The Return of Tarzan | Page 7

can assure him that he has won the enmity of two
of the most unmitigated scoundrels in all Europe. Avoid them,
monsieur, by all means."
"I have had more awe-inspiring enemies, my dear count," replied
Tarzan with a quiet smile, "yet I am still alive and unworried. I think
that neither of these two will ever find the means to harm me."
"Let us hope not, monsieur," said De Coude; "but yet it will do no harm
to be on the alert, and to know that you have made at least one enemy
today who never forgets and never forgives, and in whose malignant
brain there are always hatching new atrocities to perpetrate upon those
who have thwarted or offended him. To say that Nikolas Rokoff is a
devil would be to place a wanton affront upon his satanic majesty."
That night as Tarzan entered his cabin he found a folded note upon the
floor that had evidently been pushed beneath the door. He opened it and
read:
M. TARZAN:
Doubtless you did not realize the gravity of your offense, or you would
not have done the thing you did today. I am willing to believe that you
acted in ignorance and without any intention to offend a stranger. For
this reason I shall gladly permit you to offer an apology, and on
receiving your assurances that you will not again interfere in affairs that
do not concern you, I shall drop the matter.
Otherwise--but I am sure that you will see the wisdom of adopting the
course I suggest. Very respectfully, NIKOLAS ROKOFF.
Tarzan permitted a grim smile to play about his lips for a moment, then
he promptly dropped the matter from his mind, and went to bed.
In a nearby cabin the Countess de Coude was speaking to her husband.

"Why so grave, my dear Raoul?" she asked. "You have been as glum as
could be all evening. What worries you?"
"Olga, Nikolas is on board. Did you know it?"
"Nikolas!" she exclaimed. "But it is impossible, Raoul. It cannot be.
Nikolas is under arrest in Germany."
"So I thought myself until I saw him today--him and that other arch
scoundrel, Paulvitch. Olga, I cannot endure his persecution much
longer. No, not even for you. Sooner or later I shall turn him over to the
authorities. In fact, I am half minded to explain all to the captain before
we land. On a French liner it were an easy matter, Olga, permanently to
settle this Nemesis of ours."
"Oh, no, Raoul!" cried the countess, sinking to her knees before him as
he sat with bowed head upon a divan. "Do not do that. Remember your
promise to me. Tell me, Raoul, that you will not do that. Do not even
threaten him, Raoul."
De Coude took his wife's hands in his, and gazed upon her pale and
troubled countenance for some time before he spoke, as though he
would wrest from those beautiful eyes the real reason which prompted
her to shield this man.
"Let it be as you wish, Olga," he said at length. "I cannot understand.
He has forfeited all claim upon your love, loyalty, or respect. He is a
menace to your life and honor, and the life and honor of your husband.
I trust you may never regret championing him."
"I do not champion him, Raoul," she interrupted vehemently. "I believe
that I hate him as much as you do, but--Oh, Raoul, blood is thicker than
water."
"I should today have liked to sample the consistency of his," growled
De Coude grimly. "The two deliberately attempted to besmirch my
honor, Olga," and then he told her of all that had happened in the
smoking-room. "Had it not been for this utter stranger, they had

succeeded, for who would have accepted my unsupported word against
the damning evidence of those cards hidden on my person? I had
almost begun to doubt myself when this Monsieur Tarzan dragged your
precious Nikolas before us, and explained the whole cowardly
transaction."
"Monsieur Tarzan?" asked the countess, in evident surprise.
"Yes. Do you know him, Olga?"
"I have seen him. A steward pointed him out to me."
"I did not know that he was a celebrity," said the count.
Olga de Coude changed the subject. She discovered suddenly that she
might find it difficult to explain just why the steward had pointed out
the handsome Monsieur Tarzan to her. Perhaps she flushed the least
little bit, for was not the count, her husband, gazing at her with a
strangely quizzical expression. "Ah," she thought, "a guilty conscience
is a most suspicious thing."

Chapter 2
Forging Bonds of Hate and ----?

It was not until late the following afternoon that Tarzan saw anything
more of the fellow passengers into