial search is impractical in the jungle. We might be able to get some help from rangers, but it'll take too long, and they won't be able to do much more than us, so I don't think it's worth the hassle. I say some fellas stay here, just in case she returns, while we take a team into the green to look for her at first light. Gives us enough time to gather supplies and weapons tonight. Don't know about you, mate, but if Tafari or another bunch of loggers have got her, I don't wanna face a bunch of crazy armed idiots with just a few sticks!”

Archie weighed up his slim options and nodded.

“I want my daughter back, Clark. That's all that matters.”

Clark squeezed his friend's shoulder. “We'll find her, mate. We will.”

Robbie had listened for long enough.

“So that's it? You're just going to wait until tomorrow to go looking for her?”

Clark sighed. “No. We're going to organize a proper search for her rather than just run aimlessly about.”

Robbie shook his head. He knew it was futile to try to persuade them to leave tonight. He stormed off across the encampment. All around, workers were gathered in small groups quietly talking. Nobody was doing anything productive.

“What are you doing?” screamed Robbie. “Jane's lost out there. She's in trouble! We should be looking for her!”

The workers stared at Robbie with grim faces. Nobody moved. Esmée sat in the shade of the school shack, her eyes averted as Robbie ran over to her.

“You agree with me, right? We need to be looking for Jane!”

Esmée looked at him with tearful eyes. She had been crying for some time. She didn't answer. Clark ran up behind Robbie and grabbed his arm, twisting him around. He was furious and the anger in his voice came out as a sharp hiss.

“What the hell d'you think you're doin'?”

“Trying to do something, unlike you!” snarled Robbie as he tried to shake Clark off. The big man's grip was too strong. “Get off me!”

“You listen to me, Robert. This is a serious situation and the last thing we need is anyone creatin' panic!”

“I'm not panicking, I'm trying to find Jane!”

“You're not helpin'! Listen to me. Every man here knows if we call the authorities on this then we can all end up behind bars. You included. And believe me, you really don't wanna see the inside of a Congolese prison.” He jerked a thumb toward the workers. “If they got wind that's what we were doin' then they'd run. Hear me? They'd run to save their own skins because to them, this is just another job. Without 'em we have no one to help look for Jane.”

Robbie didn't want to hear that. While some of the loggers were taciturn or didn't speak English, the majority were fun to be around. “That's not true . . .”

“'Course it is! Now they all like the girl, and they'll help search, but we can't go spookin' 'em. And what if we got found out? You think you'd ever see your girlfriend again?”

“She's not my girlfriend,” snapped Robbie. “She's a friend—more like a sister! And to me family is important.”

Robbie tried to pull away from Clark's grip, but it was too strong.

“Really? If family's so important then I don't suppose you mind bein' deported back to the States where they will ask some really probin' questions into your family life.” Clark didn't know the details of why Robbie had fled, but had his suspicions. He released Robbie's arm, satisfied his message was getting through. “Not to mention what Tafari would do to any of us if we go bargin' in there accusin' them of kidnappin'. We have to handle this carefully. Tell me this is gettin' through to you.”

Robbie looked around. Everybody was staring at them.

“I get it,” muttered Robbie.

“I wanna see her back as much as you. I've known her since she was a
pikkie
. Archie's my best mate. If you care about any of us, you'll do as I say.”

Robbie nodded, but refused to look Clark in the eye.

“Good. Now let's sort this mess out.”

He headed back to Archie's shack. Robbie called after him, not too loud as he had no desire to gain any more attention.

“Clark. If it was me out there . . . would you do the same thing?”

Clark nodded. “Archie would have the sense to calm me down. We'd do exactly the same thing.”

Robbie nodded thoughtfully then smiled. His mind was made up.

As soon as he could slip away unnoticed he would search for Jane alone.

•••

Jane's stomach rumbled so loudly it got the attention of a young blackback that had clambered up the trail and lain next to the aircraft to bathe in the sun. The gorilla made low grumbling noises in return and rolled onto its chest to study Jane. One hand cradled its chin, the other idly scratched his prominent sagittal crest that made the top of his head appear almost egg-shaped.

The ape grumbled again and Jane felt he was waiting for an answer. She imitated the noise as best she could. It seemed to satisfy the animal, which rolled over, picking at some vine leaves. A smaller gorilla bounded onto his chest and the two began hooting as they tickled one another in a play-fight.

Despite the playful behavior, Jane was all too aware she was in the presence of wild animals and was too petrified to move. Tarzan had disappeared without a word after he had eaten. The sight of him eating the pig raw got Jane's imagination running wild. Was he some kind of cannibal? Had he eaten the aircraft's crew? And was she next on the menu?

She tried to blank that thought. Tarzan had attacked the lioness . . . what kind of maniac attacks a lion with his bare hands?

No. He'd attacked the lioness to save her and had brought her back here to tend to her wounds. She had no reason to be afraid of him; she just had to convince herself of that. But the image of Tarzan kneeling over the pig, his mouth and hands covered in fresh blood, refused to budge from her mind.

Since Tarzan had shouted at the silverback, Kerchak, there had been no more hostile behavior toward her. Kerchak had moved further up the slope and sat with a small group of females.

Tana kept close, and Jane got the impression the ape was making sure she didn't get into any trouble. Karnath soon tired and fell asleep in his mother's arms. Jane was surprised to feel a pang of jealousy at the close family bond.

Without a watch Jane couldn't tell how much time had passed. The sun had definitely moved from over one peak to another, but it could have taken ten minutes or three hours. Her stomach continued to growl, and the apes sauntered around her as if she had always been a permanent fixture.

She began to feel an overwhelming sense of abandonment. Why hadn't anybody come looking for her? Then again, maybe they had. Even she didn't know where
here
was and her initial expectations of an aerial search were snuffed out the moment she looked back at the crashed airplane. Had anybody come looking for that? What happened to the crew and passengers? Were their remains still inside the plane? She didn't recall seeing anything when she woke, but then again she hadn't been looking for them. Had Tarzan eaten—

A loud thump jolted her out of her dark imaginings. Tarzan had landed on top of the aircraft. Jane looked around—how had he done that? There were only trees on the side of the mountain. Surely she would have heard him approach. As Tarzan jumped down to the ground she saw that he was cradling something in one arm. She hoped it wasn't another dead animal.

Tarzan slowly approached her, his eyes fixed on hers as if he still didn't know if she was friend or foe. He edged closer and scraped a bowl into the earth with one hand, then dropped the catch that was tucked in his other arm.

Jane expected something disgusting but was relieved to see that Tarzan had brought her fruits, nuts, and a chunk of mushroom. Jane couldn't identify anything specific except the large green banana-like plantain. As she picked up the fruit she yelped at the sight of several large green crickets and thick caterpillars trapped underneath.

“Urgh!” She tried to shake the insect off. Tarzan watched her with a frown, and his hand shot out and caught the cricket before it dropped to the ground. He held it up for her to see, then popped it in his mouth. Jane watched in revulsion as Tarzan munched on the insect.

“
Nesen
. Good.”

“You . . . you've still got a leg . . .” She indicated to the side of her mouth. Tarzan evidently understood as his tongue darted out to lick the stray cricket leg. “That's revolting.”

Jane's stomach rumbled again. Tarzan's brow knitted together with concern, and he gently shoved the plantain closer to Jane, an indication she should eat it. With a sigh, Jane gripped the stem and tugged—but the sturdy plantain wouldn't open. She tried again, but the fruit remained sealed.

“It's not ripe enough,” she muttered.

Karnath rolled around the foliage next to Jane and eyed the food with curiosity. The little ape took the plantain from her hand, held it by the stem and gently squeezed the opposite end of the fruit. The plantain's skin split effortlessly, revealing the green fruit. To her amazement, Karnath handed the plantain back.

Jane bit into it. She'd had plantain almost every day at the camp, but Esmée had taken pains to cook and flavor it. Raw, it tasted like raw potato, but she was hungry and with the alternative being dead pig or bugs, she closed her eyes and pretended it was a sweet banana. After the first few mouthfuls she became resigned to the bland taste and finished it off quickly. She was still hungry but ignored the fat wriggling caterpillar Tarzan offered her, and instead took the large piece of fungus. She sniffed it. It smelt fine, but she was all too aware of the many toxic fungi in the jungle. She glanced at Tarzan, regretfully seeing the tail end of a caterpillar being sucked between his lips. Tarzan nodded encouragingly at the fungus, so Jane took a deep breath and bit into it. The texture felt odd in her mouth, but it tasted like a sweet mushroom. It would be better fried, but she couldn't complain.