# The Fatal Drops explained — Tarzan and the Golden Lion

> Chapter companion for Tarzan and the Golden Lion by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_and_the_golden_lion_se/chapters/v-the-fatal-drops
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_and_the_golden_lion_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/tarzan_and_the_golden_lion_se/chapters