THE SULTAN'S VERDICT ~ 34.08.12
When
the two mounted guards swooped down on Tarzan and the maiden, the ape-man
leaped at one of them and dragged him to the ground. Then he vaulted into
the saddle and drew the girl up after him. But as he spurred his horse
forward, other guards came to surround him and forced him against the Sultan's
camel. Desperately, Tarzan grasped the maiden and vaulted up the camel's
side to the royal howdah. The astonished sultan drew his sword, but Tarzan
wrested the weapon from him, and urged the camel to a fast trot. The people
scattered before him. Tarzan was escaping -- with the Sultan as captive.
Then the Sultan cried a command to the camel. The beast heeded his master's
voice. It halted, and knelt. The pursuers surrounded and overpowered Tarzan,
and the Sultan commanded that the fugitives be taken to the palace for
judgment. here, in the throne hall, the monarch whispered to a courtier:
"I'll make sport of this savage who thinks himself to strong. Fetch Housan!"
The Sultan then decreed a combat between Tarzan and Housan,
Champion of the Royal Troupe of Wrestlers. "If you win," the Sultan said
to Tarzan, "you and this maid shall win your freedom. If you lose, you
shall lose your heads!"
But when the giant Housan appeared, the maiden resigned
herself to death, for even the mighty Tarzan seemed small and frail beside
him!
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