Tarzan of the Apes

Tarzan dos Macacos

Edgar Rice Burroughs

ESL Easy Read

Reading Comprehension B1 • Original Text • Português Support

SAMPLE

Copyright

Fonte original — domínio público

Esta edição ESL Easy Read foi adaptada a partir de Tarzan of the Apes, de Edgar Rice Burroughs, publicado originalmente em 1912.

A obra original encontra-se em domínio público e pode ser utilizada, reproduzida, distribuída e adaptada de acordo com a legislação aplicável.

Autor

Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950)

Estados Unidos

Esta obra foi publicada originalmente em 1912.

Nos Estados Unidos, obras publicadas antes de 1930 encontram-se normalmente em domínio público.

Com base no ano de publicação disponível, esta obra encontra-se em domínio público nos Estados Unidos desde 1º de janeiro de 2008.

Brasil

Autor: Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950)

De acordo com a Lei nº 9.610/1998, os direitos patrimoniais expiram 70 anos após a morte do autor, contados a partir de 1º de janeiro do ano seguinte ao falecimento.

Edgar Rice Burroughs faleceu em 1950.

Situação no Brasil: DOMÍNIO PÚBLICO.

Portugal

Autor: Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950)

De acordo com o Código do Direito de Autor e dos Direitos Conexos, a proteção patrimonial dura 70 anos após a morte do autor.

Edgar Rice Burroughs faleceu em 1950.

Situação em Portugal: DOMÍNIO PÚBLICO.

Dados da publicação original

Obra original: Tarzan of the Apes

Autor: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Primeira publicação: 1912

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Esta adaptação ESL Easy Read

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Introdução

Como ler este livro

Cada livro desta coleção é apresentado em um nível de leitura simplificada, de acordo com o CEFR — Quadro Europeu Comum de Referência para Línguas.

A2 — Básico: indicado para leitores que já compreendem frases simples, vocabulário frequente e textos curtos sobre situações do cotidiano.

B1 — Intermediário: indicado para leitores que conseguem compreender as ideias principais de textos claros e acompanhar uma narrativa com vocabulário e estruturas de dificuldade moderada.

B2 — Intermediário avançado: indicado para leitores que já conseguem compreender textos mais complexos, acompanhar descrições detalhadas e reconhecer uma variedade maior de vocabulário e estruturas gramaticais.

Este livro foi adaptado para o nível B1.

Assim, você pode começar a lê-lo mesmo sem dominar completamente o inglês. O texto foi simplificado para facilitar a compreensão, preservando a história, os personagens e os acontecimentos principais da obra original.

Como usar as notas

No texto de leitura simplificada, cada parágrafo possui um link Pt/En. Esse link abre uma nota com a tradução em português do texto simplificado e o trecho correspondente no texto original em inglês.

No texto original em inglês, o link PT leva diretamente ao parágrafo correspondente na versão em português. Na tradução portuguesa, o link En retorna ao parágrafo correspondente no texto original.

A tradução para o português é feita a partir do texto em inglês simplificado, e não diretamente do texto original. O objetivo é ajudar você a compreender com precisão a frase simplificada que está estudando naquele momento.

O texto original em inglês é apresentado separadamente para a etapa seguinte do aprendizado, quando você já estiver preparado para ler e comparar a obra em sua forma original.

Cada nota contém links que permitem retornar exatamente ao parágrafo que você estava lendo.

Sobre este livro

Tarzan dos Macacos narra a vida de John Clayton, filho de aristocratas britânicos abandonados na costa africana. Após a morte dos pais, o bebê é adotado por uma tribo de grandes macacos, que o chamam de Tarzan (que significa 'pele branca' em sua língua). Criado na selva, Tarzan torna-se um homem poderoso e ágil, dominando os segredos da natureza e aprendendo a se comunicar com os animais. Seu mundo muda quando um grupo de exploradores, incluindo a bela Jane Porter, chega. Tarzan salva Jane de um macaco agressivo, e eles desenvolvem um forte vínculo. No entanto, Tarzan luta com sua identidade dupla: é um selvagem por criação, mas um humano civilizado por nascimento. A história explora seu conflito interno ao encontrar a sociedade ocidental, confrontar sua herança e enfrentar ameaças de predadores da selva e vilões humanos. O tom é aventureiro e romântico, com descrições vívidas da natureza africana e da destreza primal de Tarzan. O conflito central gira em torno da busca de Tarzan por pertencimento e seu amor por Jane, tendo como pano de fundo um mundo selvagem e implacável.

Nota editorial

A tradução para o português e a versão Reading Comprehension B1 foram geradas com apoio de inteligência artificial e submetidas a revisão editorial.

Em caso de dúvida ou observações, fale conosco.

MicMac from Las Vegas LLC
Contato: admin@micmacfromlasvegas.com

Outros livros e materiais

Materiais e outros livros da série ESL Easy Read:

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The Return Of Tarzan

The Beasts Of Tarzan

The Son Of Tarzan

Tarzan and the Jewels Of Opar

Jungle Tales Of Tarzan

Tarzan The Untamed

Tarzan The Terrible

Tarzan and the Golden Lion

Tarzan and the Ant Men

Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle

Jungle Tales Of Tarzan — ESL Easy Read

Tarzan and the City of Gold

Tarzan and the Lion Man

Tarzan and the Lost Empire

Tarzan at the Earth's Core

Tarzan the Invincible

Tarzan Triumphant

The Tarzan Twins

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www.micmacfromlasvegas.com

Reading Comprehension B1

1 - Out to Sea

2 - The Savage Home

3 - Life and Death

4 - The Apes

5 - The White Ape

Out to Sea

Pt/En The writer heard a strange story from someone who was not supposed to tell it. He believes that old wine helped the person start telling the story, and his own doubt made him listen to the rest of the tale.

Pt/En When the host realized he had told too much and that the writer doubted him, his pride made him find old papers. These included a manuscript and official records from the British Colonial Office to prove his story.

Pt/En The writer does not claim the story is true because he did not see the events himself. However, he used fake names for the main people, which shows he believes the story might be true.

Pt/En Old, yellow pages from a diary and records from the Colonial Office matched the host's story perfectly. So, the writer put together the story from these different sources.

Pt/En Even if you do not think the story is believable, you will agree that it is unusual, special, and interesting.

Pt/En From the records of the Colonial Office and from the dead man’s diary we learn that a certain young English nobleman, whom we shall call John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, was commissioned to make a peculiarly delicate investigation of conditions in a British West Coast African colony from whose simple native inhabitants another European power was known to be recruiting soldiers for its native army, which it used solely for the forcible collection of rubber and ivory from the savage tribes along the Congo and the Aruwimi.

Pt/En The people in the British colony said that their young men were persuaded to leave with attractive promises, but that very few of them ever returned home.

Pt/En Some Englishmen in Africa stated that these local men were treated like slaves. They explained that after their service time was finished, their white officers tricked them by saying they still had many years left to serve.

Pt/En Because of these complaints, the Colonial Office gave John Clayton a new job in British West Africa. His main task was to investigate how officers from a friendly European country were treating black British subjects unfairly. However, his reason for being sent is not important to this story, because he never did the investigation and never arrived at his destination.

Pt/En Clayton was the kind of Englishman that people like to link with great historic war wins. He was a strong man in mind, morals and body.

Pt/En He was taller than average, with gray eyes and strong, regular facial features. He looked very healthy and strong, which was because he had spent years in the army.

Pt/En He wanted a political career, so he moved from the army to the Colonial Office. He was still young when he was given a delicate and important task.

Pt/En This job was for the Queen.

Pt/En When he got this job, he was very happy but also worried. He felt it was a good reward for his hard work and a step to more important jobs. However, he had only been married for three months to Alice Rutherford. He was worried about taking his young wife to dangerous and lonely tropical Africa.

Pt/En He would have refused the job for her sake, but she wanted him to accept it. She insisted that he take the job and that she go with him.

Pt/En The family had many members, like mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, and cousins. They all had opinions about something. However, we do not know what advice they gave.

Pt/En We know that on a sunny morning in May 1888, John, Lord Greystoke, and his wife Lady Alice left Dover. They were traveling to Africa.

Pt/En One month later, they reached Freetown. There, they hired a small boat called the Fuwalda. This boat would take them to their final stop.

Pt/En After this, John, Lord Greystoke, and Lady Alice were no longer seen or known by people.

Pt/En Two months after they left Freetown, several British warships searched the south Atlantic for them and their boat. They soon found wreckage on the shores of St. Helena. This made everyone believe the Fuwalda sank with everyone on board. The search ended quickly, but people hoped for their return for many years.

Pt/En The Fuwalda was a ship of about 100 tons. It was used for trading near the coast in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The sailors on the ship were very bad people, like criminals from many different countries.

Pt/En The Fuwalda was like other ships of its kind. Its officers were rough men who were disliked by their crew, and the crew disliked them too. The captain was a good sailor, but he treated his men very badly. He only used force or threats with them, and the sailors probably would not have understood anything else.

Pt/En Two days after leaving Freetown, John Clayton and his young wife saw terrible things on the deck of the Fuwalda. They had only read about such events in stories about the sea.

Pt/En On the morning of the second day, something happened that started a series of events. These events would lead to a life for a baby, who was not yet born, that was more unusual than any other in history.

Pt/En Two sailors were cleaning the decks of the Fuwalda. The first mate was in charge, and the captain had stopped to talk with John Clayton and Lady Alice.

Pt/En The men were moving towards a group of people who did not see the sailors. The men came closer and closer. One man was right behind the captain. Soon he would have gone past, and this strange story would not have been told.

Pt/En But at that moment, the officer turned to leave Lord and Lady Greystoke. As he did this, he tripped over a sailor and fell down onto the deck. He knocked over the water pail.

Pt/En He was covered in the pail's dirty water.

Pt/En For a moment, the situation looked funny. But only for a moment. The captain shouted many angry words. His face was red with shame and anger. He got up and hit the sailor very hard, knocking him to the deck.

Pt/En The sailor who was hit was small and quite old. This made the captain's action seem very cruel. The other sailor was not old or small. He was a very big man with a fierce black mustache and a thick neck between large shoulders.

Pt/En When he saw his friend fall, he got low. With a quiet growl, he jumped at the captain and pushed him to his knees with one strong hit.

Pt/En The officer's face went from red to white because this was mutiny, which he had met and stopped before in his brutal career. Without rising he pulled a revolver from his pocket and fired straight at the large strong sailor before him, but John Clayton was almost as quick. Lord Greystoke struck the captain's arm when he saw the gun flash in the sun, so the bullet meant for the sailor's heart hit the sailor's leg instead.

Pt/En Clayton spoke to the captain. He said he was unhappy about the bad treatment of the crew. He also said he would not allow any more of this while he and Lady Greystoke were on the ship.

Pt/En The captain was about to answer angrily. But he decided not to. He turned and walked away, looking angry and unhappy.

Pt/En He did not want to fight with an English officer. He knew that England's navy was very powerful and he was afraid of it.

Pt/En Two sailors got up. The older one helped his injured friend. The big sailor, called Black Michael by his friends, carefully tested his leg. He found he could stand on it. Then he thanked Clayton in a rough way.

Pt/En Although Black Michael sounded unfriendly, his thanks seemed honest. He quickly turned and walked away, limping, towards the front of the ship. He clearly wanted to stop talking.

Pt/En They did not see Black Michael for several days. The captain only gave them short, unfriendly answers when he had to speak to them.

Pt/En They ate meals in the captain's room, as they had before the accident. However, the captain made sure he never ate at the same time as them.

Pt/En The other officers were not polite or educated. They were not much better than the bad sailors they managed. They were happy to avoid talking to the well-mannered English lord and his wife. So, the Claytons were mostly left alone.

Pt/En Their wishes were met, but it meant they were not part of the ship's daily life. Because of this, they did not know about the events that would soon lead to a terrible accident.

Pt/En The ship felt like something bad was going to happen. The Claytons did not see any problems on the ship. However, both of them felt that danger was coming, but they did not talk about it.

Pt/En On the second day after Black Michael was hurt, Clayton went on deck. He saw four sailors carrying the body of another sailor below the deck.

Pt/En The first mate stood nearby, holding a heavy pin. He looked angrily at a group of unhappy sailors.

Pt/En Clayton understood what was happening without asking questions. The next day, a large British warship appeared on the horizon. Clayton thought about asking to be moved to that ship. He was more and more worried that staying on the unhappy ship, the Fuwalda, would cause harm.

Pt/En By midday, they were close enough to the British ship to talk to. Clayton almost decided to ask the captain to take them aboard. But then he realized it was a very silly idea. He could not think of a good reason to tell the officer in charge why he wanted to go back in the direction they had just traveled.

Pt/En If he told them that two sailors had been treated badly by their officers, the British sailors would likely laugh. They would think that the only reason he wanted to leave the ship was because he was afraid.

Pt/En John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, did not ask to move to the British warship. Later that day, he saw the ship disappear over the horizon. Before it was gone, he learned something that confirmed his worst fears. He was angry at his own pride, which had stopped him from getting his young wife to safety a few hours earlier when it was possible. Now, that safety was lost forever.

Pt/En In the middle of the afternoon, a small, old sailor came to where Clayton and his wife were watching the large battleship get smaller in the distance. This sailor had been hit by the captain a few days before. The old man was cleaning brass. As he moved closer to Clayton, he spoke quietly.

Pt/En He said, "There is big trouble on this ship, sir, and you can believe me. There is big trouble."

Pt/En Clayton asked what the other person meant.

Pt/En The man asked if Clayton had seen what was happening and heard that the captain and his friends were hurting many of the crew.

Pt/En He explained that two men had been injured the day before and three more were hurt today. He added that Black Michael was well again and would not accept this, warning Clayton to remember his words.

Pt/En Clayton asked if the man meant that the crew was planning to rebel.

Pt/En The old man exclaimed "Mutiny!" He said it meant murder and told him to remember his words.

Pt/En He asked about the timing.

Pt/En The old man said that something was coming but he would not say when. He explained that he had already said too much, but he wanted to warn the gentleman because he had been kind. He advised him to stay quiet and go below if he heard shooting.

Pt/En The old man repeated that he should stay quiet, or he might be hurt. He then continued polishing, which took him away from the Claytons.

Pt/En Clayton told Alice that the future looked very unpleasant.

Pt/En Alice suggested that John should warn the captain immediately, as the trouble might still be avoided.

Pt/En John thought he should speak, but he wanted to stay quiet for selfish reasons. He believed that if he did not talk, they would not hurt him and Alice because of what he had done before.

Pt/En He had supported a man named Black Michael. John told Alice that if they found out he had betrayed them, they would show no mercy to either of them.

Pt/En Someone told John that his only duty was to authority. They explained that if he did not warn the captain, he would be as responsible for what happened as if he had planned it himself.

Pt/En Clayton replied that he was thinking of Alice, and that was his main duty. He felt the captain had caused his own problems. Clayton asked why he should risk his wife's safety in a dangerous situation to save the captain from his own bad choices. He said Alice could not imagine the terrible things that would happen if the dangerous men took control of the ship.

Pt/En Someone told John that duty was important and could not be changed. She said she would be a bad wife for an English lord if she let him avoid his clear duty. She knew there would be danger, but she was willing to face it with him.

Pt/En He told Alice that she could think what she wanted. He said they might be worrying for nothing. He did not like how things looked on the ship, but he thought it might not be so bad. He believed the 'Ancient Mariner' might have been speaking about his own bad wishes, not about real events.

Pt/En He explained that mutiny, or rebellion, on ships might have been common 100 years ago, but in 1888, it was very unlikely to happen.

Pt/En He saw the captain going to his room. He decided he should warn the captain soon. He did not want to talk to the captain because he did not like him.

Pt/En He walked casually towards the stairs where the captain had gone. A moment later, he knocked on the captain's door.

Pt/En The captain, who sounded unfriendly, told him to come in.

Pt/En Clayton entered the room and closed the door.

Pt/En The captain said, "Well?"

Pt/En Clayton explained that he had heard a conversation. He said that some men were planning to rebel and possibly commit murder. He felt it was important for the captain to know, even if it might not be serious.

Pt/En The captain shouted that this was a lie. He told Clayton that if he had interfered with the ship's rules or affairs that did not concern him, he would face punishment. The captain stated he was in charge of the ship and warned Clayton to stop interfering.

Pt/En The captain was very angry. His face was red, and he shouted his last words loudly. He hit the table with his fist and shook his other hand in Clayton's face.

Pt/En Greystoke remained calm and looked at the excited man with a steady gaze.

Pt/En He finally said slowly to Captain Billings that, if he could be honest, he thought the captain was acting like a fool.

Pt/En Then he turned and left the captain with his usual calm manner. This way of leaving made Billings, who was a proud man, angrier than if he had shouted insults.

Pt/En Clayton had missed the chance to make things better. If Clayton had tried to calm Billings, Billings might have regretted his quick words. But now, Billings was very angry, and the chance for them to work together for their own good was lost.

Pt/En Clayton rejoined his wife, Alice, and said that he had wasted his time. He explained that the man had been very ungrateful and had attacked him like a mad dog.

Pt/En The speaker said he did not care about the ship or the person. He wanted to focus on their own safety first. He decided the first thing to do was to go to their cabin and check his revolvers. He also said he was sorry they had packed the larger guns and ammunition with other things.

Pt/En They found their room was very messy. Clothes were spread everywhere from their open boxes and bags. Even their beds had been torn apart.

Pt/En Clayton said that someone had clearly been more interested in their things than they were. He suggested they look around to see what was missing.

Pt/En After a careful search, they found that only Clayton's two revolvers and the small amount of ammunition he had kept out were gone.

Pt/En Clayton said he most wished they had left those items. He thought it was very strange and worrying that only the guns and ammunition were taken.

Pt/En John's wife asked him what they should do. She thought that their best chance was to stay neutral.

Pt/En She explained that if the officers stopped a mutiny, they would be safe. But if the mutineers won, their only hope would be that they had not tried to stop or anger them.

Pt/En John agreed with Alice and said they would stay in the middle.

Pt/En As Clayton and his wife began to tidy their room, they both saw the corner of a paper sticking out from under their door. When Clayton bent down to pick it up, he was surprised to see it move further into the room. He then understood that someone outside was pushing it in.

Pt/En He quickly and quietly moved towards the door. But just as he reached for the handle to open it, his wife put her hand on his wrist.

Pt/En She whispered to John that the others did not wish to be seen, so they could not afford to see them. She reminded him not to forget that they were keeping to the middle of the road.

Pt/En Clayton smiled and lowered his hand. They watched the small piece of white paper until it stopped moving on the floor just inside the door.

Pt/En Clayton bent down and picked up the paper. It was dirty and white, folded into a rough square. Inside, they found a simple message that was hard to read, showing it was written by someone not used to writing.

Pt/En The message warned the Claytons not to report the lost revolvers or to tell anyone what the old sailor had said. It said they would be killed if they did.

Pt/En Clayton said with a sad smile that they would probably do as they were told. He felt that all they could do was to wait and see what would happen.

The Savage Home

Pt/En They did not have to wait long. The next morning, as Clayton went on deck for his usual walk before breakfast, he heard a gunshot, then another, and another.

Pt/En What Clayton saw confirmed his worst fears. The whole mixed group of sailors from the Fuwalda stood facing the officers. Black Michael was at the front of the group.

Pt/En When the officers first fired, the men ran to hide. They shot back from behind masts, the wheel-house, and cabins at the five men who represented the ship's authority.

Pt/En Two of the sailors were shot by the captain's gun and fell between the fighters. Then, the first mate fell forward. Black Michael shouted a command, and the mutineers attacked the remaining four officers. The crew had only six guns, so most of them used boat hooks, axes, and crowbars.

Pt/En The captain had used all his bullets and was reloading when the attack began. The second mate's gun did not work. So, only two guns were ready against the mutineers as they rushed forward. The officers began to move back from the angry crowd.

Pt/En People were shouting and using bad words. The sounds of guns, screams, and groans from hurt people made the deck of the ship Fuwalda seem like a crazy place.

Pt/En The men attacked the officers quickly. A strong Black man used an ax to kill the captain. Soon, the other officers were also dead or hurt by many hits and bullets.

Pt/En The mutineers on the Fuwalda finished their violent work quickly. During all this, John Clayton stood calmly by the stairs, smoking his pipe as if he was just watching a game.

Pt/En When the last officer fell, he decided it was time to go back to his wife. He did not want any of the crew to find her alone downstairs.

Pt/En Although Clayton seemed relaxed, he was worried inside. He feared for his wife's safety because they were now in the hands of these rough, uneducated men.

Pt/En When he turned to go down the ladder, he was surprised. He saw his wife standing on the steps, very close to him.

Pt/En He asked Alice how long she had been there.

Pt/En She replied that she had been there since the beginning. She told him that it was awful and asked what they could hope for from people like that.

Pt/En He answered that he hoped for breakfast. He smiled bravely to try and make her feel less afraid.

Pt/En He added that he was going to ask for it. He asked Alice to come with him, saying they should not let the others think they expected anything but polite treatment.

Pt/En The men gathered around the dead and injured officers. They threw both the living and the dead overboard without any kindness or care. They also got rid of their own dead and dying people in the same way.

Pt/En Soon, one of the crew saw the Claytons coming. He shouted that they were "two more for the fishes" and ran towards them with his ax raised.

Pt/En But Black Michael was faster. He shot the man in the back before he could take many steps.

Pt/En Black Michael gave a loud roar to attract the attention of the others. Pointing to Lord and Lady Greystoke, he cried:

Pt/En He told them that Lord and Lady Greystoke were his friends and should not be harmed. He asked if they understood.

Pt/En Black Michael told Clayton that he was now the captain and his orders must be followed. He also warned Clayton to stay with his group, saying that no one would hurt them. Black Michael looked at his men in a threatening way.

Pt/En The Claytons followed Black Michael's instructions very carefully. They did not see much of the ship's crew and did not know about the plans the men were making.

Pt/En Sometimes, the Claytons heard sounds of fighting and arguments from the mutineers. Twice, they heard gunshots. However, Black Michael was a strong leader for these criminals and kept them under control.

Pt/En On the fifth day after the ship's officers were killed, a lookout saw land. Black Michael did not know if it was an island or the mainland. He told Clayton that if the place seemed suitable for living, he and Lady Greystoke would be taken ashore with their things.

Pt/En Black Michael explained that they would be safe there for a few months. By then, he said, they would reach a populated coast and move around. He promised to let the government know their location so they could be rescued by a warship.

Pt/En It would be difficult to bring you to civilization because many questions would be asked, and none of us has good answers ready.

Pt/En Clayton protested that it was not kind to leave them on an unknown shore where they would be in danger from wild animals and perhaps from people.

Pt/En But his words did not help. They only made Black Michael angry. So, Clayton had to stop talking and accept the bad situation.

Pt/En Around three in the afternoon, they arrived near a beautiful, wooded shore. In front of them was the entrance to a harbor that seemed to be closed off from the sea.

Pt/En Black Michael sent a small boat with men to check the entrance. They wanted to see if the ship, the Fuwalda, could sail through it safely.

Pt/En After about an hour, they came back and said the water was deep through the passage and also far into the small basin.

Pt/En Before it got dark, the ship was anchored peacefully on the calm, flat water of the harbor, which looked like a mirror.

Pt/En The land around the harbor was beautiful with green plants. In the distance, hills and flat areas rose from the ocean, covered with old forests.

Pt/En There were no signs of people living there. However, the land could easily support human life. This was shown by the many birds and animals.

Pt/En The people on the ship occasionally saw these animals. They also saw a small river flowing into the harbor, which meant there was plenty of fresh water.

Pt/En As it became dark, Clayton and Lady Alice stood by the ship, thinking about where they would live. From the dark forest, they heard the loud sounds of wild animals, like the roar of a lion and the scream of a panther.

Pt/En Lady Alice was very afraid. She moved closer to Clayton, worried about the terrible things that might be in the dark when they were alone on the wild shore.

Pt/En Later, Black Michael told them to get ready to land the next day. They asked him to take them to a safer place near civilization, but he refused. Nothing they said or offered could change his mind.

Pt/En Black Michael told them that he was the only one on the ship who wanted them to live. He said they had saved his life before, so he would spare theirs, but that was all he could do.

Pt/En He explained that the other men were tired and might not let them land soon. He promised to put their things ashore, along with cooking tools, old sails for tents, and enough food until they could find more.

Pt/En Black Michael told them they could live safely there with their guns until help arrived. He said he would inform the British government about their location, even though he did not know it exactly himself. He was sure the government would find them.

Pt/En After he left, they went below deck quietly, feeling worried about the future.

Pt/En Clayton did not think Black Michael would really tell the British government where they were. He also suspected that Black Michael might plan something bad for the next day, when they would go ashore with the sailors who would help them carry their things.

Pt/En Clayton worried that if they were out of Black Michael's sight, any of the sailors could attack them, and Black Michael would not be responsible.

Pt/En Even if they avoided danger from the sailors, Clayton knew they would face much greater dangers. He thought that he might survive alone for many years because he was a strong and fit man.

Pt/En The man thought about Alice and the new baby. The baby would soon face a difficult and dangerous life in this wild, old world.

Pt/En The man felt scared and helpless when he thought about their serious situation. He was lucky he could not see the terrible future that waited for them in the dark forest.

Pt/En Early the next morning, their many chests and boxes were put on the deck. Then they were lowered into small boats to be taken to the shore.

Pt/En The Claytons had brought many things because they thought they would live there for five to eight years. They had many necessary items and also many luxury items.

Pt/En Black Michael wanted to make sure that nothing belonging to the Claytons was left on the ship. It is hard to know if he did this to help them or for his own reasons.

Pt/En It would have been very difficult to explain why belongings of a missing British official were found on a suspicious ship in any port.

Pt/En He was very determined to do what he planned, so he demanded that the sailors give back Clayton’s revolvers.

Pt/En Salted meat, biscuits, potatoes, beans, matches, cooking pots, tools, and old sails that Black Michael had promised were also put into the small boats.

Pt/En Black Michael seemed to fear the thing Clayton suspected. He went with them to the shore and was the last to leave. The small boats had filled the ship's casks with fresh water and were pushed out toward the Fuwalda.

Pt/En As the boats moved slowly on the calm water, Clayton and his wife watched them go. Both felt that something bad was going to happen and that there was no hope.

Pt/En Other eyes watched them from behind a small hill. These eyes were close together, looked evil, and shone from under thick eyebrows.

Pt/En The ship Fuwalda went into the harbor entrance. It disappeared behind a point of land. Lady Alice hugged Clayton tightly and began to cry a lot.

Pt/En She had been brave during the mutiny and had faced the future with strength. But now, feeling completely alone, she became very upset and started to cry.

Pt/En He did not stop her crying. He thought it was good for her to release her strong feelings. It took her many minutes to calm down. She was still very young.

Pt/En Finally, she spoke to John. She said she was scared and asked what they should do.

Pt/En He told Alice that there was only one thing to do: work. He said that work would save them. He explained that they should not give themselves time to think, because thinking too much could make them go mad.

Pt/En He added that they must work and wait. He was sure that help would arrive quickly once it was clear that the Fuwalda ship was lost, even if Black Michael did not keep his promise.

Pt/En Alice cried and said that if it were only John and her, she knew they could handle the situation, but she was worried about someone else.

Pt/En John gently replied that he had also thought about that. He said they must face the situation bravely and be very confident in their ability to handle whatever happened.

Pt/En He explained that their ancestors from a very long time ago faced similar problems, possibly in these same old forests. He said that they are alive today because their ancestors were successful.

Pt/En John asked if they could do what people in the past did. He explained that they could do it even better because they had much more knowledge from science. This science gave them ways to protect themselves and find food, which the people from the past did not know about.

Pt/En Alice, if they accomplished things with instruments and weapons of stone and bone, surely we may accomplish that also.

Pt/En Alice told John that she wished she could think like a man with a logical mind. However, she felt she was just a woman who felt things with her heart. She found the situation too terrible and shocking to describe.

Pt/En Alice said she hoped John was right. She promised to try her best to be a strong, brave woman, a good partner for a man from this ancient world.

Pt/En Clayton's first idea was to create a safe place for them to sleep that night. He wanted to find something that could protect them from wild animals that might hunt them.

Pt/En He opened the box with his guns and bullets. This was so they could both be safe from attacks while they worked. Then, they looked for a place to sleep for their first night.

Pt/En About 100 yards from the beach, there was a flat area with few trees. They decided to build a permanent house there later. For now, they thought it was best to build a small platform in the trees. This would keep them safe from the big wild animals in the area.

Pt/En To do this, Clayton chose four trees that made a square shape about eight feet wide. He cut long branches from other trees and made a frame around these trees. The frame was about ten feet off the ground. He used rope, which Black Michael had given him from the ship, to tie the branches to the trees.

Pt/En Clayton then placed smaller branches close together across this frame. He covered this platform with large leaves from elephant's ear plants, which grew nearby. Over the leaves, he put a large sail folded several times.

Pt/En Seven feet higher, he built another platform, similar but lighter, to be a roof. He used the rest of the sailcloth to make walls hanging from the sides of this roof.

Pt/En He finished building a comfortable little nest. Then, he brought their blankets and some lighter bags to it.

Pt/En It was late in the afternoon. They spent the rest of the daylight hours building a simple ladder. This ladder would help Lady Alice climb up to her new home.

Pt/En All day, the forest was full of colorful, excited birds and noisy monkeys. They watched the new people and their nest building with great interest.

Pt/En Clayton and his wife watched carefully, but they did not see any large animals. However, twice they saw their monkey neighbors run away screaming. The monkeys looked scared and seemed to be running from something dangerous hidden nearby.

Pt/En Just before it got dark, Clayton finished the ladder. He filled a large bowl with water from a nearby stream. Then, Clayton and his wife climbed up to their new home in the trees, which felt safer.

Pt/En It was warm, so Clayton had left the side curtains open. Lady Alice and Clayton sat on their blankets. Lady Alice looked hard into the dark woods and suddenly grabbed Clayton's arms.

Pt/En Lady Alice quietly asked John to look, wondering if it was a man.

Pt/En Clayton looked where she pointed. He saw a large shape standing on the ridge, dark against the shadows.

Pt/En The figure stood for a moment as if listening. Then it slowly turned and disappeared into the jungle shadows.

Pt/En Lady Alice asked John again what it was.

Pt/En He answered Alice seriously that he did not know. He explained it was too dark to see far, and it might have been just a shadow from the rising moon.

Pt/En Alice told John that if it was not a man, it was a very large and strange shape that looked like a man. She said she was afraid.

Pt/En He held her close and spoke kind and loving words to comfort her.

Pt/En After a short time, he pulled the tent walls down. He tied them tightly to the trees. This made them completely closed, except for a small opening towards the beach.

Pt/En Because it was very dark inside their small shelter, they lay down on their blankets. They hoped to forget their worries for a short time by sleeping.

Pt/En Clayton was lying down, looking towards the front opening. He had a rifle and two revolvers near him.

Pt/En They had just closed their eyes when a scary panther's cry came from the jungle. The sound got closer until they could hear the animal right below them. For about an hour, they heard it smelling and scratching the trees holding their platform. Finally, it went away across the beach. Clayton saw it clearly in the bright moonlight; it was a very big and beautiful panther, the largest he had ever seen.

Pt/En During the long night, they slept only a little. The jungle was full of animal sounds, which made them nervous. They woke up many times because of loud screams or the sound of large animals moving below them.

Life and Death

Pt/En In the morning, they did not feel much better, but they were very happy to see the day start.

Pt/En After they ate a small breakfast of salt pork, coffee, and biscuit, Clayton began to build their house. He knew they would not feel safe or peaceful at night until they had four strong walls to keep the jungle animals out.

Pt/En Building the small room was difficult and took almost a month. He made the cabin from small logs, about six inches wide. He used clay to fill the spaces between the logs. He found the clay a few feet under the ground.

Pt/En He built a fireplace at one end using small stones from the beach, setting them in clay. After the house was finished, he covered the whole outside with a four-inch layer of clay.

Pt/En For the window opening, he placed small branches, about an inch wide, both up and down, and across. These formed a strong barrier that could stop a strong animal. This allowed them to have fresh air and ventilation safely inside their cabin.

Pt/En The roof was shaped like an A. It was covered with small branches placed close together. Over these, he added long jungle grass and palm leaves, and then a final layer of clay.

Pt/En He made the door from pieces of the wooden boxes that had held their things. He nailed one piece over another, with the wood grain going in different directions for strength. The door became very solid, about three inches thick, and they were amused by how strong it looked.

Pt/En Clayton had a big problem. He built a large door but did not have a way to hang it. After two days of work, he made two strong wooden hinges. He used these to hang the door, and it opened and closed easily.

Pt/En They finished the house with plaster and other details after they moved in. They moved in as soon as the roof was built. At night, they put their boxes in front of the door. This made their home safe and comfortable.

Pt/En It was easy to build a bed, chairs, a table, and shelves. By the end of the second month, they were settled. They were not uncomfortable or unhappy, but they were always afraid of wild animals and felt very lonely.

Pt/En Big animals made loud noises around their small house at night. But people can get used to sounds they hear often. Soon, they paid little attention to the noises and slept well all night.

Pt/En Three times, they saw tall, man-like figures in the dark, like the one they saw on the first night. However, they never saw them close enough to be sure if they were people or animals.

Pt/En The beautiful birds and small monkeys were not scared of the Claytons anymore. Because they had never seen people before, their curiosity made them come closer. After a month, some birds even took small pieces of food from the Claytons' hands.

Pt/En One afternoon, Mr. Clayton was working on his cabin. Some of the small monkeys came running through the trees, making loud noises. They looked back as if they were running from something. They stopped near Mr. Clayton and seemed to be warning him about danger.

Pt/En Finally, Mr. Clayton saw what the monkeys were afraid of. It was the large, ape-like man that the Claytons had seen briefly before.

Pt/En The creature was a large ape. It walked in a way that was partly upright, sometimes putting its fists on the ground. As it moved closer, it made deep, rough sounds and sometimes a low barking noise.

Pt/En Mr. Clayton was far from his cabin, cutting down a tree. He had felt safe for months and had not seen dangerous animals during the day, so he left his guns inside. When he saw the large ape coming through the bushes directly towards him, blocking his way to escape, he felt a little scared.

Pt/En He knew that with only an ax, he had little chance against the dangerous monster. He worried about what would happen to Alice.

Pt/En There was still a small chance to get to the cabin. He turned and ran towards it. He shouted to his wife to go inside and close the big door, in case the ape stopped him from coming back.

Pt/En Lady Greystoke was sitting near the cabin. When she heard his shout, she looked up and saw the ape jumping very quickly. For such a big and clumsy animal, it moved with surprising speed to block Clayton.

Pt/En She cried out and ran to the cabin. As she entered, she looked back and felt very scared. The ape had stopped her husband. He was now standing ready to fight, holding his ax with both hands, waiting for the angry animal to attack.

Pt/En Clayton told Alice to close and lock the door. He said he could deal with the ape using his ax.

Pt/En He knew he was in terrible danger, and she knew it too.

Pt/En The ape was a large male, weighing about 300 pounds. Its small eyes under thick hair showed hate. It made an angry sound, showing its large teeth as it stopped for a moment before its victim.

Pt/En Clayton could see the door of his cabin over the ape's shoulder. It was not far away. He felt a great wave of horror and fear when he saw his young wife come out, holding one of his rifles.

Pt/En She had always been scared of guns and never wanted to touch them. But now, she ran towards the ape like a brave lioness protecting her babies.

Pt/En Clayton shouted for Alice to go back, telling her it was very important for her safety.

Pt/En The woman did not listen. At that moment, the ape attacked, and Clayton could not say anything more.

Pt/En Clayton used all his strength to swing his ax. But the strong ape grabbed the ax with its hands and threw it away from Clayton.

Pt/En The ape snarled and moved towards its victim. Before the ape could bite the throat, there was a loud noise and a bullet hit the ape in the back.

Pt/En The beast threw Clayton to the ground and turned to face its new enemy. The terrified girl stood before it trying to shoot the animal again but she did not understand how the gun worked and the hammer fell on an empty cartridge.

Pt/En Clayton quickly stood up. He ran towards the ape to pull it away from his wife, even though he knew it was very dangerous.

Pt/En He killed the ape easily. The large animal fell dead on the grass. The bullet had killed it.

Pt/En Clayton quickly checked his wife but found no injuries. He thought the big animal had died at the exact moment it jumped at Alice.

Pt/En He carefully picked up his wife, who was still unconscious. He carried her to the small cabin. She woke up after two hours.

Pt/En Clayton felt a little worried when his wife first spoke. After she became aware of her surroundings in the cabin, Alice looked around and then said with a happy sigh.

Pt/En She told John that she was very happy to be home. She explained that she had had a bad dream where they were not in London but in a terrible place where large animals attacked them.

Pt/En He spoke gently to Alice, touching her forehead. He told her to try sleeping again and not to worry about bad dreams.

Pt/En That night, a baby boy was born in a small house next to the wild forest. Outside, a leopard made a loud noise, and a lion roared from a nearby hill.

Pt/En Lady Greystoke did not get better after the big ape attacked her. She lived for one year after her baby was born, but she never left the house again. She also did not fully understand that she was not in England.

Pt/En She sometimes asked Clayton about the strange sounds at night, why there were no servants or friends, and why her room was not decorated nicely. He did not try to trick her, but she could never understand what was happening.

Pt/En In other ways, she was thinking clearly. She was very happy with her little son and her husband's constant care. This made the year a very good one for her, the best year of her young life.

Pt/En Clayton knew that the woman would have been very worried and afraid if she had been fully aware of everything. He felt very sad seeing her like this, but sometimes he was also happy for her, because she could not understand what was happening.

Pt/En He had stopped hoping for rescue, unless something unexpected happened. He worked very hard and with great care to make the inside of the cabin look nice.

Pt/En Lion and panther skins covered the floor. Cupboards and bookshelves were on the walls. He made vases from clay to hold tropical flowers. Curtains made of grass and bamboo covered the windows. He also worked hard to seal the walls and ceiling and make a smooth floor inside the cabin using his few tools.

Pt/En He was a little surprised that he could do this kind of work, as it was new to him. But he enjoyed the work because it was for the woman and their new baby. This made his responsibilities much greater and their situation much more difficult.

Pt/En During the next year, Clayton was attacked by large apes several times. These apes seemed to be always near the cabin. However, he always carried his rifle and revolvers when he went outside, so he was not afraid of the big animals.

Pt/En He made the window protections stronger and put a special wooden lock on the cabin door. This meant he was not afraid of animals breaking into his home when he went out to hunt for food, which he needed to do often.

Pt/En At first, he shot animals from the cabin windows. Later, the animals began to fear the strange place where the loud sound of his rifle came from.

Pt/En In his free time, Clayton often read aloud to his wife from the books he had brought for their new home. Among these were many for little children, such as picture books, primers and readers, because they knew their child would be old enough for them before they could return to England.

Pt/En Clayton also wrote in his diary, which he usually kept in French. In it, he wrote about their unusual life. He kept this diary locked in a small metal box.

Pt/En One year after her son was born, Lady Alice died peacefully in her sleep. Her death was so quiet that Clayton did not realize his wife had passed away for many hours.

Pt/En He slowly understood how bad the situation was. It was hard for him to understand how sad he was and how important it was to take care of his baby son.

Pt/En The last entry in his diary was on the morning after she died. He wrote the sad facts in a simple way. This made the sadness stronger because it showed he was tired and without hope after much pain. Even this hard event could not make him suffer more.

Pt/En He wrote that his little son was crying because he was hungry. He asked Alice what he should do.

Pt/En As John Clayton wrote his last words, he put his head down tiredly on his arms. His arms rested on the table he had made for Alice, who was now still and cold in the bed next to him.

Pt/En For a long time, the jungle was very quiet. The only sound was the sad crying of the small baby.

The Apes

Pt/En In the forest, not far from the ocean, an old ape called Kerchak was very angry with his group.

Pt/En The younger and lighter apes in his group climbed high into the big trees to escape his anger. They were in danger on branches that were not strong enough, but they preferred this to facing Kerchak when he was so angry.

Pt/En The other male apes ran away in different directions. Before they escaped, the angry ape Kerchak bit one of them, and its back bone broke in his strong, foaming mouth.

Pt/En A young female ape was not lucky. She slipped from a high branch that was not safe and fell to the ground near Kerchak.

Pt/En Kerchak attacked her with a loud cry. He bit her side badly and hit her head and shoulders with a broken tree branch until her skull was crushed.

Pt/En Kerchak saw Kala. She was returning with her baby after looking for food. She did not know that Kerchak was angry. Suddenly, other apes shouted warnings. Kala quickly ran away to be safe.

Pt/En But Kerchak was very close. He almost grabbed her ankle. Kala made a dangerous jump to another tree. Apes usually only do this when they are in great danger and have no other choice.

Pt/En She jumped successfully. But as she grabbed the branch, the sudden movement made her baby fall. The baby had been holding onto her neck. She saw the small child fall to the ground, about thirty feet below.

Pt/En Kala cried out sadly and ran to her baby. She forgot about Kerchak. But when she held the small, hurt body, the baby was already dead.

Pt/En She sat and held the baby, making soft sad sounds. Kerchak did not bother her. After the baby died, Kerchak's angry mood ended as quickly as it had started.

Pt/En Kerchak was a very big ape leader. He weighed about 350 pounds. He had a very low forehead, small red eyes that were close together, and a flat nose. His ears were large and thin, but smaller than usual for his kind.

Pt/En He had a bad temper and was very strong. This made him the leader of his small group of apes. He was born about twenty years before.

Pt/En Kerchak was in his best years. No other ape in the large forest dared to fight him for leadership. Other, bigger animals also did not bother him.

Pt/En Only Tantor, the elephant, was not afraid of Kerchak. And Kerchak was afraid of Tantor. When Tantor made a loud noise, the big ape and his group quickly climbed high into the trees.

Pt/En Kerchak ruled his group of apes strictly. The group had about six or eight families. Each family had one adult male, his females, and their young. In total, there were about sixty or seventy apes.

Pt/En Kala was the youngest partner of a male named Tublat, whose name meant broken nose. The child she saw killed was her first baby, because she was only nine or ten years old.

Pt/En Even though she was young, Kala was big and strong. She was a beautiful animal with a round, high forehead, which showed she was more intelligent than most apes. She also had a great ability to feel motherly love and motherly sadness.

Pt/En But she was still an ape, a very large, wild, and frightening animal. Her species was very similar to gorillas but was more intelligent. With the strength of gorillas, her kind were the most scary of the great apes that were ancestors of humans.

Pt/En When the ape tribe saw that Kerchak was no longer angry, they slowly came down from the trees where they had hidden. They started doing their usual activities again, which Kerchak had stopped.

Pt/En The young apes played and ran around in the trees and bushes. Some of the adult apes lay down on the soft ground, which was covered with dead plants. Others turned over fallen branches and dirt to find small bugs and reptiles to eat.

Pt/En Some others looked in the trees nearby for food like fruit, nuts, small birds, and eggs.

Pt/En After about an hour, Kerchak called everyone together. He told them to follow him, and they started walking towards the sea.

Pt/En They mostly walked on the ground where it was open. They followed paths made by elephants, which were the only clear ways through the thick plants and trees. When they walked, they moved in a strange, rolling way, putting their knuckles on the ground and moving their bodies forward.

Pt/En But when they moved through the lower trees, they went faster. They swung from branch to branch like monkeys. All the way, Kala held her dead baby close to her chest.

Pt/En It was a little after midday when they reached a hill. From there, they could see the beach and a small cottage below. This cottage was Kerchak’s destination.

Pt/En Kerchak had seen many apes die from the loud noise made by the white ape's small black stick. Kerchak decided he wanted to have this weapon that killed. He also wanted to look inside the white ape's strange home.

Pt/En Kerchak hated and feared the strange animal (Tarzan) and wanted to bite him. Because of this, he often came with his tribe to watch. They waited for a time when the white ape was not careful.

Pt/En Recently, the apes had stopped attacking or showing themselves. Every time they had attacked before, the small stick had killed one of the apes in the tribe.

Pt/En Today, the man was not seen. From where they watched, the apes saw that the cabin door was open. Slowly and quietly, they moved through the jungle towards the small cabin.

Pt/En There were no angry sounds. The apes had learned that the small black stick could kill them if they were not quiet. So, they came silently, so they would not wake it.

Pt/En The apes continued to approach. Kerchak, their leader, quietly moved to the door and looked inside. Two other male apes were behind him, and then Kala. Kala was holding a small, dead body close to her chest.

Pt/En Inside the room, they saw the unusual white ape lying on a table with his head down. On the bed, there was a body covered with a cloth. A baby was crying sadly in a small cradle.

Pt/En Kerchak entered the room silently, ready to attack. Suddenly, John Clayton stood up and faced them.

Pt/En John Clayton was very shocked by what he saw. Three large male apes were standing at the door, and many more were behind them. He did not know how many there were because his guns were far away on the wall, and Kerchak was starting to attack.

Pt/En After the ape leader let go of John Clayton's body, he turned towards the cradle. But Kala got there first. When he tried to grab the baby, Kala took the child herself. She quickly ran out the door and escaped into a tall tree before he could stop her.

Pt/En The ape took Alice Clayton's living baby. She put her own dead baby into the empty cradle. Her strong motherly feelings made her want to care for the living baby.

Pt/En High in a big tree, the ape held the crying baby close. Her motherly love was very strong. This love helped the baby understand, and he stopped crying.

Pt/En Soon, the baby was hungry. The son of an English lord and lady nursed from the ape named Kala.

Pt/En Meanwhile, the animals inside the cabin looked carefully at the things in this strange place.

Pt/En After Kerchak was sure that Clayton was dead, he looked at the thing on the bed that was covered by a piece of cloth.

Pt/En He gently lifted one corner of the cloth covering the body. When he saw the woman's body, he quickly pulled the cloth away and grabbed her pale, still throat with his large, hairy hands.

Pt/En He felt the cold flesh for a moment. Then, knowing she was already dead, he turned away to look at the things in the room. He did not touch the bodies of Lady Alice or Sir John again.

Pt/En He first noticed the rifle on the wall. He had wanted this strange, deadly gun for months. But now that he could have it, he was almost too afraid to take it.

Pt/En He slowly moved closer to the gun. He was ready to run away quickly if it made its loud, deep noise, as he had heard it do before. This happened when people who did not know better attacked the amazing white ape who had carried it.

Pt/En Deep in his mind, he knew the gun was only dangerous if someone knew how to use it. However, it still took him several minutes before he could bring himself to touch it.

Pt/En He walked back and forth in front of the object. He kept looking at it all the time.

Pt/En The big ape walked back and forth. He used his long arms to help him move. He made deep sounds, and sometimes he screamed very loudly. This was a very frightening sound in the jungle.

Pt/En He stopped in front of the rifle. He slowly raised his hand to touch the shiny barrel, but then took it away and continued walking quickly.

Pt/En It seemed like the ape was trying to be brave. He was using his loud voice to make himself feel strong enough to pick up the rifle.

Pt/En He stopped again. This time, he managed to put his hand on the cold metal of the rifle. But he quickly pulled his hand away and started walking restlessly again.

Pt/En The ape tried to take the rifle many times. Each time he felt more sure of himself. Finally, he took the rifle from its hook. The big ape held it.

Pt/En Kerchak saw that the rifle did not hurt him. He started to look at it very carefully. He touched it all over. He looked inside the front part, felt the sights, the back part, the handle, and then the trigger.

Pt/En While Kerchak was doing this, the other apes who were inside sat near the door and watched their leader. The apes outside tried hard to see what was happening.

Pt/En Suddenly, Kerchak's finger pressed the trigger. A very loud noise came from the small room. The apes at the door and outside fell over each other as they tried to run away.

Pt/En Kerchak was also very scared. He was so frightened that he did not drop the rifle that made the loud noise. Instead, he ran to the door holding it tightly.

Pt/En When the ape passed through the opening, the front of the rifle hit the door. This caused the door to close tightly behind the ape.

Pt/En Kerchak stopped near the cabin and saw he still had the rifle. He dropped it quickly, like it was very hot. He did not try to pick it up again because the noise scared him. But he now believed the rifle was not dangerous if it was not touched.

Pt/En It took the apes an hour to feel brave enough to go back to the cabin. When they finally went, they were unhappy because the door was closed and locked so well that they could not open it.

Pt/En The special lock that Clayton had made for the door had closed when Kerchak went out. The apes also could not get inside through the windows, which had strong bars.

Pt/En After looking around the area for a short time, they went back to the deep forests and the higher land where they came from.

Pt/En Kala had not come down from the trees with her adopted baby before. But Kerchak called her to come down with the other apes. His voice sounded calm, so she moved easily from tree to tree and joined the group on their way home.

Pt/En When other apes tried to look at Kala's strange baby, she stopped them. She showed her teeth and made low, angry sounds. Kala also warned them with her words.

Pt/En The other apes told her they would not hurt the child. Then, Kala let them come near. However, she did not let them touch her baby.

Pt/En It seemed Kala knew her baby was small and weak. She was afraid that the other apes' rough hands might hurt the little one.

Pt/En Kala also did something else that made traveling difficult for her. She remembered her own baby had died. So, when they were moving, she held the new baby very tightly with one hand.

Pt/En Other young apes rode on their mothers' backs. They held the hairy necks tightly with their arms and put their legs under their mothers' armpits.

Pt/En Kala held the small child, Lord Greystoke, tightly to her chest. His hands held her long black hair. She had seen another child fall to its death from her back, so she was very careful with this one.

The White Ape

Pt/En Kala cared for the child. She wondered why he did not become strong and quick like the young apes. It took him almost a year to walk by himself, and he was very bad at climbing.

Pt/En Kala spoke with other female apes about her child. They could not understand why he was so slow to learn how to take care of himself. He could not even find food alone, and it had been more than twelve months since Kala found him.

Pt/En If they had known the child was thirteen months old when Kala found him, they would have thought he had no hope. The young apes of their tribe were as advanced in two or three months as this child was after twenty-five months.

Pt/En Tublat, Kala’s husband, was very angry. If Kala had not watched him carefully, he would have harmed the child.

Pt/En Tublat argued that the child would never be a strong ape. He said Kala would always have to carry and protect him, and that he would be a burden to the tribe, not helpful.

Pt/En Tublat suggested they leave the child sleeping in the tall grass so Kala could have other, stronger apes to protect them when they were old.

Pt/En Kala replied to Tublat, who was called Broken Nose, that she would never leave the child. She said she would carry him forever if she had to.

Pt/En Then Tublat went to Kerchak to ask him to make Kala give up the baby. They had named the child Tarzan, which meant “White-Skin”.

Pt/En Kala told Kerchak that she would leave the tribe if they continued to bother her and the child. The jungle people had a right to leave if they were unhappy. So, they stopped bothering Kala because she was a good young female, and they did not want to lose her.

Pt/En As Tarzan grew, he learned very quickly. By the age of ten, he was a very good climber. He could also do many amazing things on the ground that his younger brothers and sisters could not do.

Pt/En Tarzan was different from the others in many ways. They were often surprised by how clever he was. However, he was not as strong or as big as them. At ten years old, the adult apes were fully grown and some were over six feet tall, but Tarzan was still like a half-grown boy.

Pt/En But he was a special boy!

Pt/En From a young age, he used his hands to move between branches like his mother. As he got older, he spent many hours every day moving quickly through the trees with his brothers and sisters.

Pt/En He could jump twenty feet across space high in the forest tops and grasp a wildly waving limb with perfect accuracy and without any jolt.

Pt/En A tornado was coming.

Pt/En He could also drop twenty feet from one branch to another when going down to the ground quickly. He could climb to the very top of the tallest trees as easily and fast as a squirrel.

Pt/En Even though he was only ten years old, he was as strong as a man of thirty. He was also much more flexible than the best athletes. His strength grew stronger every day.

Pt/En He was happy living with the strong apes. He did not remember any other life, and he did not know that anything else existed in the world besides his forest and the wild animals he knew.

Pt/En Around the age of ten, he began to realize that he was very different from the others. His little body, burned brown by the sun, suddenly made him feel great shame because it had no hair, like a snake or other reptile.

Pt/En He tried to cover himself with mud to hide his hairless skin, but the mud dried and fell off. It was also very uncomfortable, so he decided he would rather feel ashamed than uncomfortable.

Pt/En Tarzan saw his face for the first time in the clear, still water of a small lake that his tribe often visited.

Pt/En One hot day, he and a cousin went to the lake to drink. As they leaned over, they saw their reflections in the water: the face of the ape and the face of the aristocratic scion of an old English house.

Pt/En Tarzan was shocked by his face. Being hairless was bad enough, but his face looked so strange. He wondered how the other apes could even look at him.

Pt/En Tarzan looked at his small mouth and tiny white teeth. He thought they looked very different from the large lips and strong fangs of his ape brothers.

Pt/En He also looked at his thin, small nose, which seemed too small. He felt embarrassed when he compared it to his companion's wide and large nose. Tarzan thought it must be nice to look so handsome.

Pt/En Seeing his own eyes was the worst part for Tarzan. They were brown with a gray circle and white. He thought they were ugly, even worse than the eyes of snakes.

Pt/En Tarzan was so busy looking at himself that he did not hear the grass moving behind him. A large animal was coming quietly through the jungle. His ape companion also did not hear because he was drinking and the noise of his drinking covered the sound.

Pt/En About thirty steps behind them, Sabor, a large lioness, was hiding. She moved her big paws slowly and quietly. She walked with her body low to the ground, ready to jump on her food.

Pt/En She was now within ten feet of the two unsuspecting little playfellows. She carefully drew her hind feet well up beneath her body, the great muscles rolling under the beautiful skin.

Pt/En She was crouching so low that she looked flat on the ground. Her back was bent upwards, ready for her to jump.

Pt/En Her tail was no longer moving. It lay straight and still behind her.

Pt/En She stayed still for a moment, like a stone statue. Then, with a loud scream, she jumped.

Pt/En Sabor, the lioness, was a smart hunter. A less smart hunter might think her loud cry when she jumped was a mistake. But she jumped with a loud cry to surprise her victims.

Pt/En Sabor knew that jungle animals were very fast and could hear very well. Even a small sound, like grass moving, was a warning to them. Sabor knew she would make a noise when she jumped.

Pt/En Sabor's loud scream was not to warn anyone. She screamed to make her victims too scared to move for a very short time. This would give her time to attack them with her claws before they could escape.

Pt/En Sabor was right about the ape. The ape froze for just a moment because it was scared. But this short time was enough for Sabor to catch it.

Pt/En But Tarzan, the human child, was different. He had learned to be brave and confident when facing jungle dangers. His intelligence helped him think and react much faster than the apes.

Pt/En So, when Sabor the lioness screamed, Tarzan's mind and body reacted immediately.

Pt/En In front of Tarzan was the deep water of a small lake. Behind him was certain death from sharp claws and teeth.

Pt/En Tarzan never liked water, except to drink. He disliked it because it reminded him of cold, heavy rain, and he was afraid of the storms with thunder, lightning, and wind that came with the rain.

Pt/En His wild mother had taught him to avoid the deep lake water. Also, he had seen a young ape named Neeta sink and never return just a few weeks before.

Original English Text

1 - Out to Sea

2 - The Savage Home

3 - Life and Death

4 - The Apes

5 - The White Ape

Out to Sea

PT I had this story from one who had no business to tell it to me, or to any other. I may credit the seductive influence of an old vintage upon the narrator for the beginning of it, and my own skeptical incredulity during the days that followed for the balance of the strange tale.

PT When my convivial host discovered that he had told me so much, and that I was prone to doubtfulness, his foolish pride assumed the task the old vintage had commenced, and so he unearthed written evidence in the form of musty manuscript, and dry official records of the British Colonial Officea to support many of the salient features of his remarkable narrative.

PT I do not say the story is true, for I did not witness the happenings which it portrays, but the fact that in the telling of it to you I have taken fictitious names for the principal characters quite sufficiently evidences the sincerity of my own belief that it may be true.

PT The yellow, mildewed pages of the diary of a man long dead, and the records of the Colonial Office dovetail perfectly with the narrative of my convivial host, and so I give you the story as I painstakingly pieced it out from these several various agencies.

PT If you do not find it credible you will at least be as one with me in acknowledging that it is unique, remarkable, and interesting.

PT From the records of the Colonial Office and from the dead man’s diary we learn that a certain young English nobleman, whom we shall call John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, was commissioned to make a peculiarly delicate investigation of conditions in a British West Coast African Colonyb from whose simple native inhabitants another European power was known to be recruiting soldiers for its native army, which it used solely for the forcible collection of rubber and ivory from the savage tribes along the Congo and the Aruwimi.

PT The natives of the British Colony complained that many of their young men were enticed away through the medium of fair and glowing promises, but that few if any ever returned to their families.

PT The Englishmen in Africa went even further, saying that these poor blacks were held in virtual slavery, since after their terms of enlistment expired their ignorance was imposed upon by their white officers, and they were told that they had yet several years to serve.

PT And so the Colonial Office appointed John Clayton to a new post in British West Africa, but his confidential instructions centered on a thorough investigation of the unfair treatment of black British subjects by the officers of a friendly European power.1 Why he was sent, is, however, of little moment to this story, for he never made an investigation, nor, in fact, did he ever reach his destination.

PT Clayton was the type of Englishman that one likes best to associate with the noblest monuments of historic achievement upon a thousand victorious battlefields—a strong, virile man—mentally, morally, and physically.

PT In stature he was above the average height; his eyes were gray, his features regular and strong; his carriage that of perfect, robust health influenced by his years of army training.

PT Political ambition had caused him to seek transference from the army to the Colonial Office and so we find him, still young, entrusted with a delicate and important commission

PT in the service of the Queen.

PT When he received this appointment he was both elated and appalled. The preferment seemed to him in the nature of a well-merited reward for painstaking and intelligent service, and as a stepping stone to posts of greater importance and responsibility; but, on the other hand, he had been married to the Hon. Alice Rutherford for a scarce three months, and it was the thought of taking this fair young girl into the dangers and isolation of tropical Africa that appalled him.

PT For her sake he would have refused the appointment, but she would not have it so. Instead she insisted that he accept, and, indeed, take her with him.

PT There were mothers and brothers and sisters, and aunts and cousins to express various opinions on the subject, but as to what they severally advised history is silent.

PT We know only that on a bright May morning in 1888, John, Lord Greystoke, and Lady Alice sailed from Dover on their way to Africa.

PT A month later they arrived at Freetownc where they chartered a small sailing vessel, the Fuwalda, which was to bear them to their final destination.

PT And here John, Lord Greystoke, and Lady Alice, his wife, vanished from the eyes and from the knowledge of men.

PT Two months after they weighed anchor and cleared from the port of Freetown a half dozen British war vessels were scouring the south Atlantic for trace of them or their little vessel, and it was almost immediately that the wreckage was found upon the shores of St. Helena d which convinced the world that the Fuwalda had gone down with all on board, and hence the search was stopped ere it had scarce begun; though hope lingered in longing hearts for many years.

PT The Fuwalda, a barkentine of about one hundred tons, was a vessel of the type often seen in coastwise trade in the far southern Atlantic, their crews composed of the offscourings of the sea—unhanged murderers and cutthroats of every race and every nation.

PT The Fuwalda was no exception to the rule. Her officers were swarthy bullies, hating and hated by their crew. The captain, while a competent seaman, was a brute in his treatment of his men. He knew, or at least he used, but two arguments in his dealings with them—a belaying pine and a revolver—nor is it likely that the motley aggregation he signed would have understood aught else.

PT So it was that from the second day out from Freetown John Clayton and his young wife witnessed scenes upon the deck of the Fuwalda such as they had believed were never enacted outside the covers of printed stories of the sea.

PT It was on the morning of the second day that the first link was forged in what was destined to form a chain of circumstances ending in a life for one then unborn such as has never been paralleled in the history of man.

PT Two sailors were washing down the decks of the Fuwalda, the first mate was on duty, and the captain had stopped to speak with John Clayton and Lady Alice.

PT The men were working backwards toward the little party who were facing away from the sailors. Closer and closer they came, until one of them was directly behind the captain. In another moment he would have passed by and this strange narrative would never have been recorded.

PT But just that instant the officer turned to leave Lord and Lady Greystoke, and, as he did so, tripped against the sailor and sprawled headlong upon the deck, overturning the water-

PT pail so that he was drenched in its dirty contents.

PT For an instant the scene was ludicrous; but only for an instant. With a volley of awful oaths, his face suffused with the scarlet of mortification and rage, the captain regained his feet, and with a terrific blow felled the sailor to the deck.

PT The man was small and rather old, so that the brutality of the act was thus accentuated. The other seaman, however, was neither old nor small—a huge bear of a man, with fierce black mustachios, and a great bull neck set between massive shoulders.

PT As he saw his mate go down he crouched, and, with a low snarl, sprang upon the captain crushing him to his knees with a single mighty blow.

PT From scarlet the officer’s face went white, for this was mutiny; and mutiny he had met and subdued before in his brutal career. Without waiting to rise he whipped a revolver from his pocket, firing point blank at the great mountain of muscle towering before him; but, quick as he was, John Clayton was almost as quick, so that the bullet which was intended for the sailor’s heart lodged in the sailor’s leg instead, for Lord Greystoke had struck down the captain’s arm as he had seen the weapon flash in the sun.

PT Words passed between Clayton and the captain, the former making it plain that he was disgusted with the brutality displayed toward the crew, nor would he countenance anything further of the kind while he and Lady Greystoke remained passengers.

PT The captain was on the point of making an angry reply, but, thinking better of it, turned on his heel and black and scowling, strode aft.

PT He did not care to antagonize an English official, for the Queen’s mighty arm wielded a punitive instrument which he could appreciate, and which he feared—England’s farreaching navy.

PT The two sailors picked themselves up, the older man assisting his wounded comrade to rise. The big fellow, who was known among his mates as Black Michael, tried his leg gingerly, and, finding that it bore his weight, turned to Clayton with a word of gruff thanks.

PT Though the fellow’s tone was surly, his words were evidently well meant. Ere he had scarce finished his little speech he had turned and was limping off toward the forecastle with the very apparent intention of forestalling any further conversation.

PT They did not see him again for several days, nor did the captain accord them more than the surliest of grunts when he was forced to speak to them.

PT They took their meals in his cabin, as they had before the unfortunate occurrence; but the captain was careful to see that his duties never permitted him to eat at the same time.

PT The other officers were coarse, illiterate fellows, but little above the villainous crew they bullied, and were only too glad to avoid social intercourse with the polished English noble and his lady, so that the Claytons were left very much to themselves.

PT This in itself accorded perfectly with their desires, but it also rather isolated them from the life of the little ship so that they were unable to keep in touch with the daily happenings which were to culminate so soon in bloody tragedy.

PT There was in the whole atmosphere of the craft that undefinable something which presages disaster. Outwardly, to the knowledge of the Claytons, all went on as before upon the little vessel; but that there was an undertow leading them toward some unknown danger both felt, though they did not speak of it to each other.

PT On the second day after the wounding of Black Michael, Clayton came on deck just in time to see the limp body of one of the crew being carried below by four of his fellows

PT while the first mate, a heavy belaying pin in his hand, stood glowering at the little party of sullen sailors.

PT Clayton asked no questions—he did not need to—and the following day, as the great lines of a British battleship grew out of the distant horizon, he half determined to demand that he and Lady Alice be put aboard her, for his fears were steadily increasing that nothing but harm could result from remaining on the lowering, sullen Fuwalda.

PT Toward noon they were within speaking distance of the British vessel, but when Clayton had nearly decided to ask the captain to put them aboard her, the obvious ridiculousness of such a request became suddenly apparent. What reason could he give the officer commanding her majesty’s ship for desiring to go back in the direction from which he had just come!

PT What if he told them that two insubordinate seamen had been roughly handled by their officers? They would but laugh in their sleeves and attribute his reason for wishing to leave the ship to but one thing—cowardice.

PT John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, did not ask to be transferred to the British man-of-war. Late in the afternoon he saw her upper works fade below the far horizon, but not before he learned that which confirmed his greatest fears, and caused him to curse the false pride which had restrained him from seeking safety for his young wife a few short hours before, when safety was within reach—a safety which was now gone forever.

PT It was mid-afternoon that brought the little old sailor, who had been felled by the captain a few days before, to where Clayton and his wife stood by the ship’s side watching the ever diminishing outlines of the great battleship. The old fellow was polishing brasses, and as he came edging along until close to Clayton he said, in an undertone:

PT “‘Ell’s to pay, sir, on this ’ere craft, an’ mark my word for it, sir. ’Ell’s to pay.”

PT “What do you mean, my good fellow?” asked Clayton.

PT “Wy, hasn’t ye seen wats goin’ on? Hasn’t ye ‘eard that devil’s spawn of a capting an’ ’is mates knockin’ the bloomin’ lights outen ’arf the crew?

PT “Two busted ‘eads yeste’day, an’ three to-day. Black Michael’s as good as new agin an’ ‘e’s not the bully to stand fer it, not ’e; an’ mark my word for it, sir.”

PT “You mean, my man, that the crew contemplates mutiny?” asked Clayton.

PT “Mutiny!” exclaimed the old fellow. “Mutiny! They means murder, sir, an’ mark my word for it, sir.”

PT “When?”

PT “Hit’s comin‘, sir; hit’s comin’ but I’m not a-sayin’ wen, an’ I’ve said too damned much now, but ye was a good sort t’other day an’ I thought it no more’ n right to warn ye. But keep a still tongue in yer ‘ead an’ when ye ’ear shootin’ git below an’ stay there.

PT “That’s all, only keep a still tongue in yer ’ead, or they’ll put a pill between yer ribs, an’ mark my word for it, sir” and the old fellow went on with his polishing, which carried him away from where the Claytons were standing.

PT “Deuced cheerful outlook, Alice,” said Clayton.

PT “You should warn the captain at once, John. Possibly the trouble may yet be averted,” she said.

PT “I suppose I should, but yet from purely selfish motives I am almost prompted to ‘keep a still tongue in my ’ead.’ Whatever they do now they will spare us in recognition of my

PT stand for this fellow Black Michael, but should they find that I had betrayed them there would be no mercy shown us, Alice.”

PT “You have but one duty, John, and that lies in the interest of vested authority. If you do not warn the captain you are as much a party to whatever follows as though you had helped to plot and carry it out with your own head and hands.”

PT “You do not understand, dear,” replied Clayton. “It is of you I am thinking—there lies my first duty. The captain has brought this condition upon himself, so why then should I risk subjecting my wife to unthinkable horrors in a probably futile attempt to save him from his own brutal folly? You have no conception, dear, of what would follow were this pack of cutthroats to gain control of the Fuwalda.”

PT “Duty is duty, John, and no amount of sophistries may change it. I would be a poor wife for an English lord were I to be responsible for his shirking a plain duty. I realize the danger which must follow, but I can face it with you.”

PT “Have it as you will then, Alice,” he answered, smiling. “Maybe we are borrowing trouble. While I do not like the looks of things on board this ship, they may not be so bad after all, for it is possible that the ‘Ancient Mariner’ was but voicing the desires of his wicked old heart rather than speaking of real facts.

PT “Mutiny on the high sea may have been common a hundred years ago, but in this good year 1888 it is the least likely of happenings.

PT “But there goes the captain to his cabin now. If I am going to warn him I might as well get the beastly job over for I have little stomach to talk with the brute at all.”

PT So saying he strolled carelessly in the direction of the companionway through which the captain had passed, and a moment later was knocking at his door.

PT “Come in,” growled the deep tones of that surly officer.

PT And when Clayton had entered, and closed the door behind him:

PT “Well?”

PT “I have come to report the gist of a conversation I heard to-day, because I feel that, while there may be nothing to it, it is as well that you be forearmed. In short, the men contemplate mutiny and murder.”

PT “It’s a lie!” roared the captain. “And if you have been interfering again with the discipline of this ship, or meddling in affairs that don’t concern you you can take the consequences, and be damned. I don’t care whether you are an English lord or not. I’m captain of this here ship, and from now on you keep your meddling nose out of my business.”

PT The captain had worked himself up to such a frenzy of rage that he was fairly purple of face, and he shrieked the last words at the top of his voice, emphasizing his remarks by a loud thumping of the table with one huge fist, and shaking the other in Clayton’s face.

PT Greystoke never turned a hair, but stood eying the excited man with level gaze.

PT “Captain Billings,” he drawled finally, “if you will pardon my candor, I might remark that you are something of an ass.”

PT Whereupon he turned and left the captain with the same indifferent ease that was habitual with him, and which was more surely calculated to raise the ire of a man of Billings’ class than a torrent of invective.

PT So, whereas the captain might easily have been brought to regret his hasty speech had Clayton attempted to conciliate him, his temper was now irrevocably set in the mold in which Clayton had left it, and the last chance of their working together for their common good was gone.

PT “Well, Alice,” said Clayton, as he rejoined his wife, “I might have saved my breath. The fellow proved most ungrateful. Fairly jumped at me like a mad dog.

PT “He and his blasted old ship may hang, for aught I care; and until we are safely off the thing I shall spend my energies in looking after our own welfare. And I rather fancy the first step to that end should be to go to our cabin and look over my revolvers. I am sorry now that we packed the larger guns and the ammunition with the stuff below.”

PT They found their quarters in a bad state of disorder. Clothing from their open boxes and bags strewed the little apartment, and even their beds had been torn to pieces.

PT “Evidently someone was more anxious about our belongings than we,” said Clayton. “Let’s have a look around, Alice, and see what’s missing.”

PT A thorough search revealed the fact that nothing had been taken but Clayton’s two revolvers and the small supply of ammunition he had saved out for them.

PT “Those are the very things I most wish they had left us,” said Clayton, “and the fact that they wished for them and them alone is most sinister.”

PT “What are we to do, John?” asked his wife. “Perhaps you were right in that our best chance lies in maintaining a neutral position.

PT “If the officers are able to prevent a mutiny, we have nothing to fear, while if the mutineers are victorious our one slim hope lies in not having attempted to thwart or antagonize them.”

PT “Right you are, Alice. We’ll keep in the middle of the road.”

PT As they started to straighten up their cabin, Clayton and his wife simultaneously noticed the corner of a piece of paper protruding from beneath the door of their quarters. As Clayton stooped to reach for it he was amazed to see it move further into the room, and then he realized that it was being pushed inward by someone from without.

PT Quickly and silently he stepped toward the door, but, as he reached for the knob to throw it open, his wife’s hand fell upon his wrist.

PT “No, John,” she whispered. “They do not wish to be seen, and so we cannot afford to see them. Do not forget that we are keeping to the middle of the road.”

PT Clayton smiled and dropped his hand to his side. Thus they stood watching the little bit of white paper until it finally remained at rest upon the floor just inside the door.

PT Then Clayton stooped and picked it up. It was a bit of grimy, white paper roughly folded into a ragged square. Opening it they found a crude message printed almost illegibly, and with many evidences of an unaccustomed task.

PT Translated, it was a warning to the Claytons to refrain from reporting the loss of the revolvers, or from repeating what the old sailor had told them—to refrain on pain of death.

PT “I rather imagine we’ll be good,” said Clayton with a rueful smile. “About all we can do is to sit tight and wait for whatever may come.”

The Savage Home

PT Nor did they have long to wait, for the next morning as Clayton was emerging on deck for his accustomed walk before breakfast, a shot rang out, and then another, and another.

PT The sight which met his eyes confirmed his worst fears. Facing the little knot of officers was the entire motley crew of the Fuwalda, and at their head stood Black Michael.

PT At the first volley from the officers the men ran for shelter, and from points of vantage behind masts, wheel-house and cabin they returned the fire of the five men who represented the hated authority of the ship.

PT Two of their number had gone down before the captain’s revolver. They lay where they had fallen between the combatants. But then the first mate lunged forward upon his face, and at a cry of command from Black Michael the mutineers charged the remaining four. The crew had been able to muster but six firearms, so most of them were armed with boat hooks, axes, hatchets and crowbars.

PT The captain had emptied his revolver and was reloading as the charge was made. The second mate’s gun had jammed, and so there were but two weapons opposed to the mutineers as they bore down upon the officers, who now started to give back before the infuriated rush of their men.

PT Both sides were cursing and swearing in a frightful manner, which, together with the reports of the firearms and the screams and groans of the wounded, turned the deck of the Fuwalda to the likeness of a mad-house.

PT Before the officers had taken a dozen backward steps the men were upon them. An ax in the hands of a burly Negro cleft the captain from forehead to chin, and an instant later the others were down; dead or wounded from dozens of blows and bullet wounds.

PT Short and grisly had been the work of the mutineers of the Fuwalda, and through it all John Clayton had stood leaning carelessly beside the companionway puffing meditatively upon his pipe as though he had been but watching an indifferent cricket match.

PT As the last officer went down he thought it was time that he returned to his wife lest some members of the crew find her alone below.

PT Though outwardly calm and indifferent, Clayton was inwardly apprehensive and wrought up, for he feared for his wife’s safety at the hands of these ignorant half-brutes into whose hands fate had so remorselessly thrown them.

PT As he turned to descend the ladder he was surprised to see his wife standing on the steps almost at his side.

PT “How long have you been here, Alice?”

PT “Since the beginning,” she replied. “How awful, John. Oh, how awful! What can we hope for at the hands of such as those?”

PT “Breakfast, I hope,” he answered, smiling bravely in an attempt to allay her fears.

PT “At least,” he added, “I’m going to ask them. Come with me, Alice. We must not let them think we expect any but courteous treatment.”

PT The men had by this time surrounded the dead and wounded of ficers, and without either partiality or compassion proceeded to throw both living and dead over the sides of the vessel. With equal heartlessness they disposed of their own dead and dying.

PT Presently one of the crew spied the approaching Claytons, and with a cry of “Here’s two more for the fishes,” rushed toward them with uplifted ax.

PT But Black Michael was even quicker, so that the fellow went down with a bullet in his back before he had taken a half dozen steps.

PT With a loud roar Black Michael attracted the attention of the others, and, pointing to Lord and Lady Greystoke, cried:

PT “These here are my friends, and they are to be left alone. D’ye understand?

PT “I’m captain of this ship now, an’ what I says goes,” he added, turning to Clayton. “Just keep to yourselves, and nobody’ll harm ye,” and he looked threateningly on his fellows.

PT The Claytons heeded Black Michael’s instructions so well that they saw but little of the crew and knew nothing of the plans the men were making.

PT Occasionally they heard faint echoes of brawls and quarreling among the mutineers, and on two occasions the vicious bark of firearms rang out on the still air. But Black Michael was a fit leader for this band of cutthroats, and withal held them in fair subjection to his rule.

PT On the fifth day following the murder of the ship’s officers, land was sighted by the lookout. Whether island or mainland, Black Michael did not know, but he announced to Clayton that if investigation showed that the place was habitable he and Lady Greystoke were to be put ashore with their belongings.

PT “You’ll be all right there for a few months,” he explained, “and by that time we’ll have been able to make an inhabited coast some-wheres and scatter a bit. Then I’ll see that yer gover‘ment’s notified where you be an’ they’ll soon send a man-o’war to fetch ye off.

PT “It would be a hard matter to land you in civilization without a lot o’ questions being asked, an’ none o’ us here has any very convincin’ answers up our sleeves.”

PT Clayton remonstrated against the inhumanity of landing them upon an unknown shore to be left to the mercies of savage beasts, and, possibly, still more savage men.

PT But his words were of no avail, and only tended to anger Black Michael, so he was forced to desist and make the best he could of a bad situation.

PT About three o’clock in the afternoon they came about off a beautiful wooded shore opposite the mouth of what appeared to be a land-locked harbor.

PT Black Michael sent a small boat filled with men to sound the entrance in an effort to determine if the Fuwalda could be safely worked through the entrance.

PT In about an hour they returned and reported deep water through the passage as well as far into the little basin.

PT Before dark the barkentine lay peacefully at anchor upon the bosom of the still, mirrorlike surface of the harbor.

PT The surrounding shores were beautiful with semitropical verdure, while in the distance the country rose from the ocean in hill and table-land, almost uniformly clothed by primeval forest.

PT No signs of habitation were visible, but that the land might easily support human life was evidenced by the abundant bird and animal life of which the watchers on the Fuwalda’s

PT deck caught occasional glimpses, as well as by the shimmer of a little river which emptied into the harbor insuring fresh water in plentitude.

PT As darkness settled upon the earth, Clayton and Lady Alice still stood by the ship’s rail in silent contemplation of their future abode. From the dark shadows of the mighty forest came the wild calls of savage beasts—the deep roar of the lion, and, occasionally, the shrill scream of a panther.

PT The woman shrank closer to the man in terror-stricken anticipation of the horrors lying in wait for them in the awful blackness of the nights to come, when they should be alone upon that wild and lonely shore.

PT Later in the evening Black Michael joined them long enough to instruct them to make their preparations for landing on the morrow. They tried to persuade him to take them to some more hospitable coast near enough to civilization so that they might hope to fall into friendly hands. But no pleas, or threats, or promises of reward could move him.

PT “I am the only man aboard who would not rather see ye both safely dead, and, while I know that’s the sensible way to make sure of our own necks, yet Black Michael’s not the man to forget a favor. Ye saved my life once, and in return I’m goin’ to spare yours, but that’s all I can do.

PT “The men won’t stand for any more, and if we don’t get ye landed pretty quick they may even change their minds about giving ye that much show. I’ll put all yer stuff ashore with ye as well as cookin’ utensils an’ some old sails for tents, an’ enough grub to last ye until ye can find fruit and game.

PT “With yer guns for protection, ye ought to be able to live here easy enough until help comes. When I get safely hid away I’ll see to it that the British gover‘ment learns about where ye be; for the life of me I couldn’t tell ’em exactly where, for I don’t know myself. But they’ll find ye all right.”

PT After he had left them they went silently below, each wrapped in gloomy forebodings.

PT Clayton did not believe that Black Michael had the slightest intention of notifying the British government of their whereabouts, nor was he any too sure but that some treachery was contemplated for the following day when they should be on shore with the sailors who would have to accompany them with their belongings.

PT Once out of Black Michael’s sight any of the men might strike them down, and still leave Black Michael’s conscience clear.

PT And even should they escape that fate was it not but to be faced with far graver dangers? Alone, he might hope to survive for years; for he was a strong, athletic man.

PT But what of Alice, and that other little life so soon to be launched amidst the hardships and grave dangers of a primeval world?

PT The man shuddered as he meditated upon the awful gravity, the fearful helplessness, of their situation. But it was a merciful Providence which prevented him from foreseeing the hideous reality which awaited them in the grim depths of that gloomy wood.

PT Early next morning their numerous chests and boxes were hoisted on deck and lowered to waiting small boats for transportation to shore.

PT There was a great quantity and variety of stuff, as the Claytons had expected a possible five to eight years’ residence in their new home. Thus, in addition to the many necessities they had brought, there were also many luxuries.

PT Black Michael was determined that nothing belonging to the Claytons should be left on board. Whether out of compassion for them, or in furtherance of his own self-interests, it would be difficult to say.

PT There was no question but that the presence of property of a missing British official upon a suspicious vessel would have been a difficult thing to explain in any civilized port in the world.

PT So zealous was he in his efforts to carry out his intentions that he insisted upon the return of Clayton’s revolvers to him by the sailors in whose possession they were.

PT Into the small boats were also loaded salt meats and biscuit, with a small supply of potatoes and beans, matches, and cooking vessels, a chest of tools, and the old sails which Black Michael had promised them.

PT As though himself fearing the very thing which Clayton had suspected, Black Michael accompanied them to shore, and was the last to leave them when the small boats, having filled the ship’s casks with fresh water, were pushed out toward the waiting Fuwalda.

PT As the boats moved slowly over the smooth waters of the bay, Clayton and his wife stood silently watching their departure—in the breasts of both a feeling of impending disaster and utter hopelessness.

PT And behind them, over the edge of a low ridge, other eyes watched—close set, wicked eyes, gleaming beneath shaggy brows.

PT As the Fuwalda passed through the narrow entrance to the harbor and out of sight behind a projecting point, Lady Alice threw her arms about Clayton’s neck and burst into uncontrolled sobs.

PT Bravely had she faced the dangers of the mutiny; with heroic fortitude she had looked into the terrible future; but now that the horror of absolute solitude was upon them, her overwrought nerves gave way, and the reaction came.

PT He did not attempt to check her tears. It were better that nature have her way in relieving these long-pent emotions, and it was many minutes before the girl—little more than a child she was—could again gain mastery of herself.

PT “Oh, John,” she cried at last, “the horror of it. What are we to do? What are we to do?”

PT “There is but one thing to do, Alice,” and he spoke as quietly as though they were sitting in their snug living room at home, “and that is work. Work must be our salvation. We must not give ourselves time to think, for in that direction lies madness.

PT “We must work and wait. I am sure that relief will come, and come quickly, when once it is apparent that the Fuwalda has been lost, even though Black Michael does not keep his word to us.”

PT “But John, if it were only you and I,” she sobbed, “we could endure it I know; but—”

PT “Yes, dear” he answered, gently, “I have been thinking of that, also; but we must face it, as we must face whatever comes, bravely and with the utmost confidence in our ability to cope with circumstances whatever they may be.

PT “Hundreds of thousands of years ago our ancestors of the dim and distant past faced the same problems which we must face, possibly in these same primeval forests. That we are here today evidences their victory.

PT “What they did may we not do? And even better for are we not armed with ages of superior knowledge, and have we not the means of protection, defense, and sustenance which science has given us, but of which they were totally ignorant? What they

PT accomplished, Alice, with instruments and weapons of stone and bone, surely that may we accomplish also.”

PT “Ah, John, I wish that I might be a man with a man’s philosophy, but I am but a woman, seeing with my heart rather than my head, and all that I can see is too horrible, too unthinkable to put into words.

PT “I only hope you are right, John. I will do my best to be a brave primeval woman, a fit mate for the primeval man.”

PT Clayton’s first thought was to arrange a sleeping shelter for the night; something which might serve to protect them from prowling beasts of prey.

PT He opened the box containing his rifles and ammunition, that they might both be armed against possible attack while at work, and then together they sought a location for their first night’s sleeping place.

PT A hundred yards from the beach was a little level spot, fairly free of trees; here they decided eventually to build a permanent house, but for the time being they both thought it best to construct a little platform in the trees out of reach of the larger of the savage beasts in whose realm they were.

PT To this end Clayton selected four trees which formed a rectangle about eight feet square, and cutting long branches from other trees he constructed a framework around them, about ten feet from the ground, fastening the ends of the branches securely to the trees by means of rope, a quantity of which Black Michael had furnished him from the hold of the Fuwalda.

PT Across this framework Clayton placed other smaller branches quite close together. This platform he paved with the huge fronds of elephant’s ear which grew in profusion about them, and over the fronds he laid a great sail folded into several thicknesses.

PT Seven feet higher he constructed a similar, though lighter platform to serve as roof, and from the sides of this he suspended the balance of his sailcloth for walls.

PT When completed he had a rather snug little nest, to which he carried their blankets and some of the lighter luggage.

PT It was now late in the afternoon, and the balance of the daylight hours were devoted to the building of a rude ladder by means of which Lady Alice could mount to her new home.

PT All during the day the forest about them had been filled with excited birds of brilliant plumage, and dancing, chattering monkeys, who watched these new arrivals and their wonderful nest building operations with every mark of keenest interest and fascination.

PT Notwithstanding that both Clayton and his wife kept a sharp outlook they saw nothing of larger animals, though on two occasions they had seen their little simian neighbors come screaming and chattering from the near-by ridge, casting frightened glances back over their little shoulders, and evincing as plainly as though by speech that they were fleeing some terrible thing which lay concealed there.

PT Just before dusk Clayton finished his ladder, and, filling a great basin with water from the near-by stream, the two mounted to the comparative safety of their aerial chamber.

PT As it was quite warm, Clayton had left the side curtains thrown back over the roof, and as they sat, like Turks, upon their blankets, Lady Alice, straining her eyes into the darkening shadows of the wood, suddenly reached out and grasped Clayton’s arms.

PT “John,” she whispered, “look! What is it, a man?”

PT As Clayton turned his eyes in the direction she indicated, he saw silhouetted dimly against the shadows beyond, a great figure standing upright upon the ridge.

PT For a moment it stood as though listening and then turned slowly, and melted into the shadows of the jungle.

PT “What is it, John?”

PT “I do not know, Alice,” he answered gravely, “it is too dark to see so far and it may have been but a shadow cast by the rising moon.”

PT “No, John, if it was not a man it was some huge and grotesque mockery of man. Oh, I am afraid.”

PT He gathered her in his arms, whispering words of courage and love into her ears.

PT Soon after, he lowered the curtain walls, tying them securely to the trees so that, except for a little opening toward the beach, they were entirely enclosed.

PT As it was now pitch dark within their tiny aerie they lay down upon their blankets to try to gain, through sleep, a brief respite of forgetfulness.

PT Clayton lay facing the opening at the front, a rifle and a brace of revolvers at his hand.

PT Scarcely had they closed their eyes than the terrifying cry of a panther rang out from the jungle behind them. Closer and closer it came until they could hear the great beast directly beneath them. For an hour or more they heard it sniffing and clawing at the trees which supported their platform, but at last it roamed away across the beach, where Clayton could see it clearly in the brilliant moonlight—a great, handsome beast, the largest he had ever seen.

PT During the long hours of darkness they caught but fitful snatches of sleep, for the night noises of a great jungle teeming with myriad animal life kept their overwrought nerves on edge, so that a hundred times they were startled to wakefulness by piercing screams, or the stealthy moving of great bodies beneath them.

Life and Death

PT Morning found them but little, if at all refreshed, though it was with a feeling of intense relief that they saw the day dawn.

PT As soon as they had made their meager breakfast of salt pork, coffee and biscuit, Clayton commenced work upon their house, for he realized that they could hope for no safety and no peace of mind at night until four strong walls effectually barred the jungle life from them.

PT The task was an arduous one and required the better part of a month, though he built but one small room. He constructed his cabin of small logs about six inches in diameter, stopping the chinks with clay which he found at the depth of a few feet beneath the surface soil.

PT At one end he built a fireplace of small stones from the beach. These also he set in clay and when the house had been entirely completed he applied a coating of the clay to the entire outside surface to the thickness of four inches.

PT In the window opening he set small branches about an inch in diameter both vertically and horizontally, and so woven that they formed a substantial grating that could withstand the strength of a powerful animal. Thus they obtained air and proper ventilation without fear of lessening the safety of their cabin.

PT The A-shaped roof was thatched with small branches laid close together and over these long jungle grass and palm fronds, with a final coating of clay.

PT The door he built of pieces of the packing-boxes which had held their belongings, nailing one piece upon another, the grain of contiguous layers running transversely, until he had a solid body some three inches thick and of such great strength that they were both moved to laughter as they gazed upon it.

PT Here the greatest difficulty confronted Clayton, for he had no means whereby to hang his massive door now that he had built it. After two days’ work, however, he succeeded in fashioning two massive hardwood hinges, and with these he hung the door so that it opened and closed easily.

PT The stuccoing and other final touches were added after they moved into the house, which they had done as soon as the roof was on, piling their boxes before the door at night and thus having a comparatively safe and comfortable habitation.

PT The building of a bed, chairs, table, and shelves was a relatively easy matter, so that by the end of the second month they were well settled, and, but for the constant dread of attack by wild beasts and the ever growing loneliness, they were not uncomfortable or unhappy.

PT At night great beasts snarled and roared about their tiny cabin, but, so accustomed may one become to oft repeated noises, that soon they paid little attention to them, sleeping soundly the whole night through.

PT Thrice had they caught fleeting glimpses of great man-like figures like that of the first night, but never at sufficiently close range to know positively whether the half-seen forms were those of man or brute.

PT The brilliant birds and the little monkeys had become accustomed to their new acquaintances, and as they had evidently never seen human beings before they presently, after their first fright had worn off, approached closer and closer, impelled by that strange curiosity which dominates the wild creatures of the forest and the jungle and the plain, so that within the first month several of the birds had gone so far as even to accept morsels of food from the friendly hands of the Claytons.

PT One afternoon, while Clayton was working upon an addition to their cabin, for he contemplated building several more rooms, a number of their grotesque little friends came shrieking and scolding through the trees from the direction of the ridge. Ever as they fled they cast fearful glances back of them, and finally they stopped near Clayton jabbering excitedly to him as though to warn him of approaching danger.

PT At last he saw it, the thing the little monkeys so feared—the man-brute of which the Claytons had caught occasional fleeting glimpses.

PT It was approaching through the jungle in a semi-erect position, now and then placing the backs of its closed fists upon the ground—a great anthropoid ape, and, as it advanced, it emitted deep guttural growls and an occasional low barking sound.

PT Clayton was at some distance from the cabin, having come to fell a particularly perfect tree for his building operations. Grown careless from months of continued safety, during which time he had seen no dangerous animals during the daylight hours, he had left his rifles and revolvers all within the little cabin, and now that he saw the great ape crashing through the underbrush directly toward him, and from a direction which practically cut him off from escape, he felt a vague little shiver play up and down his spine.

PT He knew that, armed only with an ax, his chances with this ferocious monster were small indeed—and Alice; 0 God, he thought, what will become of Alice?

PT There was yet a slight chance of reaching the cabin. He turned and ran toward it, shouting an alarm to his wife to run in and close the great door in case the ape cut off his retreat.

PT Lady Greystoke had been sitting a little way from the cabin, and when she heard his cry she looked up to see the ape springing with almost incredible swiftness, for so large and awkward an animal, in an effort to head off Clayton.

PT With a low cry she sprang toward the cabin, and, as she entered, gave a backward glance which filled her soul with terror, for the brute had intercepted her husband, who now stood at bay grasping his ax with both hands ready to swing it upon the infuriated animal when he should make his final charge.

PT “Close and bolt the door, Alice,” cried Clayton. “I can finish this fellow with my ax.”

PT But he knew he was facing a horrible death, and so did she.

PT The ape was a great bull, weighing probably three hundred pounds. His nasty close-set eyes gleamed hatred from beneath his shaggy brows, while his great canine fangs were bared in a horrid snarl as he paused a moment before his prey.

PT Over the brute’s shoulder Clayton could see the doorway of his cabin, not twenty paces distant, and a great wave of horror and fear swept over him as he saw his young wife emerge, armed with one of his rifles.

PT She had always been afraid of firearms, and would never touch them, but now she rushed toward the ape with the fearlessness of a lioness protecting its young.

PT “Back, Alice,” shouted Clayton, “for God’s sake, go back.”

PT But she would not heed, and just then the ape charged, so that Clayton could say no more.

PT The man swung his ax with all his mighty strength, but the powerful brute seized it in those terrible hands, and tearing it from Clayton’s grasp hurled it far to one side.

PT With an ugly snarl he closed upon his defenseless victim, but ere his fangs had reached the throat they thirsted for, there was a sharp report and a bullet entered the ape’s back between his shoulders.

PT Throwing Clayton to the ground the beast turned upon his new enemy. There before him stood the terrified girl vainly trying to fire another bullet into the animal’s body; but she did not understand the mechanism of the firearm, and the hammer fell futilely upon an empty cartridge.

PT Almost simultaneously Clayton regained his feet, and without thought of the utter hopelessness of it, he rushed forward to drag the ape from his wife’s prostrate form.

PT With little or no effort he succeeded, and the great bulk rolled inertly upon the turf before him—the ape was dead. The bullet had done its work.

PT A hasty examination of his wife revealed no marks upon her, and Clayton decided that the huge brute had died the instant he had sprung toward Alice.

PT Gently he lifted his wife’s still unconscious form, and bore her to the little cabin, but it was fully two hours before she regained consciousness.

PT Her first words filled Clayton with vague apprehension. For some time after regaining her senses, Alice gazed wonderingly about the interior of the little cabin, and then, with a satisfied sigh, said:

PT “0, John, it is so good to be really home! I have had an awful dream, dear. I thought we were no longer in London, but in some horrible place where great beasts attacked us.”

PT “There, there, Alice,” he said, stroking her forehead, “try to sleep again, and do not worry your head about bad dreams.”

PT That night a little son was born in the tiny cabin beside the primeval forest, while a leopard screamed before the door, and the deep notes of a lion’s roar sounded from beyond the ridge.

PT Lady Greystoke never recovered from the shock of the great ape’s attack, and, though she lived for a year after her baby was born, she was never again outside the cabin, nor did she ever fully realize that she was not in England.

PT Sometimes she would question Clayton as to the strange noises of the nights; the absence of servants and friends, and the strange rudeness of the furnishings within her room, but, though he made no effort to deceive her, never could she grasp the meaning of it all.

PT In other ways she was quite rational, and the joy and happiness she took in the possession of her little son and the constant attentions of her husband made that year a very happy one for her, the happiest of her young life.

PT That it would have been beset by worries and apprehension had she been in full command of her mental faculties Clayton well knew; so that while he suffered terribly to see her so, there were times when he was almost glad, for her sake, that she could not understand.

PT Long since had he given up any hope of rescue, except through accident. With unremitting zeal he had worked to beautify the interior of the cabin.

PT Skins of lion and panther covered the floor. Cupboards and bookcases lined the walls. Odd vases made by his own hand from the clay of the region held beautiful tropical flowers. Curtains of grass and bamboo covered the windows, and, most arduous task of all, with his meager assortment of tools he had fashioned lumber to neatly seal the walls and ceiling and lay a smooth floor within the cabin.

PT That he had been able to turn his hands at all to such unaccustomed labor was a source of mild wonder to him. But he loved the work because it was for her and the tiny life that had come to cheer them, though adding a hundredfold to his responsibilities and to the terribleness of their situation.

PT During the year that followed, Clayton was several times attacked by the great apes which now seemed to continually infest the vicinity of the cabin; but as he never again ventured outside without both rifle and revolvers he had little fear of the huge beasts.

PT He had strengthened the window protections and fitted a unique wooden lock to the cabin door, so that when he hunted for game and fruits, as it was constantly necessary for him to do to insure sustenance, he had no fear that any animal could break into the little home.

PT At first he shot much of the game from the cabin windows, but toward the end the animals learned to fear the strange lair from whence issued the terrifying thunder of his rifle.

PT In his leisure Clayton read, often aloud to his wife, from the store of books he had brought for their new home. Among these were many for little children—picture books, primers, readers—for they had known that their little child would be old enough for such before they might hope to return to England.

PT At other times Clayton wrote in his diary, which he had always been accustomed to keep in French, and in which he recorded the details of their strange life. This book he kept locked in a little metal box.

PT A year from the day her little son was born Lady Alice passed quietly away in the night. So peaceful was her end that it was hours before Clayton could awake to a realization that his wife was dead.

PT The horror of the situation came to him very slowly, and it is doubtful that he ever fully realized the enormity of his sorrow and the fearful responsibility that had devolved upon him with the care of that wee thing, his son, still a nursing babe.

PT The last entry in his diary was made the morning following her death, and there he recites the sad details in a matter-of-fact way that adds to the pathos of it; for it breathes a tired apathy born of long sorrow and hopelessness, which even this cruel blow could scarcely awake to further suffering:

PT My little son is crying for nourishment—0 Alice, Alice, what shall I do?

PT And as John Clayton wrote the last words his hand was destined ever to pen, he dropped his head wearily upon his outstretched arms where they rested upon the table he had built for her who lay still and cold in the bed beside him.

PT For a long time no sound broke the deathlike stillness of the jungle midday save the piteous wailing of the tiny man-child.

The Apes

PT In the forest of the table-land a mile back from the ocean old Kerchak the Ape was on a rampage of rage among his people.

PT The younger and lighter members of his tribe scampered to the higher branches of the great trees to escape his wrath; risking their lives upon branches that scarce supported their weight rather than face old Kerchak in one of his fits of uncontrolled anger.

PT The other males scattered in all directions, but not before the infuriated brute had felt the vertebra of one snap between his great, foaming jaws.

PT A luckless young female slipped from an insecure hold upon a high branch and came crashing to the ground almost at Kerchak’s feet.

PT With a wild scream he was upon her, tearing a great piece from her side with his mighty teeth, and striking her viciously upon her head and shoulders with a broken tree limb until her skull was crushed to a jelly.

PT And then he spied Kala, who, returning from a search for food with her young babe, was ignorant of the state of the mighty male’s temper until suddenly the shrill warnings of her fellows caused her to scamper madly for safety.

PT But Kerchak was close upon her, so close that he had almost grasped her ankle had she not made a furious leap far into space from one tree to another—a perilous chance which apes seldom if ever take, unless so closely pursued by danger that there is no alternative.

PT She made the leap successfully, but as she grasped the limb of the further tree the sudden jar loosened the hold of the tiny babe where it clung frantically to her neck, and she saw the little thing hurled, turning and twisting, to the ground thirty feet below.

PT With a low cry of dismay Kala rushed headlong to its side, thoughtless now of the danger from Kerchak; but when she gathered the wee, mangled form to her bosom life had left it.

PT With low moans, she sat cuddling the body to her; nor did Kerchak attempt to molest her. With the death of the babe his fit of demoniacal rage passed as suddenly as it had seized him.

PT Kerchak was a huge king ape, weighing perhaps three hundred and fifty pounds. His forehead was extremely low and receding, his eyes bloodshot, small and close set to his coarse, flat nose; his ears large and thin, but smaller than most of his kind.

PT His awful temper and his mighty strength made him supreme among the little tribe into which he had been born some twenty years before.

PT Now that he was in his prime, there was no simian in all the mighty forest through which he roved that dared contest his right to rule, nor did the other and larger animals molest him.

PT Old Tantor, the elephant, alone of all the wild savage life, feared him not—and he alone did Kerchak fear. When Tantor trumpeted, the great ape scurried with his fellows high among the trees of the second terrace.

PT The tribe of anthropoids over which Kerchak ruled with an iron hand and bared fangs, numbered some six or eight families, each family consisting of an adult male with his females and their young, numbering in all some sixty or seventy apes.

PT Kala was the youngest mate of a male called Tublat, meaning broken nose, and the child she had seen dashed to death was her first; for she was but nine or ten years old.

PT Nothwithstanding her youth, she was large and powerful—a splendid, clean-limbed animal, with a round, high forehead, which denoted more intelligence than most of her kind possessed. So, also, she had a great capacity for mother love and mother sorrow.

PT But she was still an ape, a huge, fierce, terrible beast of a species closely allied to the gorilla, yet more intelligent; which, with the strength of their cousin, made her kind the most fearsome of those awe-inspiring progenitors of man.f

PT When the tribe saw that Kerchak’s rage had ceased they came slowly down from their arboreal retreats and pursued again the various occupations which he had interrupted.

PT The young played and frolicked about among the trees and bushes. Some of the adults lay prone upon the soft mat of dead and decaying vegetation which covered the ground, while others turned over pieces of fallen branches and clods of earth in search of the small bugs and reptiles which formed a part of their food.

PT Others, again, searched the surrounding trees for fruit, nuts, small birds, and eggs.

PT They had passed an hour or so thus when Kerchak called them together, and, with a word of command to them to follow him, set off toward the sea.

PT They traveled for the most part upon the ground, where it was open, following the path of the great elephants whose comings and goings break the only roads through those tangled mazes of bush, vine, creeper, and tree. When they walked it was with a rolling, awkward motion, placing the knuckles of their closed hands upon the ground and swinging their ungainly bodies forward.

PT But when the way was through the lower trees they moved more swiftly, swinging from branch to branch with the agility of their smaller cousins, the monkeys. And all the way Kala carried her little dead baby hugged closely to her breast.

PT It was shortly after noon when they reached a ridge overlooking the beach where below them lay the tiny cottage which was Kerchak’s goal.

PT He had seen many of his kind go to their deaths before the loud noise made by the little black stick in the hands of the strange white ape who lived in that wonderful lair, and Kerchak had made up his brute mind to own that death-dealing contrivance, and to explore the interior of the mysterious den.

PT He wanted, very, very much, to feel his teeth sink into the neck of the queer animal that he had learned to hate and fear, and because of this, he came often with his tribe to reconnoiter, waiting for a time when the white ape should be off his guard.

PT Of late they had quit attacking, or even showing themselves; for every time they had done so in the past the little stick had roared out its terrible message of death to some member of the tribe.

PT Today there was no sign of the man about, and from where they watched they could see that the cabin door was open. Slowly, cautiously, and noiselessly they crept through the jungle toward the little cabin.

PT There were no growls, no fierce screams of rage—the little black stick had taught them to come quietly lest they awaken it.

PT On, on they came until Kerchak himself slunk stealthily to the very door and peered within. Behind him were two males, and then Kala, closely straining the little dead form to her breast.

PT Inside the den they saw the strange white ape lying half across a table, his head buried in his arms; and on the bed lay a figure covered by a sailcloth, while from a tiny rustic cradle came the plaintive wailing of a babe.

PT Noiselessly Kerchak entered, crouching for the charge; and then John Clayton rose with a sudden start and faced them.

PT The sight that met his eyes must have frozen him with horror, for there, within the door, stood three great bull apes, while behind them crowded many more; how many he never knew for his revolvers were hanging on the far wall beside his rifle, and Kerchak was charging.

PT When the king ape released the limp form which had been John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, he turned his attention toward the little cradle; but Kala was there before him, and when he would have grasped the child she snatched it herself, and before he could intercept her she had bolted through the door and taken refuge in a high tree.

PT As she took up the little live baby of Alice Clayton she dropped the dead body of her own into the empty cradle; for the wail of the living had answered the call of universal motherhood within her wild breast which the dead could not still.

PT High up among the branches of a mighty tree she hugged the shrieking infant to her bosom, and soon the instinct that was as dominant in this fierce female as it had been in the breast of his tender and beautiful mother—the instinct of mother love—reached out to the tiny man-child’s half-formed understanding, and he became quiet.

PT Then hunger closed the gap between them, and the son of an English lord and an English lady nursed at the breast of Kala, the great ape.

PT In the meantime the beasts within the cabin were warily examining the contents of this strange lair.

PT Once satisfied that Clayton was dead, Kerchak turned his attention to the thing which lay upon the bed, covered by a piece of sailcloth.

PT Gingerly he lifted one corner of the shroud, but when he saw the body of the woman beneath he tore the cloth roughly from her form and seized the still, white throat in his huge, hairy hands.

PT A moment he let his fingers sink deep into the cold flesh, and then, realizing that she was already dead, he turned from her, to examine the contents of the room; nor did he again molest the body of either Lady Alice or Sir John.

PT The rifle hanging upon the wall caught his first attention; it was for this strange, deathdealing thunder-stick that he had yearned for months; but now that it was within his grasp he scarcely had the temerity to seize it.

PT Cautiously he approached the thing, ready to flee precipitately should it speak in its deep roaring tones, as he had heard it speak before, the last words to those of his kind who, through ignorance or rashness, had attacked the wonderful white ape that had borne it.

PT Deep in the beast’s intelligence was something which assured him that the thunder-stick was only dangerous when in the hands of one who could manipulate it, but yet it was several minutes ere he could bring himself to touch it.

PT Instead, he walked back and forth along the floor before it, turning his head so that never once did his eyes leave the object of his desire.

PT Using his long arms as a man uses crutches, and rolling his huge carcass from side to side with each stride, the great king ape paced to and fro, uttering deep growls, occasionally punctuated with the ear-piercing scream, than which there is no more terrifying noise in all the jungle.

PT Presently he halted before the rifle. Slowly he raised a huge hand until it almost touched the shining barrel, only to withdraw it once more and continue his hurried pacing.

PT It was as though the great brute by this show of fearlessness, and through the medium of his wild voice, was endeavoring to bolster up his courage to the point which would permit him to take the rifle in his hand.

PT Again he stopped, and this time succeeded in forcing his reluctant hand to the cold steel, only to snatch it away almost immediately and resume his restless beat.

PT Time after time this strange ceremony was repeated, but on each occasion with increased confidence, until, finally, the rifle was torn from its hook and lay in the grasp of the great brute.

PT Finding that it harmed him not, Kerchak began to examine it closely. He felt of it from end to end, peered down the black depths of the muzzle, fingered the sights, the breech, the stock, and finally the trigger.

PT During all these operations the apes who had entered sat huddled near the door watching their chief, while those outside strained and crowded to catch a glimpse of what transpired within.

PT Suddenly Kerchak’s finger closed upon the trigger. There was a deafening roar in the little room and the apes at and beyond the door fell over one another in their wild anxiety to escape.

PT Kerchak was equally frightened, so frightened, in fact, that he quite forgot to throw aside the author of that fearful noise, but bolted for the door with it tightly clutched in one hand.

PT As he passed through the opening, the front sight of the rifle caught upon the edge of the inswung door with sufficient force to close it tightly after the fleeing ape.

PT When Kerchak came to a halt a short distance from the cabin and discovered that he still held the rifle, he dropped it as he might have dropped a red hot iron, nor did he again attempt to recover it—the noise was too much for his brute nerves; but he was now quite convinced that the terrible stick was quite harmless by itself if left alone.

PT It was an hour before the apes could again bring themselves to approach the cabin to continue their investigations, and when they finally did so, they found to their chagrin that the door was closed and so securely fastened that they could not force it.

PT The cleverly constructed latch which Clayton had made for the door had sprung as Kerchak passed out; nor could the apes find means of ingress through the heavily barred windows.

PT After roaming about the vicinity for a short time, they started back for the deeper forests and the higher land from whence they had come.

PT Kala had not once come to earth with her little adopted babe, but now Kerchak called to her to descend with the rest, and as there was no note of anger in his voice she dropped lightly from branch to branch and joined the others on their homeward march.

PT Those of the apes who attempted to examine Kala’s strange baby were repulsed with bared fangs and low menacing growls, accompanied by words of warning from Kala.

PT When they assured her that they meant the child no harm she permitted them to come close, but would not allow them to touch her charge.

PT It was as though she knew that her baby was frail and delicate and feared lest the rough hands of her fellows might injure the little thing.

PT Another thing she did, and which made traveling an onerous trial for her. Remembering the death of her own little one, she clung desperately to the new babe, with one hand, whenever they were upon the march.

PT The other young rode upon their mothers’ backs; their little arms tightly clasping the hairy necks before them, while their legs were locked beneath their mothers’ armpits.

PT Not so with Kala; she held the small form of the little Lord Greystoke tightly to her breast, where the dainty hands clutched the long black hair which covered that portion of her body. She had seen one child fall from her back to a terrible death, and she would take no further chances with this.

The White Ape

PT Tenderly Kala nursed her little waif, wondering silently why it did not gain strength and agility as did the little apes of other mothers. It was nearly a year from the time the little fellow came into her possession before he would walk alone, and as for climbing—my, but how stupid he was!

PT Kala sometimes talked with the older females about her young hopeful, but none of them could understand how a child could be so slow and backward in learning to care for itself Why, it could not even find food alone, and more than twelve moons had passed since Kala had come upon it.

PT Had they known that the child had seen thirteen moons before it had come into Kala’s possession they would have considered its case as absolutely hopeless, for the little apes of their own tribe were as far advanced in two or three moons as was this little stranger after twenty-five.

PT Tublat, Kala’s husband, was sorely vexed, and but for the female’s careful watching would have put the child out of the way.

PT “He will never be a great ape,” he argued. “Always will you have to carry him and protect him. What good will he be to the tribe? None; only a burden.

PT “Let us leave him quietly sleeping among the tall grasses, that you may bear other and stronger apes to guard us in our old age.”

PT “Never, Broken Nose,” replied Kala. “If I must carry him forever, so be it.”

PT And then Tublat went to Kerchak to urge him to use his authority with Kala, and force her to give up little Tarzan, which was the name they had given to the tiny Lord Greystoke, and which meant “White-Skin.”

PT But when Kerchak spoke to her about it Kala threatened to run away from the tribe if they did not leave her in peace with the child; and as this is one of the inalienable rights of the jungle folk, if they be dissatisfied among their own people, they bothered her no more, for Kala was a fine clean-limbed young female, and they did not wish to lose her.

PT As Tarzan grew he made more rapid strides, so that by the time he was ten years old he was an excellent climber, and on the ground could do many wonderful things which were beyond the powers of his little brothers and sisters.

PT In many ways did he differ from them, and they often marveled at his superior cunning, but in strength and size he was deficient; for at ten the great anthropoids were fully grown, some of them towering over six feet in height, while little Tarzan was still but a half-grown boy.

PT Yet such a boy!

PT From early childhood he had used his hands to swing from branch to branch after the manner of his giant mother, and as he grew older he spent hour upon hour daily speeding through the tree tops with his brothers and sisters.

PT He could spring twenty feet across space at the dizzy heights of the forest top, and grasp with unerring precision, and without apparent jar, a limb waving wildly in the path of an

PT approaching tornado.

PT He could drop twenty feet at a stretch from limb to limb in rapid descent to the ground, or he could gain the utmost pinnacle of the loftiest tropical giant with the ease and swiftness of a squirrel.

PT Though but ten years old he was fully as strong as the average man of thirty, and far more agile than the most practiced athlete ever becomes. And day by day his strength was increasing.

PT His life among these fierce apes had been happy; for his recollection held no other life, nor did he know that there existed within the universe aught else than his little forest and the wild jungle animals with which he was familiar.

PT He was nearly ten before he commenced to realize that a great difference existed between himself and his fellows. His little body, burned brown by exposure, suddenly caused him feelings of intense shame, for he realized that it was entirely hairless, like some low snake, or other reptile.

PT He attempted to obviate this by plastering himself from head to foot with mud, but this dried and fell off. Besides it felt so uncomfortable that he quickly decided that he preferred the shame to the discomfort.

PT In the higher land which his tribe frequented was a little lake, and it was here that Tarzan first saw his face in the clear, still waters of its bosom.

PT It was on a sultry day of the dry season that he and one of his cousins had gone down to the bank to drink. As they leaned over, both little faces were mirrored on the placid pool; the fierce and terrible features of the ape beside those of the aristocratic scion of an old English house.

PT Tarzan was appalled. It had been bad enough to be hairless, but to own such a countenance! He wondered that the other apes could look at him at all.

PT That tiny slit of a mouth and those puny white teeth! How they looked beside the mighty lips and powerful fangs of his more fortunate brothers!

PT And the little pinched nose of his; so thin was it that it looked half starved. He turned red as he compared it with the beautiful broad nostrils of his companion. Such a generous nose! Why it spread half across his face! It certainly must be fine to be so handsome, thought poor little Tarzan.

PT But when he saw his own eyes; ah, that was the final blow—a brown spot, a gray circle and then blank whiteness! Frightful! not even the snakes had such hideous eyes as he.

PT So intent was he upon this personal appraisement of his features that he did not hear the parting of the tall grass behind him as a great body pushed itself stealthily through the jungle; nor did his companion, the ape, hear either, for he was drinking and the noise of his sucking lips and gurgles of satisfaction drowned the quiet approach of the intruder.

PT Not thirty paces behind the two she crouched-Sabor, the huge lioness—lashing her tail. Cautiously she moved a great padded paw forward, noiselessly placing it before she lifted the next. Thus she advanced; her belly low, almost touching the surface of the ground—a great cat preparing to spring upon its prey.

PT Now she was within ten feet of the two unsuspecting little playfellows—carefully she drew her hind feet well up beneath her body, the great muscles rolling under the beautiful skin.

PT So low she was crouching now that she seemed flattened to the earth except for the upward bend of the glossy back as it gathered for the spring.

PT No longer the tail lashed—quiet and straight behind her it lay.

PT An instant she paused thus, as though turned to stone, and then, with an awful scream, she sprang.

PT Sabor, the lioness, was a wise hunter. To one less wise the wild alarm of her fierce cry as she sprang would have seemed a foolish thing, for could she not more surely have fallen upon her victims had she but quietly leaped without that loud shriek?

PT But Sabor knew well the wondrous quickness of the jungle folk and their almost unbelievable powers of hearing. To them the sudden scraping of one blade of grass across another was as effectual a warning as her loudest cry, and Sabor knew that she could not make that mighty leap without a little noise.

PT Her wild scream was not a warning. It was voiced to freeze her poor victims in a paralysis of terror for the tiny fraction of an instant which would suffice for her mighty claws to sink into their soft flesh and hold them beyond hope of escape.

PT So far as the ape was concerned, Sabor reasoned correctly. The little fellow crouched trembling just an instant, but that instant was quite long enough to prove his undoing.

PT Not so, however, with Tarzan, the man-child. His life amidst the dangers of the jungle had taught him to meet emergencies with self-confidence, and his higher intelligence resulted in a quickness of mental action far beyond the powers of the apes.

PT So the scream of Sabor, the lioness, galvanized the brain and muscles of little Tarzan into instant action.

PT Before him lay the deep waters of the little lake, behind him certain death; a cruel death beneath tearing claws and rending fangs.

PT Tarzan had always hated water except as a medium for quenching his thirst. He hated it because he connected it with the chill and discomfort of the torrential rains, and he feared it for the thunder and lightning and wind which accompanied them.

PT The deep waters of the lake he had been taught by his wild mother to avoid, and further, had he not seen little Neeta sink beneath its quiet surface only a few short weeks before never to return to the tribe?

Versão em Português

1 - Ao Mar

2 - O Lar Selvagem

3 - Vida e Morte

4 - Os Macacos

5 - O Macaco Branco

Ao Mar

En Eu ouvi esta história de alguém que não deveria tê-la contado para mim nem para ninguém. Talvez o encanto de um vinho antigo o tenha feito começar a falar, e minha própria descrença nos dias seguintes me ajudou a ouvir o resto da história estranha.

En Quando meu anfitrião amigável percebeu que havia me contado tanto e que eu estava duvidando, seu orgulho bobo assumiu onde o vinho antigo havia começado. Ele desenterrou provas escritas: um manuscrito mofado e registros oficiais do Escritório Colonial Britânico, para apoiar os pontos principais de sua história incrível.

En Não afirmo que a história seja verdadeira, porque não vi os acontecimentos pessoalmente. No entanto, usei nomes fictícios para os personagens principais, o que mostra que acredito sinceramente que ela pode ser verdadeira.

En As páginas amareladas e mofadas do diário de um homem há muito morto, junto com os registros do Escritório Colonial, encaixam-se perfeitamente com a história do meu anfitrião. Então apresento o conto como cuidadosamente montei a partir dessas diferentes fontes.

En Se você não achar isso crível, pelo menos concordará comigo que é incomum, notável e interessante.

En A partir de documentos oficiais e de um diário, sabemos que um jovem nobre inglês, John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, foi incumbido de uma investigação delicada em uma colônia britânica na África Ocidental. Outra potência europeia estava recrutando soldados nativos para coletar à força borracha e marfim de tribos ao longo dos rios Congo e Aruwimi.

En Os nativos da colônia britânica reclamavam que muitos de seus jovens eram atraídos com promessas tentadoras, mas pouquíssimos jamais retornavam às suas famílias.

En Os ingleses na África foram além, alegando que os pobres negros eram mantidos em escravidão virtual. Após o término do período de alistamento, seus oficiais brancos se aproveitavam de sua ignorância e diziam que ainda tinham vários anos a servir.

En Consequentemente, o Colonial Office nomeou John Clayton para um novo cargo na África Ocidental Britânica. Suas instruções confidenciais focavam em investigar minuciosamente o tratamento injusto de súditos britânicos negros por oficiais de uma potência europeia amiga. No entanto, o motivo de seu envio é de pouca importância para esta história, pois ele nunca realizou a investigação, tampouco jamais chegou ao seu destino.

En Clayton personificava as melhores qualidades de um inglês, daquelas frequentemente associadas às mais nobres conquistas em inúmeros campos de batalha vitoriosos. Ele era um homem forte e viril em mente, moral e corpo.

En Ele era mais alto que a maioria dos homens, com olhos cinzentos e traços fortes e bem definidos. Sua postura refletia a saúde perfeita e a robustez que vinham de anos de treinamento militar.

En Impulsionado pela ambição política, ele havia solicitado transferência do exército para o Ministério Colonial. Como resultado, encontramo-lo, ainda jovem, recebendo uma missão delicada e importante.

En Ele estava empregado a serviço da Rainha.

En Ao receber a nomeação, ele se sentiu ao mesmo tempo exultante e horrorizado. Ele via a promoção como um reconhecimento merecido de seu trabalho diligente e inteligente, e como um passo em direção a cargos mais importantes. No entanto, ele estava casado com a Honorável Alice Rutherford há apenas três meses, e a perspectiva de levar sua jovem esposa para os perigos e o isolamento da África tropical o enchia de pavor.

En Por ela, ele teria recusado o cargo, mas ela não permitiu. Em vez disso, ela insistiu que ele aceitasse e que ela o acompanhasse.

En Os membros da família — mães, irmãos, irmãs, tias e primos — cada um tinha sua própria opinião sobre o assunto, mas os conselhos que deram individualmente não foram registrados.

En Tudo o que se sabe é que, em uma clara manhã de maio de 1888, John, Lord Greystoke, e sua esposa Lady Alice partiram de Dover com destino à África.

En Um mês depois, chegaram a Freetown, onde alugaram um pequeno navio à vela chamado Fuwalda para levá-los ao seu destino final.

En Naquele ponto, John, Lord Greystoke, e sua esposa Lady Alice desapareceram da vista e de todo o conhecimento humano.

En Dois meses após terem partido de Freetown, seis navios de guerra britânicos vasculharam o Atlântico Sul em busca de qualquer sinal deles ou de seu pequeno barco. Logo, destroços foram encontrados na costa de Santa Helena, convencendo a todos de que o Fuwalda havia afundado sem sobreviventes, e a busca foi encerrada quase antes de começar. No entanto, a esperança permaneceu nos corações daqueles que se importavam com eles por muitos anos.

En O Fuwalda era um pequeno navio à vela de aproximadamente cem toneladas. Era típico das embarcações usadas para comércio costeiro no extremo sul do Atlântico. Esses navios eram tripulados pelo pior tipo de marinheiros — assassinos impunes e facínoras de todas as nações.

En O Fuwalda não era exceção. Seus oficiais eram valentões de pele escura que eram odiados pela tripulação e a odiavam de volta. O capitão era um marinheiro habilidoso, mas tratava seus homens brutalmente. Ele empregava apenas dois métodos de disciplina: força física e a ameaça de uma arma. Era improvável que o grupo diverso de homens que ele contratara tivesse entendido qualquer outra abordagem.

En Assim, a partir do segundo dia após deixar Freetown, John Clayton e sua jovem esposa testemunharam eventos no convés do Fuwalda que antes acreditavam existir apenas em histórias de aventura.

En Na manhã do segundo dia, ocorreu o primeiro evento em uma cadeia de circunstâncias que levaria a uma vida para uma criança ainda não nascida, diferente de qualquer outra na história humana.

En Dois marinheiros estavam esfregando os conveses do Fuwalda. O imediato estava de vigia, e o capitão havia parado para conversar com John Clayton e Lady Alice.

En Os marinheiros estavam se movendo para trás em direção ao pequeno grupo, que estava de costas para eles. Eles se aproximaram cada vez mais até que um ficou diretamente atrás do capitão. Em outro momento, ele teria passado, e essa estranha história nunca teria sido registrada.

En Naquele exato momento, o oficial se virou para se despedir de Lord e Lady Greystoke e, ao fazer isso, tropeçou no marinheiro e caiu de bruços no convés, derrubando o balde d'água.

En O balde derramou, encharcando-o com seu conteúdo sujo.

En Por um instante, a cena foi cômica, mas apenas por um instante. Com uma série de terríveis pragas, o rosto vermelho de vergonha e raiva, o capitão se levantou e atingiu o marinheiro com tanta força que ele caiu no convés.

En O homem que foi atingido era pequeno e bastante velho, o que tornou o ato do capitão ainda mais brutal. O outro marinheiro, no entanto, não era velho nem pequeno — era um homem enorme, como um urso, com ferozes bigodes pretos e um pescoço grosso entre ombros massivos.

En Ao ver sua companheira cair, ele se agachou e, com um rosnado baixo, saltou sobre o capitão, forçando-o a cair de joelhos com um único golpe poderoso.

En O rosto do oficial ficou de vermelho a branco, pois isso era motim—algo que ele já havia enfrentado antes. Sem esperar para se levantar, ele puxou um revólver do bolso e atirou no enorme marinheiro à sua frente. Mas John Clayton foi quase tão rápido; ele golpeou o braço do capitão ao ver o brilho da arma, então a bala destinada ao coração do marinheiro alojou-se na perna do marinheiro em vez disso.

En Clayton e o capitão trocaram palavras. Clayton deixou claro que estava enojado com a brutalidade demonstrada à tripulação e não toleraria mais nada enquanto ele e Lady Greystoke fossem passageiros.

En O capitão estava prestes a responder com raiva, mas pensou melhor. Ele deu meia-volta e, com uma careta sombria, caminhou para a popa do navio.

En Ele não queria irritar um oficial inglês, porque o poder da Rainha comandava uma força punitiva que ele respeitava e temia: a marinha de longo alcance da Inglaterra.

En Os dois marinheiros se levantaram, o mais velho ajudando seu companheiro ferido. O homem grande, chamado Black Michael por seus colegas de navio, testou a perna cautelosamente e, descobrindo que ela o sustentava, virou-se para Clayton e ofereceu uma palavra áspera de agradecimento.

En Embora seu tom fosse ríspido, suas palavras pareciam sinceras. Mal havia terminado de falar quando se virou e mancou em direção ao castelo de proa, claramente com a intenção de evitar mais conversa.

En Eles não o viram novamente por vários dias, e o capitão apenas lhes dava os resmungos mais mal-humorados quando precisava falar com eles.

En Eles continuaram a fazer suas refeições na cabine dele, como antes do infeliz incidente; mas o capitão garantiu que seus deveres nunca lhe permitissem comer com eles.

En Os outros oficiais eram grosseiros e sem educação, mal superiores à tripulação vilã que intimidavam, e estavam muito felizes em evitar socializar com o refinado nobre inglês e sua esposa, então os Claytons foram deixados praticamente sozinhos.

En Essa situação correspondia exatamente aos seus desejos, mas também os mantinha afastados da vida diária a bordo do pequeno navio, impedindo-os de saber dos eventos que logo levariam a uma tragédia sangrenta.

En Todo o navio tinha um sentido inexplicável de desastre iminente. Até onde os Claytons podiam ver, tudo continuava normalmente no pequeno navio; no entanto, ambos sentiam uma corrente oculta os puxando em direção a um perigo desconhecido, embora nunca discutissem isso entre si.

En Dois dias depois de Black Michael ser ferido, Clayton chegou ao convés e viu quatro marinheiros carregando o corpo sem vida de outro membro da tripulação para baixo.

En Enquanto isso, o imediato, segurando um pesado pino de amarração, ficou fulminando com os olhos o pequeno grupo de marinheiros ressentidos.

En Clayton não fez perguntas — ele não viu necessidade — e no dia seguinte, quando a silhueta de um navio de guerra britânico apareceu no horizonte, ele quase decidiu pedir que ele e Lady Alice fossem transferidos para ele. Seus medos se intensificaram, convencido de que permanecer no sombrio e hostil Fuwalda só poderia trazer problemas.

En Por volta do meio-dia, eles chegaram ao alcance de voz do navio de guerra britânico. Clayton quase decidiu pedir ao capitão que os colocasse a bordo, mas então a absurdidade de tal pedido o atingiu. Que razão poderia dar ao oficial comandante por querer voltar pelo caminho que tinham acabado de percorrer?

En Se explicasse que dois marinheiros insubordinados haviam sido tratados com rudeza por seus oficiais, os britânicos simplesmente ririam em particular e presumiriam que o único motivo para deixar o navio era covardia.

En John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, não pediu transferência para o navio de guerra britânico. No final da tarde, ele observou suas partes superiores afundarem abaixo do horizonte distante, mas não antes de aprender algo que confirmou seus piores medos. Ele amaldiçoou o falso orgulho que o impedira de buscar segurança para sua jovem esposa algumas horas antes, quando a segurança estava ao alcance — agora perdida para sempre.

En No meio da tarde, o pequeno e idoso marinheiro que havia sido golpeado pelo capitão alguns dias antes aproximou-se de Clayton e sua esposa enquanto eles estavam junto à amurada do navio observando o contorno do encouraçado diminuir. O velho estava polindo latão e, chegando perto de Clayton, falou em voz baixa.

En Ele disse que haveria um inferno a pagar naquele navio, e instou Clayton a prestar atenção às suas palavras.

En Clayton perguntou ao homem o que ele queria dizer.

En O homem perguntou se Clayton não tinha visto o que estava acontecendo e ouvido como o capitão e seus amigos estavam espancando muitos da tripulação.

En Ele relatou que dois homens haviam sido feridos ontem e três hoje. Ele acrescentou que Black Michael estava bem novamente e não toleraria o abuso, alertando Clayton para lembrar disso.

En Clayton perguntou se o homem queria dizer que a tripulação estava planejando um motim.

En O velho exclamou que não era motim, mas assassinato o que eles tinham em mente, e disse a Clayton para prestar atenção às suas palavras.

En Ele perguntou sobre o horário do evento.

En O velho disse que algo estava chegando, mas não diria quando; ele alertou o ouvinte para ficar quieto e ir para o convés inferior se ouvisse tiros, como um favor pela gentileza anterior.

En Ele repetiu o aviso para ficar calado ou arriscar ser baleado, então se afastou enquanto continuava a polir.

En Clayton comentou com Alice que o cenário parecia sombrio.

En Alice exortou John a avisar o capitão imediatamente, na esperança de que o problema ainda pudesse ser evitado.

En John Clayton admitiu que provavelmente deveria falar, mas egoisticamente queria ficar quieto. Ele acreditava que, se permanecesse em silêncio, os amotinados poupariam ele e Alice por causa de seu apoio passado a Black Michael.

En Ele havia apoiado Black Michael, mas alertou Alice que, se descobrissem sua traição, não mostrariam misericórdia para nenhum dos dois.

En Alice insistiu que o único dever de John era com a autoridade legítima. Ela argumentou que, se ele não avisasse o capitão, seria tão responsável quanto aqueles que conspiraram o motim.

En John respondeu que seu primeiro dever era com Alice. O capitão havia trazido o problema para si mesmo, e seria tolice arriscar a segurança de Alice em uma tentativa provavelmente inútil de salvá-lo de sua própria brutalidade. Ela não podia imaginar os horrores se os amotinados ganhassem o controle do Fuwalda.

En Alice declarou que o dever era absoluto e não podia ser mudado por argumentos engenhosos. Ela seria uma esposa pobre para um lorde inglês se permitisse que ele evitasse um dever claro. Ela entendia o perigo, mas estava disposta a enfrentá-lo com ele.

En Ele disse a Alice que ela poderia pensar como quisesse, mas ele sentia que eles poderiam estar se preocupando desnecessariamente. Ele admitiu que as coisas no navio pareciam preocupantes, mas era possível que o velho marinheiro estivesse apenas expressando seus próprios desejos sombrios, em vez de relatar fatos.

En Ele comentou que o motim no mar poderia ter sido frequente há um século, mas no ano de 1888 era altamente improvável.

En Ele notou o capitão indo para sua cabine e decidiu que bem poderia avisá-lo, embora achasse a tarefa desagradável e tivesse pouco desejo de falar com o homem.

En Com isso, ele caminhou casualmente em direção às escadas por onde o capitão havia ido, e logo estava batendo na porta do capitão.

En Uma voz profunda e mal-humorada de dentro disse para ele entrar.

En Clayton entrou e fechou a porta atrás de si.

En O capitão perguntou, esperando uma explicação.

En Clayton relatou a essência de uma conversa que ouvira, alertando o capitão de que a tripulação estava considerando motim e assassinato, embora reconhecesse que poderia ser insignificante.

En O capitão gritou que era mentira e ameaçou Clayton com consequências se ele tivesse se intrometido nos assuntos do navio. Ele afirmou sua autoridade, declarando que não se importava com o título de Clayton e ordenou que ele parasse de interferir.

En O capitão, numa fúria, ficou roxo e gritou suas últimas palavras, batendo na mesa com um punho e balançando o outro no rosto de Clayton.

En Greystoke permaneceu completamente calmo, observando o homem excitado com um olhar firme e inabalável.

En Ele finalmente disse lentamente ao Capitão Billings que, com todo o respeito, achava que o capitão estava se comportando de forma tola.

En Ele então se virou e deixou o capitão com sua habitual maneira casual, o que foi muito mais eficaz para irritar um homem como Billings do que qualquer explosão de insultos teria sido.

En Se Clayton tivesse tentado acalmá-lo, o capitão poderia ter se arrependido de suas palavras precipitadas. Mas agora sua raiva estava fixada, e qualquer esperança de cooperação para o benefício mútuo estava perdida.

En Clayton voltou para sua esposa Alice e disse que havia desperdiçado suas palavras; o homem havia sido extremamente ingrato e o atacado como um cão raivoso.

En O orador expressou indiferença em relação ao navio e seu dono, concentrando-se em vez disso em sua própria segurança. Ele afirmou que se concentraria no bem-estar deles até que estivessem em segurança fora do navio, e pensou que o primeiro passo seria ir à cabine deles e verificar seus revólveres. Ele lamentou que tivessem guardado as armas maiores e a munição com a carga abaixo.

En A cabine estava em completa desordem, com roupas espalhadas de caixas e bolsas abertas, e as camas haviam sido rasgadas.

En Clayton comentou que alguém aparentemente estava mais preocupado com seus pertences do que eles, e sugeriu que ele e Alice revistassem o quarto para determinar o que havia sido levado.

En Após uma busca minuciosa, eles descobriram que apenas os dois revólveres de Clayton e a pequena quantidade de munição que ele havia separado estavam faltando.

En Clayton disse que desejava fortemente que os ladrões tivessem deixado esses itens, e achou profundamente perturbador que eles tivessem levado apenas as armas e a munição.

En Alice perguntou a John que rumo deveriam tomar, sugerindo que sua melhor esperança poderia ser permanecer neutros.

En Ela argumentou que, se os oficiais conseguissem evitar um motim, não teriam nada a temer; ao passo que, se os amotinados vencessem, sua única e tênue chance residia em não os terem frustrado nem provocado.

En John concordou, afirmando que manteriam uma postura neutra.

En Enquanto arrumavam o camarote, tanto Clayton quanto sua esposa notaram o canto de uma folha de papel saindo por baixo da porta. Quando Clayton se abaixou para pegá-la, ficou surpreso ao vê-la deslizar para dentro, e percebeu que estava sendo empurrada por alguém do lado de fora.

En Ele moveu-se rápida e silenciosamente em direção à porta, mas, quando sua mão alcançou a maçaneta, a mão de sua esposa agarrou seu pulso.

En Ela sussurrou para John que eles não deveriam ser vistos, já que os outros desejavam permanecer escondidos. Ela o lembrou de que estavam ficando no meio da estrada.

En Clayton sorriu e deixou a mão cair ao lado do corpo. Eles ficaram observando o pequeno pedaço de papel branco até que ele parou no chão, bem dentro da porta.

En Clayton se abaixou e pegou o papel. Era um pedaço branco sujo, grosseiramente dobrado em um quadrado irregular. Quando o abriram, encontraram uma mensagem tosca escrita quase ilegível, mostrando claros sinais de que o escritor não estava acostumado à tarefa.

En A mensagem traduzida advertiu os Claytons a não relatarem os revólveres desaparecidos nem repetirem o que o velho marinheiro lhes havia dito, sob ameaça de morte.

En Clayton disse com um sorriso pesaroso que provavelmente obedeceriam. Tudo o que podiam fazer, pensou, era ficar quietos e esperar pelo que pudesse acontecer.

O Lar Selvagem

En Eles não tiveram que esperar muito. Na manhã seguinte, quando Clayton subiu ao convés para sua caminhada habitual antes do café da manhã, ouviu uma série de tiros.

En O que Clayton viu confirmou seus piores medos. Toda a tripulação heterogênea do Fuwalda, liderada por Black Michael, estava de frente para o pequeno grupo de oficiais.

En Ao primeiro disparo dos oficiais, os homens correram para se abrigar. De trás dos mastros, do timoneiro e das cabines, eles revidaram o fogo contra os cinco homens que representavam a odiada autoridade do navio.

En Dois da tripulação foram baleados pelo revólver do capitão e jaziam entre os combatentes. Então o imediato caiu para frente. Ao comando de Black Michael, os amotinados avançaram contra os quatro oficiais restantes. A tripulação tinha apenas seis armas de fogo; o restante se armou com ganchos de barco, machados, machadinhas e pés de cabra.

En O capitão tinha esvaziado seu revólver e estava recarregando quando a carga começou. A arma do segundo imediato emperrou, deixando apenas duas armas contra os amotinados enquanto eles avançavam sobre os oficiais, que começaram a recuar diante do furioso ataque.

En Ambos os lados gritavam maldições violentas, e o barulho de tiros, gritos e gemidos dos feridos tornou o convés do Fuwalda parecido com um hospício.

En Antes que os oficiais pudessem recuar uma dúzia de passos, os homens avançaram. Um marinheiro negro robusto partiu a cabeça do capitão com um machado, e logo os outros oficiais jaziam mortos ou feridos por inúmeros golpes e balas.

En Os amotinados do Fuwalda completaram seu trabalho brutal rapidamente. Durante tudo isso, John Clayton encostou-se casualmente junto à escotilha, fumando seu cachimbo como se estivesse apenas assistindo a uma partida de críquete sem graça.

En Quando o último oficial caiu, ele decidiu que era hora de voltar para sua esposa, temendo que alguns membros da tripulação pudessem encontrá-la sozinha embaixo.

En Embora Clayton parecesse calmo e indiferente, ele estava internamente ansioso e tenso, preocupado com a segurança de sua esposa nas mãos dos homens ignorantes e brutais em cujas mãos o destino os havia lançado impiedosamente.

En Ele se virou para descer a escada e ficou surpreso ao encontrar sua esposa parada nos degraus muito perto dele.

En Ele perguntou a Alice há quanto tempo ela estava parada ali.

En Ela respondeu que estava ali desde o início e expressou seu medo sobre o que poderiam esperar de tais homens.

En Ele respondeu que esperava pelo café da manhã e sorriu corajosamente para acalmar os medos dela.

En Ele acrescentou que perguntaria a eles e disse a Alice para vir com ele, afirmando que não deviam parecer esperar nada menos que um tratamento educado.

En Naquela altura, os homens haviam cercado os oficiais mortos e feridos. Sem favoritismo ou piedade, jogaram tanto os vivos quanto os mortos ao mar. Eles se desfizeram de seus próprios mortos e moribundos com igual crueldade.

En Logo, um dos tripulantes avistou os Claytons se aproximando e gritou que ali estavam mais dois para os peixes. Ele correu em direção a eles com um machado levantado.

En Mas Black Michael foi ainda mais rápido. Ele atirou no homem pelas costas antes que ele desse mais do que alguns passos.

En Black Michael soltou um rugido alto para atrair a atenção dos outros. Ele apontou para Lord e Lady Greystoke e gritou.

En Ele anunciou que aquelas pessoas eram suas amigas e que deveriam ser deixadas em paz. Ele exigiu saber se eles haviam entendido.

En Black Michael declarou-se capitão do navio e afirmou que suas ordens seriam seguidas. Virando-se para Clayton, aconselhou-os a ficarem na deles e prometeu que ninguém os machucaria. Ele deu um olhar ameaçador para seus homens.

En Os Claytons seguiram as instruções de Black Michael com tanto cuidado que mal viram a tripulação e permaneceram inconscientes dos planos secretos dos homens.

En De vez em quando, ouviam sons distantes de luta e discussão entre os amotinados, e duas vezes o som agudo de tiros rompeu o ar quieto. No entanto, Black Michael mostrou ser um líder adequado para este grupo de criminosos, conseguindo mantê-los sob controle razoável.

En No quinto dia após os oficiais serem mortos, um vigia avistou terra. Black Michael não tinha certeza se era uma ilha ou continente, mas informou Clayton que, se fosse habitável, ele e Lady Greystoke seriam desembarcados lá com suas posses.

En Black Michael explicou que eles estariam seguros ali por alguns meses, durante os quais a tripulação alcançaria uma costa habitada e depois se dispersaria. Ele prometeu notificar o governo de sua localização para que um navio de guerra pudesse ser enviado para resgatá-los.

En Ele observou que levá-los para a civilização seria difícil porque muitas perguntas seriam feitas, e nenhum deles tinha respostas convincentes prontas.

En Clayton argumentou que era cruel deixá-los em uma costa desconhecida, à mercê de animais selvagens e, possivelmente, de humanos ainda mais selvagens.

En No entanto, seus protestos foram inúteis e apenas irritaram Black Michael, então ele teve que parar e aceitar a situação infeliz da melhor forma possível.

En Por volta das três da tarde, eles se aproximaram de uma bela costa arborizada em frente à entrada do que parecia ser um porto sem saída para o mar.

En Black Michael enviou um pequeno barco com homens para medir a profundidade da entrada, para ver se o Fuwalda poderia ser navegado com segurança por ela.

En Após aproximadamente uma hora, eles retornaram e relataram que a passagem e a pequena bacia tinham águas profundas em toda a extensão.

En Antes do anoitecer, a barca estava calmamente ancorada na superfície calma e espelhada do porto.

En As margens eram exuberantes com vegetação semitropical, e mais para o interior, o terreno se elevava em colinas e planaltos, todos densamente cobertos por florestas antigas.

En Nenhum sinal de habitação era visível, mas a abundante vida de pássaros e animais, vislumbrada ocasionalmente por aqueles no convés do Fuwalda, indicava claramente que a terra poderia sustentar a vida humana.

En Do convés, eles ocasionalmente vislumbravam a vida selvagem, e o brilho de um rio desaguando no porto prometia água doce em abundância.

En À medida que a escuridão caía, Clayton e Lady Alice permaneciam na amurada do navio, pensando silenciosamente no seu futuro lar. Das sombras profundas da grande floresta vinham os gritos selvagens de animais ferozes — o rugido profundo de um leão e, de vez em quando, o grito agudo de uma pantera.

En Aterrorizada, a mulher apertou-se contra o homem, temendo os horrores que os aguardavam na terrível escuridão das noites vindouras, quando estariam sozinhos naquela costa selvagem e solitária.

En Mais tarde naquela noite, Black Michael veio dizer-lhes que se preparassem para desembarcar no dia seguinte. Eles imploraram que os levasse a uma costa mais acolhedora, perto da civilização, onde pudessem encontrar pessoas amigáveis. Mas nada do que disseram — nem súplicas, ameaças ou ofertas de pagamento — pôde mudar sua decisão.

En Black Michael disse-lhes que era o único homem no navio que não desejava a morte deles. Ele admitiu que matá-los seria a maneira mais inteligente de proteger a tripulação, mas não podia esquecer um favor. Já que eles haviam salvado sua vida, ele pouparia a deles em troca, mas isso era tudo que podia fazer.

En Ele explicou que os homens não tolerariam qualquer atraso, e se eles não desembarcassem logo, a tripulação poderia até decidir abandoná-los completamente. Ele prometeu colocar seus pertences em terra, incluindo utensílios de cozinha, velas velhas para barracas e comida suficiente para durar até que pudessem encontrar frutas e caça.

En Black Michael garantiu a eles que, com suas armas, poderiam viver ali em segurança até a chegada de ajuda. Ele prometeu informar o governo britânico sobre sua localização assim que estivesse escondido, embora admitisse não saber ele próprio as coordenadas exatas. Ele expressou confiança de que seriam encontrados.

En Após sua partida, eles desceram ao convés inferior em silêncio, cada um consumido por pressentimentos sombrios.

En Clayton duvidava que Black Michael tivesse qualquer intenção real de notificar o governo britânico sobre seu paradeiro. Além disso, suspeitava que uma traição poderia esperá-los no dia seguinte, quando desembarcariam com os marinheiros que os acompanhariam com seus pertences.

En Uma vez fora da vista de Black Michael, qualquer um dos homens poderia atacá-los sem sobrecarregar a consciência de Black Michael.

En Mesmo que escapassem daquele perigo, perigos ainda mais graves se avizinhavam. Sozinho, ele poderia esperar sobreviver por anos, já que era forte e atlético.

En Ele pensou em Alice e na nova vida que em breve enfrentaria as dificuldades e os terríveis perigos de um mundo primevo.

En Ele tremeu ao refletir sobre a terrível gravidade e impotência de sua situação, mas foi uma misericórdia que ele não pudesse prever a hedionda realidade que os aguardava nas profundezas escuras da floresta.

En No início da manhã seguinte, seus muitos baús e caixas foram trazidos para o convés e baixados em pequenos barcos para serem levados à costa.

En Havia uma grande quantidade e variedade de mercadorias, pois os Claytons esperavam uma residência de cinco a oito anos. Além dos necessários, eles também trouxeram muitos luxos.

En Black Michael estava determinado a que nada pertencente aos Claytons permanecesse no navio. Era difícil dizer se ele agiu por compaixão ou por seus próprios interesses.

En Estava claro que encontrar os pertences de um oficial britânico desaparecido em um navio suspeito teria sido muito difícil de explicar em qualquer porto civilizado.

En Ele estava tão determinado a alcançar seu objetivo que exigiu que os marinheiros devolvessem os revólveres de Clayton, que eles haviam tomado.

En Os pequenos barcos também foram carregados com carne salgada, biscoitos, uma pequena quantidade de batatas e feijões, fósforos, panelas, um baú de ferramentas e as velas velhas que Black Michael havia prometido.

En Como se ele mesmo temesse a mesma coisa que Clayton havia suspeitado, Black Michael foi com eles até a praia e foi o último a sair. Depois que os pequenos barcos encheram os tonéis do navio com água fresca, eles foram empurrados em direção ao Fuwalda que esperava.

En Enquanto os barcos se moviam lentamente pela baía calma, Clayton e sua esposa ficaram em silêncio, observando-os partir. Ambos sentiram uma sensação de desastre iminente e total desesperança.

En Atrás deles, logo acima da crista, outro par de olhos observava — juntos, cruéis e brilhando sob sobrancelhas grossas.

En Enquanto o Fuwalda navegava pela estreita entrada do porto e desaparecia atrás de um ponto saliente, Lady Alice jogou os braços em volta do pescoço de Clayton e soluçou incontrolavelmente.

En Ela havia enfrentado o motim com coragem e olhado para o futuro sombrio com determinação heroica. Mas agora, com todo o terror do isolamento pesando sobre eles, seus nervos tensos finalmente cederam, e a reação reprimida tomou conta.

En Ele não tentou conter as lágrimas dela. Era melhor deixar a natureza seguir seu curso e liberar as emoções há muito reprimidas. Muitos minutos se passaram antes que a garota — mal mais que uma criança — pudesse recuperar o controle de si mesma.

En Por fim, ela gritou para John sobre o horror da situação e perguntou repetidamente o que deveriam fazer.

En Ele calmamente disse a Alice que eles tinham apenas uma opção: trabalhar. Ele disse que o trabalho seria a salvação deles e que eles não deveriam se permitir tempo para pensar, porque pensar poderia levar à loucura.

En Ele insistiu que eles precisavam trabalhar e esperar. Ele estava confiante de que a ajuda chegaria em breve assim que a perda do Fuwalda fosse descoberta, mesmo que Black Michael não cumprisse sua promessa.

En Alice soluçou que se fossem apenas os dois, eles poderiam suportar a dificuldade, mas ela estava claramente preocupada com outra coisa.

En John concordou gentilmente que ele também havia considerado isso, mas eles tinham que enfrentar a situação corajosamente e com total confiança em sua capacidade de lidar com quaisquer circunstâncias.

En Ele observou que centenas de milhares de anos atrás, seus ancestrais distantes enfrentaram problemas semelhantes, talvez nessas mesmas florestas antigas. O fato de a humanidade ainda existir prova que esses ancestrais triunfaram.

En John argumentou que eles poderiam fazer o que os povos antigos haviam feito, e ainda melhor, porque estavam equipados com séculos de conhecimento avançado e os meios de proteção, defesa e sustento que a ciência havia proporcionado, os quais os antigos não possuíam.

En Alice concordou que, se os povos antigos haviam realizado tais coisas com ferramentas simples de pedra e osso, certamente eles poderiam fazer o mesmo.

En Alice expressou o desejo de ter a filosofia lógica de um homem, mas admitiu que era apenas uma mulher que via com o coração em vez da cabeça, e tudo que conseguia perceber era horrível e impensável demais para ser colocado em palavras.

En Alice disse que esperava que John estivesse certo e prometeu dar o seu melhor para ser uma mulher primitiva corajosa, uma companheira adequada para um homem primitivo.

En A primeira prioridade de Clayton foi arrumar um abrigo para dormir durante a noite, algo que pudesse protegê-los de feras selvagens que pudessem atacar.

En Ele abriu a caixa que continha seus rifles e munição para que ambos pudessem estar armados contra qualquer possível ataque enquanto trabalhavam. Depois, procuraram juntos um lugar para dormir naquela primeira noite.

En A cerca de cem jardas da praia, havia uma pequena área plana com poucas árvores. Eles decidiram construir uma casa permanente ali eventualmente, mas por enquanto ambos concordaram que seria melhor construir uma pequena plataforma nas árvores, fora do alcance dos grandes animais selvagens que viviam nesta terra.

En Para esse fim, Clayton escolheu quatro árvores que formavam um retângulo de cerca de oito pés de largura. Ele cortou galhos longos de outras árvores e construiu uma armação em torno daquelas quatro árvores, a cerca de dez pés do chão. Ele amarrou firmemente as pontas dos galhos às árvores usando corda que Black Michael lhe dera do porão do navio.

En Através dessa armação, Clayton colocou galhos menores bem juntos. Ele cobriu essa plataforma com grandes folhas de orelha-de-elefante que cresciam abundantemente ao redor deles, e sobre essas folhas ele estendeu uma grande vela dobrada várias vezes.

En Sete pés mais acima, ele construiu uma plataforma semelhante, mas mais leve, para servir de teto, e de seus lados ele pendurou o restante da lona de vela para servir de paredes.

En Uma vez concluído, o pequeno ninho era bastante aconchegante, e ele levou para dentro dele os cobertores e a bagagem mais leve.

En A tarde foi avançando, e eles passaram a luz do dia restante construindo uma escada rústica para que Lady Alice pudesse subir até seu novo lar.

En Durante todo o dia, a floresta ao redor deles estava repleta de pássaros coloridos e macacos barulhentos e animados, que observavam os recém-chegados e sua impressionante construção de ninho com óbvio fascínio.

En Embora Clayton e sua esposa mantivessem uma vigilância atenta, eles não viram animais maiores. No entanto, duas vezes observaram seus pequenos vizinhos macacos fugindo de uma crista próxima, gritando e tagarelando, e olhando para trás com medo, indicando claramente que estavam escapando de algum perigo oculto.

En Pouco antes do anoitecer, Clayton terminou a escada. Depois de encher uma grande bacia com água do riacho próximo, os dois subiram para a relativa segurança de sua casa na árvore.

En Porque estava bastante quente, Clayton havia deixado as cortinas laterais jogadas para trás. Enquanto eles se sentavam em seus cobertores como turcos, Lady Alice forçou a vista na direção das sombras que escureciam a floresta. De repente, ela estendeu a mão e agarrou os braços de Clayton.

En Ela sussurrou para John, dizendo-lhe para olhar e perguntando se era um homem.

En Quando Clayton se virou para olhar onde ela apontava, ele viu uma grande figura em pé sobre o cume, vagamente delineada contra as sombras mais profundas atrás dela.

En A figura ficou parada por um momento, como se estivesse ouvindo. Então se virou lentamente e desapareceu nas sombras da selva.

En Lady Alice perguntou novamente a John o que era a figura.

En Ele respondeu gravemente que não sabia, dizendo que estava escuro demais para ver longe e que poderia ser apenas uma sombra projetada pela lua nascente.

En Alice disse a John que, se não era um homem, era uma imitação enorme e grotesca de um homem. Ela expressou seu medo.

En Ele a segurou em seus braços e sussurrou palavras de coragem e amor.

En Pouco depois, ele baixou as paredes da tenda e as amarrou firmemente às árvores, criando um cercado com apenas uma pequena abertura voltada para a praia.

En Como agora estava completamente escuro dentro de seu pequeno abrigo, eles se deitaram sobre seus cobertores, esperando encontrar alívio temporário de seus problemas através do sono.

En Clayton estava deitado de frente para a abertura frontal, com um rifle e um par de revólveres ao seu lado.

En Mal haviam fechado os olhos quando o grito aterrorizante de uma onça veio da selva atrás deles. Aproximou-se cada vez mais até que puderam ouvir a grande fera diretamente abaixo deles. Por mais de uma hora, ouviram-na farejando e arranhando as árvores que sustentavam sua plataforma. Finalmente, ela vagueou pela praia, onde Clayton pôde vê-la claramente sob o luar brilhante — uma fera grande e magnífica, a maior que já tinha visto.

En Durante a longa noite, eles conseguiram apenas um sono breve e interrompido. A selva estava cheia de sons de inúmeros animais, mantendo seus nervos tensos à flor da pele. Eles foram acordados inúmeras vezes por gritos agudos ou pelo movimento silencioso de grandes corpos abaixo deles.

Vida e Morte

En Quando a manhã chegou, eles mal estavam revigorados, mas sentiram um intenso alívio ao amanhecer.

En Após seu magro café da manhã de carne de porco salgada, café e biscoito, Clayton começou a construir sua casa. Ele entendia que não poderiam se sentir seguros ou em paz à noite até que paredes fortes bloqueassem completamente a vida da selva.

En O trabalho foi difícil e levou quase um mês, embora ele tenha construído apenas um pequeno cômodo. A cabana foi construída com pequenos troncos de cerca de quinze centímetros de espessura, com os espaços entre eles preenchidos com argila que ele encontrou a alguns metros abaixo da superfície.

En Em uma extremidade, ele construiu uma lareira usando pequenas pedras coletadas da praia, que também fixou com argila. Assim que a casa ficou totalmente pronta, ele aplicou uma camada de argila de cerca de dez centímetros sobre toda a superfície externa.

En Na abertura da janela, ele colocou pequenos galhos com cerca de dois centímetros e meio de espessura, dispostos tanto na vertical quanto na horizontal, entrelaçados para criar uma grade resistente capaz de suportar um animal poderoso. Dessa forma, eles conseguiram circulação de ar e ventilação sem comprometer a segurança da cabana.

En O telhado, em forma de A, foi coberto com pequenos galhos colocados bem juntos, cobertos com longa grama da selva e folhas de palmeira, e finalmente selado com uma camada de argila.

En Ele construiu a porta com pedaços das caixas de embalagem que continham seus pertences, pregando uma camada sobre a outra com as fibras de cada camada indo em direções diferentes, até obter uma placa sólida com cerca de sete centímetros e meio de espessura. Sua grande resistência fez ambos rirem quando a olharam.

En O maior desafio de Clayton foi que, depois de construir a pesada porta, ele não tinha como pendurá-la. Após dois dias de trabalho, ele conseguiu criar duas grandes dobradiças de madeira, que permitiram que ele instalasse a porta de modo que ela abrisse e fechasse suavemente.

En Eles terminaram o reboco e outros detalhes depois de se mudarem. Eles se mudaram assim que o telhado foi concluído, empilhando suas caixas na frente da porta à noite por segurança. Isso lhes deu uma casa relativamente segura e confortável.

En Fazer uma cama, cadeiras, uma mesa e prateleiras foi bastante simples. No final do segundo mês, eles estavam bem estabelecidos. Tirando o medo constante de ataques de animais selvagens e a crescente solidão, eles não estavam desconfortáveis ou infelizes.

En À noite, grandes feras rosnavam e rugiam ao redor de sua pequena cabana. No entanto, as pessoas podem se acostumar com sons familiares, então logo mal os notavam e dormiam tranquilamente a noite toda.

En Em três ocasiões, eles tiveram breves vislumbres de grandes figuras humanoides semelhantes à que haviam visto na primeira noite. No entanto, nunca estavam perto o suficiente para ter certeza se essas formas meio vistas eram homens ou animais.

En Os pássaros brilhantes e os pequenos macacos se acostumaram com os Claytons. Como nunca tinham visto humanos antes, o medo inicial desapareceu e a curiosidade os aproximou. Em um mês, vários pássaros até pegaram comida das mãos dos Claytons.

En Uma tarde, enquanto Clayton trabalhava na expansão da cabana, vários dos estranhos macaquinhos vieram gritando pelas árvores do cume. Eles continuavam olhando para trás com medo enquanto fugiam, e eventualmente pararam perto de Clayton, tagarelando excitadamente como se o avisassem de perigo.

En Finalmente ele viu o que os macacos temiam: o homem-besta que os Claytons apenas tinham vislumbrado antes.

En Ele se movia pela selva parcialmente ereto, ocasionalmente colocando os punhos fechados no chão. Era um enorme macaco, e conforme se aproximava, emitia grunhidos guturais profundos e ocasionais latidos baixos.

En Clayton estava longe da cabana, tendo vindo cortar uma árvore perfeita para a construção. Após meses de segurança, ele se tornara descuidado e deixara suas armas dentro. Agora ele via o grande macaco avançando pelos arbustos diretamente em sua direção, bloqueando sua rota de fuga. Um pequeno calafrio percorreu sua espinha.

En Ele entendeu que, armado apenas com um machado, suas chances contra a fera feroz eram muito pequenas. Também se desesperou por Alice, imaginando o que seria dela.

En Restava uma pequena chance de alcançar a cabana. Ele se virou e correu, chamando sua esposa para entrar e fechar a grande porta se o macaco o interceptasse.

En Lady Greystoke estava sentada a uma curta distância da cabana. Ouvindo seu grito, ela ergueu os olhos e viu o macaco saltando com uma velocidade impressionante — notável para uma criatura tão grande e desajeitada — na tentativa de interceptar Clayton.

En Com um baixo grito, ela disparou em direção à cabana e, ao cruzar a soleira, lançou um olhar aterrorizado para trás. A fera havia interceptado seu marido, que agora estava encurralado, segurando seu machado com ambas as mãos, pronto para golpear quando o animal enfurecido fizesse seu ataque final.

En Clayton ordenou que Alice fechasse e trancasse a porta, garantindo a ela que poderia acabar com a criatura com seu machado.

En Ele entendeu que estava prestes a morrer horrivelmente, e ela também entendeu isso.

En O macaco era um grande macho, pesando cerca de trezentas libras. Seus olhos pequenos e juntos brilhavam com ódio sob sobrancelhas hirsutas, e seus grandes dentes caninos estavam à mostra em um terrível rosnado enquanto ele parava brevemente diante de sua presa.

En Por cima do ombro do macaco, Clayton viu a porta de sua cabana, a menos de vinte passos de distância. Uma onda de horror e medo o varreu quando ele viu sua jovem esposa sair, segurando um de seus rifles.

En Ela sempre teve pavor de armas e nunca as tocava, mas agora ela correu em direção ao macaco com a coragem de uma leoa defendendo seus filhotes.

En Clayton gritou para Alice voltar, implorando a ela, pelo amor de Deus, que recuasse.

En Ela não ouviu, e naquele momento o macaco atacou, impedindo Clayton de dizer mais alguma coisa.

En Clayton balançou seu machado com toda a sua força, mas o poderoso macaco o agarrou com suas mãos terríveis, arrancou-o de seu aperto e o jogou para longe.

En Com um rosnado feio, o macaco avançou sobre sua vítima indefesa, mas antes que suas presas pudessem alcançar a garganta que tanto desejavam, um tiro seco ressoou e uma bala atingiu o macaco entre os ombros.

En Atirando Clayton ao chão, a fera se virou para seu novo inimigo. A garota aterrorizada estava ali, tentando em vão disparar outra bala no animal, mas ela não entendia como a arma funcionava, e o martelo clicou inutilmente em um cartucho vazio.

En Quase ao mesmo tempo, Clayton se levantou e, sem considerar o quão desesperada era a tentativa, avançou para puxar o macaco para longe do corpo caído de sua esposa.

En Ele obteve sucesso com esforço mínimo, e o enorme macaco caiu sem vida na grama à sua frente, morto pela bala.

En Uma verificação rápida em sua esposa não mostrou ferimentos, e Clayton concluiu que a enorme fera havia morrido no momento em que avançou em direção a Alice.

En Cuidadosamente, ele carregou sua esposa, que permanecia inconsciente, para a pequena cabana, embora ela não tenha acordado por mais duas horas.

En Suas primeiras palavras perturbaram Clayton com uma sensação de desconforto. Depois de recobrar a consciência, Alice olhou ao redor da cabana com admiração, então suspirou satisfeita e começou a falar.

En Ela disse a John como era maravilhoso estar em casa e descreveu um sonho terrível no qual eles não estavam em Londres, mas em um lugar horrível onde grandes animais os atacavam.

En Ele acariciou suavemente sua testa e disse a ela para tentar dormir de novo, sem se preocupar com pesadelos.

En Naquela noite, um menino nasceu na pequena cabana ao lado da floresta selvagem. Lá fora, um leopardo gritou perto da porta, e o rugido profundo de um leão ecoou além da cordilheira.

En Lady Greystoke nunca se recuperou do choque do ataque do grande símio. Ela viveu por um ano após dar à luz, mas nunca mais saiu da cabana, nem compreendeu verdadeiramente que não estava na Inglaterra.

En Ela às vezes perguntava a Clayton sobre os ruídos noturnos estranhos, a falta de criados e amigos, e os móveis rústicos em seu quarto. Embora ele não tentasse esconder a verdade, ela nunca conseguia compreender a situação.

En Em outros aspectos, ela era completamente racional, e a alegria que encontrava em seu filho bebê e nos cuidados constantes do marido fez daquele ano um ano muito feliz — de fato, o mais feliz de sua jovem vida.

En Clayton entendeu que se ela estivesse em plena posse de seus sentidos, teria sido dominada pela preocupação e pelo medo. Ele sofria muito ao vê-la naquele estado, mas em alguns momentos sentia-se quase aliviado, por ela mesma, que ela permanecesse inconsciente.

En Ele há muito havia abandonado qualquer expectativa de ser resgatado, exceto por algum acontecimento casual. Com dedicação incansável, ele havia trabalhado para tornar o interior da cabana mais bonito.

En O chão estava coberto com peles de leões e panteras. Armários e estantes de livros forravam as paredes. Ele havia feito vasos incomuns com argila local, que continham lindas flores tropicais. Cortinas tecidas de grama e bambu pendiam sobre as janelas. E sua tarefa mais difícil havia sido usar suas ferramentas limitadas para modelar madeira que selasse perfeitamente as paredes e o teto e criasse um piso liso dentro da cabana.

En O fato de ele conseguir se dedicar a tarefas tão desconhecidas o surpreendia um pouco. No entanto, ele amava o trabalho porque era para ela e para a pequena vida que viera trazer-lhes alegria, embora isso multiplicasse suas responsabilidades e tornasse sua situação ainda mais terrível.

En No ano seguinte, Clayton foi atacado em várias ocasiões pelos grandes símios que agora pareciam cercar constantemente a cabana. No entanto, como ele nunca saía sem seu rifle e revólveres, sentia pouco medo das enormes criaturas.

En Ele havia reforçado as janelas e instalado uma fechadura de madeira exclusiva na porta da cabana. Isso permitia que ele caçasse sem se preocupar com a entrada de animais em casa.

En Inicialmente, ele atirava nos animais das janelas da cabana, mas com o tempo os animais aprenderam a evitar aquele lugar estranho de onde vinha o som terrível de seu rifle.

En Durante seu tempo livre, Clayton lia em voz alta para sua esposa os livros infantis que havia trazido. Eles sabiam que seu filho teria idade suficiente para apreciá-los antes que pudessem esperar retornar à Inglaterra.

En Em outros momentos, Clayton escrevia em seu diário, que ele sempre mantinha em francês. Nele, registrava os detalhes de sua vida incomum. Ele guardava o diário trancado em uma pequena caixa de metal.

En Um ano após o nascimento de seu filho, Lady Alice faleceu pacificamente durante a noite. Sua morte foi tão suave que Clayton não percebeu que ela havia morrido até várias horas depois.

En Ele gradualmente entendeu quão terrível era a situação. Ele provavelmente nunca compreendeu completamente o peso total de seu luto ou o dever aterrorizante que agora recaía sobre ele: cuidar de seu filho minúsculo, que ainda precisava ser amamentado.

En Sua última entrada no diário foi escrita na manhã seguinte à morte dela. Nela, ele descreveu os eventos tristes com calma, o que tornou a história ainda mais trágica. A escrita mostrava uma falta cansada de sentimento, causada por um longo tempo de tristeza e desesperança. Mesmo essa perda cruel mal conseguia fazê-lo sentir mais dor.

En Ele escreveu que seu filho bebê estava chorando por comida. Ele chamou por Alice, perguntando-se o que deveria fazer.

En Enquanto John Clayton escrevia suas palavras finais — as últimas que jamais escreveria — ele cansadamente descansou a cabeça sobre os braços. Seus braços estavam sobre a mesa que ele havia feito para Alice, que agora jazia imóvel e fria na cama ao lado dele.

En Por um longo tempo, a selva esteve completamente silenciosa, como a morte, ao meio-dia. O único som era o choro lastimoso do minúsculo menino bebê.

Os Macacos

En Na floresta do planalto, a cerca de um quilômetro da costa, o velho macaco Kerchak enfurecia-se furiosamente entre sua tribo.

En Os macacos mais jovens e leves correram para os galhos mais altos das árvores altas para escapar de sua ira, arriscando suas vidas em galhos que mal podiam sustentá-los, em vez de enfrentar Kerchak em sua raiva incontrolável.

En Os outros machos fugiram em todas as direções, mas somente depois que a fera enfurecida esmagou a coluna de um com suas poderosas mandíbulas espumantes.

En Uma jovem fêmea infeliz perdeu a pegada em um galho alto e caiu pesadamente no chão, aterrissando quase aos pés de Kerchak.

En Com um grito selvagem, ele a atacou, arrancando um grande pedaço de seu lado com seus dentes poderosos e batendo em sua cabeça e ombros com um galho de árvore quebrado até que seu crânio foi esmagado.

En Então ele viu Kala, que estava voltando de procurar comida com seu bebê pequeno. Ela não sabia o quão irritado o grande macho estava até que os avisos repentinos e agudos dos outros macacos a fizeram correr desesperadamente para se salvar.

En Mas Kerchak estava perto dela, tão perto que quase agarrou seu tornozelo. Ela deu um salto desesperado pelo ar de uma árvore para outra — uma manobra perigosa que os macacos raramente fazem a menos que estejam tão perseguidos pelo perigo que não tenham outra escolha.

En Ela fez o salto com sucesso, mas ao agarrar o galho da próxima árvore, o choque repentino afrouxou o aperto do pequeno bebê enquanto ele se agarrava desesperadamente ao seu pescoço. Ela viu o pequeno cair, girando e rodopiando, ao chão trinta pés abaixo.

En Com um grito baixo de horror, Kala correu direto para o seu lado, agora esquecendo o perigo de Kerchak. Mas quando ela pegou o pequeno corpo quebrado e o segurou contra o peito, a vida já o havia deixado.

En Ela sentou-se com gemidos baixos, aconchegando o corpo contra si, e Kerchak não tentou machucá-la. Com a morte do bebê, seu acesso de raiva insana passou tão repentinamente quanto havia vindo.

En Kerchak, o enorme macaco rei, pesava cerca de trezentos e cinquenta libras. Ele tinha uma testa muito baixa e inclinada, olhos pequenos e injetados, próximos um do outro ao lado de um nariz grosso e chato, e orelhas grandes e finas, ainda menores que as da maioria dos macacos.

En Seu temperamento terrível e sua força imensa o tornaram o governante da pequena tribo na qual havia nascido cerca de vinte anos antes.

En Agora em seu auge, nenhum macaco na vasta floresta onde ele vagava ousava desafiar sua autoridade, e até mesmo animais maiores o deixavam em paz.

En O velho Tantor, o elefante, era a única criatura que não o temia — e Kerchak temia Tantor em troca. Sempre que Tantor barritava, o grande macaco e seus seguidores escalavam rapidamente para o alto das árvores do segundo terraço.

En A tribo de antropoides que Kerchak governava com mão de ferro e presas à mostra consistia em seis ou oito famílias, cada uma composta por um macho adulto, suas fêmeas e seus filhotes, totalizando cerca de sessenta ou setenta macacos.

En Kala, a parceira mais jovem de um macho chamado Tublat (que significa nariz quebrado), havia perdido seu primeiro filho, que foi esmagado até a morte. Ela tinha apenas nove ou dez anos na época.

En Embora jovem, Kala era grande e poderosa — um animal belo e bem proporcionado. Sua testa redonda e alta sugeria mais inteligência do que a maioria de sua espécie. Ela também possuía uma profunda capacidade de amor maternal e luto.

En No entanto, ela ainda era uma macaca — uma criatura enorme, feroz e aterrorizante. Sua espécie, intimamente relacionada ao gorila, mas mais inteligente, combinava a força de seus primos com uma sagacidade que os tornava os mais temíveis dos ancestrais inspiradores de admiração da humanidade.

En Quando o bando percebeu que a fúria de Kerchak havia diminuído, eles desceram lentamente de seus refúgios nas copas das árvores e retomaram as várias atividades que ele havia interrompido.

En Os jovens macacos brincavam e pulavam entre as árvores e arbustos. Alguns adultos jaziam estirados sobre o tapete macio de matéria vegetal em decomposição que cobria o chão, enquanto outros reviravam galhos caídos e torrões de terra em busca dos pequenos insetos e répteis que faziam parte de sua dieta.

En Outros ainda forrageavam entre as árvores ao redor, coletando frutas, nozes, pássaros pequenos e ovos.

En Após cerca de uma hora, Kerchak reuniu o grupo e, ordenando que o seguissem, partiu em direção ao mar.

En Na maior parte, viajavam pelo chão em áreas abertas, seguindo trilhas abertas por elefantes — as únicas rotas claras através do denso emaranhado de arbustos, vinhas e árvores. Sua marcha era um gingado desajeitado e rolante: eles colocavam os nós dos dedos das mãos fechadas no chão e balançavam seus corpos desajeitados para frente.

En Quando o caminho passava por galhos mais baixos, no entanto, moviam-se com maior velocidade, balançando de galho em galho com a agilidade de seus parentes menores, os macacos. Durante toda a jornada, Kala segurava seu filhote morto firmemente contra o peito.

En Pouco depois do meio-dia, alcançaram uma crista que dava para a praia; abaixo deles estava a pequena cabana que era o destino de Kerchak.

En Kerchak havia testemunhado muitos macacos morrerem devido ao barulho alto produzido pelo pequeno bastão preto segurado pelo estranho macaco branco que vivia naquela toca notável. Ele decidiu que queria possuir aquele instrumento mortal e também investigar o interior da cabana misteriosa.

En Kerchak desejava desesperadamente cravar os dentes no pescoço da estranha criatura que aprendera a odiar e temer. Por esse motivo, ele frequentemente trazia sua tribo para explorar a área, esperando um momento em que o macaco branco estivesse desprevenido.

En Recentemente, os macacos haviam parado de atacar ou até mesmo de se revelar, porque cada vez que o faziam no passado, o pequeno bastão produzia seu rugido de morte aterrorizante, matando um membro da tribo.

En Hoje não havia sinal do homem por perto. De seu ponto de observação, os macacos podiam ver que a porta da cabana estava aberta. Lenta, cautelosa e silenciosamente, eles rastejaram pela selva em direção à pequena cabana.

En Não houve rosnados ou gritos ferozes de raiva, pois o pequeno bastão preto os ensinara a se aproximar silenciosamente, para não despertar seu rugido mortal.

En Os macacos continuaram a avançar até que o próprio Kerchak se esgueirou silenciosamente até a entrada e espiou para dentro. Atrás dele vieram dois machos, e então Kala, que apertava firmemente contra o peito a pequena forma sem vida.

En Dentro da toca, eles observaram o incomum macaco branco caído atravessado sobre uma mesa, com a cabeça enterrada nos braços. Na cama, uma figura coberta por uma lona, enquanto de um pequeno berço rústico vinham os lamentosos choros de um bebê.

En Silenciosamente, Kerchak entrou, agachado em preparação para atacar. Naquele momento, John Clayton levantou-se abruptamente e virou-se para enfrentá-los.

En A cena diante dele deve tê-lo enchido de horror, pois na porta estavam três enormes macacos machos, e atrás deles se amontoavam muitos outros. Ele não conseguia dizer quantos, pois seus revólveres estavam pendurados na parede oposta ao lado do rifle, e Kerchak já estava investindo.

En Quando o rei dos macacos soltou o corpo sem vida de John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, ele voltou sua atenção para o pequeno berço. Mas Kala chegou antes dele. Quando ele estendeu a mão para a criança, ela a arrebatou. Antes que ele pudesse interceptá-la, ela disparou pela porta e se refugiou no alto de uma árvore.

En Ela pegou o bebê vivo de Alice Clayton e colocou seu próprio filho morto no berço vazio. O choro da criança viva despertou nela um poderoso instinto maternal, que o morto não podia satisfazer.

En Lá no alto, nos galhos de uma grande árvore, ela apertou o bebê que gritava. Logo, o instinto de amor materno, tão forte nesta feroz macaca quanto na mãe humana, alcançou a compreensão em desenvolvimento da criança, e ele ficou quieto.

En Então a fome os uniu. O filho de um lorde e uma lady ingleses mamou o leite de Kala, a grande macaca.

En Enquanto isso, os macacos dentro da cabana examinaram cuidadosamente o conteúdo deste abrigo estranho.

En Assim que Kerchak ficou satisfeito de que Clayton estava morto, voltou sua atenção para a coisa na cama, que estava coberta com um pedaço de lona.

En Ele ergueu cuidadosamente uma ponta do pano, mas ao ver o corpo da mulher debaixo, rasgou-o bruscamente e agarrou sua garganta pálida e imóvel com suas grandes mãos peludas.

En Por um momento, ele pressionou os dedos profundamente na carne fria; então, entendendo que ela já estava morta, virou-se para examinar o quarto e não perturbou novamente os corpos de Lady Alice ou Sir John.

En O rifle na parede chamou sua atenção primeiro; era esse estranho e mortal bastão de trovão pelo qual ele ansiava há muitos meses, mas agora que estava ao alcance, ele mal ousava pegá-lo.

En Ele se aproximou cautelosamente, pronto para fugir rapidamente se ele falasse em seus tons profundos e estrondosos, como havia feito antes com aqueles de sua espécie que atacaram ignorantemente ou imprudentemente o maravilhoso macaco branco que o carregava.

En No fundo da inteligência da fera havia a certeza de que o bastão de trovão era perigoso apenas em mãos habilidosas, mas foram vários minutos até que ele conseguisse tocá-lo.

En Ele andava de um lado para o outro na frente do objeto, mantendo os olhos fixos nele constantemente, sem nunca desviar o olhar.

En O grande macaco se movia para frente e para trás, apoiando-se em seus longos braços como muletas e balançando seu corpo massivo a cada passo. Ele rosnava profundamente e, de vez em quando, soltava um grito penetrante, considerado o som mais assustador da selva.

En Ele parou na frente do rifle e lentamente levantou uma mão enorme até quase tocar o cano reluzente, mas então a recolheu e retomou sua caminhada inquieta.

En Parecia que a grande fera estava tentando reunir coragem agindo destemidamente e usando seus gritos selvagens, na esperança de chegar ao ponto em que pudesse realmente pegar o rifle.

En Ele parou mais uma vez e, desta vez, conseguiu forçar sua mão relutante sobre o metal frio, mas rapidamente a retirou e continuou sua caminhada inquieta.

En O macaco repetiu esse ritual estranho muitas vezes, ganhando confiança a cada tentativa, até que finalmente arrancou o rifle do gancho e o segurou em seu punho poderoso.

En Percebendo que o rifle não o machucava, Kerchak o examinou de perto. Passou as mãos por todo o seu comprimento, espiou o cano escuro e explorou a alça de mira, a culatra, a coronha e, finalmente, o gatilho.

En Enquanto isso, os macacos que haviam entrado sentaram-se amontoados perto da porta, observando seu chefe, enquanto os de fora empurravam e se esforçavam para ver o que estava acontecendo lá dentro.

En De repente, o dedo de Kerchak apertou o gatilho. Um rugido ensurdecedor encheu o pequeno quarto, e os macacos perto da porta, assim como os de fora, tropeçaram uns nos outros em sua fuga desesperada.

En Kerchak ficou igualmente aterrorizado, tanto que se esqueceu de largar a fonte do barulho assustador e, em vez disso, correu para a porta, segurando-a firmemente em uma das mãos.

En Quando o macaco passou pela porta, a mira frontal do rifle prendeu na borda da porta, que havia balançado para dentro, e ela fechou firmemente atrás dele.

En Quando Kerchak parou perto da cabana e percebeu que ainda carregava o rifle, ele o deixou cair como se estivesse queimando. Ele não tentou pegá-lo novamente, porque o barulho alto assustou seus instintos animais. No entanto, ele agora acreditava que a arma não era perigosa enquanto fosse deixada em paz.

En Uma hora se passou antes que os macacos ousassem se aproximar da cabana novamente para explorar. Quando finalmente o fizeram, ficaram desapontados ao descobrir que a porta estava fechada e trancada tão firmemente que não conseguiam arrombá-la.

En A trava bem feita que Clayton havia instalado na porta tinha se fechado com um clique quando Kerchak saiu. Além disso, os macacos não conseguiram encontrar uma maneira de entrar pelas janelas, que estavam protegidas com barras fortes.

En Depois de vagar pela área por um pouco de tempo, eles voltaram em direção às florestas mais profundas e ao terreno mais alto de onde haviam vindo.

En Kala nunca havia trazido seu bebê adotivo ao chão antes. No entanto, quando Kerchak a chamou para descer com os outros, sua voz não continha raiva, então ela desceu graciosamente de galho em galho e se juntou ao grupo em sua jornada para casa.

En Qualquer macaco que tentasse inspecionar o bebê incomum de Kala era recebido com presas à mostra, rosnados ameaçadores e avisos verbais de Kala.

En Assim que a convenceram de que não pretendiam machucar a criança, ela permitiu que se aproximassem, mas não deixou que tocassem seu pequeno.

En Parecia que ela entendia que seu bebê era frágil e delicado, e temia que as mãos ásperas de seus companheiros pudessem machucar a pequena criatura.

En Ela fez algo mais que tornou a viagem um fardo para si. Lembrando a morte de seu próprio filhote, ela se agarrava desesperadamente ao novo bebê com uma mão sempre que o grupo estava em movimento.

En Os outros jovens macacos montavam nas costas de suas mães, segurando firmemente os pescoços peludos com seus bracinhos e travando as pernas debaixo das axilas de suas mães.

En Kala não agia assim. Ela segurava o pequeno corpo do pequeno Lorde Greystoke firmemente contra seu peito, onde suas mãos delicadas agarravam os longos cabelos negros que cobriam aquela parte dela. Ela tinha presenciado uma criança cair de suas costas para uma morte terrível, e não correria mais riscos com esta.

O Macaco Branco

En Kala cuidava ternamente de seu pequeno enjeitado, perguntando-se silenciosamente por que ele não ganhava força e agilidade como os jovens macacos de outras mães. Quase um ano se passou depois que ela o acolheu antes que ele pudesse andar sozinho, e quando se tratava de escalar, ele era notavelmente desajeitado.

En Kala às vezes discutia sobre seu filhote com as fêmeas mais velhas, mas nenhuma conseguia compreender como uma criança poderia ser tão lenta e atrasada em aprender a cuidar de si mesma. Ele não conseguia nem encontrar comida sozinho, e mais de doze luas haviam passado desde que Kala o havia descoberto.

En Se soubessem que a criança já havia vivido treze luas antes de Kala acolhê-lo, teriam considerado sua situação completamente sem esperança, pois os jovens macacos de sua própria tribo estavam tão desenvolvidos em duas ou três luas quanto este pequeno estranho estava depois de vinte e cinco.

En Tublat, marido de Kala, estava extremamente irritado. Se não fosse pela vigilância constante de Kala, ele teria se livrado da criança.

En Tublat argumentou que a criança nunca se tornaria um macaco poderoso. Ele afirmou que Kala teria que carregá-lo e protegê-lo para sempre, e que ele não seria de nenhuma utilidade para a tribo — apenas um fardo.

En Tublat propôs que deixassem a criança dormindo pacificamente na grama alta, para que Kala pudesse dar à luz outros macacos mais fortes que os protegeriam na velhice.

En Kala respondeu a Tublat, a quem chamava de Nariz Quebrado, dizendo que nunca abandonaria a criança. Ela declarou que, se tivesse que carregá-lo para sempre, que assim fosse.

En Tublat então foi até Kerchak, instando-o a usar sua autoridade sobre Kala e obrigá-la a desistir do pequeno Tarzan — o nome que haviam dado ao minúsculo lorde Greystoke, que significava 'Pele Branca'.

En Quando Kerchak a confrontou sobre a criança, Kala ameaçou deixar a tribo a menos que a deixassem em paz. O povo da selva tem o direito de partir se insatisfeito, então pararam de importuná-la, pois ela era uma jovem fêmea forte que não queriam perder.

En Conforme crescia, Tarzan progredia rapidamente. Aos dez anos, tornara-se um excelente escalador e conseguia realizar muitas proezas notáveis no chão que seus irmãos mais novos não conseguiam igualar.

En Ele diferia dos outros em muitos aspectos, e eles frequentemente admiravam sua inteligência superior. No entanto, ele não tinha o tamanho e a força deles: os grandes antropoides estavam totalmente crescidos aos dez anos, alguns com mais de um metro e oitenta, enquanto Tarzan continuava um menino meio crescido.

En No entanto, que menino ele era!

En Desde a primeira infância, ele balançava mão sobre mão de galho em galho como sua enorme mãe. Conforme crescia, passava horas todos os dias correndo pelas copas das árvores com seus irmãos.

En Ele conseguia saltar seis metros pelo ar nas alturas tontas do dossel da floresta e agarrar com precisão um galho que balançava violentamente, mesmo na trajetória de um tornado que se aproximava.

En Um tornado se aproximava.

En Ele conseguia cair seis metros de galho em galho em uma descida rápida ao chão, ou subir até o topo da mais alta árvore tropical com a facilidade e a velocidade de um esquilo.

En Embora tivesse apenas dez anos, ele era tão forte quanto um homem comum de trinta anos e muito mais ágil do que o atleta mais treinado. Sua força aumentava dia após dia.

En Sua vida entre os ferozes macacos fora feliz, pois ele não se lembrava de outra vida. Ele não sabia que existia algo mais no universo além de sua pequena floresta e dos animais selvagens da selva que conhecia.

En Quando ele estava quase com dez anos, Tarzan começou a entender que era fundamentalmente diferente de seus companheiros. A visão de sua própria pele morena e sem pelos o encheu de profunda vergonha, pois o lembrava de uma cobra ou réptil.

En Ele tentou cobrir sua nudez espalhando lama por todo o corpo, mas a lama secou e descamou. Além disso, era tão desconfortável que logo decidiu que preferiria suportar a vergonha ao desconforto.

En A tribo frequentemente visitava um pequeno lago nas terras altas, e foi lá que Tarzan viu seu primeiro reflexo na água clara e parada.

En Num dia abafado da estação seca, Tarzan e um de seus primos macacos foram ao lago para beber. Ao se inclinarem, ambos os rostos foram refletidos na água calma: os traços ferozes e animalescos do macaco ao lado do rosto refinado de um jovem aristocrata inglês.

En Tarzan ficou horrorizado. Já era ruim o suficiente não ter pelos, mas possuir um rosto assim parecia insuportável. Ele se admirava que os outros macacos pudessem sequer suportar olhar para ele.

En A boca pequena e os dentes brancos e fracos de Tarzan pareciam patéticos ao lado dos lábios fortes e das presas poderosas dos outros macacos.

En Seu nariz fino e apertado parecia meio faminto. Ele corou ao compará-lo com as narinas largas e bonitas de seu companheiro, que se espalhavam por metade do rosto dele. Como deve ser maravilhoso ser tão bonito, pensou o pobre Tarzan.

En Mas seus olhos foram o golpe final — uma mancha marrom, um círculo cinza e depois uma brancura vazia. Terrível! Nem mesmo as cobras tinham olhos tão horríveis.

En Tarzan estava tão absorto em examinar sua própria aparência que não ouviu a grama se abrindo atrás dele enquanto um corpo grande se arrastava silenciosamente pela selva. Tampouco o macaco ouviu, pois ele bebia ruidosamente, seus sorvos e gorgolejos abafando a aproximação do intruso.

En Apenas trinta passos atrás deles, Sabor, a grande leoa, estava agachada, com a cauda se contraindo. Ela moveu uma enorme pata almofadada para frente com cautela, colocando-a silenciosamente antes de levantar a próxima. Ela avançou com a barriga baixa, quase tocando o chão — uma grande felina pronta para saltar sobre sua presa.

En Ela estava agora a apenas cerca de três metros das duas crianças, que não faziam ideia de que ela estava ali. Ela puxou cuidadosamente as patas traseiras para perto do corpo, e os grandes músculos ondularam sob sua pele lisa.

En Ela estava agachada tão baixo que parecia pressionada contra o chão, exceto pela curva de suas costas brilhantes enquanto se preparava para saltar.

En Sua cauda não se mexia mais; ela permanecia imóvel e reta atrás dela.

En Por um momento ela parou, imóvel como uma estátua, e então, com um rugido aterrorizante, ela saltou.

En Sabor, a leoa, era uma caçadora esperta. Um caçador menos experiente poderia pensar que seu grito alto ao saltar foi um erro tolo, já que ela poderia ter atacado sua presa com mais facilidade pulando silenciosamente. Mas seu grito fazia parte de sua estratégia.

En Sabor entendia a velocidade incrível e a audição aguçada das criaturas da selva. Até um som fraco, como grama roçando em grama, as alertaria tão claramente quanto seu rugido mais alto. Ela também sabia que seu salto poderoso inevitavelmente produziria algum barulho.

En Seu grito selvagem não era um aviso. Em vez disso, pretendia paralisar suas vítimas indefesas de medo pelo mais breve momento, tempo suficiente para suas garras poderosas perfurarem sua carne macia e segurá-las além de qualquer chance de fuga.

En O raciocínio de Sabor mostrou-se correto em relação ao macaco. A pequena criatura tremeu e se agachou imóvel por uma fração de segundo, e esse momento foi suficiente para selar seu destino.

En Tarzan, a criança humana, era diferente. Viver entre os perigos da selva o ensinou a enfrentar emergências com confiança. Sua inteligência superior lhe deu uma agilidade mental que superava em muito a dos macacos.

En Assim, o rugido de Sabor, a leoa, estimulou a mente e o corpo do pequeno Tarzan a uma ação imediata.

En Na frente de Tarzan estava a água profunda de um pequeno lago. Atrás dele, não havia escapatória de uma morte violenta por garras e dentes.

En Tarzan sempre desgostou da água, exceto para beber. Ele a associava ao frio e ao desconforto da chuva forte, e temia as tempestades que vinham com ela, incluindo trovões, relâmpagos e vento.

En Sua mãe selvagem o tinha ensinado a ficar longe do lago profundo. Além disso, apenas algumas semanas antes, ele vira um jovem macaco chamado Neeta afundar em suas águas calmas e nunca mais voltar para a tribo.

Out to Sea

Português

Eu ouvi esta história de alguém que não deveria tê-la contado para mim nem para ninguém. Talvez o encanto de um vinho antigo o tenha feito começar a falar, e minha própria descrença nos dias seguintes me ajudou a ouvir o resto da história estranha.

Original English

I had this story from one who had no business to tell it to me, or to any other. I may credit the seductive influence of an old vintage upon the narrator for the beginning of it, and my own skeptical incredulity during the days that followed for the balance of the strange tale.

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Português

Quando meu anfitrião amigável percebeu que havia me contado tanto e que eu estava duvidando, seu orgulho bobo assumiu onde o vinho antigo havia começado. Ele desenterrou provas escritas: um manuscrito mofado e registros oficiais do Escritório Colonial Britânico, para apoiar os pontos principais de sua história incrível.

Original English

When my convivial host discovered that he had told me so much, and that I was prone to doubtfulness, his foolish pride assumed the task the old vintage had commenced, and so he unearthed written evidence in the form of musty manuscript, and dry official records of the British Colonial Officea to support many of the salient features of his remarkable narrative.

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Português

Não afirmo que a história seja verdadeira, porque não vi os acontecimentos pessoalmente. No entanto, usei nomes fictícios para os personagens principais, o que mostra que acredito sinceramente que ela pode ser verdadeira.

Original English

I do not say the story is true, for I did not witness the happenings which it portrays, but the fact that in the telling of it to you I have taken fictitious names for the principal characters quite sufficiently evidences the sincerity of my own belief that it may be true.

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Português

As páginas amareladas e mofadas do diário de um homem há muito morto, junto com os registros do Escritório Colonial, encaixam-se perfeitamente com a história do meu anfitrião. Então apresento o conto como cuidadosamente montei a partir dessas diferentes fontes.

Original English

The yellow, mildewed pages of the diary of a man long dead, and the records of the Colonial Office dovetail perfectly with the narrative of my convivial host, and so I give you the story as I painstakingly pieced it out from these several various agencies.

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Português

Se você não achar isso crível, pelo menos concordará comigo que é incomum, notável e interessante.

Original English

If you do not find it credible you will at least be as one with me in acknowledging that it is unique, remarkable, and interesting.

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Português

A partir de documentos oficiais e de um diário, sabemos que um jovem nobre inglês, John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, foi incumbido de uma investigação delicada em uma colônia britânica na África Ocidental. Outra potência europeia estava recrutando soldados nativos para coletar à força borracha e marfim de tribos ao longo dos rios Congo e Aruwimi.

Original English

From the records of the Colonial Office and from the dead man’s diary we learn that a certain young English nobleman, whom we shall call John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, was commissioned to make a peculiarly delicate investigation of conditions in a British West Coast African Colonyb from whose simple native inhabitants another European power was known to be recruiting soldiers for its native army, which it used solely for the forcible collection of rubber and ivory from the savage tribes along the Congo and the Aruwimi.

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Português

Os nativos da colônia britânica reclamavam que muitos de seus jovens eram atraídos com promessas tentadoras, mas pouquíssimos jamais retornavam às suas famílias.

Original English

The natives of the British Colony complained that many of their young men were enticed away through the medium of fair and glowing promises, but that few if any ever returned to their families.

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Português

Os ingleses na África foram além, alegando que os pobres negros eram mantidos em escravidão virtual. Após o término do período de alistamento, seus oficiais brancos se aproveitavam de sua ignorância e diziam que ainda tinham vários anos a servir.

Original English

The Englishmen in Africa went even further, saying that these poor blacks were held in virtual slavery, since after their terms of enlistment expired their ignorance was imposed upon by their white officers, and they were told that they had yet several years to serve.

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Português

Consequentemente, o Colonial Office nomeou John Clayton para um novo cargo na África Ocidental Britânica. Suas instruções confidenciais focavam em investigar minuciosamente o tratamento injusto de súditos britânicos negros por oficiais de uma potência europeia amiga. No entanto, o motivo de seu envio é de pouca importância para esta história, pois ele nunca realizou a investigação, tampouco jamais chegou ao seu destino.

Original English

And so the Colonial Office appointed John Clayton to a new post in British West Africa, but his confidential instructions centered on a thorough investigation of the unfair treatment of black British subjects by the officers of a friendly European power.1 Why he was sent, is, however, of little moment to this story, for he never made an investigation, nor, in fact, did he ever reach his destination.

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Português

Clayton personificava as melhores qualidades de um inglês, daquelas frequentemente associadas às mais nobres conquistas em inúmeros campos de batalha vitoriosos. Ele era um homem forte e viril em mente, moral e corpo.

Original English

Clayton was the type of Englishman that one likes best to associate with the noblest monuments of historic achievement upon a thousand victorious battlefields—a strong, virile man—mentally, morally, and physically.

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Português

Ele era mais alto que a maioria dos homens, com olhos cinzentos e traços fortes e bem definidos. Sua postura refletia a saúde perfeita e a robustez que vinham de anos de treinamento militar.

Original English

In stature he was above the average height; his eyes were gray, his features regular and strong; his carriage that of perfect, robust health influenced by his years of army training.

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Português

Impulsionado pela ambição política, ele havia solicitado transferência do exército para o Ministério Colonial. Como resultado, encontramo-lo, ainda jovem, recebendo uma missão delicada e importante.

Original English

Political ambition had caused him to seek transference from the army to the Colonial Office and so we find him, still young, entrusted with a delicate and important commission

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Português

Ele estava empregado a serviço da Rainha.

Original English

in the service of the Queen.

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Português

Ao receber a nomeação, ele se sentiu ao mesmo tempo exultante e horrorizado. Ele via a promoção como um reconhecimento merecido de seu trabalho diligente e inteligente, e como um passo em direção a cargos mais importantes. No entanto, ele estava casado com a Honorável Alice Rutherford há apenas três meses, e a perspectiva de levar sua jovem esposa para os perigos e o isolamento da África tropical o enchia de pavor.

Original English

When he received this appointment he was both elated and appalled. The preferment seemed to him in the nature of a well-merited reward for painstaking and intelligent service, and as a stepping stone to posts of greater importance and responsibility; but, on the other hand, he had been married to the Hon. Alice Rutherford for a scarce three months, and it was the thought of taking this fair young girl into the dangers and isolation of tropical Africa that appalled him.

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Português

Por ela, ele teria recusado o cargo, mas ela não permitiu. Em vez disso, ela insistiu que ele aceitasse e que ela o acompanhasse.

Original English

For her sake he would have refused the appointment, but she would not have it so. Instead she insisted that he accept, and, indeed, take her with him.

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Português

Os membros da família — mães, irmãos, irmãs, tias e primos — cada um tinha sua própria opinião sobre o assunto, mas os conselhos que deram individualmente não foram registrados.

Original English

There were mothers and brothers and sisters, and aunts and cousins to express various opinions on the subject, but as to what they severally advised history is silent.

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Português

Tudo o que se sabe é que, em uma clara manhã de maio de 1888, John, Lord Greystoke, e sua esposa Lady Alice partiram de Dover com destino à África.

Original English

We know only that on a bright May morning in 1888, John, Lord Greystoke, and Lady Alice sailed from Dover on their way to Africa.

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Português

Um mês depois, chegaram a Freetown, onde alugaram um pequeno navio à vela chamado Fuwalda para levá-los ao seu destino final.

Original English

A month later they arrived at Freetownc where they chartered a small sailing vessel, the Fuwalda, which was to bear them to their final destination.

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Português

Naquele ponto, John, Lord Greystoke, e sua esposa Lady Alice desapareceram da vista e de todo o conhecimento humano.

Original English

And here John, Lord Greystoke, and Lady Alice, his wife, vanished from the eyes and from the knowledge of men.

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Português

Dois meses após terem partido de Freetown, seis navios de guerra britânicos vasculharam o Atlântico Sul em busca de qualquer sinal deles ou de seu pequeno barco. Logo, destroços foram encontrados na costa de Santa Helena, convencendo a todos de que o Fuwalda havia afundado sem sobreviventes, e a busca foi encerrada quase antes de começar. No entanto, a esperança permaneceu nos corações daqueles que se importavam com eles por muitos anos.

Original English

Two months after they weighed anchor and cleared from the port of Freetown a half dozen British war vessels were scouring the south Atlantic for trace of them or their little vessel, and it was almost immediately that the wreckage was found upon the shores of St. Helena d which convinced the world that the Fuwalda had gone down with all on board, and hence the search was stopped ere it had scarce begun; though hope lingered in longing hearts for many years.

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Português

O Fuwalda era um pequeno navio à vela de aproximadamente cem toneladas. Era típico das embarcações usadas para comércio costeiro no extremo sul do Atlântico. Esses navios eram tripulados pelo pior tipo de marinheiros — assassinos impunes e facínoras de todas as nações.

Original English

The Fuwalda, a barkentine of about one hundred tons, was a vessel of the type often seen in coastwise trade in the far southern Atlantic, their crews composed of the offscourings of the sea—unhanged murderers and cutthroats of every race and every nation.

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Português

O Fuwalda não era exceção. Seus oficiais eram valentões de pele escura que eram odiados pela tripulação e a odiavam de volta. O capitão era um marinheiro habilidoso, mas tratava seus homens brutalmente. Ele empregava apenas dois métodos de disciplina: força física e a ameaça de uma arma. Era improvável que o grupo diverso de homens que ele contratara tivesse entendido qualquer outra abordagem.

Original English

The Fuwalda was no exception to the rule. Her officers were swarthy bullies, hating and hated by their crew. The captain, while a competent seaman, was a brute in his treatment of his men. He knew, or at least he used, but two arguments in his dealings with them—a belaying pine and a revolver—nor is it likely that the motley aggregation he signed would have understood aught else.

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Português

Assim, a partir do segundo dia após deixar Freetown, John Clayton e sua jovem esposa testemunharam eventos no convés do Fuwalda que antes acreditavam existir apenas em histórias de aventura.

Original English

So it was that from the second day out from Freetown John Clayton and his young wife witnessed scenes upon the deck of the Fuwalda such as they had believed were never enacted outside the covers of printed stories of the sea.

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Português

Na manhã do segundo dia, ocorreu o primeiro evento em uma cadeia de circunstâncias que levaria a uma vida para uma criança ainda não nascida, diferente de qualquer outra na história humana.

Original English

It was on the morning of the second day that the first link was forged in what was destined to form a chain of circumstances ending in a life for one then unborn such as has never been paralleled in the history of man.

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Português

Dois marinheiros estavam esfregando os conveses do Fuwalda. O imediato estava de vigia, e o capitão havia parado para conversar com John Clayton e Lady Alice.

Original English

Two sailors were washing down the decks of the Fuwalda, the first mate was on duty, and the captain had stopped to speak with John Clayton and Lady Alice.

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Português

Os marinheiros estavam se movendo para trás em direção ao pequeno grupo, que estava de costas para eles. Eles se aproximaram cada vez mais até que um ficou diretamente atrás do capitão. Em outro momento, ele teria passado, e essa estranha história nunca teria sido registrada.

Original English

The men were working backwards toward the little party who were facing away from the sailors. Closer and closer they came, until one of them was directly behind the captain. In another moment he would have passed by and this strange narrative would never have been recorded.

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Português

Naquele exato momento, o oficial se virou para se despedir de Lord e Lady Greystoke e, ao fazer isso, tropeçou no marinheiro e caiu de bruços no convés, derrubando o balde d'água.

Original English

But just that instant the officer turned to leave Lord and Lady Greystoke, and, as he did so, tripped against the sailor and sprawled headlong upon the deck, overturning the water-

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Português

O balde derramou, encharcando-o com seu conteúdo sujo.

Original English

pail so that he was drenched in its dirty contents.

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Português

Por um instante, a cena foi cômica, mas apenas por um instante. Com uma série de terríveis pragas, o rosto vermelho de vergonha e raiva, o capitão se levantou e atingiu o marinheiro com tanta força que ele caiu no convés.

Original English

For an instant the scene was ludicrous; but only for an instant. With a volley of awful oaths, his face suffused with the scarlet of mortification and rage, the captain regained his feet, and with a terrific blow felled the sailor to the deck.

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Português

O homem que foi atingido era pequeno e bastante velho, o que tornou o ato do capitão ainda mais brutal. O outro marinheiro, no entanto, não era velho nem pequeno — era um homem enorme, como um urso, com ferozes bigodes pretos e um pescoço grosso entre ombros massivos.

Original English

The man was small and rather old, so that the brutality of the act was thus accentuated. The other seaman, however, was neither old nor small—a huge bear of a man, with fierce black mustachios, and a great bull neck set between massive shoulders.

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Português

Ao ver sua companheira cair, ele se agachou e, com um rosnado baixo, saltou sobre o capitão, forçando-o a cair de joelhos com um único golpe poderoso.

Original English

As he saw his mate go down he crouched, and, with a low snarl, sprang upon the captain crushing him to his knees with a single mighty blow.

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Português

O rosto do oficial ficou de vermelho a branco, pois isso era motim—algo que ele já havia enfrentado antes. Sem esperar para se levantar, ele puxou um revólver do bolso e atirou no enorme marinheiro à sua frente. Mas John Clayton foi quase tão rápido; ele golpeou o braço do capitão ao ver o brilho da arma, então a bala destinada ao coração do marinheiro alojou-se na perna do marinheiro em vez disso.

Original English

From scarlet the officer’s face went white, for this was mutiny; and mutiny he had met and subdued before in his brutal career. Without waiting to rise he whipped a revolver from his pocket, firing point blank at the great mountain of muscle towering before him; but, quick as he was, John Clayton was almost as quick, so that the bullet which was intended for the sailor’s heart lodged in the sailor’s leg instead, for Lord Greystoke had struck down the captain’s arm as he had seen the weapon flash in the sun.

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Português

Clayton e o capitão trocaram palavras. Clayton deixou claro que estava enojado com a brutalidade demonstrada à tripulação e não toleraria mais nada enquanto ele e Lady Greystoke fossem passageiros.

Original English

Words passed between Clayton and the captain, the former making it plain that he was disgusted with the brutality displayed toward the crew, nor would he countenance anything further of the kind while he and Lady Greystoke remained passengers.

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Português

O capitão estava prestes a responder com raiva, mas pensou melhor. Ele deu meia-volta e, com uma careta sombria, caminhou para a popa do navio.

Original English

The captain was on the point of making an angry reply, but, thinking better of it, turned on his heel and black and scowling, strode aft.

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Português

Ele não queria irritar um oficial inglês, porque o poder da Rainha comandava uma força punitiva que ele respeitava e temia: a marinha de longo alcance da Inglaterra.

Original English

He did not care to antagonize an English official, for the Queen’s mighty arm wielded a punitive instrument which he could appreciate, and which he feared—England’s farreaching navy.

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Português

Os dois marinheiros se levantaram, o mais velho ajudando seu companheiro ferido. O homem grande, chamado Black Michael por seus colegas de navio, testou a perna cautelosamente e, descobrindo que ela o sustentava, virou-se para Clayton e ofereceu uma palavra áspera de agradecimento.

Original English

The two sailors picked themselves up, the older man assisting his wounded comrade to rise. The big fellow, who was known among his mates as Black Michael, tried his leg gingerly, and, finding that it bore his weight, turned to Clayton with a word of gruff thanks.

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Português

Embora seu tom fosse ríspido, suas palavras pareciam sinceras. Mal havia terminado de falar quando se virou e mancou em direção ao castelo de proa, claramente com a intenção de evitar mais conversa.

Original English

Though the fellow’s tone was surly, his words were evidently well meant. Ere he had scarce finished his little speech he had turned and was limping off toward the forecastle with the very apparent intention of forestalling any further conversation.

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Português

Eles não o viram novamente por vários dias, e o capitão apenas lhes dava os resmungos mais mal-humorados quando precisava falar com eles.

Original English

They did not see him again for several days, nor did the captain accord them more than the surliest of grunts when he was forced to speak to them.

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Português

Eles continuaram a fazer suas refeições na cabine dele, como antes do infeliz incidente; mas o capitão garantiu que seus deveres nunca lhe permitissem comer com eles.

Original English

They took their meals in his cabin, as they had before the unfortunate occurrence; but the captain was careful to see that his duties never permitted him to eat at the same time.

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Português

Os outros oficiais eram grosseiros e sem educação, mal superiores à tripulação vilã que intimidavam, e estavam muito felizes em evitar socializar com o refinado nobre inglês e sua esposa, então os Claytons foram deixados praticamente sozinhos.

Original English

The other officers were coarse, illiterate fellows, but little above the villainous crew they bullied, and were only too glad to avoid social intercourse with the polished English noble and his lady, so that the Claytons were left very much to themselves.

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Português

Essa situação correspondia exatamente aos seus desejos, mas também os mantinha afastados da vida diária a bordo do pequeno navio, impedindo-os de saber dos eventos que logo levariam a uma tragédia sangrenta.

Original English

This in itself accorded perfectly with their desires, but it also rather isolated them from the life of the little ship so that they were unable to keep in touch with the daily happenings which were to culminate so soon in bloody tragedy.

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Português

Todo o navio tinha um sentido inexplicável de desastre iminente. Até onde os Claytons podiam ver, tudo continuava normalmente no pequeno navio; no entanto, ambos sentiam uma corrente oculta os puxando em direção a um perigo desconhecido, embora nunca discutissem isso entre si.

Original English

There was in the whole atmosphere of the craft that undefinable something which presages disaster. Outwardly, to the knowledge of the Claytons, all went on as before upon the little vessel; but that there was an undertow leading them toward some unknown danger both felt, though they did not speak of it to each other.

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Português

Dois dias depois de Black Michael ser ferido, Clayton chegou ao convés e viu quatro marinheiros carregando o corpo sem vida de outro membro da tripulação para baixo.

Original English

On the second day after the wounding of Black Michael, Clayton came on deck just in time to see the limp body of one of the crew being carried below by four of his fellows

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Português

Enquanto isso, o imediato, segurando um pesado pino de amarração, ficou fulminando com os olhos o pequeno grupo de marinheiros ressentidos.

Original English

while the first mate, a heavy belaying pin in his hand, stood glowering at the little party of sullen sailors.

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Português

Clayton não fez perguntas — ele não viu necessidade — e no dia seguinte, quando a silhueta de um navio de guerra britânico apareceu no horizonte, ele quase decidiu pedir que ele e Lady Alice fossem transferidos para ele. Seus medos se intensificaram, convencido de que permanecer no sombrio e hostil Fuwalda só poderia trazer problemas.

Original English

Clayton asked no questions—he did not need to—and the following day, as the great lines of a British battleship grew out of the distant horizon, he half determined to demand that he and Lady Alice be put aboard her, for his fears were steadily increasing that nothing but harm could result from remaining on the lowering, sullen Fuwalda.

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Português

Por volta do meio-dia, eles chegaram ao alcance de voz do navio de guerra britânico. Clayton quase decidiu pedir ao capitão que os colocasse a bordo, mas então a absurdidade de tal pedido o atingiu. Que razão poderia dar ao oficial comandante por querer voltar pelo caminho que tinham acabado de percorrer?

Original English

Toward noon they were within speaking distance of the British vessel, but when Clayton had nearly decided to ask the captain to put them aboard her, the obvious ridiculousness of such a request became suddenly apparent. What reason could he give the officer commanding her majesty’s ship for desiring to go back in the direction from which he had just come!

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Português

Se explicasse que dois marinheiros insubordinados haviam sido tratados com rudeza por seus oficiais, os britânicos simplesmente ririam em particular e presumiriam que o único motivo para deixar o navio era covardia.

Original English

What if he told them that two insubordinate seamen had been roughly handled by their officers? They would but laugh in their sleeves and attribute his reason for wishing to leave the ship to but one thing—cowardice.

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Português

John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, não pediu transferência para o navio de guerra britânico. No final da tarde, ele observou suas partes superiores afundarem abaixo do horizonte distante, mas não antes de aprender algo que confirmou seus piores medos. Ele amaldiçoou o falso orgulho que o impedira de buscar segurança para sua jovem esposa algumas horas antes, quando a segurança estava ao alcance — agora perdida para sempre.

Original English

John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, did not ask to be transferred to the British man-of-war. Late in the afternoon he saw her upper works fade below the far horizon, but not before he learned that which confirmed his greatest fears, and caused him to curse the false pride which had restrained him from seeking safety for his young wife a few short hours before, when safety was within reach—a safety which was now gone forever.

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Português

No meio da tarde, o pequeno e idoso marinheiro que havia sido golpeado pelo capitão alguns dias antes aproximou-se de Clayton e sua esposa enquanto eles estavam junto à amurada do navio observando o contorno do encouraçado diminuir. O velho estava polindo latão e, chegando perto de Clayton, falou em voz baixa.

Original English

It was mid-afternoon that brought the little old sailor, who had been felled by the captain a few days before, to where Clayton and his wife stood by the ship’s side watching the ever diminishing outlines of the great battleship. The old fellow was polishing brasses, and as he came edging along until close to Clayton he said, in an undertone:

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Português

Ele disse que haveria um inferno a pagar naquele navio, e instou Clayton a prestar atenção às suas palavras.

Original English

“‘Ell’s to pay, sir, on this ’ere craft, an’ mark my word for it, sir. ’Ell’s to pay.”

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Português

Clayton perguntou ao homem o que ele queria dizer.

Original English

“What do you mean, my good fellow?” asked Clayton.

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Português

O homem perguntou se Clayton não tinha visto o que estava acontecendo e ouvido como o capitão e seus amigos estavam espancando muitos da tripulação.

Original English

“Wy, hasn’t ye seen wats goin’ on? Hasn’t ye ‘eard that devil’s spawn of a capting an’ ’is mates knockin’ the bloomin’ lights outen ’arf the crew?

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Português

Ele relatou que dois homens haviam sido feridos ontem e três hoje. Ele acrescentou que Black Michael estava bem novamente e não toleraria o abuso, alertando Clayton para lembrar disso.

Original English

“Two busted ‘eads yeste’day, an’ three to-day. Black Michael’s as good as new agin an’ ‘e’s not the bully to stand fer it, not ’e; an’ mark my word for it, sir.”

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Português

Clayton perguntou se o homem queria dizer que a tripulação estava planejando um motim.

Original English

“You mean, my man, that the crew contemplates mutiny?” asked Clayton.

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Português

O velho exclamou que não era motim, mas assassinato o que eles tinham em mente, e disse a Clayton para prestar atenção às suas palavras.

Original English

“Mutiny!” exclaimed the old fellow. “Mutiny! They means murder, sir, an’ mark my word for it, sir.”

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Português

Ele perguntou sobre o horário do evento.

Original English

“When?”

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Português

O velho disse que algo estava chegando, mas não diria quando; ele alertou o ouvinte para ficar quieto e ir para o convés inferior se ouvisse tiros, como um favor pela gentileza anterior.

Original English

“Hit’s comin‘, sir; hit’s comin’ but I’m not a-sayin’ wen, an’ I’ve said too damned much now, but ye was a good sort t’other day an’ I thought it no more’ n right to warn ye. But keep a still tongue in yer ‘ead an’ when ye ’ear shootin’ git below an’ stay there.

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Português

Ele repetiu o aviso para ficar calado ou arriscar ser baleado, então se afastou enquanto continuava a polir.

Original English

“That’s all, only keep a still tongue in yer ’ead, or they’ll put a pill between yer ribs, an’ mark my word for it, sir” and the old fellow went on with his polishing, which carried him away from where the Claytons were standing.

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Português

Clayton comentou com Alice que o cenário parecia sombrio.

Original English

“Deuced cheerful outlook, Alice,” said Clayton.

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Português

Alice exortou John a avisar o capitão imediatamente, na esperança de que o problema ainda pudesse ser evitado.

Original English

“You should warn the captain at once, John. Possibly the trouble may yet be averted,” she said.

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Português

John Clayton admitiu que provavelmente deveria falar, mas egoisticamente queria ficar quieto. Ele acreditava que, se permanecesse em silêncio, os amotinados poupariam ele e Alice por causa de seu apoio passado a Black Michael.

Original English

“I suppose I should, but yet from purely selfish motives I am almost prompted to ‘keep a still tongue in my ’ead.’ Whatever they do now they will spare us in recognition of my

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Português

Ele havia apoiado Black Michael, mas alertou Alice que, se descobrissem sua traição, não mostrariam misericórdia para nenhum dos dois.

Original English

stand for this fellow Black Michael, but should they find that I had betrayed them there would be no mercy shown us, Alice.”

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Português

Alice insistiu que o único dever de John era com a autoridade legítima. Ela argumentou que, se ele não avisasse o capitão, seria tão responsável quanto aqueles que conspiraram o motim.

Original English

“You have but one duty, John, and that lies in the interest of vested authority. If you do not warn the captain you are as much a party to whatever follows as though you had helped to plot and carry it out with your own head and hands.”

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Português

John respondeu que seu primeiro dever era com Alice. O capitão havia trazido o problema para si mesmo, e seria tolice arriscar a segurança de Alice em uma tentativa provavelmente inútil de salvá-lo de sua própria brutalidade. Ela não podia imaginar os horrores se os amotinados ganhassem o controle do Fuwalda.

Original English

“You do not understand, dear,” replied Clayton. “It is of you I am thinking—there lies my first duty. The captain has brought this condition upon himself, so why then should I risk subjecting my wife to unthinkable horrors in a probably futile attempt to save him from his own brutal folly? You have no conception, dear, of what would follow were this pack of cutthroats to gain control of the Fuwalda.”

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Português

Alice declarou que o dever era absoluto e não podia ser mudado por argumentos engenhosos. Ela seria uma esposa pobre para um lorde inglês se permitisse que ele evitasse um dever claro. Ela entendia o perigo, mas estava disposta a enfrentá-lo com ele.

Original English

“Duty is duty, John, and no amount of sophistries may change it. I would be a poor wife for an English lord were I to be responsible for his shirking a plain duty. I realize the danger which must follow, but I can face it with you.”

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Português

Ele disse a Alice que ela poderia pensar como quisesse, mas ele sentia que eles poderiam estar se preocupando desnecessariamente. Ele admitiu que as coisas no navio pareciam preocupantes, mas era possível que o velho marinheiro estivesse apenas expressando seus próprios desejos sombrios, em vez de relatar fatos.

Original English

“Have it as you will then, Alice,” he answered, smiling. “Maybe we are borrowing trouble. While I do not like the looks of things on board this ship, they may not be so bad after all, for it is possible that the ‘Ancient Mariner’ was but voicing the desires of his wicked old heart rather than speaking of real facts.

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Português

Ele comentou que o motim no mar poderia ter sido frequente há um século, mas no ano de 1888 era altamente improvável.

Original English

“Mutiny on the high sea may have been common a hundred years ago, but in this good year 1888 it is the least likely of happenings.

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Português

Ele notou o capitão indo para sua cabine e decidiu que bem poderia avisá-lo, embora achasse a tarefa desagradável e tivesse pouco desejo de falar com o homem.

Original English

“But there goes the captain to his cabin now. If I am going to warn him I might as well get the beastly job over for I have little stomach to talk with the brute at all.”

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Português

Com isso, ele caminhou casualmente em direção às escadas por onde o capitão havia ido, e logo estava batendo na porta do capitão.

Original English

So saying he strolled carelessly in the direction of the companionway through which the captain had passed, and a moment later was knocking at his door.

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Português

Uma voz profunda e mal-humorada de dentro disse para ele entrar.

Original English

“Come in,” growled the deep tones of that surly officer.

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Português

Clayton entrou e fechou a porta atrás de si.

Original English

And when Clayton had entered, and closed the door behind him:

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Português

O capitão perguntou, esperando uma explicação.

Original English

“Well?”

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Português

Clayton relatou a essência de uma conversa que ouvira, alertando o capitão de que a tripulação estava considerando motim e assassinato, embora reconhecesse que poderia ser insignificante.

Original English

“I have come to report the gist of a conversation I heard to-day, because I feel that, while there may be nothing to it, it is as well that you be forearmed. In short, the men contemplate mutiny and murder.”

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Português

O capitão gritou que era mentira e ameaçou Clayton com consequências se ele tivesse se intrometido nos assuntos do navio. Ele afirmou sua autoridade, declarando que não se importava com o título de Clayton e ordenou que ele parasse de interferir.

Original English

“It’s a lie!” roared the captain. “And if you have been interfering again with the discipline of this ship, or meddling in affairs that don’t concern you you can take the consequences, and be damned. I don’t care whether you are an English lord or not. I’m captain of this here ship, and from now on you keep your meddling nose out of my business.”

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Português

O capitão, numa fúria, ficou roxo e gritou suas últimas palavras, batendo na mesa com um punho e balançando o outro no rosto de Clayton.

Original English

The captain had worked himself up to such a frenzy of rage that he was fairly purple of face, and he shrieked the last words at the top of his voice, emphasizing his remarks by a loud thumping of the table with one huge fist, and shaking the other in Clayton’s face.

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Português

Greystoke permaneceu completamente calmo, observando o homem excitado com um olhar firme e inabalável.

Original English

Greystoke never turned a hair, but stood eying the excited man with level gaze.

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Português

Ele finalmente disse lentamente ao Capitão Billings que, com todo o respeito, achava que o capitão estava se comportando de forma tola.

Original English

“Captain Billings,” he drawled finally, “if you will pardon my candor, I might remark that you are something of an ass.”

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Português

Ele então se virou e deixou o capitão com sua habitual maneira casual, o que foi muito mais eficaz para irritar um homem como Billings do que qualquer explosão de insultos teria sido.

Original English

Whereupon he turned and left the captain with the same indifferent ease that was habitual with him, and which was more surely calculated to raise the ire of a man of Billings’ class than a torrent of invective.

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Português

Se Clayton tivesse tentado acalmá-lo, o capitão poderia ter se arrependido de suas palavras precipitadas. Mas agora sua raiva estava fixada, e qualquer esperança de cooperação para o benefício mútuo estava perdida.

Original English

So, whereas the captain might easily have been brought to regret his hasty speech had Clayton attempted to conciliate him, his temper was now irrevocably set in the mold in which Clayton had left it, and the last chance of their working together for their common good was gone.

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Português

Clayton voltou para sua esposa Alice e disse que havia desperdiçado suas palavras; o homem havia sido extremamente ingrato e o atacado como um cão raivoso.

Original English

“Well, Alice,” said Clayton, as he rejoined his wife, “I might have saved my breath. The fellow proved most ungrateful. Fairly jumped at me like a mad dog.

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Português

O orador expressou indiferença em relação ao navio e seu dono, concentrando-se em vez disso em sua própria segurança. Ele afirmou que se concentraria no bem-estar deles até que estivessem em segurança fora do navio, e pensou que o primeiro passo seria ir à cabine deles e verificar seus revólveres. Ele lamentou que tivessem guardado as armas maiores e a munição com a carga abaixo.

Original English

“He and his blasted old ship may hang, for aught I care; and until we are safely off the thing I shall spend my energies in looking after our own welfare. And I rather fancy the first step to that end should be to go to our cabin and look over my revolvers. I am sorry now that we packed the larger guns and the ammunition with the stuff below.”

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Português

A cabine estava em completa desordem, com roupas espalhadas de caixas e bolsas abertas, e as camas haviam sido rasgadas.

Original English

They found their quarters in a bad state of disorder. Clothing from their open boxes and bags strewed the little apartment, and even their beds had been torn to pieces.

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Português

Clayton comentou que alguém aparentemente estava mais preocupado com seus pertences do que eles, e sugeriu que ele e Alice revistassem o quarto para determinar o que havia sido levado.

Original English

“Evidently someone was more anxious about our belongings than we,” said Clayton. “Let’s have a look around, Alice, and see what’s missing.”

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Português

Após uma busca minuciosa, eles descobriram que apenas os dois revólveres de Clayton e a pequena quantidade de munição que ele havia separado estavam faltando.

Original English

A thorough search revealed the fact that nothing had been taken but Clayton’s two revolvers and the small supply of ammunition he had saved out for them.

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Português

Clayton disse que desejava fortemente que os ladrões tivessem deixado esses itens, e achou profundamente perturbador que eles tivessem levado apenas as armas e a munição.

Original English

“Those are the very things I most wish they had left us,” said Clayton, “and the fact that they wished for them and them alone is most sinister.”

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Português

Alice perguntou a John que rumo deveriam tomar, sugerindo que sua melhor esperança poderia ser permanecer neutros.

Original English

“What are we to do, John?” asked his wife. “Perhaps you were right in that our best chance lies in maintaining a neutral position.

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Português

Ela argumentou que, se os oficiais conseguissem evitar um motim, não teriam nada a temer; ao passo que, se os amotinados vencessem, sua única e tênue chance residia em não os terem frustrado nem provocado.

Original English

“If the officers are able to prevent a mutiny, we have nothing to fear, while if the mutineers are victorious our one slim hope lies in not having attempted to thwart or antagonize them.”

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Português

John concordou, afirmando que manteriam uma postura neutra.

Original English

“Right you are, Alice. We’ll keep in the middle of the road.”

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Português

Enquanto arrumavam o camarote, tanto Clayton quanto sua esposa notaram o canto de uma folha de papel saindo por baixo da porta. Quando Clayton se abaixou para pegá-la, ficou surpreso ao vê-la deslizar para dentro, e percebeu que estava sendo empurrada por alguém do lado de fora.

Original English

As they started to straighten up their cabin, Clayton and his wife simultaneously noticed the corner of a piece of paper protruding from beneath the door of their quarters. As Clayton stooped to reach for it he was amazed to see it move further into the room, and then he realized that it was being pushed inward by someone from without.

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Português

Ele moveu-se rápida e silenciosamente em direção à porta, mas, quando sua mão alcançou a maçaneta, a mão de sua esposa agarrou seu pulso.

Original English

Quickly and silently he stepped toward the door, but, as he reached for the knob to throw it open, his wife’s hand fell upon his wrist.

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Português

Ela sussurrou para John que eles não deveriam ser vistos, já que os outros desejavam permanecer escondidos. Ela o lembrou de que estavam ficando no meio da estrada.

Original English

“No, John,” she whispered. “They do not wish to be seen, and so we cannot afford to see them. Do not forget that we are keeping to the middle of the road.”

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Português

Clayton sorriu e deixou a mão cair ao lado do corpo. Eles ficaram observando o pequeno pedaço de papel branco até que ele parou no chão, bem dentro da porta.

Original English

Clayton smiled and dropped his hand to his side. Thus they stood watching the little bit of white paper until it finally remained at rest upon the floor just inside the door.

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Português

Clayton se abaixou e pegou o papel. Era um pedaço branco sujo, grosseiramente dobrado em um quadrado irregular. Quando o abriram, encontraram uma mensagem tosca escrita quase ilegível, mostrando claros sinais de que o escritor não estava acostumado à tarefa.

Original English

Then Clayton stooped and picked it up. It was a bit of grimy, white paper roughly folded into a ragged square. Opening it they found a crude message printed almost illegibly, and with many evidences of an unaccustomed task.

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Português

A mensagem traduzida advertiu os Claytons a não relatarem os revólveres desaparecidos nem repetirem o que o velho marinheiro lhes havia dito, sob ameaça de morte.

Original English

Translated, it was a warning to the Claytons to refrain from reporting the loss of the revolvers, or from repeating what the old sailor had told them—to refrain on pain of death.

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Português

Clayton disse com um sorriso pesaroso que provavelmente obedeceriam. Tudo o que podiam fazer, pensou, era ficar quietos e esperar pelo que pudesse acontecer.

Original English

“I rather imagine we’ll be good,” said Clayton with a rueful smile. “About all we can do is to sit tight and wait for whatever may come.”

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The Savage Home

Português

Eles não tiveram que esperar muito. Na manhã seguinte, quando Clayton subiu ao convés para sua caminhada habitual antes do café da manhã, ouviu uma série de tiros.

Original English

Nor did they have long to wait, for the next morning as Clayton was emerging on deck for his accustomed walk before breakfast, a shot rang out, and then another, and another.

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Português

O que Clayton viu confirmou seus piores medos. Toda a tripulação heterogênea do Fuwalda, liderada por Black Michael, estava de frente para o pequeno grupo de oficiais.

Original English

The sight which met his eyes confirmed his worst fears. Facing the little knot of officers was the entire motley crew of the Fuwalda, and at their head stood Black Michael.

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Português

Ao primeiro disparo dos oficiais, os homens correram para se abrigar. De trás dos mastros, do timoneiro e das cabines, eles revidaram o fogo contra os cinco homens que representavam a odiada autoridade do navio.

Original English

At the first volley from the officers the men ran for shelter, and from points of vantage behind masts, wheel-house and cabin they returned the fire of the five men who represented the hated authority of the ship.

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Português

Dois da tripulação foram baleados pelo revólver do capitão e jaziam entre os combatentes. Então o imediato caiu para frente. Ao comando de Black Michael, os amotinados avançaram contra os quatro oficiais restantes. A tripulação tinha apenas seis armas de fogo; o restante se armou com ganchos de barco, machados, machadinhas e pés de cabra.

Original English

Two of their number had gone down before the captain’s revolver. They lay where they had fallen between the combatants. But then the first mate lunged forward upon his face, and at a cry of command from Black Michael the mutineers charged the remaining four. The crew had been able to muster but six firearms, so most of them were armed with boat hooks, axes, hatchets and crowbars.

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Português

O capitão tinha esvaziado seu revólver e estava recarregando quando a carga começou. A arma do segundo imediato emperrou, deixando apenas duas armas contra os amotinados enquanto eles avançavam sobre os oficiais, que começaram a recuar diante do furioso ataque.

Original English

The captain had emptied his revolver and was reloading as the charge was made. The second mate’s gun had jammed, and so there were but two weapons opposed to the mutineers as they bore down upon the officers, who now started to give back before the infuriated rush of their men.

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Português

Ambos os lados gritavam maldições violentas, e o barulho de tiros, gritos e gemidos dos feridos tornou o convés do Fuwalda parecido com um hospício.

Original English

Both sides were cursing and swearing in a frightful manner, which, together with the reports of the firearms and the screams and groans of the wounded, turned the deck of the Fuwalda to the likeness of a mad-house.

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Português

Antes que os oficiais pudessem recuar uma dúzia de passos, os homens avançaram. Um marinheiro negro robusto partiu a cabeça do capitão com um machado, e logo os outros oficiais jaziam mortos ou feridos por inúmeros golpes e balas.

Original English

Before the officers had taken a dozen backward steps the men were upon them. An ax in the hands of a burly Negro cleft the captain from forehead to chin, and an instant later the others were down; dead or wounded from dozens of blows and bullet wounds.

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Português

Os amotinados do Fuwalda completaram seu trabalho brutal rapidamente. Durante tudo isso, John Clayton encostou-se casualmente junto à escotilha, fumando seu cachimbo como se estivesse apenas assistindo a uma partida de críquete sem graça.

Original English

Short and grisly had been the work of the mutineers of the Fuwalda, and through it all John Clayton had stood leaning carelessly beside the companionway puffing meditatively upon his pipe as though he had been but watching an indifferent cricket match.

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Português

Quando o último oficial caiu, ele decidiu que era hora de voltar para sua esposa, temendo que alguns membros da tripulação pudessem encontrá-la sozinha embaixo.

Original English

As the last officer went down he thought it was time that he returned to his wife lest some members of the crew find her alone below.

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Português

Embora Clayton parecesse calmo e indiferente, ele estava internamente ansioso e tenso, preocupado com a segurança de sua esposa nas mãos dos homens ignorantes e brutais em cujas mãos o destino os havia lançado impiedosamente.

Original English

Though outwardly calm and indifferent, Clayton was inwardly apprehensive and wrought up, for he feared for his wife’s safety at the hands of these ignorant half-brutes into whose hands fate had so remorselessly thrown them.

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Português

Ele se virou para descer a escada e ficou surpreso ao encontrar sua esposa parada nos degraus muito perto dele.

Original English

As he turned to descend the ladder he was surprised to see his wife standing on the steps almost at his side.

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Português

Ele perguntou a Alice há quanto tempo ela estava parada ali.

Original English

“How long have you been here, Alice?”

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Português

Ela respondeu que estava ali desde o início e expressou seu medo sobre o que poderiam esperar de tais homens.

Original English

“Since the beginning,” she replied. “How awful, John. Oh, how awful! What can we hope for at the hands of such as those?”

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Português

Ele respondeu que esperava pelo café da manhã e sorriu corajosamente para acalmar os medos dela.

Original English

“Breakfast, I hope,” he answered, smiling bravely in an attempt to allay her fears.

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Português

Ele acrescentou que perguntaria a eles e disse a Alice para vir com ele, afirmando que não deviam parecer esperar nada menos que um tratamento educado.

Original English

“At least,” he added, “I’m going to ask them. Come with me, Alice. We must not let them think we expect any but courteous treatment.”

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Português

Naquela altura, os homens haviam cercado os oficiais mortos e feridos. Sem favoritismo ou piedade, jogaram tanto os vivos quanto os mortos ao mar. Eles se desfizeram de seus próprios mortos e moribundos com igual crueldade.

Original English

The men had by this time surrounded the dead and wounded of ficers, and without either partiality or compassion proceeded to throw both living and dead over the sides of the vessel. With equal heartlessness they disposed of their own dead and dying.

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Português

Logo, um dos tripulantes avistou os Claytons se aproximando e gritou que ali estavam mais dois para os peixes. Ele correu em direção a eles com um machado levantado.

Original English

Presently one of the crew spied the approaching Claytons, and with a cry of “Here’s two more for the fishes,” rushed toward them with uplifted ax.

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Português

Mas Black Michael foi ainda mais rápido. Ele atirou no homem pelas costas antes que ele desse mais do que alguns passos.

Original English

But Black Michael was even quicker, so that the fellow went down with a bullet in his back before he had taken a half dozen steps.

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Português

Black Michael soltou um rugido alto para atrair a atenção dos outros. Ele apontou para Lord e Lady Greystoke e gritou.

Original English

With a loud roar Black Michael attracted the attention of the others, and, pointing to Lord and Lady Greystoke, cried:

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Português

Ele anunciou que aquelas pessoas eram suas amigas e que deveriam ser deixadas em paz. Ele exigiu saber se eles haviam entendido.

Original English

“These here are my friends, and they are to be left alone. D’ye understand?

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Português

Black Michael declarou-se capitão do navio e afirmou que suas ordens seriam seguidas. Virando-se para Clayton, aconselhou-os a ficarem na deles e prometeu que ninguém os machucaria. Ele deu um olhar ameaçador para seus homens.

Original English

“I’m captain of this ship now, an’ what I says goes,” he added, turning to Clayton. “Just keep to yourselves, and nobody’ll harm ye,” and he looked threateningly on his fellows.

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Português

Os Claytons seguiram as instruções de Black Michael com tanto cuidado que mal viram a tripulação e permaneceram inconscientes dos planos secretos dos homens.

Original English

The Claytons heeded Black Michael’s instructions so well that they saw but little of the crew and knew nothing of the plans the men were making.

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Português

De vez em quando, ouviam sons distantes de luta e discussão entre os amotinados, e duas vezes o som agudo de tiros rompeu o ar quieto. No entanto, Black Michael mostrou ser um líder adequado para este grupo de criminosos, conseguindo mantê-los sob controle razoável.

Original English

Occasionally they heard faint echoes of brawls and quarreling among the mutineers, and on two occasions the vicious bark of firearms rang out on the still air. But Black Michael was a fit leader for this band of cutthroats, and withal held them in fair subjection to his rule.

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Português

No quinto dia após os oficiais serem mortos, um vigia avistou terra. Black Michael não tinha certeza se era uma ilha ou continente, mas informou Clayton que, se fosse habitável, ele e Lady Greystoke seriam desembarcados lá com suas posses.

Original English

On the fifth day following the murder of the ship’s officers, land was sighted by the lookout. Whether island or mainland, Black Michael did not know, but he announced to Clayton that if investigation showed that the place was habitable he and Lady Greystoke were to be put ashore with their belongings.

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Português

Black Michael explicou que eles estariam seguros ali por alguns meses, durante os quais a tripulação alcançaria uma costa habitada e depois se dispersaria. Ele prometeu notificar o governo de sua localização para que um navio de guerra pudesse ser enviado para resgatá-los.

Original English

“You’ll be all right there for a few months,” he explained, “and by that time we’ll have been able to make an inhabited coast some-wheres and scatter a bit. Then I’ll see that yer gover‘ment’s notified where you be an’ they’ll soon send a man-o’war to fetch ye off.

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Português

Ele observou que levá-los para a civilização seria difícil porque muitas perguntas seriam feitas, e nenhum deles tinha respostas convincentes prontas.

Original English

“It would be a hard matter to land you in civilization without a lot o’ questions being asked, an’ none o’ us here has any very convincin’ answers up our sleeves.”

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Português

Clayton argumentou que era cruel deixá-los em uma costa desconhecida, à mercê de animais selvagens e, possivelmente, de humanos ainda mais selvagens.

Original English

Clayton remonstrated against the inhumanity of landing them upon an unknown shore to be left to the mercies of savage beasts, and, possibly, still more savage men.

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Português

No entanto, seus protestos foram inúteis e apenas irritaram Black Michael, então ele teve que parar e aceitar a situação infeliz da melhor forma possível.

Original English

But his words were of no avail, and only tended to anger Black Michael, so he was forced to desist and make the best he could of a bad situation.

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Português

Por volta das três da tarde, eles se aproximaram de uma bela costa arborizada em frente à entrada do que parecia ser um porto sem saída para o mar.

Original English

About three o’clock in the afternoon they came about off a beautiful wooded shore opposite the mouth of what appeared to be a land-locked harbor.

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Português

Black Michael enviou um pequeno barco com homens para medir a profundidade da entrada, para ver se o Fuwalda poderia ser navegado com segurança por ela.

Original English

Black Michael sent a small boat filled with men to sound the entrance in an effort to determine if the Fuwalda could be safely worked through the entrance.

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Português

Após aproximadamente uma hora, eles retornaram e relataram que a passagem e a pequena bacia tinham águas profundas em toda a extensão.

Original English

In about an hour they returned and reported deep water through the passage as well as far into the little basin.

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Português

Antes do anoitecer, a barca estava calmamente ancorada na superfície calma e espelhada do porto.

Original English

Before dark the barkentine lay peacefully at anchor upon the bosom of the still, mirrorlike surface of the harbor.

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Português

As margens eram exuberantes com vegetação semitropical, e mais para o interior, o terreno se elevava em colinas e planaltos, todos densamente cobertos por florestas antigas.

Original English

The surrounding shores were beautiful with semitropical verdure, while in the distance the country rose from the ocean in hill and table-land, almost uniformly clothed by primeval forest.

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Português

Nenhum sinal de habitação era visível, mas a abundante vida de pássaros e animais, vislumbrada ocasionalmente por aqueles no convés do Fuwalda, indicava claramente que a terra poderia sustentar a vida humana.

Original English

No signs of habitation were visible, but that the land might easily support human life was evidenced by the abundant bird and animal life of which the watchers on the Fuwalda’s

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Português

Do convés, eles ocasionalmente vislumbravam a vida selvagem, e o brilho de um rio desaguando no porto prometia água doce em abundância.

Original English

deck caught occasional glimpses, as well as by the shimmer of a little river which emptied into the harbor insuring fresh water in plentitude.

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Português

À medida que a escuridão caía, Clayton e Lady Alice permaneciam na amurada do navio, pensando silenciosamente no seu futuro lar. Das sombras profundas da grande floresta vinham os gritos selvagens de animais ferozes — o rugido profundo de um leão e, de vez em quando, o grito agudo de uma pantera.

Original English

As darkness settled upon the earth, Clayton and Lady Alice still stood by the ship’s rail in silent contemplation of their future abode. From the dark shadows of the mighty forest came the wild calls of savage beasts—the deep roar of the lion, and, occasionally, the shrill scream of a panther.

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Português

Aterrorizada, a mulher apertou-se contra o homem, temendo os horrores que os aguardavam na terrível escuridão das noites vindouras, quando estariam sozinhos naquela costa selvagem e solitária.

Original English

The woman shrank closer to the man in terror-stricken anticipation of the horrors lying in wait for them in the awful blackness of the nights to come, when they should be alone upon that wild and lonely shore.

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Português

Mais tarde naquela noite, Black Michael veio dizer-lhes que se preparassem para desembarcar no dia seguinte. Eles imploraram que os levasse a uma costa mais acolhedora, perto da civilização, onde pudessem encontrar pessoas amigáveis. Mas nada do que disseram — nem súplicas, ameaças ou ofertas de pagamento — pôde mudar sua decisão.

Original English

Later in the evening Black Michael joined them long enough to instruct them to make their preparations for landing on the morrow. They tried to persuade him to take them to some more hospitable coast near enough to civilization so that they might hope to fall into friendly hands. But no pleas, or threats, or promises of reward could move him.

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Português

Black Michael disse-lhes que era o único homem no navio que não desejava a morte deles. Ele admitiu que matá-los seria a maneira mais inteligente de proteger a tripulação, mas não podia esquecer um favor. Já que eles haviam salvado sua vida, ele pouparia a deles em troca, mas isso era tudo que podia fazer.

Original English

“I am the only man aboard who would not rather see ye both safely dead, and, while I know that’s the sensible way to make sure of our own necks, yet Black Michael’s not the man to forget a favor. Ye saved my life once, and in return I’m goin’ to spare yours, but that’s all I can do.

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Português

Ele explicou que os homens não tolerariam qualquer atraso, e se eles não desembarcassem logo, a tripulação poderia até decidir abandoná-los completamente. Ele prometeu colocar seus pertences em terra, incluindo utensílios de cozinha, velas velhas para barracas e comida suficiente para durar até que pudessem encontrar frutas e caça.

Original English

“The men won’t stand for any more, and if we don’t get ye landed pretty quick they may even change their minds about giving ye that much show. I’ll put all yer stuff ashore with ye as well as cookin’ utensils an’ some old sails for tents, an’ enough grub to last ye until ye can find fruit and game.

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Português

Black Michael garantiu a eles que, com suas armas, poderiam viver ali em segurança até a chegada de ajuda. Ele prometeu informar o governo britânico sobre sua localização assim que estivesse escondido, embora admitisse não saber ele próprio as coordenadas exatas. Ele expressou confiança de que seriam encontrados.

Original English

“With yer guns for protection, ye ought to be able to live here easy enough until help comes. When I get safely hid away I’ll see to it that the British gover‘ment learns about where ye be; for the life of me I couldn’t tell ’em exactly where, for I don’t know myself. But they’ll find ye all right.”

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Português

Após sua partida, eles desceram ao convés inferior em silêncio, cada um consumido por pressentimentos sombrios.

Original English

After he had left them they went silently below, each wrapped in gloomy forebodings.

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Português

Clayton duvidava que Black Michael tivesse qualquer intenção real de notificar o governo britânico sobre seu paradeiro. Além disso, suspeitava que uma traição poderia esperá-los no dia seguinte, quando desembarcariam com os marinheiros que os acompanhariam com seus pertences.

Original English

Clayton did not believe that Black Michael had the slightest intention of notifying the British government of their whereabouts, nor was he any too sure but that some treachery was contemplated for the following day when they should be on shore with the sailors who would have to accompany them with their belongings.

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Português

Uma vez fora da vista de Black Michael, qualquer um dos homens poderia atacá-los sem sobrecarregar a consciência de Black Michael.

Original English

Once out of Black Michael’s sight any of the men might strike them down, and still leave Black Michael’s conscience clear.

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Português

Mesmo que escapassem daquele perigo, perigos ainda mais graves se avizinhavam. Sozinho, ele poderia esperar sobreviver por anos, já que era forte e atlético.

Original English

And even should they escape that fate was it not but to be faced with far graver dangers? Alone, he might hope to survive for years; for he was a strong, athletic man.

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Português

Ele pensou em Alice e na nova vida que em breve enfrentaria as dificuldades e os terríveis perigos de um mundo primevo.

Original English

But what of Alice, and that other little life so soon to be launched amidst the hardships and grave dangers of a primeval world?

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Português

Ele tremeu ao refletir sobre a terrível gravidade e impotência de sua situação, mas foi uma misericórdia que ele não pudesse prever a hedionda realidade que os aguardava nas profundezas escuras da floresta.

Original English

The man shuddered as he meditated upon the awful gravity, the fearful helplessness, of their situation. But it was a merciful Providence which prevented him from foreseeing the hideous reality which awaited them in the grim depths of that gloomy wood.

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Português

No início da manhã seguinte, seus muitos baús e caixas foram trazidos para o convés e baixados em pequenos barcos para serem levados à costa.

Original English

Early next morning their numerous chests and boxes were hoisted on deck and lowered to waiting small boats for transportation to shore.

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Português

Havia uma grande quantidade e variedade de mercadorias, pois os Claytons esperavam uma residência de cinco a oito anos. Além dos necessários, eles também trouxeram muitos luxos.

Original English

There was a great quantity and variety of stuff, as the Claytons had expected a possible five to eight years’ residence in their new home. Thus, in addition to the many necessities they had brought, there were also many luxuries.

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Português

Black Michael estava determinado a que nada pertencente aos Claytons permanecesse no navio. Era difícil dizer se ele agiu por compaixão ou por seus próprios interesses.

Original English

Black Michael was determined that nothing belonging to the Claytons should be left on board. Whether out of compassion for them, or in furtherance of his own self-interests, it would be difficult to say.

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Português

Estava claro que encontrar os pertences de um oficial britânico desaparecido em um navio suspeito teria sido muito difícil de explicar em qualquer porto civilizado.

Original English

There was no question but that the presence of property of a missing British official upon a suspicious vessel would have been a difficult thing to explain in any civilized port in the world.

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Português

Ele estava tão determinado a alcançar seu objetivo que exigiu que os marinheiros devolvessem os revólveres de Clayton, que eles haviam tomado.

Original English

So zealous was he in his efforts to carry out his intentions that he insisted upon the return of Clayton’s revolvers to him by the sailors in whose possession they were.

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Português

Os pequenos barcos também foram carregados com carne salgada, biscoitos, uma pequena quantidade de batatas e feijões, fósforos, panelas, um baú de ferramentas e as velas velhas que Black Michael havia prometido.

Original English

Into the small boats were also loaded salt meats and biscuit, with a small supply of potatoes and beans, matches, and cooking vessels, a chest of tools, and the old sails which Black Michael had promised them.

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Português

Como se ele mesmo temesse a mesma coisa que Clayton havia suspeitado, Black Michael foi com eles até a praia e foi o último a sair. Depois que os pequenos barcos encheram os tonéis do navio com água fresca, eles foram empurrados em direção ao Fuwalda que esperava.

Original English

As though himself fearing the very thing which Clayton had suspected, Black Michael accompanied them to shore, and was the last to leave them when the small boats, having filled the ship’s casks with fresh water, were pushed out toward the waiting Fuwalda.

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Português

Enquanto os barcos se moviam lentamente pela baía calma, Clayton e sua esposa ficaram em silêncio, observando-os partir. Ambos sentiram uma sensação de desastre iminente e total desesperança.

Original English

As the boats moved slowly over the smooth waters of the bay, Clayton and his wife stood silently watching their departure—in the breasts of both a feeling of impending disaster and utter hopelessness.

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Português

Atrás deles, logo acima da crista, outro par de olhos observava — juntos, cruéis e brilhando sob sobrancelhas grossas.

Original English

And behind them, over the edge of a low ridge, other eyes watched—close set, wicked eyes, gleaming beneath shaggy brows.

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Português

Enquanto o Fuwalda navegava pela estreita entrada do porto e desaparecia atrás de um ponto saliente, Lady Alice jogou os braços em volta do pescoço de Clayton e soluçou incontrolavelmente.

Original English

As the Fuwalda passed through the narrow entrance to the harbor and out of sight behind a projecting point, Lady Alice threw her arms about Clayton’s neck and burst into uncontrolled sobs.

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Português

Ela havia enfrentado o motim com coragem e olhado para o futuro sombrio com determinação heroica. Mas agora, com todo o terror do isolamento pesando sobre eles, seus nervos tensos finalmente cederam, e a reação reprimida tomou conta.

Original English

Bravely had she faced the dangers of the mutiny; with heroic fortitude she had looked into the terrible future; but now that the horror of absolute solitude was upon them, her overwrought nerves gave way, and the reaction came.

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Português

Ele não tentou conter as lágrimas dela. Era melhor deixar a natureza seguir seu curso e liberar as emoções há muito reprimidas. Muitos minutos se passaram antes que a garota — mal mais que uma criança — pudesse recuperar o controle de si mesma.

Original English

He did not attempt to check her tears. It were better that nature have her way in relieving these long-pent emotions, and it was many minutes before the girl—little more than a child she was—could again gain mastery of herself.

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Português

Por fim, ela gritou para John sobre o horror da situação e perguntou repetidamente o que deveriam fazer.

Original English

“Oh, John,” she cried at last, “the horror of it. What are we to do? What are we to do?”

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Português

Ele calmamente disse a Alice que eles tinham apenas uma opção: trabalhar. Ele disse que o trabalho seria a salvação deles e que eles não deveriam se permitir tempo para pensar, porque pensar poderia levar à loucura.

Original English

“There is but one thing to do, Alice,” and he spoke as quietly as though they were sitting in their snug living room at home, “and that is work. Work must be our salvation. We must not give ourselves time to think, for in that direction lies madness.

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Português

Ele insistiu que eles precisavam trabalhar e esperar. Ele estava confiante de que a ajuda chegaria em breve assim que a perda do Fuwalda fosse descoberta, mesmo que Black Michael não cumprisse sua promessa.

Original English

“We must work and wait. I am sure that relief will come, and come quickly, when once it is apparent that the Fuwalda has been lost, even though Black Michael does not keep his word to us.”

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Português

Alice soluçou que se fossem apenas os dois, eles poderiam suportar a dificuldade, mas ela estava claramente preocupada com outra coisa.

Original English

“But John, if it were only you and I,” she sobbed, “we could endure it I know; but—”

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Português

John concordou gentilmente que ele também havia considerado isso, mas eles tinham que enfrentar a situação corajosamente e com total confiança em sua capacidade de lidar com quaisquer circunstâncias.

Original English

“Yes, dear” he answered, gently, “I have been thinking of that, also; but we must face it, as we must face whatever comes, bravely and with the utmost confidence in our ability to cope with circumstances whatever they may be.

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Português

Ele observou que centenas de milhares de anos atrás, seus ancestrais distantes enfrentaram problemas semelhantes, talvez nessas mesmas florestas antigas. O fato de a humanidade ainda existir prova que esses ancestrais triunfaram.

Original English

“Hundreds of thousands of years ago our ancestors of the dim and distant past faced the same problems which we must face, possibly in these same primeval forests. That we are here today evidences their victory.

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Português

John argumentou que eles poderiam fazer o que os povos antigos haviam feito, e ainda melhor, porque estavam equipados com séculos de conhecimento avançado e os meios de proteção, defesa e sustento que a ciência havia proporcionado, os quais os antigos não possuíam.

Original English

“What they did may we not do? And even better for are we not armed with ages of superior knowledge, and have we not the means of protection, defense, and sustenance which science has given us, but of which they were totally ignorant? What they

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Português

Alice concordou que, se os povos antigos haviam realizado tais coisas com ferramentas simples de pedra e osso, certamente eles poderiam fazer o mesmo.

Original English

accomplished, Alice, with instruments and weapons of stone and bone, surely that may we accomplish also.”

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Português

Alice expressou o desejo de ter a filosofia lógica de um homem, mas admitiu que era apenas uma mulher que via com o coração em vez da cabeça, e tudo que conseguia perceber era horrível e impensável demais para ser colocado em palavras.

Original English

“Ah, John, I wish that I might be a man with a man’s philosophy, but I am but a woman, seeing with my heart rather than my head, and all that I can see is too horrible, too unthinkable to put into words.

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Português

Alice disse que esperava que John estivesse certo e prometeu dar o seu melhor para ser uma mulher primitiva corajosa, uma companheira adequada para um homem primitivo.

Original English

“I only hope you are right, John. I will do my best to be a brave primeval woman, a fit mate for the primeval man.”

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Português

A primeira prioridade de Clayton foi arrumar um abrigo para dormir durante a noite, algo que pudesse protegê-los de feras selvagens que pudessem atacar.

Original English

Clayton’s first thought was to arrange a sleeping shelter for the night; something which might serve to protect them from prowling beasts of prey.

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Português

Ele abriu a caixa que continha seus rifles e munição para que ambos pudessem estar armados contra qualquer possível ataque enquanto trabalhavam. Depois, procuraram juntos um lugar para dormir naquela primeira noite.

Original English

He opened the box containing his rifles and ammunition, that they might both be armed against possible attack while at work, and then together they sought a location for their first night’s sleeping place.

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Português

A cerca de cem jardas da praia, havia uma pequena área plana com poucas árvores. Eles decidiram construir uma casa permanente ali eventualmente, mas por enquanto ambos concordaram que seria melhor construir uma pequena plataforma nas árvores, fora do alcance dos grandes animais selvagens que viviam nesta terra.

Original English

A hundred yards from the beach was a little level spot, fairly free of trees; here they decided eventually to build a permanent house, but for the time being they both thought it best to construct a little platform in the trees out of reach of the larger of the savage beasts in whose realm they were.

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Português

Para esse fim, Clayton escolheu quatro árvores que formavam um retângulo de cerca de oito pés de largura. Ele cortou galhos longos de outras árvores e construiu uma armação em torno daquelas quatro árvores, a cerca de dez pés do chão. Ele amarrou firmemente as pontas dos galhos às árvores usando corda que Black Michael lhe dera do porão do navio.

Original English

To this end Clayton selected four trees which formed a rectangle about eight feet square, and cutting long branches from other trees he constructed a framework around them, about ten feet from the ground, fastening the ends of the branches securely to the trees by means of rope, a quantity of which Black Michael had furnished him from the hold of the Fuwalda.

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Português

Através dessa armação, Clayton colocou galhos menores bem juntos. Ele cobriu essa plataforma com grandes folhas de orelha-de-elefante que cresciam abundantemente ao redor deles, e sobre essas folhas ele estendeu uma grande vela dobrada várias vezes.

Original English

Across this framework Clayton placed other smaller branches quite close together. This platform he paved with the huge fronds of elephant’s ear which grew in profusion about them, and over the fronds he laid a great sail folded into several thicknesses.

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Português

Sete pés mais acima, ele construiu uma plataforma semelhante, mas mais leve, para servir de teto, e de seus lados ele pendurou o restante da lona de vela para servir de paredes.

Original English

Seven feet higher he constructed a similar, though lighter platform to serve as roof, and from the sides of this he suspended the balance of his sailcloth for walls.

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Português

Uma vez concluído, o pequeno ninho era bastante aconchegante, e ele levou para dentro dele os cobertores e a bagagem mais leve.

Original English

When completed he had a rather snug little nest, to which he carried their blankets and some of the lighter luggage.

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Português

A tarde foi avançando, e eles passaram a luz do dia restante construindo uma escada rústica para que Lady Alice pudesse subir até seu novo lar.

Original English

It was now late in the afternoon, and the balance of the daylight hours were devoted to the building of a rude ladder by means of which Lady Alice could mount to her new home.

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Português

Durante todo o dia, a floresta ao redor deles estava repleta de pássaros coloridos e macacos barulhentos e animados, que observavam os recém-chegados e sua impressionante construção de ninho com óbvio fascínio.

Original English

All during the day the forest about them had been filled with excited birds of brilliant plumage, and dancing, chattering monkeys, who watched these new arrivals and their wonderful nest building operations with every mark of keenest interest and fascination.

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Português

Embora Clayton e sua esposa mantivessem uma vigilância atenta, eles não viram animais maiores. No entanto, duas vezes observaram seus pequenos vizinhos macacos fugindo de uma crista próxima, gritando e tagarelando, e olhando para trás com medo, indicando claramente que estavam escapando de algum perigo oculto.

Original English

Notwithstanding that both Clayton and his wife kept a sharp outlook they saw nothing of larger animals, though on two occasions they had seen their little simian neighbors come screaming and chattering from the near-by ridge, casting frightened glances back over their little shoulders, and evincing as plainly as though by speech that they were fleeing some terrible thing which lay concealed there.

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Português

Pouco antes do anoitecer, Clayton terminou a escada. Depois de encher uma grande bacia com água do riacho próximo, os dois subiram para a relativa segurança de sua casa na árvore.

Original English

Just before dusk Clayton finished his ladder, and, filling a great basin with water from the near-by stream, the two mounted to the comparative safety of their aerial chamber.

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Português

Porque estava bastante quente, Clayton havia deixado as cortinas laterais jogadas para trás. Enquanto eles se sentavam em seus cobertores como turcos, Lady Alice forçou a vista na direção das sombras que escureciam a floresta. De repente, ela estendeu a mão e agarrou os braços de Clayton.

Original English

As it was quite warm, Clayton had left the side curtains thrown back over the roof, and as they sat, like Turks, upon their blankets, Lady Alice, straining her eyes into the darkening shadows of the wood, suddenly reached out and grasped Clayton’s arms.

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Português

Ela sussurrou para John, dizendo-lhe para olhar e perguntando se era um homem.

Original English

“John,” she whispered, “look! What is it, a man?”

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Português

Quando Clayton se virou para olhar onde ela apontava, ele viu uma grande figura em pé sobre o cume, vagamente delineada contra as sombras mais profundas atrás dela.

Original English

As Clayton turned his eyes in the direction she indicated, he saw silhouetted dimly against the shadows beyond, a great figure standing upright upon the ridge.

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Português

A figura ficou parada por um momento, como se estivesse ouvindo. Então se virou lentamente e desapareceu nas sombras da selva.

Original English

For a moment it stood as though listening and then turned slowly, and melted into the shadows of the jungle.

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Português

Lady Alice perguntou novamente a John o que era a figura.

Original English

“What is it, John?”

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Português

Ele respondeu gravemente que não sabia, dizendo que estava escuro demais para ver longe e que poderia ser apenas uma sombra projetada pela lua nascente.

Original English

“I do not know, Alice,” he answered gravely, “it is too dark to see so far and it may have been but a shadow cast by the rising moon.”

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Português

Alice disse a John que, se não era um homem, era uma imitação enorme e grotesca de um homem. Ela expressou seu medo.

Original English

“No, John, if it was not a man it was some huge and grotesque mockery of man. Oh, I am afraid.”

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Português

Ele a segurou em seus braços e sussurrou palavras de coragem e amor.

Original English

He gathered her in his arms, whispering words of courage and love into her ears.

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Português

Pouco depois, ele baixou as paredes da tenda e as amarrou firmemente às árvores, criando um cercado com apenas uma pequena abertura voltada para a praia.

Original English

Soon after, he lowered the curtain walls, tying them securely to the trees so that, except for a little opening toward the beach, they were entirely enclosed.

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Português

Como agora estava completamente escuro dentro de seu pequeno abrigo, eles se deitaram sobre seus cobertores, esperando encontrar alívio temporário de seus problemas através do sono.

Original English

As it was now pitch dark within their tiny aerie they lay down upon their blankets to try to gain, through sleep, a brief respite of forgetfulness.

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Português

Clayton estava deitado de frente para a abertura frontal, com um rifle e um par de revólveres ao seu lado.

Original English

Clayton lay facing the opening at the front, a rifle and a brace of revolvers at his hand.

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Português

Mal haviam fechado os olhos quando o grito aterrorizante de uma onça veio da selva atrás deles. Aproximou-se cada vez mais até que puderam ouvir a grande fera diretamente abaixo deles. Por mais de uma hora, ouviram-na farejando e arranhando as árvores que sustentavam sua plataforma. Finalmente, ela vagueou pela praia, onde Clayton pôde vê-la claramente sob o luar brilhante — uma fera grande e magnífica, a maior que já tinha visto.

Original English

Scarcely had they closed their eyes than the terrifying cry of a panther rang out from the jungle behind them. Closer and closer it came until they could hear the great beast directly beneath them. For an hour or more they heard it sniffing and clawing at the trees which supported their platform, but at last it roamed away across the beach, where Clayton could see it clearly in the brilliant moonlight—a great, handsome beast, the largest he had ever seen.

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Português

Durante a longa noite, eles conseguiram apenas um sono breve e interrompido. A selva estava cheia de sons de inúmeros animais, mantendo seus nervos tensos à flor da pele. Eles foram acordados inúmeras vezes por gritos agudos ou pelo movimento silencioso de grandes corpos abaixo deles.

Original English

During the long hours of darkness they caught but fitful snatches of sleep, for the night noises of a great jungle teeming with myriad animal life kept their overwrought nerves on edge, so that a hundred times they were startled to wakefulness by piercing screams, or the stealthy moving of great bodies beneath them.

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Life and Death

Português

Quando a manhã chegou, eles mal estavam revigorados, mas sentiram um intenso alívio ao amanhecer.

Original English

Morning found them but little, if at all refreshed, though it was with a feeling of intense relief that they saw the day dawn.

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Português

Após seu magro café da manhã de carne de porco salgada, café e biscoito, Clayton começou a construir sua casa. Ele entendia que não poderiam se sentir seguros ou em paz à noite até que paredes fortes bloqueassem completamente a vida da selva.

Original English

As soon as they had made their meager breakfast of salt pork, coffee and biscuit, Clayton commenced work upon their house, for he realized that they could hope for no safety and no peace of mind at night until four strong walls effectually barred the jungle life from them.

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Português

O trabalho foi difícil e levou quase um mês, embora ele tenha construído apenas um pequeno cômodo. A cabana foi construída com pequenos troncos de cerca de quinze centímetros de espessura, com os espaços entre eles preenchidos com argila que ele encontrou a alguns metros abaixo da superfície.

Original English

The task was an arduous one and required the better part of a month, though he built but one small room. He constructed his cabin of small logs about six inches in diameter, stopping the chinks with clay which he found at the depth of a few feet beneath the surface soil.

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Português

Em uma extremidade, ele construiu uma lareira usando pequenas pedras coletadas da praia, que também fixou com argila. Assim que a casa ficou totalmente pronta, ele aplicou uma camada de argila de cerca de dez centímetros sobre toda a superfície externa.

Original English

At one end he built a fireplace of small stones from the beach. These also he set in clay and when the house had been entirely completed he applied a coating of the clay to the entire outside surface to the thickness of four inches.

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Português

Na abertura da janela, ele colocou pequenos galhos com cerca de dois centímetros e meio de espessura, dispostos tanto na vertical quanto na horizontal, entrelaçados para criar uma grade resistente capaz de suportar um animal poderoso. Dessa forma, eles conseguiram circulação de ar e ventilação sem comprometer a segurança da cabana.

Original English

In the window opening he set small branches about an inch in diameter both vertically and horizontally, and so woven that they formed a substantial grating that could withstand the strength of a powerful animal. Thus they obtained air and proper ventilation without fear of lessening the safety of their cabin.

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Português

O telhado, em forma de A, foi coberto com pequenos galhos colocados bem juntos, cobertos com longa grama da selva e folhas de palmeira, e finalmente selado com uma camada de argila.

Original English

The A-shaped roof was thatched with small branches laid close together and over these long jungle grass and palm fronds, with a final coating of clay.

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Português

Ele construiu a porta com pedaços das caixas de embalagem que continham seus pertences, pregando uma camada sobre a outra com as fibras de cada camada indo em direções diferentes, até obter uma placa sólida com cerca de sete centímetros e meio de espessura. Sua grande resistência fez ambos rirem quando a olharam.

Original English

The door he built of pieces of the packing-boxes which had held their belongings, nailing one piece upon another, the grain of contiguous layers running transversely, until he had a solid body some three inches thick and of such great strength that they were both moved to laughter as they gazed upon it.

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Português

O maior desafio de Clayton foi que, depois de construir a pesada porta, ele não tinha como pendurá-la. Após dois dias de trabalho, ele conseguiu criar duas grandes dobradiças de madeira, que permitiram que ele instalasse a porta de modo que ela abrisse e fechasse suavemente.

Original English

Here the greatest difficulty confronted Clayton, for he had no means whereby to hang his massive door now that he had built it. After two days’ work, however, he succeeded in fashioning two massive hardwood hinges, and with these he hung the door so that it opened and closed easily.

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Português

Eles terminaram o reboco e outros detalhes depois de se mudarem. Eles se mudaram assim que o telhado foi concluído, empilhando suas caixas na frente da porta à noite por segurança. Isso lhes deu uma casa relativamente segura e confortável.

Original English

The stuccoing and other final touches were added after they moved into the house, which they had done as soon as the roof was on, piling their boxes before the door at night and thus having a comparatively safe and comfortable habitation.

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Português

Fazer uma cama, cadeiras, uma mesa e prateleiras foi bastante simples. No final do segundo mês, eles estavam bem estabelecidos. Tirando o medo constante de ataques de animais selvagens e a crescente solidão, eles não estavam desconfortáveis ou infelizes.

Original English

The building of a bed, chairs, table, and shelves was a relatively easy matter, so that by the end of the second month they were well settled, and, but for the constant dread of attack by wild beasts and the ever growing loneliness, they were not uncomfortable or unhappy.

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Português

À noite, grandes feras rosnavam e rugiam ao redor de sua pequena cabana. No entanto, as pessoas podem se acostumar com sons familiares, então logo mal os notavam e dormiam tranquilamente a noite toda.

Original English

At night great beasts snarled and roared about their tiny cabin, but, so accustomed may one become to oft repeated noises, that soon they paid little attention to them, sleeping soundly the whole night through.

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Português

Em três ocasiões, eles tiveram breves vislumbres de grandes figuras humanoides semelhantes à que haviam visto na primeira noite. No entanto, nunca estavam perto o suficiente para ter certeza se essas formas meio vistas eram homens ou animais.

Original English

Thrice had they caught fleeting glimpses of great man-like figures like that of the first night, but never at sufficiently close range to know positively whether the half-seen forms were those of man or brute.

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Português

Os pássaros brilhantes e os pequenos macacos se acostumaram com os Claytons. Como nunca tinham visto humanos antes, o medo inicial desapareceu e a curiosidade os aproximou. Em um mês, vários pássaros até pegaram comida das mãos dos Claytons.

Original English

The brilliant birds and the little monkeys had become accustomed to their new acquaintances, and as they had evidently never seen human beings before they presently, after their first fright had worn off, approached closer and closer, impelled by that strange curiosity which dominates the wild creatures of the forest and the jungle and the plain, so that within the first month several of the birds had gone so far as even to accept morsels of food from the friendly hands of the Claytons.

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Português

Uma tarde, enquanto Clayton trabalhava na expansão da cabana, vários dos estranhos macaquinhos vieram gritando pelas árvores do cume. Eles continuavam olhando para trás com medo enquanto fugiam, e eventualmente pararam perto de Clayton, tagarelando excitadamente como se o avisassem de perigo.

Original English

One afternoon, while Clayton was working upon an addition to their cabin, for he contemplated building several more rooms, a number of their grotesque little friends came shrieking and scolding through the trees from the direction of the ridge. Ever as they fled they cast fearful glances back of them, and finally they stopped near Clayton jabbering excitedly to him as though to warn him of approaching danger.

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Português

Finalmente ele viu o que os macacos temiam: o homem-besta que os Claytons apenas tinham vislumbrado antes.

Original English

At last he saw it, the thing the little monkeys so feared—the man-brute of which the Claytons had caught occasional fleeting glimpses.

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Português

Ele se movia pela selva parcialmente ereto, ocasionalmente colocando os punhos fechados no chão. Era um enorme macaco, e conforme se aproximava, emitia grunhidos guturais profundos e ocasionais latidos baixos.

Original English

It was approaching through the jungle in a semi-erect position, now and then placing the backs of its closed fists upon the ground—a great anthropoid ape, and, as it advanced, it emitted deep guttural growls and an occasional low barking sound.

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Português

Clayton estava longe da cabana, tendo vindo cortar uma árvore perfeita para a construção. Após meses de segurança, ele se tornara descuidado e deixara suas armas dentro. Agora ele via o grande macaco avançando pelos arbustos diretamente em sua direção, bloqueando sua rota de fuga. Um pequeno calafrio percorreu sua espinha.

Original English

Clayton was at some distance from the cabin, having come to fell a particularly perfect tree for his building operations. Grown careless from months of continued safety, during which time he had seen no dangerous animals during the daylight hours, he had left his rifles and revolvers all within the little cabin, and now that he saw the great ape crashing through the underbrush directly toward him, and from a direction which practically cut him off from escape, he felt a vague little shiver play up and down his spine.

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Português

Ele entendeu que, armado apenas com um machado, suas chances contra a fera feroz eram muito pequenas. Também se desesperou por Alice, imaginando o que seria dela.

Original English

He knew that, armed only with an ax, his chances with this ferocious monster were small indeed—and Alice; 0 God, he thought, what will become of Alice?

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Português

Restava uma pequena chance de alcançar a cabana. Ele se virou e correu, chamando sua esposa para entrar e fechar a grande porta se o macaco o interceptasse.

Original English

There was yet a slight chance of reaching the cabin. He turned and ran toward it, shouting an alarm to his wife to run in and close the great door in case the ape cut off his retreat.

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Português

Lady Greystoke estava sentada a uma curta distância da cabana. Ouvindo seu grito, ela ergueu os olhos e viu o macaco saltando com uma velocidade impressionante — notável para uma criatura tão grande e desajeitada — na tentativa de interceptar Clayton.

Original English

Lady Greystoke had been sitting a little way from the cabin, and when she heard his cry she looked up to see the ape springing with almost incredible swiftness, for so large and awkward an animal, in an effort to head off Clayton.

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Português

Com um baixo grito, ela disparou em direção à cabana e, ao cruzar a soleira, lançou um olhar aterrorizado para trás. A fera havia interceptado seu marido, que agora estava encurralado, segurando seu machado com ambas as mãos, pronto para golpear quando o animal enfurecido fizesse seu ataque final.

Original English

With a low cry she sprang toward the cabin, and, as she entered, gave a backward glance which filled her soul with terror, for the brute had intercepted her husband, who now stood at bay grasping his ax with both hands ready to swing it upon the infuriated animal when he should make his final charge.

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Português

Clayton ordenou que Alice fechasse e trancasse a porta, garantindo a ela que poderia acabar com a criatura com seu machado.

Original English

“Close and bolt the door, Alice,” cried Clayton. “I can finish this fellow with my ax.”

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Português

Ele entendeu que estava prestes a morrer horrivelmente, e ela também entendeu isso.

Original English

But he knew he was facing a horrible death, and so did she.

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Português

O macaco era um grande macho, pesando cerca de trezentas libras. Seus olhos pequenos e juntos brilhavam com ódio sob sobrancelhas hirsutas, e seus grandes dentes caninos estavam à mostra em um terrível rosnado enquanto ele parava brevemente diante de sua presa.

Original English

The ape was a great bull, weighing probably three hundred pounds. His nasty close-set eyes gleamed hatred from beneath his shaggy brows, while his great canine fangs were bared in a horrid snarl as he paused a moment before his prey.

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Português

Por cima do ombro do macaco, Clayton viu a porta de sua cabana, a menos de vinte passos de distância. Uma onda de horror e medo o varreu quando ele viu sua jovem esposa sair, segurando um de seus rifles.

Original English

Over the brute’s shoulder Clayton could see the doorway of his cabin, not twenty paces distant, and a great wave of horror and fear swept over him as he saw his young wife emerge, armed with one of his rifles.

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Português

Ela sempre teve pavor de armas e nunca as tocava, mas agora ela correu em direção ao macaco com a coragem de uma leoa defendendo seus filhotes.

Original English

She had always been afraid of firearms, and would never touch them, but now she rushed toward the ape with the fearlessness of a lioness protecting its young.

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Português

Clayton gritou para Alice voltar, implorando a ela, pelo amor de Deus, que recuasse.

Original English

“Back, Alice,” shouted Clayton, “for God’s sake, go back.”

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Português

Ela não ouviu, e naquele momento o macaco atacou, impedindo Clayton de dizer mais alguma coisa.

Original English

But she would not heed, and just then the ape charged, so that Clayton could say no more.

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Português

Clayton balançou seu machado com toda a sua força, mas o poderoso macaco o agarrou com suas mãos terríveis, arrancou-o de seu aperto e o jogou para longe.

Original English

The man swung his ax with all his mighty strength, but the powerful brute seized it in those terrible hands, and tearing it from Clayton’s grasp hurled it far to one side.

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Português

Com um rosnado feio, o macaco avançou sobre sua vítima indefesa, mas antes que suas presas pudessem alcançar a garganta que tanto desejavam, um tiro seco ressoou e uma bala atingiu o macaco entre os ombros.

Original English

With an ugly snarl he closed upon his defenseless victim, but ere his fangs had reached the throat they thirsted for, there was a sharp report and a bullet entered the ape’s back between his shoulders.

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Português

Atirando Clayton ao chão, a fera se virou para seu novo inimigo. A garota aterrorizada estava ali, tentando em vão disparar outra bala no animal, mas ela não entendia como a arma funcionava, e o martelo clicou inutilmente em um cartucho vazio.

Original English

Throwing Clayton to the ground the beast turned upon his new enemy. There before him stood the terrified girl vainly trying to fire another bullet into the animal’s body; but she did not understand the mechanism of the firearm, and the hammer fell futilely upon an empty cartridge.

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Português

Quase ao mesmo tempo, Clayton se levantou e, sem considerar o quão desesperada era a tentativa, avançou para puxar o macaco para longe do corpo caído de sua esposa.

Original English

Almost simultaneously Clayton regained his feet, and without thought of the utter hopelessness of it, he rushed forward to drag the ape from his wife’s prostrate form.

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Português

Ele obteve sucesso com esforço mínimo, e o enorme macaco caiu sem vida na grama à sua frente, morto pela bala.

Original English

With little or no effort he succeeded, and the great bulk rolled inertly upon the turf before him—the ape was dead. The bullet had done its work.

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Português

Uma verificação rápida em sua esposa não mostrou ferimentos, e Clayton concluiu que a enorme fera havia morrido no momento em que avançou em direção a Alice.

Original English

A hasty examination of his wife revealed no marks upon her, and Clayton decided that the huge brute had died the instant he had sprung toward Alice.

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Português

Cuidadosamente, ele carregou sua esposa, que permanecia inconsciente, para a pequena cabana, embora ela não tenha acordado por mais duas horas.

Original English

Gently he lifted his wife’s still unconscious form, and bore her to the little cabin, but it was fully two hours before she regained consciousness.

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Português

Suas primeiras palavras perturbaram Clayton com uma sensação de desconforto. Depois de recobrar a consciência, Alice olhou ao redor da cabana com admiração, então suspirou satisfeita e começou a falar.

Original English

Her first words filled Clayton with vague apprehension. For some time after regaining her senses, Alice gazed wonderingly about the interior of the little cabin, and then, with a satisfied sigh, said:

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Português

Ela disse a John como era maravilhoso estar em casa e descreveu um sonho terrível no qual eles não estavam em Londres, mas em um lugar horrível onde grandes animais os atacavam.

Original English

“0, John, it is so good to be really home! I have had an awful dream, dear. I thought we were no longer in London, but in some horrible place where great beasts attacked us.”

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Português

Ele acariciou suavemente sua testa e disse a ela para tentar dormir de novo, sem se preocupar com pesadelos.

Original English

“There, there, Alice,” he said, stroking her forehead, “try to sleep again, and do not worry your head about bad dreams.”

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Português

Naquela noite, um menino nasceu na pequena cabana ao lado da floresta selvagem. Lá fora, um leopardo gritou perto da porta, e o rugido profundo de um leão ecoou além da cordilheira.

Original English

That night a little son was born in the tiny cabin beside the primeval forest, while a leopard screamed before the door, and the deep notes of a lion’s roar sounded from beyond the ridge.

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Português

Lady Greystoke nunca se recuperou do choque do ataque do grande símio. Ela viveu por um ano após dar à luz, mas nunca mais saiu da cabana, nem compreendeu verdadeiramente que não estava na Inglaterra.

Original English

Lady Greystoke never recovered from the shock of the great ape’s attack, and, though she lived for a year after her baby was born, she was never again outside the cabin, nor did she ever fully realize that she was not in England.

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Português

Ela às vezes perguntava a Clayton sobre os ruídos noturnos estranhos, a falta de criados e amigos, e os móveis rústicos em seu quarto. Embora ele não tentasse esconder a verdade, ela nunca conseguia compreender a situação.

Original English

Sometimes she would question Clayton as to the strange noises of the nights; the absence of servants and friends, and the strange rudeness of the furnishings within her room, but, though he made no effort to deceive her, never could she grasp the meaning of it all.

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Português

Em outros aspectos, ela era completamente racional, e a alegria que encontrava em seu filho bebê e nos cuidados constantes do marido fez daquele ano um ano muito feliz — de fato, o mais feliz de sua jovem vida.

Original English

In other ways she was quite rational, and the joy and happiness she took in the possession of her little son and the constant attentions of her husband made that year a very happy one for her, the happiest of her young life.

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Português

Clayton entendeu que se ela estivesse em plena posse de seus sentidos, teria sido dominada pela preocupação e pelo medo. Ele sofria muito ao vê-la naquele estado, mas em alguns momentos sentia-se quase aliviado, por ela mesma, que ela permanecesse inconsciente.

Original English

That it would have been beset by worries and apprehension had she been in full command of her mental faculties Clayton well knew; so that while he suffered terribly to see her so, there were times when he was almost glad, for her sake, that she could not understand.

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Português

Ele há muito havia abandonado qualquer expectativa de ser resgatado, exceto por algum acontecimento casual. Com dedicação incansável, ele havia trabalhado para tornar o interior da cabana mais bonito.

Original English

Long since had he given up any hope of rescue, except through accident. With unremitting zeal he had worked to beautify the interior of the cabin.

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Português

O chão estava coberto com peles de leões e panteras. Armários e estantes de livros forravam as paredes. Ele havia feito vasos incomuns com argila local, que continham lindas flores tropicais. Cortinas tecidas de grama e bambu pendiam sobre as janelas. E sua tarefa mais difícil havia sido usar suas ferramentas limitadas para modelar madeira que selasse perfeitamente as paredes e o teto e criasse um piso liso dentro da cabana.

Original English

Skins of lion and panther covered the floor. Cupboards and bookcases lined the walls. Odd vases made by his own hand from the clay of the region held beautiful tropical flowers. Curtains of grass and bamboo covered the windows, and, most arduous task of all, with his meager assortment of tools he had fashioned lumber to neatly seal the walls and ceiling and lay a smooth floor within the cabin.

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Português

O fato de ele conseguir se dedicar a tarefas tão desconhecidas o surpreendia um pouco. No entanto, ele amava o trabalho porque era para ela e para a pequena vida que viera trazer-lhes alegria, embora isso multiplicasse suas responsabilidades e tornasse sua situação ainda mais terrível.

Original English

That he had been able to turn his hands at all to such unaccustomed labor was a source of mild wonder to him. But he loved the work because it was for her and the tiny life that had come to cheer them, though adding a hundredfold to his responsibilities and to the terribleness of their situation.

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Português

No ano seguinte, Clayton foi atacado em várias ocasiões pelos grandes símios que agora pareciam cercar constantemente a cabana. No entanto, como ele nunca saía sem seu rifle e revólveres, sentia pouco medo das enormes criaturas.

Original English

During the year that followed, Clayton was several times attacked by the great apes which now seemed to continually infest the vicinity of the cabin; but as he never again ventured outside without both rifle and revolvers he had little fear of the huge beasts.

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Português

Ele havia reforçado as janelas e instalado uma fechadura de madeira exclusiva na porta da cabana. Isso permitia que ele caçasse sem se preocupar com a entrada de animais em casa.

Original English

He had strengthened the window protections and fitted a unique wooden lock to the cabin door, so that when he hunted for game and fruits, as it was constantly necessary for him to do to insure sustenance, he had no fear that any animal could break into the little home.

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Português

Inicialmente, ele atirava nos animais das janelas da cabana, mas com o tempo os animais aprenderam a evitar aquele lugar estranho de onde vinha o som terrível de seu rifle.

Original English

At first he shot much of the game from the cabin windows, but toward the end the animals learned to fear the strange lair from whence issued the terrifying thunder of his rifle.

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Português

Durante seu tempo livre, Clayton lia em voz alta para sua esposa os livros infantis que havia trazido. Eles sabiam que seu filho teria idade suficiente para apreciá-los antes que pudessem esperar retornar à Inglaterra.

Original English

In his leisure Clayton read, often aloud to his wife, from the store of books he had brought for their new home. Among these were many for little children—picture books, primers, readers—for they had known that their little child would be old enough for such before they might hope to return to England.

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Português

Em outros momentos, Clayton escrevia em seu diário, que ele sempre mantinha em francês. Nele, registrava os detalhes de sua vida incomum. Ele guardava o diário trancado em uma pequena caixa de metal.

Original English

At other times Clayton wrote in his diary, which he had always been accustomed to keep in French, and in which he recorded the details of their strange life. This book he kept locked in a little metal box.

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Português

Um ano após o nascimento de seu filho, Lady Alice faleceu pacificamente durante a noite. Sua morte foi tão suave que Clayton não percebeu que ela havia morrido até várias horas depois.

Original English

A year from the day her little son was born Lady Alice passed quietly away in the night. So peaceful was her end that it was hours before Clayton could awake to a realization that his wife was dead.

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Português

Ele gradualmente entendeu quão terrível era a situação. Ele provavelmente nunca compreendeu completamente o peso total de seu luto ou o dever aterrorizante que agora recaía sobre ele: cuidar de seu filho minúsculo, que ainda precisava ser amamentado.

Original English

The horror of the situation came to him very slowly, and it is doubtful that he ever fully realized the enormity of his sorrow and the fearful responsibility that had devolved upon him with the care of that wee thing, his son, still a nursing babe.

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Português

Sua última entrada no diário foi escrita na manhã seguinte à morte dela. Nela, ele descreveu os eventos tristes com calma, o que tornou a história ainda mais trágica. A escrita mostrava uma falta cansada de sentimento, causada por um longo tempo de tristeza e desesperança. Mesmo essa perda cruel mal conseguia fazê-lo sentir mais dor.

Original English

The last entry in his diary was made the morning following her death, and there he recites the sad details in a matter-of-fact way that adds to the pathos of it; for it breathes a tired apathy born of long sorrow and hopelessness, which even this cruel blow could scarcely awake to further suffering:

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Português

Ele escreveu que seu filho bebê estava chorando por comida. Ele chamou por Alice, perguntando-se o que deveria fazer.

Original English

My little son is crying for nourishment—0 Alice, Alice, what shall I do?

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Português

Enquanto John Clayton escrevia suas palavras finais — as últimas que jamais escreveria — ele cansadamente descansou a cabeça sobre os braços. Seus braços estavam sobre a mesa que ele havia feito para Alice, que agora jazia imóvel e fria na cama ao lado dele.

Original English

And as John Clayton wrote the last words his hand was destined ever to pen, he dropped his head wearily upon his outstretched arms where they rested upon the table he had built for her who lay still and cold in the bed beside him.

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Português

Por um longo tempo, a selva esteve completamente silenciosa, como a morte, ao meio-dia. O único som era o choro lastimoso do minúsculo menino bebê.

Original English

For a long time no sound broke the deathlike stillness of the jungle midday save the piteous wailing of the tiny man-child.

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The Apes

Português

Na floresta do planalto, a cerca de um quilômetro da costa, o velho macaco Kerchak enfurecia-se furiosamente entre sua tribo.

Original English

In the forest of the table-land a mile back from the ocean old Kerchak the Ape was on a rampage of rage among his people.

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Português

Os macacos mais jovens e leves correram para os galhos mais altos das árvores altas para escapar de sua ira, arriscando suas vidas em galhos que mal podiam sustentá-los, em vez de enfrentar Kerchak em sua raiva incontrolável.

Original English

The younger and lighter members of his tribe scampered to the higher branches of the great trees to escape his wrath; risking their lives upon branches that scarce supported their weight rather than face old Kerchak in one of his fits of uncontrolled anger.

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Português

Os outros machos fugiram em todas as direções, mas somente depois que a fera enfurecida esmagou a coluna de um com suas poderosas mandíbulas espumantes.

Original English

The other males scattered in all directions, but not before the infuriated brute had felt the vertebra of one snap between his great, foaming jaws.

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Português

Uma jovem fêmea infeliz perdeu a pegada em um galho alto e caiu pesadamente no chão, aterrissando quase aos pés de Kerchak.

Original English

A luckless young female slipped from an insecure hold upon a high branch and came crashing to the ground almost at Kerchak’s feet.

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Português

Com um grito selvagem, ele a atacou, arrancando um grande pedaço de seu lado com seus dentes poderosos e batendo em sua cabeça e ombros com um galho de árvore quebrado até que seu crânio foi esmagado.

Original English

With a wild scream he was upon her, tearing a great piece from her side with his mighty teeth, and striking her viciously upon her head and shoulders with a broken tree limb until her skull was crushed to a jelly.

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Português

Então ele viu Kala, que estava voltando de procurar comida com seu bebê pequeno. Ela não sabia o quão irritado o grande macho estava até que os avisos repentinos e agudos dos outros macacos a fizeram correr desesperadamente para se salvar.

Original English

And then he spied Kala, who, returning from a search for food with her young babe, was ignorant of the state of the mighty male’s temper until suddenly the shrill warnings of her fellows caused her to scamper madly for safety.

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Português

Mas Kerchak estava perto dela, tão perto que quase agarrou seu tornozelo. Ela deu um salto desesperado pelo ar de uma árvore para outra — uma manobra perigosa que os macacos raramente fazem a menos que estejam tão perseguidos pelo perigo que não tenham outra escolha.

Original English

But Kerchak was close upon her, so close that he had almost grasped her ankle had she not made a furious leap far into space from one tree to another—a perilous chance which apes seldom if ever take, unless so closely pursued by danger that there is no alternative.

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Português

Ela fez o salto com sucesso, mas ao agarrar o galho da próxima árvore, o choque repentino afrouxou o aperto do pequeno bebê enquanto ele se agarrava desesperadamente ao seu pescoço. Ela viu o pequeno cair, girando e rodopiando, ao chão trinta pés abaixo.

Original English

She made the leap successfully, but as she grasped the limb of the further tree the sudden jar loosened the hold of the tiny babe where it clung frantically to her neck, and she saw the little thing hurled, turning and twisting, to the ground thirty feet below.

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Português

Com um grito baixo de horror, Kala correu direto para o seu lado, agora esquecendo o perigo de Kerchak. Mas quando ela pegou o pequeno corpo quebrado e o segurou contra o peito, a vida já o havia deixado.

Original English

With a low cry of dismay Kala rushed headlong to its side, thoughtless now of the danger from Kerchak; but when she gathered the wee, mangled form to her bosom life had left it.

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Português

Ela sentou-se com gemidos baixos, aconchegando o corpo contra si, e Kerchak não tentou machucá-la. Com a morte do bebê, seu acesso de raiva insana passou tão repentinamente quanto havia vindo.

Original English

With low moans, she sat cuddling the body to her; nor did Kerchak attempt to molest her. With the death of the babe his fit of demoniacal rage passed as suddenly as it had seized him.

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Português

Kerchak, o enorme macaco rei, pesava cerca de trezentos e cinquenta libras. Ele tinha uma testa muito baixa e inclinada, olhos pequenos e injetados, próximos um do outro ao lado de um nariz grosso e chato, e orelhas grandes e finas, ainda menores que as da maioria dos macacos.

Original English

Kerchak was a huge king ape, weighing perhaps three hundred and fifty pounds. His forehead was extremely low and receding, his eyes bloodshot, small and close set to his coarse, flat nose; his ears large and thin, but smaller than most of his kind.

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Português

Seu temperamento terrível e sua força imensa o tornaram o governante da pequena tribo na qual havia nascido cerca de vinte anos antes.

Original English

His awful temper and his mighty strength made him supreme among the little tribe into which he had been born some twenty years before.

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Português

Agora em seu auge, nenhum macaco na vasta floresta onde ele vagava ousava desafiar sua autoridade, e até mesmo animais maiores o deixavam em paz.

Original English

Now that he was in his prime, there was no simian in all the mighty forest through which he roved that dared contest his right to rule, nor did the other and larger animals molest him.

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Português

O velho Tantor, o elefante, era a única criatura que não o temia — e Kerchak temia Tantor em troca. Sempre que Tantor barritava, o grande macaco e seus seguidores escalavam rapidamente para o alto das árvores do segundo terraço.

Original English

Old Tantor, the elephant, alone of all the wild savage life, feared him not—and he alone did Kerchak fear. When Tantor trumpeted, the great ape scurried with his fellows high among the trees of the second terrace.

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Português

A tribo de antropoides que Kerchak governava com mão de ferro e presas à mostra consistia em seis ou oito famílias, cada uma composta por um macho adulto, suas fêmeas e seus filhotes, totalizando cerca de sessenta ou setenta macacos.

Original English

The tribe of anthropoids over which Kerchak ruled with an iron hand and bared fangs, numbered some six or eight families, each family consisting of an adult male with his females and their young, numbering in all some sixty or seventy apes.

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Português

Kala, a parceira mais jovem de um macho chamado Tublat (que significa nariz quebrado), havia perdido seu primeiro filho, que foi esmagado até a morte. Ela tinha apenas nove ou dez anos na época.

Original English

Kala was the youngest mate of a male called Tublat, meaning broken nose, and the child she had seen dashed to death was her first; for she was but nine or ten years old.

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Português

Embora jovem, Kala era grande e poderosa — um animal belo e bem proporcionado. Sua testa redonda e alta sugeria mais inteligência do que a maioria de sua espécie. Ela também possuía uma profunda capacidade de amor maternal e luto.

Original English

Nothwithstanding her youth, she was large and powerful—a splendid, clean-limbed animal, with a round, high forehead, which denoted more intelligence than most of her kind possessed. So, also, she had a great capacity for mother love and mother sorrow.

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Português

No entanto, ela ainda era uma macaca — uma criatura enorme, feroz e aterrorizante. Sua espécie, intimamente relacionada ao gorila, mas mais inteligente, combinava a força de seus primos com uma sagacidade que os tornava os mais temíveis dos ancestrais inspiradores de admiração da humanidade.

Original English

But she was still an ape, a huge, fierce, terrible beast of a species closely allied to the gorilla, yet more intelligent; which, with the strength of their cousin, made her kind the most fearsome of those awe-inspiring progenitors of man.f

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Português

Quando o bando percebeu que a fúria de Kerchak havia diminuído, eles desceram lentamente de seus refúgios nas copas das árvores e retomaram as várias atividades que ele havia interrompido.

Original English

When the tribe saw that Kerchak’s rage had ceased they came slowly down from their arboreal retreats and pursued again the various occupations which he had interrupted.

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Português

Os jovens macacos brincavam e pulavam entre as árvores e arbustos. Alguns adultos jaziam estirados sobre o tapete macio de matéria vegetal em decomposição que cobria o chão, enquanto outros reviravam galhos caídos e torrões de terra em busca dos pequenos insetos e répteis que faziam parte de sua dieta.

Original English

The young played and frolicked about among the trees and bushes. Some of the adults lay prone upon the soft mat of dead and decaying vegetation which covered the ground, while others turned over pieces of fallen branches and clods of earth in search of the small bugs and reptiles which formed a part of their food.

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Português

Outros ainda forrageavam entre as árvores ao redor, coletando frutas, nozes, pássaros pequenos e ovos.

Original English

Others, again, searched the surrounding trees for fruit, nuts, small birds, and eggs.

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Português

Após cerca de uma hora, Kerchak reuniu o grupo e, ordenando que o seguissem, partiu em direção ao mar.

Original English

They had passed an hour or so thus when Kerchak called them together, and, with a word of command to them to follow him, set off toward the sea.

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Português

Na maior parte, viajavam pelo chão em áreas abertas, seguindo trilhas abertas por elefantes — as únicas rotas claras através do denso emaranhado de arbustos, vinhas e árvores. Sua marcha era um gingado desajeitado e rolante: eles colocavam os nós dos dedos das mãos fechadas no chão e balançavam seus corpos desajeitados para frente.

Original English

They traveled for the most part upon the ground, where it was open, following the path of the great elephants whose comings and goings break the only roads through those tangled mazes of bush, vine, creeper, and tree. When they walked it was with a rolling, awkward motion, placing the knuckles of their closed hands upon the ground and swinging their ungainly bodies forward.

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Português

Quando o caminho passava por galhos mais baixos, no entanto, moviam-se com maior velocidade, balançando de galho em galho com a agilidade de seus parentes menores, os macacos. Durante toda a jornada, Kala segurava seu filhote morto firmemente contra o peito.

Original English

But when the way was through the lower trees they moved more swiftly, swinging from branch to branch with the agility of their smaller cousins, the monkeys. And all the way Kala carried her little dead baby hugged closely to her breast.

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Português

Pouco depois do meio-dia, alcançaram uma crista que dava para a praia; abaixo deles estava a pequena cabana que era o destino de Kerchak.

Original English

It was shortly after noon when they reached a ridge overlooking the beach where below them lay the tiny cottage which was Kerchak’s goal.

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Português

Kerchak havia testemunhado muitos macacos morrerem devido ao barulho alto produzido pelo pequeno bastão preto segurado pelo estranho macaco branco que vivia naquela toca notável. Ele decidiu que queria possuir aquele instrumento mortal e também investigar o interior da cabana misteriosa.

Original English

He had seen many of his kind go to their deaths before the loud noise made by the little black stick in the hands of the strange white ape who lived in that wonderful lair, and Kerchak had made up his brute mind to own that death-dealing contrivance, and to explore the interior of the mysterious den.

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Português

Kerchak desejava desesperadamente cravar os dentes no pescoço da estranha criatura que aprendera a odiar e temer. Por esse motivo, ele frequentemente trazia sua tribo para explorar a área, esperando um momento em que o macaco branco estivesse desprevenido.

Original English

He wanted, very, very much, to feel his teeth sink into the neck of the queer animal that he had learned to hate and fear, and because of this, he came often with his tribe to reconnoiter, waiting for a time when the white ape should be off his guard.

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Português

Recentemente, os macacos haviam parado de atacar ou até mesmo de se revelar, porque cada vez que o faziam no passado, o pequeno bastão produzia seu rugido de morte aterrorizante, matando um membro da tribo.

Original English

Of late they had quit attacking, or even showing themselves; for every time they had done so in the past the little stick had roared out its terrible message of death to some member of the tribe.

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Português

Hoje não havia sinal do homem por perto. De seu ponto de observação, os macacos podiam ver que a porta da cabana estava aberta. Lenta, cautelosa e silenciosamente, eles rastejaram pela selva em direção à pequena cabana.

Original English

Today there was no sign of the man about, and from where they watched they could see that the cabin door was open. Slowly, cautiously, and noiselessly they crept through the jungle toward the little cabin.

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Português

Não houve rosnados ou gritos ferozes de raiva, pois o pequeno bastão preto os ensinara a se aproximar silenciosamente, para não despertar seu rugido mortal.

Original English

There were no growls, no fierce screams of rage—the little black stick had taught them to come quietly lest they awaken it.

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Português

Os macacos continuaram a avançar até que o próprio Kerchak se esgueirou silenciosamente até a entrada e espiou para dentro. Atrás dele vieram dois machos, e então Kala, que apertava firmemente contra o peito a pequena forma sem vida.

Original English

On, on they came until Kerchak himself slunk stealthily to the very door and peered within. Behind him were two males, and then Kala, closely straining the little dead form to her breast.

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Português

Dentro da toca, eles observaram o incomum macaco branco caído atravessado sobre uma mesa, com a cabeça enterrada nos braços. Na cama, uma figura coberta por uma lona, enquanto de um pequeno berço rústico vinham os lamentosos choros de um bebê.

Original English

Inside the den they saw the strange white ape lying half across a table, his head buried in his arms; and on the bed lay a figure covered by a sailcloth, while from a tiny rustic cradle came the plaintive wailing of a babe.

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Português

Silenciosamente, Kerchak entrou, agachado em preparação para atacar. Naquele momento, John Clayton levantou-se abruptamente e virou-se para enfrentá-los.

Original English

Noiselessly Kerchak entered, crouching for the charge; and then John Clayton rose with a sudden start and faced them.

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Português

A cena diante dele deve tê-lo enchido de horror, pois na porta estavam três enormes macacos machos, e atrás deles se amontoavam muitos outros. Ele não conseguia dizer quantos, pois seus revólveres estavam pendurados na parede oposta ao lado do rifle, e Kerchak já estava investindo.

Original English

The sight that met his eyes must have frozen him with horror, for there, within the door, stood three great bull apes, while behind them crowded many more; how many he never knew for his revolvers were hanging on the far wall beside his rifle, and Kerchak was charging.

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Português

Quando o rei dos macacos soltou o corpo sem vida de John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, ele voltou sua atenção para o pequeno berço. Mas Kala chegou antes dele. Quando ele estendeu a mão para a criança, ela a arrebatou. Antes que ele pudesse interceptá-la, ela disparou pela porta e se refugiou no alto de uma árvore.

Original English

When the king ape released the limp form which had been John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, he turned his attention toward the little cradle; but Kala was there before him, and when he would have grasped the child she snatched it herself, and before he could intercept her she had bolted through the door and taken refuge in a high tree.

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Português

Ela pegou o bebê vivo de Alice Clayton e colocou seu próprio filho morto no berço vazio. O choro da criança viva despertou nela um poderoso instinto maternal, que o morto não podia satisfazer.

Original English

As she took up the little live baby of Alice Clayton she dropped the dead body of her own into the empty cradle; for the wail of the living had answered the call of universal motherhood within her wild breast which the dead could not still.

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Português

Lá no alto, nos galhos de uma grande árvore, ela apertou o bebê que gritava. Logo, o instinto de amor materno, tão forte nesta feroz macaca quanto na mãe humana, alcançou a compreensão em desenvolvimento da criança, e ele ficou quieto.

Original English

High up among the branches of a mighty tree she hugged the shrieking infant to her bosom, and soon the instinct that was as dominant in this fierce female as it had been in the breast of his tender and beautiful mother—the instinct of mother love—reached out to the tiny man-child’s half-formed understanding, and he became quiet.

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Português

Então a fome os uniu. O filho de um lorde e uma lady ingleses mamou o leite de Kala, a grande macaca.

Original English

Then hunger closed the gap between them, and the son of an English lord and an English lady nursed at the breast of Kala, the great ape.

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Português

Enquanto isso, os macacos dentro da cabana examinaram cuidadosamente o conteúdo deste abrigo estranho.

Original English

In the meantime the beasts within the cabin were warily examining the contents of this strange lair.

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Português

Assim que Kerchak ficou satisfeito de que Clayton estava morto, voltou sua atenção para a coisa na cama, que estava coberta com um pedaço de lona.

Original English

Once satisfied that Clayton was dead, Kerchak turned his attention to the thing which lay upon the bed, covered by a piece of sailcloth.

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Português

Ele ergueu cuidadosamente uma ponta do pano, mas ao ver o corpo da mulher debaixo, rasgou-o bruscamente e agarrou sua garganta pálida e imóvel com suas grandes mãos peludas.

Original English

Gingerly he lifted one corner of the shroud, but when he saw the body of the woman beneath he tore the cloth roughly from her form and seized the still, white throat in his huge, hairy hands.

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Português

Por um momento, ele pressionou os dedos profundamente na carne fria; então, entendendo que ela já estava morta, virou-se para examinar o quarto e não perturbou novamente os corpos de Lady Alice ou Sir John.

Original English

A moment he let his fingers sink deep into the cold flesh, and then, realizing that she was already dead, he turned from her, to examine the contents of the room; nor did he again molest the body of either Lady Alice or Sir John.

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Português

O rifle na parede chamou sua atenção primeiro; era esse estranho e mortal bastão de trovão pelo qual ele ansiava há muitos meses, mas agora que estava ao alcance, ele mal ousava pegá-lo.

Original English

The rifle hanging upon the wall caught his first attention; it was for this strange, deathdealing thunder-stick that he had yearned for months; but now that it was within his grasp he scarcely had the temerity to seize it.

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Português

Ele se aproximou cautelosamente, pronto para fugir rapidamente se ele falasse em seus tons profundos e estrondosos, como havia feito antes com aqueles de sua espécie que atacaram ignorantemente ou imprudentemente o maravilhoso macaco branco que o carregava.

Original English

Cautiously he approached the thing, ready to flee precipitately should it speak in its deep roaring tones, as he had heard it speak before, the last words to those of his kind who, through ignorance or rashness, had attacked the wonderful white ape that had borne it.

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Português

No fundo da inteligência da fera havia a certeza de que o bastão de trovão era perigoso apenas em mãos habilidosas, mas foram vários minutos até que ele conseguisse tocá-lo.

Original English

Deep in the beast’s intelligence was something which assured him that the thunder-stick was only dangerous when in the hands of one who could manipulate it, but yet it was several minutes ere he could bring himself to touch it.

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Português

Ele andava de um lado para o outro na frente do objeto, mantendo os olhos fixos nele constantemente, sem nunca desviar o olhar.

Original English

Instead, he walked back and forth along the floor before it, turning his head so that never once did his eyes leave the object of his desire.

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Português

O grande macaco se movia para frente e para trás, apoiando-se em seus longos braços como muletas e balançando seu corpo massivo a cada passo. Ele rosnava profundamente e, de vez em quando, soltava um grito penetrante, considerado o som mais assustador da selva.

Original English

Using his long arms as a man uses crutches, and rolling his huge carcass from side to side with each stride, the great king ape paced to and fro, uttering deep growls, occasionally punctuated with the ear-piercing scream, than which there is no more terrifying noise in all the jungle.

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Português

Ele parou na frente do rifle e lentamente levantou uma mão enorme até quase tocar o cano reluzente, mas então a recolheu e retomou sua caminhada inquieta.

Original English

Presently he halted before the rifle. Slowly he raised a huge hand until it almost touched the shining barrel, only to withdraw it once more and continue his hurried pacing.

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Português

Parecia que a grande fera estava tentando reunir coragem agindo destemidamente e usando seus gritos selvagens, na esperança de chegar ao ponto em que pudesse realmente pegar o rifle.

Original English

It was as though the great brute by this show of fearlessness, and through the medium of his wild voice, was endeavoring to bolster up his courage to the point which would permit him to take the rifle in his hand.

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Português

Ele parou mais uma vez e, desta vez, conseguiu forçar sua mão relutante sobre o metal frio, mas rapidamente a retirou e continuou sua caminhada inquieta.

Original English

Again he stopped, and this time succeeded in forcing his reluctant hand to the cold steel, only to snatch it away almost immediately and resume his restless beat.

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Português

O macaco repetiu esse ritual estranho muitas vezes, ganhando confiança a cada tentativa, até que finalmente arrancou o rifle do gancho e o segurou em seu punho poderoso.

Original English

Time after time this strange ceremony was repeated, but on each occasion with increased confidence, until, finally, the rifle was torn from its hook and lay in the grasp of the great brute.

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Português

Percebendo que o rifle não o machucava, Kerchak o examinou de perto. Passou as mãos por todo o seu comprimento, espiou o cano escuro e explorou a alça de mira, a culatra, a coronha e, finalmente, o gatilho.

Original English

Finding that it harmed him not, Kerchak began to examine it closely. He felt of it from end to end, peered down the black depths of the muzzle, fingered the sights, the breech, the stock, and finally the trigger.

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Português

Enquanto isso, os macacos que haviam entrado sentaram-se amontoados perto da porta, observando seu chefe, enquanto os de fora empurravam e se esforçavam para ver o que estava acontecendo lá dentro.

Original English

During all these operations the apes who had entered sat huddled near the door watching their chief, while those outside strained and crowded to catch a glimpse of what transpired within.

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Português

De repente, o dedo de Kerchak apertou o gatilho. Um rugido ensurdecedor encheu o pequeno quarto, e os macacos perto da porta, assim como os de fora, tropeçaram uns nos outros em sua fuga desesperada.

Original English

Suddenly Kerchak’s finger closed upon the trigger. There was a deafening roar in the little room and the apes at and beyond the door fell over one another in their wild anxiety to escape.

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Português

Kerchak ficou igualmente aterrorizado, tanto que se esqueceu de largar a fonte do barulho assustador e, em vez disso, correu para a porta, segurando-a firmemente em uma das mãos.

Original English

Kerchak was equally frightened, so frightened, in fact, that he quite forgot to throw aside the author of that fearful noise, but bolted for the door with it tightly clutched in one hand.

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Português

Quando o macaco passou pela porta, a mira frontal do rifle prendeu na borda da porta, que havia balançado para dentro, e ela fechou firmemente atrás dele.

Original English

As he passed through the opening, the front sight of the rifle caught upon the edge of the inswung door with sufficient force to close it tightly after the fleeing ape.

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Português

Quando Kerchak parou perto da cabana e percebeu que ainda carregava o rifle, ele o deixou cair como se estivesse queimando. Ele não tentou pegá-lo novamente, porque o barulho alto assustou seus instintos animais. No entanto, ele agora acreditava que a arma não era perigosa enquanto fosse deixada em paz.

Original English

When Kerchak came to a halt a short distance from the cabin and discovered that he still held the rifle, he dropped it as he might have dropped a red hot iron, nor did he again attempt to recover it—the noise was too much for his brute nerves; but he was now quite convinced that the terrible stick was quite harmless by itself if left alone.

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Português

Uma hora se passou antes que os macacos ousassem se aproximar da cabana novamente para explorar. Quando finalmente o fizeram, ficaram desapontados ao descobrir que a porta estava fechada e trancada tão firmemente que não conseguiam arrombá-la.

Original English

It was an hour before the apes could again bring themselves to approach the cabin to continue their investigations, and when they finally did so, they found to their chagrin that the door was closed and so securely fastened that they could not force it.

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Português

A trava bem feita que Clayton havia instalado na porta tinha se fechado com um clique quando Kerchak saiu. Além disso, os macacos não conseguiram encontrar uma maneira de entrar pelas janelas, que estavam protegidas com barras fortes.

Original English

The cleverly constructed latch which Clayton had made for the door had sprung as Kerchak passed out; nor could the apes find means of ingress through the heavily barred windows.

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Português

Depois de vagar pela área por um pouco de tempo, eles voltaram em direção às florestas mais profundas e ao terreno mais alto de onde haviam vindo.

Original English

After roaming about the vicinity for a short time, they started back for the deeper forests and the higher land from whence they had come.

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Português

Kala nunca havia trazido seu bebê adotivo ao chão antes. No entanto, quando Kerchak a chamou para descer com os outros, sua voz não continha raiva, então ela desceu graciosamente de galho em galho e se juntou ao grupo em sua jornada para casa.

Original English

Kala had not once come to earth with her little adopted babe, but now Kerchak called to her to descend with the rest, and as there was no note of anger in his voice she dropped lightly from branch to branch and joined the others on their homeward march.

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Português

Qualquer macaco que tentasse inspecionar o bebê incomum de Kala era recebido com presas à mostra, rosnados ameaçadores e avisos verbais de Kala.

Original English

Those of the apes who attempted to examine Kala’s strange baby were repulsed with bared fangs and low menacing growls, accompanied by words of warning from Kala.

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Português

Assim que a convenceram de que não pretendiam machucar a criança, ela permitiu que se aproximassem, mas não deixou que tocassem seu pequeno.

Original English

When they assured her that they meant the child no harm she permitted them to come close, but would not allow them to touch her charge.

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Português

Parecia que ela entendia que seu bebê era frágil e delicado, e temia que as mãos ásperas de seus companheiros pudessem machucar a pequena criatura.

Original English

It was as though she knew that her baby was frail and delicate and feared lest the rough hands of her fellows might injure the little thing.

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Português

Ela fez algo mais que tornou a viagem um fardo para si. Lembrando a morte de seu próprio filhote, ela se agarrava desesperadamente ao novo bebê com uma mão sempre que o grupo estava em movimento.

Original English

Another thing she did, and which made traveling an onerous trial for her. Remembering the death of her own little one, she clung desperately to the new babe, with one hand, whenever they were upon the march.

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Português

Os outros jovens macacos montavam nas costas de suas mães, segurando firmemente os pescoços peludos com seus bracinhos e travando as pernas debaixo das axilas de suas mães.

Original English

The other young rode upon their mothers’ backs; their little arms tightly clasping the hairy necks before them, while their legs were locked beneath their mothers’ armpits.

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Português

Kala não agia assim. Ela segurava o pequeno corpo do pequeno Lorde Greystoke firmemente contra seu peito, onde suas mãos delicadas agarravam os longos cabelos negros que cobriam aquela parte dela. Ela tinha presenciado uma criança cair de suas costas para uma morte terrível, e não correria mais riscos com esta.

Original English

Not so with Kala; she held the small form of the little Lord Greystoke tightly to her breast, where the dainty hands clutched the long black hair which covered that portion of her body. She had seen one child fall from her back to a terrible death, and she would take no further chances with this.

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The White Ape

Português

Kala cuidava ternamente de seu pequeno enjeitado, perguntando-se silenciosamente por que ele não ganhava força e agilidade como os jovens macacos de outras mães. Quase um ano se passou depois que ela o acolheu antes que ele pudesse andar sozinho, e quando se tratava de escalar, ele era notavelmente desajeitado.

Original English

Tenderly Kala nursed her little waif, wondering silently why it did not gain strength and agility as did the little apes of other mothers. It was nearly a year from the time the little fellow came into her possession before he would walk alone, and as for climbing—my, but how stupid he was!

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Português

Kala às vezes discutia sobre seu filhote com as fêmeas mais velhas, mas nenhuma conseguia compreender como uma criança poderia ser tão lenta e atrasada em aprender a cuidar de si mesma. Ele não conseguia nem encontrar comida sozinho, e mais de doze luas haviam passado desde que Kala o havia descoberto.

Original English

Kala sometimes talked with the older females about her young hopeful, but none of them could understand how a child could be so slow and backward in learning to care for itself Why, it could not even find food alone, and more than twelve moons had passed since Kala had come upon it.

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Português

Se soubessem que a criança já havia vivido treze luas antes de Kala acolhê-lo, teriam considerado sua situação completamente sem esperança, pois os jovens macacos de sua própria tribo estavam tão desenvolvidos em duas ou três luas quanto este pequeno estranho estava depois de vinte e cinco.

Original English

Had they known that the child had seen thirteen moons before it had come into Kala’s possession they would have considered its case as absolutely hopeless, for the little apes of their own tribe were as far advanced in two or three moons as was this little stranger after twenty-five.

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Português

Tublat, marido de Kala, estava extremamente irritado. Se não fosse pela vigilância constante de Kala, ele teria se livrado da criança.

Original English

Tublat, Kala’s husband, was sorely vexed, and but for the female’s careful watching would have put the child out of the way.

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Português

Tublat argumentou que a criança nunca se tornaria um macaco poderoso. Ele afirmou que Kala teria que carregá-lo e protegê-lo para sempre, e que ele não seria de nenhuma utilidade para a tribo — apenas um fardo.

Original English

“He will never be a great ape,” he argued. “Always will you have to carry him and protect him. What good will he be to the tribe? None; only a burden.

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Português

Tublat propôs que deixassem a criança dormindo pacificamente na grama alta, para que Kala pudesse dar à luz outros macacos mais fortes que os protegeriam na velhice.

Original English

“Let us leave him quietly sleeping among the tall grasses, that you may bear other and stronger apes to guard us in our old age.”

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Português

Kala respondeu a Tublat, a quem chamava de Nariz Quebrado, dizendo que nunca abandonaria a criança. Ela declarou que, se tivesse que carregá-lo para sempre, que assim fosse.

Original English

“Never, Broken Nose,” replied Kala. “If I must carry him forever, so be it.”

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Português

Tublat então foi até Kerchak, instando-o a usar sua autoridade sobre Kala e obrigá-la a desistir do pequeno Tarzan — o nome que haviam dado ao minúsculo lorde Greystoke, que significava 'Pele Branca'.

Original English

And then Tublat went to Kerchak to urge him to use his authority with Kala, and force her to give up little Tarzan, which was the name they had given to the tiny Lord Greystoke, and which meant “White-Skin.”

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Português

Quando Kerchak a confrontou sobre a criança, Kala ameaçou deixar a tribo a menos que a deixassem em paz. O povo da selva tem o direito de partir se insatisfeito, então pararam de importuná-la, pois ela era uma jovem fêmea forte que não queriam perder.

Original English

But when Kerchak spoke to her about it Kala threatened to run away from the tribe if they did not leave her in peace with the child; and as this is one of the inalienable rights of the jungle folk, if they be dissatisfied among their own people, they bothered her no more, for Kala was a fine clean-limbed young female, and they did not wish to lose her.

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Português

Conforme crescia, Tarzan progredia rapidamente. Aos dez anos, tornara-se um excelente escalador e conseguia realizar muitas proezas notáveis no chão que seus irmãos mais novos não conseguiam igualar.

Original English

As Tarzan grew he made more rapid strides, so that by the time he was ten years old he was an excellent climber, and on the ground could do many wonderful things which were beyond the powers of his little brothers and sisters.

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Português

Ele diferia dos outros em muitos aspectos, e eles frequentemente admiravam sua inteligência superior. No entanto, ele não tinha o tamanho e a força deles: os grandes antropoides estavam totalmente crescidos aos dez anos, alguns com mais de um metro e oitenta, enquanto Tarzan continuava um menino meio crescido.

Original English

In many ways did he differ from them, and they often marveled at his superior cunning, but in strength and size he was deficient; for at ten the great anthropoids were fully grown, some of them towering over six feet in height, while little Tarzan was still but a half-grown boy.

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Português

No entanto, que menino ele era!

Original English

Yet such a boy!

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Português

Desde a primeira infância, ele balançava mão sobre mão de galho em galho como sua enorme mãe. Conforme crescia, passava horas todos os dias correndo pelas copas das árvores com seus irmãos.

Original English

From early childhood he had used his hands to swing from branch to branch after the manner of his giant mother, and as he grew older he spent hour upon hour daily speeding through the tree tops with his brothers and sisters.

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Português

Ele conseguia saltar seis metros pelo ar nas alturas tontas do dossel da floresta e agarrar com precisão um galho que balançava violentamente, mesmo na trajetória de um tornado que se aproximava.

Original English

He could spring twenty feet across space at the dizzy heights of the forest top, and grasp with unerring precision, and without apparent jar, a limb waving wildly in the path of an

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Português

Um tornado se aproximava.

Original English

approaching tornado.

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Português

Ele conseguia cair seis metros de galho em galho em uma descida rápida ao chão, ou subir até o topo da mais alta árvore tropical com a facilidade e a velocidade de um esquilo.

Original English

He could drop twenty feet at a stretch from limb to limb in rapid descent to the ground, or he could gain the utmost pinnacle of the loftiest tropical giant with the ease and swiftness of a squirrel.

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Português

Embora tivesse apenas dez anos, ele era tão forte quanto um homem comum de trinta anos e muito mais ágil do que o atleta mais treinado. Sua força aumentava dia após dia.

Original English

Though but ten years old he was fully as strong as the average man of thirty, and far more agile than the most practiced athlete ever becomes. And day by day his strength was increasing.

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Português

Sua vida entre os ferozes macacos fora feliz, pois ele não se lembrava de outra vida. Ele não sabia que existia algo mais no universo além de sua pequena floresta e dos animais selvagens da selva que conhecia.

Original English

His life among these fierce apes had been happy; for his recollection held no other life, nor did he know that there existed within the universe aught else than his little forest and the wild jungle animals with which he was familiar.

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Português

Quando ele estava quase com dez anos, Tarzan começou a entender que era fundamentalmente diferente de seus companheiros. A visão de sua própria pele morena e sem pelos o encheu de profunda vergonha, pois o lembrava de uma cobra ou réptil.

Original English

He was nearly ten before he commenced to realize that a great difference existed between himself and his fellows. His little body, burned brown by exposure, suddenly caused him feelings of intense shame, for he realized that it was entirely hairless, like some low snake, or other reptile.

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Português

Ele tentou cobrir sua nudez espalhando lama por todo o corpo, mas a lama secou e descamou. Além disso, era tão desconfortável que logo decidiu que preferiria suportar a vergonha ao desconforto.

Original English

He attempted to obviate this by plastering himself from head to foot with mud, but this dried and fell off. Besides it felt so uncomfortable that he quickly decided that he preferred the shame to the discomfort.

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Português

A tribo frequentemente visitava um pequeno lago nas terras altas, e foi lá que Tarzan viu seu primeiro reflexo na água clara e parada.

Original English

In the higher land which his tribe frequented was a little lake, and it was here that Tarzan first saw his face in the clear, still waters of its bosom.

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Português

Num dia abafado da estação seca, Tarzan e um de seus primos macacos foram ao lago para beber. Ao se inclinarem, ambos os rostos foram refletidos na água calma: os traços ferozes e animalescos do macaco ao lado do rosto refinado de um jovem aristocrata inglês.

Original English

It was on a sultry day of the dry season that he and one of his cousins had gone down to the bank to drink. As they leaned over, both little faces were mirrored on the placid pool; the fierce and terrible features of the ape beside those of the aristocratic scion of an old English house.

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Português

Tarzan ficou horrorizado. Já era ruim o suficiente não ter pelos, mas possuir um rosto assim parecia insuportável. Ele se admirava que os outros macacos pudessem sequer suportar olhar para ele.

Original English

Tarzan was appalled. It had been bad enough to be hairless, but to own such a countenance! He wondered that the other apes could look at him at all.

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Português

A boca pequena e os dentes brancos e fracos de Tarzan pareciam patéticos ao lado dos lábios fortes e das presas poderosas dos outros macacos.

Original English

That tiny slit of a mouth and those puny white teeth! How they looked beside the mighty lips and powerful fangs of his more fortunate brothers!

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Português

Seu nariz fino e apertado parecia meio faminto. Ele corou ao compará-lo com as narinas largas e bonitas de seu companheiro, que se espalhavam por metade do rosto dele. Como deve ser maravilhoso ser tão bonito, pensou o pobre Tarzan.

Original English

And the little pinched nose of his; so thin was it that it looked half starved. He turned red as he compared it with the beautiful broad nostrils of his companion. Such a generous nose! Why it spread half across his face! It certainly must be fine to be so handsome, thought poor little Tarzan.

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Português

Mas seus olhos foram o golpe final — uma mancha marrom, um círculo cinza e depois uma brancura vazia. Terrível! Nem mesmo as cobras tinham olhos tão horríveis.

Original English

But when he saw his own eyes; ah, that was the final blow—a brown spot, a gray circle and then blank whiteness! Frightful! not even the snakes had such hideous eyes as he.

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Português

Tarzan estava tão absorto em examinar sua própria aparência que não ouviu a grama se abrindo atrás dele enquanto um corpo grande se arrastava silenciosamente pela selva. Tampouco o macaco ouviu, pois ele bebia ruidosamente, seus sorvos e gorgolejos abafando a aproximação do intruso.

Original English

So intent was he upon this personal appraisement of his features that he did not hear the parting of the tall grass behind him as a great body pushed itself stealthily through the jungle; nor did his companion, the ape, hear either, for he was drinking and the noise of his sucking lips and gurgles of satisfaction drowned the quiet approach of the intruder.

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Português

Apenas trinta passos atrás deles, Sabor, a grande leoa, estava agachada, com a cauda se contraindo. Ela moveu uma enorme pata almofadada para frente com cautela, colocando-a silenciosamente antes de levantar a próxima. Ela avançou com a barriga baixa, quase tocando o chão — uma grande felina pronta para saltar sobre sua presa.

Original English

Not thirty paces behind the two she crouched-Sabor, the huge lioness—lashing her tail. Cautiously she moved a great padded paw forward, noiselessly placing it before she lifted the next. Thus she advanced; her belly low, almost touching the surface of the ground—a great cat preparing to spring upon its prey.

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Português

Ela estava agora a apenas cerca de três metros das duas crianças, que não faziam ideia de que ela estava ali. Ela puxou cuidadosamente as patas traseiras para perto do corpo, e os grandes músculos ondularam sob sua pele lisa.

Original English

Now she was within ten feet of the two unsuspecting little playfellows—carefully she drew her hind feet well up beneath her body, the great muscles rolling under the beautiful skin.

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Português

Ela estava agachada tão baixo que parecia pressionada contra o chão, exceto pela curva de suas costas brilhantes enquanto se preparava para saltar.

Original English

So low she was crouching now that she seemed flattened to the earth except for the upward bend of the glossy back as it gathered for the spring.

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Português

Sua cauda não se mexia mais; ela permanecia imóvel e reta atrás dela.

Original English

No longer the tail lashed—quiet and straight behind her it lay.

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Português

Por um momento ela parou, imóvel como uma estátua, e então, com um rugido aterrorizante, ela saltou.

Original English

An instant she paused thus, as though turned to stone, and then, with an awful scream, she sprang.

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Português

Sabor, a leoa, era uma caçadora esperta. Um caçador menos experiente poderia pensar que seu grito alto ao saltar foi um erro tolo, já que ela poderia ter atacado sua presa com mais facilidade pulando silenciosamente. Mas seu grito fazia parte de sua estratégia.

Original English

Sabor, the lioness, was a wise hunter. To one less wise the wild alarm of her fierce cry as she sprang would have seemed a foolish thing, for could she not more surely have fallen upon her victims had she but quietly leaped without that loud shriek?

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Português

Sabor entendia a velocidade incrível e a audição aguçada das criaturas da selva. Até um som fraco, como grama roçando em grama, as alertaria tão claramente quanto seu rugido mais alto. Ela também sabia que seu salto poderoso inevitavelmente produziria algum barulho.

Original English

But Sabor knew well the wondrous quickness of the jungle folk and their almost unbelievable powers of hearing. To them the sudden scraping of one blade of grass across another was as effectual a warning as her loudest cry, and Sabor knew that she could not make that mighty leap without a little noise.

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Português

Seu grito selvagem não era um aviso. Em vez disso, pretendia paralisar suas vítimas indefesas de medo pelo mais breve momento, tempo suficiente para suas garras poderosas perfurarem sua carne macia e segurá-las além de qualquer chance de fuga.

Original English

Her wild scream was not a warning. It was voiced to freeze her poor victims in a paralysis of terror for the tiny fraction of an instant which would suffice for her mighty claws to sink into their soft flesh and hold them beyond hope of escape.

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Português

O raciocínio de Sabor mostrou-se correto em relação ao macaco. A pequena criatura tremeu e se agachou imóvel por uma fração de segundo, e esse momento foi suficiente para selar seu destino.

Original English

So far as the ape was concerned, Sabor reasoned correctly. The little fellow crouched trembling just an instant, but that instant was quite long enough to prove his undoing.

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Português

Tarzan, a criança humana, era diferente. Viver entre os perigos da selva o ensinou a enfrentar emergências com confiança. Sua inteligência superior lhe deu uma agilidade mental que superava em muito a dos macacos.

Original English

Not so, however, with Tarzan, the man-child. His life amidst the dangers of the jungle had taught him to meet emergencies with self-confidence, and his higher intelligence resulted in a quickness of mental action far beyond the powers of the apes.

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Português

Assim, o rugido de Sabor, a leoa, estimulou a mente e o corpo do pequeno Tarzan a uma ação imediata.

Original English

So the scream of Sabor, the lioness, galvanized the brain and muscles of little Tarzan into instant action.

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Português

Na frente de Tarzan estava a água profunda de um pequeno lago. Atrás dele, não havia escapatória de uma morte violenta por garras e dentes.

Original English

Before him lay the deep waters of the little lake, behind him certain death; a cruel death beneath tearing claws and rending fangs.

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Português

Tarzan sempre desgostou da água, exceto para beber. Ele a associava ao frio e ao desconforto da chuva forte, e temia as tempestades que vinham com ela, incluindo trovões, relâmpagos e vento.

Original English

Tarzan had always hated water except as a medium for quenching his thirst. He hated it because he connected it with the chill and discomfort of the torrential rains, and he feared it for the thunder and lightning and wind which accompanied them.

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Português

Sua mãe selvagem o tinha ensinado a ficar longe do lago profundo. Além disso, apenas algumas semanas antes, ele vira um jovem macaco chamado Neeta afundar em suas águas calmas e nunca mais voltar para a tribo.

Original English

The deep waters of the lake he had been taught by his wild mother to avoid, and further, had he not seen little Neeta sink beneath its quiet surface only a few short weeks before never to return to the tribe?

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