"What now?" she demanded. "Is the affair so urgent that I must be interrupted at my toilet?"
"It is, majesty," replied the councilor, "and I beg that you send your slaves away. What I have to say is for your ears alone."
Nemone dismissed the girls. Then she turned to the councilor, who had arisen. "Well, what is it?"
"Your majesty has long had reason to suspect the loyalty of Thudos," Tomos reminded her, "and in the interest of your majesty's welfare and the safety of the throne, I am constantly watchful of the activities of this powerful enemy. Spurred on by love and loyalty, the noble Erot has been my most faithful agent and ally, and it is really to him that we owe the information that I bring you.
Nemone tapped her sandaled foot impatiently upon the mosaic floor. "Have done with the self-serving preamble, and tell me what you have to tell me," she snapped.
"Briefly, then, it is this: Gemnon conspires also with Thudos, hoping, doubtless, that his reward will be the beautiful daughter of his chief."
"That hollow-cheeked strumpet!" exclaimed Nemone. "Who said she was beautiful?"
"Erot tells me that Gemnon and Thudos believe her the most beautiful woman in the world," replied Tomos.
"There are others who think so, too," he added.
"What others?"
"I but hesitated to name the other for fear of wounding your majesty," said Tomos oilily, "but if you insist, it is the stranger called Tarzan."
Nemone sat up very straight. "What fabric of lies is this you and M'duze are weaving?" she demanded.
"It is no lie, majesty. Tarzan and Gemnon were seen coming from the house of Thudos late at night. Erot had followed them there. He saw them go in, and they were there long while. Hiding in the shadows across the avenue, he saw them come out. He says that they were quarreling over Doria, and he believes that it was Gemnon who sought the life of Tarzan because of jealousy."
Nemone sat straight and stiff upon her couch; her face was pale and tense with fury. "Someone shall die for this," she said in a low voice. "Go!"
Tomos backed from the room. He was elated until he had time to reflect more fully upon her words; then he reflected that Nemone had not stated explicitly who should die.
It was almost noon when Tarzan and Gemnon returned to the city, and time for the latter to conduct Tarzan to his audience with Nemone. With a guard of warriors they went to the palace, where the ape-man was immediately admitted alone into the presence of the queen.
"Where have you been?" she demanded.
Tarzan looked at her in surprise; then he smiled. "I visited the Mine of the Rising Sun."
"Where were you last night?"
"At the house of Gemnon," he replied.
"You were with Doria!" accused Nemone.
"No," said the ape-man; "that was the night before."
He had been surprised by the accusation and the knowledge that it connoted, but he did not let her see that he was surprised. He was not thinking of himself but of Doria and Gemnon, seeking a plan whereby he might protect them. It was evident that some enemy had turned informer and that Nemone already knew of the visit to the house of Thudos. Therefore, he felt that it would but have aroused the queen's suspicions to have denied it; to admit it freely, to show that he sought to conceal nothing, would allay them. As a matter of fact Tarzan's frank and ready reply left Nemone rather flat.
"Why did you go to the house of Thudos" she asked, but this time her tone was not accusing.
"You see, Gemnon does not dare to leave me alone for fear that I shall escape or that something may befall me, and so he is forced to take me wherever he goes. It is rather hard on him, Nemone, and I have been intending to ask you to make someone else responsible for me for at least a part of the time."
"We will speak of that later," replied the queen. "Why does Gemnon go to the house of Thudos?" Nemone's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
The ape-man smiled. "What a foolish question for a woman to ask!" he exclaimed. "Gemnon is in love with Doria. I thought all Cathne knew that; he certainly takes enough pains to tell all his acquaintances."
"You are sure that it is not you who are in love with her?" demanded Nemone.
Tarzan looked at her with disgust he made no effort to conceal. "Do not be a fool, Nemone," he said. "I do not like fool women."
The jaw of the queen of Cathne dropped. In all her life no one had ever addressed her in words or tones like these.
When she spoke again, she had regained her calm. "I was told that you loved her," she explained, "but I did not believe it. Is she very beautiful? I have heard that she is considered the most beautiful woman in Cathne."
"Perhaps Gemnon thinks so," replied Tarzan with a laugh, "but you know what love does to the eyes of youth."
"What do you think of her?" demanded the queen.
The ape-man shrugged. "She is not bad looking," he said.
"Is she as beautiful as Nemone?" demanded the queen.
"As the brilliance of a far star is to the brilliance of the sun."
The reply appeared to please Nemone. She arose and came closer to Tarzan. There was a rattling of chains at the far end of the room, followed by a terrific roar as Belthar sprang to his feet. Nemone shrank suddenly away from the ape-man, a shudder ran through her body, and an expression, half fright, half anger, suffused her face.
"It is always something," she said irritably, trembling a little. "Belthar is jealous. There is a strange bond linking the life of that beast to my life. I do not know what it is; I wish I did." A light, almost of madness, glittered in her eyes. "But this I know: when Belthar dies, I die!"
She looked up rather sadly at Tarzan as again her mood changed. "Come, my friend," she said. "We shall go to the temple together and perhaps Thoos may answer the questions that are in the heart of Nemone." She struck a bronze disc that depended from the ceiling, and as the brazen notes reverberated in the room, a door opened and a noble bowed low upon the threshold.
"The guard!" commanded the queen. "We are visiting Thoos in his temple."
The progress to the temple was in the nature of a pageant—marching warriors with pennons streaming from spear tips, nobles resplendent in gorgeous trappings, the queen in a golden chariot drawn by lions. Tomos walked upon one side of the glittering car, Tarzan upon the other where Erot had previously walked.
The ape-man was as uneasy as a forest lion as he strode between the lines of gaping citizenry. Crowds annoyed and irritated him; formalities irked him. His thoughts were far away in the distant jungle that he loved. He knew that Gemnon was nearby watching him, but whether he was nearby or not, Tarzan would not attempt to escape this friend was responsible for him. His mind occupied with such thoughts, he spoke to the queen.
"At the palace," he reminded her, "I spoke to you concerning the matter of relieving Gemnon of the irksome job of watching me."
"Gemnon has acquitted himself well," she replied. "I see no reason for changing."
"Relieve him then, occasionally," suggested Tarzan. "Let Erot take his place."
Nemone looked at him in astonishment. "But Erot hates you!" she exclaimed.
"All the more reason that he would watch me carefully," argued Tarzan.
"He would probably kill you."
"He would not dare if he knew that he must pay for my death or escape with his own life," suggested Tarzan.
"You like Gemnon, do you not?" inquired Nemone innocently.
"Very much," the ape-man assured her.
"Then he is the man to watch you, for you would not imperil his life by escaping while he is responsible." Tarzan smiled inwardly and said no more. It was evident that Nemone was no fool. He would have to devise some other plan of escape that would not jeopardize the safety of his friend.