Chapter Ten

Out in the far growing fields of the Waziri, I stick-fight with youths.

I practice shooting with the Waziri's crude rifles.

I nock arrows and toss spears.

But when I look out upon the training ground, I count precious few bodies willing to fight for my cause. My heart shivers. I ache to get moving. The Brits may have already returned to camp by now. John's peril grows by the hour.

I slice melon after melon with a short sword, my arms dripping with their sticky guts.

I sprint and roll, duck and jump.

I lead the younger boys into the dense jungle to try to teach them tree-walking, but half of them get stuck in the lowest branches and cry, while the ones who make it up are paralyzed by fear. I can't get even one of them to swing on a vine two feet above the ground.

I wonder if living among the trees has given them a healthy fear of falling. John was raised by tree-dwelling animals, so he must have lost his fear as an infant.

As to my abilities, I have no explanation. In her earlier years, my mother once claimed that she had an uncle in the circus back in the Old Country, and he might have been a trapeze artist. That woman said a lot of things.

I finally encourage the boys to swing on a vine…by jumping into a pool of water. They run, grab the vine, and hurl themselves into the pond, screaming the whole time.

I suppose it's a start.

Another day rises and departs with no word from Zule.

I talk to the Chieftains about the layout of the British camp, how they are high up on a cleared hill.

"It's fairly impregnable," I say. "If we could knock down those palisades, we might have a chance, but in the open, it's a clear shot from anywhere along that wall." They grunt and argue with raised hands and stomp in the dirt.

I go to bed, turning it over in my mind.

On the third day, we sprint across the training ground. Each day my limbs grow stronger, fuller. We're interrupted by boys waving and screaming. I can't quite understand their tongue yet, although I've made a lot of progress working with Zana, but everyone grabs their weapons and pursues the boys.

My heart skitters. Could the British have invaded this far already?

The boys lead us down toward the river. I see them from the distance—my herd of elephants, led by Tantor and trailed by Minnie. The boys run after the elephants, waving their spears.

I sprint double-time, my legs carrying me like the wind past them. I slow and spin around. "Halt!"

The boys don't heed me, so I trip them with my spear until half of them lie on the ground holding their shins.

I put the butt of my spear on the dirt and try to speak the Waziri tongue. "These are my friends. Friends of Tarzan."

"Dinner," says one in Waziri, rubbing his belly.

"No." I turn and run to Minnie. The elephants trumpet and flap their ears as I approach, but I can see a sort of smile on Minnie's face. As I close on her, she wraps her trunk around me affectionately.

"Yes, I've missed you too." I pat her jowl. She sniffs me for treats. "I hope you haven't seen any more poachers. Have you found a new beau yet? No? That's okay, no rush."

Minnie tosses me on her back. Fortunately, I'm ready for it so I land with aplomb.

I raise my spear in victory and the boys cheer.

I jump down and lead Minnie to the boys. She's hesitant, unwilling to trust unfamiliar men, but I coax her forward with soft words and strokes of her trunk.

"Fruit? Who has fruit?"

A couple boys offer small melons and she takes them with her trunk.

"See? Friend."

Once the other elephants see that Minnie is receiving treats, they hustle over. The boys cower in fear but I hush them. They surrender their food to the gathering elephants.

I slide off Minnie. "Who wants a ride?"

One by one, I help the boys up onto an elephant, hoping the majestic beasts don't eject their occupants. The boys are less afraid of the elephants than swinging from a simple vine.

I wave to my army. "To the village! But first—we stop in the jungle to secure more treats."

#

I must say, we leave a lasting impression with the Waziri. Sabu's up on Tantor at the front, I'm riding Minnie in the rear, and we escort almost 20 elephants down the main street of town. Elephants walk incredibly quietly when they choose, so it's like a fleet of dark ships passing down a river. The residents gawk and scream, and a few wayward elephants knock over tables or empty cooking pots, but the effect is as I desire.

We pass far out of town before we dismount. After setting up a makeshift corral, I send the boys back for their dinner. I seek out Tantor.

I stroke his trunk. "What do you say, Tantor? Will you join us on our quest to free John?"

I'm not sure if he nods or simply is searching me for more fruit, but I get the sense that he understands when he presses his snoot onto my head and messes up my hair.

The village elders provide me a with stern lecture when I return, berating me for the destruction the elephants caused passing through town.

I listen to all of it, my hands on my lap, and at the end, I simply say, "Then imagine what havoc they will cause to the British camp if they lead a charge straight through it."

That seems to cow them.

It's a start, but we're still going to need more firepower. I don't wish for these wondrous beasts to be torn apart by the British.

#

The fourth day comes and goes with no word from Zule. A creeping dread consumes me, but my day is filled with training of elephants.

As long as we maintain a steady supply of fruit, the beasts will do whatever we want. I spend half the day in the trees procuring the most succulent morsels. Have I mentioned how much elephants consume in a given day?

They are the most amazing animals. Training is a game to them. We have to teach them not to start or panic during gunfire or screaming. How to stay in formation and maintain a wall. How not to get distracted by shiny objects and wander aimlessly. Or their favorite—how to push stuff over. They are highly curious, which is why I wonder how monkeys got that distinction, because most of the monkeys we encounter give us a wide berth.

That night, the war council sits and argues about whether we should leave or not, whether we should just give up now and avoid further losses. I try to speak but they shout me down. I think they still smart from my elephant demonstration. I sit in a corner with my knees drawn up to my chest, a sour look upon my face.

The hour grows late. I can sense what's going on. The men in the room are consumed with fear. I don't blame them. I don't see how a small band of poorly armed warriors sitting on barely trained animals stands a chance against a well-entrenched enemy.

But damn if we're not going to try.

I walk into the center of the council hut. "Enough!" I cry. "I leave for the British camp at first light, with or without you. We must get to Tarzan. We must! I am taking the elephants. Good night, I hope to see you on the field."

With that, I stride out. I have so little time for old men's fears. John's life is at stake.

I have to say I don't sleep much, listening to the sounds of the house for any sign that Zule has returned. When dawn arrives, I'm groggy and feeling down. Esmeralda's already up, helping the housewives with breakfast. I find her in the cooking area.

"We're leaving," I tell her. "Are you staying?"

"And miss the shindiggery?"

"Listen, I don't know if we can keep you safe. If we fail and you are captured, they may hurt you as a conspirator."

Esmeralda shrugs. "I had worse."

That seems to be her mantra. I shiver to think about what her "worse" has been. "Okay, we'll try to keep you safe. You ready?"

"Well, I gotta eyeball my tea first. Ain't no victry slog without it."

I smile and put my hand on her shoulder. "Someday I hope you become a famous winemaker and build your own chateau."

She looks at me. "Oh, I kin you was gonna speech something else."

"Like what?"

"Like you're hogged that I'm sucklin too much tea, turning into my elds."

"Oh. Ohhh." I'm not sure what to say to that. "You do make really good wine." I clasp her shoulder, and then hug her. "If you want maybe we could leave the wine behind. I'm sure the women here will need it while we're gone."

Esmeralda hugs me back. "Okay."

I pull away and see a deep sadness in her eyes, some kind of misery that can only be soothed with alcohol.

"And then when we return here victorious, we'll drink ourselves silly. How does that sound?"

Esmeralda smiles. "Yeah. Hey, I gots something for you. Come."

I follow her. "It's not tea, is it?"

Back in our room, she reaches to the back of a high shelf and pulls down a wooden box. My heart beats a tick faster. She hands it to me, and I almost drop it in my excitement.

"No!" I open it. It's a Navy Colt revolver complete with twenty bullets, shiny and new. "How? When?"

"I licked around. Some wrinkled chiefy got it as lolly a couple years back. I did him one better, and he forked it to me."

I lift the cold metal weapon from its felt case and spin the cylinder. "This is incredible." I look down the barrel. "Never fired. Wait—what 'lolly'? You mean favors?" I look at Esmeralda, wondering what she could do to earn such a prize.

Esmeralda smiles. "Don't split your top hat on that. Sorry I couldn't rip you no gun belt, and that's the lot for widow balls."

I try not to think about how she did it and I hug Esmeralda for all she's worth. "Thank you, thank you. I'll find some way to carry it." I load the case into a sack. "Ready?"

"Yeah, I reckon."

The sun is already high when I reach the makeshift corral where we keep the elephants. Bright red birds circle above, cawing to each other. I say 'corral', but there's not much we can do if elephants choose to leave.

The boys are there, but the older warriors are missing. My heart drops. "Is this it?" I ask Sabu.

"Our warriors wait for Zule," he says. "They will not march without him."

"And you?"

Sabu gazes at me with intense eyes. "I fight for Tarzan. He is my brother."

I sense more than that for him, a yearning to prove himself. I certainly empathize with that.

So my army is twenty-odd boys, mostly my age or younger, mounting twenty-odd elephants, themselves willful and distractible, using weapons that America's founding fathers would have laughed at. So much for uniting all of Africa. I can't even unite one village. It shall be a glorious defeat.

A thought strikes me. "Do your parents know you're with me?"

Sabu smirks. "We told them you changed your mind and desired another day of training."

Great. Now I'll have twenty families angry with me. Then I smile. "Good job. When you don't return for dinner, they'll have to join us." Yes, these boys are my hostages, but they've left me no choice.

I charge to Minnie, grab her trunk, and she obediently flips me up on her back. I help Zana, my language trainer and interpreter, up behind me. I stand on Minnie while everyone else mounts. Esmeralda rides with Sabu on Tantor. We've fashioned mats to strap on the elephant's backs to make us secure and comfortable and to hold our supplies. "Listen up! We are leaving Waziri land. There is no guarantee that any of us shall return. If anyone has the slightest hesitation, then please, go back to your family. None of us will think the lesser of you."

Nobody moves. White eyes stare out of black faces, a few striped with war paint. I shiver. These boys should be tending fields, or sitting in classrooms, not sitting upon beasts of war. "Good. Now. We'll need to travel at night so the elephants stay cool enough to keep moving. We must keep our animals as happy as possible."

We're in pairs…two riders per elephant, and two elephants in a group, one holding the other's tail.

We turn to the forest, to the east. I stand high on Minnie and put my hands to my mouth.

"Aaaaooooaaaaaaaoooaoaoaoaaaaaaooooo!"

The boys repeat my war cry. So do the elephants, lifting their trunks in the air and trumpet, filling the forest with eerie echoes.

#

In a clearing overflowing with white and pink flowers and bounded by towering trees, we take our first rest. I've barely sated my thirst at a stream when the boys start yelling. Something crashes through the nearby brush. I snatch my new Colt from its makeshift holster and run to meet the disturbance.

A man on horseback enters the clearing. A dozen arrows are notched and aimed at the intruder, but I hold up my hand. I've impressed upon the boys to not fire without my signal.

I recognize the rider. D'Arnot. I stand next to Minnie who eyes the man suspiciously and snorts.

D'Arnot dismounts his horse and holds the reins. I have no idea where he found a horse but the mare seems less than thrilled to be in the company of tusk-bearing elephants. "You," he says, his demeanor full of vitriol, pointing at me. "Do you know what you've done? Turn this column around at once and return to the Waziri."

"No."

"No? No? Are you daft? You cannot possibly take on the British with this band of infants." He turns to the boys. "Come. We return."

None of them obey. My chest bursts with pride.

"Leave us," I say. "You go back to the sniveling cowards."

D'Arnot eyes me. "Girl, you are playing with young men's lives. I will not put up with your meddling any longer." He whips out his pistol and trains it on my head. "Now you will come with me like a good little girl."

I raise an eyebrow. I replace my Colt in its holster. I cross my arms.

"I think not."

"You think I will not use this?" He shivers the pistol at me.

"You are a wise man." With one hand I raise two fingers.

All around comes the sound of creaking bows. The boys who have not dismounted stand on their elephants, drawing aim on D'Arnot.

"You would not," he says, looking around.

I twitch my fingers and two twangs ring out. Two arrows slam the ground next to D'Arnot.

"The next will not miss," I say. Nervous tics threaten to disrupt my cool demeanor but I fight to remain calm.

"You…you…" He sputters but lowers his weapon. "You will get all these boys killed. Do you hear me? She leads you into death. What will you tell their parents, girl? Will you be able to face them and tell them their children are dead? Look at them, some of them are barely off their mother's teat. And you, thinking you're some kind of jungle war goddess. What will you tell them?"

I swallow and glance at the boys. They have families, loved ones. I witnessed their families' grief firsthand when I arrived at the village. I face D'Arnot. "I will tell them they died like men, in defense of their friend Tarzan. They are already being murdered by the Blackroot; I am only teaching them how to defend themselves. What about you? What will you tell John when we have rescued him and you have huddled back in the village like a coward? How far are you from your mother's teat?"

D'Arnot rushes me, raising his pistol to my face. I hear bows creak once again, but I raise my hand. The French officer's face contorts in rage, but I stand my ground.

"Lt. D'Arnot," I say in a calm, even voice that belies my racing heart. "You seem quite brave, when facing a woman, when facing a defenseless animal. Why do the British frighten you so?"

He doesn't respond, but his weapon drops to his side. "That is not it."

"Then what is it? Why have you tried to thwart me at every turn?"

He looks at me with lonely eyes. "Jane, I…"

I grasp it only a moment before he grasps me.

"Let me go!"

He grips my forearms, some kind of crazed light in his eyes. He drops his weapon. "Jane, I must have you."

He tries to pull my face to his. I struggle against his strength, fear rippling through me. What about this continent brings out the worst in men? Just as his nasty lips find mine, a trunk snakes around him and Minnie lifts the brute into the air. Minnie's looking pretty murderous. I'm feeling pretty murderous. Esmeralda runs to my side while D'Arnot vainly tries to free himself.

"Make her stop," he gasps. "Call off your beast!"

My boys spring to my side, spears ready to open D'Arnot's throat. "What should we do, Spirit Girl? Shall we dispatch him to his ancestors?"

I'm sorely tempted. I'd love to make an example of him, tying him to a tree and letting the boys practice their torture upon him.

But he is still John's friend. I may not forgive D'Arnot, but I believe this issue better settled between the two. Yet, I cannot resist the urge for a small demonstration. My boys need to see what will happen to our enemies. I motion to Minnie to drop him, and the man plunks on the ground.

D'Arnot looks as forlorn as can be. I place a foot on him. "So, you want Tarzan out of the picture so you could have me for yourself? You are beyond pathetic."

I examine his pistol, cock it, and aim it at his head. "Goodbye, Lieutenant."

"Wait, please." The sniveling weasel begs for his life.

"For what?"

"I—I can help rescue John. I know what their plans are."

"What 'plans'? Why should I believe you? How do I know you won't betray us, or even cut my throat in the night?"

"I swear on John's life."

"Not good enough!"

"I—I swear by everything that is holy, by France, by my dead mother."

"All crap to me."

I look at him. Pathetic. I reconsider my mercy. Our elephants could use practice killing men. "Very well. If you are sincere, give us a part."

"Part of what?"

I grab him by the hair. "Ear, eye, tooth, toe. What will it be?"

"You want me to sacrifice a body part?" The look of horror is complete.

Esmeralda motions to the boys and one of them hands me a wicked knife.

"Personally I'd go for the tooth. Hurts like hell but only for a day or so, if you don't bleed to death. Severing a toe would keep you from running away. What do you say?"

D'Arnot sputters. I swing the blade toward his eyes.

"Tooth! Tooth!"

"Esmeralda, see if you can round up a hammer and chisel."

I toss his head away. D'Arnot pants on the ground. They fetch me crude tools from one of the elephant packs. Five boys grab D'Arnot, and we force a branch into his mouth to keep it open. The boys peel back his lips, exposing his teeth.

I line up the chisel with a nasty looking molar near the back, one that should have come out long ago. D'Arnot gasps and keens, sweat pouring down his brow.

I place the chisel against the tooth, swing the hammer back, and then strike it for all I'm worth.

His mouth explodes with blood. He writhes against the hands holding him down.

"Hold it open," I cry. "I need to make sure the whole tooth is out."

Sure enough, I've only knocked off the crown. "Pliers! Get me pliers!"

I'm handed an implement, grab the root of the tooth, and yank the thing out. I hold it high over my head, and the boys cheer. The elephants trumpet.

It's my first gory trophy. Esmeralda helps the man hold a cloth to his injured jaw. Blood drips from his face as he gargles his screams.

I walk back to the stream to wash the blood from the tooth. In a clear spot, I catch my reflection, my visage splattered with the man's blood. I do not look like the girl who left Baltimore a few months ago. I see a white-skinned, blonde savage, with thoroughly tangled hair. I decide not to wash the blood away. My boys need to see me as a leader, as a killer.

I walk back to the man who gasps and sputters. "If you betray me again, or touch any woman in manner she does not desire, I will keep cutting off body parts. Are we clear?"

He manages to nod through his obvious pain.

I shout so all may hear. "We will all have our kills, and when we return, the tables of the Waziri shall overflow with the grisly trophies of our enemies!"

I think there might be more Indian in me than I thought, because the notion of collecting scalps suddenly seems intriguing.

#

We begin to remount. Esmeralda shoves Zana away.

"Go make water," she orders the Waziri girl.

She waits until Zana's out of earshot. "Now what the hellfire was that? This ain't you, Jane."

I avoid her gaze, fastening supplies to Minnie's mat. "It is now."

"You gonna whip through all of us? Frenchie got some thinking. We out here gainst meat grinders. We'll be burgers."

I glance at her. "And what would you have me do?"

"Some John flashes his whites and now you're shagging teeth? Fixing to rampage through them bullies? I say we tiptoe off and leave with our skins. You ain't been where I been, child. You don't know what a he-man will rip you."

I huff. I nod with my head. "Come." I organize my thoughts as we walk out of earshot of anyone who might understand English. "You're right. This is a silly expedition, and we'll most likely wind up tortured or dead. I have no business leading these boys, I have no training whatsoever."

"So let's slap this party and vamoose!"

"Yes, that would be the wisest course of action. Just let the boys go home, let the elephants wander off, and let John get what's coming to him. I'm sure they'll let him go when they get what they want. The Waziri will find some other lands when the British move in. The animals will find some other place too. This is a huge continent, after all. I'll have my specimens, and you'll have stories you can tell your grandchildren."

Esmeralda stands with her hands on her hips. She opens her mouth to speak, raises her hand to point at me, then drops it. Her shoulders slump. "I ain't never having young'uns."

I touch her shoulder. "Come Essie, you'll find love someday."

She slaps my hand away and crosses her arms across her chest. "No. I mean, my innards all bent. I'm barren as Hannah."

"Oh."

Esmeralda turns away. "Don't you pity me."

I step close, and place my hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Essie. There is a camp a few days from here, full of men who would hurt a woman as easily as they crack an egg. I'm not here to pity you. I'm here to put a gun in your hand, send you to those men, and show them that we're not going to be pushed around and abused any longer."

Esmeralda sniffles. "You crazy. You moon-dog crazy. Girls fighting with guns. What next? We gonna vote and become gub'ners?"

"I don't know. But it starts here, in Africa."

"We's all gonna get skewered. You leading us down to a pool of fire. You playing with the natural order of things, you gonna make the Earth open up and swallow us. Swinging from trees. We ground people. You waving that tooth trophy like it some medal. I sees you. You mad as a mouse fighting termites."

I pull Esmeralda close so we're eye-to-eye. "Yes. Yes I am. They've captured a man who laid his life down for me, and I will do the same for him. I am mad. Mad at what this world has taken from me, and I'm tired of being powerless to stop it. I will take from them. I will take John, I will take their land, and I will take their teeth, and I will take their souls. Or I will die trying."

Esmeralda backs away, shaking her head. "You raising the devil. I seen eyes like yours once in a rabid coon. You leading us to damnation."

I grip her wrist, fighting the fear of losing my one friend. "Are you with me?"

The woman stares at my hand and then back to me. "Well I ain't no stranger to the devil. There surely is a hell waiting for us at the end of this."

#

The elephants wander and refuse our commands, as after the first day they grow tired and cranky. One boy is thrown from his ride and nearly cracks his skull. I hope he'll be okay but he's having trouble talking straight. I've taken the time to try to inspect him at each stop. A pair of elephants sit and refuse to continue, bleating, no matter what fruit we promise. We leave them behind. D'Arnot stops bleeding by morning, and is now a humble member of our ranks. We send his horse back, as she resists working alongside elephants.

There is an advantage to riding elephants that I didn't imagine. You would think because of their bulk they would be hard-pressed to move through thick vegetation, but the opposite is true. They just kind of push through like it's grass. We're able to cut corners on the trail we're following, hopefully saving us hours here and there, although our travel by night reverses that advantage.

It's the fourth day since we left the Waziri, a hot, sweaty afternoon where the sun seems to boil everything it can touch. We have just started our evening's work when the scout up front calls a halt. Instantly twenty boys with bows and rifles stand on their mounts, scanning the forest. I direct Minnie to the trees. I grab a vine and swing up. I hear some low grunting, and then see the hairy bodies.

"Hold your fire!" I swing through the trees and land amidst a pack of apes. "Kerchak!"

A giant gorilla thumps his chest. The other apes greet me with squawks and barks, some flipping completely head-over-heels. Down on the forest floor, Esmeralda is greeting them as well. They're motioning to their lips, begging her for her tea.

I explain to Kerchak as best I can. I make a small version of John's yell, then show my hands tied together. I point to the coast and make ocean sounds. I imitate British soldiers. I have to repeat a few times, but eventually I think Kerchak understands, because he grows angry, growling and beating his chest. Then comes the harder part.

I point to my small army. I try to show us attacking the British, one hand miming an elephant, the other a man with a gun.

"Will you help us? Will you join our army to fight the British invaders?"

Kerchak growls menacingly, and then jumps away, swinging through the trees in a wide circle, inciting all the other apes to start screaming and jumping. I realize that maybe he thinks the attack is imminent.

I wave Kerchak back over, and try to mime that we have to wait many days before we can attack. "Ssh." I show the sun rising and setting, elephants and people walking, apes swinging, then mime the ocean again and point to the far horizon. "Be patient."

Kerchak grumbles with disappointment, roaring into the gathering night. I find his wish to enter battle for John both humbling and disturbing, as they seem to be mostly docile creatures.

I wonder if the same can be said for mankind. My conversation with Esmeralda echoes in my mind.

We set off into the gathering night, now with a pack of wild apes trailing us through the trees.

#

The next morning, we're about to bed down. The elephants are exhausted, leaning against trees and slumping down on their sides. I collect as much fruit as I can for them, but I can tell from the drooping of their hides that they just aren't eating enough and they're losing weight. I wonder if I should give them a day of rest to just wander and eat but we don't have that luxury.

I check on the boy with the concussion and he seems a touch more coherent today, so hopefully he'll make a full recovery from his fall. He talks to me about how many men he will kill and he wants to be reassured that he has my blessing. D'Arnot refuses my company but I notice that he's eating solid food again.

I pull some banana leaves together to make a crude bed after choosing which boys will stand watch in what order. I've been trying to sleep from sunup to around noon. What I wouldn't give for a full day of sleep myself. Esmeralda's and Zana's bed are next to mine. The apes gather overhead, muttering but searching for comfortable notches.

I've barely closed my eyes when I hear rifle shots. Before I'm awake, I'm up in the trees and swinging to the source of the shots. The apes scatter. I rush along the boughs and look down upon a tense scene.

Sabu and a couple boys have cornered some native men. There's a lot of shouting back and forth. A man lays dead on the ground, a gunshot to his chest. Shimmering torches light the scene.

My boys threaten the men with "the Wrath of the Goddess."

I swing down behind Sabu. The natives gasp, pointing at me.

"What is it?" I ask Sabu. "Who are they?"

Sabu doesn't buy into the 'Goddess' talk. "Hunters."

I recognize their markings as a local tribe. The hunters shake, knives in their hands. I step in front of the boys, my hands open. The hunters eye me with fear and reverence.

"Does anyone speak their language?"

One boy steps forward. "My mother is from their tribe." He translates for me.

"Hello," I say. "My name is Jane. You will not be harmed."

They look at me with wide eyes. One of them drops to his knees. I suppose I should be flattered. With a wave of my hand I could have them executed, but that is not my purpose here. If there's any way these men could help our cause, I must pursue it.

I turn to Sabu. "Why is that man dead?"

"He was about to fire on Tantor when we spotted him. He didn't notice us. We had no choice."

I look upon the corpse for a moment, and then turn to the hunters. "We are sorry for your loss." My throat is tight. "We might be able to compensate you."

The hunters eye me warily, but they lower their weapons.

"We are on a warpath against the British invaders on the coast. I'm sure your men have encountered them. If you join us and we prevail, you can keep whatever you can loot. Guns, ammunition, gold.

The lead hunter speaks. "You are the jungle spirit. You walk with Tarzan, our sworn enemy."

"I am sure Tarzan will greatly appreciate any assistance in his rescue. Perhaps you have warred with the Waziri long enough. Maybe this is an opportunity to forge a new alliance."

The hunters eye me and talk amongst themselves. They speak through my interpreter.

"We want to know if you are a true jungle goddess."

I stare at the boy and the men. I raise my arms high. Elephants nose through the trees, and apes swing above. I feel Minnie's truck on my shoulder, snuffling to see if I have any fruit I'm not giving her. Kerchak grunts in a branch above my head. The men's eyes grow wide again.

They speak. "Even if you are a tree-walker and an animal-talker, what makes you think you can be a chieftain? A killer?"

Why must I prove myself at every turn?

"The British hold my love, and I will stop at nothing to free him. I am a lioness with unbounded rage. We will defeat the invaders or die trying. Now tell them to make a choice. Are they with me or not? If they are, then tell them to return before sundown with bushels of fruits for the elephants and whatever weapons they have. Otherwise, if we see them again, I will order them shot on sight."

The hunters nod and we let them escape. A thought occurs to me that they have another choice: they could curry favor with the British if they run ahead and warn them, and then turn upon us.

I sleep fitfully, thinking about the dead man they carried away. I have a long talk with the boy who shot the hunter, assuring him that he did the right thing. The elephants could have stampeded if one of them was shot, killing all of us.

D'Arnot's silent about the whole thing, but I catch him glowering.

I awake again to shouting and spring into the conflict. Twenty of the hunters appear with baskets and long weapons. I direct the boys to feed the elephants and I talk to their leader through an interpreter.

"Welcome," I say. It's still forty men, three women, eighteen elephants, and perhaps two-dozen apes against the British Expeditionary Force. The men carry bows, spears, and rifles. "You will guard the rear of the column. You are under my direct orders, no one else. But let me assure you, you will be no rear-guard during the attack. You are not to shoot any large game animals except for hogs and bush buck, but we of course would appreciate whatever food you can contribute."

I take my position at the rear of the elephant troops with Minnie, next to D'Arnot's mount. For the millionth time I look back on the trail, wondering when and if the balance of the Waziri will rally to support their boys.

"Your army grows," calls the Frenchman, finally breaking his sullen silence. "More deaths on your conscience."

"I can take another tooth." I drop Minnie back even further, closer to the hunter tribesmen.

Sometime during the long night, I'm half-asleep when Minnie stops and rears back. We've fallen well off the pace and the troops are nowhere in sight, but I can hear branches crackling off in the distance.

"What is it, girl?"

A dark figure stands before us. It roars in the moonlight.

It's Tarzan's lion friend Numa. Minnie skitters backwards, on the edge of bolting. "Calm, girl, calm." Zana clutches my back.

"Stay here," I say to the girl.

I slide off Minnie and walk to the lion. He rumbles and growls as I approach. I lay a hand on his mane.

"You miss John? Good little kitty." I kneel down next to the beast. I hand him some scraps of meat from our last meal which he gobbles. "We're going to find John, I promise." Zana holds up a torch and I can see that the lion is wounded, a clean gunshot to his haunch, poor guy, barely able to walk. "Come with us and you can be in the attack. I think a lion would definitely disturb them, and you can have your revenge."

I coax Minnie around the lion, and then encourage him to follow us. I remount Minnie, and look back. I spot his silhouette in the darkness, but then I lose him. I hope he's following.

Score one lion on our side.