The Beasts of Tarzan · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Chapter 1
Dedication
The author dedicates the book to Joan Burroughs.
Chapter 2
The Beasts of Tarzan
Tarzan, having been kidnapped and marooned by Rokoff, begins to gather a group of wild beasts, including Akut the ape and Sheeta the panther, to aid in his survival and pursuit of his enemies.
Chapter 3
Kidnapped
Lord Greystoke (Tarzan) learns that his arch-enemy Nikolas Rokoff has escaped from prison. Fearing for his family, he returns to London only to discover that his infant son Jack has been kidnapped. Following a mysterious phone call, Tarzan travels to Dover where he is lured aboard the steamer Kincaid by Alexis Paulvitch, only to be trapped in a hatch and imprisoned as the ship sets sail. Meanwhile, Jane Clayton, suspecting a trap, follows separately.
Chapter 4
Marooned
Tarzan is forced to write a large cheque under threat to his son's life, then is stripped and marooned on a jungle shore. He watches the Kincaid depart with Rokoff holding up his child in mockery. Meanwhile, Jane Clayton, having followed Tarzan to the ship, is captured aboard the Kincaid by Rokoff.
Chapter 5
Beasts at Bay
Tarzan reads Rokoff's note revealing his plot to have Tarzan's son raised by cannibals and his wife endangered. Enraged and grieving, Tarzan is attacked by a bull ape named Molak, whom he kills. He then faces Akut, the new king, and forces his surrender without taking the kingship. Alone and weaponless, Tarzan fashions a stone knife, builds a bow and arrows, and constructs a shelter. He returns to his jungle instincts, hunting for food and preparing for the dangers ahead.
Chapter 6
IV: Sheeta
Tarzan, marooned on an island by Rokoff, reconnects with his jungle instincts, befriends a tribe of apes, and later encounters a panther named Sheeta. He rescues Sheeta from a fallen tree, and together they hunt and fight Numa the lion. Tarzan also completes his weapons and explores the island, grappling with despair over his family's fate.
Chapter 7
Mugambi
Tarzan, while exploring the island, is ambushed by a party of Wagambi warriors led by Mugambi. He calls upon his animal allies—Sheeta the panther and Akut's apes—to rout the attackers, killing all but Mugambi, who escapes. Later, Tarzan reconciles Sheeta and the apes, training them to hunt together. Mugambi, awed by Tarzan's power, eventually joins him. They build a canoe and attempt to teach the apes to paddle, with Akut showing the most promise. Mugambi reveals that the mainland is nearby, explaining how his tribe was swept to the island.
Chapter 8
VI: A Hideous Crew
Tarzan, Mugambi, Akut, Sheeta, and the apes set out by canoe from the island, enduring a tense voyage as the apes panic at sea. After landing on the mainland coast, Tarzan and Sheeta hunt a bull buffalo together, feasting and sleeping side by side. The next day, they encounter Chief Kaviri, who initially attacked them due to a previous betrayal by a white man with a black beard. Kaviri reveals that another party—a white man, woman, and child—passed upriver three days ahead of the bearded villain, pursued by him. Tarzan realizes the child is likely his son Jack, and that Rokoff is chasing them. Tarzan arranges for paddlers from Kaviri's village, but the terrified villagers flee into the jungle, leaving only Kaviri. Tarzan then uses his pack to round them up.
Chapter 9
Betrayed
Tarzan and his wild company continue up the Ugambi River in pursuit of Nikolas Rokoff. After days of travel, Tarzan leaves his group to scout ahead. He encounters a cannibal village whose chief feigns friendship but secretly sends for Rokoff. While Tarzan sleeps, Rokoff and his men capture and bind him. Rokoff taunts and kicks Tarzan, threatening him with death and revealing that harm has befallen Jane.
Chapter 10
VIII: The Dance of Death
Tarzan is bound and subjected to a death dance by hostile natives, urged on by Rokoff. As the spears begin to pierce him, Sheeta the panther appears and kills one of the attackers, causing terror. The natives and whites eventually re-enter the hut, and Rokoff, seeing the corpse, insists on finishing Tarzan quickly. Tarzan recalls a similar rescue of D'Arnot and faces his fate with contempt for his captors.
Chapter 11
Chivalry or Villainy
Rokoff attempts to coerce Jane Clayton into becoming his mistress, threatening her baby's life. Sven Anderssen, the cook, secretly reveals he understands French and helps Jane escape the Kincaid with her child, rowing them up a tributary of the Ugambi River to a native village.
Chapter 12
The Swede
Tarzan confronts the wounded Swede, Anderssen, who reveals that Rokoff has taken Jane and the child. Despite his initial fury, Tarzan realizes Anderssen tried to protect them and shows him mercy before he dies. Meanwhile, Tarzan's pack of apes and Sheeta defend a village against attacking natives, and Mugambi arrives to free Tarzan from his bonds. After routing the savages, Tarzan learns from a prisoner that Rokoff's party has fled upstream by canoe, leading him to resume the search on a false trail.
Chapter 13
XI: Tambudza
Tarzan buries the Kincaid's cook, who died protecting his family, and resumes his pursuit of Rokoff. After losing the trail during a week of storms, he becomes lost in the jungle for the first time. He encounters a native village where the inhabitants flee in terror, having been warned by Rokoff that a 'white devil' and a pack of demons are pursuing them. Tarzan learns that Rokoff's safari is retreating toward the east coast, but the chief, M'ganwazam, denies that a white woman or child is with the party. Suspecting the chief is lying, Tarzan decides to stay overnight. M'ganwazam, hoping to earn a reward for killing Tarzan, assigns assassins to share his hut. Tarzan awakens to a stealthy presence in the darkness.
Chapter 14
XII: A Black Scoundrel
Jane Clayton awakens to find Anderssen holding a baby, but she realizes it is not her own child. Despite her disappointment, she bonds with the infant. They flee through the jungle with Mosula porters, but Rokoff pursues them. The baby falls ill with fever, and the porters desert them. They seek refuge in a village, but the baby dies. As Jane mourns, Rokoff appears.
Chapter 15
Escape
Rokoff confronts Jane Clayton, believing the dead child in her arms is her son, and threatens to make her the wife of the cannibal chief M'ganwazam. Jane, knowing the child is not her own, feigns submission but later, in Rokoff's tent, knocks him unconscious with his own revolver and escapes into the dark jungle, determined to survive and find her way back to her real son.
Chapter 16
XIV: Alone in the Jungle
Tarzan, guided by Tambudza, heads to Rokoff's camp to rescue Jane, but finds it deserted after Rokoff learns of his approach. Jane escapes into the jungle, retrieves a hidden rifle, and attempts to flee by canoe. Rokoff intercepts her by grabbing the mooring rope, recapturing her.
Chapter 17
Down the Ugambi
Tarzan tracks Jane and Rokoff along the Ugambi River, deducing from the spoor that Jane is ahead and Rokoff is closing in. He arrives at the riverbank to find they have taken a dugout. Tarzan swims after Rokoff's canoe, but is attacked by a crocodile and struck by Rokoff with a paddle, disappearing beneath the water. Rokoff flees downstream, pursued relentlessly by Sheeta, Akut's apes, and Mugambi. He eventually reaches the Kincaid, only to find a rifle aimed at him from above. Meanwhile, Jane had reached the bay earlier and now faces the same ship with grave misgivings.
Chapter 18
In the Darkness of the Night
Tarzan escapes a crocodile's grip and kills it, then pursues Rokoff downriver. He learns from Tambudza that the white woman claimed the child was not hers, leading him to believe Jane is safe in London and his son is dead. Meanwhile, Jane defends the Kincaid from Rokoff's canoe, and Mugambi leads the beasts into the jungle to seek a canoe for attack. Tarzan hears shots and a woman's scream, and swims into the darkness to investigate.
Chapter 19
On the Deck of the Kincaid
Rokoff is thrown to the deck by his own men and is killed by Sheeta the panther as Tarzan watches, torn between vengeance and protecting Jane. The pack is brought aboard the Kincaid, and Tarzan learns from Jane that the dead child was not their son, giving them hope. Mugambi returns with a canoe carrying the apes and a native woman, and a confrontation with Rokoff's canoe leads to a volley of shots. The Kincaid drifts back toward Jane's enemies, and Tarzan swims into the river to intervene.
Chapter 20
Paulvitch Plots Revenge
Alexander Paulvitch, consumed by vengeance against Tarzan and Jane, devises a plan to board the Kincaid at night and use an infernal machine hidden in his cabin to destroy the ship. After being refused a canoe by the Mosula villagers, he steals one from a youth and paddles to the vessel. Once aboard, he negotiates with a sailor to be released into the jungle in exchange for his valuables, but secretly winds and sets the bomb before leaving.
Chapter 21
XIX: The Last of the Kincaid
Tarzan prepares to sail the Kincaid back to Jungle Island with his beasts, but a mysterious explosion destroys the ship. The crew and Tarzan's family escape to the island, where Sheeta and the apes flee into the jungle. The Kincaid sinks after a second explosion, leaving the party stranded.
Chapter 22
Jungle Island Again
The castaways establish a camp on Jungle Island, facing hardships and internal strife. Tarzan hunts for food while Jane agonizes over her lost son. Meanwhile, a mutinous crew led by Gust, Kai Shang, and Momulla arrives on the north coast, plotting betrayal and seeking to capture the castaways' women. Gust, fearing assassination, flees into the jungle.
Chapter 23
The Law of the Jungle
Tarzan completes a skiff with Mugambi's help while Schneider and Schmidt feign cooperation before betraying the camp. Schneider lures Mugambi away with a false story, allowing Kai Shang and Momulla to kidnap Jane and the Mosula woman. Gust, a former ally of the villains, warns Tarzan and leads him in pursuit, but the Cowrie sails away with the captives. Tarzan, despairing, is joined by Sheeta the panther and summons the apes of Akut. They launch the skiff to intercept the becalmed ship, while news arrives that little Jack is safe in London thanks to Paulvitch's betrayal of Rokoff.
