There was but a single alternative to
remaining for annihilation and that was flight--swift and immediate.
And Tarzan fled, but he carried the carcass of Bara, the deer, with
him. He had not more than a dozen paces start, but on the other hand
the nearest tree was almost as close. His greatest danger lay, he
imagined, in the great, towering height of the creature pursuing
him, for even though he reached the tree he would have to climb high
in an incredibly short time as, unless appearances were deceiving,
the thing could reach up and pluck him down from any branch under
thirty feet above the ground, and possibly from those up to fifty
feet, if it reared up on its hind legs.
But Tarzan was no sluggard and though the gryf was incredibly
fast despite its great bulk, it was no match for Tarzan, and when
it comes to climbing, the little monkeys gaze with envy upon the
feats of the ape-man. And so it was that the bellowing gryf came
to a baffled stop at the foot of the tree and even though he reared
up and sought to seize his prey among the branches, as Tarzan
had guessed he might, he failed in this also. And then, well out
of reach, Tarzan came to a stop and there, just above him, he saw
Pan-at-lee sitting, wide-eyed and trembling.
"How came you here?" he asked.
She told him. "You came to warn me!" he said.
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