Тарзан, приёмыш обезьян
The Outpost of the World
"Tarzan,"hesaidatlength,"itisimpossiblethattheape,Kala,wasyourmother.Ifsuchathingcanbe,whichIdoubt,youwouldhaveinheritedsomeofthecharacteristicsoftheape,butyouhavenot—youarepureman,and,Ishouldsay,theoffspringofhighlybredandintelligentparents.Haveyounottheslightestcluetoyourpast?"
"Nottheslightest,"repliedTarzan.
"Nowritingsinthecabinthatmighthavetoldsomethingofthelivesofitsoriginalinmates?"
"IhavereadeverythingthatwasinthecabinwiththeexceptionofonebookwhichIknownowtobewritteninalanguageotherthanEnglish.Possiblyyoucanreadit."
Tarzanfishedthelittleblackdiaryfromthebottomofhisquiver,andhandedittohiscompanion.
D’Arnotglancedatthetitlepage.
"ItisthediaryofJohnClayton,LordGreystoke,anEnglishnobleman,anditiswritteninFrench,"hesaid.
Thenheproceededtoreadthediarythathadbeenwrittenovertwentyyearsbefore,andwhichrecordedthedetailsofthestorywhichwealreadyknow—thestoryofadventure,hardshipsandsorrowofJohnClaytonandhiswifeAlice,fromthedaytheyleftEnglanduntilanhourbeforehewasstruckdownbyKerchak.
D’Arnotreadaloud.Attimeshisvoicebroke,andhewasforcedtostopreadingforthepitifulhopelessnessthatspokebetweenthelines.
