Chap­ter 5 – The Beasts of Tarzan opens with a plan set in motion as Tarzan reveals his sea­far­ing inten­tions to Mugam­bi, who responds with excite­ment at the chance to return home. The canoe, drawn safe­ly above the tide line, awaits its trans­for­ma­tion into a prop­er ves­sel. Hav­ing gained expe­ri­ence from craft­ing boats dur­ing his time among the can­ni­bal tribes, Tarzan feels con­fi­dent in his abil­i­ty to cre­ate a sea­wor­thy dugout. Days pass with focus and effi­cien­cy as both men pre­pare for the jour­ney. Mugambi’s heart swells at the thought of return­ing to his home­land. His loy­al­ty to Tarzan strength­ens as their shared goal gives new ener­gy to their actions.

Weapon­ry becomes their next con­cern, essen­tial for the trek through hos­tile ter­rain. Tarzan, well aware of the dan­gers lurk­ing in the jun­gle, choos­es medi­um-length spears over the larg­er, tra­di­tion­al weapons. Their lighter build suits the agili­ty need­ed for maneu­ver­ing through trees. He also con­structs a bow, along with arrows that fly straight and sure, each one honed for dead­ly pre­ci­sion. With these, Tarzan feels ade­quate­ly equipped to face what­ev­er chal­lenges await. For Mugam­bi, how­ev­er, the sit­u­a­tion is dif­fer­ent. He has no weapons, leav­ing him vul­ner­a­ble in a place where dan­ger could come from any shad­ow. Tarzan, rec­og­niz­ing this, offers him the tools he created—a ges­ture of both prac­ti­cal­i­ty and trust.

The gift car­ries more weight than just pro­tec­tion. Among his peo­ple, Mugam­bi knows the spear and bow will ele­vate his stand­ing, even if his tribe has been reduced to one by Sheeta’s sav­agery. Hold­ing the weapons stirs some­thing proud and ances­tral with­in him. In a place gov­erned by might and mem­o­ry, pres­tige is not eas­i­ly earned. With Tarzan’s offer­ing, Mugam­bi gains both respect and secu­ri­ty. The two com­pan­ions, dif­fer­ent in ori­gin but alike in resilience, are bound even clos­er by this exchange. Their alliance is built not on neces­si­ty alone, but on under­stand­ing and shared pur­pose. With prepa­ra­tions com­plete, the dugout waits by the water, its sail ready to catch the wind.

Tarzan and Akut guide the canoe past the dan­ger­ous surf with effort and cau­tion. The tim­ing is pre­cise; waves crash as they push off, and the boat wob­bles but holds. Mugam­bi, eager and unafraid, leaps in first, his thoughts fixed on reunit­ing with his fam­i­ly. Behind him, Tarzan keeps the ves­sel steady, his move­ments flu­id and prac­ticed. Togeth­er, they man­age to break free from the shal­lows and begin the jour­ney across open water. Every pad­dle stroke brings them clos­er to the mainland—and to the unknown. Though the sea offers no promis­es, their bond and prepa­ra­tion cre­ate a sense of hope.

Once under­way, the rhythm of their trav­el becomes med­i­ta­tive. The sea, though unpre­dictable, becomes part of their silent dia­logue. Akut, qui­et and watch­ful, mir­rors the mood of his com­pan­ions. There is trust in his still­ness, and a readi­ness in his eyes. Tarzan, ever alert, sur­veys the hori­zon while men­tal­ly map­ping the jun­gle trails they’ll take once they reach land. The voy­age is not just physical—it rep­re­sents move­ment toward jus­tice, fam­i­ly, and clo­sure. Beneath the sur­face of their calm, ten­sion sim­mers, know­ing that their true chal­lenges lie ahead. But this moment, how­ev­er brief, is one of pur­pose and uni­ty.

In many tra­di­tion­al soci­eties, jour­neys are seen as rites of trans­for­ma­tion. This voy­age car­ries the same weight for Mugam­bi, who departs the island not only as a sur­vivor but as some­one shaped by tri­als and loy­al­ty. Tarzan, mean­while, moves for­ward with the weight of father­hood and the burn­ing need to cor­rect wrongs. Though no words pass between them, the shared silence speaks vol­umes. This cross­ing becomes a thresh­old, lead­ing from raw sur­vival toward the con­fronta­tion of fate. As their boat cuts through the water, the future remains uncer­tain, but their hearts are steady. They move not just toward land, but toward the next stage of their story—driven by hope, sur­vival, and the strength of wild loy­al­ty.