 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 Tarzan and the stranger. Perhaps only those who have visited a native African village during the long rainy season can picture the crawl of the Punya tribe. It had rained on and off for months. Great stagnant pools of water were everywhere. Moldy rubble was piled high behind each hut. And the few natives who were outdoors wore clothing of hides that were mildewed and sodden. And yet, inside the hut where Tarzan towered above Torgol, the small native boy who was almost like a son to him, it was comparatively comfortable. A bright motto burned in the fireplace. And in the past few hours, Tarzan had managed to make the place reasonably clean. Now he would not smell like home. Well, thank heavens for that. How Mama Nagama could go away and leave your hut in this condition is more than I can understand. She'd leave in hurry when messenger come from Kaira tribe. Mama Nagama's sister's much sick. Well, if her sister keeps house like Mama Nagama, it's no wonder. Mama Nagama say wash dirt away, leave space for demons. Well, if that's the truth, we're going to leave a little room for the demons on your body, Torgol. We're finished house cleaning now and you're next. Tarzan, what you do with blood? I'm going to scrub the top two layers from you anyway. No, no Tarzan, not bring demons on Torgol. I was teasing. There are no demons. And if there were, they'd not be attracted by cleanliness. There we go. No, scrub brush, here. I'm almost finished. Just stop squirming around. It won't hurt so much. I'll dry you off. Torgol feels funny. I'll try not to stay away so long next time. When you're with me, you wash regularly. Now then, you're nice and dry. Slip into your pantry skin and we'll see how much good these can do. What's those? These represent two leopard skins, Torgol. I traded them at an army post in their elbow day. This is a tube of toothpaste and this is a toothbrush. What's they for? To clean your teeth. Teeth? Your men know. You put the toothpaste on the brush. Like this. And then... Hey, Torgol, come back here. I'm not going to paste it now. Torgol, not do it. Don't go inside. No, no. There he is, clamoring up that tree like Manu the monkey. Torgol, you think I'm following you up that tree? You're very much mistaken. I brought these things back from elbow day just for you. Your actions make me very angry. I traded two leopard skins. Come quick, Tarzan. Come into jungle quick. Hurry. Nia, what's the matter? Nia just come from wood by great rock. White men lie in pool water. Horta, wild boar gore him to death. Torgol was forgotten now as Tarzan sped through the jungle, swinging through space on strong trailing vines. The clearing by the great rock was far ahead, but he could see the fetid pool there and a sprawled figure at its edge. The man was alive, but he made no move to escape from the hideous King Boar who was making experimental thrusts with its razor sharp tusks. Sure at last that its victim was helpless, the wild boar prepared for the kill. Its bewiskered lower jaw dropped as it uttered a savage cry. The tusks aimed downward at the helpless man. The boar started its savage charge, but the fatal lunge was never completed for a huge figure had landed on the boar's scaly back and a sharp knife was piercing its thick, mud cake hide. You had a narrow escape. You look completely exhausted. Perhaps I'd best carry you, huh? No. No, just go away. Go away and leave me here. To die in that foul pool of water? I can get up. I'll be all right. Your clothes are those of the city. It's clear you are unused to the dangers of the jungle. Oh, yes, so true and true. Let me carry you to the Punya village, huh? No, I won't go to a native village. I shall not ask you why, nor shall I insist on taking you where you do not want to go. You're not quite up to an argument at the moment. Yes, I guess that's right. I'll be all right, thanks. I mean for saving me from the boar. Goodbye. Goodbye? When I said I would not insist on taking you to the village, I did not mean I intended to leave you here to die. What then? I shall carry you to my seacoast cabin. When you're well, I shall find out what you're doing in the jungle alone, why you made no move to protect yourself from that boar. And why you fear to enter a native village. A short message, and then we shall return to our exciting story of Tarzan. Several days had passed, and now the strange young man Tarzan had saved from the wild boar and brought back to his cabin, had begun to recover from his wounds, his exhaustion, and the exposure to the elements. He had not recovered from the mental illness that had kept him from offering any defense to the boar's attack, and Tarzan was resolved to find the answer to his strange behavior. Well, it's good to see you eating solid food for a change. Another piece of meat? Thank you, Tarzan, it's very good. Where in the world did you get fresh ham in this wilderness? Oh, well, there are always sources of food in the jungle. You ran around at the corner butcher shop, I suppose. Well, it's good to see that your sense of humor has returned. I guess I have to have a sense of humor in order to sit down to eat the wild boar that intended to eat me. That is what I've been eating, isn't it? Yes, of course. You see, I kill only to save my life for another's or for food. Had I not gone back for the boar's carcass, I would have had to take another animal's life to supply our table, and lives are not meant to be wasted. I suppose that was directed at me. Yes, it was. I guess after all you've done for me, you deserve to know why I was apparently tossing my life away. I've been hoping you're telling me. I don't even know your name. Kentner, Dr. Clement Kentner. My friends always call me Dr. Kenny. Dr. Kenny, you're a doctor. I never practiced medicine. I just graduated from medical school a little over a year ago and started out doing research work in the States. Yes, and the good old United States where a research man can starve to death on his own or earn a comfortable living working for a firm that makes shaving lotion or toothpaste. Toothpaste. Pardon me for laughing. It reminded me of a small friend of mine who's not fond of toothpaste or soap. It reminds me of a girl. A girl who thought that if I had to play around with test tubes, it should be for a cosmetic company or a pharmaceutical firm. There's good money in that. But your interest is in science, so you broke with the girl. I came to Africa where I thought there was a real job to be done. I was sure Laura would follow me when she was convinced I was an earnest. And she didn't? At first I gathered from her letters that she might come. Gave me the courage to plunge into my work. I spent months in squalid native villages tracing diseases, trying to find cures. Well, I'm through trying to do natives any good against their will. I was practically driven out of the last native village for trying to destroy a native witch doctor's cure for epilepsy. It was a foul mixture that would have killed the patient. Yes, I know, I know. Yet I cannot believe that it was the natives' actions alone that disillusioned you. You're right, it was Laura. The natives forced me to leave their village. I went back to Portobello. That's where I made my headquarters. There was a letter waiting there for me. Laura had decided not to brave Africa. And a life of poverty and hardships. I don't know what happened to me. I'd been at my desk when I opened the letter. I put it down and I walked out the door. I kept walking and thinking. The town isn't very large. Yes, I know, I've been to Portobello. Pretty soon I was out of the city. It was raining, but I didn't even know it then. I just kept walking. I wasn't even aware of it when I passed from the outskirts of the city to the jungle. I came in the morning, but I still kept on as though I were in a great fog that blotted out the past and in the future. You walked from Portobello to where I found you? I guess I must have. Rain made everything slippery and soggy. I grew weaker. Finally I fell in that pool where you found me. I had no reason to want to get up, even when the boar attacked me. But you are better now. You go back to Portobello and you'll begin your work again. I'll never enter another native village as long as I live. I'll never practice medicine again. And I won't even write to Laura. Well, that ties up all the loose ends. At least you're not a man who... Tarzan! Open door! Let me in! Who's that? That's the native who found you when you were dying. Open door! Quick! I'm opening the door. Come in, come in. The boar before were washed away by the rain. Tarzan, in great trouble. Near ran all the way here. You run everywhere you go and you're always filled with such excitement. I admit the last time you came running, Dr. Kenny here was in danger, but certainly two such emergencies aren't apt to occur. There is another emergency. Tarzan, no mom and a grandma, went to Ganjwa, Umba of Kayora tribe. Togo's mother went to visit a sick sister. Yes. Now come messenger from Kayora tribe, half village sick, black demons rule, crawl, Umbu dies. Some sort of an epidemic, malaria or even cholera perhaps. Mama Nagama's sister's dead. She was a little more than a child. Mama Nagama, Ganjwa too. She thinks she dies soon. Send messenger. Tell Tarzan, bring Togo, village Kayora people. So Mama Nagama, see Togo before she go, lend of spirit. You can't take a child into a village suffering from an epidemic? What should we do, Dr? Where is this native village? About two days' travel from Portobello, north of there. Days' travel from here? Maybe even less by the upper level. And of course, Togo cannot travel as quickly as I can. I said you're not taking a child into an infection zone. Let him remain where he is. All right, Doctor. Neha. Yes, Doctor. Keep the messenger away from the others. Wash everything he's touched. Do you understand? Not do you. Tarzan, gather your things together. We're leaving for the Kayora village at once. But I thought you would never again practice medicine or enter a native village. At times of an epidemic, a doctor has no will of his own. Now, let's not spend time talking about me. We have things to do. All through the night, Tarzan and Dr. Kenny sped through the torrential rains of the jungle. At times, they trudged wearily through the heavy rain-soaked grass. At times, Tarzan half-carried the doctor along the upper level of jungle growth. But never for a moment did they stop to rest. Perhaps the threat of an epidemic was groundless. But if the fear was based in reality, then how to isolate those infected must be taken at once. At last, the village was reached. Tarzan and Dr. Kenny had heard no drums, but their coming had been announced in some strange way, known only to those of the jungle. The natives of Kayora crowded about as the two men passed within the Boma of the crop. Where are those who are sick? Ganjua Inji. Ganjua Inji. Yes, we know there are many sick. Where are they? Wapi Wagonjwa. Kote, kote, kote, kote. What does he say? He says there are sick people everywhere. Keelahima. The woman says they're in every hut. Oh, great. Now we have to start with one of them. Find out where the mother of your young friend is. Mama Nagama Kiko Wapi. Papa. Oh, she's in this first hut. I'll go in and examine her. Try to keep the rest of them outside. It's tough enough trying to make an examination one of these filthy hovels without having every native in the village crowd in. Well, I'll keep them out. I have no instruments, but I may be able to get some out. How long since this sickness started? The first full moon was no sickness. The sister of Mama Nagama was the first to fall ill? Not first. First was young man work home of big water. A native who works at the port? Nadio, work Portobello. He's sick, so come home. Die soon. You might have brought a disease from there. Spread the infection here. Not now. Please, please don't grab at my arms. I'll see everyone who is sick before I leave. Please, I must speak to Tarzan. Have you examined Mama Nagama, Dr. Kinney? Yes, and I gave a cursory examination to two or three others. It's even worse than we guessed. Worse? What's wrong with Mama Nagama and the others? The disease is known by many names. Black pestilence, black death, bubonic plague. And unless we can work some miracle, it can spread over the entire continent. We'll return to our exciting story in just a moment. Those who are sick have promised to remain in the north part of the village, Dr. Kinney. Well, isolating those we know have the disease may help some. What's the next step? It must be impressed on the natives that no one must leave the village. The epidemic must not be carried to other tribes. Yes, I've already told them that. You mentioned it before. Oh, yes, I'd forgotten. And now? I've made out a complete list of the things I need from Portobello. But of course, if they're experiencing the plague there, they may not be willing to part with the anti-plague vaccine and the other supplies that we need. Is there... Is there any place else I could go? No. Unless we can get it there, we're sunk. There won't be time for you to travel further. Well, if time is important, they'd better leave now, huh? Of course, I'm probably sticking my chin out again. Even if you get the vaccine, there's no guarantee the natives will let me inoculate them. Well, I have some influence with them, and if I tell them that this vaccine is the only known cure... That's just it. You can't tell them anything of the sort. It isn't a cure. It's a preventative for those who haven't already contracted the disease. And those who have? In some cases, we may be able to save them if we're lucky. It's always a long gamble. Of course, none of the medication will do any good if the village isn't cleaned up. You mean the rats? They're usually responsible for its introduction. And heaven knows there are plenty of them here. The disease is actually spread by their ectoparasites. Ectoparasites? Fleas. Where to get rid of the rats and the fleas, I'll have to have the cooperation of every able-bodied man, woman, and child in the village. I can direct their war against the pestilence, but I can't defeat the Black Death single-handed. You shall have help. I promise you. I'll get every member of the tribe to follow your orders. And I will travel to Porto Belloan and return as fast as my legs will carry me. Oh, thank heavens you're able to let me have the vaccine, doctor. Well, I'm not a doctor. I'm an orderly. We had three doctors at Porto Belloan. Dr. Kenny's in the interior. Dr. Ferrara died of the plague three days ago. Dr. Kurtz is down on the waterfront working himself to the death now. I see. Well, I've got to get back to the Cuyola village. Will you have the package ready soon? Well, they're getting the supplies together for you as fast as they can. You know, we're pretty short-handed. Those the plague hasn't taken are busy fighting. Yes, yes, I can imagine. They're burning the grain elevators and the wharves today. If we can just get the upper hand on the rack... Well, could I help get the supplies ready? Well, you'd only be in the way. Just relax for a second or two. Oh, by the way, as long as you have to wait, you might take a minute to talk to that girl out in the hall. Girl? I thought you might have noticed her on your way in. She's a good-looking girl. I'm afraid I have little time today even for good-looking girls. Oh, you don't understand. You see, she's been sitting out there in the hall for three days. Came to see Dr. Kenny. I told her he wasn't here. But she just keeps sitting there. Well, if she wouldn't take your word for it. Well, you could tell her you just left him or something. That he's all tied up there in that native village. Why a nice girl wants to leave a place like the states to come to this crazy country is more than I can figure out. From the states? Hey, miss. Yes? Come in here a minute, will you? Yes, of course. Oh, here, just left Dr. Kenny in the interior. Oh, you wanted to send some sort of a message. Oh, yes, I do, I do. You've just left Dr. Kenny? Yes. He's in a small native village about three days' march from here. He's fighting the plague. And he's doing the work he's always wanted to do. How, how is he? He was fine when I left him, Laura. You know my name. Yes, Dr. Kenny spoke often of you. But I'm surprised to find you in Africa. I suppose he told you I wasn't coming here. I've been afraid of Africa. I thought that if I wrote that I wouldn't come here, he'd return home. He didn't answer my letter. He was terribly hurt and disillusioned by your letter. I knew afterwards that I'd done wrong. I caught the next boat. Take me to him if you're going back. That's quite impossible to take you there. It's bad enough here. I know. I saw them dying like flies on the wharves when I arrived. But, but maybe there's something I can do to help. I'm not a nurse, but I... Your flies are really not Tarzan. I'm sorry, Laura, but I can't take you with me. I must travel as fast as I can in order to get... What's wrong? I don't know. My head, suddenly everything went swimming. And now my head aches. Oh, it's splitting. You orderly said you'd been waiting here for days. Have you eaten lately? Yes, sir. I'll make them, make them turn that, that light out. It's blinding me. It's only a very small light. Perhaps... Orderly! Orderly, she's very sick. Can you get a doctor? I told you there's only one doctor in town and he's busy fighting the plague. Well, I wouldn't even know where to find him. But we have to do something for her. We can't do her any good. I'm not a doctor, but I know the symptoms. She's got the bubonic plague. Tarzan sped through the jungle as fast as his powerful legs would carry him. Now his thoughts were divided between concern for the natives and worry over the girl who had crossed half the world to be with Dr. Kenny. He was hardly aware of the sudden change of weather that is characteristic of the equatorial countries. The rain had stopped and the sun shone bright and hot. He was aware at once, however, of the change that had taken place in the village of the Kayora as he passed within the Boma. It had been scrubbed as clean as a Dutch town and the natives stood in a long line before a whitewashed shack. Jumbo Tarzan! Dr. Wait in Shack, hurry! Of course. Dr. Kenny? Oh, you made good time, Tarzan. Bring the package over here. Good. I'll take my bag. What you've done in this village is miraculous, Dr. But these people have done as miraculous. I've never seen people work as they have. There isn't a rat left in this village. Now that we have the vaccine, ah, that's it. It looks as though we'll have enough. Dr. Kenny, before you start with the intentions... Say whatever you're going to say. I had them line up an hour ago. They told me you were coming. Yes, they know these things. But it is important that I try... Hand me that roll of cotton. Oh, here. You, step up. You're first. Tarzan, watch what I do. I want you to use the cotton soaked with alcohol like this. There. Well, save me time. Of course. Here, I can reach the bottles of vaccine for you. No, no. Don't pull the rubber stopper out. My needle draws out the vaccine through the stopper. See? Like that. Now then, your arm, please. Will hurt? A little. Steady now? All right. Next. Dr. Kenny, I must say something. Rub this child's arm with alcohol the way you saw me do it. All right. Dr. Kenny, your Laura is in Portobello. Laura in Portobello? Yes, she arrived a few days ago when the plague was at its worst. She's been waiting there for you to tell you that she knew she was wrong, that she does love you, and that she's here to stay. Wonderful. All right. That takes care of you. Next. I spoke with her. Just when she was begging me to bring her back here to help you, she fell sick. Laura? Sick? Or not? The plague. I'm sorry. I jabbed you so hard. Next. You aren't leaving here now? You aren't hurrying back to Laura? I want to, Tarzan. I want to more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. But I've started something. The people here have done everything I've asked. They're beginning to look at me a little as they look at you, with confidence, with love. I can't leave them now. Not even for Laura. You're a strange and wonderful man, Dr. Kenny. I'm a doctor. With this hot sun, I may be able to turn the path of an epidemic. Cleanliness and sun and dry heat. They can do more than any medicine in the world. All right. Next. Come on. Hurry up here. Dr. Kenny won't hurt you. Let me clean your arm, friend. There's just one thing I'm worried about. What's that? Mom and the gama left the village. She was well on the road to recovery when she just disappeared. I hope she hasn't carried the plague to some other section of the country. Did she know she was getting better? Must get through. No. She still insisted that she was going to die. Tarzan! Tarzan! Tarzan! Nia, what are you doing here? Run from village. Ponyu people. Mama Naganya come home. Say she see Torgo, for she die. And did she die? No. Mama Naganya better. Now Torgo sick. Torgo! But Dr. Kenny, we must go to the Ponyu village at once. Tarzan, I know how you love the little native boy. But I must complete my work here first. There are hundreds in jeopardy in this village. Torgo is but one life. Even as... Even as Laura. How much further to the Ponyu village, Nia? Reach soon. You drive plague from Ponyu village. I hope I'm as lucky there as I was in the Kayora village. And I hope Torgo has not succumbed. What's that? It's Tarzan cry. He let us know he come to meet us. Maybe that means Torgo is worse. He's come to tell... Dr. Kenny! Oh, it's good to see you. It's good to see you, Tarzan. How is Torgo, Nia? How is Laura? Did you get... Laura is well on the way to recovery. And the plague has been arrested in Portobello. And it never existed in the Ponyu village. Apparently, Mama Nagama was better by the time she arrived home. But Torgo's illness. I left him when I went to save you from the wild boar. He thought my failure to return meant that I was angry with him. He got sick when he attempted to put himself back in my good graces by eating half a tube of toothpaste. In just a moment, a few words about our next story of Tarzan. Even today, the custom still exists. The barbaric practice still holds sway. For in many sections of Africa, a girl child is considered worthless. Good only for the marriage price she can bring when she has reached the age of nine or ten. In our next story, Tarzan attempts to halt the marriage purchase of a blue-eyed child and brings down upon his head Arab vengeance. Tarzan, the 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.