Shortly after the break of day Tarzan was on deck notingthe condition of the weather. The wind had abated. The sky was cloudless. Every condition seemed ideal forthe commencement of the return voyage to Jungle Island,where the beasts were to be left. And then--home!

The ape-man aroused the mate and gave instructions thatthe Kincaid sail at the earliest possible moment. The remaining members of the crew, safe in Lord Greystoke'sassurance that they would not be prosecuted for their share inthe villainies of the two Russians, hastened with cheerfulalacrity to their several duties.

The beasts, liberated from the confinement of the hold,wandered about the deck, not a little to the discomfiture ofthe crew in whose minds there remained a still vivid pictureof the savagery of the beasts in conflict with those who hadgone to their deaths beneath the fangs and talons which evennow seemed itching for the soft flesh of further prey.

Beneath the watchful eyes of Tarzan and Mugambi, however,Sheeta and the apes of Akut curbed their desires, so thatthe men worked about the deck amongst them in far greatersecurity than they imagined.

At last the Kincaid slipped down the Ugambi and ran outupon the shimmering waters of the Atlantic. Tarzan and JaneClayton watched the verdure-clad shore-line receding in theship's wake, and for once the ape-man left his native soilwithout one single pang of regret.

No ship that sailed the seven seas could have borne himaway from Africa to resume his search for his lost boy withhalf the speed that the Englishman would have desired, andthe slow-moving Kincaid seemed scarce to move at all to theimpatient mind of the bereaved father.

Yet the vessel made progress even when she seemed to bestanding still, and presently the low hills of Jungle Islandbecame distinctly visible upon the western horizon ahead.

In the cabin of Alexander Paulvitch the thing within theblack box ticked, ticked, ticked, with apparently unendingmonotony; but yet, second by second, a little arm whichprotruded from the periphery of one of its wheels came nearerand nearer to another little arm which projected from thehand which Paulvitch had set at a certain point upon the dialbeside the clockwork. When those two arms touched oneanother the ticking of the mechanism would cease--for ever.

Jane and Tarzan stood upon the bridge looking out towardJungle Island. The men were forward, also watching the landgrow upward out of the ocean. The beasts had sought theshade of the galley, where they were curled up in sleep. All was quiet and peace upon the ship, and upon the waters.

Suddenly, without warning, the cabin roof shot up into the air,a cloud of dense smoke puffed far above the Kincaid,there was a terrific explosion which shook the vesselfrom stem to stern.

Instantly pandemonium broke loose upon the deck. The apesof Akut, terrified by the sound, ran hither and thither,snarling and growling. Sheeta leaped here and there,screaming out his startled terror in hideous cries that sentthe ice of fear straight to the hearts of the Kincaid's crew.

Mugambi, too, was trembling. Only Tarzan of the Apes andhis wife retained their composure. Scarce had the debrissettled than the ape-man was among the beasts, quieting theirfears, talking to them in low, pacific tones, stroking theirshaggy bodies, and assuring them, as only he could, that theimmediate danger was over.

An examination of the wreckage showed that their greatest danger,now, lay in fire, for the flames were licking hungrily at thesplintered wood of the wrecked cabin, and had already founda foothold upon the lower deck through a great jagged holewhich the explosion had opened.

By a miracle no member of the ship's company had been injuredby the blast, the origin of which remained for ever a totalmystery to all but one--the sailor who knew that Paulvitch hadbeen aboard the Kincaid and in his cabin the previous night. He guessed the truth; but discretion sealed his lips. It would,doubtless, fare none too well for the man who had permittedthe arch enemy of them all aboard the ship in the watchesof the night, where later he might set an infernal machineto blow them all to kingdom come. No, the man decided thathe would keep this knowledge to himself.

As the flames gained headway it became apparent to Tarzanthat whatever had caused the explosion had scatteredsome highly inflammable substance upon the surroundingwoodwork, for the water which they poured in from the pumpseemed rather to spread than to extinguish the blaze.

Fifteen minutes after the explosion great, black clouds ofsmoke were rising from the hold of the doomed vessel. The flames had reached the engine-room, and the ship no longermoved toward the shore. Her fate was as certain as though thewaters had already closed above her charred and smoking remains.

"It is useless to remain aboard her longer," remarked theape-man to the mate. "There is no telling but there may beother explosions, and as we cannot hope to save her, thesafest thing which we can do is to take to the boats withoutfurther loss of time and make land."

Nor was there other alternative. Only the sailors couldbring away any belongings, for the fire, which had not yetreached the forecastle, had consumed all in the vicinity ofthe cabin which the explosion had not destroyed.

Two boats were lowered, and as there was no sea the landingwas made with infinite ease. Eager and anxious, the beastsof Tarzan sniffed the familiar air of their native island asthe small boats drew in toward the beach, and scarce had theirkeels grated upon the sand than Sheeta and the apes of Akutwere over the bows and racing swiftly toward the jungle. A half-sad smile curved the lips of the ape-man as hewatched them go.

"Good-bye, my friends," he murmured. "You have beengood and faithful allies, and I shall miss you."

"They will return, will they not, dear?" asked Jane Clayton, at his side.

"They may and they may not," replied the ape-man."They have been ill at ease since they were forced to acceptso many human beings into their confidence. Mugambi andI alone affected them less, for he and I are, at best,but half human. You, however, and the members of the crew arefar too civilized for my beasts--it is you whom they are fleeing. Doubtless they feel that they cannot trust themselves in theclose vicinity of so much perfectly good food without thedanger that they may help themselves to a mouthful sometime by mistake."

Jane laughed. "I think they are just trying to escape you,"she retorted. "You are always making them stop somethingwhich they see no reason why they should not do. Like littlechildren they are doubtless delighted at this opportunity toflee from the zone of parental discipline. If they come back,though, I hope they won't come by night."

"Or come hungry, eh?" laughed Tarzan.

For two hours after landing the little party stood watching theburning ship which they had abandoned. Then there came faintlyto them from across the water the sound of a second explosion. The Kincaid settled rapidly almost immediatel thereafter,and sank within a few minutes.

The cause of the second explosion was less a mystery thanthat of the first, the mate attributing it to the bursting of theboilers when the flames had finally reached them; but whathad caused the first explosion was a subject of considerablespeculation among the stranded company.