Rahan. Episode 142. By Roger Lecureux. The Ghost of Taroa. A Puke(TM) Comic.

Translated by the Son of the Puke Ages.
Index:
https://rumble.com/v3486cm-rahan-index-of-episodes-by-roger-lecureux..html

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Source of Rahan Comics:
Philippe Ropers.
https://vk.com/topic-203785966_47424128

Rahan.

The Son of the Ferocious Ages!

Episode One Hundred and Forty Two.

By Roger Lecureux, drawn by Andre Cheret.

The Ghost of Taroa.

The spirits told me that Taroa escaped from the realm of shadows!
He prowls our territory, he watches us.
Find him and beg his forgiveness before he takes his revenge!

How do I find him, Ka-Huk? All dead hunters look like this!
That is right, Ooka!
But the spirits revealed to me that Taroa, to better deceive the clan.

Took this appearance! Search for him and beg him to forgive the clan!

Page Two.

Have the spirits really visited you, father?
No, Yahoo, that face is in my imagination! Ooka and the others got too nervous.

The hope of finding this so-called Taroa will occupy their thoughts and soothe them!
It would be easier to kill Ooka, father!

If I were to lead the clan, I would know how to restore the order and obedience that once reigned!
That day will come, Yahoo!

Ka-Huk, the sorcerer hung the carved wooden head with the trophies that adorned his hut.

Ooka will find you Taroa! But he will not beg for your mercy!
By the greatest of coincidences, this wooden face looked exactly like that of a hunter the sorcerer had never seen!

Page Three.

And that was why some time later, the son of Crao was going to live a strange adventure.
Ha-ha-ha! Ooka finally found you, Taroa!

Rahan felt bad about choosing this ravine to doze off in.
But now was not the time for regrets.
Zlac!

You escaped from the "Shadow Kingdom", Taroa.
But Ooka will send you back there! You will not come back to haunt the nights of the round moon!

I am not Taroa, Brother! I am Rahan! The son of Crao! I, Oh!
Zlang!

Rahan leapt like a wild beast into a trap to escape the spear throws. But he suddenly groaned.
A rock projection.
Argh!

Page Four.

His vision blurred. He was at the hunter's mercy. When he swayed to the side of the ravine.

An instant later.
Rahan will never know why you called him "Taroa". In any case, whoever shot that arrow saved Rahan!

Clinging to the thorns that clawed at his limbs, Rahan quickly pulled himself out of the ravine.
But he himself is in danger!

No! No! argh!
Oh! The "Striped Skin" is going to slit their throat!
A hundred paces away, a large tiger was knocking down a young girl!

The son of the fierce ages had neither time to rush nor to detach the spear. He could only throw it, with the vine that would weigh it down, making the throw imprecise.

Page Five.

What? What.
Vroom!
The vine had untied itself, and had even increased the power of the projectile tenfold!

Never before had the son of Crao thrown a spear with such force, such precision.

Mortally wounded, the great beast furiously tried to stand firm.
The ivory knife completed the work of the lance.
Ra-ha-ha!

These victories always left Rahan with a bitter taste.
Rahan could not let you tear apart an unknown sister! Oh!
He noticed with amazement that the feline was wearing a necklace of braided rushes!

On the ash-covered ground, the young girl lay lifeless.
She has neither bow nor arrow.
So she was not the one who saved Rahan! But then who?

Page Six.

Why did the hunter who wanted to kill Rahan call him "Taroa."
Why did the one who saved Rahan disappear without making himself known?

As Rahan carried the girl towards the lake they glimpsed.
Look! It's Ooka's spear! Ooka has challenged the spirits! Their curse will strike the clan!

The stranger, however, slowly came back to herself.
No! No!
Showa does not want to become a "Tiger Woman" like Yahoo! Showa wants to keep her face!
Rahan was confused.

She opened her eyes slightly and.
Oh! So Ka-Huk was right!
You managed to escape from the "shadow-kingdom"!

Father! Father! I am happy to see you again!

Page Seven.

Everything is going so badly since your death!
Proud Yahoo sows discord and ours quarrel constantly! But tell me, father!

How did you escape from the "Shadow Realm"? How did you take this appearance, this strength.
Rahan was stunned by this statement.

No one has ever returned from the "shadow-territory", showa! And Rahan is not your father! He is Rahan, the son of Crao! Do you hear?
Rahan! Rahan!

Rahan killed a "Striped Skin" who was going to slit your throat and.
What are you saying!? You killed Yahoo's "Tiger"? Then you are lost! We are both lost! Look!

The hunters who were running in the distance were screaming cries of death.
Ah! If we knew how to "Crawl-on-water," we would still have a chance to escape them.

Page Eight.

A small island stood out in the mist, in the middle of the large lake.
We would be safe there!
Rahan knows how to "Crawl-on-the-Water", Showa!
He will take you there!

Oh! Fear Nothing!
The shouting hunters were already shooting their arrows.

But Rahan, swimming between two waters, was quickly out of reach.
He soon returned to the surface.

And.
But, it is Taroa!
He came back from the "Shadow-Territory" to look for his daughter!

The hunters' attitude changed abruptly.
Forgive us, Taroa! Forget our cowardice!
Do not come back to haunt the nights of the round moon!

Page Nine.

Rahan could see the prostrate men but was too far away to hear their pleas.
Rahan does not understand! They wanted to kill us and now they are begging the sky!?

Because they recognized you, Taroa! It is your forgiveness that they implore!
Stop calling me that, Showa!

Argh!

Emerging from the depths, giant eels paralyzed the legs, attracting them irresistibly.

Page Ten.

Rahan knew the "Water Serpents" were harmless.
But the size of these, who probably wanted to play, made them fearsome!
Rahan must kill! He must!

Showa hardly fought anymore when the ivory knife.
Decapitated the eel that was coiling around her.

Alone, Rahan had easily freed himself from the embrace. But unable to abandon his suffocating companion, he was struggling to secure his blows.

And suddenly.
Oh! Everything is against Rahan!
The knife had just been torn from him by a sudden convulsion of the eel.

Who suddenly dived back into the depths!
No! Rahan will not abandon his knife.

Page Eleven.

Since that distant night of his childhood when he stole this weapon from the chief of the river clan, who had threatened to cut out his tongue.

This knife was, with its necklace of claws, his most precious possession. So precious that his first reflex was to dive back to the "Water Serpent." But.

Realizing that Showa would not survive this dive, he quickly returned to the surface.
Rahan has never seen such big "Water Serpents"! He will find them!

I, I, I believed. That my chest, burst, I.
Everything will be fine, Showa! Rahan will come looking for you as soon as he finds his knife!

Leaving his companion on the small rocky islet, he dove back in immediately.
He had only one thought.
His Knife!

Page Twelve.

The "Good Spirits" finally join Rahan's side!
The giant eel writhed in the seaweed to rid itself of the weapon that was bruising its flesh.

But as soon as it saw the man, it slipped into a deep crevice.
Ah! Without a Harpoon, Rahan will never be able to dislodge the "Water Serpent" from its lair!

Out of breath, the son of Crao had to come back to the surface.
So, another surprise awaited him!
Showa! Showa! Where are you?

The girl had disappeared!
Rahan only stayed under water for a moment. She could not leave.
Since she does not know how to "Crawl on Water"!

The island was only about thirty paces long.
Anxious, the son of the fierce ages scanned the surroundings, when.
Oh. They come from the island where Showa wanted to go!

Page thirteen.

Riding on bamboo skiffs, the men approached.
Who are you? We saw you bullying a girl who looks like Showa, one of ours!

What did you do with her!?
If you do not answer we'll kill you and throw your entrails into the "Deep Waters"!

Why wait!
"Fire Hair" dragged Showa into the depths of the water to kill her! He must die!

Rahan narrowly avoided the fearsome harpoon.

Rahan hates to face "Those-who-walk-upright!"
But he will not allow himself be harpooned like a common fish!

Page Fourteen.

These men, who did not know how to swim, were wading and clinging to their skiff.
The others were going to strike.
The "Shadow Kingdom" awaits you "Fire-Hair"!

When suddenly.
Back, Brothers!
This hunter saved me from a tiger that Yahoo-the-proud had set after me!

Still dazed, Showa emerged from a hole.
Rahan was helping me reach the Isle of the Banished, but he lost his weapon while fighting the "Water Serpents."

He had just dived to look for it when I slipped on these rocks, in this hole.
I only just came to my senses!
Do not kill this hunter brothers!

But oh! What do you want to do with this harpoon, Rahan?
With Showa alive, Rahan had only one worry left: his knife!

Page Fifteen.

He easily found the gap where the giant eel had taken refuge.
Rahan will drive you from your lair, "Water Serpent"!

But it was in vain that he pricked, searched with his harpoon.
The eel had fled this fault to go and die elsewhere.

Somewhere in the tangled mess of seaweed.
Rahan will never find his cutlass again!
Never again! Never again!

And shortly after.
Showa told us everything. We know that La-Huk-the-sorcerer, claims that Taroa, Showa's father, our former leader, escaped from the "Territory-of-shadows" in the guise of a young hunter!

Ka-Huk did not think that evil spirits would release a hunter who looks exactly like the one whose face he sculpted into our territory!

Page Sixteen.

Ha-ha-ha! The “Clairvoyant” Ka-Hauk did not foresee this!
The hostility of men had given way to cordiality.

But the son of Crao could not share their gaiety.
The thought of his lost knife obsessed him forever!

And a thousand scenes came back to his mind where the marvelous ivory weapon sparkled, fine and strong, light and implacable.

Page Seventeen.

He relived all those battles where his life had depended only on that precious knife.

He relived his departures towards new horizons, guided by this knife.

He relived those adventures which, having lost it before, he had always found it again.

But this time it was all over, his weapon was lost forever in the unfathomable depths!

Page Eighteen.

Chase away the sadness from your heart, Rahan! My people will give you another knife!
Showa is right. Take mine! It's an offering from the "Outcasts"!

Rahan thanks you, brothers! But why were you banished from the clan?
Because we refuse to submit to the "tiger god"!

In the past, our clan worshiped only one god. The sun!
We will all live happily under the guidance of the wise Taroa, the father of Showa.

But one day, Taroa disappeared in a terrifying forest fire.
Our people could probably have come to his aid.

But, panicked, they abandoned him in the middle of the flames.
Cowards! Cowards! The spirits will not forgive you!

Page Nineteen.

Since that day, every time the round moon returns, my father's ghost comes to reproach the hunters for their cowardice!

On these nights, the voice of Taroa rises from the bowels of the earth!

Haunted by remorse, and fearing being dragged into the "Shadow Realm" by the spirit of Taroa, our people adopted the new cult.

It is no longer the "sun god" that the clan deserves to worship!
It is now to the tiger god that it must sacrifice everything!

The great totem tree was dedicated to the new god.
Ka-Huk now adorned himself with a "Striped Skin" and his daughter Yahoo raised a brood of young tigers.

The tiger became a sacred animal and some, during hunts, preferred to let themselves be torn apart rather than resist the "Striped Skins" they encountered!

Page Twenty.

But "The Spirit of Taroa", with each round moon, demands more.
Hunters must offer their faces to the "Tiger God"! Those who refuse will be banished!

And for many.
Argh!
To give themselves the appearance of the tiger, they let strips of skin be cut on their faces!
But some refused to.

To submit to this horrible ordeal.
They were banished forever and had to take refuge on this, in the middle of the lake.

Here are those outcasts, Rahan!
I had long decided to join them to escape Yahoo-the-cruel!
Why are you running away from this Yahoo?

Showa did not have time to answer.
Storm!
Storm!
A huge eddy, in the distance, had just gouged the waters of the great lake.

Page Twenty-One.

Screaming in terror, the banished rushed towards the rocks, and took refuge in the cracks.
Come Rahan! Quick! Quick!

Rahan never runs away without knowing the danger that threatens him!
Now the waters were rising. A monstrous head broke the surface.

And the son of Crao thought he was living a nightmare.
The tide surged towards the shore when the creature emerged in turn.

Rahan saw! Now Rahan can run away!
If "Ouraga" Gives him time!

Page Twenty-Two.

This way, Rahan! Quick! Quick!

Showa's anguished call rose from the rocks where the banished had hidden themselves.

Those men are safe there! Rahan has no right to lure "Ouraga" to their hiding places!

Digging a deep wake, the monster approached the island.
He watched Rahan rushing to the shore, looking for shelter.

Your companion is brave, Showa! But he will pay for his sacrifice with his life!
Rahan!
Oh!

The son of the fierce ages had just plunged at the foot of a large rock.
"Ouraga" will not devour Rahan!
Or he will have to swallow this rock with him!

Page Twenty-Three.

The shadow of the monster enveloped Rahan who clung to the rock as if to blend in.

Krack! Argh!
The jaws closed so abruptly on the granite block that splinters flew out!

Ten times the monster tried to snatch this tiny prey.
Ten times Rahan escaped the terrible grip of its teeth!

Suddenly "Ouraga" had just turned around.
Ra-ha-ha!
You will have to find a more tender prey, "Ouraga"!
The monster raised a huge wave as it disappeared into the great lake.

Rahan is a Brave man!
Hum. Rahan has never been so scared! Do you often deal with this creature?

Page Twenty-Four.

Very rarely! And you just have to hide to escape him.
For us, Yahoo-the proud, Ka-Huk the witch, and Ooka are much more dangerous!

Because they forbid us the shore! Going there to hunt or to fetch fresh water has become impossible!

And Yahoo will become even more dangerous, because she will now reign supreme!
She killed Ooka!

I was coming back from the spring.
Ooka at the edge of a ravine, thought he had found Taroa.
But Yahoo appeared and shot him in the back!

And that was when she saw me.
Knowing that I had seen her crime, she set one of her tigers against me!
Kill Kaor, Kill!

Page Twenty-Five.

If Rahan had not intervened in time I would have been torn to pieces and devoured!
Ra-ha-ha!

But who was Ooka?
After the death of my father, Taroa, the clan had chosen Ooka as its leader.
But Yahoo had always been jealous of him!

Yahoo is the only woman in the clan to have offered her face to the "Tiger God"!
Did she endure this terrible ordeal?

Yes, Rahan! All night long she screamed in pain while her father Ka-Huk slashed her face!
Argh!

Yahoo did not come out of her hut until the plains had healed!
From then on her authority over the clan continued to grow!

Page Twenty-Six.

But Ooka remained an obstacle for her.
Now that she has killed him, she will impose all her wishes!

And her first goal will be to annihilate those who still refuse the cult of the “Tiger-God”!

However.
Your trick has backfired, father! A hunter who looks like the one you imagined has taken refuge on the island of the banished.

And the others are now convinced, as you predicted, that Taroa has escaped from the "Shadow Kingdom"!
We will get nothing more from them!

Ka-Huk the sorcerer and his daughter were raging.
This unknown hunter must disappear as soon as possible!
I will make sure that he does not return from the "Territory-of-Shadows"!

Page Twenty-Seven.

If our people are worried about my absence, tell them that I went to beg "Taroa" to come back among us!
Ha-ha-ha!

The clouds unmasked the moon when La-Huk landed on "The Island of the Banished."
Over there! It is him!
I cannot be mistaken, I who reinvented his face!

Alone on the shore, the son of Crao thought of his ivory knife, swallowed up forever in the depths.

Suddenly he heard the sand crunch and.
A "Striped Skin" on this island? It is impossible.
Oh!

The tiger had stood up! A man was throwing himself towards him, his spear raised.
“Hair-of-fire”!
Your eyes have seen the moon for the last time!

Page Twenty-Eight.

The attack was too crude to deceive the agile Rahan.
Ah! Ah!
The tiger's claws are more formidable than your spear!

Rahan does not steal the life of "Those who walk upright."
But, you are a "Striped Skin", are you not?
So.

Alerted, the "Banished" came running.
But, it is Ka-Huk!
He wanted to kill Rahan!
In that case, his life belongs to you!
Suddenly tearing away from Rahan's embrace.

The sorcerer rushed into the night towards the rocks.
He does not know how to "Crawl-on-water"! He will not go far!

Watch the skiffs! Do not let him escape from the island before Rahan returns.
What, what are you going to do?

Rahan would like to see this Yahoo you talk about so much!
She will have you massacred!
Page Twenty-Nine.

Disdaining the skiffs, Rahan was already diving.
On the shore, in the distance, a large fire was burning.

It is the round moon.
The clan is waiting, no doubt, for the visit of the spirit of Taroa!

The whole clan, in fact, was gathered around the totem of the "Tiger God".
Rahan was sneaking cautiously between the huts, when.
Oh!

The resemblance of the wooden face to his own was uncanny.
Yahoo probably shares this hut with Ka-Huk.
Rahan will be waiting for her here!

The hut was empty.
He was groping his way inside when he felt a sharp pain in his hand.
Aie! What is this?

Page Thirty.

Oh! Rahan has never seen such a short arrow! But is it an arrow?
The object he had pricked himself on had tiny, needle-thin points.

And suddenly.
No! It cannot be! Rahan does not believe in spirits!
His ears must be deceiving him!

Silence fell and a distant, muffled voice seemed to rise from the totem!
The clan must never forget that only loyalty to the "Tiger God" can redeem its crime against Taroa!

The totem that talks!
The spirit of Taroa!

Oh! Yahoo is returning to her hut!

The son of the fierce ages could not be mistaken, the woman with the zebra face who was approaching could only be the daughter of the sorcerer!

Page Thirty-One.

Have you already returned from the "Outcasts”, father!?
Why do you not show yourself to ours?

Rahan turned around.
Oh!
The Hunter with the “Hair-of-Fire”! What, what.
Your father is in the hands of those you torment, Yahoo!

He will only be released if you agree to share this territory with the "Banned"!
Once the shock had passed, Yahoo resumed her haughty face.

Never! The banished will be annihilated! And you, you will pay for your audacity!
Haika! Goar! Chakko!

Yahoo was shouting names, and from a nearby hut surged forth growling tigers.
Attack! Kill! Kill! Kill!

Page Thirty-Two.

Ra-ha-ha!
Crack!
The bone dagger broke at the first shock!

The son of Crao could only flee.
The black waters of the lake he dove into stopped the wild beasts.

In the distance the clan begged the spirit of Taroa to grant them forgiveness.

And suddenly Rahan thought he was dreaming.

The unreal voice of the “spirit” also rose from an islet.
The one near which he had lost his ivory knife!
Your sons and your sons' sons will have to pay for your cowardice.
It is not a "Spirit" who speaks, but a man!

Rahan wants to know!
He let himself slide into the hole where Showa had fallen the day before.

Page Thirty-Three.

A few torches lit up a narrow, but deep cavern.

A carcass of a "Striped-Skin" lay near a waterhole.

And deep down in the tangle of roots of a dead tree, an old man was screaming!
May the remorse of your cowardice haunt you until the end of time!

Rahan understood.
This cave connects the islet to the shore, under the lake! The clan is unaware of its existence!
It is the voice of this man that rises from the totem!

The old man, who was clearly no longer in his right mind, suddenly noticed the intruder.
What, what! Who are you!?
No one has the right to disturb Taroa in the "Shadow Realms"!

Rahan is not an enemy, Taroa!
All hunters are Taroa's enemies! You will die!

Page Thirty-Four.

Oh! Where did you find this weapon?!

The old man who rushed towards Rahan was brandishing the ivory knife!

Unbalanced by a shock to the leg, he hit the rock so hard that Rahan thought his skull was shattering.
Vrang! Argh!

He remained unconscious for a long time, stammering words with which Rahan was able, little by little, to reconstruct his strange adventure.
When he came to, his gaze was less troubled.

The shock seemed to have restored his sanity.
Oh. Where am I? Where are my brothers? Where is Showa?
Rahan will lead you to them, Taroa!

The sun was setting the great lake ablaze when the son of Crao reappeared to the "Bannished."
Rahan returns!
Rahan returns, with Taroa!

Page Thirty-Five.

A little later.
Father! Father!
This time you really escaped from the "Shadow Realm"!
Taroa has never been to the "Shadow-Territory"! Rahan will tell you.

Taroa, who you thought had died in the fire, had managed to drag himself to shore. A skiff was there.

It could save him from the fiery hell.
But a wounded tiger had taken refuge on this skiff!

Or, and this may seem incredible, the wild beast accepted the man!
It was shortly after that Taroa discovered, on the islet, the entrance to an underground cavern unknown to the clan!

But in his fight against the fire, Taroa had lost his mind.

Before being abandoned by the clan he was obsessed with the idea of revenge. And.

For moons, Taroa and his companion "Striped-Skin" lived beneath the lake, feeding on the "Water-Snakes" that sometimes slithered into the cavern.

Page Thirty-Six.

It was stuck in the body of one of these "Water Serpents" that Taroa found the knife that had been taken from Rahan!

But the death of the "Striped Skin" one day upset Taroa.
It was from that day that he imposed the cult of the "Tiger-god" on the clan! You know the rest.

But Taroa's ideas have become clear!
Rahan told him how this cult had divided his people!
Taroa will bring back harmony!

Did you tell him that you had to kill a tiger to save me? I don't think those scars will ever go away!

The beast's claws had left long blackish streaks on Showa's arms.

How strange.
Rahan pricked himself, in Ka-Huk's hut, on a curious bamboo object.

Page Thirty-Seven.

And these spikes, too, did not disappear!
They too have the color of burnt wood!
Tiny black spots remained on the palm of the son of the fierce ages.

But Rahan thinks he understands, Showa!
Everything is charred where the "Striped Skin" knocked you down.
The burning wood powder has soiled your wounds! It has seeped under your skin!

And Rahan also believes that Ka-Huk and Yahoo did not suffer much to "Sacrifice" their faces to the tiger god!

The son of Crao did not have time to explain. A huge commotion in the distance announced the return of the monster.
Ouraga! Ouraga Returns!

You cannot live in constant fear of this creature!
It must be destroyed!

Give your spears to Rahan!
The terrible head slowly emerged.

Page Thirty-Eight.

Abandoning their spears to Rahan the "Banned" had taken refuge in the rocks.
You are far away “Ouraga”! But Rahan knows how to reach you!

A coincidence had revealed to him how to increase the power of the spear tenfold with the aid of a line.
Ra-ha-oh!

It was a failure.
The vine, which had providentially untied itself the first time, had this time blocked the lance.

And yet the spear flew very far. But it must remain free!
Oh. Maybe with this branch!

The son of the wild ages had the gift of improving his fortuitous discoveries.
In invented perhaps that day, the first launcher.

Page Thirty-Nine.

Ra-ha-ha!
Incredible, It struck the “Ouraga”!
Vroom!
Despite the distance, the first spear thrown by Rahan had hit the monster!

Vroom!
A second spear stuck itself in the neck of the creature, which, more annoyed than hurt, approached the island of the "Banned."

And suddenly.
Untie me! Untie me! Do not let "Ouraga" eat me!
Oh! Ka-Huk!

Everyone had forgotten the sorcerer, left tied to a stump, on the shore!
Rahan cannot abandon him to this monster!

Page Forty.

The son of Crao, who was rushing towards the captive, did not have time to reach him.
The enormous neck stretched. The horrible head plunged towards the ground.

And.
Ah! This is too awful!
Rahan had disappeared, snatched by the terrifying jaws!

Like the "Outcasts," the clan had witnessed the horrible end of what they thought was the "Wraith of Taroa."
This time, Taroa will never return from the "Shadow Kingdom"!

Ka-Huk was wrong! Taroa was no hunter!
He was an enemy!
It is good that “Ouraga” got rid of him!

In the distance, the monster returned to the middle of the great lake!

Page Forty-One.

The perfidious Yahoo would have been less cheerful if she could have guessed why the monster was agitated in this way.

Clinging to the fascine of spears that pierced the palate and the tongue of the creature, Rahan still lived!
Rahan is alive! Alive! Alive!

Rahan will not die like this! No! No! No!

Let those spears break and he would disappear, swallowed up by that throat that was throbbing behind him!

If he must die, he wants to die in broad daylight, in the bright sun!

That day, he could only see between the fangs that were closing inexorably!
From the burst palate a torrent of blood flowed, mixing with the sticky drool.

And suddenly he felt the lances crack!
No! No! No!

Page Forty-Two.

As soon as he let go of those spears the jaws would snap shut.
He knew it.
But this was his last chance.
Courage, Rahan!

The son of the fierce ages extended like a wild beast, diving narrowly between the sharp fangs!
Ra-ha-ha!

Ho. “Ouraga” spat out Rahan!

Imagining the terrible moments Rahan had just experienced, the Banished cheered his magnificent dive.

Page Forty-Three.

But, on the shore, Yahoo and her people reacted quite differently.
Since the "Ouraga" could not tear this demon apart, our tigers will do it in his place!

Exhausted by his efforts, the son of Crao let himself be tossed about by the turmoil caused by the dying monster.
A wave pushed him towards a cove on the shore.

Rahan will return to the island later when he has regained his strength.

A final ripple stirred the surface and the creature, down there, its brain punctured, disappeared forever into the depths of the lake.

So the winner of this unequal and fantastic confrontation lay down on the sand, smiling at the sky and the sun.

Rahan hopes you are proud of your son, Crao!

Page Forty-Four.

But Suddenly.
Here is the demon! Kill! Kill!

Still exhausted, Rahan knew he would not be able to overcome the beasts Yahoo had just unleashed on him!
Rahan was confused.

But he stood his ground.
Ra-ha-ha!
Rahan will not go alone to the "Shadows"!

The felines surrounding him were about to pounce when a clamor rang out.
Taroa!
Taroa!
Taroa!
A flotilla from the island of the banished was approaching.
On the lead skiff stood the old chief!

Page Forty-Five.

The cruel Yahoo had turned pale.
So Taroa did not perish in the flames?
If Showa told him I wanted to kill him, I am lost!

The wild beasts had thrown themselves on the son of Crao, who was leading a desperate fight.
Ra-ha-ha!

But suddenly.
Kill the tigers, brothers!
It is Taroa who orders you!

The men were hesitant.
Taroa, who had imposed on them the cult of the "tiger god" was now asking them to sacrifice what they had worshipped!?

Kill the Tigers!
And I will pardon you for having one day abandoned me to the fire of the forest!
On these hunters, tormented by remorse, this promise had the effect of a whiplash.

Page Forty-Six.

Ten arrows whistled at once, saving Rahan from certain death.
Thankyou, Taroa, thankyou.

Shortly afterwards, the son of Crao narrated to the Lake Clan the extraordinary adventure of his chief.
It was not the spirit of Taroa who spoke to you on the nights of the round line, but Taroa himself!

Unable to explain this voice rising from the totem, Ka-Huk-the-sorcerer probably sincerely believed that Taroa had returned from the "Shadows"!

But he lied to you by claiming that Taroa had taken the appearance of Rahan!
And when Taroa demanded of you to worship the "Tiger God" from now on, Ka-Huk and Yahoo lied to you again!
Because.

While you endured the terrible trials. While the flints cut your faces.

Page Forty-Seven.

Yahoo and Ka-Huk, they disguised theirs almost without pain, with the powder of burnt wood!
Because they had a secret!

Look at those black dots, in Rahan's hand.
They were made by that object he found in Ka-Huk's hut!

To subjugate the clan, Yahoo-the proud pretended to be the only woman faithful to the "Tiger God"!
But look.

Her face. She has no wounds, no scars!
These stripes are just an image of ash that Ka-Huk placed under her skin with the bamboo needles!

The son of Crao discovered, at the same time as this clan, what would later be called tattooing.
Yahoo has lost her superiority.
Euh. Euh!
It is the truth.

Page Forty-Eight.

Ka-Huk and you are demanding sacrifices that you would not make yourselves!
I also know that you stole Ooka's life and are trying to kill Showa!

I will not demand your life, as the law of the clan gives me the right!
But your place is no longer among us, Yahoo! Leave!
Join Ka-Huk and never come back!

The “banished” and “the Faithful”, those who had accepted the cult of the "Tiger God" and those who had rejected it, unanimously acclaimed the verdict!
And immediately!

Our clan will never forget you, Rahan!
It is thanks to you that our hunters have reconciled!
No, Showa! It is because of this!

If chance had not inspired the sorcerer with a face, Rahan would not have been hunted.
He would not have saved Showa and therefore he would not have.

Rahan could not list all the twists and turns born of this chance!
For chance, which one would say is a malicious god, was already playing in these wild times, on the destiny of "Those-who-walk-upright"!

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