The Beasts of Tarzan · Chapter
Paulvitch Plots Revenge explained
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.
What happens
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.
Themes in this chapter
Revenge and Retribution
Paulvitch's entire motivation is revenge against Tarzan, driving him to plot the destruction of the Kincaid.
Survival and Resilience
Paulvitch risks the dangers of the jungle and natives to secure a canoe and board the ship, driven by the need to survive and exact vengeance.
Characters to notice
- Alexander Paulvitch
Plots revenge against Tarzan and Jane, steals a canoe, and sets an infernal machine aboard the Kincaid before escaping into the jungle.
- Tarzan
Observed by Paulvitch on the Kincaid's deck with Jane, unaware of the hidden threat.
- Jane Clayton
Stands with Tarzan on the vessel's deck, recounting their adventures.
Key passages
“Plan after plan he formed only to discard each either as impracticable, or unworthy the vengeance his wrongs demanded.”
He repeatedly devised schemes but abandoned them as either impossible or insufficient for his revenge.
Highlights Paulvitch's obsessive and futile planning.
“Within the little hardwood case hidden in the cabin table rested sufficient potential destructiveness to wipe out in the fraction of a second every enemy aboard the Kincaid.”
The small box concealed in the table held enough explosive power to instantly kill everyone on the ship.
Describes the infernal machine's deadly capability.
“He would come by night to the side of the Kincaid, and once aboard, would search out the members of the ship’s original crew who had survived the terrors of this frightful expedition, and enlist them in an attempt to wrest the vessel from Tarzan and his beasts.”
His plan was to sneak to the ship after dark, find the surviving crew, and persuade them to help him take control from Tarzan.
Outlines Paulvitch's initial strategy to retake the ship.