Tarzan and the Golden Lion · Chapter
The Fatal Drops explained
Tarzan confronts the intruders in his domain, while Flora Hawkes recognizes him and plots with Kraski to drug his coffee.
What happens
Tarzan confronts the intruders in his domain, while Flora Hawkes recognizes him and plots with Kraski to drug his coffee. Meanwhile, back at the farm, Jane receives news of her father's illness and departs for London, and Jad-bal-ja escapes into the forest.
Themes in this chapter
Identity and Deception
Tarzan is mistaken for Esteban Miranda by the conspirators, and Flora Hawkes uses deception to plot against him.
Mastery and Obedience
Tarzan asserts his authority over the jungle and the intruders, while Korak struggles to control Jad-bal-ja.
Characters to notice
- Tarzan
Confronts the intruders in his jungle, displaying his anger with the scar on his forehead.
- Flora Hawkes
Recognizes Tarzan and plots with Kraski to drug his coffee, fearing his power.
- Carl Kraski
Follows Flora's instructions to drug Tarzan's coffee.
- Jane Clayton
Receives news of her father's illness and departs for London.
- Korak
Exercises Jad-bal-ja on a leash and later accompanies Jane to Nairobi before returning to the farm.
- Jad-bal-ja
Escapes from his cage due to a caretaker's negligence and disappears into the forest.
Key passages
“When Tarzan was angry there flamed upon his forehead the scar that Bolgani, the gorilla, had placed there upon that long-gone day when the boy Tarzan had met the great beast in mortal combat, and first learned the true value of his father’s hunting knife”
Tarzan's anger causes the scar on his forehead to glow red, a reminder of his childhood battle with a gorilla where he discovered the power of his father's knife.
Highlights Tarzan's primal anger and the origin of his scar.
“It is he, though,” she insisted. “Do you suppose that I do not know him? Did I not work in his town house for years? Did I not see him nearly every day? Do you suppose that I do not know Tarzan of the Apes?”
Flora Hawkes insists that the man is Tarzan, having recognized him from years of service in his household.
Shows Flora's intimate knowledge of Tarzan and her fear.
“The golden lion Korak exercised upon a leash, since he was not at all confident of his powers of control over the beast, and feared lest, in the absence of his master, Jad-bal-ja might take to the forest and revert to his natural savage state.”
Korak keeps Jad-bal-ja on a leash because he worries the lion might escape and become wild without Tarzan's control.
Foreshadows the lion's escape and the danger it poses.