 From the heart of the jungle comes a savage cry of victory. This is Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle. From the black core of dark Africa, land of enchantment, mystery and violence comes one of the most colorful figures of all time. Transcribed from the immortal pen of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan, the bronzed white son of the jungle. And now in the very words of Mr. Burroughs, the story of all presumed dead. The jungle near the Miyugo village had been abnormally quiet all that day. And yet there was an intense quality in the air, a threat of impending disaster. Then as the jungle night suddenly descended, it began, the panic stampede of the frightened animals. There were no signs yet of the hurricane, which was soon to ban its destructive anger, but the beasts of the jungle knew of its coming and they swept westward to escape its fury. But one jungle creature, one whose keen senses had foretold the coming of the hurricane hours before, did not flee from its path. Instead he traveled by the upper level of jungle growth, until he had reached the very spot where the tempest was destined to strike most savagely. Tarzan had come to warn the people of Miyugo. All of your belongings must be weighted down with heavy rocks or stored in caves and your people must run for their lives. We know Tarzan. We put things in caves when here animals stampede. You've already done that? No deal. Then why do your people stand about? Why do they not take to the trails the elephants have made in their flight? People say they not go. But why do they cast so little for their lives? It's because of Anakia. I have heard of Anakia. She she is said to be the most beautiful girl in the entire jungle, but what is she to do with the refusal of your people to leave the village? Anakia refused to go. People not leave jewel of Miyugo tribe behind. But someone must have influence over her. Has she no suitors among your warriors? All unmarried men of Miyugo are suitors of Anakia, but she not take any as husband. Not listen to any of them now. But this is madness to let a woman swim cause the death of hundreds. Where is the hema of her parents? She not there. All day, all night she stand on big rock to north of village. She stands on the rock all day and all night. Has she lost a reason? Not no. But all time she stand there. Not say word. Just look up at sky. Well, I shall make her lower her eyes until they look into mine and I shall convince her that she must leave the village before the hurricane strikes. Not think your words change Anakia. Then I'll be forced to throw her over my shoulder and carry her. No. Anakia like goddess to my people. You take her by force. They fight you. They kill if they catch. Well, if I can make them chase me, perhaps I can lead them to safety. The people of Miyugo stood about in confused knots as Tarzan crossed the village and headed for the big rock that had long served the tribe as a lookout post. And as he approached the huge boulder, he caught his breath with the sheer loveliness of the native girl who stood there. Her skin was the color of rich honey. Her hair was black and silken. Her lips were like the red of the jungle desa flower and her upturned eyes were as black and as unwavering as pieces of polished jet. She did not even glance down at Tarzan's approach. I am Tarzan. Anakia knows. Do you also know why I've come here to talk with you? Not leave village, Tarzan. But you must. Your people refuse to leave without you. If they remain here, they may all be killed. Do you want to have their deaths on your soul? Anakia cannot leave. Stop gazing up at the sky and tell me why you think you must remain here. I said, look at me. What do you expect to find in the heavens? Anakia waits for great bird. A great bird? You have lost your reason. It's not reason that is gone. But Anakia's heart. She loses it to great man bird. There's no use in trying to make sense from the things you say. I'm afraid I'll have to take you away from here by force. Wait! That's just a plane that's been driven off its course. They've probably received a storm warning and they're trying to get away before it's too late. We'll have to do the same. Can't you see that, Anakia? No, no. Please, Tarzan. I'm sorry, but I haven't time to argue anymore. I have no intention of waiting here until the hurricane strikes. Oh, but Tarzan, Anakia cannot leave. Now more than before, she must stay. Oh, it's too late to leave now anyway. The hurricane is on us. In just a moment, we'll return to our exciting story of Tarzan. The jungle hurricane twisted and turned and spiraled like some great serpent intent on destroying all of its path. Great trees splintered and crashed, made you cut sail through the air like protest kites and death rode savagely through the village of the Miubu. The plane that had circled overhead but a moment before the tide of destruction swept through the village had escaped. Neither the stewardess nor the passengers were aware of their danger, but the pilot and the co-pilot exchanged nervous glances. There was a tension present that not even the danger of the hurricane could explain. You must be crazy circling around this way. What's the big idea, Rex? I wasn't aware I had to account to you for my actions. No, the great Captain Rex Hakin doesn't have to explain a thing to a green coal pilot. Well, I can tell you this. I want to live to be a veteran pilot. If you keep flirting with that hurt... That's enough, Bob. I pulled out of it all right. Yeah, you made it that time. Hey, Rex, the all quantity, a number four engine's dropping. We'll check it for a few minutes. There, it's backfiring now. Another number four, Bob. Right. Want me to get your clearance back to Cairo? Just stay away from that radio. We're continuing on. The hurricane's reported right on our course, with one motor, I think. You heard me. I'm running this thing. Okay. Only a little beat. Why don't you let me take the controls for a while? If you'll just pipe down, maybe I won't look so beat. I was only figuring that if you let me take over. Yack, yack, yack. What are you trying to do? Talk your way across Africa? Okay, I'll button my lip only. Listen to that rain. You must be entering the hurricane now. Really, Rex, I think we ought to turn back. We'll detour. I can get around the hurricane. Yeah, I suppose the mighty Rex Haken can. Hey, you're turning in the wrong direction. We'll run straight into headwinds of the east. If you detour west, we'll run into tailwinds, and we'd be okay. Just sit back. I've been flying this route for six years. Yeah, I know, but if we try to buck this wind, we'll run out of gas. You must be nuts. I'm going to get your hands off that wheel. There are 40 passengers aboard, and I'm not going to let you... He was reaching for the mixture controls, feathering the number four engine. He clumped his head against the control pedestal. Can I do something for him? He'll be all right. You better take care of the passengers. See that they all have their seat belts fastened. I already did that. And you get back there to the stewardess seat and fasten yours. All right. Only how are you going to get her through this weather? I know what I'm going to do. I know exactly what I'm going to do. Plane shook violently as the turbulence of the hurricane increased. Inside the cabin, 40 frightened passengers clung to their seats, and the stewardess offered a silent prayer. But inside the cockpit, Captain Rex Haken proceeded with his carefully worked out plans. He feathered the number three engine, where he had no intention of being cut by its propeller. Then he set the plane on automatic pilot and reached for his suitcase. His jaw was tense as he extracted a parachute and slipped into the harness. Then he unscrewed the compass from the instrument panel, tucked it in his pocket, and patted his shoulder host to reassuring. He cut the other two engines, stepped to the cargo door, and swung it open. Trumpling hands grasped the parachute's release ring as Rex Haken threw himself clear. And a moment later, the giant airliner went into a spin and plummeted downward toward the storm-ravaged jungle. A week later, Captain Lawrence of the governmental police made his way to the now-ravaged village of the Miugu. I say, is anyone here? I say there, I am Tawson. I didn't expect to find you here. I hardly expected to be here, or anywhere for that matter. I arrived in the village but a short time before the hurricane struck. Oh, thank heavens you were saved. How about the Miugos? Any of them escaped? A few. A native girl I was talking with when it happened managed to survive. We found shelter by a huge rock at the north end of the village. Oh, good work. The chief of the Miugu and a few others came out alive, but many of them were badly injured. I've remained here to help nurse them. Well, I hope you can shelve your nursing duties for a while. I've done about as much as I can. How can I be of service to you this time, Captain Lawrence? I need a lift, literally. What do you mean? Well, one of those airliners that travels from Cairo to Accra crashed somewhere near here a week ago. I have to find it. And those who spotted it from the earth reported that in a section of the jungle so dense that it can't even be reached by the elephant trail. But it might be reached by the upper level, huh? Is that it? Exactly. And with your help, I might be able to get by up there in the Apes province. I'll be glad to help. Do you really expect to find anyone alive after a week in the jungle? No, there's not a chance that any of them even escaped the crash. The report said that it was obvious from the air that the ship was completely demolished. Well, then why must you find it? Routine inspection. The airline would send their own inspectors if there were a chance of their getting to the spot. I have to report back to them. Orders. It seems so useless to calm the jungle for the wreckage when you're already certain that everyone's dead. How many were aboard? Here. I'll read you all the details. You have the details before you make your investigation? Well, not quite. This is a copy of the American Wire Service report on the accident. Here we are. Go ahead. Reports reach Cairo today that the DC-4 lost in the hurricane that swept over most of Central Africa last week has been sighted from the air. Several of the scourge of planes that have been searching for the missing airliner reported seeing the tangled wreckage in a remote jungle forest about 40 miles southwest of the native village of Miugu. Captain Rex Hakem, who narrowly escaped death a year ago when he was forced down in the same territory, was the ship's pilot. Airline officials said Hakem had been with the company almost 12 years and had logged more than 4,000 hours over the Cairo Acro route. Rubber W. Guthrie of Canton, Ohio was co-pilot, and Miss Virginia Wortham of Sacramento, California was stewardess. The company said it had no word concerning the fate of the crew or the plane's 40 passengers, but that they were all presumed dead. This was the first accident to take place in more than... Just a minute, Captain Lawrence. Yes? If they were on their way from Cairo to Acra, they must have been almost 150 miles east of their course. Yes, that's correct. I suppose the hurricane must have thrown them off that far. Was their radio working? Yes, and everything was perfectly all ready at the last radio contact. It must have been about an hour before they went down. We heard a plane circling over here just before the hurricane struck. Did they have warning of its coming? Yes, they did. But I suppose a veteran pilot like Hakan thought he could muddle through. I know very little of aeronautics, Captain Lawrence, but I know the ways of Usha the Wind. And an airline pilot would also have known that a hurricane in this hemisphere travels counterclockwise. Yes, I believe that's right, but I don't see what you're getting at. And just this, Captain Lawrence, if the man at the controls had wanted to outrun the hurricane, he would have turned west. Are you surely don't think Captain Hakan or his co-pilot headed into that gale deliberately? I don't believe either of them were at the controls. What? If they had been, the plane would never have been that far off course. No, whoever was at the controls intended the plane to crash. Perhaps some criminal who commanded the plane just after their last radio contact. He may have shot or intimidated Captain Hakan in the co-pilot. But if some crazy fool did that, he must have been aware he'd be committing suicide as well as murder. Unless he knew how to fly a plane and had some scheme for saving his own life. It's pretty far fetched, Tarzan. Perhaps the wreckage may provide the answer. At least we'll find out for sure what happened to Captain Hakan and the others. Hakan? Oh, Anakia, have you been standing here long? Wife, men, busy, talk? I see there. What an amazingly pretty native girl. Oh, this is Anakia, Captain Lawrence. Oh, what do you want, Anakia? Anakia, look for a potion. Tarzan, make from herbs. But you saw me put it in the hemo we built yesterday. You were with me. Not know where it is. Tarzan, fine. All right, Anakia, in just a moment. Captain Lawrence, perhaps we shall find the answers when we've found that plane. A plane? Oh, well, something's happened. You wouldn't understand about Anakia. I'll be ready in a few minutes, Captain. Right, though. Perhaps we may find that when they said all presumed dead, they presumed too much. In just a moment, the exciting conclusion to our story of Tarzan. There's not much left of the plane to examine. No. I can't see a sign of any bodies either. Oh, the Karyans must have taken care of that. Oh, ghastly. Well, at least it's obvious no one could have escaped from this crash alive. Yes, it's true. I guess I've been letting my imagination run away with me. Well, that looks like a fairly large piece of the plane right over there. The instrument panel is comparatively whole. Let us start with that, though. Frankly, I'm hardly an expert in this sort of thing. It still seems strange that an experienced pilot should have chosen to detour to the east. I say, this is even stranger. One of the instruments seems to be completely missing. How can you tell? The instrument panel is a little more than a massive twisted metal and splintered glass. Yes, but if the force of the crash had ripped the missing instrument from the panel, the edges of the screw holes would be jagged in the air. They aren't. Well, that thread's been marred. Well, then it must have been removed before the crash. Probably some instrument they could do without enough behind for a fairing. Hmm, I hardly think so. Altimeter, airspeed, rate of climb, turn in bank, tachometers. I don't see a compass. That's what's missing. And they would never have left Cairo without a compass, that's sure. And anyone leaving here to make his way through the jungle would have been equally certain to take a compass along. But it doesn't make sense. How could anyone have lived through a crash that scattered the wreckage in every direction? What's this over here? Hmm. Eh, looks like brown fabric. I do come from the plain, but I don't see how it could have gotten large under this rock. Look. A parachute. Stained brown by the dirt it was buried under. Well, someone piled earth on top of the parachute so that it wouldn't be discovered, but the driving rain of the hurricane washed the earth away again. You're right. Do the airlines have a good idea of what they're going to do? Hmm. Civilized men are much too ready to jump to conclusions. All presumed dead. Yes, all except a fugitive from justice who boarded the plane at Cairo, perhaps as a stowaway. He had a parachute concealed on him. And the plane ran into weather, he made his way into the cockpit and took over. Then he managed to jump a moment before the plane crashed. It must have been a desperate man to have taken a chance at landing on one of the few tiny clearings of this ship. I don't know what to say about that, but I don't know what to say. Yes, and the rain might have rendered the parachute absolutely useless at any time during his descent. He's a desperate criminal, all right. And his latest crime? The murder of more than 40 other people who were aboard that plane. Well, if he survived a week in the jungle, we'll track him down. Ow! The rain that washed the earth away from his parachute also washed away any trail he may have left. I guess it's no use, Tarzan. You're right. There's little sense in going on this way. Whoever it was, I'd have perished in the jungle or got away with the most hideous crime of recent years. I hate to admit defeat. What? I suppose I'd better start leading you back to civilization, huh? Yes, I'll just have to make my report of my findings, and then I'll... Just a moment, Captain Lawrence. I thought I saw a slight movement in those bushes up ahead. Who's there? Who's there? You're very tired. Perhaps you only imagine. Oh, there is someone. Speak before I send an arrow crashing into the bush. No! Not shoot arrow, Tarzan! Anakia! What are you doing here? You're far from the Miyugu village. Miyugu not have meat left. No animals near since storm. Men dead or sick. So now Anakia is noondadji. What's she saying? She says that she's the hunter of the tribe now. Well, you won't find much to hunt her. Who's with you, Anakia? Someone else has concealed behind the foliage. I'm sorry you're looking specimen I never saw. Anakia, find him while she hunt. His people all dead from big wind that kills. What tribe do you belong to, Kugodo? Oh. He not speak tongue of white man. Menani Kugodo? Kivenu Kuwapi? Oh. Also he not speak tongue of this land. Come for me, Anakia. Anakia! Anakia! Anakia! You speak tongue of this land. Come from jungle, far away. Those natives ever settle for one die like we might be able to converse with them. Well, it's plain that he's been through many hardships, Anakia. I... I wouldn't spend too much time hunting. He should be taken back to your village. You come back, Miyugu village, Tarzan? No, I'm afraid the Miyugus will have to do without my help. I'm going to take Captain Lawrence as far as the Kassalia Railway. And then I shall go to my sea coast cabin to see how it weather the storms. And do you think it's safe to let this girl take a lucky man travel alone? Anakia safe in jungle. See? Anakia's knife. I shouldn't like to be on the receiving end of that blade. I guess I panthered thing twice before attacking you. They'll be all right. Travel well, Anakia, and could go down. Nendi, Upezi. Travel well, Tarzan. Who's Captain Lawrence? Who are they? The man who look for you, my hikan. He's good. I dye your skin and make you look like native. Anything? Oh, not tremble, my hikan. Anakia's knife is not for animals alone, but for men who would hunt you down. But still, they should seek you. I told you, they're jealous of me. They'd like to make it look as though I was responsible for the accident. They'd like to force me to go home and stand trial. They not take you away from Anakia. They not take you from jungle. There wouldn't be much of a match against that white savage. Not to mention the other one. If they should figure out my disguise... I'll find them. And her knife speaks for the man she loves. Well, Captain Lawrence, this is where we part. Yes. The end of our first unsuccessful mission together. And we're not even able to bring back Captain Haken's body so that his wife will be convinced that he really died in the jungle this time. This time, he was flying his own plane over here about a year ago when he ran out of petrol. Had to make a forced landing. It wasn't that news dispatch I read you. I didn't pay any attention to it at the time. What did you mean when you said something about convincing his wife that he'd really died in the jungle this time? Well, it was a bad joke, I guess. One shouldn't repeat gossip anyway. What gossip? Tell me. Well, I never knew Rex Haken or his wife personally. But they say she's something of a shrew. According to rumor, he tried to let down he'd been killed when his plane came down. He didn't want to go home to wifey. The devil of a row with the chaps who found him. Why? Well, it seems the natives who spotted his plane as it was coming down thought he was some sort of a god from the heavens. I don't know what tribe it was, but they treated him royally. One chap who knew Haken quite well said the natives called him the great man bird or something like that. Fugitives from justice, stowaways, planes commandeered. And I accused civilized men of jumping to conclusions. Lawrence, I've been a fool. Well, I don't want to wait a fortnight for the next train. I guess I'll have to wait until I see you again to find out what kind of a fool you are. You're coming back to the meagre village with me. And when you do return home, I think you'll have a murderer as your prisoner. What did you find out? All of the natives who escaped the hurricane are still here in the village. No more and no less. And Anakia and the others are all busy in that large building preparing food and placing it on trays. What do you think he is? There's a light in that new hut just ahead. It's the only place he could be. Have your gun ready, Captain Lawrence. Your gun wouldn't hesitate to take two more lives. I'll force the door and you enter after me. I'll get out of your way if you have to come in shooting. All right, huh? All right. Here goes. Whoa! Oh, it's you. Well, I'll never let you capture me. Good work, Lawrence. You shot the gun right out of his hand. Well, gun or no gun, I won't let you take me back. Oh! All right. All right, I know what I'm looking for. I've got him covered, Tarzan. You can put your gun away. He's harmless now. You're not going to make me go back. You can't make me go home. The first thing you're going to do is to answer some questions. Anything you want to know? You wrecked the airliner on purpose, didn't you? Yes, yes, on purpose. Why? It was the only way. I've been in love with Anakia for a year. She's so beautiful I had to come back to her. But my wife would never let me go. I was just to make her believe I was dead. I was sure everybody believed that all aboard had been killed in the crash. How long in advance did you plan the little accident? For months. I kept waiting and waiting. And then at last the hurricane gave me the perfect opportunity. Only almost didn't make it. I couldn't find my way here. Even with the compass? My parachute let me down with an awful jolt. And something went wrong with the compass. I wandered for over a week. But Anakia found you. She dyed your skin with jungle berries and disguised you as a native. Kugodo. Well, go ahead, kill me. Only don't take me back. I don't want to stand trial and give my wife the satisfaction of hearing me condemned. Kill me now and bury me here where I may be near Anakia. Watch out, Tarzan. It's the currency as a knife. Not kill Tarzan! Anakia! What are you... Anakia! I couldn't stop her, Laurence. She moved too quickly, even for me. Anakia here. She hear him say he has wife. Now Anakia, no. Rex Hacon, not great bird or god. He's only man who is bad. He deserved to die. Yes, he did. But it was not your right to kill. The penalty for what you have done is death. And yet I cannot believe that your beauty was made to perish so soon. Anakia, I pray that the justice of the jungle will not deal too harshly with you. In just a moment, a preview of our next exciting story of Tarzan. Lord Charisbrook had always felt that young English lads who would someday inherit important titles and great wealth should be given responsibilities early in life. So he established a trading account for Master Anthony at one of London's great financial houses. But the account in Lord Charisbrook's air disappeared at the same time. And Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, was drawn into one of his most exciting adventures. Tarzan, a transcribed creation of the famous Edgar Rice Burroughs is produced by Walter White Jr., prepared for radio by Bud Lesser with original music by Albert Glasser. This is a Commodore production. Listen to our next story, Small Packages, another thrilling episode of The Lord of the Jungle.