Tarzan the Untamed · Chapter
Usanga's Reward explained
Tarzan rescues Bertha Kircher from Usanga, who attempts to fly away with her in an airplane.
What happens
Tarzan rescues Bertha Kircher from Usanga, who attempts to fly away with her in an airplane. Tarzan climbs a rope to the plane, frees Bertha, and together they subdue Usanga. Afterward, Tarzan guides the pair to safety and bids them farewell, choosing to remain in the jungle despite their invitation to return to civilization.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Adaptation
Tarzan uses his jungle skills—rope throwing, climbing, and tracking—to rescue Bertha and navigate the wilderness.
Loyalty and Betrayal
Usanga betrays his comrades and attempts to kidnap Bertha for his own gain, while Tarzan returns to aid the stranded pair despite earlier reluctance.
Characters to notice
- Tarzan
Rescues Bertha by climbing a rope to the airplane, subdues Usanga, and later guides the pair to safety before refusing to leave the jungle.
- Fräulein Bertha Kircher
Captive of Usanga, she catches the rope thrown by Tarzan and helps him take control of the plane.
- Usanga
Attempts to fly away with Bertha but is thwarted by Tarzan's intervention.
- Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick
Bound and helpless on the ground during Usanga's escape attempt, later freed and flies away with Bertha.
Key passages
“He is an Englishman, and the other is a woman. They can never reach the settlements without my help. I could not kill her with my own hands when I tried, and if I let them go on alone, I will have killed her just as surely as though I had run my knife into her heart.”
Tarzan realizes that without his assistance, the Englishman and the woman will not survive the jungle, and that abandoning them would be as fatal as killing them directly.
Tarzan's internal conflict and sense of responsibility compel him to return and help.
“It is too bad that she is a German and a spy, for she is very hard to hate.”
Tarzan acknowledges that despite Bertha's nationality and role as a spy, he finds it difficult to dislike her.
Reflects Tarzan's complex feelings toward Bertha and the theme of loyalty versus prejudice.