Along avenues bordered by old trees Gemnon led Tarzan between the low, white and gold homes of nobles, glimpses of which were discernible only occasionally through grilled gateways in the walls that enclosed their spacious grounds. For a mile they walked along the stone-flagged street. Passing nobles greeted Gemnon, some nodding to his companion; artizans, tradesmen, and slaves stopped to stare at the strange, bronzed giant who had overthrown the strongest man in Cathne.
Then they came to a high wall that separated this section of the city from the next. Massive gates, swung wide now and guarded by warriors, opened into a portion of the city inhabited by better class artizans and tradesmen. Their grounds were less spacious, their houses smaller and plainer; but evidences of prosperity and even affluence were apparent everywhere.
Beyond this was a meaner district, yet even here all was orderly and neat, nor was there any sign of abject poverty in either the people or their homes. Here, as in the other portions of the city, they occasionally met a tame lion either wandering about or lying before the gate of its master's grounds.
Presently the ape-man's attention was attracted by a lion a short distance ahead of them; the beast was lying on the body of a man which it was devouring.
"Your streets do not seem to be entirely safe for pedestrians," commented the lord of the jungle, indicating the feeding lion with a nod of the head.
Gemnon laughed. "You notice that the pedestrians do not seem to be much concerned," he replied, calling attention to the people passing to and fro past the lion and its prey, merely turning aside enough to avoid them. "The lions must eat."
"Do they kill many of your citizens?"
"Very few. The man you see there died, and his corpse was thrown into the street for the lions. The lion did not kill him. You see he is naked; that shows that he was dead before the lion got him. When a person dies, if there be no one who can or will pay for a funeral cortège, the body is disposed of in this way if not diseased; those who die of disease and those whose relatives can afford a funeral cortège find their last resting place in Xarator, though there are also many of the latter that are thrown to the lions by preference. You know we think a great deal of lions here in Cathne, and it is no disgrace but rather the contrary to be devoured by one. You see, our god is a lion."
"Do the lions eat human flesh exclusively?"
"No. We hunt sheep, goats, and elephants in Thenar to provide them with food when there is not enough human flesh to keep them well fed, for we must keep them from hunger if we are to prevent them turning man-eaters."