midday
It was the diary of John Clayton , Lord Greystoke -- kept in French , as had always been his custom . Tarzan replaced the box in the cupboard , but always thereafter he carried the features of the strong , smiling face of his father in his heart , and in his head a fixed determination to solve the mystery of the strange words in the little black book . At present he had more important business in hand , for his supply of arrows was exhausted , and he must needs journey to the black men 's village and renew it . Early the following morning he set out , and , traveling rapidly , he came before midday to the clearing . Once more he took up his position in the great tree , and , as before , he saw the women in the fields and the village street , and the cauldron of bubbling poison directly beneath him . For hours he lay awaiting his opportunity to drop down unseen and gather up the arrows for which he had come ; but nothing now occurred to call the villagers away from their homes . The day wore on , and still Tarzan of the Apes crouched above the unsuspecting woman at the cauldron .