He cared not whom the thieves might be. They would not give up
the gold without a battle, of that he was certain, and with a wild
whoop and a command to his followers, Achmet Zek put spurs to his
horse and dashed down upon the Abyssinians, and after him, waving
their long guns above their heads, yelling and cursing, came his
motley horde of cut-throat followers.

The men of Abdul Mourak met them with a volley which emptied a few
saddles, and then the raiders were among them, and sword, pistol
and musket, each was doing its most hideous and bloody work.

Achmet Zek, spying Werper at the first charge, bore down upon the
Belgian, and the latter, terrified by contemplation of the fate
he deserved, turned his horse's head and dashed madly away in an
effort to escape. Shouting to a lieutenant to take command, and
urging him upon pain of death to dispatch the Abyssinians and bring
the gold back to his camp, Achmet Zek set off across the plain
in pursuit of the Belgian, his wicked nature unable to forego the
pleasures of revenge, even at the risk of sacrificing the treasure.

As the pursued and the pursuer raced madly toward the distant forest
the battle behind them raged with bloody savageness. No quarter
was asked or given by either the ferocious Abyssinians or the
murderous cut-throats of Achmet Zek.

From the concealment of the shrubbery Tarzan watched the sanguinary
conflict which so effectually surrounded him that he found no
loop-hole through which he might escape to follow Werper and the
Arab chief.