TARZAN AND THE LOST EMPIRE
EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS
ACE BOOKS, INC.
1120 Avenue of the Americas
New York 36, N.Y.
This Ace edition follows the text of the first hard-cover
book edition, originally published in 1929.
Cover art and title page illustration by Frank Frazetta.
Edgar Rice Burroughs books available in Ace editions:
F-156 AT THE EARTH'S CORE
F-157 THE MOON MAID
F-158 PELLUCIDAR
F-159 THE MOON MEN
F-168 THUVIA, MAID OF MARS
Printed in U.S.A.
To Jean Hulbert
TARZAN TO THE RESCUE
The disappearance of a noted archaeologist hunting the secret of theLost Tribe of the Wiramwazi Mountains was a signal to the one man whocould penetrate Africa's deepest interior—Tarzan of the Apes. For onlyTarzan, the white man who had been raised by the anthropoid apes, couldunderstand the ways of the jungle and its beasts perfectly enough tospeed to the scientist's rescue.
But this time, in addition to savage tribes and vicious beasts, Tarzanuncovered a strange lost land—twin cities of Roman soldiery, outpostsof a ruthless empire that had fallen fifteen hundred years before.
Tarzan's desperate struggle between ancient intrigues and modernschemers, against deadly gladiators and enraged lions, is Edgar RiceBurroughs at his very best.
Foreword: THE REAL TARZAN
Who is the real Tarzan of the Apes?
Everyone generally agrees that he's the strong man that lives in thejungle and can talk with his animal friends. But from there on, thedefinitions will vary. Some will swear that he lives in a tree houseand is usually saying, "Me Tarzan, you Jane," while others will tellyou that he has a son named Boy and a monkey called Cheetah.
In spite of what you may suppose, this is not a valid answer to thequestion. Tarzan does not live in a tree house, he speaks Englishfluently, his son's name is Korak the Killer and he calls his monkeyNkima.
The misconceptions were brought about by the Tarzan motion picturesof a few years back, and, though they have certainly spread Tarzan'sfame, they have altered his character from that created by Burroughs inhis books. The Tarzan novels are vividly conceived, mature, grippingstories told by a talented author.
You hold one of these novels in your hand. You will find the realTarzan far more thrilling than his pale movie counterpart.
—Camille Cazadessus, Jr.
Editor, ERB-dom,
a magazine devoted to the Burroughs books.
Chapter One
Nkima danced excitedly upon the naked, brown shoulder of his master. Hechattered and scolded, now looking up inquiringly into Tarzan's faceand then off into the jungle.
"Something is coming, Bwana," said Muviro, sub-chief of the Waziri."Nkima has heard it."
"And Tarzan," said the ape-man.
"The big Bwana's ears are as keen as the ears of Bara the antelope,"said Muviro.
"Had they not been, Tarzan would not be here today," replied theape-man, with a smile. "He would not have grown to manhood had notKala, his mother, taught him to use all of the senses that Mulungu gavehim."