The Beasts of Tarzan · Chapter
The Law of the Jungle explained
Tarzan completes a skiff with Mugambi's help while Schneider and Schmidt feign cooperation before betraying the camp.
What happens
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.
Themes in this chapter
Savagery and Civilization
The contrast between the brutal, lawless actions of Schneider, Kai Shang, and Momulla and the ordered, protective law of the jungle that Tarzan enforces.
Family and Paternal Love
Tarzan's desperate pursuit to rescue Jane and the joyful resolution of little Jack's safe return underscore the theme of protecting family.
Survival and Resilience
Tarzan's refusal to abandon hope, his summoning of jungle allies, and the successful rescue despite overwhelming odds highlight resilience.
Characters to notice
- Tarzan
Leads the camp, completes the skiff, pursues the Cowrie after Jane is kidnapped, and summons Sheeta and the apes for rescue.
- Jane Clayton
Urges Mugambi to go to Schmidt's aid, is kidnapped by Kai Shang and Momulla, and is later rescued; learns little Jack is safe.
- Nikolas Rokoff
Referenced as the mastermind behind the kidnapping of little Jack; his plot is foiled by Paulvitch's betrayal.
- Alexander Paulvitch
Betrays Rokoff by arranging the substitution of another infant and negotiating the child's return for ransom.
- Mugambi
Helps build the skiff, is tricked by Schneider into leaving camp, and later joins Tarzan in the pursuit.
- Sheeta
Returns to Tarzan's side, is caressed by him, and is counted as a powerful ally in the planned rescue.
Key passages
“Not again," he said quietly. "Before have I permitted scoundrels to live, only to suffer and to have you suffer for my mercy. This time we shall make sure of one scoundrel—sure that he will never again harm us or another.”
Tarzan tells Jane that he has learned from past mistakes in letting villains live, and now he will kill Schneider to prevent future harm.
Tarzan's decisive action reflects his hardened resolve and the law of the jungle.
“The woman had promised to keep the child until Paulvitch returned to England; but she, in turn, had been tempted to betray her trust by the lure of gold, and so had opened negotiations with Lord Greystoke's solicitors for the return of the child.”
The woman who was supposed to hold little Jack for Paulvitch instead sold him back to the Greystoke family for a ransom.
This reveals the chain of betrayals that ultimately saved the child.