D’Arnot awakens in a shelter made of tree branches and ferns in the forest. He is weak from the beating. Eventually, he sees a tanned, muscular white man squatting nearby and calls out. D’Arnot tries to speak French, then English, then any other language he knows a few words of, but Tarzan does not understand any of them. He brings D’Arnot a hollow gourd filled with water to drink. Tarzan also brings a piece of bark and writes on it in English that he is Tarzan of the Apes. D’Arnot tries to reply in English, but Tarzan does not respond. D’Arnot wonders if the man is deaf or non-speaking and instead writes his response, identifying himself as Paul D’Arnot and asking why he does not understand spoken English. Tarzan explains in writing that he only knows the languages of animals and has only ever spoken to one human, Jane Porter, via signs. He writes that Jane Porter is back with her people and that he will return D’Arnot to his people once the Frenchman recovers from his wounds.

D’Arnot gets a fever and believes that he will soon die.