Page:Amazing Stories Volume 15 Number 10.djvu/83

Rh be taken seriously. At long range the ape's claws were a nuisance. They could rip and tear. They prevented Vans from getting anywhere near the ape's body. And if Vans dodged those talons and rushed in to grip the other round the body in his usual way, then the claws on those short legs would come into very effective play. In fact, those claws were a nuisance, whatever way one looked at it.

Vans could not even try a ju-jitsu hold, supposing he got a chance to use one. The ape's bones, being of different shapes from those of men, would probably make any hold he tried ineffective. And that would give those claws a chance to rip at him.

None of Vans' usual tactics were any use here. He had to invent a new way of fighting. So far he had done nothing but retreat and dodge the quick slashes of the claws. The other apes were growing restless. This was slow fighting. There was a danger that they might attack him in the rear while his attention was occupied in front.

The bow legs and long arms of the other were an advantage, too. The ape could pick up large stones and hurl them without giving the least warning. Stones came flying from other angles too. Spectators were choosing this method of expressing their impatience. They wanted action, not dodging.

The ape-king was growing contemptuous. He was slashing more furiously, annoyed with his repeated misses.

Vans tried the dangerous ruse of pretending to slip. The claws slashed furiously, in a swing, trying to take advantage while Vans was off his balance. That was what Vans wanted. He knocked that arm sideways with all his strength, partly turning the ape's body round. At the same moment he ran, and seized the ape in the only way he could, by leaping on his back.

Apes roared and drummed their deep chests with delight. They did not care who won, so long as they had some sport. And this was entertaining. This was a novel way of fighting. This was a new trick to memorize for future use.

Vans' scissors grip round the ape's abdomen would have caused an average man of Mars to burst with a loud pop. The ape's stomach, liver and kidneys were much inconvenienced. The ape had that feeling of fullness that comes after a too-hearty meal. Vans' thumbs were trying to reduce that fullness by preventing air from entering the ape-king's lungs, but, instead of appreciating this kind of attention, the ape-king clawed feebly at the strangling hands.

The two fell, Vans taking the combined weight. But his grip did not relax, neither on abdomen nor on throat. His muscles stood out with a mighty effort. The slightest slackening of the strain now, and those claws would tear the flesh from the bones of his arms and legs.

The ape-king relaxed. Instantly Vans snatched up the dropped club, and made deadly use of the snakes' teeth embedded in it. The ape-king lay still.

ANS never knew whether he had killed the other or not. As soon as he got up the other three of the apes snatched him up, carried him shoulder-high, and all the rest of them began a sort of war-dance in honor of their new king. They roared their war-cry, "Death to all Humans!"

He learned that these were apemen who had escaped from Bommelsmeth's rule and were living wildly. They lived mainly by stealing food in raids. Many were lost in these raids, but fresh desertions kept the numbers of the tribe about level.

"Me great king," boasted Vans. "Me