about noon
Today Tarzan was in quest of weapons . He wondered if the women and children had remained in Mbonga 's village after the punitive expedition from the French cruiser had massacred all the warriors in revenge for D'Arnot 's supposed death . He hoped that he should find warriors there , for he knew not how long a quest he should have to make were the village deserted . The ape-man traveled swiftly through the forest , and about noon came to the site of the village , but to his disappointment found that the jungle had overgrown the plantain fields and that the thatched huts had fallen in decay . There was no sign of man . He clambered about among the ruins for half an hour , hoping that he might discover some forgotten weapon , but his search was without fruit , and so he took up his quest once more , following up the stream , which flowed from a southeasterly direction . He knew that near fresh water he would be most likely to find another settlement .