The Beasts of Tarzan · Chapter
In the Darkness of the Night explained
Tarzan escapes a crocodile's grip and kills it, then pursues Rokoff downriver.
What happens
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.
Themes in this chapter
Survival and Resilience
Tarzan's escape from the crocodile's den and his continued pursuit despite a wounded leg exemplify his relentless will to survive.
Revenge and Retribution
Tarzan's rage and desire to kill Rokoff for the crimes against his family drive his actions; Mugambi also seeks vengeance for Tarzan's supposed death.
Savagery and Civilization
Tarzan's beastly roars and the use of the bull-ape cry to intimidate natives contrast with the civilized setting of the ship and Jane's strategic negotiations.
Characters to notice
- Tarzan
Survives crocodile attack, kills the beast, and continues pursuit of Rokoff despite a wounded leg; hears shots and a woman's scream and swims toward them.
- Jane Clayton
Defends the Kincaid from Rokoff's canoe with rifle fire, then negotiates with imprisoned sailors and releases them under threat to plan an escape.
- Nikolas Rokoff
Flees downriver in a dugout, attempts to board the Kincaid but is driven back by Jane's fire; later coordinates with Paulvitch and sailors.
- Mugambi
Leads the beasts of Tarzan into the jungle to find a canoe, seeking vengeance against Rokoff for the supposed murder of Tarzan.
- Alexander Paulvitch
Part of Rokoff's party on the Kincaid, involved in coaling and the retreat after Jane's fire.
- Tambudza
Old negress who told Tarzan that the white woman claimed the child was not hers, leading to Tarzan's reassessment of Jane's whereabouts.
Key passages
“the safety of the limb than two gaping mouths snapped venomously below him.”
He reached the branch just as two crocodiles snapped their jaws beneath him.
Tarzan's narrow escape from crocodiles after climbing a tree.
“the great scar upon his forehead stood out almost continuously in the vivid scarlet that marked the man’s most relentless and bestial moods of rage.”
The scar on his forehead turned bright red, showing his intense fury.
Physical manifestation of Tarzan's rage toward Rokoff.
“the awful cry of the bull-ape thundered upon their affrighted ears, and the great white giant charged bellowing upon them, they had turned and fled into the bush”
When Tarzan roared like a bull-ape and charged, the natives fled in terror.
Tarzan uses his ape cry to scare off hostile villagers.
“the sharp staccato of an exchange of shots and then the scream of a woman.”
He heard gunfire and a woman's scream from across the water.
Tarzan hears the conflict on the Kincaid.
“With a bound he cleared the intervening bush—there was a splash as the water closed about him—and then, with powerful strokes, he swam out into the impenetrable night”
He leaped through the bushes, splashed into the water, and swam into the dark night.
Tarzan dives into the river to investigate the scream.
