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<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 62 ***</div>

<div class="fig" style="width:55%;">
<img src="images/cover.jpg" style="width:100%;" alt="[Illustration]" />
</div>

<h1>A Princess of Mars</h1>

<h2 class="no-break">by Edgar Rice Burroughs</h2>

<hr />

<div class="chapter">

<p class="center">
To My Son Jack
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2>CONTENTS</h2>

<table summary="" style="">

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap00">FOREWORD</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap01">CHAPTER I On the Arizona Hills</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap02">CHAPTER II The Escape of the Dead</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap03">CHAPTER III My Advent on Mars</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap04">CHAPTER IV A Prisoner</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap05">CHAPTER V I Elude My Watch Dog</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap06">CHAPTER VI A Fight That Won Friends</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap07">CHAPTER VII Child-Raising on Mars</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap08">CHAPTER VIII A Fair Captive from the Sky</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap09">CHAPTER IX I Learn the Language</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap10">CHAPTER X Champion and Chief</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap11">CHAPTER XI With Dejah Thoris</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap12">CHAPTER XII A Prisoner with Power</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap13">CHAPTER XIII Love-Making on Mars</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap14">CHAPTER XIV A Duel to the Death</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap15">CHAPTER XV Sola Tells Me Her Story</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap16">CHAPTER XVI We Plan Escape</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap17">CHAPTER XVII A Costly Recapture</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap18">CHAPTER XVIII Chained in Warhoon</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap19">CHAPTER XIX Battling in the Arena</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap20">CHAPTER XX In the Atmosphere Factory</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap21">CHAPTER XXI An Air Scout for Zodanga</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap22">CHAPTER XXII I Find Dejah</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap23">CHAPTER XXIII Lost in the Sky</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap24">CHAPTER XXIV Tars Tarkas Finds a Friend</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap25">CHAPTER XXV The Looting of Zodanga</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap26">CHAPTER XXVI Through Carnage to Joy</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap27">CHAPTER XXVII From Joy to Death</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#chap28">CHAPTER XXVIII At the Arizona Cave</a></td>
</tr>

</table>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>

<table summary="" style="">

<tr>
<td> <a href="#img-142">
I sought out Dejah Thoris in the throng of departing chariots.</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#img-178">
She drew upon the marble floor the first map of the Barsoomian territory I had ever seen.</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#img-224">
The old man sat and talked with me for hours.</a></td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td> <a href="#img-front">
With my back against a golden throne, I fought once again for Dejah Thoris.</a></td>
</tr>

</table>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap00"></a>FOREWORD</h2>

<p class="center">
To the Reader of this Work:
</p>

<p>
In submitting Captain Carter&rsquo;s strange manuscript to you in book form, I
believe that a few words relative to this remarkable personality will be of
interest.
</p>

<p>
My first recollection of Captain Carter is of the few months he spent at my
father&rsquo;s home in Virginia, just prior to the opening of the civil war. I
was then a child of but five years, yet I well remember the tall, dark,
smooth-faced, athletic man whom I called Uncle Jack.
</p>

<p>
He seemed always to be laughing; and he entered into the sports of the children
with the same hearty good fellowship he displayed toward those pastimes in
which the men and women of his own age indulged; or he would sit for an hour at
a time entertaining my old grandmother with stories of his strange, wild life
in all parts of the world. We all loved him, and our slaves fairly worshipped
the ground he trod.
</p>

<p>
He was a splendid specimen of manhood, standing a good two inches over six
feet, broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, with the carriage of the trained
fighting man. His features were regular and clear cut, his hair black and
closely cropped, while his eyes were of a steel gray, reflecting a strong and
loyal character, filled with fire and initiative. His manners were perfect, and
his courtliness was that of a typical southern gentleman of the highest type.
</p>

<p>
His horsemanship, especially after hounds, was a marvel and delight even in
that country of magnificent horsemen. I have often heard my father caution him
against his wild recklessness, but he would only laugh, and say that the tumble
that killed him would be from the back of a horse yet unfoaled.
</p>

<p>
When the war broke out he left us, nor did I see him again for some fifteen or
sixteen years. When he returned it was without warning, and I was much
surprised to note that he had not aged apparently a moment, nor had he changed
in any other outward way. He was, when others were with him, the same genial,
happy fellow we had known of old, but when he thought himself alone I have seen
him sit for hours gazing off into space, his face set in a look of wistful
longing and hopeless misery; and at night he would sit thus looking up into the
heavens, at what I did not know until I read his manuscript years afterward.
</p>

<p>
He told us that he had been prospecting and mining in Arizona part of the time
since the war; and that he had been very successful was evidenced by the
unlimited amount of money with which he was supplied. As to the details of his
life during these years he was very reticent, in fact he would not talk of them
at all.
</p>

<p>
He remained with us for about a year and then went to New York, where he
purchased a little place on the Hudson, where I visited him once a year on the
occasions of my trips to the New York market&mdash;my father and I owning and
operating a string of general stores throughout Virginia at that time. Captain
Carter had a small but beautiful cottage, situated on a bluff overlooking the
river, and during one of my last visits, in the winter of 1885, I observed he
was much occupied in writing, I presume now, upon this manuscript.
</p>

<p>
He told me at this time that if anything should happen to him he wished me to
take charge of his estate, and he gave me a key to a compartment in the safe
which stood in his study, telling me I would find his will there and some
personal instructions which he had me pledge myself to carry out with absolute
fidelity.
</p>

<p>
After I had retired for the night I have seen him from my window standing in
the moonlight on the brink of the bluff overlooking the Hudson with his arms
stretched out to the heavens as though in appeal. I thought at the time that he
was praying, although I never understood that he was in the strict sense of the
term a religious man.
</p>

<p>
Several months after I had returned home from my last visit, the first of
March, 1886, I think, I received a telegram from him asking me to come to him
at once. I had always been his favorite among the younger generation of Carters
and so I hastened to comply with his demand.
</p>

<p>
I arrived at the little station, about a mile from his grounds, on the morning
of March 4, 1886, and when I asked the livery man to drive me out to Captain
Carter&rsquo;s he replied that if I was a friend of the Captain&rsquo;s he had
some very bad news for me; the Captain had been found dead shortly after
daylight that very morning by the watchman attached to an adjoining property.
</p>

<p>
For some reason this news did not surprise me, but I hurried out to his place
as quickly as possible, so that I could take charge of the body and of his
affairs.
</p>

<p>
I found the watchman who had discovered him, together with the local police
chief and several townspeople, assembled in his little study. The watchman
related the few details connected with the finding of the body, which he said
had been still warm when he came upon it. It lay, he said, stretched full
length in the snow with the arms outstretched above the head toward the edge of
the bluff, and when he showed me the spot it flashed upon me that it was the
identical one where I had seen him on those other nights, with his arms raised
in supplication to the skies.
</p>

<p>
There were no marks of violence on the body, and with the aid of a local
physician the coroner&rsquo;s jury quickly reached a decision of death from
heart failure. Left alone in the study, I opened the safe and withdrew the
contents of the drawer in which he had told me I would find my instructions.
They were in part peculiar indeed, but I have followed them to each last detail
as faithfully as I was able.
</p>

<p>
He directed that I remove his body to Virginia without embalming, and that he
be laid in an open coffin within a tomb which he previously had had constructed
and which, as I later learned, was well ventilated. The instructions impressed
upon me that I must personally see that this was carried out just as he
directed, even in secrecy if necessary.
</p>

<p>
His property was left in such a way that I was to receive the entire income for
twenty-five years, when the principal was to become mine. His further
instructions related to this manuscript which I was to retain sealed and
unread, just as I found it, for eleven years; nor was I to divulge its contents
until twenty-one years after his death.
</p>

<p>
A strange feature about the tomb, where his body still lies, is that the
massive door is equipped with a single, huge gold-plated spring lock which can
be opened <i>only from the inside</i>.
</p>

<p class="right">
Yours very sincerely,<br/>
Edgar Rice Burroughs.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap01"></a>CHAPTER I<br/>
ON THE ARIZONA HILLS</h2>

<p>
I am a very old man; how old I do not know. Possibly I am a hundred, possibly
more; but I cannot tell because I have never aged as other men, nor do I
remember any childhood. So far as I can recollect I have always been a man, a
man of about thirty. I appear today as I did forty years and more ago, and yet
I feel that I cannot go on living forever; that some day I shall die the real
death from which there is no resurrection. I do not know why I should fear
death, I who have died twice and am still alive; but yet I have the same horror
of it as you who have never died, and it is because of this terror of death, I
believe, that I am so convinced of my mortality.
</p>

<p>
And because of this conviction I have determined to write down the story of the
interesting periods of my life and of my death. I cannot explain the phenomena;
I can only set down here in the words of an ordinary soldier of fortune a
chronicle of the strange events that befell me during the ten years that my
dead body lay undiscovered in an Arizona cave.
</p>

<p>
I have never told this story, nor shall mortal man see this manuscript until
after I have passed over for eternity. I know that the average human mind will
not believe what it cannot grasp, and so I do not purpose being pilloried by
the public, the pulpit, and the press, and held up as a colossal liar when I am
but telling the simple truths which some day science will substantiate.
Possibly the suggestions which I gained upon Mars, and the knowledge which I
can set down in this chronicle, will aid in an earlier understanding of the
mysteries of our sister planet; mysteries to you, but no longer mysteries to
me.
</p>

<p>
My name is John Carter; I am better known as Captain Jack Carter of Virginia.
At the close of the Civil War I found myself possessed of several hundred
thousand dollars (Confederate) and a captain&rsquo;s commission in the cavalry
arm of an army which no longer existed; the servant of a state which had
vanished with the hopes of the South. Masterless, penniless, and with my only
means of livelihood, fighting, gone, I determined to work my way to the
southwest and attempt to retrieve my fallen fortunes in a search for gold.
</p>

<p>
I spent nearly a year prospecting in company with another Confederate officer,
Captain James K. Powell of Richmond. We were extremely fortunate, for late in
the winter of 1865, after many hardships and privations, we located the most
remarkable gold-bearing quartz vein that our wildest dreams had ever pictured.
Powell, who was a mining engineer by education, stated that we had uncovered
over a million dollars worth of ore in a trifle over three months.
</p>

<p>
As our equipment was crude in the extreme we decided that one of us must return
to civilization, purchase the necessary machinery and return with a sufficient
force of men properly to work the mine.
</p>

<p>
As Powell was familiar with the country, as well as with the mechanical
requirements of mining we determined that it would be best for him to make the
trip. It was agreed that I was to hold down our claim against the remote
possibility of its being jumped by some wandering prospector.
</p>

<p>
On March 3, 1866, Powell and I packed his provisions on two of our burros, and
bidding me good-bye he mounted his horse, and started down the mountainside
toward the valley, across which led the first stage of his journey.
</p>

<p>
The morning of Powell&rsquo;s departure was, like nearly all Arizona mornings,
clear and beautiful; I could see him and his little pack animals picking their
way down the mountainside toward the valley, and all during the morning I would
catch occasional glimpses of them as they topped a hog back or came out upon a
level plateau. My last sight of Powell was about three in the afternoon as he
entered the shadows of the range on the opposite side of the valley.
</p>

<p>
Some half hour later I happened to glance casually across the valley and was
much surprised to note three little dots in about the same place I had last
seen my friend and his two pack animals. I am not given to needless worrying,
but the more I tried to convince myself that all was well with Powell, and that
the dots I had seen on his trail were antelope or wild horses, the less I was
able to assure myself.
</p>

<p>
Since we had entered the territory we had not seen a hostile Indian, and we
had, therefore, become careless in the extreme, and were wont to ridicule the
stories we had heard of the great numbers of these vicious marauders that were
supposed to haunt the trails, taking their toll in lives and torture of every
white party which fell into their merciless clutches.
</p>

<p>
Powell, I knew, was well armed and, further, an experienced Indian fighter; but
I too had lived and fought for years among the Sioux in the North, and I knew
that his chances were small against a party of cunning trailing Apaches.
Finally I could endure the suspense no longer, and, arming myself with my two
Colt revolvers and a carbine, I strapped two belts of cartridges about me and
catching my saddle horse, started down the trail taken by Powell in the
morning.
</p>

<p>
As soon as I reached comparatively level ground I urged my mount into a canter
and continued this, where the going permitted, until, close upon dusk, I
discovered the point where other tracks joined those of Powell. They were the
tracks of unshod ponies, three of them, and the ponies had been galloping.
</p>

<p>
I followed rapidly until, darkness shutting down, I was forced to await the
rising of the moon, and given an opportunity to speculate on the question of
the wisdom of my chase. Possibly I had conjured up impossible dangers, like
some nervous old housewife, and when I should catch up with Powell would get a
good laugh for my pains. However, I am not prone to sensitiveness, and the
following of a sense of duty, wherever it may lead, has always been a kind of
fetich with me throughout my life; which may account for the honors bestowed
upon me by three republics and the decorations and friendships of an old and
powerful emperor and several lesser kings, in whose service my sword has been
red many a time.
</p>

<p>
About nine o&rsquo;clock the moon was sufficiently bright for me to proceed on
my way and I had no difficulty in following the trail at a fast walk, and in
some places at a brisk trot until, about midnight, I reached the water hole
where Powell had expected to camp. I came upon the spot unexpectedly, finding
it entirely deserted, with no signs of having been recently occupied as a camp.
</p>

<p>
I was interested to note that the tracks of the pursuing horsemen, for such I
was now convinced they must be, continued after Powell with only a brief stop
at the hole for water; and always at the same rate of speed as his.
</p>

<p>
I was positive now that the trailers were Apaches and that they wished to
capture Powell alive for the fiendish pleasure of the torture, so I urged my
horse onward at a most dangerous pace, hoping against hope that I would catch
up with the red rascals before they attacked him.
</p>

<p>
Further speculation was suddenly cut short by the faint report of two shots far
ahead of me. I knew that Powell would need me now if ever, and I instantly
urged my horse to his topmost speed up the narrow and difficult mountain trail.
</p>

<p>
I had forged ahead for perhaps a mile or more without hearing further sounds,
when the trail suddenly debouched onto a small, open plateau near the summit of
the pass. I had passed through a narrow, overhanging gorge just before entering
suddenly upon this table land, and the sight which met my eyes filled me with
consternation and dismay.
</p>

<p>
The little stretch of level land was white with Indian tepees, and there were
probably half a thousand red warriors clustered around some object near the
center of the camp. Their attention was so wholly riveted to this point of
interest that they did not notice me, and I easily could have turned back into
the dark recesses of the gorge and made my escape with perfect safety. The
fact, however, that this thought did not occur to me until the following day
removes any possible right to a claim to heroism to which the narration of this
episode might possibly otherwise entitle me.
</p>

<p>
I do not believe that I am made of the stuff which constitutes heroes, because,
in all of the hundreds of instances that my voluntary acts have placed me face
to face with death, I cannot recall a single one where any alternative step to
that I took occurred to me until many hours later. My mind is evidently so
constituted that I am subconsciously forced into the path of duty without
recourse to tiresome mental processes. However that may be, I have never
regretted that cowardice is not optional with me.
</p>

<p>
In this instance I was, of course, positive that Powell was the center of
attraction, but whether I thought or acted first I do not know, but within an
instant from the moment the scene broke upon my view I had whipped out my
revolvers and was charging down upon the entire army of warriors, shooting
rapidly, and whooping at the top of my lungs. Singlehanded, I could not have
pursued better tactics, for the red men, convinced by sudden surprise that not
less than a regiment of regulars was upon them, turned and fled in every
direction for their bows, arrows, and rifles.
</p>

<p>
The view which their hurried routing disclosed filled me with apprehension and
with rage. Under the clear rays of the Arizona moon lay Powell, his body fairly
bristling with the hostile arrows of the braves. That he was already dead I
could not but be convinced, and yet I would have saved his body from mutilation
at the hands of the Apaches as quickly as I would have saved the man himself
from death.
</p>

<p>
Riding close to him I reached down from the saddle, and grasping his cartridge
belt drew him up across the withers of my mount. A backward glance convinced me
that to return by the way I had come would be more hazardous than to continue
across the plateau, so, putting spurs to my poor beast, I made a dash for the
opening to the pass which I could distinguish on the far side of the table
land.
</p>

<p>
The Indians had by this time discovered that I was alone and I was pursued with
imprecations, arrows, and rifle balls. The fact that it is difficult to aim
anything but imprecations accurately by moonlight, that they were upset by the
sudden and unexpected manner of my advent, and that I was a rather rapidly
moving target saved me from the various deadly projectiles of the enemy and
permitted me to reach the shadows of the surrounding peaks before an orderly
pursuit could be organized.
</p>

<p>
My horse was traveling practically unguided as I knew that I had probably less
knowledge of the exact location of the trail to the pass than he, and thus it
happened that he entered a defile which led to the summit of the range and not
to the pass which I had hoped would carry me to the valley and to safety. It is
probable, however, that to this fact I owe my life and the remarkable
experiences and adventures which befell me during the following ten years.
</p>

<p>
My first knowledge that I was on the wrong trail came when I heard the yells of
the pursuing savages suddenly grow fainter and fainter far off to my left.
</p>

<p>
I knew then that they had passed to the left of the jagged rock formation at
the edge of the plateau, to the right of which my horse had borne me and the
body of Powell.
</p>

<p>
I drew rein on a little level promontory overlooking the trail below and to my
left, and saw the party of pursuing savages disappearing around the point of a
neighboring peak.
</p>

<p>
I knew the Indians would soon discover that they were on the wrong trail and
that the search for me would be renewed in the right direction as soon as they
located my tracks.
</p>

<p>
I had gone but a short distance further when what seemed to be an excellent
trail opened up around the face of a high cliff. The trail was level and quite
broad and led upward and in the general direction I wished to go. The cliff
arose for several hundred feet on my right, and on my left was an equal and
nearly perpendicular drop to the bottom of a rocky ravine.
</p>

<p>
I had followed this trail for perhaps a hundred yards when a sharp turn to the
right brought me to the mouth of a large cave. The opening was about four feet
in height and three to four feet wide, and at this opening the trail ended.
</p>

<p>
It was now morning, and, with the customary lack of dawn which is a startling
characteristic of Arizona, it had become daylight almost without warning.
</p>

<p>
Dismounting, I laid Powell upon the ground, but the most painstaking
examination failed to reveal the faintest spark of life. I forced water from my
canteen between his dead lips, bathed his face and rubbed his hands, working
over him continuously for the better part of an hour in the face of the fact
that I knew him to be dead.
</p>

<p>
I was very fond of Powell; he was thoroughly a man in every respect; a polished
southern gentleman; a staunch and true friend; and it was with a feeling of the
deepest grief that I finally gave up my crude endeavors at resuscitation.
</p>

<p>
Leaving Powell&rsquo;s body where it lay on the ledge I crept into the cave to
reconnoiter. I found a large chamber, possibly a hundred feet in diameter and
thirty or forty feet in height; a smooth and well-worn floor, and many other
evidences that the cave had, at some remote period, been inhabited. The back of
the cave was so lost in dense shadow that I could not distinguish whether there
were openings into other apartments or not.
</p>

<p>
As I was continuing my examination I commenced to feel a pleasant drowsiness
creeping over me which I attributed to the fatigue of my long and strenuous
ride, and the reaction from the excitement of the fight and the pursuit. I felt
comparatively safe in my present location as I knew that one man could defend
the trail to the cave against an army.
</p>

<p>
I soon became so drowsy that I could scarcely resist the strong desire to throw
myself on the floor of the cave for a few moments&rsquo; rest, but I knew that
this would never do, as it would mean certain death at the hands of my red
friends, who might be upon me at any moment. With an effort I started toward
the opening of the cave only to reel drunkenly against a side wall, and from
there slip prone upon the floor.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap02"></a>CHAPTER II<br/>
THE ESCAPE OF THE DEAD</h2>

<p>
A sense of delicious dreaminess overcame me, my muscles relaxed, and I was on
the point of giving way to my desire to sleep when the sound of approaching
horses reached my ears. I attempted to spring to my feet but was horrified to
discover that my muscles refused to respond to my will. I was now thoroughly
awake, but as unable to move a muscle as though turned to stone. It was then,
for the first time, that I noticed a slight vapor filling the cave. It was
extremely tenuous and only noticeable against the opening which led to
daylight. There also came to my nostrils a faintly pungent odor, and I could
only assume that I had been overcome by some poisonous gas, but why I should
retain my mental faculties and yet be unable to move I could not fathom.
</p>

<p>
I lay facing the opening of the cave and where I could see the short stretch of
trail which lay between the cave and the turn of the cliff around which the
trail led. The noise of the approaching horses had ceased, and I judged the
Indians were creeping stealthily upon me along the little ledge which led to my
living tomb. I remember that I hoped they would make short work of me as I did
not particularly relish the thought of the innumerable things they might do to
me if the spirit prompted them.
</p>

<p>
I had not long to wait before a stealthy sound apprised me of their nearness,
and then a war-bonneted, paint-streaked face was thrust cautiously around the
shoulder of the cliff, and savage eyes looked into mine. That he could see me
in the dim light of the cave I was sure for the early morning sun was falling
full upon me through the opening.
</p>

<p>
The fellow, instead of approaching, merely stood and stared; his eyes bulging
and his jaw dropped. And then another savage face appeared, and a third and
fourth and fifth, craning their necks over the shoulders of their fellows whom
they could not pass upon the narrow ledge. Each face was the picture of awe and
fear, but for what reason I did not know, nor did I learn until ten years
later. That there were still other braves behind those who regarded me was
apparent from the fact that the leaders passed back whispered word to those
behind them.
</p>

<p>
Suddenly a low but distinct moaning sound issued from the recesses of the cave
behind me, and, as it reached the ears of the Indians, they turned and fled in
terror, panic-stricken. So frantic were their efforts to escape from the unseen
thing behind me that one of the braves was hurled headlong from the cliff to
the rocks below. Their wild cries echoed in the canyon for a short time, and
then all was still once more.
</p>

<p>
The sound which had frightened them was not repeated, but it had been
sufficient as it was to start me speculating on the possible horror which
lurked in the shadows at my back. Fear is a relative term and so I can only
measure my feelings at that time by what I had experienced in previous
positions of danger and by those that I have passed through since; but I can
say without shame that if the sensations I endured during the next few minutes
were fear, then may God help the coward, for cowardice is of a surety its own
punishment.
</p>

<p>
To be held paralyzed, with one&rsquo;s back toward some horrible and unknown
danger from the very sound of which the ferocious Apache warriors turn in wild
stampede, as a flock of sheep would madly flee from a pack of wolves, seems to
me the last word in fearsome predicaments for a man who had ever been used to
fighting for his life with all the energy of a powerful physique.
</p>

<p>
Several times I thought I heard faint sounds behind me as of somebody moving
cautiously, but eventually even these ceased, and I was left to the
contemplation of my position without interruption. I could but vaguely
conjecture the cause of my paralysis, and my only hope lay in that it might
pass off as suddenly as it had fallen upon me.
</p>

<p>
Late in the afternoon my horse, which had been standing with dragging rein
before the cave, started slowly down the trail, evidently in search of food and
water, and I was left alone with my mysterious unknown companion and the dead
body of my friend, which lay just within my range of vision upon the ledge
where I had placed it in the early morning.
</p>

<p>
From then until possibly midnight all was silence, the silence of the dead;
then, suddenly, the awful moan of the morning broke upon my startled ears, and
there came again from the black shadows the sound of a moving thing, and a
faint rustling as of dead leaves. The shock to my already overstrained nervous
system was terrible in the extreme, and with a superhuman effort I strove to
break my awful bonds. It was an effort of the mind, of the will, of the nerves;
not muscular, for I could not move even so much as my little finger, but none
the less mighty for all that. And then something gave, there was a momentary
feeling of nausea, a sharp click as of the snapping of a steel wire, and I
stood with my back against the wall of the cave facing my unknown foe.
</p>

<p>
And then the moonlight flooded the cave, and there before me lay my own body as
it had been lying all these hours, with the eyes staring toward the open ledge
and the hands resting limply upon the ground. I looked first at my lifeless
clay there upon the floor of the cave and then down at myself in utter
bewilderment; for there I lay clothed, and yet here I stood but naked as at the
minute of my birth.
</p>

<p>
The transition had been so sudden and so unexpected that it left me for a
moment forgetful of aught else than my strange metamorphosis. My first thought
was, is this then death! Have I indeed passed over forever into that other
life! But I could not well believe this, as I could feel my heart pounding
against my ribs from the exertion of my efforts to release myself from the
anaesthesis which had held me. My breath was coming in quick, short gasps, cold
sweat stood out from every pore of my body, and the ancient experiment of
pinching revealed the fact that I was anything other than a wraith.
</p>

<p>
Again was I suddenly recalled to my immediate surroundings by a repetition of
the weird moan from the depths of the cave. Naked and unarmed as I was, I had
no desire to face the unseen thing which menaced me.
</p>

<p>
My revolvers were strapped to my lifeless body which, for some unfathomable
reason, I could not bring myself to touch. My carbine was in its boot, strapped
to my saddle, and as my horse had wandered off I was left without means of
defense. My only alternative seemed to lie in flight and my decision was
crystallized by a recurrence of the rustling sound from the thing which now
seemed, in the darkness of the cave and to my distorted imagination, to be
creeping stealthily upon me.
</p>

<p>
Unable longer to resist the temptation to escape this horrible place I leaped
quickly through the opening into the starlight of a clear Arizona night. The
crisp, fresh mountain air outside the cave acted as an immediate tonic and I
felt new life and new courage coursing through me. Pausing upon the brink of
the ledge I upbraided myself for what now seemed to me wholly unwarranted
apprehension. I reasoned with myself that I had lain helpless for many hours
within the cave, yet nothing had molested me, and my better judgment, when
permitted the direction of clear and logical reasoning, convinced me that the
noises I had heard must have resulted from purely natural and harmless causes;
probably the conformation of the cave was such that a slight breeze had caused
the sounds I heard.
</p>

<p>
I decided to investigate, but first I lifted my head to fill my lungs with the
pure, invigorating night air of the mountains. As I did so I saw stretching far
below me the beautiful vista of rocky gorge, and level, cacti-studded flat,
wrought by the moonlight into a miracle of soft splendor and wondrous
enchantment.
</p>

<p>
Few western wonders are more inspiring than the beauties of an Arizona moonlit
landscape; the silvered mountains in the distance, the strange lights and
shadows upon hog back and arroyo, and the grotesque details of the stiff, yet
beautiful cacti form a picture at once enchanting and inspiring; as though one
were catching for the first time a glimpse of some dead and forgotten world, so
different is it from the aspect of any other spot upon our earth.
</p>

<p>
As I stood thus meditating, I turned my gaze from the landscape to the heavens
where the myriad stars formed a gorgeous and fitting canopy for the wonders of
the earthly scene. My attention was quickly riveted by a large red star close
to the distant horizon. As I gazed upon it I felt a spell of overpowering
fascination&mdash;it was Mars, the god of war, and for me, the fighting man, it
had always held the power of irresistible enchantment. As I gazed at it on that
far-gone night it seemed to call across the unthinkable void, to lure me to it,
to draw me as the lodestone attracts a particle of iron.
</p>

<p>
My longing was beyond the power of opposition; I closed my eyes, stretched out
my arms toward the god of my vocation and felt myself drawn with the suddenness
of thought through the trackless immensity of space. There was an instant of
extreme cold and utter darkness.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap03"></a>CHAPTER III<br/>
MY ADVENT ON MARS</h2>

<p>
I opened my eyes upon a strange and weird landscape. I knew that I was on Mars;
not once did I question either my sanity or my wakefulness. I was not asleep,
no need for pinching here; my inner consciousness told me as plainly that I was
upon Mars as your conscious mind tells you that you are upon Earth. You do not
question the fact; neither did I.
</p>

<p>
I found myself lying prone upon a bed of yellowish, mosslike vegetation which
stretched around me in all directions for interminable miles. I seemed to be
lying in a deep, circular basin, along the outer verge of which I could
distinguish the irregularities of low hills.
</p>

<p>
It was midday, the sun was shining full upon me and the heat of it was rather
intense upon my naked body, yet no greater than would have been true under
similar conditions on an Arizona desert. Here and there were slight
outcroppings of quartz-bearing rock which glistened in the sunlight; and a
little to my left, perhaps a hundred yards, appeared a low, walled enclosure
about four feet in height. No water, and no other vegetation than the moss was
in evidence, and as I was somewhat thirsty I determined to do a little
exploring.
</p>

<p>
Springing to my feet I received my first Martian surprise, for the effort,
which on Earth would have brought me standing upright, carried me into the
Martian air to the height of about three yards. I alighted softly upon the
ground, however, without appreciable shock or jar. Now commenced a series of
evolutions which even then seemed ludicrous in the extreme. I found that I must
learn to walk all over again, as the muscular exertion which carried me easily
and safely upon Earth played strange antics with me upon Mars.
</p>

<p>
Instead of progressing in a sane and dignified manner, my attempts to walk
resulted in a variety of hops which took me clear of the ground a couple of
feet at each step and landed me sprawling upon my face or back at the end of
each second or third hop. My muscles, perfectly attuned and accustomed to the
force of gravity on Earth, played the mischief with me in attempting for the
first time to cope with the lesser gravitation and lower air pressure on Mars.
</p>

<p>
I was determined, however, to explore the low structure which was the only
evidence of habitation in sight, and so I hit upon the unique plan of reverting
to first principles in locomotion, creeping. I did fairly well at this and in a
few moments had reached the low, encircling wall of the enclosure.
</p>

<p>
There appeared to be no doors or windows upon the side nearest me, but as the
wall was but about four feet high I cautiously gained my feet and peered over
the top upon the strangest sight it had ever been given me to see.
</p>

<p>
The roof of the enclosure was of solid glass about four or five inches in
thickness, and beneath this were several hundred large eggs, perfectly round
and snowy white. The eggs were nearly uniform in size being about two and
one-half feet in diameter.
</p>

<p>
Five or six had already hatched and the grotesque caricatures which sat
blinking in the sunlight were enough to cause me to doubt my sanity. They
seemed mostly head, with little scrawny bodies, long necks and six legs, or, as
I afterward learned, two legs and two arms, with an intermediary pair of limbs
which could be used at will either as arms or legs. Their eyes were set at the
extreme sides of their heads a trifle above the center and protruded in such a
manner that they could be directed either forward or back and also
independently of each other, thus permitting this queer animal to look in any
direction, or in two directions at once, without the necessity of turning the
head.
</p>

<p>
The ears, which were slightly above the eyes and closer together, were small,
cup-shaped antennae, protruding not more than an inch on these young specimens.
Their noses were but longitudinal slits in the center of their faces, midway
between their mouths and ears.
</p>

<p>
There was no hair on their bodies, which were of a very light yellowish-green
color. In the adults, as I was to learn quite soon, this color deepens to an
olive green and is darker in the male than in the female. Further, the heads of
the adults are not so out of proportion to their bodies as in the case of the
young.
</p>

<p>
The iris of the eyes is blood red, as in Albinos, while the pupil is dark. The
eyeball itself is very white, as are the teeth. These latter add a most
ferocious appearance to an otherwise fearsome and terrible countenance, as the
lower tusks curve upward to sharp points which end about where the eyes of
earthly human beings are located. The whiteness of the teeth is not that of
ivory, but of the snowiest and most gleaming of china. Against the dark
background of their olive skins their tusks stand out in a most striking
manner, making these weapons present a singularly formidable appearance.
</p>

<p>
Most of these details I noted later, for I was given but little time to
speculate on the wonders of my new discovery. I had seen that the eggs were in
the process of hatching, and as I stood watching the hideous little monsters
break from their shells I failed to note the approach of a score of full-grown
Martians from behind me.
</p>

<p>
Coming, as they did, over the soft and soundless moss, which covers practically
the entire surface of Mars with the exception of the frozen areas at the poles
and the scattered cultivated districts, they might have captured me easily, but
their intentions were far more sinister. It was the rattling of the
accouterments of the foremost warrior which warned me.
</p>

<p>
On such a little thing my life hung that I often marvel that I escaped so
easily. Had not the rifle of the leader of the party swung from its fastenings
beside his saddle in such a way as to strike against the butt of his great
metal-shod spear I should have snuffed out without ever knowing that death was
near me. But the little sound caused me to turn, and there upon me, not ten
feet from my breast, was the point of that huge spear, a spear forty feet long,
tipped with gleaming metal, and held low at the side of a mounted replica of
the little devils I had been watching.
</p>

<p>
But how puny and harmless they now looked beside this huge and terrific
incarnation of hate, of vengeance and of death. The man himself, for such I may
call him, was fully fifteen feet in height and, on Earth, would have weighed
some four hundred pounds. He sat his mount as we sit a horse, grasping the
animal&rsquo;s barrel with his lower limbs, while the hands of his two right
arms held his immense spear low at the side of his mount; his two left arms
were outstretched laterally to help preserve his balance, the thing he rode
having neither bridle or reins of any description for guidance.
</p>

<p>
And his mount! How can earthly words describe it! It towered ten feet at the
shoulder; had four legs on either side; a broad flat tail, larger at the tip
than at the root, and which it held straight out behind while running; a gaping
mouth which split its head from its snout to its long, massive neck.
</p>

<p>
Like its master, it was entirely devoid of hair, but was of a dark slate color
and exceeding smooth and glossy. Its belly was white, and its legs shaded from
the slate of its shoulders and hips to a vivid yellow at the feet. The feet
themselves were heavily padded and nailless, which fact had also contributed to
the noiselessness of their approach, and, in common with a multiplicity of
legs, is a characteristic feature of the fauna of Mars. The highest type of man
and one other animal, the only mammal existing on Mars, alone have well-formed
nails, and there are absolutely no hoofed animals in existence there.
</p>

<p>
Behind this first charging demon trailed nineteen others, similar in all
respects, but, as I learned later, bearing individual characteristics peculiar
to themselves; precisely as no two of us are identical although we are all cast
in a similar mold. This picture, or rather materialized nightmare, which I have
described at length, made but one terrible and swift impression on me as I
turned to meet it.
</p>

<p>
Unarmed and naked as I was, the first law of nature manifested itself in the
only possible solution of my immediate problem, and that was to get out of the
vicinity of the point of the charging spear. Consequently I gave a very earthly
and at the same time superhuman leap to reach the top of the Martian incubator,
for such I had determined it must be.
</p>

<p>
My effort was crowned with a success which appalled me no less than it seemed
to surprise the Martian warriors, for it carried me fully thirty feet into the
air and landed me a hundred feet from my pursuers and on the opposite side of
the enclosure.
</p>

<p>
I alighted upon the soft moss easily and without mishap, and turning saw my
enemies lined up along the further wall. Some were surveying me with
expressions which I afterward discovered marked extreme astonishment, and the
others were evidently satisfying themselves that I had not molested their
young.
</p>

<p>
They were conversing together in low tones, and gesticulating and pointing
toward me. Their discovery that I had not harmed the little Martians, and that
I was unarmed, must have caused them to look upon me with less ferocity; but,
as I was to learn later, the thing which weighed most in my favor was my
exhibition of hurdling.
</p>

<p>
While the Martians are immense, their bones are very large and they are muscled
only in proportion to the gravitation which they must overcome. The result is
that they are infinitely less agile and less powerful, in proportion to their
weight, than an Earth man, and I doubt that were one of them suddenly to be
transported to Earth he could lift his own weight from the ground; in fact, I
am convinced that he could not do so.
</p>

<p>
My feat then was as marvelous upon Mars as it would have been upon Earth, and
from desiring to annihilate me they suddenly looked upon me as a wonderful
discovery to be captured and exhibited among their fellows.
</p>

<p>
The respite my unexpected agility had given me permitted me to formulate plans
for the immediate future and to note more closely the appearance of the
warriors, for I could not disassociate these people in my mind from those other
warriors who, only the day before, had been pursuing me.
</p>

<p>
I noted that each was armed with several other weapons in addition to the huge
spear which I have described. The weapon which caused me to decide against an
attempt at escape by flight was what was evidently a rifle of some description,
and which I felt, for some reason, they were peculiarly efficient in handling.
</p>

<p>
These rifles were of a white metal stocked with wood, which I learned later was
a very light and intensely hard growth much prized on Mars, and entirely
unknown to us denizens of Earth. The metal of the barrel is an alloy composed
principally of aluminum and steel which they have learned to temper to a
hardness far exceeding that of the steel with which we are familiar. The weight
of these rifles is comparatively little, and with the small caliber, explosive,
radium projectiles which they use, and the great length of the barrel, they are
deadly in the extreme and at ranges which would be unthinkable on Earth. The
theoretic effective radius of this rifle is three hundred miles, but the best
they can do in actual service when equipped with their wireless finders and
sighters is but a trifle over two hundred miles.
</p>

<p>
This is quite far enough to imbue me with great respect for the Martian
firearm, and some telepathic force must have warned me against an attempt to
escape in broad daylight from under the muzzles of twenty of these
death-dealing machines.
</p>

<p>
The Martians, after conversing for a short time, turned and rode away in the
direction from which they had come, leaving one of their number alone by the
enclosure. When they had covered perhaps two hundred yards they halted, and
turning their mounts toward us sat watching the warrior by the enclosure.
</p>

<p>
He was the one whose spear had so nearly transfixed me, and was evidently the
leader of the band, as I had noted that they seemed to have moved to their
present position at his direction. When his force had come to a halt he
dismounted, threw down his spear and small arms, and came around the end of the
incubator toward me, entirely unarmed and as naked as I, except for the
ornaments strapped upon his head, limbs, and breast.
</p>

<p>
When he was within about fifty feet of me he unclasped an enormous metal
armlet, and holding it toward me in the open palm of his hand, addressed me in
a clear, resonant voice, but in a language, it is needless to say, I could not
understand. He then stopped as though waiting for my reply, pricking up his
antennae-like ears and cocking his strange-looking eyes still further toward
me.
</p>

<p>
As the silence became painful I concluded to hazard a little conversation on my
own part, as I had guessed that he was making overtures of peace. The throwing
down of his weapons and the withdrawing of his troop before his advance toward
me would have signified a peaceful mission anywhere on Earth, so why not, then,
on Mars!
</p>

<p>
Placing my hand over my heart I bowed low to the Martian and explained to him
that while I did not understand his language, his actions spoke for the peace
and friendship that at the present moment were most dear to my heart. Of course
I might have been a babbling brook for all the intelligence my speech carried
to him, but he understood the action with which I immediately followed my
words.
</p>

<p>
Stretching my hand toward him, I advanced and took the armlet from his open
palm, clasping it about my arm above the elbow; smiled at him and stood
waiting. His wide mouth spread into an answering smile, and locking one of his
intermediary arms in mine we turned and walked back toward his mount. At the
same time he motioned his followers to advance. They started toward us on a
wild run, but were checked by a signal from him. Evidently he feared that were
I to be really frightened again I might jump entirely out of the landscape.
</p>

<p>
He exchanged a few words with his men, motioned to me that I would ride behind
one of them, and then mounted his own animal. The fellow designated reached
down two or three hands and lifted me up behind him on the glossy back of his
mount, where I hung on as best I could by the belts and straps which held the
Martian&rsquo;s weapons and ornaments.
</p>

<p>
The entire cavalcade then turned and galloped away toward the range of hills in
the distance.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap04"></a>CHAPTER IV<br/>
A PRISONER</h2>

<p>
We had gone perhaps ten miles when the ground began to rise very rapidly. We
were, as I was later to learn, nearing the edge of one of Mars&rsquo; long-dead
seas, in the bottom of which my encounter with the Martians had taken place.
</p>

<p>
In a short time we gained the foot of the mountains, and after traversing a
narrow gorge came to an open valley, at the far extremity of which was a low
table land upon which I beheld an enormous city. Toward this we galloped,
entering it by what appeared to be a ruined roadway leading out from the city,
but only to the edge of the table land, where it ended abruptly in a flight of
broad steps.
</p>

<p>
Upon closer observation I saw as we passed them that the buildings were
deserted, and while not greatly decayed had the appearance of not having been
tenanted for years, possibly for ages. Toward the center of the city was a
large plaza, and upon this and in the buildings immediately surrounding it were
camped some nine or ten hundred creatures of the same breed as my captors, for
such I now considered them despite the suave manner in which I had been
trapped.
</p>

<p>
With the exception of their ornaments all were naked. The women varied in
appearance but little from the men, except that their tusks were much larger in
proportion to their height, in some instances curving nearly to their high-set
ears. Their bodies were smaller and lighter in color, and their fingers and
toes bore the rudiments of nails, which were entirely lacking among the males.
The adult females ranged in height from ten to twelve feet.
</p>

<p>
The children were light in color, even lighter than the women, and all looked
precisely alike to me, except that some were taller than others; older, I
presumed.
</p>

<p>
I saw no signs of extreme age among them, nor is there any appreciable
difference in their appearance from the age of maturity, about forty, until, at
about the age of one thousand years, they go voluntarily upon their last
strange pilgrimage down the river Iss, which leads no living Martian knows
whither and from whose bosom no Martian has ever returned, or would be allowed
to live did he return after once embarking upon its cold, dark waters.
</p>

<p>
Only about one Martian in a thousand dies of sickness or disease, and possibly
about twenty take the voluntary pilgrimage. The other nine hundred and
seventy-nine die violent deaths in duels, in hunting, in aviation and in war;
but perhaps by far the greatest death loss comes during the age of childhood,
when vast numbers of the little Martians fall victims to the great white apes
of Mars.
</p>

<p>
The average life expectancy of a Martian after the age of maturity is about
three hundred years, but would be nearer the one-thousand mark were it not for
the various means leading to violent death. Owing to the waning resources of
the planet it evidently became necessary to counteract the increasing longevity
which their remarkable skill in therapeutics and surgery produced, and so human
life has come to be considered but lightly on Mars, as is evidenced by their
dangerous sports and the almost continual warfare between the various
communities.
</p>

<p>
There are other and natural causes tending toward a diminution of population,
but nothing contributes so greatly to this end as the fact that no male or
female Martian is ever voluntarily without a weapon of destruction.
</p>

<p>
As we neared the plaza and my presence was discovered we were immediately
surrounded by hundreds of the creatures who seemed anxious to pluck me from my
seat behind my guard. A word from the leader of the party stilled their clamor,
and we proceeded at a trot across the plaza to the entrance of as magnificent
an edifice as mortal eye has rested upon.
</p>

<p>
The building was low, but covered an enormous area. It was constructed of
gleaming white marble inlaid with gold and brilliant stones which sparkled and
scintillated in the sunlight. The main entrance was some hundred feet in width
and projected from the building proper to form a huge canopy above the entrance
hall. There was no stairway, but a gentle incline to the first floor of the
building opened into an enormous chamber encircled by galleries.
</p>

<p>
On the floor of this chamber, which was dotted with highly carved wooden desks
and chairs, were assembled about forty or fifty male Martians around the steps
of a rostrum. On the platform proper squatted an enormous warrior heavily
loaded with metal ornaments, gay-colored feathers and beautifully wrought
leather trappings ingeniously set with precious stones. From his shoulders
depended a short cape of white fur lined with brilliant scarlet silk.
</p>

<p>
What struck me as most remarkable about this assemblage and the hall in which
they were congregated was the fact that the creatures were entirely out of
proportion to the desks, chairs, and other furnishings; these being of a size
adapted to human beings such as I, whereas the great bulks of the Martians
could scarcely have squeezed into the chairs, nor was there room beneath the
desks for their long legs. Evidently, then, there were other denizens on Mars
than the wild and grotesque creatures into whose hands I had fallen, but the
evidences of extreme antiquity which showed all around me indicated that these
buildings might have belonged to some long-extinct and forgotten race in the
dim antiquity of Mars.
</p>

<p>
Our party had halted at the entrance to the building, and at a sign from the
leader I had been lowered to the ground. Again locking his arm in mine, we had
proceeded into the audience chamber. There were few formalities observed in
approaching the Martian chieftain. My captor merely strode up to the rostrum,
the others making way for him as he advanced. The chieftain rose to his feet
and uttered the name of my escort who, in turn, halted and repeated the name of
the ruler followed by his title.
</p>

<p>
At the time, this ceremony and the words they uttered meant nothing to me, but
later I came to know that this was the customary greeting between green
Martians. Had the men been strangers, and therefore unable to exchange names,
they would have silently exchanged ornaments, had their missions been
peaceful&mdash;otherwise they would have exchanged shots, or have fought out
their introduction with some other of their various weapons.
</p>

<p>
My captor, whose name was Tars Tarkas, was virtually the vice-chieftain of the
community, and a man of great ability as a statesman and warrior. He evidently
explained briefly the incidents connected with his expedition, including my
capture, and when he had concluded the chieftain addressed me at some length.
</p>

<p>
I replied in our good old English tongue merely to convince him that neither of
us could understand the other; but I noticed that when I smiled slightly on
concluding, he did likewise. This fact, and the similar occurrence during my
first talk with Tars Tarkas, convinced me that we had at least something in
common; the ability to smile, therefore to laugh; denoting a sense of humor.
But I was to learn that the Martian smile is merely perfunctory, and that the
Martian laugh is a thing to cause strong men to blanch in horror.
</p>

<p>
The ideas of humor among the green men of Mars are widely at variance with our
conceptions of incitants to merriment. The death agonies of a fellow being are,
to these strange creatures, provocative of the wildest hilarity, while their
chief form of commonest amusement is to inflict death on their prisoners of war
in various ingenious and horrible ways.
</p>

<p>
The assembled warriors and chieftains examined me closely, feeling my muscles
and the texture of my skin. The principal chieftain then evidently signified a
desire to see me perform, and, motioning me to follow, he started with Tars
Tarkas for the open plaza.
</p>

<p>
Now, I had made no attempt to walk, since my first signal failure, except while
tightly grasping Tars Tarkas&rsquo; arm, and so now I went skipping and
flitting about among the desks and chairs like some monstrous grasshopper.
After bruising myself severely, much to the amusement of the Martians, I again
had recourse to creeping, but this did not suit them and I was roughly jerked
to my feet by a towering fellow who had laughed most heartily at my
misfortunes.
</p>

<p>
As he banged me down upon my feet his face was bent close to mine and I did the
only thing a gentleman might do under the circumstances of brutality,
boorishness, and lack of consideration for a stranger&rsquo;s rights; I swung
my fist squarely to his jaw and he went down like a felled ox. As he sunk to
the floor I wheeled around with my back toward the nearest desk, expecting to
be overwhelmed by the vengeance of his fellows, but determined to give them as
good a battle as the unequal odds would permit before I gave up my life.
</p>

<p>
My fears were groundless, however, as the other Martians, at first struck dumb
with wonderment, finally broke into wild peals of laughter and applause. I did
not recognize the applause as such, but later, when I had become acquainted
with their customs, I learned that I had won what they seldom accord, a
manifestation of approbation.
</p>

<p>
The fellow whom I had struck lay where he had fallen, nor did any of his mates
approach him. Tars Tarkas advanced toward me, holding out one of his arms, and
we thus proceeded to the plaza without further mishap. I did not, of course,
know the reason for which we had come to the open, but I was not long in being
enlightened. They first repeated the word &ldquo;sak&rdquo; a number of times,
and then Tars Tarkas made several jumps, repeating the same word before each
leap; then, turning to me, he said, &ldquo;sak!&rdquo; I saw what they were
after, and gathering myself together I &ldquo;sakked&rdquo; with such marvelous
success that I cleared a good hundred and fifty feet; nor did I, this time,
lose my equilibrium, but landed squarely upon my feet without falling. I then
returned by easy jumps of twenty-five or thirty feet to the little group of
warriors.
</p>

<p>
My exhibition had been witnessed by several hundred lesser Martians, and they
immediately broke into demands for a repetition, which the chieftain then
ordered me to make; but I was both hungry and thirsty, and determined on the
spot that my only method of salvation was to demand the consideration from
these creatures which they evidently would not voluntarily accord. I therefore
ignored the repeated commands to &ldquo;sak,&rdquo; and each time they were
made I motioned to my mouth and rubbed my stomach.
</p>

<p>
Tars Tarkas and the chief exchanged a few words, and the former, calling to a
young female among the throng, gave her some instructions and motioned me to
accompany her. I grasped her proffered arm and together we crossed the plaza
toward a large building on the far side.
</p>

<p>
My fair companion was about eight feet tall, having just arrived at maturity,
but not yet to her full height. She was of a light olive-green color, with a
smooth, glossy hide. Her name, as I afterward learned, was Sola, and she
belonged to the retinue of Tars Tarkas. She conducted me to a spacious chamber
in one of the buildings fronting on the plaza, and which, from the litter of
silks and furs upon the floor, I took to be the sleeping quarters of several of
the natives.
</p>

<p>
The room was well lighted by a number of large windows and was beautifully
decorated with mural paintings and mosaics, but upon all there seemed to rest
that indefinable touch of the finger of antiquity which convinced me that the
architects and builders of these wondrous creations had nothing in common with
the crude half-brutes which now occupied them.
</p>

<p>
Sola motioned me to be seated upon a pile of silks near the center of the room,
and, turning, made a peculiar hissing sound, as though signaling to someone in
an adjoining room. In response to her call I obtained my first sight of a new
Martian wonder. It waddled in on its ten short legs, and squatted down before
the girl like an obedient puppy. The thing was about the size of a Shetland
pony, but its head bore a slight resemblance to that of a frog, except that the
jaws were equipped with three rows of long, sharp tusks.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap05"></a>CHAPTER V<br/>
I ELUDE MY WATCH DOG</h2>

<p>
Sola stared into the brute&rsquo;s wicked-looking eyes, muttered a word or two
of command, pointed to me, and left the chamber. I could not but wonder what
this ferocious-looking monstrosity might do when left alone in such close
proximity to such a relatively tender morsel of meat; but my fears were
groundless, as the beast, after surveying me intently for a moment, crossed the
room to the only exit which led to the street, and lay down full length across
the threshold.
</p>

<p>
This was my first experience with a Martian watch dog, but it was destined not
to be my last, for this fellow guarded me carefully during the time I remained
a captive among these green men; twice saving my life, and never voluntarily
being away from me a moment.
</p>

<p>
While Sola was away I took occasion to examine more minutely the room in which
I found myself captive. The mural painting depicted scenes of rare and
wonderful beauty; mountains, rivers, lake, ocean, meadow, trees and flowers,
winding roadways, sun-kissed gardens&mdash;scenes which might have portrayed
earthly views but for the different colorings of the vegetation. The work had
evidently been wrought by a master hand, so subtle the atmosphere, so perfect
the technique; yet nowhere was there a representation of a living animal,
either human or brute, by which I could guess at the likeness of these other
and perhaps extinct denizens of Mars.
</p>

<p>
While I was allowing my fancy to run riot in wild conjecture on the possible
explanation of the strange anomalies which I had so far met with on Mars, Sola
returned bearing both food and drink. These she placed on the floor beside me,
and seating herself a short ways off regarded me intently. The food consisted
of about a pound of some solid substance of the consistency of cheese and
almost tasteless, while the liquid was apparently milk from some animal. It was
not unpleasant to the taste, though slightly acid, and I learned in a short
time to prize it very highly. It came, as I later discovered, not from an
animal, as there is only one mammal on Mars and that one very rare indeed, but
from a large plant which grows practically without water, but seems to distill
its plentiful supply of milk from the products of the soil, the moisture of the
air, and the rays of the sun. A single plant of this species will give eight or
ten quarts of milk per day.
</p>

<p>
After I had eaten I was greatly invigorated, but feeling the need of rest I
stretched out upon the silks and was soon asleep. I must have slept several
hours, as it was dark when I awoke, and I was very cold. I noticed that someone
had thrown a fur over me, but it had become partially dislodged and in the
darkness I could not see to replace it. Suddenly a hand reached out and pulled
the fur over me, shortly afterwards adding another to my covering.
</p>

<p>
I presumed that my watchful guardian was Sola, nor was I wrong. This girl
alone, among all the green Martians with whom I came in contact, disclosed
characteristics of sympathy, kindliness, and affection; her ministrations to my
bodily wants were unfailing, and her solicitous care saved me from much
suffering and many hardships.
</p>

<p>
As I was to learn, the Martian nights are extremely cold, and as there is
practically no twilight or dawn, the changes in temperature are sudden and most
uncomfortable, as are the transitions from brilliant daylight to darkness. The
nights are either brilliantly illumined or very dark, for if neither of the two
moons of Mars happen to be in the sky almost total darkness results, since the
lack of atmosphere, or, rather, the very thin atmosphere, fails to diffuse the
starlight to any great extent; on the other hand, if both of the moons are in
the heavens at night the surface of the ground is brightly illuminated.
</p>

<p>
Both of Mars&rsquo; moons are vastly nearer her than is our moon to Earth; the
nearer moon being but about five thousand miles distant, while the further is
but little more than fourteen thousand miles away, against the nearly
one-quarter million miles which separate us from our moon. The nearer moon of
Mars makes a complete revolution around the planet in a little over seven and
one-half hours, so that she may be seen hurtling through the sky like some huge
meteor two or three times each night, revealing all her phases during each
transit of the heavens.
</p>

<p>
The further moon revolves about Mars in something over thirty and one-quarter
hours, and with her sister satellite makes a nocturnal Martian scene one of
splendid and weird grandeur. And it is well that nature has so graciously and
abundantly lighted the Martian night, for the green men of Mars, being a
nomadic race without high intellectual development, have but crude means for
artificial lighting; depending principally upon torches, a kind of candle, and
a peculiar oil lamp which generates a gas and burns without a wick.
</p>

<p>
This last device produces an intensely brilliant far-reaching white light, but
as the natural oil which it requires can only be obtained by mining in one of
several widely separated and remote localities it is seldom used by these
creatures whose only thought is for today, and whose hatred for manual labor
has kept them in a semi-barbaric state for countless ages.
</p>

<p>
After Sola had replenished my coverings I again slept, nor did I awaken until
daylight. The other occupants of the room, five in number, were all females,
and they were still sleeping, piled high with a motley array of silks and furs.
Across the threshold lay stretched the sleepless guardian brute, just as I had
last seen him on the preceding day; apparently he had not moved a muscle; his
eyes were fairly glued upon me, and I fell to wondering just what might befall
me should I endeavor to escape.
</p>

<p>
I have ever been prone to seek adventure and to investigate and experiment
where wiser men would have left well enough alone. It therefore now occurred to
me that the surest way of learning the exact attitude of this beast toward me
would be to attempt to leave the room. I felt fairly secure in my belief that I
could escape him should he pursue me once I was outside the building, for I had
begun to take great pride in my ability as a jumper. Furthermore, I could see
from the shortness of his legs that the brute himself was no jumper and
probably no runner.
</p>

<p>
Slowly and carefully, therefore, I gained my feet, only to see that my watcher
did the same; cautiously I advanced toward him, finding that by moving with a
shuffling gait I could retain my balance as well as make reasonably rapid
progress. As I neared the brute he backed cautiously away from me, and when I
had reached the open he moved to one side to let me pass. He then fell in
behind me and followed about ten paces in my rear as I made my way along the
deserted street.
</p>

<p>
Evidently his mission was to protect me only, I thought, but when we reached
the edge of the city he suddenly sprang before me, uttering strange sounds and
baring his ugly and ferocious tusks. Thinking to have some amusement at his
expense, I rushed toward him, and when almost upon him sprang into the air,
alighting far beyond him and away from the city. He wheeled instantly and
charged me with the most appalling speed I had ever beheld. I had thought his
short legs a bar to swiftness, but had he been coursing with greyhounds the
latter would have appeared as though asleep on a door mat. As I was to learn,
this is the fleetest animal on Mars, and owing to its intelligence, loyalty,
and ferocity is used in hunting, in war, and as the protector of the Martian
man.
</p>

<p>
I quickly saw that I would have difficulty in escaping the fangs of the beast
on a straightaway course, and so I met his charge by doubling in my tracks and
leaping over him as he was almost upon me. This maneuver gave me a considerable
advantage, and I was able to reach the city quite a bit ahead of him, and as he
came tearing after me I jumped for a window about thirty feet from the ground
in the face of one of the buildings overlooking the valley.
</p>

<p>
Grasping the sill I pulled myself up to a sitting posture without looking into
the building, and gazed down at the baffled animal beneath me. My exultation
was short-lived, however, for scarcely had I gained a secure seat upon the sill
than a huge hand grasped me by the neck from behind and dragged me violently
into the room. Here I was thrown upon my back, and beheld standing over me a
colossal ape-like creature, white and hairless except for an enormous shock of
bristly hair upon its head.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap06"></a>CHAPTER VI<br/>
A FIGHT THAT WON FRIENDS</h2>

<p>
The thing, which more nearly resembled our earthly men than it did the Martians
I had seen, held me pinioned to the ground with one huge foot, while it
jabbered and gesticulated at some answering creature behind me. This other,
which was evidently its mate, soon came toward us, bearing a mighty stone
cudgel with which it evidently intended to brain me.
</p>

<p>
The creatures were about ten or fifteen feet tall, standing erect, and had,
like the green Martians, an intermediary set of arms or legs, midway between
their upper and lower limbs. Their eyes were close together and non-protruding;
their ears were high set, but more laterally located than those of the
Martians, while their snouts and teeth were strikingly like those of our
African gorilla. Altogether they were not unlovely when viewed in comparison
with the green Martians.
</p>

<p>
The cudgel was swinging in the arc which ended upon my upturned face when a
bolt of myriad-legged horror hurled itself through the doorway full upon the
breast of my executioner. With a shriek of fear the ape which held me leaped
through the open window, but its mate closed in a terrific death struggle with
my preserver, which was nothing less than my faithful watch-thing; I cannot
bring myself to call so hideous a creature a dog.
</p>

<p>
As quickly as possible I gained my feet and backing against the wall I
witnessed such a battle as it is vouchsafed few beings to see. The strength,
agility, and blind ferocity of these two creatures is approached by nothing
known to earthly man. My beast had an advantage in his first hold, having sunk
his mighty fangs far into the breast of his adversary; but the great arms and
paws of the ape, backed by muscles far transcending those of the Martian men I
had seen, had locked the throat of my guardian and slowly were choking out his
life, and bending back his head and neck upon his body, where I momentarily
expected the former to fall limp at the end of a broken neck.
</p>

<p>
In accomplishing this the ape was tearing away the entire front of its breast,
which was held in the vise-like grip of the powerful jaws. Back and forth upon
the floor they rolled, neither one emitting a sound of fear or pain. Presently
I saw the great eyes of my beast bulging completely from their sockets and
blood flowing from its nostrils. That he was weakening perceptibly was evident,
but so also was the ape, whose struggles were growing momentarily less.
</p>

<p>
Suddenly I came to myself and, with that strange instinct which seems ever to
prompt me to my duty, I seized the cudgel, which had fallen to the floor at the
commencement of the battle, and swinging it with all the power of my earthly
arms I crashed it full upon the head of the ape, crushing his skull as though
it had been an eggshell.
</p>

<p>
Scarcely had the blow descended when I was confronted with a new danger. The
ape&rsquo;s mate, recovered from its first shock of terror, had returned to the
scene of the encounter by way of the interior of the building. I glimpsed him
just before he reached the doorway and the sight of him, now roaring as he
perceived his lifeless fellow stretched upon the floor, and frothing at the
mouth, in the extremity of his rage, filled me, I must confess, with dire
forebodings.
</p>

<p>
I am ever willing to stand and fight when the odds are not too overwhelmingly
against me, but in this instance I perceived neither glory nor profit in
pitting my relatively puny strength against the iron muscles and brutal
ferocity of this enraged denizen of an unknown world; in fact, the only outcome
of such an encounter, so far as I might be concerned, seemed sudden death.
</p>

<p>
I was standing near the window and I knew that once in the street I might gain
the plaza and safety before the creature could overtake me; at least there was
a chance for safety in flight, against almost certain death should I remain and
fight however desperately.
</p>

<p>
It is true I held the cudgel, but what could I do with it against his four
great arms? Even should I break one of them with my first blow, for I figured
that he would attempt to ward off the cudgel, he could reach out and annihilate
me with the others before I could recover for a second attack.
</p>

<p>
In the instant that these thoughts passed through my mind I had turned to make
for the window, but my eyes alighting on the form of my erstwhile guardian
threw all thoughts of flight to the four winds. He lay gasping upon the floor
of the chamber, his great eyes fastened upon me in what seemed a pitiful appeal
for protection. I could not withstand that look, nor could I, on second
thought, have deserted my rescuer without giving as good an account of myself
in his behalf as he had in mine.
</p>

<p>
Without more ado, therefore, I turned to meet the charge of the infuriated bull
ape. He was now too close upon me for the cudgel to prove of any effective
assistance, so I merely threw it as heavily as I could at his advancing bulk.
It struck him just below the knees, eliciting a howl of pain and rage, and so
throwing him off his balance that he lunged full upon me with arms wide
stretched to ease his fall.
</p>

<p>
Again, as on the preceding day, I had recourse to earthly tactics, and swinging
my right fist full upon the point of his chin I followed it with a smashing
left to the pit of his stomach. The effect was marvelous, for, as I lightly
sidestepped, after delivering the second blow, he reeled and fell upon the
floor doubled up with pain and gasping for wind. Leaping over his prostrate
body, I seized the cudgel and finished the monster before he could regain his
feet.
</p>

<p>
As I delivered the blow a low laugh rang out behind me, and, turning, I beheld
Tars Tarkas, Sola, and three or four warriors standing in the doorway of the
chamber. As my eyes met theirs I was, for the second time, the recipient of
their zealously guarded applause.
</p>

<p>
My absence had been noted by Sola on her awakening, and she had quickly
informed Tars Tarkas, who had set out immediately with a handful of warriors to
search for me. As they had approached the limits of the city they had witnessed
the actions of the bull ape as he bolted into the building, frothing with rage.
</p>

<p>
They had followed immediately behind him, thinking it barely possible that his
actions might prove a clew to my whereabouts and had witnessed my short but
decisive battle with him. This encounter, together with my set-to with the
Martian warrior on the previous day and my feats of jumping placed me upon a
high pinnacle in their regard. Evidently devoid of all the finer sentiments of
friendship, love, or affection, these people fairly worship physical prowess
and bravery, and nothing is too good for the object of their adoration as long
as he maintains his position by repeated examples of his skill, strength, and
courage.
</p>

<p>
Sola, who had accompanied the searching party of her own volition, was the only
one of the Martians whose face had not been twisted in laughter as I battled
for my life. She, on the contrary, was sober with apparent solicitude and, as
soon as I had finished the monster, rushed to me and carefully examined my body
for possible wounds or injuries. Satisfying herself that I had come off
unscathed she smiled quietly, and, taking my hand, started toward the door of
the chamber.
</p>

<p>
Tars Tarkas and the other warriors had entered and were standing over the now
rapidly reviving brute which had saved my life, and whose life I, in turn, had
rescued. They seemed to be deep in argument, and finally one of them addressed
me, but remembering my ignorance of his language turned back to Tars Tarkas,
who, with a word and gesture, gave some command to the fellow and turned to
follow us from the room.
</p>

<p>
There seemed something menacing in their attitude toward my beast, and I
hesitated to leave until I had learned the outcome. It was well I did so, for
the warrior drew an evil looking pistol from its holster and was on the point
of putting an end to the creature when I sprang forward and struck up his arm.
The bullet striking the wooden casing of the window exploded, blowing a hole
completely through the wood and masonry.
</p>

<p>
I then knelt down beside the fearsome-looking thing, and raising it to its feet
motioned for it to follow me. The looks of surprise which my actions elicited
from the Martians were ludicrous; they could not understand, except in a feeble
and childish way, such attributes as gratitude and compassion. The warrior
whose gun I had struck up looked enquiringly at Tars Tarkas, but the latter
signed that I be left to my own devices, and so we returned to the plaza with
my great beast following close at heel, and Sola grasping me tightly by the
arm.
</p>

<p>
I had at least two friends on Mars; a young woman who watched over me with
motherly solicitude, and a dumb brute which, as I later came to know, held in
its poor ugly carcass more love, more loyalty, more gratitude than could have
been found in the entire five million green Martians who rove the deserted
cities and dead sea bottoms of Mars.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap07"></a>CHAPTER VII<br/>
CHILD-RAISING ON MARS</h2>

<p>
After a breakfast, which was an exact replica of the meal of the preceding day
and an index of practically every meal which followed while I was with the
green men of Mars, Sola escorted me to the plaza, where I found the entire
community engaged in watching or helping at the harnessing of huge mastodonian
animals to great three-wheeled chariots. There were about two hundred and fifty
of these vehicles, each drawn by a single animal, any one of which, from their
appearance, might easily have drawn the entire wagon train when fully loaded.
</p>

<p>
The chariots themselves were large, commodious, and gorgeously decorated. In
each was seated a female Martian loaded with ornaments of metal, with jewels
and silks and furs, and upon the back of each of the beasts which drew the
chariots was perched a young Martian driver. Like the animals upon which the
warriors were mounted, the heavier draft animals wore neither bit nor bridle,
but were guided entirely by telepathic means.
</p>

<p>
This power is wonderfully developed in all Martians, and accounts largely for
the simplicity of their language and the relatively few spoken words exchanged
even in long conversations. It is the universal language of Mars, through the
medium of which the higher and lower animals of this world of paradoxes are
able to communicate to a greater or less extent, depending upon the
intellectual sphere of the species and the development of the individual.
</p>

<p>
As the cavalcade took up the line of march in single file, Sola dragged me into
an empty chariot and we proceeded with the procession toward the point by which
I had entered the city the day before. At the head of the caravan rode some two
hundred warriors, five abreast, and a like number brought up the rear, while
twenty-five or thirty outriders flanked us on either side.
</p>

<p>
Every one but myself&mdash;men, women, and children&mdash;were heavily armed,
and at the tail of each chariot trotted a Martian hound, my own beast following
closely behind ours; in fact, the faithful creature never left me voluntarily
during the entire ten years I spent on Mars. Our way led out across the little
valley before the city, through the hills, and down into the dead sea bottom
which I had traversed on my journey from the incubator to the plaza. The
incubator, as it proved, was the terminal point of our journey this day, and,
as the entire cavalcade broke into a mad gallop as soon as we reached the level
expanse of sea bottom, we were soon within sight of our goal.
</p>

<p>
On reaching it the chariots were parked with military precision on the four
sides of the enclosure, and half a score of warriors, headed by the enormous
chieftain, and including Tars Tarkas and several other lesser chiefs,
dismounted and advanced toward it. I could see Tars Tarkas explaining something
to the principal chieftain, whose name, by the way, was, as nearly as I can
translate it into English, Lorquas Ptomel, Jed; jed being his title.
</p>

<p>
I was soon appraised of the subject of their conversation, as, calling to Sola,
Tars Tarkas signed for her to send me to him. I had by this time mastered the
intricacies of walking under Martian conditions, and quickly responding to his
command I advanced to the side of the incubator where the warriors stood.
</p>

<p>
As I reached their side a glance showed me that all but a very few eggs had
hatched, the incubator being fairly alive with the hideous little devils. They
ranged in height from three to four feet, and were moving restlessly about the
enclosure as though searching for food.
</p>

<p>
As I came to a halt before him, Tars Tarkas pointed over the incubator and
said, &ldquo;Sak.&rdquo; I saw that he wanted me to repeat my performance of
yesterday for the edification of Lorquas Ptomel, and, as I must confess that my
prowess gave me no little satisfaction, I responded quickly, leaping entirely
over the parked chariots on the far side of the incubator. As I returned,
Lorquas Ptomel grunted something at me, and turning to his warriors gave a few
words of command relative to the incubator. They paid no further attention to
me and I was thus permitted to remain close and watch their operations, which
consisted in breaking an opening in the wall of the incubator large enough to
permit of the exit of the young Martians.
</p>

<p>
On either side of this opening the women and the younger Martians, both male
and female, formed two solid walls leading out through the chariots and quite
away into the plain beyond. Between these walls the little Martians scampered,
wild as deer; being permitted to run the full length of the aisle, where they
were captured one at a time by the women and older children; the last in the
line capturing the first little one to reach the end of the gauntlet, her
opposite in the line capturing the second, and so on until all the little
fellows had left the enclosure and been appropriated by some youth or female.
As the women caught the young they fell out of line and returned to their
respective chariots, while those who fell into the hands of the young men were
later turned over to some of the women.
</p>

<p>
I saw that the ceremony, if it could be dignified by such a name, was over, and
seeking out Sola I found her in our chariot with a hideous little creature held
tightly in her arms.
</p>

<p>
The work of rearing young, green Martians consists solely in teaching them to
talk, and to use the weapons of warfare with which they are loaded down from
the very first year of their lives. Coming from eggs in which they have lain
for five years, the period of incubation, they step forth into the world
perfectly developed except in size. Entirely unknown to their mothers, who, in
turn, would have difficulty in pointing out the fathers with any degree of
accuracy, they are the common children of the community, and their education
devolves upon the females who chance to capture them as they leave the
incubator.
</p>

<p>
Their foster mothers may not even have had an egg in the incubator, as was the
case with Sola, who had not commenced to lay, until less than a year before she
became the mother of another woman&rsquo;s offspring. But this counts for
little among the green Martians, as parental and filial love is as unknown to
them as it is common among us. I believe this horrible system which has been
carried on for ages is the direct cause of the loss of all the finer feelings
and higher humanitarian instincts among these poor creatures. From birth they
know no father or mother love, they know not the meaning of the word home; they
are taught that they are only suffered to live until they can demonstrate by
their physique and ferocity that they are fit to live. Should they prove
deformed or defective in any way they are promptly shot; nor do they see a tear
shed for a single one of the many cruel hardships they pass through from
earliest infancy.
</p>

<p>
I do not mean that the adult Martians are unnecessarily or intentionally cruel
to the young, but theirs is a hard and pitiless struggle for existence upon a
dying planet, the natural resources of which have dwindled to a point where the
support of each additional life means an added tax upon the community into
which it is thrown.
</p>

<p>
By careful selection they rear only the hardiest specimens of each species, and
with almost supernatural foresight they regulate the birth rate to merely
offset the loss by death.
</p>

<p>
Each adult Martian female brings forth about thirteen eggs each year, and those
which meet the size, weight, and specific gravity tests are hidden in the
recesses of some subterranean vault where the temperature is too low for
incubation. Every year these eggs are carefully examined by a council of twenty
chieftains, and all but about one hundred of the most perfect are destroyed out
of each yearly supply. At the end of five years about five hundred almost
perfect eggs have been chosen from the thousands brought forth. These are then
placed in the almost air-tight incubators to be hatched by the sun&rsquo;s rays
after a period of another five years. The hatching which we had witnessed today
was a fairly representative event of its kind, all but about one per cent of
the eggs hatching in two days. If the remaining eggs ever hatched we knew
nothing of the fate of the little Martians. They were not wanted, as their
offspring might inherit and transmit the tendency to prolonged incubation, and
thus upset the system which has maintained for ages and which permits the adult
Martians to figure the proper time for return to the incubators, almost to an
hour.
</p>

<p>
The incubators are built in remote fastnesses, where there is little or no
likelihood of their being discovered by other tribes. The result of such a
catastrophe would mean no children in the community for another five years. I
was later to witness the results of the discovery of an alien incubator.
</p>

<p>
The community of which the green Martians with whom my lot was cast formed a
part was composed of some thirty thousand souls. They roamed an enormous tract
of arid and semi-arid land between forty and eighty degrees south latitude, and
bounded on the east and west by two large fertile tracts. Their headquarters
lay in the southwest corner of this district, near the crossing of two of the
so-called Martian canals.
</p>

<p>
As the incubator had been placed far north of their own territory in a
supposedly uninhabited and unfrequented area, we had before us a tremendous
journey, concerning which I, of course, knew nothing.
</p>

<p>
After our return to the dead city I passed several days in comparative
idleness. On the day following our return all the warriors had ridden forth
early in the morning and had not returned until just before darkness fell. As I
later learned, they had been to the subterranean vaults in which the eggs were
kept and had transported them to the incubator, which they had then walled up
for another five years, and which, in all probability, would not be visited
again during that period.
</p>

<p>
The vaults which hid the eggs until they were ready for the incubator were
located many miles south of the incubator, and would be visited yearly by the
council of twenty chieftains. Why they did not arrange to build their vaults
and incubators nearer home has always been a mystery to me, and, like many
other Martian mysteries, unsolved and unsolvable by earthly reasoning and
customs.
</p>

<p>
Sola&rsquo;s duties were now doubled, as she was compelled to care for the
young Martian as well as for me, but neither one of us required much attention,
and as we were both about equally advanced in Martian education, Sola took it
upon herself to train us together.
</p>

<p>
Her prize consisted in a male about four feet tall, very strong and physically
perfect; also, he learned quickly, and we had considerable amusement, at least
I did, over the keen rivalry we displayed. The Martian language, as I have
said, is extremely simple, and in a week I could make all my wants known and
understand nearly everything that was said to me. Likewise, under Sola&rsquo;s
tutelage, I developed my telepathic powers so that I shortly could sense
practically everything that went on around me.
</p>

<p>
What surprised Sola most in me was that while I could catch telepathic messages
easily from others, and often when they were not intended for me, no one could
read a jot from my mind under any circumstances. At first this vexed me, but
later I was very glad of it, as it gave me an undoubted advantage over the
Martians.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap08"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br/>
A FAIR CAPTIVE FROM THE SKY</h2>

<p>
The third day after the incubator ceremony we set forth toward home, but
scarcely had the head of the procession debouched into the open ground before
the city than orders were given for an immediate and hasty return. As though
trained for years in this particular evolution, the green Martians melted like
mist into the spacious doorways of the nearby buildings, until, in less than
three minutes, the entire cavalcade of chariots, mastodons and mounted warriors
was nowhere to be seen.
</p>

<p>
Sola and I had entered a building upon the front of the city, in fact, the same
one in which I had had my encounter with the apes, and, wishing to see what had
caused the sudden retreat, I mounted to an upper floor and peered from the
window out over the valley and the hills beyond; and there I saw the cause of
their sudden scurrying to cover. A huge craft, long, low, and gray-painted,
swung slowly over the crest of the nearest hill. Following it came another, and
another, and another, until twenty of them, swinging low above the ground,
sailed slowly and majestically toward us.
</p>

<p>
Each carried a strange banner swung from stem to stern above the upper works,
and upon the prow of each was painted some odd device that gleamed in the
sunlight and showed plainly even at the distance at which we were from the
vessels. I could see figures crowding the forward decks and upper works of the
air craft. Whether they had discovered us or simply were looking at the
deserted city I could not say, but in any event they received a rude reception,
for suddenly and without warning the green Martian warriors fired a terrific
volley from the windows of the buildings facing the little valley across which
the great ships were so peacefully advancing.
</p>

<p>
Instantly the scene changed as by magic; the foremost vessel swung broadside
toward us, and bringing her guns into play returned our fire, at the same time
moving parallel to our front for a short distance and then turning back with
the evident intention of completing a great circle which would bring her up to
position once more opposite our firing line; the other vessels followed in her
wake, each one opening upon us as she swung into position. Our own fire never
diminished, and I doubt if twenty-five per cent of our shots went wild. It had
never been given me to see such deadly accuracy of aim, and it seemed as though
a little figure on one of the craft dropped at the explosion of each bullet,
while the banners and upper works dissolved in spurts of flame as the
irresistible projectiles of our warriors mowed through them.
</p>

<p>
The fire from the vessels was most ineffectual, owing, as I afterward learned,
to the unexpected suddenness of the first volley, which caught the ship&rsquo;s
crews entirely unprepared and the sighting apparatus of the guns unprotected
from the deadly aim of our warriors.
</p>

<p>
It seems that each green warrior has certain objective points for his fire
under relatively identical circumstances of warfare. For example, a proportion
of them, always the best marksmen, direct their fire entirely upon the wireless
finding and sighting apparatus of the big guns of an attacking naval force;
another detail attends to the smaller guns in the same way; others pick off the
gunners; still others the officers; while certain other quotas concentrate
their attention upon the other members of the crew, upon the upper works, and
upon the steering gear and propellers.
</p>

<p>
Twenty minutes after the first volley the great fleet swung trailing off in the
direction from which it had first appeared. Several of the craft were limping
perceptibly, and seemed but barely under the control of their depleted crews.
Their fire had ceased entirely and all their energies seemed focused upon
escape. Our warriors then rushed up to the roofs of the buildings which we
occupied and followed the retreating armada with a continuous fusillade of
deadly fire.
</p>

<p>
One by one, however, the ships managed to dip below the crests of the outlying
hills until only one barely moving craft was in sight. This had received the
brunt of our fire and seemed to be entirely unmanned, as not a moving figure
was visible upon her decks. Slowly she swung from her course, circling back
toward us in an erratic and pitiful manner. Instantly the warriors ceased
firing, for it was quite apparent that the vessel was entirely helpless, and,
far from being in a position to inflict harm upon us, she could not even
control herself sufficiently to escape.
</p>

<p>
As she neared the city the warriors rushed out upon the plain to meet her, but
it was evident that she still was too high for them to hope to reach her decks.
From my vantage point in the window I could see the bodies of her crew strewn
about, although I could not make out what manner of creatures they might be.
Not a sign of life was manifest upon her as she drifted slowly with the light
breeze in a southeasterly direction.
</p>

<p>
She was drifting some fifty feet above the ground, followed by all but some
hundred of the warriors who had been ordered back to the roofs to cover the
possibility of a return of the fleet, or of reinforcements. It soon became
evident that she would strike the face of the buildings about a mile south of
our position, and as I watched the progress of the chase I saw a number of
warriors gallop ahead, dismount and enter the building she seemed destined to
touch.
</p>

<p>
As the craft neared the building, and just before she struck, the Martian
warriors swarmed upon her from the windows, and with their great spears eased
the shock of the collision, and in a few moments they had thrown out grappling
hooks and the big boat was being hauled to ground by their fellows below.
</p>

<p>
After making her fast, they swarmed the sides and searched the vessel from stem
to stern. I could see them examining the dead sailors, evidently for signs of
life, and presently a party of them appeared from below dragging a little
figure among them. The creature was considerably less than half as tall as the
green Martian warriors, and from my balcony I could see that it walked erect
upon two legs and surmised that it was some new and strange Martian monstrosity
with which I had not as yet become acquainted.
</p>

<p>
They removed their prisoner to the ground and then commenced a systematic
rifling of the vessel. This operation required several hours, during which time
a number of the chariots were requisitioned to transport the loot, which
consisted in arms, ammunition, silks, furs, jewels, strangely carved stone
vessels, and a quantity of solid foods and liquids, including many casks of
water, the first I had seen since my advent upon Mars.
</p>

<p>
After the last load had been removed the warriors made lines fast to the craft
and towed her far out into the valley in a southwesterly direction. A few of
them then boarded her and were busily engaged in what appeared, from my distant
position, as the emptying of the contents of various carboys upon the dead
bodies of the sailors and over the decks and works of the vessel.
</p>

<p>
This operation concluded, they hastily clambered over her sides, sliding down
the guy ropes to the ground. The last warrior to leave the deck turned and
threw something back upon the vessel, waiting an instant to note the outcome of
his act. As a faint spurt of flame rose from the point where the missile struck
he swung over the side and was quickly upon the ground. Scarcely had he
alighted than the guy ropes were simultaneously released, and the great
warship, lightened by the removal of the loot, soared majestically into the
air, her decks and upper works a mass of roaring flames.
</p>

<p>
Slowly she drifted to the southeast, rising higher and higher as the flames ate
away her wooden parts and diminished the weight upon her. Ascending to the roof
of the building I watched her for hours, until finally she was lost in the dim
vistas of the distance. The sight was awe-inspiring in the extreme as one
contemplated this mighty floating funeral pyre, drifting unguided and unmanned
through the lonely wastes of the Martian heavens; a derelict of death and
destruction, typifying the life story of these strange and ferocious creatures
into whose unfriendly hands fate had carried it.
</p>

<p>
Much depressed, and, to me, unaccountably so, I slowly descended to the street.
The scene I had witnessed seemed to mark the defeat and annihilation of the
forces of a kindred people, rather than the routing by our green warriors of a
horde of similar, though unfriendly, creatures. I could not fathom the seeming
hallucination, nor could I free myself from it; but somewhere in the innermost
recesses of my soul I felt a strange yearning toward these unknown foemen, and
a mighty hope surged through me that the fleet would return and demand a
reckoning from the green warriors who had so ruthlessly and wantonly attacked
it.
</p>

<p>
Close at my heel, in his now accustomed place, followed Woola, the hound, and
as I emerged upon the street Sola rushed up to me as though I had been the
object of some search on her part. The cavalcade was returning to the plaza,
the homeward march having been given up for that day; nor, in fact, was it
recommenced for more than a week, owing to the fear of a return attack by the
air craft.
</p>

<p>
Lorquas Ptomel was too astute an old warrior to be caught upon the open plains
with a caravan of chariots and children, and so we remained at the deserted
city until the danger seemed passed.
</p>

<p>
As Sola and I entered the plaza a sight met my eyes which filled my whole being
with a great surge of mingled hope, fear, exultation, and depression, and yet
most dominant was a subtle sense of relief and happiness; for just as we neared
the throng of Martians I caught a glimpse of the prisoner from the battle craft
who was being roughly dragged into a nearby building by a couple of green
Martian females.
</p>

<p>
And the sight which met my eyes was that of a slender, girlish figure, similar
in every detail to the earthly women of my past life. She did not see me at
first, but just as she was disappearing through the portal of the building
which was to be her prison she turned, and her eyes met mine. Her face was oval
and beautiful in the extreme, her every feature was finely chiseled and
exquisite, her eyes large and lustrous and her head surmounted by a mass of
coal black, waving hair, caught loosely into a strange yet becoming coiffure.
Her skin was of a light reddish copper color, against which the crimson glow of
her cheeks and the ruby of her beautifully molded lips shone with a strangely
enhancing effect.
</p>

<p>
She was as destitute of clothes as the green Martians who accompanied her;
indeed, save for her highly wrought ornaments she was entirely naked, nor could
any apparel have enhanced the beauty of her perfect and symmetrical figure.
</p>

<p>
As her gaze rested on me her eyes opened wide in astonishment, and she made a
little sign with her free hand; a sign which I did not, of course, understand.
Just a moment we gazed upon each other, and then the look of hope and renewed
courage which had glorified her face as she discovered me, faded into one of
utter dejection, mingled with loathing and contempt. I realized I had not
answered her signal, and ignorant as I was of Martian customs, I intuitively
felt that she had made an appeal for succor and protection which my unfortunate
ignorance had prevented me from answering. And then she was dragged out of my
sight into the depths of the deserted edifice.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap09"></a>CHAPTER IX<br/>
I LEARN THE LANGUAGE</h2>

<p>
As I came back to myself I glanced at Sola, who had witnessed this encounter
and I was surprised to note a strange expression upon her usually
expressionless countenance. What her thoughts were I did not know, for as yet I
had learned but little of the Martian tongue; enough only to suffice for my
daily needs.
</p>

<p>
As I reached the doorway of our building a strange surprise awaited me. A
warrior approached bearing the arms, ornaments, and full accouterments of his
kind. These he presented to me with a few unintelligible words, and a bearing
at once respectful and menacing.
</p>

<p>
Later, Sola, with the aid of several of the other women, remodeled the
trappings to fit my lesser proportions, and after they completed the work I
went about garbed in all the panoply of war.
</p>

<p>
From then on Sola instructed me in the mysteries of the various weapons, and
with the Martian young I spent several hours each day practicing upon the
plaza. I was not yet proficient with all the weapons, but my great familiarity
with similar earthly weapons made me an unusually apt pupil, and I progressed
in a very satisfactory manner.
</p>

<p>
The training of myself and the young Martians was conducted solely by the
women, who not only attend to the education of the young in the arts of
individual defense and offense, but are also the artisans who produce every
manufactured article wrought by the green Martians. They make the powder, the
cartridges, the firearms; in fact everything of value is produced by the
females. In time of actual warfare they form a part of the reserves, and when
the necessity arises fight with even greater intelligence and ferocity than the
men.
</p>

<p>
The men are trained in the higher branches of the art of war; in strategy and
the maneuvering of large bodies of troops. They make the laws as they are
needed; a new law for each emergency. They are unfettered by precedent in the
administration of justice. Customs have been handed down by ages of repetition,
but the punishment for ignoring a custom is a matter for individual treatment
by a jury of the culprit&rsquo;s peers, and I may say that justice seldom
misses fire, but seems rather to rule in inverse ratio to the ascendency of
law. In one respect at least the Martians are a happy people; they have no
lawyers.
</p>

<p>
I did not see the prisoner again for several days subsequent to our first
encounter, and then only to catch a fleeting glimpse of her as she was being
conducted to the great audience chamber where I had had my first meeting with
Lorquas Ptomel. I could not but note the unnecessary harshness and brutality
with which her guards treated her; so different from the almost maternal
kindliness which Sola manifested toward me, and the respectful attitude of the
few green Martians who took the trouble to notice me at all.
</p>

<p>
I had observed on the two occasions when I had seen her that the prisoner
exchanged words with her guards, and this convinced me that they spoke, or at
least could make themselves understood by a common language. With this added
incentive I nearly drove Sola distracted by my importunities to hasten on my
education and within a few more days I had mastered the Martian tongue
sufficiently well to enable me to carry on a passable conversation and to fully
understand practically all that I heard.
</p>

<p>
At this time our sleeping quarters were occupied by three or four females and a
couple of the recently hatched young, beside Sola and her youthful ward,
myself, and Woola the hound. After they had retired for the night it was
customary for the adults to carry on a desultory conversation for a short time
before lapsing into sleep, and now that I could understand their language I was
always a keen listener, although I never proffered any remarks myself.
</p>

<p>
On the night following the prisoner&rsquo;s visit to the audience chamber the
conversation finally fell upon this subject, and I was all ears on the instant.
I had feared to question Sola relative to the beautiful captive, as I could not
but recall the strange expression I had noted upon her face after my first
encounter with the prisoner. That it denoted jealousy I could not say, and yet,
judging all things by mundane standards as I still did, I felt it safer to
affect indifference in the matter until I learned more surely Sola&rsquo;s
attitude toward the object of my solicitude.
</p>

<p>
Sarkoja, one of the older women who shared our domicile, had been present at
the audience as one of the captive&rsquo;s guards, and it was toward her the
question turned.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;When,&rdquo; asked one of the women, &ldquo;will we enjoy the death
throes of the red one? or does Lorquas Ptomel, Jed, intend holding her for
ransom?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;They have decided to carry her with us back to Thark, and exhibit her
last agonies at the great games before Tal Hajus,&rdquo; replied Sarkoja.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What will be the manner of her going out?&rdquo; inquired Sola.
&ldquo;She is very small and very beautiful; I had hoped that they would hold
her for ransom.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Sarkoja and the other women grunted angrily at this evidence of weakness on the
part of Sola.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It is sad, Sola, that you were not born a million years ago,&rdquo;
snapped Sarkoja, &ldquo;when all the hollows of the land were filled with
water, and the peoples were as soft as the stuff they sailed upon. In our day
we have progressed to a point where such sentiments mark weakness and atavism.
It will not be well for you to permit Tars Tarkas to learn that you hold such
degenerate sentiments, as I doubt that he would care to entrust such as you
with the grave responsibilities of maternity.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I see nothing wrong with my expression of interest in this red
woman,&rdquo; retorted Sola. &ldquo;She has never harmed us, nor would she
should we have fallen into her hands. It is only the men of her kind who war
upon us, and I have ever thought that their attitude toward us is but the
reflection of ours toward them. They live at peace with all their fellows,
except when duty calls upon them to make war, while we are at peace with none;
forever warring among our own kind as well as upon the red men, and even in our
own communities the individuals fight amongst themselves. Oh, it is one
continual, awful period of bloodshed from the time we break the shell until we
gladly embrace the bosom of the river of mystery, the dark and ancient Iss
which carries us to an unknown, but at least no more frightful and terrible
existence! Fortunate indeed is he who meets his end in an early death. Say what
you please to Tars Tarkas, he can mete out no worse fate to me than a
continuation of the horrible existence we are forced to lead in this
life.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
This wild outbreak on the part of Sola so greatly surprised and shocked the
other women, that, after a few words of general reprimand, they all lapsed into
silence and were soon asleep. One thing the episode had accomplished was to
assure me of Sola&rsquo;s friendliness toward the poor girl, and also to
convince me that I had been extremely fortunate in falling into her hands
rather than those of some of the other females. I knew that she was fond of me,
and now that I had discovered that she hated cruelty and barbarity I was
confident that I could depend upon her to aid me and the girl captive to
escape, provided of course that such a thing was within the range of
possibilities.
</p>

<p>
I did not even know that there were any better conditions to escape to, but I
was more than willing to take my chances among people fashioned after my own
mold rather than to remain longer among the hideous and bloodthirsty green men
of Mars. But where to go, and how, was as much of a puzzle to me as the age-old
search for the spring of eternal life has been to earthly men since the
beginning of time.
</p>

<p>
I decided that at the first opportunity I would take Sola into my confidence
and openly ask her to aid me, and with this resolution strong upon me I turned
among my silks and furs and slept the dreamless and refreshing sleep of Mars.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap10"></a>CHAPTER X<br/>
CHAMPION AND CHIEF</h2>

<p>
Early the next morning I was astir. Considerable freedom was allowed me, as
Sola had informed me that so long as I did not attempt to leave the city I was
free to go and come as I pleased. She had warned me, however, against venturing
forth unarmed, as this city, like all other deserted metropolises of an ancient
Martian civilization, was peopled by the great white apes of my second
day&rsquo;s adventure.
</p>

<p>
In advising me that I must not leave the boundaries of the city Sola had
explained that Woola would prevent this anyway should I attempt it, and she
warned me most urgently not to arouse his fierce nature by ignoring his
warnings should I venture too close to the forbidden territory. His nature was
such, she said, that he would bring me back into the city dead or alive should
I persist in opposing him; &ldquo;preferably dead,&rdquo; she added.
</p>

<p>
On this morning I had chosen a new street to explore when suddenly I found
myself at the limits of the city. Before me were low hills pierced by narrow
and inviting ravines. I longed to explore the country before me, and, like the
pioneer stock from which I sprang, to view what the landscape beyond the
encircling hills might disclose from the summits which shut out my view.
</p>

<p>
It also occurred to me that this would prove an excellent opportunity to test
the qualities of Woola. I was convinced that the brute loved me; I had seen
more evidences of affection in him than in any other Martian animal, man or
beast, and I was sure that gratitude for the acts that had twice saved his life
would more than outweigh his loyalty to the duty imposed upon him by cruel and
loveless masters.
</p>

<p>
As I approached the boundary line Woola ran anxiously before me, and thrust his
body against my legs. His expression was pleading rather than ferocious, nor
did he bare his great tusks or utter his fearful guttural warnings. Denied the
friendship and companionship of my kind, I had developed considerable affection
for Woola and Sola, for the normal earthly man must have some outlet for his
natural affections, and so I decided upon an appeal to a like instinct in this
great brute, sure that I would not be disappointed.
</p>

<p>
I had never petted nor fondled him, but now I sat upon the ground and putting
my arms around his heavy neck I stroked and coaxed him, talking in my newly
acquired Martian tongue as I would have to my hound at home, as I would have
talked to any other friend among the lower animals. His response to my
manifestation of affection was remarkable to a degree; he stretched his great
mouth to its full width, baring the entire expanse of his upper rows of tusks
and wrinkling his snout until his great eyes were almost hidden by the folds of
flesh. If you have ever seen a collie smile you may have some idea of
Woola&rsquo;s facial distortion.
</p>

<p>
He threw himself upon his back and fairly wallowed at my feet; jumped up and
sprang upon me, rolling me upon the ground by his great weight; then wriggling
and squirming around me like a playful puppy presenting its back for the
petting it craves. I could not resist the ludicrousness of the spectacle, and
holding my sides I rocked back and forth in the first laughter which had passed
my lips in many days; the first, in fact, since the morning Powell had left
camp when his horse, long unused, had precipitately and unexpectedly bucked him
off headforemost into a pot of frijoles.
</p>

<p>
My laughter frightened Woola, his antics ceased and he crawled pitifully toward
me, poking his ugly head far into my lap; and then I remembered what laughter
signified on Mars&mdash;torture, suffering, death. Quieting myself, I rubbed
the poor old fellow&rsquo;s head and back, talked to him for a few minutes, and
then in an authoritative tone commanded him to follow me, and arising started
for the hills.
</p>

<p>
There was no further question of authority between us; Woola was my devoted
slave from that moment hence, and I his only and undisputed master. My walk to
the hills occupied but a few minutes, and I found nothing of particular
interest to reward me. Numerous brilliantly colored and strangely formed wild
flowers dotted the ravines and from the summit of the first hill I saw still
other hills stretching off toward the north, and rising, one range above
another, until lost in mountains of quite respectable dimensions; though I
afterward found that only a few peaks on all Mars exceed four thousand feet in
height; the suggestion of magnitude was merely relative.
</p>

<p>
My morning&rsquo;s walk had been large with importance to me for it had
resulted in a perfect understanding with Woola, upon whom Tars Tarkas relied
for my safe keeping. I now knew that while theoretically a prisoner I was
virtually free, and I hastened to regain the city limits before the defection
of Woola could be discovered by his erstwhile masters. The adventure decided me
never again to leave the limits of my prescribed stamping grounds until I was
ready to venture forth for good and all, as it would certainly result in a
curtailment of my liberties, as well as the probable death of Woola, were we to
be discovered.
</p>

<p>
On regaining the plaza I had my third glimpse of the captive girl. She was
standing with her guards before the entrance to the audience chamber, and as I
approached she gave me one haughty glance and turned her back full upon me. The
act was so womanly, so earthly womanly, that though it stung my pride it also
warmed my heart with a feeling of companionship; it was good to know that
someone else on Mars beside myself had human instincts of a civilized order,
even though the manifestation of them was so painful and mortifying.
</p>

<p>
Had a green Martian woman desired to show dislike or contempt she would, in all
likelihood, have done it with a sword thrust or a movement of her trigger
finger; but as their sentiments are mostly atrophied it would have required a
serious injury to have aroused such passions in them. Sola, let me add, was an
exception; I never saw her perform a cruel or uncouth act, or fail in uniform
kindliness and good nature. She was indeed, as her fellow Martian had said of
her, an atavism; a dear and precious reversion to a former type of loved and
loving ancestor.
</p>

<p>
Seeing that the prisoner seemed the center of attraction I halted to view the
proceedings. I had not long to wait for presently Lorquas Ptomel and his
retinue of chieftains approached the building and, signing the guards to follow
with the prisoner entered the audience chamber. Realizing that I was a somewhat
favored character, and also convinced that the warriors did not know of my
proficiency in their language, as I had plead with Sola to keep this a secret
on the grounds that I did not wish to be forced to talk with the men until I
had perfectly mastered the Martian tongue, I chanced an attempt to enter the
audience chamber and listen to the proceedings.
</p>

<p>
The council squatted upon the steps of the rostrum, while below them stood the
prisoner and her two guards. I saw that one of the women was Sarkoja, and thus
understood how she had been present at the hearing of the preceding day, the
results of which she had reported to the occupants of our dormitory last night.
Her attitude toward the captive was most harsh and brutal. When she held her,
she sunk her rudimentary nails into the poor girl&rsquo;s flesh, or twisted her
arm in a most painful manner. When it was necessary to move from one spot to
another she either jerked her roughly, or pushed her headlong before her. She
seemed to be venting upon this poor defenseless creature all the hatred,
cruelty, ferocity, and spite of her nine hundred years, backed by unguessable
ages of fierce and brutal ancestors.
</p>

<p>
The other woman was less cruel because she was entirely indifferent; if the
prisoner had been left to her alone, and fortunately she was at night, she
would have received no harsh treatment, nor, by the same token would she have
received any attention at all.
</p>

<p>
As Lorquas Ptomel raised his eyes to address the prisoner they fell on me and
he turned to Tars Tarkas with a word, and gesture of impatience. Tars Tarkas
made some reply which I could not catch, but which caused Lorquas Ptomel to
smile; after which they paid no further attention to me.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What is your name?&rdquo; asked Lorquas Ptomel, addressing the prisoner.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Dejah Thoris, daughter of Mors Kajak of Helium.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And the nature of your expedition?&rdquo; he continued.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It was a purely scientific research party sent out by my father&rsquo;s
father, the Jeddak of Helium, to rechart the air currents, and to take
atmospheric density tests,&rdquo; replied the fair prisoner, in a low,
well-modulated voice.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;We were unprepared for battle,&rdquo; she continued, &ldquo;as we were
on a peaceful mission, as our banners and the colors of our craft denoted. The
work we were doing was as much in your interests as in ours, for you know full
well that were it not for our labors and the fruits of our scientific
operations there would not be enough air or water on Mars to support a single
human life. For ages we have maintained the air and water supply at practically
the same point without an appreciable loss, and we have done this in the face
of the brutal and ignorant interference of you green men.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Why, oh, why will you not learn to live in amity with your fellows. Must
you ever go on down the ages to your final extinction but little above the
plane of the dumb brutes that serve you! A people without written language,
without art, without homes, without love; the victims of eons of the horrible
community idea. Owning everything in common, even to your women and children,
has resulted in your owning nothing in common. You hate each other as you hate
all else except yourselves. Come back to the ways of our common ancestors, come
back to the light of kindliness and fellowship. The way is open to you, you
will find the hands of the red men stretched out to aid you. Together we may do
still more to regenerate our dying planet. The granddaughter of the greatest
and mightiest of the red jeddaks has asked you. Will you come?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Lorquas Ptomel and the warriors sat looking silently and intently at the young
woman for several moments after she had ceased speaking. What was passing in
their minds no man may know, but that they were moved I truly believe, and if
one man high among them had been strong enough to rise above custom, that
moment would have marked a new and mighty era for Mars.
</p>

<p>
I saw Tars Tarkas rise to speak, and on his face was such an expression as I
had never seen upon the countenance of a green Martian warrior. It bespoke an
inward and mighty battle with self, with heredity, with age-old custom, and as
he opened his mouth to speak, a look almost of benignity, of kindliness,
momentarily lighted up his fierce and terrible countenance.
</p>

<p>
What words of moment were to have fallen from his lips were never spoken, as
just then a young warrior, evidently sensing the trend of thought among the
older men, leaped down from the steps of the rostrum, and striking the frail
captive a powerful blow across the face, which felled her to the floor, placed
his foot upon her prostrate form and turning toward the assembled council broke
into peals of horrid, mirthless laughter.
</p>

<p>
For an instant I thought Tars Tarkas would strike him dead, nor did the aspect
of Lorquas Ptomel augur any too favorably for the brute, but the mood passed,
their old selves reasserted their ascendency, and they smiled. It was
portentous however that they did not laugh aloud, for the brute&rsquo;s act
constituted a side-splitting witticism according to the ethics which rule green
Martian humor.
</p>

<p>
That I have taken moments to write down a part of what occurred as that blow
fell does not signify that I remained inactive for any such length of time. I
think I must have sensed something of what was coming, for I realize now that I
was crouched as for a spring as I saw the blow aimed at her beautiful,
upturned, pleading face, and ere the hand descended I was halfway across the
hall.
</p>

<p>
Scarcely had his hideous laugh rang out but once, when I was upon him. The
brute was twelve feet in height and armed to the teeth, but I believe that I
could have accounted for the whole roomful in the terrific intensity of my
rage. Springing upward, I struck him full in the face as he turned at my
warning cry and then as he drew his short-sword I drew mine and sprang up again
upon his breast, hooking one leg over the butt of his pistol and grasping one
of his huge tusks with my left hand while I delivered blow after blow upon his
enormous chest.
</p>

<p>
He could not use his short-sword to advantage because I was too close to him,
nor could he draw his pistol, which he attempted to do in direct opposition to
Martian custom which says that you may not fight a fellow warrior in private
combat with any other than the weapon with which you are attacked. In fact he
could do nothing but make a wild and futile attempt to dislodge me. With all
his immense bulk he was little if any stronger than I, and it was but the
matter of a moment or two before he sank, bleeding and lifeless, to the floor.
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris had raised herself upon one elbow and was watching the battle with
wide, staring eyes. When I had regained my feet I raised her in my arms and
bore her to one of the benches at the side of the room.
</p>

<p>
Again no Martian interfered with me, and tearing a piece of silk from my cape I
endeavored to staunch the flow of blood from her nostrils. I was soon
successful as her injuries amounted to little more than an ordinary nosebleed,
and when she could speak she placed her hand upon my arm and looking up into my
eyes, said:
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Why did you do it? You who refused me even friendly recognition in the
first hour of my peril! And now you risk your life and kill one of your
companions for my sake. I cannot understand. What strange manner of man are
you, that you consort with the green men, though your form is that of my race,
while your color is little darker than that of the white ape? Tell me, are you
human, or are you more than human?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It is a strange tale,&rdquo; I replied, &ldquo;too long to attempt to
tell you now, and one which I so much doubt the credibility of myself that I
fear to hope that others will believe it. Suffice it, for the present, that I
am your friend, and, so far as our captors will permit, your protector and your
servant.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Then you too are a prisoner? But why, then, those arms and the regalia
of a Tharkian chieftain? What is your name? Where your country?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Yes, Dejah Thoris, I too am a prisoner; my name is John Carter, and I
claim Virginia, one of the United States of America, Earth, as my home; but why
I am permitted to wear arms I do not know, nor was I aware that my regalia was
that of a chieftain.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
We were interrupted at this juncture by the approach of one of the warriors,
bearing arms, accoutrements and ornaments, and in a flash one of her questions
was answered and a puzzle cleared up for me. I saw that the body of my dead
antagonist had been stripped, and I read in the menacing yet respectful
attitude of the warrior who had brought me these trophies of the kill the same
demeanor as that evinced by the other who had brought me my original equipment,
and now for the first time I realized that my blow, on the occasion of my first
battle in the audience chamber had resulted in the death of my adversary.
</p>

<p>
The reason for the whole attitude displayed toward me was now apparent; I had
won my spurs, so to speak, and in the crude justice, which always marks Martian
dealings, and which, among other things, has caused me to call her the planet
of paradoxes, I was accorded the honors due a conqueror; the trappings and the
position of the man I killed. In truth, I was a Martian chieftain, and this I
learned later was the cause of my great freedom and my toleration in the
audience chamber.
</p>

<p>
As I had turned to receive the dead warrior&rsquo;s chattels I had noticed that
Tars Tarkas and several others had pushed forward toward us, and the eyes of
the former rested upon me in a most quizzical manner. Finally he addressed me:
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You speak the tongue of Barsoom quite readily for one who was deaf and
dumb to us a few short days ago. Where did you learn it, John Carter?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You, yourself, are responsible, Tars Tarkas,&rdquo; I replied, &ldquo;in
that you furnished me with an instructress of remarkable ability; I have to
thank Sola for my learning.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;She has done well,&rdquo; he answered, &ldquo;but your education in
other respects needs considerable polish. Do you know what your unprecedented
temerity would have cost you had you failed to kill either of the two
chieftains whose metal you now wear?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I presume that that one whom I had failed to kill, would have killed
me,&rdquo; I answered, smiling.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;No, you are wrong. Only in the last extremity of self-defense would a
Martian warrior kill a prisoner; we like to save them for other
purposes,&rdquo; and his face bespoke possibilities that were not pleasant to
dwell upon.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;But one thing can save you now,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;Should you,
in recognition of your remarkable valor, ferocity, and prowess, be considered
by Tal Hajus as worthy of his service you may be taken into the community and
become a full-fledged Tharkian. Until we reach the headquarters of Tal Hajus it
is the will of Lorquas Ptomel that you be accorded the respect your acts have
earned you. You will be treated by us as a Tharkian chieftain, but you must not
forget that every chief who ranks you is responsible for your safe delivery to
our mighty and most ferocious ruler. I am done.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I hear you, Tars Tarkas,&rdquo; I answered. &ldquo;As you know I am not
of Barsoom; your ways are not my ways, and I can only act in the future as I
have in the past, in accordance with the dictates of my conscience and guided
by the standards of mine own people. If you will leave me alone I will go in
peace, but if not, let the individual Barsoomians with whom I must deal either
respect my rights as a stranger among you, or take whatever consequences may
befall. Of one thing let us be sure, whatever may be your ultimate intentions
toward this unfortunate young woman, whoever would offer her injury or insult
in the future must figure on making a full accounting to me. I understand that
you belittle all sentiments of generosity and kindliness, but I do not, and I
can convince your most doughty warrior that these characteristics are not
incompatible with an ability to fight.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Ordinarily I am not given to long speeches, nor ever before had I descended to
bombast, but I had guessed at the keynote which would strike an answering chord
in the breasts of the green Martians, nor was I wrong, for my harangue
evidently deeply impressed them, and their attitude toward me thereafter was
still further respectful.
</p>

<p>
Tars Tarkas himself seemed pleased with my reply, but his only comment was more
or less enigmatical&mdash;&ldquo;And I think I know Tal Hajus, Jeddak of
Thark.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
I now turned my attention to Dejah Thoris, and assisting her to her feet I
turned with her toward the exit, ignoring her hovering guardian harpies as well
as the inquiring glances of the chieftains. Was I not now a chieftain also!
Well, then, I would assume the responsibilities of one. They did not molest us,
and so Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, and John Carter, gentleman of
Virginia, followed by the faithful Woola, passed through utter silence from the
audience chamber of Lorquas Ptomel, Jed among the Tharks of Barsoom.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap11"></a>CHAPTER XI<br/>
WITH DEJAH THORIS</h2>

<p>
As we reached the open the two female guards who had been detailed to watch
over Dejah Thoris hurried up and made as though to assume custody of her once
more. The poor child shrank against me and I felt her two little hands fold
tightly over my arm. Waving the women away, I informed them that Sola would
attend the captive hereafter, and I further warned Sarkoja that any more of her
cruel attentions bestowed upon Dejah Thoris would result in Sarkoja&rsquo;s
sudden and painful demise.
</p>

<p>
My threat was unfortunate and resulted in more harm than good to Dejah Thoris,
for, as I learned later, men do not kill women upon Mars, nor women, men. So
Sarkoja merely gave us an ugly look and departed to hatch up deviltries against
us.
</p>

<p>
I soon found Sola and explained to her that I wished her to guard Dejah Thoris
as she had guarded me; that I wished her to find other quarters where they
would not be molested by Sarkoja, and I finally informed her that I myself
would take up my quarters among the men.
</p>

<p>
Sola glanced at the accouterments which were carried in my hand and slung
across my shoulder.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You are a great chieftain now, John Carter,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;and
I must do your bidding, though indeed I am glad to do it under any
circumstances. The man whose metal you carry was young, but he was a great
warrior, and had by his promotions and kills won his way close to the rank of
Tars Tarkas, who, as you know, is second to Lorquas Ptomel only. You are
eleventh, there are but ten chieftains in this community who rank you in
prowess.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And if I should kill Lorquas Ptomel?&rdquo; I asked.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You would be first, John Carter; but you may only win that honor by the
will of the entire council that Lorquas Ptomel meet you in combat, or should he
attack you, you may kill him in self-defense, and thus win first place.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
I laughed, and changed the subject. I had no particular desire to kill Lorquas
Ptomel, and less to be a jed among the Tharks.
</p>

<p>
I accompanied Sola and Dejah Thoris in a search for new quarters, which we
found in a building nearer the audience chamber and of far more pretentious
architecture than our former habitation. We also found in this building real
sleeping apartments with ancient beds of highly wrought metal swinging from
enormous gold chains depending from the marble ceilings. The decoration of the
walls was most elaborate, and, unlike the frescoes in the other buildings I had
examined, portrayed many human figures in the compositions. These were of
people like myself, and of a much lighter color than Dejah Thoris. They were
clad in graceful, flowing robes, highly ornamented with metal and jewels, and
their luxuriant hair was of a beautiful golden and reddish bronze. The men were
beardless and only a few wore arms. The scenes depicted for the most part, a
fair-skinned, fair-haired people at play.
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris clasped her hands with an exclamation of rapture as she gazed upon
these magnificent works of art, wrought by a people long extinct; while Sola,
on the other hand, apparently did not see them.
</p>

<p>
We decided to use this room, on the second floor and overlooking the plaza, for
Dejah Thoris and Sola, and another room adjoining and in the rear for the
cooking and supplies. I then dispatched Sola to bring the bedding and such food
and utensils as she might need, telling her that I would guard Dejah Thoris
until her return.
</p>

<p>
As Sola departed Dejah Thoris turned to me with a faint smile.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And whereto, then, would your prisoner escape should you leave her,
unless it was to follow you and crave your protection, and ask your pardon for
the cruel thoughts she has harbored against you these past few days?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You are right,&rdquo; I answered, &ldquo;there is no escape for either
of us unless we go together.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I heard your challenge to the creature you call Tars Tarkas, and I think
I understand your position among these people, but what I cannot fathom is your
statement that you are not of Barsoom.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;In the name of my first ancestor, then,&rdquo; she continued,
&ldquo;where may you be from? You are like unto my people, and yet so unlike.
You speak my language, and yet I heard you tell Tars Tarkas that you had but
learned it recently. All Barsoomians speak the same tongue from the ice-clad
south to the ice-clad north, though their written languages differ. Only in the
valley Dor, where the river Iss empties into the lost sea of Korus, is there
supposed to be a different language spoken, and, except in the legends of our
ancestors, there is no record of a Barsoomian returning up the river Iss, from
the shores of Korus in the valley of Dor. Do not tell me that you have thus
returned! They would kill you horribly anywhere upon the surface of Barsoom if
that were true; tell me it is not!&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Her eyes were filled with a strange, weird light; her voice was pleading, and
her little hands, reached up upon my breast, were pressed against me as though
to wring a denial from my very heart.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I do not know your customs, Dejah Thoris, but in my own Virginia a
gentleman does not lie to save himself; I am not of Dor; I have never seen the
mysterious Iss; the lost sea of Korus is still lost, so far as I am concerned.
Do you believe me?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
And then it struck me suddenly that I was very anxious that she should believe
me. It was not that I feared the results which would follow a general belief
that I had returned from the Barsoomian heaven or hell, or whatever it was. Why
was it, then! Why should I care what she thought? I looked down at her; her
beautiful face upturned, and her wonderful eyes opening up the very depth of
her soul; and as my eyes met hers I knew why, and&mdash;I shuddered.
</p>

<p>
A similar wave of feeling seemed to stir her; she drew away from me with a
sigh, and with her earnest, beautiful face turned up to mine, she whispered:
&ldquo;I believe you, John Carter; I do not know what a &lsquo;gentleman&rsquo;
is, nor have I ever heard before of Virginia; but on Barsoom no man lies; if he
does not wish to speak the truth he is silent. Where is this Virginia, your
country, John Carter?&rdquo; she asked, and it seemed that this fair name of my
fair land had never sounded more beautiful than as it fell from those perfect
lips on that far-gone day.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I am of another world,&rdquo; I answered, &ldquo;the great planet Earth,
which revolves about our common sun and next within the orbit of your Barsoom,
which we know as Mars. How I came here I cannot tell you, for I do not know;
but here I am, and since my presence has permitted me to serve Dejah Thoris I
am glad that I am here.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
She gazed at me with troubled eyes, long and questioningly. That it was
difficult to believe my statement I well knew, nor could I hope that she would
do so however much I craved her confidence and respect. I would much rather not
have told her anything of my antecedents, but no man could look into the depth
of those eyes and refuse her slightest behest.
</p>

<p>
Finally she smiled, and, rising, said: &ldquo;I shall have to believe even
though I cannot understand. I can readily perceive that you are not of the
Barsoom of today; you are like us, yet different&mdash;but why should I trouble
my poor head with such a problem, when my heart tells me that I believe because
I wish to believe!&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
It was good logic, good, earthly, feminine logic, and if it satisfied her I
certainly could pick no flaws in it. As a matter of fact it was about the only
kind of logic that could be brought to bear upon my problem. We fell into a
general conversation then, asking and answering many questions on each side.
She was curious to learn of the customs of my people and displayed a remarkable
knowledge of events on Earth. When I questioned her closely on this seeming
familiarity with earthly things she laughed, and cried out:
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Why, every school boy on Barsoom knows the geography, and much
concerning the fauna and flora, as well as the history of your planet fully as
well as of his own. Can we not see everything which takes place upon Earth, as
you call it; is it not hanging there in the heavens in plain sight?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
This baffled me, I must confess, fully as much as my statements had confounded
her; and I told her so. She then explained in general the instruments her
people had used and been perfecting for ages, which permit them to throw upon a
screen a perfect image of what is transpiring upon any planet and upon many of
the stars. These pictures are so perfect in detail that, when photographed and
enlarged, objects no greater than a blade of grass may be distinctly
recognized. I afterward, in Helium, saw many of these pictures, as well as the
instruments which produced them.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;If, then, you are so familiar with earthly things,&rdquo; I asked,
&ldquo;why is it that you do not recognize me as identical with the inhabitants
of that planet?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
She smiled again as one might in bored indulgence of a questioning child.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Because, John Carter,&rdquo; she replied, &ldquo;nearly every planet and
star having atmospheric conditions at all approaching those of Barsoom, shows
forms of animal life almost identical with you and me; and, further, Earth men,
almost without exception, cover their bodies with strange, unsightly pieces of
cloth, and their heads with hideous contraptions the purpose of which we have
been unable to conceive; while you, when found by the Tharkian warriors, were
entirely undisfigured and unadorned.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The fact that you wore no ornaments is a strong proof of your
un-Barsoomian origin, while the absence of grotesque coverings might cause a
doubt as to your earthliness.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
I then narrated the details of my departure from the Earth, explaining that my
body there lay fully clothed in all the, to her, strange garments of mundane
dwellers. At this point Sola returned with our meager belongings and her young
Martian protege, who, of course, would have to share the quarters with them.
</p>

<p>
Sola asked us if we had had a visitor during her absence, and seemed much
surprised when we answered in the negative. It seemed that as she had mounted
the approach to the upper floors where our quarters were located, she had met
Sarkoja descending. We decided that she must have been eavesdropping, but as we
could recall nothing of importance that had passed between us we dismissed the
matter as of little consequence, merely promising ourselves to be warned to the
utmost caution in the future.
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris and I then fell to examining the architecture and decorations of
the beautiful chambers of the building we were occupying. She told me that
these people had presumably flourished over a hundred thousand years before.
They were the early progenitors of her race, but had mixed with the other great
race of early Martians, who were very dark, almost black, and also with the
reddish yellow race which had flourished at the same time.
</p>

<p>
These three great divisions of the higher Martians had been forced into a
mighty alliance as the drying up of the Martian seas had compelled them to seek
the comparatively few and always diminishing fertile areas, and to defend
themselves, under new conditions of life, against the wild hordes of green men.
</p>

<p>
Ages of close relationship and intermarrying had resulted in the race of red
men, of which Dejah Thoris was a fair and beautiful daughter. During the ages
of hardships and incessant warring between their own various races, as well as
with the green men, and before they had fitted themselves to the changed
conditions, much of the high civilization and many of the arts of the
fair-haired Martians had become lost; but the red race of today has reached a
point where it feels that it has made up in new discoveries and in a more
practical civilization for all that lies irretrievably buried with the ancient
Barsoomians, beneath the countless intervening ages.
</p>

<p>
These ancient Martians had been a highly cultivated and literary race, but
during the vicissitudes of those trying centuries of readjustment to new
conditions, not only did their advancement and production cease entirely, but
practically all their archives, records, and literature were lost.
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris related many interesting facts and legends concerning this lost
race of noble and kindly people. She said that the city in which we were
camping was supposed to have been a center of commerce and culture known as
Korad. It had been built upon a beautiful, natural harbor, landlocked by
magnificent hills. The little valley on the west front of the city, she
explained, was all that remained of the harbor, while the pass through the
hills to the old sea bottom had been the channel through which the shipping
passed up to the city&rsquo;s gates.
</p>

<p>
The shores of the ancient seas were dotted with just such cities, and lesser
ones, in diminishing numbers, were to be found converging toward the center of
the oceans, as the people had found it necessary to follow the receding waters
until necessity had forced upon them their ultimate salvation, the so-called
Martian canals.
</p>

<p>
We had been so engrossed in exploration of the building and in our conversation
that it was late in the afternoon before we realized it. We were brought back
to a realization of our present conditions by a messenger bearing a summons
from Lorquas Ptomel directing me to appear before him forthwith. Bidding Dejah
Thoris and Sola farewell, and commanding Woola to remain on guard, I hastened
to the audience chamber, where I found Lorquas Ptomel and Tars Tarkas seated
upon the rostrum.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap12"></a>CHAPTER XII<br/>
A PRISONER WITH POWER</h2>

<p>
As I entered and saluted, Lorquas Ptomel signaled me to advance, and, fixing
his great, hideous eyes upon me, addressed me thus:
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You have been with us a few days, yet during that time you have by your
prowess won a high position among us. Be that as it may, you are not one of us;
you owe us no allegiance.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Your position is a peculiar one,&rdquo; he continued; &ldquo;you are a
prisoner and yet you give commands which must be obeyed; you are an alien and
yet you are a Tharkian chieftain; you are a midget and yet you can kill a
mighty warrior with one blow of your fist. And now you are reported to have
been plotting to escape with another prisoner of another race; a prisoner who,
from her own admission, half believes you are returned from the valley of Dor.
Either one of these accusations, if proved, would be sufficient grounds for
your execution, but we are a just people and you shall have a trial on our
return to Thark, if Tal Hajus so commands.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;But,&rdquo; he continued, in his fierce guttural tones, &ldquo;if you
run off with the red girl it is I who shall have to account to Tal Hajus; it is
I who shall have to face Tars Tarkas, and either demonstrate my right to
command, or the metal from my dead carcass will go to a better man, for such is
the custom of the Tharks.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I have no quarrel with Tars Tarkas; together we rule supreme the
greatest of the lesser communities among the green men; we do not wish to fight
between ourselves; and so if you were dead, John Carter, I should be glad.
Under two conditions only, however, may you be killed by us without orders from
Tal Hajus; in personal combat in self-defense, should you attack one of us, or
were you apprehended in an attempt to escape.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;As a matter of justice I must warn you that we only await one of these
two excuses for ridding ourselves of so great a responsibility. The safe
delivery of the red girl to Tal Hajus is of the greatest importance. Not in a
thousand years have the Tharks made such a capture; she is the granddaughter of
the greatest of the red jeddaks, who is also our bitterest enemy. I have
spoken. The red girl told us that we were without the softer sentiments of
humanity, but we are a just and truthful race. You may go.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Turning, I left the audience chamber. So this was the beginning of
Sarkoja&rsquo;s persecution! I knew that none other could be responsible for
this report which had reached the ears of Lorquas Ptomel so quickly, and now I
recalled those portions of our conversation which had touched upon escape and
upon my origin.
</p>

<p>
Sarkoja was at this time Tars Tarkas&rsquo; oldest and most trusted female. As
such she was a mighty power behind the throne, for no warrior had the
confidence of Lorquas Ptomel to such an extent as did his ablest lieutenant,
Tars Tarkas.
</p>

<p>
However, instead of putting thoughts of possible escape from my mind, my
audience with Lorquas Ptomel only served to center my every faculty on this
subject. Now, more than before, the absolute necessity for escape, in so far as
Dejah Thoris was concerned, was impressed upon me, for I was convinced that
some horrible fate awaited her at the headquarters of Tal Hajus.
</p>

<p>
As described by Sola, this monster was the exaggerated personification of all
the ages of cruelty, ferocity, and brutality from which he had descended. Cold,
cunning, calculating; he was, also, in marked contrast to most of his fellows,
a slave to that brute passion which the waning demands for procreation upon
their dying planet has almost stilled in the Martian breast.
</p>

<p>
The thought that the divine Dejah Thoris might fall into the clutches of such
an abysmal atavism started the cold sweat upon me. Far better that we save
friendly bullets for ourselves at the last moment, as did those brave frontier
women of my lost land, who took their own lives rather than fall into the hands
of the Indian braves.
</p>

<p>
As I wandered about the plaza lost in my gloomy forebodings Tars Tarkas
approached me on his way from the audience chamber. His demeanor toward me was
unchanged, and he greeted me as though we had not just parted a few moments
before.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Where are your quarters, John Carter?&rdquo; he asked.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I have selected none,&rdquo; I replied. &ldquo;It seemed best that I
quartered either by myself or among the other warriors, and I was awaiting an
opportunity to ask your advice. As you know,&rdquo; and I smiled, &ldquo;I am
not yet familiar with all the customs of the Tharks.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Come with me,&rdquo; he directed, and together we moved off across the
plaza to a building which I was glad to see adjoined that occupied by Sola and
her charges.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;My quarters are on the first floor of this building,&rdquo; he said,
&ldquo;and the second floor also is fully occupied by warriors, but the third
floor and the floors above are vacant; you may take your choice of these.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I understand,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;that you have given up your
woman to the red prisoner. Well, as you have said, your ways are not our ways,
but you can fight well enough to do about as you please, and so, if you wish to
give your woman to a captive, it is your own affair; but as a chieftain you
should have those to serve you, and in accordance with our customs you may
select any or all the females from the retinues of the chieftains whose metal
you now wear.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
I thanked him, but assured him that I could get along very nicely without
assistance except in the matter of preparing food, and so he promised to send
women to me for this purpose and also for the care of my arms and the
manufacture of my ammunition, which he said would be necessary. I suggested
that they might also bring some of the sleeping silks and furs which belonged
to me as spoils of combat, for the nights were cold and I had none of my own.
</p>

<p>
He promised to do so, and departed. Left alone, I ascended the winding corridor
to the upper floors in search of suitable quarters. The beauties of the other
buildings were repeated in this, and, as usual, I was soon lost in a tour of
investigation and discovery.
</p>

<p>
I finally chose a front room on the third floor, because this brought me nearer
to Dejah Thoris, whose apartment was on the second floor of the adjoining
building, and it flashed upon me that I could rig up some means of
communication whereby she might signal me in case she needed either my services
or my protection.
</p>

<p>
Adjoining my sleeping apartment were baths, dressing rooms, and other sleeping
and living apartments, in all some ten rooms on this floor. The windows of the
back rooms overlooked an enormous court, which formed the center of the square
made by the buildings which faced the four contiguous streets, and which was
now given over to the quartering of the various animals belonging to the
warriors occupying the adjoining buildings.
</p>

<p>
While the court was entirely overgrown with the yellow, moss-like vegetation
which blankets practically the entire surface of Mars, yet numerous fountains,
statuary, benches, and pergola-like contraptions bore witness to the beauty
which the court must have presented in bygone times, when graced by the
fair-haired, laughing people whom stern and unalterable cosmic laws had driven
not only from their homes, but from all except the vague legends of their
descendants.
</p>

<p>
One could easily picture the gorgeous foliage of the luxuriant Martian
vegetation which once filled this scene with life and color; the graceful
figures of the beautiful women, the straight and handsome men; the happy
frolicking children&mdash;all sunlight, happiness and peace. It was difficult
to realize that they had gone; down through ages of darkness, cruelty, and
ignorance, until their hereditary instincts of culture and humanitarianism had
risen ascendant once more in the final composite race which now is dominant
upon Mars.
</p>

<p>
My thoughts were cut short by the advent of several young females bearing loads
of weapons, silks, furs, jewels, cooking utensils, and casks of food and drink,
including considerable loot from the air craft. All this, it seemed, had been
the property of the two chieftains I had slain, and now, by the customs of the
Tharks, it had become mine. At my direction they placed the stuff in one of the
back rooms, and then departed, only to return with a second load, which they
advised me constituted the balance of my goods. On the second trip they were
accompanied by ten or fifteen other women and youths, who, it seemed, formed
the retinues of the two chieftains.
</p>

<p>
They were not their families, nor their wives, nor their servants; the
relationship was peculiar, and so unlike anything known to us that it is most
difficult to describe. All property among the green Martians is owned in common
by the community, except the personal weapons, ornaments and sleeping silks and
furs of the individuals. These alone can one claim undisputed right to, nor may
he accumulate more of these than are required for his actual needs. The surplus
he holds merely as custodian, and it is passed on to the younger members of the
community as necessity demands.
</p>

<p>
The women and children of a man&rsquo;s retinue may be likened to a military
unit for which he is responsible in various ways, as in matters of instruction,
discipline, sustenance, and the exigencies of their continual roamings and
their unending strife with other communities and with the red Martians. His
women are in no sense wives. The green Martians use no word corresponding in
meaning with this earthly word. Their mating is a matter of community interest
solely, and is directed without reference to natural selection. The council of
chieftains of each community control the matter as surely as the owner of a
Kentucky racing stud directs the scientific breeding of his stock for the
improvement of the whole.
</p>

<p>
In theory it may sound well, as is often the case with theories, but the
results of ages of this unnatural practice, coupled with the community interest
in the offspring being held paramount to that of the mother, is shown in the
cold, cruel creatures, and their gloomy, loveless, mirthless existence.
</p>

<p>
It is true that the green Martians are absolutely virtuous, both men and women,
with the exception of such degenerates as Tal Hajus; but better far a finer
balance of human characteristics even at the expense of a slight and occasional
loss of chastity.
</p>

<p>
Finding that I must assume responsibility for these creatures, whether I would
or not, I made the best of it and directed them to find quarters on the upper
floors, leaving the third floor to me. One of the girls I charged with the
duties of my simple cuisine, and directed the others to take up the various
activities which had formerly constituted their vocations. Thereafter I saw
little of them, nor did I care to.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap13"></a>CHAPTER XIII<br/>
LOVE-MAKING ON MARS</h2>

<p>
Following the battle with the air ships, the community remained within the city
for several days, abandoning the homeward march until they could feel
reasonably assured that the ships would not return; for to be caught on the
open plains with a cavalcade of chariots and children was far from the desire
of even so warlike a people as the green Martians.
</p>

<p>
During our period of inactivity, Tars Tarkas had instructed me in many of the
customs and arts of war familiar to the Tharks, including lessons in riding and
guiding the great beasts which bore the warriors. These creatures, which are
known as thoats, are as dangerous and vicious as their masters, but when once
subdued are sufficiently tractable for the purposes of the green Martians.
</p>

<p>
Two of these animals had fallen to me from the warriors whose metal I wore, and
in a short time I could handle them quite as well as the native warriors. The
method was not at all complicated. If the thoats did not respond with
sufficient celerity to the telepathic instructions of their riders they were
dealt a terrific blow between the ears with the butt of a pistol, and if they
showed fight this treatment was continued until the brutes either were subdued,
or had unseated their riders.
</p>

<p>
In the latter case it became a life and death struggle between the man and the
beast. If the former were quick enough with his pistol he might live to ride
again, though upon some other beast; if not, his torn and mangled body was
gathered up by his women and burned in accordance with Tharkian custom.
</p>

<p>
My experience with Woola determined me to attempt the experiment of kindness in
my treatment of my thoats. First I taught them that they could not unseat me,
and even rapped them sharply between the ears to impress upon them my authority
and mastery. Then, by degrees, I won their confidence in much the same manner
as I had adopted countless times with my many mundane mounts. I was ever a good
hand with animals, and by inclination, as well as because it brought more
lasting and satisfactory results, I was always kind and humane in my dealings
with the lower orders. I could take a human life, if necessary, with far less
compunction than that of a poor, unreasoning, irresponsible brute.
</p>

<p>
In the course of a few days my thoats were the wonder of the entire community.
They would follow me like dogs, rubbing their great snouts against my body in
awkward evidence of affection, and respond to my every command with an alacrity
and docility which caused the Martian warriors to ascribe to me the possession
of some earthly power unknown on Mars.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;How have you bewitched them?&rdquo; asked Tars Tarkas one afternoon,
when he had seen me run my arm far between the great jaws of one of my thoats
which had wedged a piece of stone between two of his teeth while feeding upon
the moss-like vegetation within our court yard.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;By kindness,&rdquo; I replied. &ldquo;You see, Tars Tarkas, the softer
sentiments have their value, even to a warrior. In the height of battle as well
as upon the march I know that my thoats will obey my every command, and
therefore my fighting efficiency is enhanced, and I am a better warrior for the
reason that I am a kind master. Your other warriors would find it to the
advantage of themselves as well as of the community to adopt my methods in this
respect. Only a few days since you, yourself, told me that these great brutes,
by the uncertainty of their tempers, often were the means of turning victory
into defeat, since, at a crucial moment, they might elect to unseat and rend
their riders.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Show me how you accomplish these results,&rdquo; was Tars Tarkas&rsquo;
only rejoinder.
</p>

<p>
And so I explained as carefully as I could the entire method of training I had
adopted with my beasts, and later he had me repeat it before Lorquas Ptomel and
the assembled warriors. That moment marked the beginning of a new existence for
the poor thoats, and before I left the community of Lorquas Ptomel I had the
satisfaction of observing a regiment of as tractable and docile mounts as one
might care to see. The effect on the precision and celerity of the military
movements was so remarkable that Lorquas Ptomel presented me with a massive
anklet of gold from his own leg, as a sign of his appreciation of my service to
the horde.
</p>

<p>
On the seventh day following the battle with the air craft we again took up the
march toward Thark, all probability of another attack being deemed remote by
Lorquas Ptomel.
</p>

<p>
During the days just preceding our departure I had seen but little of Dejah
Thoris, as I had been kept very busy by Tars Tarkas with my lessons in the art
of Martian warfare, as well as in the training of my thoats. The few times I
had visited her quarters she had been absent, walking upon the streets with
Sola, or investigating the buildings in the near vicinity of the plaza. I had
warned them against venturing far from the plaza for fear of the great white
apes, whose ferocity I was only too well acquainted with. However, since Woola
accompanied them on all their excursions, and as Sola was well armed, there was
comparatively little cause for fear.
</p>

<p>
On the evening before our departure I saw them approaching along one of the
great avenues which lead into the plaza from the east. I advanced to meet them,
and telling Sola that I would take the responsibility for Dejah Thoris&rsquo;
safekeeping, I directed her to return to her quarters on some trivial errand. I
liked and trusted Sola, but for some reason I desired to be alone with Dejah
Thoris, who represented to me all that I had left behind upon Earth in
agreeable and congenial companionship. There seemed bonds of mutual interest
between us as powerful as though we had been born under the same roof rather
than upon different planets, hurtling through space some forty-eight million
miles apart.
</p>

<p>
That she shared my sentiments in this respect I was positive, for on my
approach the look of pitiful hopelessness left her sweet countenance to be
replaced by a smile of joyful welcome, as she placed her little right hand upon
my left shoulder in true red Martian salute.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Sarkoja told Sola that you had become a true Thark,&rdquo; she said,
&ldquo;and that I would now see no more of you than of any of the other
warriors.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Sarkoja is a liar of the first magnitude,&rdquo; I replied,
&ldquo;notwithstanding the proud claim of the Tharks to absolute verity.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris laughed.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I knew that even though you became a member of the community you would
not cease to be my friend; &lsquo;A warrior may change his metal, but not his
heart,&rsquo; as the saying is upon Barsoom.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I think they have been trying to keep us apart,&rdquo; she continued,
&ldquo;for whenever you have been off duty one of the older women of Tars
Tarkas&rsquo; retinue has always arranged to trump up some excuse to get Sola
and me out of sight. They have had me down in the pits below the buildings
helping them mix their awful radium powder, and make their terrible
projectiles. You know that these have to be manufactured by artificial light,
as exposure to sunlight always results in an explosion. You have noticed that
their bullets explode when they strike an object? Well, the opaque, outer
coating is broken by the impact, exposing a glass cylinder, almost solid, in
the forward end of which is a minute particle of radium powder. The moment the
sunlight, even though diffused, strikes this powder it explodes with a violence
which nothing can withstand. If you ever witness a night battle you will note
the absence of these explosions, while the morning following the battle will be
filled at sunrise with the sharp detonations of exploding missiles fired the
preceding night. As a rule, however, non-exploding projectiles are used at
night.&rdquo;<a href="#fn1" name="fnref1"><sup>[1]</sup></a>
</p>

<p class="footnote">
<a name="fn1"></a> <a href="#fnref1">[1]</a>
I have used the word radium in describing this powder because in the light of
recent discoveries on Earth I believe it to be a mixture of which radium is the
base. In Captain Carter&rsquo;s manuscript it is mentioned always by the name
used in the written language of Helium and is spelled in hieroglyphics which it
would be difficult and useless to reproduce.
</p>

<p>
While I was much interested in Dejah Thoris&rsquo; explanation of this
wonderful adjunct to Martian warfare, I was more concerned by the immediate
problem of their treatment of her. That they were keeping her away from me was
not a matter for surprise, but that they should subject her to dangerous and
arduous labor filled me with rage.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Have they ever subjected you to cruelty and ignominy, Dejah
Thoris?&rdquo; I asked, feeling the hot blood of my fighting ancestors leap in
my veins as I awaited her reply.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Only in little ways, John Carter,&rdquo; she answered. &ldquo;Nothing
that can harm me outside my pride. They know that I am the daughter of ten
thousand jeddaks, that I trace my ancestry straight back without a break to the
builder of the first great waterway, and they, who do not even know their own
mothers, are jealous of me. At heart they hate their horrid fates, and so wreak
their poor spite on me who stand for everything they have not, and for all they
most crave and never can attain. Let us pity them, my chieftain, for even
though we die at their hands we can afford them pity, since we are greater than
they and they know it.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Had I known the significance of those words &ldquo;my chieftain,&rdquo; as
applied by a red Martian woman to a man, I should have had the surprise of my
life, but I did not know at that time, nor for many months thereafter. Yes, I
still had much to learn upon Barsoom.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I presume it is the better part of wisdom that we bow to our fate with
as good grace as possible, Dejah Thoris; but I hope, nevertheless, that I may
be present the next time that any Martian, green, red, pink, or violet, has the
temerity to even so much as frown on you, my princess.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris caught her breath at my last words, and gazed upon me with dilated
eyes and quickening breath, and then, with an odd little laugh, which brought
roguish dimples to the corners of her mouth, she shook her head and cried:
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What a child! A great warrior and yet a stumbling little child.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What have I done now?&rdquo; I asked, in sore perplexity.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Some day you shall know, John Carter, if we live; but I may not tell
you. And I, the daughter of Mors Kajak, son of Tardos Mors, have listened
without anger,&rdquo; she soliloquized in conclusion.
</p>

<p>
Then she broke out again into one of her gay, happy, laughing moods; joking
with me on my prowess as a Thark warrior as contrasted with my soft heart and
natural kindliness.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I presume that should you accidentally wound an enemy you would take him
home and nurse him back to health,&rdquo; she laughed.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;That is precisely what we do on Earth,&rdquo; I answered. &ldquo;At
least among civilized men.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
This made her laugh again. She could not understand it, for, with all her
tenderness and womanly sweetness, she was still a Martian, and to a Martian the
only good enemy is a dead enemy; for every dead foeman means so much more to
divide between those who live.
</p>

<p>
I was very curious to know what I had said or done to cause her so much
perturbation a moment before and so I continued to importune her to enlighten
me.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;No,&rdquo; she exclaimed, &ldquo;it is enough that you have said it and
that I have listened. And when you learn, John Carter, and if I be dead, as
likely I shall be ere the further moon has circled Barsoom another twelve
times, remember that I listened and that I&mdash;smiled.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
It was all Greek to me, but the more I begged her to explain the more positive
became her denials of my request, and, so, in very hopelessness, I desisted.
</p>

<p>
Day had now given away to night and as we wandered along the great avenue
lighted by the two moons of Barsoom, and with Earth looking down upon us out of
her luminous green eye, it seemed that we were alone in the universe, and I, at
least, was content that it should be so.
</p>

<p>
The chill of the Martian night was upon us, and removing my silks I threw them
across the shoulders of Dejah Thoris. As my arm rested for an instant upon her
I felt a thrill pass through every fiber of my being such as contact with no
other mortal had even produced; and it seemed to me that she had leaned
slightly toward me, but of that I was not sure. Only I knew that as my arm
rested there across her shoulders longer than the act of adjusting the silk
required she did not draw away, nor did she speak. And so, in silence, we
walked the surface of a dying world, but in the breast of one of us at least
had been born that which is ever oldest, yet ever new.
</p>

<p>
I loved Dejah Thoris. The touch of my arm upon her naked shoulder had spoken to
me in words I would not mistake, and I knew that I had loved her since the
first moment that my eyes had met hers that first time in the plaza of the dead
city of Korad.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap14"></a>CHAPTER XIV<br/>
A DUEL TO THE DEATH</h2>

<p>
My first impulse was to tell her of my love, and then I thought of the
helplessness of her position wherein I alone could lighten the burdens of her
captivity, and protect her in my poor way against the thousands of hereditary
enemies she must face upon our arrival at Thark. I could not chance causing her
additional pain or sorrow by declaring a love which, in all probability she did
not return. Should I be so indiscreet, her position would be even more
unbearable than now, and the thought that she might feel that I was taking
advantage of her helplessness, to influence her decision was the final argument
which sealed my lips.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Why are you so quiet, Dejah Thoris?&rdquo; I asked. &ldquo;Possibly you
would rather return to Sola and your quarters.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;No,&rdquo; she murmured, &ldquo;I am happy here. I do not know why it is
that I should always be happy and contented when you, John Carter, a stranger,
are with me; yet at such times it seems that I am safe and that, with you, I
shall soon return to my father&rsquo;s court and feel his strong arms about me
and my mother&rsquo;s tears and kisses on my cheek.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Do people kiss, then, upon Barsoom?&rdquo; I asked, when she had
explained the word she used, in answer to my inquiry as to its meaning.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Parents, brothers, and sisters, yes; and,&rdquo; she added in a low,
thoughtful tone, &ldquo;lovers.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And you, Dejah Thoris, have parents and brothers and sisters?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Yes.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And a&mdash;lover?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
She was silent, nor could I venture to repeat the question.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The man of Barsoom,&rdquo; she finally ventured, &ldquo;does not ask
personal questions of women, except his mother, and the woman he has fought for
and won.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;But I have fought&mdash;&rdquo; I started, and then I wished my tongue
had been cut from my mouth; for she turned even as I caught myself and ceased,
and drawing my silks from her shoulder she held them out to me, and without a
word, and with head held high, she moved with the carriage of the queen she was
toward the plaza and the doorway of her quarters.
</p>

<p>
I did not attempt to follow her, other than to see that she reached the
building in safety, but, directing Woola to accompany her, I turned
disconsolately and entered my own house. I sat for hours cross-legged, and
cross-tempered, upon my silks meditating upon the queer freaks chance plays
upon us poor devils of mortals.
</p>

<p>
So this was love! I had escaped it for all the years I had roamed the five
continents and their encircling seas; in spite of beautiful women and urging
opportunity; in spite of a half-desire for love and a constant search for my
ideal, it had remained for me to fall furiously and hopelessly in love with a
creature from another world, of a species similar possibly, yet not identical
with mine. A woman who was hatched from an egg, and whose span of life might
cover a thousand years; whose people had strange customs and ideas; a woman
whose hopes, whose pleasures, whose standards of virtue and of right and wrong
might vary as greatly from mine as did those of the green Martians.
</p>

<p>
Yes, I was a fool, but I was in love, and though I was suffering the greatest
misery I had ever known I would not have had it otherwise for all the riches of
Barsoom. Such is love, and such are lovers wherever love is known.
</p>

<p>
To me, Dejah Thoris was all that was perfect; all that was virtuous and
beautiful and noble and good. I believed that from the bottom of my heart, from
the depth of my soul on that night in Korad as I sat cross-legged upon my silks
while the nearer moon of Barsoom raced through the western sky toward the
horizon, and lighted up the gold and marble, and jeweled mosaics of my
world-old chamber, and I believe it today as I sit at my desk in the little
study overlooking the Hudson. Twenty years have intervened; for ten of them I
lived and fought for Dejah Thoris and her people, and for ten I have lived upon
her memory.
</p>

<p>
The morning of our departure for Thark dawned clear and hot, as do all Martian
mornings except for the six weeks when the snow melts at the poles.
</p>

<p>
I sought out Dejah Thoris in the throng of departing chariots, but she turned
her shoulder to me, and I could see the red blood mount to her cheek. With the
foolish inconsistency of love I held my peace when I might have pled ignorance
of the nature of my offense, or at least the gravity of it, and so have
effected, at worst, a half conciliation.
</p>

<div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
<a name="img-142"></a>
<img src="images/img-142.jpg" width="451" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
<p class="caption">I sought out Dejah Thoris in the throng of departing chariots.</p>
</div>

<p>
My duty dictated that I must see that she was comfortable, and so I glanced
into her chariot and rearranged her silks and furs. In doing so I noted with
horror that she was heavily chained by one ankle to the side of the vehicle.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What does this mean?&rdquo; I cried, turning to Sola.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Sarkoja thought it best,&rdquo; she answered, her face betokening her
disapproval of the procedure.
</p>

<p>
Examining the manacles I saw that they fastened with a massive spring lock.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Where is the key, Sola? Let me have it.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Sarkoja wears it, John Carter,&rdquo; she answered.
</p>

<p>
I turned without further word and sought out Tars Tarkas, to whom I vehemently
objected to the unnecessary humiliations and cruelties, as they seemed to my
lover&rsquo;s eyes, that were being heaped upon Dejah Thoris.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;John Carter,&rdquo; he answered, &ldquo;if ever you and Dejah Thoris
escape the Tharks it will be upon this journey. We know that you will not go
without her. You have shown yourself a mighty fighter, and we do not wish to
manacle you, so we hold you both in the easiest way that will yet ensure
security. I have spoken.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
I saw the strength of his reasoning at a flash, and knew that it was futile to
appeal from his decision, but I asked that the key be taken from Sarkoja and
that she be directed to leave the prisoner alone in future.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;This much, Tars Tarkas, you may do for me in return for the friendship
that, I must confess, I feel for you.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Friendship?&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;There is no such thing, John
Carter; but have your will. I shall direct that Sarkoja cease to annoy the
girl, and I myself will take the custody of the key.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Unless you wish me to assume the responsibility,&rdquo; I said, smiling.
</p>

<p>
He looked at me long and earnestly before he spoke.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Were you to give me your word that neither you nor Dejah Thoris would
attempt to escape until after we have safely reached the court of Tal Hajus you
might have the key and throw the chains into the river Iss.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It were better that you held the key, Tars Tarkas,&rdquo; I replied.
</p>

<p>
He smiled, and said no more, but that night as we were making camp I saw him
unfasten Dejah Thoris&rsquo; fetters himself.
</p>

<p>
With all his cruel ferocity and coldness there was an undercurrent of something
in Tars Tarkas which he seemed ever battling to subdue. Could it be a vestige
of some human instinct come back from an ancient forbear to haunt him with the
horror of his people&rsquo;s ways!
</p>

<p>
As I was approaching Dejah Thoris&rsquo; chariot I passed Sarkoja, and the
black, venomous look she accorded me was the sweetest balm I had felt for many
hours. Lord, how she hated me! It bristled from her so palpably that one might
almost have cut it with a sword.
</p>

<p>
A few moments later I saw her deep in conversation with a warrior named Zad; a
big, hulking, powerful brute, but one who had never made a kill among his own
chieftains, and so was still an <i>o mad</i>, or man with one name; he could
win a second name only with the metal of some chieftain. It was this custom
which entitled me to the names of either of the chieftains I had killed; in
fact, some of the warriors addressed me as Dotar Sojat, a combination of the
surnames of the two warrior chieftains whose metal I had taken, or, in other
words, whom I had slain in fair fight.
</p>

<p>
As Sarkoja talked with Zad he cast occasional glances in my direction, while
she seemed to be urging him very strongly to some action. I paid little
attention to it at the time, but the next day I had good reason to recall the
circumstances, and at the same time gain a slight insight into the depths of
Sarkoja&rsquo;s hatred and the lengths to which she was capable of going to
wreak her horrid vengeance on me.
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris would have none of me again on this evening, and though I spoke
her name she neither replied, nor conceded by so much as the flutter of an
eyelid that she realized my existence. In my extremity I did what most other
lovers would have done; I sought word from her through an intimate. In this
instance it was Sola whom I intercepted in another part of camp.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What is the matter with Dejah Thoris?&rdquo; I blurted out at her.
&ldquo;Why will she not speak to me?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Sola seemed puzzled herself, as though such strange actions on the part of two
humans were quite beyond her, as indeed they were, poor child.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;She says you have angered her, and that is all she will say, except that
she is the daughter of a jed and the granddaughter of a jeddak and she has been
humiliated by a creature who could not polish the teeth of her
grandmother&rsquo;s sorak.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
I pondered over this report for some time, finally asking, &ldquo;What might a
sorak be, Sola?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;A little animal about as big as my hand, which the red Martian women
keep to play with,&rdquo; explained Sola.
</p>

<p>
Not fit to polish the teeth of her grandmother&rsquo;s cat! I must rank pretty
low in the consideration of Dejah Thoris, I thought; but I could not help
laughing at the strange figure of speech, so homely and in this respect so
earthly. It made me homesick, for it sounded very much like &ldquo;not fit to
polish her shoes.&rdquo; And then commenced a train of thought quite new to me.
I began to wonder what my people at home were doing. I had not seen them for
years. There was a family of Carters in Virginia who claimed close relationship
with me; I was supposed to be a great uncle, or something of the kind equally
foolish. I could pass anywhere for twenty-five to thirty years of age, and to
be a great uncle always seemed the height of incongruity, for my thoughts and
feelings were those of a boy. There were two little kiddies in the Carter
family whom I had loved and who had thought there was no one on Earth like
Uncle Jack; I could see them just as plainly, as I stood there under the
moonlit skies of Barsoom, and I longed for them as I had never longed for any
mortals before. By nature a wanderer, I had never known the true meaning of the
word home, but the great hall of the Carters had always stood for all that the
word did mean to me, and now my heart turned toward it from the cold and
unfriendly peoples I had been thrown amongst. For did not even Dejah Thoris
despise me! I was a low creature, so low in fact that I was not even fit to
polish the teeth of her grandmother&rsquo;s cat; and then my saving sense of
humor came to my rescue, and laughing I turned into my silks and furs and slept
upon the moon-haunted ground the sleep of a tired and healthy fighting man.
</p>

<p>
We broke camp the next day at an early hour and marched with only a single halt
until just before dark. Two incidents broke the tediousness of the march. About
noon we espied far to our right what was evidently an incubator, and Lorquas
Ptomel directed Tars Tarkas to investigate it. The latter took a dozen
warriors, including myself, and we raced across the velvety carpeting of moss
to the little enclosure.
</p>

<p>
It was indeed an incubator, but the eggs were very small in comparison with
those I had seen hatching in ours at the time of my arrival on Mars.
</p>

<p>
Tars Tarkas dismounted and examined the enclosure minutely, finally announcing
that it belonged to the green men of Warhoon and that the cement was scarcely
dry where it had been walled up.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;They cannot be a day&rsquo;s march ahead of us,&rdquo; he exclaimed, the
light of battle leaping to his fierce face.
</p>

<p>
The work at the incubator was short indeed. The warriors tore open the entrance
and a couple of them, crawling in, soon demolished all the eggs with their
short-swords. Then remounting we dashed back to join the cavalcade. During the
ride I took occasion to ask Tars Tarkas if these Warhoons whose eggs we had
destroyed were a smaller people than his Tharks.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I noticed that their eggs were so much smaller than those I saw hatching
in your incubator,&rdquo; I added.
</p>

<p>
He explained that the eggs had just been placed there; but, like all green
Martian eggs, they would grow during the five-year period of incubation until
they obtained the size of those I had seen hatching on the day of my arrival on
Barsoom. This was indeed an interesting piece of information, for it had always
seemed remarkable to me that the green Martian women, large as they were, could
bring forth such enormous eggs as I had seen the four-foot infants emerging
from. As a matter of fact, the new-laid egg is but little larger than an
ordinary goose egg, and as it does not commence to grow until subjected to the
light of the sun the chieftains have little difficulty in transporting several
hundreds of them at one time from the storage vaults to the incubators.
</p>

<p>
Shortly after the incident of the Warhoon eggs we halted to rest the animals,
and it was during this halt that the second of the day&rsquo;s interesting
episodes occurred. I was engaged in changing my riding cloths from one of my
thoats to the other, for I divided the day&rsquo;s work between them, when Zad
approached me, and without a word struck my animal a terrific blow with his
long-sword.
</p>

<p>
I did not need a manual of green Martian etiquette to know what reply to make,
for, in fact, I was so wild with anger that I could scarcely refrain from
drawing my pistol and shooting him down for the brute he was; but he stood
waiting with drawn long-sword, and my only choice was to draw my own and meet
him in fair fight with his choice of weapons or a lesser one.
</p>

<p>
This latter alternative is always permissible, therefore I could have used my
short-sword, my dagger, my hatchet, or my fists had I wished, and been entirely
within my rights, but I could not use firearms or a spear while he held only
his long-sword.
</p>

<p>
I chose the same weapon he had drawn because I knew he prided himself upon his
ability with it, and I wished, if I worsted him at all, to do it with his own
weapon. The fight that followed was a long one and delayed the resumption of
the march for an hour. The entire community surrounded us, leaving a clear
space about one hundred feet in diameter for our battle.
</p>

<p>
Zad first attempted to rush me down as a bull might a wolf, but I was much too
quick for him, and each time I side-stepped his rushes he would go lunging past
me, only to receive a nick from my sword upon his arm or back. He was soon
streaming blood from a half dozen minor wounds, but I could not obtain an
opening to deliver an effective thrust. Then he changed his tactics, and
fighting warily and with extreme dexterity, he tried to do by science what he
was unable to do by brute strength. I must admit that he was a magnificent
swordsman, and had it not been for my greater endurance and the remarkable
agility the lesser gravitation of Mars lent me I might not have been able to
put up the creditable fight I did against him.
</p>

<p>
We circled for some time without doing much damage on either side; the long,
straight, needle-like swords flashing in the sunlight, and ringing out upon the
stillness as they crashed together with each effective parry. Finally Zad,
realizing that he was tiring more than I, evidently decided to close in and end
the battle in a final blaze of glory for himself; just as he rushed me a
blinding flash of light struck full in my eyes, so that I could not see his
approach and could only leap blindly to one side in an effort to escape the
mighty blade that it seemed I could already feel in my vitals. I was only
partially successful, as a sharp pain in my left shoulder attested, but in the
sweep of my glance as I sought to again locate my adversary, a sight met my
astonished gaze which paid me well for the wound the temporary blindness had
caused me. There, upon Dejah Thoris&rsquo; chariot stood three figures, for the
purpose evidently of witnessing the encounter above the heads of the
intervening Tharks. There were Dejah Thoris, Sola, and Sarkoja, and as my
fleeting glance swept over them a little tableau was presented which will stand
graven in my memory to the day of my death.
</p>

<p>
As I looked, Dejah Thoris turned upon Sarkoja with the fury of a young tigress
and struck something from her upraised hand; something which flashed in the
sunlight as it spun to the ground. Then I knew what had blinded me at that
crucial moment of the fight, and how Sarkoja had found a way to kill me without
herself delivering the final thrust. Another thing I saw, too, which almost
lost my life for me then and there, for it took my mind for the fraction of an
instant entirely from my antagonist; for, as Dejah Thoris struck the tiny
mirror from her hand, Sarkoja, her face livid with hatred and baffled rage,
whipped out her dagger and aimed a terrific blow at Dejah Thoris; and then
Sola, our dear and faithful Sola, sprang between them; the last I saw was the
great knife descending upon her shielding breast.
</p>

<p>
My enemy had recovered from his thrust and was making it extremely interesting
for me, so I reluctantly gave my attention to the work in hand, but my mind was
not upon the battle.
</p>

<p>
We rushed each other furiously time after time, &rsquo;til suddenly, feeling
the sharp point of his sword at my breast in a thrust I could neither parry nor
escape, I threw myself upon him with outstretched sword and with all the weight
of my body, determined that I would not die alone if I could prevent it. I felt
the steel tear into my chest, all went black before me, my head whirled in
dizziness, and I felt my knees giving beneath me.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap15"></a>CHAPTER XV<br/>
SOLA TELLS ME HER STORY</h2>

<p>
When consciousness returned, and, as I soon learned, I was down but a moment, I
sprang quickly to my feet searching for my sword, and there I found it, buried
to the hilt in the green breast of Zad, who lay stone dead upon the ochre moss
of the ancient sea bottom. As I regained my full senses I found his weapon
piercing my left breast, but only through the flesh and muscles which cover my
ribs, entering near the center of my chest and coming out below the shoulder.
As I had lunged I had turned so that his sword merely passed beneath the
muscles, inflicting a painful but not dangerous wound.
</p>

<p>
Removing the blade from my body I also regained my own, and turning my back
upon his ugly carcass, I moved, sick, sore, and disgusted, toward the chariots
which bore my retinue and my belongings. A murmur of Martian applause greeted
me, but I cared not for it.
</p>

<p>
Bleeding and weak I reached my women, who, accustomed to such happenings,
dressed my wounds, applying the wonderful healing and remedial agents which
make only the most instantaneous of death blows fatal. Give a Martian woman a
chance and death must take a back seat. They soon had me patched up so that,
except for weakness from loss of blood and a little soreness around the wound,
I suffered no great distress from this thrust which, under earthly treatment,
undoubtedly would have put me flat on my back for days.
</p>

<p>
As soon as they were through with me I hastened to the chariot of Dejah Thoris,
where I found my poor Sola with her chest swathed in bandages, but apparently
little the worse for her encounter with Sarkoja, whose dagger it seemed had
struck the edge of one of Sola&rsquo;s metal breast ornaments and, thus
deflected, had inflicted but a slight flesh wound.
</p>

<p>
As I approached I found Dejah Thoris lying prone upon her silks and furs, her
lithe form wracked with sobs. She did not notice my presence, nor did she hear
me speaking with Sola, who was standing a short distance from the vehicle.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Is she injured?&rdquo; I asked of Sola, indicating Dejah Thoris by an
inclination of my head.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;No,&rdquo; she answered, &ldquo;she thinks that you are dead.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And that her grandmother&rsquo;s cat may now have no one to polish its
teeth?&rdquo; I queried, smiling.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I think you wrong her, John Carter,&rdquo; said Sola. &ldquo;I do not
understand either her ways or yours, but I am sure the granddaughter of ten
thousand jeddaks would never grieve like this over any who held but the highest
claim upon her affections. They are a proud race, but they are just, as are all
Barsoomians, and you must have hurt or wronged her grievously that she will not
admit your existence living, though she mourns you dead.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Tears are a strange sight upon Barsoom,&rdquo; she continued, &ldquo;and
so it is difficult for me to interpret them. I have seen but two people weep in
all my life, other than Dejah Thoris; one wept from sorrow, the other from
baffled rage. The first was my mother, years ago before they killed her; the
other was Sarkoja, when they dragged her from me today.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Your mother!&rdquo; I exclaimed, &ldquo;but, Sola, you could not have
known your mother, child.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;But I did. And my father also,&rdquo; she added. &ldquo;If you would
like to hear the strange and un-Barsoomian story come to the chariot tonight,
John Carter, and I will tell you that of which I have never spoken in all my
life before. And now the signal has been given to resume the march, you must
go.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I will come tonight, Sola,&rdquo; I promised. &ldquo;Be sure to tell
Dejah Thoris I am alive and well. I shall not force myself upon her, and be
sure that you do not let her know I saw her tears. If she would speak with me I
but await her command.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Sola mounted the chariot, which was swinging into its place in line, and I
hastened to my waiting thoat and galloped to my station beside Tars Tarkas at
the rear of the column.
</p>

<p>
We made a most imposing and awe-inspiring spectacle as we strung out across the
yellow landscape; the two hundred and fifty ornate and brightly colored
chariots, preceded by an advance guard of some two hundred mounted warriors and
chieftains riding five abreast and one hundred yards apart, and followed by a
like number in the same formation, with a score or more of flankers on either
side; the fifty extra mastodons, or heavy draught animals, known as zitidars,
and the five or six hundred extra thoats of the warriors running loose within
the hollow square formed by the surrounding warriors. The gleaming metal and
jewels of the gorgeous ornaments of the men and women, duplicated in the
trappings of the zitidars and thoats, and interspersed with the flashing colors
of magnificent silks and furs and feathers, lent a barbaric splendor to the
caravan which would have turned an East Indian potentate green with envy.
</p>

<p>
The enormous broad tires of the chariots and the padded feet of the animals
brought forth no sound from the moss-covered sea bottom; and so we moved in
utter silence, like some huge phantasmagoria, except when the stillness was
broken by the guttural growling of a goaded zitidar, or the squealing of
fighting thoats. The green Martians converse but little, and then usually in
monosyllables, low and like the faint rumbling of distant thunder.
</p>

<p>
We traversed a trackless waste of moss which, bending to the pressure of broad
tire or padded foot, rose up again behind us, leaving no sign that we had
passed. We might indeed have been the wraiths of the departed dead upon the
dead sea of that dying planet for all the sound or sign we made in passing. It
was the first march of a large body of men and animals I had ever witnessed
which raised no dust and left no spoor; for there is no dust upon Mars except
in the cultivated districts during the winter months, and even then the absence
of high winds renders it almost unnoticeable.
</p>

<p>
We camped that night at the foot of the hills we had been approaching for two
days and which marked the southern boundary of this particular sea. Our animals
had been two days without drink, nor had they had water for nearly two months,
not since shortly after leaving Thark; but, as Tars Tarkas explained to me,
they require but little and can live almost indefinitely upon the moss which
covers Barsoom, and which, he told me, holds in its tiny stems sufficient
moisture to meet the limited demands of the animals.
</p>

<p>
After partaking of my evening meal of cheese-like food and vegetable milk I
sought out Sola, whom I found working by the light of a torch upon some of Tars
Tarkas&rsquo; trappings. She looked up at my approach, her face lighting with
pleasure and with welcome.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I am glad you came,&rdquo; she said; &ldquo;Dejah Thoris sleeps and I am
lonely. Mine own people do not care for me, John Carter; I am too unlike them.
It is a sad fate, since I must live my life amongst them, and I often wish that
I were a true green Martian woman, without love and without hope; but I have
known love and so I am lost.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I promised to tell you my story, or rather the story of my parents. From
what I have learned of you and the ways of your people I am sure that the tale
will not seem strange to you, but among green Martians it has no parallel
within the memory of the oldest living Thark, nor do our legends hold many
similar tales.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;My mother was rather small, in fact too small to be allowed the
responsibilities of maternity, as our chieftains breed principally for size.
She was also less cold and cruel than most green Martian women, and caring
little for their society, she often roamed the deserted avenues of Thark alone,
or went and sat among the wild flowers that deck the nearby hills, thinking
thoughts and wishing wishes which I believe I alone among Tharkian women today
may understand, for am I not the child of my mother?
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And there among the hills she met a young warrior, whose duty it was to
guard the feeding zitidars and thoats and see that they roamed not beyond the
hills. They spoke at first only of such things as interest a community of
Tharks, but gradually, as they came to meet more often, and, as was now quite
evident to both, no longer by chance, they talked about themselves, their
likes, their ambitions and their hopes. She trusted him and told him of the
awful repugnance she felt for the cruelties of their kind, for the hideous,
loveless lives they must ever lead, and then she waited for the storm of
denunciation to break from his cold, hard lips; but instead he took her in his
arms and kissed her.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;They kept their love a secret for six long years. She, my mother, was of
the retinue of the great Tal Hajus, while her lover was a simple warrior,
wearing only his own metal. Had their defection from the traditions of the
Tharks been discovered both would have paid the penalty in the great arena
before Tal Hajus and the assembled hordes.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The egg from which I came was hidden beneath a great glass vessel upon
the highest and most inaccessible of the partially ruined towers of ancient
Thark. Once each year my mother visited it for the five long years it lay there
in the process of incubation. She dared not come oftener, for in the mighty
guilt of her conscience she feared that her every move was watched. During this
period my father gained great distinction as a warrior and had taken the metal
from several chieftains. His love for my mother had never diminished, and his
own ambition in life was to reach a point where he might wrest the metal from
Tal Hajus himself, and thus, as ruler of the Tharks, be free to claim her as
his own, as well as, by the might of his power, protect the child which
otherwise would be quickly dispatched should the truth become known.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It was a wild dream, that of wresting the metal from Tal Hajus in five
short years, but his advance was rapid, and he soon stood high in the councils
of Thark. But one day the chance was lost forever, in so far as it could come
in time to save his loved ones, for he was ordered away upon a long expedition
to the ice-clad south, to make war upon the natives there and despoil them of
their furs, for such is the manner of the green Barsoomian; he does not labor
for what he can wrest in battle from others.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;He was gone for four years, and when he returned all had been over for
three; for about a year after his departure, and shortly before the time for
the return of an expedition which had gone forth to fetch the fruits of a
community incubator, the egg had hatched. Thereafter my mother continued to
keep me in the old tower, visiting me nightly and lavishing upon me the love
the community life would have robbed us both of. She hoped, upon the return of
the expedition from the incubator, to mix me with the other young assigned to
the quarters of Tal Hajus, and thus escape the fate which would surely follow
discovery of her sin against the ancient traditions of the green men.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;She taught me rapidly the language and customs of my kind, and one night
she told me the story I have told to you up to this point, impressing upon me
the necessity for absolute secrecy and the great caution I must exercise after
she had placed me with the other young Tharks to permit no one to guess that I
was further advanced in education than they, nor by any sign to divulge in the
presence of others my affection for her, or my knowledge of my parentage; and
then drawing me close to her she whispered in my ear the name of my father.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And then a light flashed out upon the darkness of the tower chamber, and
there stood Sarkoja, her gleaming, baleful eyes fixed in a frenzy of loathing
and contempt upon my mother. The torrent of hatred and abuse she poured out
upon her turned my young heart cold in terror. That she had heard the entire
story was apparent, and that she had suspected something wrong from my
mother&rsquo;s long nightly absences from her quarters accounted for her
presence there on that fateful night.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;One thing she had not heard, nor did she know, the whispered name of my
father. This was apparent from her repeated demands upon my mother to disclose
the name of her partner in sin, but no amount of abuse or threats could wring
this from her, and to save me from needless torture she lied, for she told
Sarkoja that she alone knew nor would she ever tell her child.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;With final imprecations, Sarkoja hastened away to Tal Hajus to report
her discovery, and while she was gone my mother, wrapping me in the silks and
furs of her night coverings, so that I was scarcely noticeable, descended to
the streets and ran wildly away toward the outskirts of the city, in the
direction which led to the far south, out toward the man whose protection she
might not claim, but on whose face she wished to look once more before she
died.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;As we neared the city&rsquo;s southern extremity a sound came to us from
across the mossy flat, from the direction of the only pass through the hills
which led to the gates, the pass by which caravans from either north or south
or east or west would enter the city. The sounds we heard were the squealing of
thoats and the grumbling of zitidars, with the occasional clank of arms which
announced the approach of a body of warriors. The thought uppermost in her mind
was that it was my father returned from his expedition, but the cunning of the
Thark held her from headlong and precipitate flight to greet him.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Retreating into the shadows of a doorway she awaited the coming of the
cavalcade which shortly entered the avenue, breaking its formation and
thronging the thoroughfare from wall to wall. As the head of the procession
passed us the lesser moon swung clear of the overhanging roofs and lit up the
scene with all the brilliancy of her wondrous light. My mother shrank further
back into the friendly shadows, and from her hiding place saw that the
expedition was not that of my father, but the returning caravan bearing the
young Tharks. Instantly her plan was formed, and as a great chariot swung close
to our hiding place she slipped stealthily in upon the trailing tailboard,
crouching low in the shadow of the high side, straining me to her bosom in a
frenzy of love.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;She knew, what I did not, that never again after that night would she
hold me to her breast, nor was it likely we would ever look upon each
other&rsquo;s face again. In the confusion of the plaza she mixed me with the
other children, whose guardians during the journey were now free to relinquish
their responsibility. We were herded together into a great room, fed by women
who had not accompanied the expedition, and the next day we were parceled out
among the retinues of the chieftains.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I never saw my mother after that night. She was imprisoned by Tal Hajus,
and every effort, including the most horrible and shameful torture, was brought
to bear upon her to wring from her lips the name of my father; but she remained
steadfast and loyal, dying at last amidst the laughter of Tal Hajus and his
chieftains during some awful torture she was undergoing.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I learned afterwards that she told them that she had killed me to save
me from a like fate at their hands, and that she had thrown my body to the
white apes. Sarkoja alone disbelieved her, and I feel to this day that she
suspects my true origin, but does not dare expose me, at the present, at all
events, because she also guesses, I am sure, the identity of my father.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;When he returned from his expedition and learned the story of my
mother&rsquo;s fate I was present as Tal Hajus told him; but never by the
quiver of a muscle did he betray the slightest emotion; only he did not laugh
as Tal Hajus gleefully described her death struggles. From that moment on he
was the cruelest of the cruel, and I am awaiting the day when he shall win the
goal of his ambition, and feel the carcass of Tal Hajus beneath his foot, for I
am as sure that he but waits the opportunity to wreak a terrible vengeance, and
that his great love is as strong in his breast as when it first transfigured
him nearly forty years ago, as I am that we sit here upon the edge of a
world-old ocean while sensible people sleep, John Carter.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And your father, Sola, is he with us now?&rdquo; I asked.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; she replied, &ldquo;but he does not know me for what I am,
nor does he know who betrayed my mother to Tal Hajus. I alone know my
father&rsquo;s name, and only I and Tal Hajus and Sarkoja know that it was she
who carried the tale that brought death and torture upon her he loved.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
We sat silent for a few moments, she wrapped in the gloomy thoughts of her
terrible past, and I in pity for the poor creatures whom the heartless,
senseless customs of their race had doomed to loveless lives of cruelty and of
hate. Presently she spoke.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;John Carter, if ever a real man walked the cold, dead bosom of Barsoom
you are one. I know that I can trust you, and because the knowledge may someday
help you or him or Dejah Thoris or myself, I am going to tell you the name of
my father, nor place any restrictions or conditions upon your tongue. When the
time comes, speak the truth if it seems best to you. I trust you because I know
that you are not cursed with the terrible trait of absolute and unswerving
truthfulness, that you could lie like one of your own Virginia gentlemen if a
lie would save others from sorrow or suffering. My father&rsquo;s name is Tars
Tarkas.&rdquo;
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap16"></a>CHAPTER XVI<br/>
WE PLAN ESCAPE</h2>

<p>
The remainder of our journey to Thark was uneventful. We were twenty days upon
the road, crossing two sea bottoms and passing through or around a number of
ruined cities, mostly smaller than Korad. Twice we crossed the famous Martian
waterways, or canals, so-called by our earthly astronomers. When we approached
these points a warrior would be sent far ahead with a powerful field glass, and
if no great body of red Martian troops was in sight we would advance as close
as possible without chance of being seen and then camp until dark, when we
would slowly approach the cultivated tract, and, locating one of the numerous,
broad highways which cross these areas at regular intervals, creep silently and
stealthily across to the arid lands upon the other side. It required five hours
to make one of these crossings without a single halt, and the other consumed
the entire night, so that we were just leaving the confines of the high-walled
fields when the sun broke out upon us.
</p>

<p>
Crossing in the darkness, as we did, I was unable to see but little, except as
the nearer moon, in her wild and ceaseless hurtling through the Barsoomian
heavens, lit up little patches of the landscape from time to time, disclosing
walled fields and low, rambling buildings, presenting much the appearance of
earthly farms. There were many trees, methodically arranged, and some of them
were of enormous height; there were animals in some of the enclosures, and they
announced their presence by terrified squealings and snortings as they scented
our queer, wild beasts and wilder human beings.
</p>

<p>
Only once did I perceive a human being, and that was at the intersection of our
crossroad with the wide, white turnpike which cuts each cultivated district
longitudinally at its exact center. The fellow must have been sleeping beside
the road, for, as I came abreast of him, he raised upon one elbow and after a
single glance at the approaching caravan leaped shrieking to his feet and fled
madly down the road, scaling a nearby wall with the agility of a scared cat.
The Tharks paid him not the slightest attention; they were not out upon the
warpath, and the only sign that I had that they had seen him was a quickening
of the pace of the caravan as we hastened toward the bordering desert which
marked our entrance into the realm of Tal Hajus.
</p>

<p>
Not once did I have speech with Dejah Thoris, as she sent no word to me that I
would be welcome at her chariot, and my foolish pride kept me from making any
advances. I verily believe that a man&rsquo;s way with women is in inverse
ratio to his prowess among men. The weakling and the saphead have often great
ability to charm the fair sex, while the fighting man who can face a thousand
real dangers unafraid, sits hiding in the shadows like some frightened child.
</p>

<p>
Just thirty days after my advent upon Barsoom we entered the ancient city of
Thark, from whose long-forgotten people this horde of green men have stolen
even their name. The hordes of Thark number some thirty thousand souls, and are
divided into twenty-five communities. Each community has its own jed and lesser
chieftains, but all are under the rule of Tal Hajus, Jeddak of Thark. Five
communities make their headquarters at the city of Thark, and the balance are
scattered among other deserted cities of ancient Mars throughout the district
claimed by Tal Hajus.
</p>

<p>
We made our entry into the great central plaza early in the afternoon. There
were no enthusiastic friendly greetings for the returned expedition. Those who
chanced to be in sight spoke the names of warriors or women with whom they came
in direct contact, in the formal greeting of their kind, but when it was
discovered that they brought two captives a greater interest was aroused, and
Dejah Thoris and I were the centers of inquiring groups.
</p>

<p>
We were soon assigned to new quarters, and the balance of the day was devoted
to settling ourselves to the changed conditions. My home now was upon an avenue
leading into the plaza from the south, the main artery down which we had
marched from the gates of the city. I was at the far end of the square and had
an entire building to myself. The same grandeur of architecture which was so
noticeable a characteristic of Korad was in evidence here, only, if that were
possible, on a larger and richer scale. My quarters would have been suitable
for housing the greatest of earthly emperors, but to these queer creatures
nothing about a building appealed to them but its size and the enormity of its
chambers; the larger the building, the more desirable; and so Tal Hajus
occupied what must have been an enormous public building, the largest in the
city, but entirely unfitted for residence purposes; the next largest was
reserved for Lorquas Ptomel, the next for the jed of a lesser rank, and so on
to the bottom of the list of five jeds. The warriors occupied the buildings
with the chieftains to whose retinues they belonged; or, if they preferred,
sought shelter among any of the thousands of untenanted buildings in their own
quarter of town; each community being assigned a certain section of the city.
The selection of building had to be made in accordance with these divisions,
except in so far as the jeds were concerned, they all occupying edifices which
fronted upon the plaza.
</p>

<p>
When I had finally put my house in order, or rather seen that it had been done,
it was nearing sunset, and I hastened out with the intention of locating Sola
and her charges, as I had determined upon having speech with Dejah Thoris and
trying to impress on her the necessity of our at least patching up a truce
until I could find some way of aiding her to escape. I searched in vain until
the upper rim of the great red sun was just disappearing behind the horizon and
then I spied the ugly head of Woola peering from a second-story window on the
opposite side of the very street where I was quartered, but nearer the plaza.
</p>

<p>
Without waiting for a further invitation I bolted up the winding runway which
led to the second floor, and entering a great chamber at the front of the
building was greeted by the frenzied Woola, who threw his great carcass upon
me, nearly hurling me to the floor; the poor old fellow was so glad to see me
that I thought he would devour me, his head split from ear to ear, showing his
three rows of tusks in his hobgoblin smile.
</p>

<p>
Quieting him with a word of command and a caress, I looked hurriedly through
the approaching gloom for a sign of Dejah Thoris, and then, not seeing her, I
called her name. There was an answering murmur from the far corner of the
apartment, and with a couple of quick strides I was standing beside her where
she crouched among the furs and silks upon an ancient carved wooden seat. As I
waited she rose to her full height and looking me straight in the eye said:
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What would Dotar Sojat, Thark, of Dejah Thoris his captive?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Dejah Thoris, I do not know how I have angered you. It was furtherest
from my desire to hurt or offend you, whom I had hoped to protect and comfort.
Have none of me if it is your will, but that you must aid me in effecting your
escape, if such a thing be possible, is not my request, but my command. When
you are safe once more at your father&rsquo;s court you may do with me as you
please, but from now on until that day I am your master, and you must obey and
aid me.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
She looked at me long and earnestly and I thought that she was softening toward
me.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I understand your words, Dotar Sojat,&rdquo; she replied, &ldquo;but you
I do not understand. You are a queer mixture of child and man, of brute and
noble. I only wish that I might read your heart.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Look down at your feet, Dejah Thoris; it lies there now where it has
lain since that other night at Korad, and where it will ever lie beating alone
for you until death stills it forever.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
She took a little step toward me, her beautiful hands outstretched in a
strange, groping gesture.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What do you mean, John Carter?&rdquo; she whispered. &ldquo;What are you
saying to me?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I am saying what I had promised myself that I would not say to you, at
least until you were no longer a captive among the green men; what from your
attitude toward me for the past twenty days I had thought never to say to you;
I am saying, Dejah Thoris, that I am yours, body and soul, to serve you, to
fight for you, and to die for you. Only one thing I ask of you in return, and
that is that you make no sign, either of condemnation or of approbation of my
words until you are safe among your own people, and that whatever sentiments
you harbor toward me they be not influenced or colored by gratitude; whatever I
may do to serve you will be prompted solely from selfish motives, since it
gives me more pleasure to serve you than not.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I will respect your wishes, John Carter, because I understand the
motives which prompt them, and I accept your service no more willingly than I
bow to your authority; your word shall be my law. I have twice wronged you in
my thoughts and again I ask your forgiveness.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Further conversation of a personal nature was prevented by the entrance of
Sola, who was much agitated and wholly unlike her usual calm and possessed
self.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;That horrible Sarkoja has been before Tal Hajus,&rdquo; she cried,
&ldquo;and from what I heard upon the plaza there is little hope for either of
you.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What do they say?&rdquo; inquired Dejah Thoris.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;That you will be thrown to the wild calots [dogs] in the great arena as
soon as the hordes have assembled for the yearly games.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Sola,&rdquo; I said, &ldquo;you are a Thark, but you hate and loathe the
customs of your people as much as we do. Will you not accompany us in one
supreme effort to escape? I am sure that Dejah Thoris can offer you a home and
protection among her people, and your fate can be no worse among them than it
must ever be here.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; cried Dejah Thoris, &ldquo;come with us, Sola, you will be
better off among the red men of Helium than you are here, and I can promise you
not only a home with us, but the love and affection your nature craves and
which must always be denied you by the customs of your own race. Come with us,
Sola; we might go without you, but your fate would be terrible if they thought
you had connived to aid us. I know that even that fear would not tempt you to
interfere in our escape, but we want you with us, we want you to come to a land
of sunshine and happiness, amongst a people who know the meaning of love, of
sympathy, and of gratitude. Say that you will, Sola; tell me that you
will.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The great waterway which leads to Helium is but fifty miles to the
south,&rdquo; murmured Sola, half to herself; &ldquo;a swift thoat might make
it in three hours; and then to Helium it is five hundred miles, most of the way
through thinly settled districts. They would know and they would follow us. We
might hide among the great trees for a time, but the chances are small indeed
for escape. They would follow us to the very gates of Helium, and they would
take toll of life at every step; you do not know them.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Is there no other way we might reach Helium?&rdquo; I asked. &ldquo;Can
you not draw me a rough map of the country we must traverse, Dejah
Thoris?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; she replied, and taking a great diamond from her hair she
drew upon the marble floor the first map of Barsoomian territory I had ever
seen. It was crisscrossed in every direction with long straight lines,
sometimes running parallel and sometimes converging toward some great circle.
The lines, she said, were waterways; the circles, cities; and one far to the
northwest of us she pointed out as Helium. There were other cities closer, but
she said she feared to enter many of them, as they were not all friendly toward
Helium.
</p>

<div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
<a name="img-178"></a>
<img src="images/img-178.jpg" width="447" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
<p class="caption">She drew upon the marble floor the first map of Barsoomian territory I had ever seen.</p>
</div>

<p>
Finally, after studying the map carefully in the moonlight which now flooded
the room, I pointed out a waterway far to the north of us which also seemed to
lead to Helium.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Does not this pierce your grandfather&rsquo;s territory?&rdquo; I asked.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; she answered, &ldquo;but it is two hundred miles north of
us; it is one of the waterways we crossed on the trip to Thark.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;They would never suspect that we would try for that distant
waterway,&rdquo; I answered, &ldquo;and that is why I think that it is the best
route for our escape.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Sola agreed with me, and it was decided that we should leave Thark this same
night; just as quickly, in fact, as I could find and saddle my thoats. Sola was
to ride one and Dejah Thoris and I the other; each of us carrying sufficient
food and drink to last us for two days, since the animals could not be urged
too rapidly for so long a distance.
</p>

<p>
I directed Sola to proceed with Dejah Thoris along one of the less frequented
avenues to the southern boundary of the city, where I would overtake them with
the thoats as quickly as possible; then, leaving them to gather what food,
silks, and furs we were to need, I slipped quietly to the rear of the first
floor, and entered the courtyard, where our animals were moving restlessly
about, as was their habit, before settling down for the night.
</p>

<p>
In the shadows of the buildings and out beneath the radiance of the Martian
moons moved the great herd of thoats and zitidars, the latter grunting their
low gutturals and the former occasionally emitting the sharp squeal which
denotes the almost habitual state of rage in which these creatures passed their
existence. They were quieter now, owing to the absence of man, but as they
scented me they became more restless and their hideous noise increased. It was
risky business, this entering a paddock of thoats alone and at night; first,
because their increasing noisiness might warn the nearby warriors that
something was amiss, and also because for the slightest cause, or for no cause
at all some great bull thoat might take it upon himself to lead a charge upon
me.
</p>

<p>
Having no desire to awaken their nasty tempers upon such a night as this, where
so much depended upon secrecy and dispatch, I hugged the shadows of the
buildings, ready at an instant&rsquo;s warning to leap into the safety of a
nearby door or window. Thus I moved silently to the great gates which opened
upon the street at the back of the court, and as I neared the exit I called
softly to my two animals. How I thanked the kind providence which had given me
the foresight to win the love and confidence of these wild dumb brutes, for
presently from the far side of the court I saw two huge bulks forcing their way
toward me through the surging mountains of flesh.
</p>

<p>
They came quite close to me, rubbing their muzzles against my body and nosing
for the bits of food it was always my practice to reward them with. Opening the
gates I ordered the two great beasts to pass out, and then slipping quietly
after them I closed the portals behind me.
</p>

<p>
I did not saddle or mount the animals there, but instead walked quietly in the
shadows of the buildings toward an unfrequented avenue which led toward the
point I had arranged to meet Dejah Thoris and Sola. With the noiselessness of
disembodied spirits we moved stealthily along the deserted streets, but not
until we were within sight of the plain beyond the city did I commence to
breathe freely. I was sure that Sola and Dejah Thoris would find no difficulty
in reaching our rendezvous undetected, but with my great thoats I was not so
sure for myself, as it was quite unusual for warriors to leave the city after
dark; in fact there was no place for them to go within any but a long ride.
</p>

<p>
I reached the appointed meeting place safely, but as Dejah Thoris and Sola were
not there I led my animals into the entrance hall of one of the large
buildings. Presuming that one of the other women of the same household may have
come in to speak to Sola, and so delayed their departure, I did not feel any
undue apprehension until nearly an hour had passed without a sign of them, and
by the time another half hour had crawled away I was becoming filled with grave
anxiety. Then there broke upon the stillness of the night the sound of an
approaching party, which, from the noise, I knew could be no fugitives creeping
stealthily toward liberty. Soon the party was near me, and from the black
shadows of my entranceway I perceived a score of mounted warriors, who, in
passing, dropped a dozen words that fetched my heart clean into the top of my
head.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;He would likely have arranged to meet them just without the city, and
so&mdash;&rdquo; I heard no more, they had passed on; but it was enough. Our
plan had been discovered, and the chances for escape from now on to the fearful
end would be small indeed. My one hope now was to return undetected to the
quarters of Dejah Thoris and learn what fate had overtaken her, but how to do
it with these great monstrous thoats upon my hands, now that the city probably
was aroused by the knowledge of my escape was a problem of no mean proportions.
</p>

<p>
Suddenly an idea occurred to me, and acting on my knowledge of the construction
of the buildings of these ancient Martian cities with a hollow court within the
center of each square, I groped my way blindly through the dark chambers,
calling the great thoats after me. They had difficulty in negotiating some of
the doorways, but as the buildings fronting the city&rsquo;s principal
exposures were all designed upon a magnificent scale, they were able to wriggle
through without sticking fast; and thus we finally made the inner court where I
found, as I had expected, the usual carpet of moss-like vegetation which would
provide their food and drink until I could return them to their own enclosure.
That they would be as quiet and contented here as elsewhere I was confident,
nor was there but the remotest possibility that they would be discovered, as
the green men had no great desire to enter these outlying buildings, which were
frequented by the only thing, I believe, which caused them the sensation of
fear&mdash;the great white apes of Barsoom.
</p>

<p>
Removing the saddle trappings, I hid them just within the rear doorway of the
building through which we had entered the court, and, turning the beasts loose,
quickly made my way across the court to the rear of the buildings upon the
further side, and thence to the avenue beyond. Waiting in the doorway of the
building until I was assured that no one was approaching, I hurried across to
the opposite side and through the first doorway to the court beyond; thus,
crossing through court after court with only the slight chance of detection
which the necessary crossing of the avenues entailed, I made my way in safety
to the courtyard in the rear of Dejah Thoris&rsquo; quarters.
</p>

<p>
Here, of course, I found the beasts of the warriors who quartered in the
adjacent buildings, and the warriors themselves I might expect to meet within
if I entered; but, fortunately for me, I had another and safer method of
reaching the upper story where Dejah Thoris should be found, and, after first
determining as nearly as possible which of the buildings she occupied, for I
had never observed them before from the court side, I took advantage of my
relatively great strength and agility and sprang upward until I grasped the
sill of a second-story window which I thought to be in the rear of her
apartment. Drawing myself inside the room I moved stealthily toward the front
of the building, and not until I had quite reached the doorway of her room was
I made aware by voices that it was occupied.
</p>

<p>
I did not rush headlong in, but listened without to assure myself that it was
Dejah Thoris and that it was safe to venture within. It was well indeed that I
took this precaution, for the conversation I heard was in the low gutturals of
men, and the words which finally came to me proved a most timely warning. The
speaker was a chieftain and he was giving orders to four of his warriors.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And when he returns to this chamber,&rdquo; he was saying, &ldquo;as he
surely will when he finds she does not meet him at the city&rsquo;s edge, you
four are to spring upon him and disarm him. It will require the combined
strength of all of you to do it if the reports they bring back from Korad are
correct. When you have him fast bound bear him to the vaults beneath the
jeddak&rsquo;s quarters and chain him securely where he may be found when Tal
Hajus wishes him. Allow him to speak with none, nor permit any other to enter
this apartment before he comes. There will be no danger of the girl returning,
for by this time she is safe in the arms of Tal Hajus, and may all her
ancestors have pity upon her, for Tal Hajus will have none; the great Sarkoja
has done a noble night&rsquo;s work. I go, and if you fail to capture him when
he comes, I commend your carcasses to the cold bosom of Iss.&rdquo;
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap17"></a>CHAPTER XVII<br/>
A COSTLY RECAPTURE</h2>

<p>
As the speaker ceased he turned to leave the apartment by the door where I was
standing, but I needed to wait no longer; I had heard enough to fill my soul
with dread, and stealing quietly away I returned to the courtyard by the way I
had come. My plan of action was formed upon the instant, and crossing the
square and the bordering avenue upon the opposite side I soon stood within the
courtyard of Tal Hajus.
</p>

<p>
The brilliantly lighted apartments of the first floor told me where first to
seek, and advancing to the windows I peered within. I soon discovered that my
approach was not to be the easy thing I had hoped, for the rear rooms bordering
the court were filled with warriors and women. I then glanced up at the stories
above, discovering that the third was apparently unlighted, and so decided to
make my entrance to the building from that point. It was the work of but a
moment for me to reach the windows above, and soon I had drawn myself within
the sheltering shadows of the unlighted third floor.
</p>

<p>
Fortunately the room I had selected was untenanted, and creeping noiselessly to
the corridor beyond I discovered a light in the apartments ahead of me.
Reaching what appeared to be a doorway I discovered that it was but an opening
upon an immense inner chamber which towered from the first floor, two stories
below me, to the dome-like roof of the building, high above my head. The floor
of this great circular hall was thronged with chieftains, warriors and women,
and at one end was a great raised platform upon which squatted the most hideous
beast I had ever put my eyes upon. He had all the cold, hard, cruel, terrible
features of the green warriors, but accentuated and debased by the animal
passions to which he had given himself over for many years. There was not a
mark of dignity or pride upon his bestial countenance, while his enormous bulk
spread itself out upon the platform where he squatted like some huge devil
fish, his six limbs accentuating the similarity in a horrible and startling
manner.
</p>

<p>
But the sight that froze me with apprehension was that of Dejah Thoris and Sola
standing there before him, and the fiendish leer of him as he let his great
protruding eyes gloat upon the lines of her beautiful figure. She was speaking,
but I could not hear what she said, nor could I make out the low grumbling of
his reply. She stood there erect before him, her head high held, and even at
the distance I was from them I could read the scorn and disgust upon her face
as she let her haughty glance rest without sign of fear upon him. She was
indeed the proud daughter of a thousand jeddaks, every inch of her dear,
precious little body; so small, so frail beside the towering warriors around
her, but in her majesty dwarfing them into insignificance; she was the
mightiest figure among them and I verily believe that they felt it.
</p>

<p>
Presently Tal Hajus made a sign that the chamber be cleared, and that the
prisoners be left alone before him. Slowly the chieftains, the warriors and the
women melted away into the shadows of the surrounding chambers, and Dejah
Thoris and Sola stood alone before the jeddak of the Tharks.
</p>

<p>
One chieftain alone had hesitated before departing; I saw him standing in the
shadows of a mighty column, his fingers nervously toying with the hilt of his
great-sword and his cruel eyes bent in implacable hatred upon Tal Hajus. It was
Tars Tarkas, and I could read his thoughts as they were an open book for the
undisguised loathing upon his face. He was thinking of that other woman who,
forty years ago, had stood before this beast, and could I have spoken a word
into his ear at that moment the reign of Tal Hajus would have been over; but
finally he also strode from the room, not knowing that he left his own daughter
at the mercy of the creature he most loathed.
</p>

<p>
Tal Hajus arose, and I, half fearing, half anticipating his intentions, hurried
to the winding runway which led to the floors below. No one was near to
intercept me, and I reached the main floor of the chamber unobserved, taking my
station in the shadow of the same column that Tars Tarkas had but just
deserted. As I reached the floor Tal Hajus was speaking.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Princess of Helium, I might wring a mighty ransom from your people would
I but return you to them unharmed, but a thousand times rather would I watch
that beautiful face writhe in the agony of torture; it shall be long drawn out,
that I promise you; ten days of pleasure were all too short to show the love I
harbor for your race. The terrors of your death shall haunt the slumbers of the
red men through all the ages to come; they will shudder in the shadows of the
night as their fathers tell them of the awful vengeance of the green men; of
the power and might and hate and cruelty of Tal Hajus. But before the torture
you shall be mine for one short hour, and word of that too shall go forth to
Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium, your grandfather, that he may grovel upon the
ground in the agony of his sorrow. Tomorrow the torture will commence; tonight
thou art Tal Hajus&rsquo;; come!&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
He sprang down from the platform and grasped her roughly by the arm, but
scarcely had he touched her than I leaped between them. My short-sword, sharp
and gleaming was in my right hand; I could have plunged it into his putrid
heart before he realized that I was upon him; but as I raised my arm to strike
I thought of Tars Tarkas, and, with all my rage, with all my hatred, I could
not rob him of that sweet moment for which he had lived and hoped all these
long, weary years, and so, instead, I swung my good right fist full upon the
point of his jaw. Without a sound he slipped to the floor as one dead.
</p>

<p>
In the same deathly silence I grasped Dejah Thoris by the hand, and motioning
Sola to follow we sped noiselessly from the chamber and to the floor above.
Unseen we reached a rear window and with the straps and leather of my trappings
I lowered, first Sola and then Dejah Thoris to the ground below. Dropping
lightly after them I drew them rapidly around the court in the shadows of the
buildings, and thus we returned over the same course I had so recently followed
from the distant boundary of the city.
</p>

<p>
We finally came upon my thoats in the courtyard where I had left them, and
placing the trappings upon them we hastened through the building to the avenue
beyond. Mounting, Sola upon one beast, and Dejah Thoris behind me upon the
other, we rode from the city of Thark through the hills to the south.
</p>

<p>
Instead of circling back around the city to the northwest and toward the
nearest waterway which lay so short a distance from us, we turned to the
northeast and struck out upon the mossy waste across which, for two hundred
dangerous and weary miles, lay another main artery leading to Helium.
</p>

<p>
No word was spoken until we had left the city far behind, but I could hear the
quiet sobbing of Dejah Thoris as she clung to me with her dear head resting
against my shoulder.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;If we make it, my chieftain, the debt of Helium will be a mighty one;
greater than she can ever pay you; and should we not make it,&rdquo; she
continued, &ldquo;the debt is no less, though Helium will never know, for you
have saved the last of our line from worse than death.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
I did not answer, but instead reached to my side and pressed the little fingers
of her I loved where they clung to me for support, and then, in unbroken
silence, we sped over the yellow, moonlit moss; each of us occupied with his
own thoughts. For my part I could not be other than joyful had I tried, with
Dejah Thoris&rsquo; warm body pressed close to mine, and with all our unpassed
danger my heart was singing as gaily as though we were already entering the
gates of Helium.
</p>

<p>
Our earlier plans had been so sadly upset that we now found ourselves without
food or drink, and I alone was armed. We therefore urged our beasts to a speed
that must tell on them sorely before we could hope to sight the ending of the
first stage of our journey.
</p>

<p>
We rode all night and all the following day with only a few short rests. On the
second night both we and our animals were completely fagged, and so we lay down
upon the moss and slept for some five or six hours, taking up the journey once
more before daylight. All the following day we rode, and when, late in the
afternoon we had sighted no distant trees, the mark of the great waterways
throughout all Barsoom, the terrible truth flashed upon us&mdash;we were lost.
</p>

<p>
Evidently we had circled, but which way it was difficult to say, nor did it
seem possible with the sun to guide us by day and the moons and stars by night.
At any rate no waterway was in sight, and the entire party was almost ready to
drop from hunger, thirst and fatigue. Far ahead of us and a trifle to the right
we could distinguish the outlines of low mountains. These we decided to attempt
to reach in the hope that from some ridge we might discern the missing
waterway. Night fell upon us before we reached our goal, and, almost fainting
from weariness and weakness, we lay down and slept.
</p>

<p>
I was awakened early in the morning by some huge body pressing close to mine,
and opening my eyes with a start I beheld my blessed old Woola snuggling close
to me; the faithful brute had followed us across that trackless waste to share
our fate, whatever it might be. Putting my arms about his neck I pressed my
cheek close to his, nor am I ashamed that I did it, nor of the tears that came
to my eyes as I thought of his love for me. Shortly after this Dejah Thoris and
Sola awakened, and it was decided that we push on at once in an effort to gain
the hills.
</p>

<p>
We had gone scarcely a mile when I noticed that my thoat was commencing to
stumble and stagger in a most pitiful manner, although we had not attempted to
force them out of a walk since about noon of the preceding day. Suddenly he
lurched wildly to one side and pitched violently to the ground. Dejah Thoris
and I were thrown clear of him and fell upon the soft moss with scarcely a jar;
but the poor beast was in a pitiable condition, not even being able to rise,
although relieved of our weight. Sola told me that the coolness of the night,
when it fell, together with the rest would doubtless revive him, and so I
decided not to kill him, as was my first intention, as I had thought it cruel
to leave him alone there to die of hunger and thirst. Relieving him of his
trappings, which I flung down beside him, we left the poor fellow to his fate,
and pushed on with the one thoat as best we could. Sola and I walked, making
Dejah Thoris ride, much against her will. In this way we had progressed to
within about a mile of the hills we were endeavoring to reach when Dejah
Thoris, from her point of vantage upon the thoat, cried out that she saw a
great party of mounted men filing down from a pass in the hills several miles
away. Sola and I both looked in the direction she indicated, and there, plainly
discernible, were several hundred mounted warriors. They seemed to be headed in
a southwesterly direction, which would take them away from us.
</p>

<p>
They doubtless were Thark warriors who had been sent out to capture us, and we
breathed a great sigh of relief that they were traveling in the opposite
direction. Quickly lifting Dejah Thoris from the thoat, I commanded the animal
to lie down and we three did the same, presenting as small an object as
possible for fear of attracting the attention of the warriors toward us.
</p>

<p>
We could see them as they filed out of the pass, just for an instant, before
they were lost to view behind a friendly ridge; to us a most providential
ridge; since, had they been in view for any great length of time, they scarcely
could have failed to discover us. As what proved to be the last warrior came
into view from the pass, he halted and, to our consternation, threw his small
but powerful fieldglass to his eye and scanned the sea bottom in all
directions. Evidently he was a chieftain, for in certain marching formations
among the green men a chieftain brings up the extreme rear of the column. As
his glass swung toward us our hearts stopped in our breasts, and I could feel
the cold sweat start from every pore in my body.
</p>

<p>
Presently it swung full upon us and&mdash;stopped. The tension on our nerves
was near the breaking point, and I doubt if any of us breathed for the few
moments he held us covered by his glass; and then he lowered it and we could
see him shout a command to the warriors who had passed from our sight behind
the ridge. He did not wait for them to join him, however, instead he wheeled
his thoat and came tearing madly in our direction.
</p>

<p>
There was but one slight chance and that we must take quickly. Raising my
strange Martian rifle to my shoulder I sighted and touched the button which
controlled the trigger; there was a sharp explosion as the missile reached its
goal, and the charging chieftain pitched backward from his flying mount.
</p>

<p>
Springing to my feet I urged the thoat to rise, and directed Sola to take Dejah
Thoris with her upon him and make a mighty effort to reach the hills before the
green warriors were upon us. I knew that in the ravines and gullies they might
find a temporary hiding place, and even though they died there of hunger and
thirst it would be better so than that they fell into the hands of the Tharks.
Forcing my two revolvers upon them as a slight means of protection, and, as a
last resort, as an escape for themselves from the horrid death which recapture
would surely mean, I lifted Dejah Thoris in my arms and placed her upon the
thoat behind Sola, who had already mounted at my command.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Good-bye, my princess,&rdquo; I whispered, &ldquo;we may meet in Helium
yet. I have escaped from worse plights than this,&rdquo; and I tried to smile
as I lied.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What,&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;are you not coming with us?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;How may I, Dejah Thoris? Someone must hold these fellows off for a
while, and I can better escape them alone than could the three of us
together.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
She sprang quickly from the thoat and, throwing her dear arms about my neck,
turned to Sola, saying with quiet dignity: &ldquo;Fly, Sola! Dejah Thoris
remains to die with the man she loves.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Those words are engraved upon my heart. Ah, gladly would I give up my life a
thousand times could I only hear them once again; but I could not then give
even a second to the rapture of her sweet embrace, and pressing my lips to hers
for the first time, I picked her up bodily and tossed her to her seat behind
Sola again, commanding the latter in peremptory tones to hold her there by
force, and then, slapping the thoat upon the flank, I saw them borne away;
Dejah Thoris struggling to the last to free herself from Sola&rsquo;s grasp.
</p>

<p>
Turning, I beheld the green warriors mounting the ridge and looking for their
chieftain. In a moment they saw him, and then me; but scarcely had they
discovered me than I commenced firing, lying flat upon my belly in the moss. I
had an even hundred rounds in the magazine of my rifle, and another hundred in
the belt at my back, and I kept up a continuous stream of fire until I saw all
of the warriors who had been first to return from behind the ridge either dead
or scurrying to cover.
</p>

<p>
My respite was short-lived however, for soon the entire party, numbering some
thousand men, came charging into view, racing madly toward me. I fired until my
rifle was empty and they were almost upon me, and then a glance showing me that
Dejah Thoris and Sola had disappeared among the hills, I sprang up, throwing
down my useless gun, and started away in the direction opposite to that taken
by Sola and her charge.
</p>

<p>
If ever Martians had an exhibition of jumping, it was granted those astonished
warriors on that day long years ago, but while it led them away from Dejah
Thoris it did not distract their attention from endeavoring to capture me.
</p>

<p>
They raced wildly after me until, finally, my foot struck a projecting piece of
quartz, and down I went sprawling upon the moss. As I looked up they were upon
me, and although I drew my long-sword in an attempt to sell my life as dearly
as possible, it was soon over. I reeled beneath their blows which fell upon me
in perfect torrents; my head swam; all was black, and I went down beneath them
to oblivion.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap18"></a>CHAPTER XVIII<br/>
CHAINED IN WARHOON</h2>

<p>
It must have been several hours before I regained consciousness and I well
remember the feeling of surprise which swept over me as I realized that I was
not dead.
</p>

<p>
I was lying among a pile of sleeping silks and furs in the corner of a small
room in which were several green warriors, and bending over me was an ancient
and ugly female.
</p>

<p>
As I opened my eyes she turned to one of the warriors, saying,
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;He will live, O Jed.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;&rsquo;Tis well,&rdquo; replied the one so addressed, rising and
approaching my couch, &ldquo;he should render rare sport for the great
games.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
And now as my eyes fell upon him, I saw that he was no Thark, for his ornaments
and metal were not of that horde. He was a huge fellow, terribly scarred about
the face and chest, and with one broken tusk and a missing ear. Strapped on
either breast were human skulls and depending from these a number of dried
human hands.
</p>

<p>
His reference to the great games of which I had heard so much while among the
Tharks convinced me that I had but jumped from purgatory into gehenna.
</p>

<p>
After a few more words with the female, during which she assured him that I was
now fully fit to travel, the jed ordered that we mount and ride after the main
column.
</p>

<p>
I was strapped securely to as wild and unmanageable a thoat as I had ever seen,
and, with a mounted warrior on either side to prevent the beast from bolting,
we rode forth at a furious pace in pursuit of the column. My wounds gave me but
little pain, so wonderfully and rapidly had the applications and injections of
the female exercised their therapeutic powers, and so deftly had she bound and
plastered the injuries.
</p>

<p>
Just before dark we reached the main body of troops shortly after they had made
camp for the night. I was immediately taken before the leader, who proved to be
the jeddak of the hordes of Warhoon.
</p>

<p>
Like the jed who had brought me, he was frightfully scarred, and also decorated
with the breastplate of human skulls and dried dead hands which seemed to mark
all the greater warriors among the Warhoons, as well as to indicate their awful
ferocity, which greatly transcends even that of the Tharks.
</p>

<p>
The jeddak, Bar Comas, who was comparatively young, was the object of the
fierce and jealous hatred of his old lieutenant, Dak Kova, the jed who had
captured me, and I could not but note the almost studied efforts which the
latter made to affront his superior.
</p>

<p>
He entirely omitted the usual formal salutation as we entered the presence of
the jeddak, and as he pushed me roughly before the ruler he exclaimed in a loud
and menacing voice.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I have brought a strange creature wearing the metal of a Thark whom it
is my pleasure to have battle with a wild thoat at the great games.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;He will die as Bar Comas, your jeddak, sees fit, if at all,&rdquo;
replied the young ruler, with emphasis and dignity.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;If at all?&rdquo; roared Dak Kova. &ldquo;By the dead hands at my throat
but he shall die, Bar Comas. No maudlin weakness on your part shall save him.
O, would that Warhoon were ruled by a real jeddak rather than by a
water-hearted weakling from whom even old Dak Kova could tear the metal with
his bare hands!&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Bar Comas eyed the defiant and insubordinate chieftain for an instant, his
expression one of haughty, fearless contempt and hate, and then without drawing
a weapon and without uttering a word he hurled himself at the throat of his
defamer.
</p>

<p>
I never before had seen two green Martian warriors battle with nature&rsquo;s
weapons and the exhibition of animal ferocity which ensued was as fearful a
thing as the most disordered imagination could picture. They tore at each
others&rsquo; eyes and ears with their hands and with their gleaming tusks
repeatedly slashed and gored until both were cut fairly to ribbons from head to
foot.
</p>

<p>
Bar Comas had much the better of the battle as he was stronger, quicker and
more intelligent. It soon seemed that the encounter was done saving only the
final death thrust when Bar Comas slipped in breaking away from a clinch. It
was the one little opening that Dak Kova needed, and hurling himself at the
body of his adversary he buried his single mighty tusk in Bar Comas&rsquo;
groin and with a last powerful effort ripped the young jeddak wide open the
full length of his body, the great tusk finally wedging in the bones of Bar
Comas&rsquo; jaw. Victor and vanquished rolled limp and lifeless upon the moss,
a huge mass of torn and bloody flesh.
</p>

<p>
Bar Comas was stone dead, and only the most herculean efforts on the part of
Dak Kova&rsquo;s females saved him from the fate he deserved. Three days later
he walked without assistance to the body of Bar Comas which, by custom, had not
been moved from where it fell, and placing his foot upon the neck of his
erstwhile ruler he assumed the title of Jeddak of Warhoon.
</p>

<p>
The dead jeddak&rsquo;s hands and head were removed to be added to the
ornaments of his conqueror, and then his women cremated what remained, amid
wild and terrible laughter.
</p>

<p>
The injuries to Dak Kova had delayed the march so greatly that it was decided
to give up the expedition, which was a raid upon a small Thark community in
retaliation for the destruction of the incubator, until after the great games,
and the entire body of warriors, ten thousand in number, turned back toward
Warhoon.
</p>

<p>
My introduction to these cruel and bloodthirsty people was but an index to the
scenes I witnessed almost daily while with them. They are a smaller horde than
the Tharks but much more ferocious. Not a day passed but that some members of
the various Warhoon communities met in deadly combat. I have seen as high as
eight mortal duels within a single day.
</p>

<p>
We reached the city of Warhoon after some three days march and I was
immediately cast into a dungeon and heavily chained to the floor and walls.
Food was brought me at intervals but owing to the utter darkness of the place I
do not know whether I lay there days, or weeks, or months. It was the most
horrible experience of all my life and that my mind did not give way to the
terrors of that inky blackness has been a wonder to me ever since. The place
was filled with creeping, crawling things; cold, sinuous bodies passed over me
when I lay down, and in the darkness I occasionally caught glimpses of
gleaming, fiery eyes, fixed in horrible intentness upon me. No sound reached me
from the world above and no word would my jailer vouchsafe when my food was
brought to me, although I at first bombarded him with questions.
</p>

<p>
Finally all the hatred and maniacal loathing for these awful creatures who had
placed me in this horrible place was centered by my tottering reason upon this
single emissary who represented to me the entire horde of Warhoons.
</p>

<p>
I had noticed that he always advanced with his dim torch to where he could
place the food within my reach and as he stooped to place it upon the floor his
head was about on a level with my breast. So, with the cunning of a madman, I
backed into the far corner of my cell when next I heard him approaching and
gathering a little slack of the great chain which held me in my hand I waited
his coming, crouching like some beast of prey. As he stooped to place my food
upon the ground I swung the chain above my head and crashed the links with all
my strength upon his skull. Without a sound he slipped to the floor, stone
dead.
</p>

<p>
Laughing and chattering like the idiot I was fast becoming I fell upon his
prostrate form my fingers feeling for his dead throat. Presently they came in
contact with a small chain at the end of which dangled a number of keys. The
touch of my fingers on these keys brought back my reason with the suddenness of
thought. No longer was I a jibbering idiot, but a sane, reasoning man with the
means of escape within my very hands.
</p>

<p>
As I was groping to remove the chain from about my victim&rsquo;s neck I
glanced up into the darkness to see six pairs of gleaming eyes fixed,
unwinking, upon me. Slowly they approached and slowly I shrank back from the
awful horror of them. Back into my corner I crouched holding my hands palms
out, before me, and stealthily on came the awful eyes until they reached the
dead body at my feet. Then slowly they retreated but this time with a strange
grating sound and finally they disappeared in some black and distant recess of
my dungeon.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap19"></a>CHAPTER XIX<br/>
BATTLING IN THE ARENA</h2>

<p>
Slowly I regained my composure and finally essayed again to attempt to remove
the keys from the dead body of my former jailer. But as I reached out into the
darkness to locate it I found to my horror that it was gone. Then the truth
flashed on me; the owners of those gleaming eyes had dragged my prize away from
me to be devoured in their neighboring lair; as they had been waiting for days,
for weeks, for months, through all this awful eternity of my imprisonment to
drag my dead carcass to their feast.
</p>

<p>
For two days no food was brought me, but then a new messenger appeared and my
incarceration went on as before, but not again did I allow my reason to be
submerged by the horror of my position.
</p>

<p>
Shortly after this episode another prisoner was brought in and chained near me.
By the dim torch light I saw that he was a red Martian and I could scarcely
await the departure of his guards to address him. As their retreating footsteps
died away in the distance, I called out softly the Martian word of greeting,
kaor.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Who are you who speaks out of the darkness?&rdquo; he answered.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;John Carter, a friend of the red men of Helium.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I am of Helium,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;but I do not recall your
name.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
And then I told him my story as I have written it here, omitting only any
reference to my love for Dejah Thoris. He was much excited by the news of
Helium&rsquo;s princess and seemed quite positive that she and Sola could
easily have reached a point of safety from where they left me. He said that he
knew the place well because the defile through which the Warhoon warriors had
passed when they discovered us was the only one ever used by them when marching
to the south.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Dejah Thoris and Sola entered the hills not five miles from a great
waterway and are now probably quite safe,&rdquo; he assured me.
</p>

<p>
My fellow prisoner was Kantos Kan, a padwar (lieutenant) in the navy of Helium.
He had been a member of the ill-fated expedition which had fallen into the
hands of the Tharks at the time of Dejah Thoris&rsquo; capture, and he briefly
related the events which followed the defeat of the battleships.
</p>

<p>
Badly injured and only partially manned they had limped slowly toward Helium,
but while passing near the city of Zodanga, the capital of Helium&rsquo;s
hereditary enemies among the red men of Barsoom, they had been attacked by a
great body of war vessels and all but the craft to which Kantos Kan belonged
were either destroyed or captured. His vessel was chased for days by three of
the Zodangan war ships but finally escaped during the darkness of a moonless
night.
</p>

<p>
Thirty days after the capture of Dejah Thoris, or about the time of our coming
to Thark, his vessel had reached Helium with about ten survivors of the
original crew of seven hundred officers and men. Immediately seven great
fleets, each of one hundred mighty war ships, had been dispatched to search for
Dejah Thoris, and from these vessels two thousand smaller craft had been kept
out continuously in futile search for the missing princess.
</p>

<p>
Two green Martian communities had been wiped off the face of Barsoom by the
avenging fleets, but no trace of Dejah Thoris had been found. They had been
searching among the northern hordes, and only within the past few days had they
extended their quest to the south.
</p>

<p>
Kantos Kan had been detailed to one of the small one-man fliers and had had the
misfortune to be discovered by the Warhoons while exploring their city. The
bravery and daring of the man won my greatest respect and admiration. Alone he
had landed at the city&rsquo;s boundary and on foot had penetrated to the
buildings surrounding the plaza. For two days and nights he had explored their
quarters and their dungeons in search of his beloved princess only to fall into
the hands of a party of Warhoons as he was about to leave, after assuring
himself that Dejah Thoris was not a captive there.
</p>

<p>
During the period of our incarceration Kantos Kan and I became well acquainted,
and formed a warm personal friendship. A few days only elapsed, however, before
we were dragged forth from our dungeon for the great games. We were conducted
early one morning to an enormous amphitheater, which instead of having been
built upon the surface of the ground was excavated below the surface. It had
partially filled with debris so that how large it had originally been was
difficult to say. In its present condition it held the entire twenty thousand
Warhoons of the assembled hordes.
</p>

<p>
The arena was immense but extremely uneven and unkempt. Around it the Warhoons
had piled building stone from some of the ruined edifices of the ancient city
to prevent the animals and the captives from escaping into the audience, and at
each end had been constructed cages to hold them until their turns came to meet
some horrible death upon the arena.
</p>

<p>
Kantos Kan and I were confined together in one of the cages. In the others were
wild calots, thoats, mad zitidars, green warriors, and women of other hordes,
and many strange and ferocious wild beasts of Barsoom which I had never before
seen. The din of their roaring, growling and squealing was deafening and the
formidable appearance of any one of them was enough to make the stoutest heart
feel grave forebodings.
</p>

<p>
Kantos Kan explained to me that at the end of the day one of these prisoners
would gain freedom and the others would lie dead about the arena. The winners
in the various contests of the day would be pitted against each other until
only two remained alive; the victor in the last encounter being set free,
whether animal or man. The following morning the cages would be filled with a
new consignment of victims, and so on throughout the ten days of the games.
</p>

<p>
Shortly after we had been caged the amphitheater began to fill and within an
hour every available part of the seating space was occupied. Dak Kova, with his
jeds and chieftains, sat at the center of one side of the arena upon a large
raised platform.
</p>

<p>
At a signal from Dak Kova the doors of two cages were thrown open and a dozen
green Martian females were driven to the center of the arena. Each was given a
dagger and then, at the far end, a pack of twelve calots, or wild dogs were
loosed upon them.
</p>

<p>
As the brutes, growling and foaming, rushed upon the almost defenseless women I
turned my head that I might not see the horrid sight. The yells and laughter of
the green horde bore witness to the excellent quality of the sport and when I
turned back to the arena, as Kantos Kan told me it was over, I saw three
victorious calots, snarling and growling over the bodies of their prey. The
women had given a good account of themselves.
</p>

<p>
Next a mad zitidar was loosed among the remaining dogs, and so it went
throughout the long, hot, horrible day.
</p>

<p>
During the day I was pitted against first men and then beasts, but as I was
armed with a long-sword and always outclassed my adversary in agility and
generally in strength as well, it proved but child&rsquo;s play to me. Time and
time again I won the applause of the bloodthirsty multitude, and toward the end
there were cries that I be taken from the arena and be made a member of the
hordes of Warhoon.
</p>

<p>
Finally there were but three of us left, a great green warrior of some far
northern horde, Kantos Kan, and myself.
</p>

<p>
The other two were to battle and then I to fight the conqueror for the liberty
which was accorded the final winner.
</p>

<p>
Kantos Kan had fought several times during the day and like myself had always
proven victorious, but occasionally by the smallest of margins, especially when
pitted against the green warriors. I had little hope that he could best his
giant adversary who had mowed down all before him during the day. The fellow
towered nearly sixteen feet in height, while Kantos Kan was some inches under
six feet. As they advanced to meet one another I saw for the first time a trick
of Martian swordsmanship which centered Kantos Kan&rsquo;s every hope of
victory and life on one cast of the dice, for, as he came to within about
twenty feet of the huge fellow he threw his sword arm far behind him over his
shoulder and with a mighty sweep hurled his weapon point foremost at the green
warrior. It flew true as an arrow and piercing the poor devil&rsquo;s heart
laid him dead upon the arena.
</p>

<p>
Kantos Kan and I were now pitted against each other but as we approached to the
encounter I whispered to him to prolong the battle until nearly dark in the
hope that we might find some means of escape. The horde evidently guessed that
we had no hearts to fight each other and so they howled in rage as neither of
us placed a fatal thrust. Just as I saw the sudden coming of dark I whispered
to Kantos Kan to thrust his sword between my left arm and my body. As he did so
I staggered back clasping the sword tightly with my arm and thus fell to the
ground with his weapon apparently protruding from my chest. Kantos Kan
perceived my coup and stepping quickly to my side he placed his foot upon my
neck and withdrawing his sword from my body gave me the final death blow
through the neck which is supposed to sever the jugular vein, but in this
instance the cold blade slipped harmlessly into the sand of the arena. In the
darkness which had now fallen none could tell but that he had really finished
me. I whispered to him to go and claim his freedom and then look for me in the
hills east of the city, and so he left me.
</p>

<p>
When the amphitheater had cleared I crept stealthily to the top and as the
great excavation lay far from the plaza and in an untenanted portion of the
great dead city I had little trouble in reaching the hills beyond.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap20"></a>CHAPTER XX<br/>
IN THE ATMOSPHERE FACTORY</h2>

<p>
For two days I waited there for Kantos Kan, but as he did not come I started
off on foot in a northwesterly direction toward a point where he had told me
lay the nearest waterway. My only food consisted of vegetable milk from the
plants which gave so bounteously of this priceless fluid.
</p>

<p>
Through two long weeks I wandered, stumbling through the nights guided only by
the stars and hiding during the days behind some protruding rock or among the
occasional hills I traversed. Several times I was attacked by wild beasts;
strange, uncouth monstrosities that leaped upon me in the dark, so that I had
ever to grasp my long-sword in my hand that I might be ready for them. Usually
my strange, newly acquired telepathic power warned me in ample time, but once I
was down with vicious fangs at my jugular and a hairy face pressed close to
mine before I knew that I was even threatened.
</p>

<p>
What manner of thing was upon me I did not know, but that it was large and
heavy and many-legged I could feel. My hands were at its throat before the
fangs had a chance to bury themselves in my neck, and slowly I forced the hairy
face from me and closed my fingers, vise-like, upon its windpipe.
</p>

<p>
Without sound we lay there, the beast exerting every effort to reach me with
those awful fangs, and I straining to maintain my grip and choke the life from
it as I kept it from my throat. Slowly my arms gave to the unequal struggle,
and inch by inch the burning eyes and gleaming tusks of my antagonist crept
toward me, until, as the hairy face touched mine again, I realized that all was
over. And then a living mass of destruction sprang from the surrounding
darkness full upon the creature that held me pinioned to the ground. The two
rolled growling upon the moss, tearing and rending one another in a frightful
manner, but it was soon over and my preserver stood with lowered head above the
throat of the dead thing which would have killed me.
</p>

<p>
The nearer moon, hurtling suddenly above the horizon and lighting up the
Barsoomian scene, showed me that my preserver was Woola, but from whence he had
come, or how found me, I was at a loss to know. That I was glad of his
companionship it is needless to say, but my pleasure at seeing him was tempered
by anxiety as to the reason of his leaving Dejah Thoris. Only her death I felt
sure, could account for his absence from her, so faithful I knew him to be to
my commands.
</p>

<p>
By the light of the now brilliant moons I saw that he was but a shadow of his
former self, and as he turned from my caress and commenced greedily to devour
the dead carcass at my feet I realized that the poor fellow was more than half
starved. I, myself, was in but little better plight but I could not bring
myself to eat the uncooked flesh and I had no means of making a fire. When
Woola had finished his meal I again took up my weary and seemingly endless
wandering in quest of the elusive waterway.
</p>

<p>
At daybreak of the fifteenth day of my search I was overjoyed to see the high
trees that denoted the object of my search. About noon I dragged myself wearily
to the portals of a huge building which covered perhaps four square miles and
towered two hundred feet in the air. It showed no aperture in the mighty walls
other than the tiny door at which I sank exhausted, nor was there any sign of
life about it.
</p>

<p>
I could find no bell or other method of making my presence known to the inmates
of the place, unless a small round hole in the wall near the door was for that
purpose. It was of about the bigness of a lead pencil and thinking that it
might be in the nature of a speaking tube I put my mouth to it and was about to
call into it when a voice issued from it asking me whom I might be, where from,
and the nature of my errand.
</p>

<p>
I explained that I had escaped from the Warhoons and was dying of starvation
and exhaustion.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You wear the metal of a green warrior and are followed by a calot, yet
you are of the figure of a red man. In color you are neither green nor red. In
the name of the ninth ray, what manner of creature are you?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I am a friend of the red men of Barsoom and I am starving. In the name
of humanity open to us,&rdquo; I replied.
</p>

<p>
Presently the door commenced to recede before me until it had sunk into the
wall fifty feet, then it stopped and slid easily to the left, exposing a short,
narrow corridor of concrete, at the further end of which was another door,
similar in every respect to the one I had just passed. No one was in sight, yet
immediately we passed the first door it slid gently into place behind us and
receded rapidly to its original position in the front wall of the building. As
the door had slipped aside I had noted its great thickness, fully twenty feet,
and as it reached its place once more after closing behind us, great cylinders
of steel had dropped from the ceiling behind it and fitted their lower ends
into apertures countersunk in the floor.
</p>

<p>
A second and third door receded before me and slipped to one side as the first,
before I reached a large inner chamber where I found food and drink set out
upon a great stone table. A voice directed me to satisfy my hunger and to feed
my calot, and while I was thus engaged my invisible host put me through a
severe and searching cross-examination.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Your statements are most remarkable,&rdquo; said the voice, on
concluding its questioning, &ldquo;but you are evidently speaking the truth,
and it is equally evident that you are not of Barsoom. I can tell that by the
conformation of your brain and the strange location of your internal organs and
the shape and size of your heart.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Can you see through me?&rdquo; I exclaimed.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Yes, I can see all but your thoughts, and were you a Barsoomian I could
read those.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Then a door opened at the far side of the chamber and a strange, dried up,
little mummy of a man came toward me. He wore but a single article of clothing
or adornment, a small collar of gold from which depended upon his chest a great
ornament as large as a dinner plate set solid with huge diamonds, except for
the exact center which was occupied by a strange stone, an inch in diameter,
that scintillated nine different and distinct rays; the seven colors of our
earthly prism and two beautiful rays which, to me, were new and nameless. I
cannot describe them any more than you could describe red to a blind man. I
only know that they were beautiful in the extreme.
</p>

<p>
The old man sat and talked with me for hours, and the strangest part of our
intercourse was that I could read his every thought while he could not fathom
an iota from my mind unless I spoke.
</p>

<div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
<a name="img-224"></a>
<img src="images/img-224.jpg" width="456" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
<p class="caption">The old man sat and talked with me for hours.</p>
</div>

<p>
I did not apprise him of my ability to sense his mental operations, and thus I
learned a great deal which proved of immense value to me later and which I
would never have known had he suspected my strange power, for the Martians have
such perfect control of their mental machinery that they are able to direct
their thoughts with absolute precision.
</p>

<p>
The building in which I found myself contained the machinery which produces
that artificial atmosphere which sustains life on Mars. The secret of the
entire process hinges on the use of the ninth ray, one of the beautiful
scintillations which I had noted emanating from the great stone in my
host&rsquo;s diadem.
</p>

<p>
This ray is separated from the other rays of the sun by means of finely
adjusted instruments placed upon the roof of the huge building, three-quarters
of which is used for reservoirs in which the ninth ray is stored. This product
is then treated electrically, or rather certain proportions of refined electric
vibrations are incorporated with it, and the result is then pumped to the five
principal air centers of the planet where, as it is released, contact with the
ether of space transforms it into atmosphere.
</p>

<p>
There is always sufficient reserve of the ninth ray stored in the great
building to maintain the present Martian atmosphere for a thousand years, and
the only fear, as my new friend told me, was that some accident might befall
the pumping apparatus.
</p>

<p>
He led me to an inner chamber where I beheld a battery of twenty radium pumps
any one of which was equal to the task of furnishing all Mars with the
atmosphere compound. For eight hundred years, he told me, he had watched these
pumps which are used alternately a day each at a stretch, or a little over
twenty-four and one-half Earth hours. He has one assistant who divides the
watch with him. Half a Martian year, about three hundred and forty-four of our
days, each of these men spend alone in this huge, isolated plant.
</p>

<p>
Every red Martian is taught during earliest childhood the principles of the
manufacture of atmosphere, but only two at one time ever hold the secret of
ingress to the great building, which, built as it is with walls a hundred and
fifty feet thick, is absolutely unassailable, even the roof being guarded from
assault by air craft by a glass covering five feet thick.
</p>

<p>
The only fear they entertain of attack is from the green Martians or some
demented red man, as all Barsoomians realize that the very existence of every
form of life of Mars is dependent upon the uninterrupted working of this plant.
</p>

<p>
One curious fact I discovered as I watched his thoughts was that the outer
doors are manipulated by telepathic means. The locks are so finely adjusted
that the doors are released by the action of a certain combination of thought
waves. To experiment with my new-found toy I thought to surprise him into
revealing this combination and so I asked him in a casual manner how he had
managed to unlock the massive doors for me from the inner chambers of the
building. As quick as a flash there leaped to his mind nine Martian sounds, but
as quickly faded as he answered that this was a secret he must not divulge.
</p>

<p>
From then on his manner toward me changed as though he feared that he had been
surprised into divulging his great secret, and I read suspicion and fear in his
looks and thoughts, though his words were still fair.
</p>

<p>
Before I retired for the night he promised to give me a letter to a nearby
agricultural officer who would help me on my way to Zodanga, which he said, was
the nearest Martian city.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;But be sure that you do not let them know you are bound for Helium as
they are at war with that country. My assistant and I are of no country, we
belong to all Barsoom and this talisman which we wear protects us in all lands,
even among the green men&mdash;though we do not trust ourselves to their hands
if we can avoid it,&rdquo; he added.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And so good-night, my friend,&rdquo; he continued, &ldquo;may you have a
long and restful sleep&mdash;yes, a long sleep.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
And though he smiled pleasantly I saw in his thoughts the wish that he had
never admitted me, and then a picture of him standing over me in the night, and
the swift thrust of a long dagger and the half formed words, &ldquo;I am sorry,
but it is for the best good of Barsoom.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
As he closed the door of my chamber behind him his thoughts were cut off from
me as was the sight of him, which seemed strange to me in my little knowledge
of thought transference.
</p>

<p>
What was I to do? How could I escape through these mighty walls? Easily could I
kill him now that I was warned, but once he was dead I could no more escape,
and with the stopping of the machinery of the great plant I should die with all
the other inhabitants of the planet&mdash;all, even Dejah Thoris were she not
already dead. For the others I did not give the snap of my finger, but the
thought of Dejah Thoris drove from my mind all desire to kill my mistaken host.
</p>

<p>
Cautiously I opened the door of my apartment and, followed by Woola, sought the
inner of the great doors. A wild scheme had come to me; I would attempt to
force the great locks by the nine thought waves I had read in my host&rsquo;s
mind.
</p>

<p>
Creeping stealthily through corridor after corridor and down winding runways
which turned hither and thither I finally reached the great hall in which I had
broken my long fast that morning. Nowhere had I seen my host, nor did I know
where he kept himself by night.
</p>

<p>
I was on the point of stepping boldly out into the room when a slight noise
behind me warned me back into the shadows of a recess in the corridor. Dragging
Woola after me I crouched low in the darkness.
</p>

<p>
Presently the old man passed close by me, and as he entered the dimly lighted
chamber which I had been about to pass through I saw that he held a long thin
dagger in his hand and that he was sharpening it upon a stone. In his mind was
the decision to inspect the radium pumps, which would take about thirty
minutes, and then return to my bed chamber and finish me.
</p>

<p>
As he passed through the great hall and disappeared down the runway which led
to the pump-room, I stole stealthily from my hiding place and crossed to the
great door, the inner of the three which stood between me and liberty.
</p>

<p>
Concentrating my mind upon the massive lock I hurled the nine thought waves
against it. In breathless expectancy I waited, when finally the great door
moved softly toward me and slid quietly to one side. One after the other the
remaining mighty portals opened at my command and Woola and I stepped forth
into the darkness, free, but little better off than we had been before, other
than that we had full stomachs.
</p>

<p>
Hastening away from the shadows of the formidable pile I made for the first
crossroad, intending to strike the central turnpike as quickly as possible.
This I reached about morning and entering the first enclosure I came to I
searched for some evidences of a habitation.
</p>

<p>
There were low rambling buildings of concrete barred with heavy impassable
doors, and no amount of hammering and hallooing brought any response. Weary and
exhausted from sleeplessness I threw myself upon the ground commanding Woola to
stand guard.
</p>

<p>
Some time later I was awakened by his frightful growlings and opened my eyes to
see three red Martians standing a short distance from us and covering me with
their rifles.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I am unarmed and no enemy,&rdquo; I hastened to explain. &ldquo;I have
been a prisoner among the green men and am on my way to Zodanga. All I ask is
food and rest for myself and my calot and the proper directions for reaching my
destination.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
They lowered their rifles and advanced pleasantly toward me placing their right
hands upon my left shoulder, after the manner of their custom of salute, and
asking me many questions about myself and my wanderings. They then took me to
the house of one of them which was only a short distance away.
</p>

<p>
The buildings I had been hammering at in the early morning were occupied only
by stock and farm produce, the house proper standing among a grove of enormous
trees, and, like all red-Martian homes, had been raised at night some forty or
fifty feet from the ground on a large round metal shaft which slid up or down
within a sleeve sunk in the ground, and was operated by a tiny radium engine in
the entrance hall of the building. Instead of bothering with bolts and bars for
their dwellings, the red Martians simply run them up out of harm&rsquo;s way
during the night. They also have private means for lowering or raising them
from the ground without if they wish to go away and leave them.
</p>

<p>
These brothers, with their wives and children, occupied three similar houses on
this farm. They did no work themselves, being government officers in charge.
The labor was performed by convicts, prisoners of war, delinquent debtors and
confirmed bachelors who were too poor to pay the high celibate tax which all
red-Martian governments impose.
</p>

<p>
They were the personification of cordiality and hospitality and I spent several
days with them, resting and recuperating from my long and arduous experiences.
</p>

<p>
When they had heard my story&mdash;I omitted all reference to Dejah Thoris and
the old man of the atmosphere plant&mdash;they advised me to color my body to
more nearly resemble their own race and then attempt to find employment in
Zodanga, either in the army or the navy.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The chances are small that your tale will be believed until after you
have proven your trustworthiness and won friends among the higher nobles of the
court. This you can most easily do through military service, as we are a
warlike people on Barsoom,&rdquo; explained one of them, &ldquo;and save our
richest favors for the fighting man.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
When I was ready to depart they furnished me with a small domestic bull thoat,
such as is used for saddle purposes by all red Martians. The animal is about
the size of a horse and quite gentle, but in color and shape an exact replica
of his huge and fierce cousin of the wilds.
</p>

<p>
The brothers had supplied me with a reddish oil with which I anointed my entire
body and one of them cut my hair, which had grown quite long, in the prevailing
fashion of the time, square at the back and banged in front, so that I could
have passed anywhere upon Barsoom as a full-fledged red Martian. My metal and
ornaments were also renewed in the style of a Zodangan gentleman, attached to
the house of Ptor, which was the family name of my benefactors.
</p>

<p>
They filled a little sack at my side with Zodangan money. The medium of
exchange upon Mars is not dissimilar from our own except that the coins are
oval. Paper money is issued by individuals as they require it and redeemed
twice yearly. If a man issues more than he can redeem, the government pays his
creditors in full and the debtor works out the amount upon the farms or in
mines, which are all owned by the government. This suits everybody except the
debtor as it has been a difficult thing to obtain sufficient voluntary labor to
work the great isolated farm lands of Mars, stretching as they do like narrow
ribbons from pole to pole, through wild stretches peopled by wild animals and
wilder men.
</p>

<p>
When I mentioned my inability to repay them for their kindness to me they
assured me that I would have ample opportunity if I lived long upon Barsoom,
and bidding me farewell they watched me until I was out of sight upon the broad
white turnpike.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap21"></a>CHAPTER XXI<br/>
AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA</h2>

<p>
As I proceeded on my journey toward Zodanga many strange and interesting sights
arrested my attention, and at the several farm houses where I stopped I learned
a number of new and instructive things concerning the methods and manners of
Barsoom.
</p>

<p>
The water which supplies the farms of Mars is collected in immense underground
reservoirs at either pole from the melting ice caps, and pumped through long
conduits to the various populated centers. Along either side of these conduits,
and extending their entire length, lie the cultivated districts. These are
divided into tracts of about the same size, each tract being under the
supervision of one or more government officers.
</p>

<p>
Instead of flooding the surface of the fields, and thus wasting immense
quantities of water by evaporation, the precious liquid is carried underground
through a vast network of small pipes directly to the roots of the vegetation.
The crops upon Mars are always uniform, for there are no droughts, no rains, no
high winds, and no insects, or destroying birds.
</p>

<p>
On this trip I tasted the first meat I had eaten since leaving
Earth&mdash;large, juicy steaks and chops from the well-fed domestic animals of
the farms. Also I enjoyed luscious fruits and vegetables, but not a single
article of food which was exactly similar to anything on Earth. Every plant and
flower and vegetable and animal has been so refined by ages of careful,
scientific cultivation and breeding that the like of them on Earth dwindled
into pale, gray, characterless nothingness by comparison.
</p>

<p>
At a second stop I met some highly cultivated people of the noble class and
while in conversation we chanced to speak of Helium. One of the older men had
been there on a diplomatic mission several years before and spoke with regret
of the conditions which seemed destined ever to keep these two countries at
war.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Helium,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;rightly boasts the most beautiful women
of Barsoom, and of all her treasures the wondrous daughter of Mors Kajak, Dejah
Thoris, is the most exquisite flower.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Why,&rdquo; he added, &ldquo;the people really worship the ground she
walks upon and since her loss on that ill-starred expedition all Helium has
been draped in mourning.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;That our ruler should have attacked the disabled fleet as it was
returning to Helium was but another of his awful blunders which I fear will
sooner or later compel Zodanga to elevate a wiser man to his place.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Even now, though our victorious armies are surrounding Helium, the
people of Zodanga are voicing their displeasure, for the war is not a popular
one, since it is not based on right or justice. Our forces took advantage of
the absence of the principal fleet of Helium on their search for the princess,
and so we have been able easily to reduce the city to a sorry plight. It is
said she will fall within the next few passages of the further moon.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And what, think you, may have been the fate of the princess, Dejah
Thoris?&rdquo; I asked as casually as possible.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;She is dead,&rdquo; he answered. &ldquo;This much was learned from a
green warrior recently captured by our forces in the south. She escaped from
the hordes of Thark with a strange creature of another world, only to fall into
the hands of the Warhoons. Their thoats were found wandering upon the sea
bottom and evidences of a bloody conflict were discovered nearby.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
While this information was in no way reassuring, neither was it at all
conclusive proof of the death of Dejah Thoris, and so I determined to make
every effort possible to reach Helium as quickly as I could and carry to Tardos
Mors such news of his granddaughter&rsquo;s possible whereabouts as lay in my
power.
</p>

<p>
Ten days after leaving the three Ptor brothers I arrived at Zodanga. From the
moment that I had come in contact with the red inhabitants of Mars I had
noticed that Woola drew a great amount of unwelcome attention to me, since the
huge brute belonged to a species which is never domesticated by the red men.
Were one to stroll down Broadway with a Numidian lion at his heels the effect
would be somewhat similar to that which I should have produced had I entered
Zodanga with Woola.
</p>

<p>
The very thought of parting with the faithful fellow caused me so great regret
and genuine sorrow that I put it off until just before we arrived at the
city&rsquo;s gates; but then, finally, it became imperative that we separate.
Had nothing further than my own safety or pleasure been at stake no argument
could have prevailed upon me to turn away the one creature upon Barsoom that
had never failed in a demonstration of affection and loyalty; but as I would
willingly have offered my life in the service of her in search of whom I was
about to challenge the unknown dangers of this, to me, mysterious city, I could
not permit even Woola&rsquo;s life to threaten the success of my venture, much
less his momentary happiness, for I doubted not he soon would forget me. And so
I bade the poor beast an affectionate farewell, promising him, however, that if
I came through my adventure in safety that in some way I should find the means
to search him out.
</p>

<p>
He seemed to understand me fully, and when I pointed back in the direction of
Thark he turned sorrowfully away, nor could I bear to watch him go; but
resolutely set my face toward Zodanga and with a touch of heartsickness
approached her frowning walls.
</p>

<p>
The letter I bore from them gained me immediate entrance to the vast, walled
city. It was still very early in the morning and the streets were practically
deserted. The residences, raised high upon their metal columns, resembled huge
rookeries, while the uprights themselves presented the appearance of steel tree
trunks. The shops as a rule were not raised from the ground nor were their
doors bolted or barred, since thievery is practically unknown upon Barsoom.
Assassination is the ever-present fear of all Barsoomians, and for this reason
alone their homes are raised high above the ground at night, or in times of
danger.
</p>

<p>
The Ptor brothers had given me explicit directions for reaching the point of
the city where I could find living accommodations and be near the offices of
the government agents to whom they had given me letters. My way led to the
central square or plaza, which is a characteristic of all Martian cities.
</p>

<p>
The plaza of Zodanga covers a square mile and is bounded by the palaces of the
jeddak, the jeds, and other members of the royalty and nobility of Zodanga, as
well as by the principal public buildings, cafes, and shops.
</p>

<p>
As I was crossing the great square lost in wonder and admiration of the
magnificent architecture and the gorgeous scarlet vegetation which carpeted the
broad lawns I discovered a red Martian walking briskly toward me from one of
the avenues. He paid not the slightest attention to me, but as he came abreast
I recognized him, and turning I placed my hand upon his shoulder, calling out:
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Kaor, Kantos Kan!&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Like lightning he wheeled and before I could so much as lower my hand the point
of his long-sword was at my breast.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Who are you?&rdquo; he growled, and then as a backward leap carried me
fifty feet from his sword he dropped the point to the ground and exclaimed,
laughing,
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I do not need a better reply, there is but one man upon all Barsoom who
can bounce about like a rubber ball. By the mother of the further moon, John
Carter, how came you here, and have you become a Darseen that you can change
your color at will?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You gave me a bad half minute my friend,&rdquo; he continued, after I
had briefly outlined my adventures since parting with him in the arena at
Warhoon. &ldquo;Were my name and city known to the Zodangans I would shortly be
sitting on the banks of the lost sea of Korus with my revered and departed
ancestors. I am here in the interest of Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium, to
discover the whereabouts of Dejah Thoris, our princess. Sab Than, prince of
Zodanga, has her hidden in the city and has fallen madly in love with her. His
father, Than Kosis, Jeddak of Zodanga, has made her voluntary marriage to his
son the price of peace between our countries, but Tardos Mors will not accede
to the demands and has sent word that he and his people would rather look upon
the dead face of their princess than see her wed to any than her own choice,
and that personally he would prefer being engulfed in the ashes of a lost and
burning Helium to joining the metal of his house with that of Than Kosis. His
reply was the deadliest affront he could have put upon Than Kosis and the
Zodangans, but his people love him the more for it and his strength in Helium
is greater today than ever.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I have been here three days,&rdquo; continued Kantos Kan, &ldquo;but I
have not yet found where Dejah Thoris is imprisoned. Today I join the Zodangan
navy as an air scout and I hope in this way to win the confidence of Sab Than,
the prince, who is commander of this division of the navy, and thus learn the
whereabouts of Dejah Thoris. I am glad that you are here, John Carter, for I
know your loyalty to my princess and two of us working together should be able
to accomplish much.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
The plaza was now commencing to fill with people going and coming upon the
daily activities of their duties. The shops were opening and the cafes filling
with early morning patrons. Kantos Kan led me to one of these gorgeous eating
places where we were served entirely by mechanical apparatus. No hand touched
the food from the time it entered the building in its raw state until it
emerged hot and delicious upon the tables before the guests, in response to the
touching of tiny buttons to indicate their desires.
</p>

<p>
After our meal, Kantos Kan took me with him to the headquarters of the
air-scout squadron and introducing me to his superior asked that I be enrolled
as a member of the corps. In accordance with custom an examination was
necessary, but Kantos Kan had told me to have no fear on this score as he would
attend to that part of the matter. He accomplished this by taking my order for
examination to the examining officer and representing himself as John Carter.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;This ruse will be discovered later,&rdquo; he cheerfully explained,
&ldquo;when they check up my weights, measurements, and other personal
identification data, but it will be several months before this is done and our
mission should be accomplished or have failed long before that time.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
The next few days were spent by Kantos Kan in teaching me the intricacies of
flying and of repairing the dainty little contrivances which the Martians use
for this purpose. The body of the one-man air craft is about sixteen feet long,
two feet wide and three inches thick, tapering to a point at each end. The
driver sits on top of this plane upon a seat constructed over the small,
noiseless radium engine which propels it. The medium of buoyancy is contained
within the thin metal walls of the body and consists of the eighth Barsoomian
ray, or ray of propulsion, as it may be termed in view of its properties.
</p>

<p>
This ray, like the ninth ray, is unknown on Earth, but the Martians have
discovered that it is an inherent property of all light no matter from what
source it emanates. They have learned that it is the solar eighth ray which
propels the light of the sun to the various planets, and that it is the
individual eighth ray of each planet which &ldquo;reflects,&rdquo; or propels
the light thus obtained out into space once more. The solar eighth ray would be
absorbed by the surface of Barsoom, but the Barsoomian eighth ray, which tends
to propel light from Mars into space, is constantly streaming out from the
planet constituting a force of repulsion of gravity which when confined is able
to lift enormous weights from the surface of the ground.
</p>

<p>
It is this ray which has enabled them to so perfect aviation that battle ships
far outweighing anything known upon Earth sail as gracefully and lightly
through the thin air of Barsoom as a toy balloon in the heavy atmosphere of
Earth.
</p>

<p>
During the early years of the discovery of this ray many strange accidents
occurred before the Martians learned to measure and control the wonderful power
they had found. In one instance, some nine hundred years before, the first
great battle ship to be built with eighth ray reservoirs was stored with too
great a quantity of the rays and she had sailed up from Helium with five
hundred officers and men, never to return.
</p>

<p>
Her power of repulsion for the planet was so great that it had carried her far
into space, where she can be seen today, by the aid of powerful telescopes,
hurtling through the heavens ten thousand miles from Mars; a tiny satellite
that will thus encircle Barsoom to the end of time.
</p>

<p>
The fourth day after my arrival at Zodanga I made my first flight, and as a
result of it I won a promotion which included quarters in the palace of Than
Kosis.
</p>

<p>
As I rose above the city I circled several times, as I had seen Kantos Kan do,
and then throwing my engine into top speed I raced at terrific velocity toward
the south, following one of the great waterways which enter Zodanga from that
direction.
</p>

<p>
I had traversed perhaps two hundred miles in a little less than an hour when I
descried far below me a party of three green warriors racing madly toward a
small figure on foot which seemed to be trying to reach the confines of one of
the walled fields.
</p>

<p>
Dropping my machine rapidly toward them, and circling to the rear of the
warriors, I soon saw that the object of their pursuit was a red Martian wearing
the metal of the scout squadron to which I was attached. A short distance away
lay his tiny flier, surrounded by the tools with which he had evidently been
occupied in repairing some damage when surprised by the green warriors.
</p>

<p>
They were now almost upon him; their flying mounts charging down on the
relatively puny figure at terrific speed, while the warriors leaned low to the
right, with their great metal-shod spears. Each seemed striving to be the first
to impale the poor Zodangan and in another moment his fate would have been
sealed had it not been for my timely arrival.
</p>

<p>
Driving my fleet air craft at high speed directly behind the warriors I soon
overtook them and without diminishing my speed I rammed the prow of my little
flier between the shoulders of the nearest. The impact sufficient to have torn
through inches of solid steel, hurled the fellow&rsquo;s headless body into the
air over the head of his thoat, where it fell sprawling upon the moss. The
mounts of the other two warriors turned squealing in terror, and bolted in
opposite directions.
</p>

<p>
Reducing my speed I circled and came to the ground at the feet of the
astonished Zodangan. He was warm in his thanks for my timely aid and promised
that my day&rsquo;s work would bring the reward it merited, for it was none
other than a cousin of the jeddak of Zodanga whose life I had saved.
</p>

<p>
We wasted no time in talk as we knew that the warriors would surely return as
soon as they had gained control of their mounts. Hastening to his damaged
machine we were bending every effort to finish the needed repairs and had
almost completed them when we saw the two green monsters returning at top speed
from opposite sides of us. When they had approached within a hundred yards
their thoats again became unmanageable and absolutely refused to advance
further toward the air craft which had frightened them.
</p>

<p>
The warriors finally dismounted and hobbling their animals advanced toward us
on foot with drawn long-swords.
</p>

<p>
I advanced to meet the larger, telling the Zodangan to do the best he could
with the other. Finishing my man with almost no effort, as had now from much
practice become habitual with me, I hastened to return to my new acquaintance
whom I found indeed in desperate straits.
</p>

<p>
He was wounded and down with the huge foot of his antagonist upon his throat
and the great long-sword raised to deal the final thrust. With a bound I
cleared the fifty feet intervening between us, and with outstretched point
drove my sword completely through the body of the green warrior. His sword
fell, harmless, to the ground and he sank limply upon the prostrate form of the
Zodangan.
</p>

<p>
A cursory examination of the latter revealed no mortal injuries and after a
brief rest he asserted that he felt fit to attempt the return voyage. He would
have to pilot his own craft, however, as these frail vessels are not intended
to convey but a single person.
</p>

<p>
Quickly completing the repairs we rose together into the still, cloudless
Martian sky, and at great speed and without further mishap returned to Zodanga.
</p>

<p>
As we neared the city we discovered a mighty concourse of civilians and troops
assembled upon the plain before the city. The sky was black with naval vessels
and private and public pleasure craft, flying long streamers of gay-colored
silks, and banners and flags of odd and picturesque design.
</p>

<p>
My companion signaled that I slow down, and running his machine close beside
mine suggested that we approach and watch the ceremony, which, he said, was for
the purpose of conferring honors on individual officers and men for bravery and
other distinguished service. He then unfurled a little ensign which denoted
that his craft bore a member of the royal family of Zodanga, and together we
made our way through the maze of low-lying air vessels until we hung directly
over the jeddak of Zodanga and his staff. All were mounted upon the small
domestic bull thoats of the red Martians, and their trappings and ornamentation
bore such a quantity of gorgeously colored feathers that I could not but be
struck with the startling resemblance the concourse bore to a band of the red
Indians of my own Earth.
</p>

<p>
One of the staff called the attention of Than Kosis to the presence of my
companion above them and the ruler motioned for him to descend. As they waited
for the troops to move into position facing the jeddak the two talked earnestly
together, the jeddak and his staff occasionally glancing up at me. I could not
hear their conversation and presently it ceased and all dismounted, as the last
body of troops had wheeled into position before their emperor. A member of the
staff advanced toward the troops, and calling the name of a soldier commanded
him to advance. The officer then recited the nature of the heroic act which had
won the approval of the jeddak, and the latter advanced and placed a metal
ornament upon the left arm of the lucky man.
</p>

<p>
Ten men had been so decorated when the aide called out,
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;John Carter, air scout!&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Never in my life had I been so surprised, but the habit of military discipline
is strong within me, and I dropped my little machine lightly to the ground and
advanced on foot as I had seen the others do. As I halted before the officer,
he addressed me in a voice audible to the entire assemblage of troops and
spectators.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;In recognition, John Carter,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;of your remarkable
courage and skill in defending the person of the cousin of the jeddak Than
Kosis and, singlehanded, vanquishing three green warriors, it is the pleasure
of our jeddak to confer on you the mark of his esteem.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Than Kosis then advanced toward me and placing an ornament upon me, said:
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;My cousin has narrated the details of your wonderful achievement, which
seems little short of miraculous, and if you can so well defend a cousin of the
jeddak how much better could you defend the person of the jeddak himself. You
are therefore appointed a padwar of The Guards and will be quartered in my
palace hereafter.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
I thanked him, and at his direction joined the members of his staff. After the
ceremony I returned my machine to its quarters on the roof of the barracks of
the air-scout squadron, and with an orderly from the palace to guide me I
reported to the officer in charge of the palace.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap22"></a>CHAPTER XXII<br/>
I FIND DEJAH</h2>

<p>
The major-domo to whom I reported had been given instructions to station me
near the person of the jeddak, who, in time of war, is always in great danger
of assassination, as the rule that all is fair in war seems to constitute the
entire ethics of Martian conflict.
</p>

<p>
He therefore escorted me immediately to the apartment in which Than Kosis then
was. The ruler was engaged in conversation with his son, Sab Than, and several
courtiers of his household, and did not perceive my entrance.
</p>

<p>
The walls of the apartment were completely hung with splendid tapestries which
hid any windows or doors which may have pierced them. The room was lighted by
imprisoned rays of sunshine held between the ceiling proper and what appeared
to be a ground-glass false ceiling a few inches below.
</p>

<p>
My guide drew aside one of the tapestries, disclosing a passage which encircled
the room, between the hangings and the walls of the chamber. Within this
passage I was to remain, he said, so long as Than Kosis was in the apartment.
When he left I was to follow. My only duty was to guard the ruler and keep out
of sight as much as possible. I would be relieved after a period of four hours.
The major-domo then left me.
</p>

<p>
The tapestries were of a strange weaving which gave the appearance of heavy
solidity from one side, but from my hiding place I could perceive all that took
place within the room as readily as though there had been no curtain
intervening.
</p>

<p>
Scarcely had I gained my post than the tapestry at the opposite end of the
chamber separated and four soldiers of The Guard entered, surrounding a female
figure. As they approached Than Kosis the soldiers fell to either side and
there standing before the jeddak and not ten feet from me, her beautiful face
radiant with smiles, was Dejah Thoris.
</p>

<p>
Sab Than, Prince of Zodanga, advanced to meet her, and hand in hand they
approached close to the jeddak. Than Kosis looked up in surprise, and, rising,
saluted her.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;To what strange freak do I owe this visit from the Princess of Helium,
who, two days ago, with rare consideration for my pride, assured me that she
would prefer Tal Hajus, the green Thark, to my son?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris only smiled the more and with the roguish dimples playing at the
corners of her mouth she made answer:
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;From the beginning of time upon Barsoom it has been the prerogative of
woman to change her mind as she listed and to dissemble in matters concerning
her heart. That you will forgive, Than Kosis, as has your son. Two days ago I
was not sure of his love for me, but now I am, and I have come to beg of you to
forget my rash words and to accept the assurance of the Princess of Helium that
when the time comes she will wed Sab Than, Prince of Zodanga.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I am glad that you have so decided,&rdquo; replied Than Kosis. &ldquo;It
is far from my desire to push war further against the people of Helium, and,
your promise shall be recorded and a proclamation to my people issued
forthwith.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It were better, Than Kosis,&rdquo; interrupted Dejah Thoris, &ldquo;that
the proclamation wait the ending of this war. It would look strange indeed to
my people and to yours were the Princess of Helium to give herself to her
country&rsquo;s enemy in the midst of hostilities.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Cannot the war be ended at once?&rdquo; spoke Sab Than. &ldquo;It
requires but the word of Than Kosis to bring peace. Say it, my father, say the
word that will hasten my happiness, and end this unpopular strife.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;We shall see,&rdquo; replied Than Kosis, &ldquo;how the people of Helium
take to peace. I shall at least offer it to them.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris, after a few words, turned and left the apartment, still followed
by her guards.
</p>

<p>
Thus was the edifice of my brief dream of happiness dashed, broken, to the
ground of reality. The woman for whom I had offered my life, and from whose
lips I had so recently heard a declaration of love for me, had lightly
forgotten my very existence and smilingly given herself to the son of her
people&rsquo;s most hated enemy.
</p>

<p>
Although I had heard it with my own ears I could not believe it. I must search
out her apartments and force her to repeat the cruel truth to me alone before I
would be convinced, and so I deserted my post and hastened through the passage
behind the tapestries toward the door by which she had left the chamber.
Slipping quietly through this opening I discovered a maze of winding corridors,
branching and turning in every direction.
</p>

<p>
Running rapidly down first one and then another of them I soon became
hopelessly lost and was standing panting against a side wall when I heard
voices near me. Apparently they were coming from the opposite side of the
partition against which I leaned and presently I made out the tones of Dejah
Thoris. I could not hear the words but I knew that I could not possibly be
mistaken in the voice.
</p>

<p>
Moving on a few steps I discovered another passageway at the end of which lay a
door. Walking boldly forward I pushed into the room only to find myself in a
small antechamber in which were the four guards who had accompanied her. One of
them instantly arose and accosted me, asking the nature of my business.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I am from Than Kosis,&rdquo; I replied, &ldquo;and wish to speak
privately with Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And your order?&rdquo; asked the fellow.
</p>

<p>
I did not know what he meant, but replied that I was a member of The Guard, and
without waiting for a reply from him I strode toward the opposite door of the
antechamber, behind which I could hear Dejah Thoris conversing.
</p>

<p>
But my entrance was not to be so easily accomplished. The guardsman stepped
before me, saying,
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;No one comes from Than Kosis without carrying an order or the password.
You must give me one or the other before you may pass.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The only order I require, my friend, to enter where I will, hangs at my
side,&rdquo; I answered, tapping my long-sword; &ldquo;will you let me pass in
peace or no?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
For reply he whipped out his own sword, calling to the others to join him, and
thus the four stood, with drawn weapons, barring my further progress.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You are not here by the order of Than Kosis,&rdquo; cried the one who
had first addressed me, &ldquo;and not only shall you not enter the apartments
of the Princess of Helium but you shall go back to Than Kosis under guard to
explain this unwarranted temerity. Throw down your sword; you cannot hope to
overcome four of us,&rdquo; he added with a grim smile.
</p>

<p>
My reply was a quick thrust which left me but three antagonists and I can
assure you that they were worthy of my metal. They had me backed against the
wall in no time, fighting for my life. Slowly I worked my way to a corner of
the room where I could force them to come at me only one at a time, and thus we
fought upward of twenty minutes; the clanging of steel on steel producing a
veritable bedlam in the little room.
</p>

<p>
The noise had brought Dejah Thoris to the door of her apartment, and there she
stood throughout the conflict with Sola at her back peering over her shoulder.
Her face was set and emotionless and I knew that she did not recognize me, nor
did Sola.
</p>

<p>
Finally a lucky cut brought down a second guardsman and then, with only two
opposing me, I changed my tactics and rushed them down after the fashion of my
fighting that had won me many a victory. The third fell within ten seconds
after the second, and the last lay dead upon the bloody floor a few moments
later. They were brave men and noble fighters, and it grieved me that I had
been forced to kill them, but I would have willingly depopulated all Barsoom
could I have reached the side of my Dejah Thoris in no other way.
</p>

<p>
Sheathing my bloody blade I advanced toward my Martian Princess, who still
stood mutely gazing at me without sign of recognition.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Who are you, Zodangan?&rdquo; she whispered. &ldquo;Another enemy to
harass me in my misery?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I am a friend,&rdquo; I answered, &ldquo;a once cherished friend.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;No friend of Helium&rsquo;s princess wears that metal,&rdquo; she
replied, &ldquo;and yet the voice! I have heard it before; it is not&mdash;it
cannot be&mdash;no, for he is dead.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It is, though, my Princess, none other than John Carter,&rdquo; I said.
&ldquo;Do you not recognize, even through paint and strange metal, the heart of
your chieftain?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
As I came close to her she swayed toward me with outstretched hands, but as I
reached to take her in my arms she drew back with a shudder and a little moan
of misery.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Too late, too late,&rdquo; she grieved. &ldquo;O my chieftain that was,
and whom I thought dead, had you but returned one little hour before&mdash;but
now it is too late, too late.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What do you mean, Dejah Thoris?&rdquo; I cried. &ldquo;That you would
not have promised yourself to the Zodangan prince had you known that I
lived?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Think you, John Carter, that I would give my heart to you yesterday and
today to another? I thought that it lay buried with your ashes in the pits of
Warhoon, and so today I have promised my body to another to save my people from
the curse of a victorious Zodangan army.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;But I am not dead, my princess. I have come to claim you, and all
Zodanga cannot prevent it.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It is too late, John Carter, my promise is given, and on Barsoom that is
final. The ceremonies which follow later are but meaningless formalities. They
make the fact of marriage no more certain than does the funeral cortege of a
jeddak again place the seal of death upon him. I am as good as married, John
Carter. No longer may you call me your princess. No longer are you my
chieftain.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I know but little of your customs here upon Barsoom, Dejah Thoris, but I
do know that I love you, and if you meant the last words you spoke to me that
day as the hordes of Warhoon were charging down upon us, no other man shall
ever claim you as his bride. You meant them then, my princess, and you mean
them still! Say that it is true.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I meant them, John Carter,&rdquo; she whispered. &ldquo;I cannot repeat
them now for I have given myself to another. Ah, if you had only known our
ways, my friend,&rdquo; she continued, half to herself, &ldquo;the promise
would have been yours long months ago, and you could have claimed me before all
others. It might have meant the fall of Helium, but I would have given my
empire for my Tharkian chief.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Then aloud she said: &ldquo;Do you remember the night when you offended me? You
called me your princess without having asked my hand of me, and then you
boasted that you had fought for me. You did not know, and I should not have
been offended; I see that now. But there was no one to tell you what I could
not, that upon Barsoom there are two kinds of women in the cities of the red
men. The one they fight for that they may ask them in marriage; the other kind
they fight for also, but never ask their hands. When a man has won a woman he
may address her as his princess, or in any of the several terms which signify
possession. You had fought for me, but had never asked me in marriage, and so
when you called me your princess, you see,&rdquo; she faltered, &ldquo;I was
hurt, but even then, John Carter, I did not repulse you, as I should have done,
until you made it doubly worse by taunting me with having won me through
combat.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I do not need ask your forgiveness now, Dejah Thoris,&rdquo; I cried.
&ldquo;You must know that my fault was of ignorance of your Barsoomian customs.
What I failed to do, through implicit belief that my petition would be
presumptuous and unwelcome, I do now, Dejah Thoris; I ask you to be my wife,
and by all the Virginian fighting blood that flows in my veins you shall
be.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;No, John Carter, it is useless,&rdquo; she cried, hopelessly, &ldquo;I
may never be yours while Sab Than lives.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You have sealed his death warrant, my princess&mdash;Sab Than
dies.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Nor that either,&rdquo; she hastened to explain. &ldquo;I may not wed
the man who slays my husband, even in self-defense. It is custom. We are ruled
by custom upon Barsoom. It is useless, my friend. You must bear the sorrow with
me. That at least we may share in common. That, and the memory of the brief
days among the Tharks. You must go now, nor ever see me again. Good-bye, my
chieftain that was.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Disheartened and dejected, I withdrew from the room, but I was not entirely
discouraged, nor would I admit that Dejah Thoris was lost to me until the
ceremony had actually been performed.
</p>

<p>
As I wandered along the corridors, I was as absolutely lost in the mazes of
winding passageways as I had been before I discovered Dejah Thoris&rsquo;
apartments.
</p>

<p>
I knew that my only hope lay in escape from the city of Zodanga, for the matter
of the four dead guardsmen would have to be explained, and as I could never
reach my original post without a guide, suspicion would surely rest on me so
soon as I was discovered wandering aimlessly through the palace.
</p>

<p>
Presently I came upon a spiral runway leading to a lower floor, and this I
followed downward for several stories until I reached the doorway of a large
apartment in which were a number of guardsmen. The walls of this room were hung
with transparent tapestries behind which I secreted myself without being
apprehended.
</p>

<p>
The conversation of the guardsmen was general, and awakened no interest in me
until an officer entered the room and ordered four of the men to relieve the
detail who were guarding the Princess of Helium. Now, I knew, my troubles would
commence in earnest and indeed they were upon me all too soon, for it seemed
that the squad had scarcely left the guardroom before one of their number burst
in again breathlessly, crying that they had found their four comrades butchered
in the antechamber.
</p>

<p>
In a moment the entire palace was alive with people. Guardsmen, officers,
courtiers, servants, and slaves ran helter-skelter through the corridors and
apartments carrying messages and orders, and searching for signs of the
assassin.
</p>

<p>
This was my opportunity and slim as it appeared I grasped it, for as a number
of soldiers came hurrying past my hiding place I fell in behind them and
followed through the mazes of the palace until, in passing through a great
hall, I saw the blessed light of day coming in through a series of larger
windows.
</p>

<p>
Here I left my guides, and, slipping to the nearest window, sought for an
avenue of escape. The windows opened upon a great balcony which overlooked one
of the broad avenues of Zodanga. The ground was about thirty feet below, and at
a like distance from the building was a wall fully twenty feet high,
constructed of polished glass about a foot in thickness. To a red Martian
escape by this path would have appeared impossible, but to me, with my earthly
strength and agility, it seemed already accomplished. My only fear was in being
detected before darkness fell, for I could not make the leap in broad daylight
while the court below and the avenue beyond were crowded with Zodangans.
</p>

<p>
Accordingly I searched for a hiding place and finally found one by accident,
inside a huge hanging ornament which swung from the ceiling of the hall, and
about ten feet from the floor. Into the capacious bowl-like vase I sprang with
ease, and scarcely had I settled down within it than I heard a number of people
enter the apartment. The group stopped beneath my hiding place and I could
plainly overhear their every word.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It is the work of Heliumites,&rdquo; said one of the men.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Yes, O Jeddak, but how had they access to the palace? I could believe
that even with the diligent care of your guardsmen a single enemy might reach
the inner chambers, but how a force of six or eight fighting men could have
done so unobserved is beyond me. We shall soon know, however, for here comes
the royal psychologist.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Another man now joined the group, and, after making his formal greetings to his
ruler, said:
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;O mighty Jeddak, it is a strange tale I read in the dead minds of your
faithful guardsmen. They were felled not by a number of fighting men, but by a
single opponent.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
He paused to let the full weight of this announcement impress his hearers, and
that his statement was scarcely credited was evidenced by the impatient
exclamation of incredulity which escaped the lips of Than Kosis.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What manner of weird tale are you bringing me, Notan?&rdquo; he cried.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It is the truth, my Jeddak,&rdquo; replied the psychologist. &ldquo;In
fact the impressions were strongly marked on the brain of each of the four
guardsmen. Their antagonist was a very tall man, wearing the metal of one of
your own guardsmen, and his fighting ability was little short of marvelous for
he fought fair against the entire four and vanquished them by his surpassing
skill and superhuman strength and endurance. Though he wore the metal of
Zodanga, my Jeddak, such a man was never seen before in this or any other
country upon Barsoom.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The mind of the Princess of Helium whom I have examined and questioned
was a blank to me, she has perfect control, and I could not read one iota of
it. She said that she witnessed a portion of the encounter, and that when she
looked there was but one man engaged with the guardsmen; a man whom she did not
recognize as ever having seen.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Where is my erstwhile savior?&rdquo; spoke another of the party, and I
recognized the voice of the cousin of Than Kosis, whom I had rescued from the
green warriors. &ldquo;By the metal of my first ancestor,&rdquo; he went on,
&ldquo;but the description fits him to perfection, especially as to his
fighting ability.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Where is this man?&rdquo; cried Than Kosis. &ldquo;Have him brought to
me at once. What know you of him, cousin? It seemed strange to me now that I
think upon it that there should have been such a fighting man in Zodanga, of
whose name, even, we were ignorant before today. And his name too, John Carter,
who ever heard of such a name upon Barsoom!&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Word was soon brought that I was nowhere to be found, either in the palace or
at my former quarters in the barracks of the air-scout squadron. Kantos Kan,
they had found and questioned, but he knew nothing of my whereabouts, and as to
my past, he had told them he knew as little, since he had but recently met me
during our captivity among the Warhoons.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Keep your eyes on this other one,&rdquo; commanded Than Kosis. &ldquo;He
also is a stranger and likely as not they both hail from Helium, and where one
is we shall sooner or later find the other. Quadruple the air patrol, and let
every man who leaves the city by air or ground be subjected to the closest
scrutiny.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Another messenger now entered with word that I was still within the palace
walls.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The likeness of every person who has entered or left the palace grounds
today has been carefully examined,&rdquo; concluded the fellow, &ldquo;and not
one approaches the likeness of this new padwar of the guards, other than that
which was recorded of him at the time he entered.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Then we will have him shortly,&rdquo; commented Than Kosis contentedly,
&ldquo;and in the meanwhile we will repair to the apartments of the Princess of
Helium and question her in regard to the affair. She may know more than she
cared to divulge to you, Notan. Come.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
They left the hall, and, as darkness had fallen without, I slipped lightly from
my hiding place and hastened to the balcony. Few were in sight, and choosing a
moment when none seemed near I sprang quickly to the top of the glass wall and
from there to the avenue beyond the palace grounds.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap23"></a>CHAPTER XXIII<br/>
LOST IN THE SKY</h2>

<p>
Without effort at concealment I hastened to the vicinity of our quarters, where
I felt sure I should find Kantos Kan. As I neared the building I became more
careful, as I judged, and rightly, that the place would be guarded. Several men
in civilian metal loitered near the front entrance and in the rear were others.
My only means of reaching, unseen, the upper story where our apartments were
situated was through an adjoining building, and after considerable maneuvering
I managed to attain the roof of a shop several doors away.
</p>

<p>
Leaping from roof to roof, I soon reached an open window in the building where
I hoped to find the Heliumite, and in another moment I stood in the room before
him. He was alone and showed no surprise at my coming, saying he had expected
me much earlier, as my tour of duty must have ended some time since.
</p>

<p>
I saw that he knew nothing of the events of the day at the palace, and when I
had enlightened him he was all excitement. The news that Dejah Thoris had
promised her hand to Sab Than filled him with dismay.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It cannot be,&rdquo; he exclaimed. &ldquo;It is impossible! Why no man
in all Helium but would prefer death to the selling of our loved princess to
the ruling house of Zodanga. She must have lost her mind to have assented to
such an atrocious bargain. You, who do not know how we of Helium love the
members of our ruling house, cannot appreciate the horror with which I
contemplate such an unholy alliance.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;What can be done, John Carter?&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;You are a
resourceful man. Can you not think of some way to save Helium from this
disgrace?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;If I can come within sword&rsquo;s reach of Sab Than,&rdquo; I answered,
&ldquo;I can solve the difficulty in so far as Helium is concerned, but for
personal reasons I would prefer that another struck the blow that frees Dejah
Thoris.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Kantos Kan eyed me narrowly before he spoke.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You love her!&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Does she know it?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;She knows it, Kantos Kan, and repulses me only because she is promised
to Sab Than.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
The splendid fellow sprang to his feet, and grasping me by the shoulder raised
his sword on high, exclaiming:
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And had the choice been left to me I could not have chosen a more
fitting mate for the first princess of Barsoom. Here is my hand upon your
shoulder, John Carter, and my word that Sab Than shall go out at the point of
my sword for the sake of my love for Helium, for Dejah Thoris, and for you.
This very night I shall try to reach his quarters in the palace.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;How?&rdquo; I asked. &ldquo;You are strongly guarded and a quadruple
force patrols the sky.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
He bent his head in thought a moment, then raised it with an air of confidence.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I only need to pass these guards and I can do it,&rdquo; he said at
last. &ldquo;I know a secret entrance to the palace through the pinnacle of the
highest tower. I fell upon it by chance one day as I was passing above the
palace on patrol duty. In this work it is required that we investigate any
unusual occurrence we may witness, and a face peering from the pinnacle of the
high tower of the palace was, to me, most unusual. I therefore drew near and
discovered that the possessor of the peering face was none other than Sab Than.
He was slightly put out at being detected and commanded me to keep the matter
to myself, explaining that the passage from the tower led directly to his
apartments, and was known only to him. If I can reach the roof of the barracks
and get my machine I can be in Sab Than&rsquo;s quarters in five minutes; but
how am I to escape from this building, guarded as you say it is?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;How well are the machine sheds at the barracks guarded?&rdquo; I asked.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;There is usually but one man on duty there at night upon the
roof.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Go to the roof of this building, Kantos Kan, and wait me there.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Without stopping to explain my plans I retraced my way to the street and
hastened to the barracks. I did not dare to enter the building, filled as it
was with members of the air-scout squadron, who, in common with all Zodanga,
were on the lookout for me.
</p>

<p>
The building was an enormous one, rearing its lofty head fully a thousand feet
into the air. But few buildings in Zodanga were higher than these barracks,
though several topped it by a few hundred feet; the docks of the great
battleships of the line standing some fifteen hundred feet from the ground,
while the freight and passenger stations of the merchant squadrons rose nearly
as high.
</p>

<p>
It was a long climb up the face of the building, and one fraught with much
danger, but there was no other way, and so I essayed the task. The fact that
Barsoomian architecture is extremely ornate made the feat much simpler than I
had anticipated, since I found ornamental ledges and projections which fairly
formed a perfect ladder for me all the way to the eaves of the building. Here I
met my first real obstacle. The eaves projected nearly twenty feet from the
wall to which I clung, and though I encircled the great building I could find
no opening through them.
</p>

<p>
The top floor was alight, and filled with soldiers engaged in the pastimes of
their kind; I could not, therefore, reach the roof through the building.
</p>

<p>
There was one slight, desperate chance, and that I decided I must take&mdash;it
was for Dejah Thoris, and no man has lived who would not risk a thousand deaths
for such as she.
</p>

<p>
Clinging to the wall with my feet and one hand, I unloosened one of the long
leather straps of my trappings at the end of which dangled a great hook by
which air sailors are hung to the sides and bottoms of their craft for various
purposes of repair, and by means of which landing parties are lowered to the
ground from the battleships.
</p>

<p>
I swung this hook cautiously to the roof several times before it finally found
lodgment; gently I pulled on it to strengthen its hold, but whether it would
bear the weight of my body I did not know. It might be barely caught upon the
very outer verge of the roof, so that as my body swung out at the end of the
strap it would slip off and launch me to the pavement a thousand feet below.
</p>

<p>
An instant I hesitated, and then, releasing my grasp upon the supporting
ornament, I swung out into space at the end of the strap. Far below me lay the
brilliantly lighted streets, the hard pavements, and death. There was a little
jerk at the top of the supporting eaves, and a nasty slipping, grating sound
which turned me cold with apprehension; then the hook caught and I was safe.
</p>

<p>
Clambering quickly aloft I grasped the edge of the eaves and drew myself to the
surface of the roof above. As I gained my feet I was confronted by the sentry
on duty, into the muzzle of whose revolver I found myself looking.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Who are you and whence came you?&rdquo; he cried.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I am an air scout, friend, and very near a dead one, for just by the
merest chance I escaped falling to the avenue below,&rdquo; I replied.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;But how came you upon the roof, man? No one has landed or come up from
the building for the past hour. Quick, explain yourself, or I call the
guard.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Look you here, sentry, and you shall see how I came and how close a
shave I had to not coming at all,&rdquo; I answered, turning toward the edge of
the roof, where, twenty feet below, at the end of my strap, hung all my
weapons.
</p>

<p>
The fellow, acting on impulse of curiosity, stepped to my side and to his
undoing, for as he leaned to peer over the eaves I grasped him by his throat
and his pistol arm and threw him heavily to the roof. The weapon dropped from
his grasp, and my fingers choked off his attempted cry for assistance. I gagged
and bound him and then hung him over the edge of the roof as I myself had hung
a few moments before. I knew it would be morning before he would be discovered,
and I needed all the time that I could gain.
</p>

<p>
Donning my trappings and weapons I hastened to the sheds, and soon had out both
my machine and Kantos Kan&rsquo;s. Making his fast behind mine I started my
engine, and skimming over the edge of the roof I dove down into the streets of
the city far below the plane usually occupied by the air patrol. In less than a
minute I was settling safely upon the roof of our apartment beside the
astonished Kantos Kan.
</p>

<p>
I lost no time in explanation, but plunged immediately into a discussion of our
plans for the immediate future. It was decided that I was to try to make Helium
while Kantos Kan was to enter the palace and dispatch Sab Than. If successful
he was then to follow me. He set my compass for me, a clever little device
which will remain steadfastly fixed upon any given point on the surface of
Barsoom, and bidding each other farewell we rose together and sped in the
direction of the palace which lay in the route which I must take to reach
Helium.
</p>

<p>
As we neared the high tower a patrol shot down from above, throwing its
piercing searchlight full upon my craft, and a voice roared out a command to
halt, following with a shot as I paid no attention to his hail. Kantos Kan
dropped quickly into the darkness, while I rose steadily and at terrific speed
raced through the Martian sky followed by a dozen of the air-scout craft which
had joined the pursuit, and later by a swift cruiser carrying a hundred men and
a battery of rapid-fire guns. By twisting and turning my little machine, now
rising and now falling, I managed to elude their search-lights most of the
time, but I was also losing ground by these tactics, and so I decided to hazard
everything on a straight-away course and leave the result to fate and the speed
of my machine.
</p>

<p>
Kantos Kan had shown me a trick of gearing, which is known only to the navy of
Helium, that greatly increased the speed of our machines, so that I felt sure I
could distance my pursuers if I could dodge their projectiles for a few
moments.
</p>

<p>
As I sped through the air the screeching of the bullets around me convinced me
that only by a miracle could I escape, but the die was cast, and throwing on
full speed I raced a straight course toward Helium. Gradually I left my
pursuers further and further behind, and I was just congratulating myself on my
lucky escape, when a well-directed shot from the cruiser exploded at the prow
of my little craft. The concussion nearly capsized her, and with a sickening
plunge she hurtled downward through the dark night.
</p>

<p>
How far I fell before I regained control of the plane I do not know, but I must
have been very close to the ground when I started to rise again, as I plainly
heard the squealing of animals below me. Rising again I scanned the heavens for
my pursuers, and finally making out their lights far behind me, saw that they
were landing, evidently in search of me.
</p>

<p>
Not until their lights were no longer discernible did I venture to flash my
little lamp upon my compass, and then I found to my consternation that a
fragment of the projectile had utterly destroyed my only guide, as well as my
speedometer. It was true I could follow the stars in the general direction of
Helium, but without knowing the exact location of the city or the speed at
which I was traveling my chances for finding it were slim.
</p>

<p>
Helium lies a thousand miles southwest of Zodanga, and with my compass intact I
should have made the trip, barring accidents, in between four and five hours.
As it turned out, however, morning found me speeding over a vast expanse of
dead sea bottom after nearly six hours of continuous flight at high speed.
Presently a great city showed below me, but it was not Helium, as that alone of
all Barsoomian metropolises consists in two immense circular walled cities
about seventy-five miles apart and would have been easily distinguishable from
the altitude at which I was flying.
</p>

<p>
Believing that I had come too far to the north and west, I turned back in a
southeasterly direction, passing during the forenoon several other large
cities, but none resembling the description which Kantos Kan had given me of
Helium. In addition to the twin-city formation of Helium, another
distinguishing feature is the two immense towers, one of vivid scarlet rising
nearly a mile into the air from the center of one of the cities, while the
other, of bright yellow and of the same height, marks her sister.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap24"></a>CHAPTER XXIV<br/>
TARS TARKAS FINDS A FRIEND</h2>

<p>
About noon I passed low over a great dead city of ancient Mars, and as I
skimmed out across the plain beyond I came full upon several thousand green
warriors engaged in a terrific battle. Scarcely had I seen them than a volley
of shots was directed at me, and with the almost unfailing accuracy of their
aim my little craft was instantly a ruined wreck, sinking erratically to the
ground.
</p>

<p>
I fell almost directly in the center of the fierce combat, among warriors who
had not seen my approach so busily were they engaged in life and death
struggles. The men were fighting on foot with long-swords, while an occasional
shot from a sharpshooter on the outskirts of the conflict would bring down a
warrior who might for an instant separate himself from the entangled mass.
</p>

<p>
As my machine sank among them I realized that it was fight or die, with good
chances of dying in any event, and so I struck the ground with drawn long-sword
ready to defend myself as I could.
</p>

<p>
I fell beside a huge monster who was engaged with three antagonists, and as I
glanced at his fierce face, filled with the light of battle, I recognized Tars
Tarkas the Thark. He did not see me, as I was a trifle behind him, and just
then the three warriors opposing him, and whom I recognized as Warhoons,
charged simultaneously. The mighty fellow made quick work of one of them, but
in stepping back for another thrust he fell over a dead body behind him and was
down and at the mercy of his foes in an instant. Quick as lightning they were
upon him, and Tars Tarkas would have been gathered to his fathers in short
order had I not sprung before his prostrate form and engaged his adversaries. I
had accounted for one of them when the mighty Thark regained his feet and
quickly settled the other.
</p>

<p>
He gave me one look, and a slight smile touched his grim lip as, touching my
shoulder, he said,
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I would scarcely recognize you, John Carter, but there is no other
mortal upon Barsoom who would have done what you have for me. I think I have
learned that there is such a thing as friendship, my friend.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
He said no more, nor was there opportunity, for the Warhoons were closing in
about us, and together we fought, shoulder to shoulder, during all that long,
hot afternoon, until the tide of battle turned and the remnant of the fierce
Warhoon horde fell back upon their thoats, and fled into the gathering
darkness.
</p>

<p>
Ten thousand men had been engaged in that titanic struggle, and upon the field
of battle lay three thousand dead. Neither side asked or gave quarter, nor did
they attempt to take prisoners.
</p>

<p>
On our return to the city after the battle we had gone directly to Tars
Tarkas&rsquo; quarters, where I was left alone while the chieftain attended the
customary council which immediately follows an engagement.
</p>

<p>
As I sat awaiting the return of the green warrior I heard something move in an
adjoining apartment, and as I glanced up there rushed suddenly upon me a huge
and hideous creature which bore me backward upon the pile of silks and furs
upon which I had been reclining. It was Woola&mdash;faithful, loving Woola. He
had found his way back to Thark and, as Tars Tarkas later told me, had gone
immediately to my former quarters where he had taken up his pathetic and
seemingly hopeless watch for my return.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Tal Hajus knows that you are here, John Carter,&rdquo; said Tars Tarkas,
on his return from the jeddak&rsquo;s quarters; &ldquo;Sarkoja saw and
recognized you as we were returning. Tal Hajus has ordered me to bring you
before him tonight. I have ten thoats, John Carter; you may take your choice
from among them, and I will accompany you to the nearest waterway that leads to
Helium. Tars Tarkas may be a cruel green warrior, but he can be a friend as
well. Come, we must start.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And when you return, Tars Tarkas?&rdquo; I asked.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The wild calots, possibly, or worse,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;Unless I
should chance to have the opportunity I have so long waited of battling with
Tal Hajus.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;We will stay, Tars Tarkas, and see Tal Hajus tonight. You shall not
sacrifice yourself, and it may be that tonight you can have the chance you
wait.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
He objected strenuously, saying that Tal Hajus often flew into wild fits of
passion at the mere thought of the blow I had dealt him, and that if ever he
laid his hands upon me I would be subjected to the most horrible tortures.
</p>

<p>
While we were eating I repeated to Tars Tarkas the story which Sola had told me
that night upon the sea bottom during the march to Thark.
</p>

<p>
He said but little, but the great muscles of his face worked in passion and in
agony at recollection of the horrors which had been heaped upon the only thing
he had ever loved in all his cold, cruel, terrible existence.
</p>

<p>
He no longer demurred when I suggested that we go before Tal Hajus, only saying
that he would like to speak to Sarkoja first. At his request I accompanied him
to her quarters, and the look of venomous hatred she cast upon me was almost
adequate recompense for any future misfortunes this accidental return to Thark
might bring me.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Sarkoja,&rdquo; said Tars Tarkas, &ldquo;forty years ago you were
instrumental in bringing about the torture and death of a woman named Gozava. I
have just discovered that the warrior who loved that woman has learned of your
part in the transaction. He may not kill you, Sarkoja, it is not our custom,
but there is nothing to prevent him tying one end of a strap about your neck
and the other end to a wild thoat, merely to test your fitness to survive and
help perpetuate our race. Having heard that he would do this on the morrow, I
thought it only right to warn you, for I am a just man. The river Iss is but a
short pilgrimage, Sarkoja. Come, John Carter.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
The next morning Sarkoja was gone, nor was she ever seen after.
</p>

<p>
In silence we hastened to the jeddak&rsquo;s palace, where we were immediately
admitted to his presence; in fact, he could scarcely wait to see me and was
standing erect upon his platform glowering at the entrance as I came in.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Strap him to that pillar,&rdquo; he shrieked. &ldquo;We shall see who it
is dares strike the mighty Tal Hajus. Heat the irons; with my own hands I shall
burn the eyes from his head that he may not pollute my person with his vile
gaze.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Chieftains of Thark,&rdquo; I cried, turning to the assembled council
and ignoring Tal Hajus, &ldquo;I have been a chief among you, and today I have
fought for Thark shoulder to shoulder with her greatest warrior. You owe me, at
least, a hearing. I have won that much today. You claim to be a just
people&mdash;&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Silence,&rdquo; roared Tal Hajus. &ldquo;Gag the creature and bind him
as I command.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Justice, Tal Hajus,&rdquo; exclaimed Lorquas Ptomel. &ldquo;Who are you
to set aside the customs of ages among the Tharks.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Yes, justice!&rdquo; echoed a dozen voices, and so, while Tal Hajus
fumed and frothed, I continued.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You are a brave people and you love bravery, but where was your mighty
jeddak during the fighting today? I did not see him in the thick of battle; he
was not there. He rends defenseless women and little children in his lair, but
how recently has one of you seen him fight with men? Why, even I, a midget
beside him, felled him with a single blow of my fist. Is it of such that the
Tharks fashion their jeddaks? There stands beside me now a great Thark, a
mighty warrior and a noble man. Chieftains, how sounds, Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of
Thark?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
A roar of deep-toned applause greeted this suggestion.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It but remains for this council to command, and Tal Hajus must prove his
fitness to rule. Were he a brave man he would invite Tars Tarkas to combat, for
he does not love him, but Tal Hajus is afraid; Tal Hajus, your jeddak, is a
coward. With my bare hands I could kill him, and he knows it.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
After I ceased there was tense silence, as all eyes were riveted upon Tal
Hajus. He did not speak or move, but the blotchy green of his countenance
turned livid, and the froth froze upon his lips.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Tal Hajus,&rdquo; said Lorquas Ptomel in a cold, hard voice,
&ldquo;never in my long life have I seen a jeddak of the Tharks so humiliated.
There could be but one answer to this arraignment. We wait it.&rdquo; And still
Tal Hajus stood as though petrified.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Chieftains,&rdquo; continued Lorquas Ptomel, &ldquo;shall the jeddak,
Tal Hajus, prove his fitness to rule over Tars Tarkas?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
There were twenty chieftains about the rostrum, and twenty swords flashed high
in assent.
</p>

<p>
There was no alternative. That decree was final, and so Tal Hajus drew his
long-sword and advanced to meet Tars Tarkas.
</p>

<p>
The combat was soon over, and, with his foot upon the neck of the dead monster,
Tars Tarkas became jeddak among the Tharks.
</p>

<p>
His first act was to make me a full-fledged chieftain with the rank I had won
by my combats the first few weeks of my captivity among them.
</p>

<p>
Seeing the favorable disposition of the warriors toward Tars Tarkas, as well as
toward me, I grasped the opportunity to enlist them in my cause against
Zodanga. I told Tars Tarkas the story of my adventures, and in a few words had
explained to him the thought I had in mind.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;John Carter has made a proposal,&rdquo; he said, addressing the council,
&ldquo;which meets with my sanction. I shall put it to you briefly. Dejah
Thoris, the Princess of Helium, who was our prisoner, is now held by the jeddak
of Zodanga, whose son she must wed to save her country from devastation at the
hands of the Zodangan forces.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;John Carter suggests that we rescue her and return her to Helium. The
loot of Zodanga would be magnificent, and I have often thought that had we an
alliance with the people of Helium we could obtain sufficient assurance of
sustenance to permit us to increase the size and frequency of our hatchings,
and thus become unquestionably supreme among the green men of all Barsoom. What
say you?&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
It was a chance to fight, an opportunity to loot, and they rose to the bait as
a speckled trout to a fly.
</p>

<p>
For Tharks they were wildly enthusiastic, and before another half hour had
passed twenty mounted messengers were speeding across dead sea bottoms to call
the hordes together for the expedition.
</p>

<p>
In three days we were on the march toward Zodanga, one hundred thousand strong,
as Tars Tarkas had been able to enlist the services of three smaller hordes on
the promise of the great loot of Zodanga.
</p>

<p>
At the head of the column I rode beside the great Thark while at the heels of
my mount trotted my beloved Woola.
</p>

<p>
We traveled entirely by night, timing our marches so that we camped during the
day at deserted cities where, even to the beasts, we were all kept indoors
during the daylight hours. On the march Tars Tarkas, through his remarkable
ability and statesmanship, enlisted fifty thousand more warriors from various
hordes, so that, ten days after we set out we halted at midnight outside the
great walled city of Zodanga, one hundred and fifty thousand strong.
</p>

<p>
The fighting strength and efficiency of this horde of ferocious green monsters
was equivalent to ten times their number of red men. Never in the history of
Barsoom, Tars Tarkas told me, had such a force of green warriors marched to
battle together. It was a monstrous task to keep even a semblance of harmony
among them, and it was a marvel to me that he got them to the city without a
mighty battle among themselves.
</p>

<p>
But as we neared Zodanga their personal quarrels were submerged by their
greater hatred for the red men, and especially for the Zodangans, who had for
years waged a ruthless campaign of extermination against the green men,
directing special attention toward despoiling their incubators.
</p>

<p>
Now that we were before Zodanga the task of obtaining entry to the city
devolved upon me, and directing Tars Tarkas to hold his forces in two divisions
out of earshot of the city, with each division opposite a large gateway, I took
twenty dismounted warriors and approached one of the small gates that pierced
the walls at short intervals. These gates have no regular guard, but are
covered by sentries, who patrol the avenue that encircles the city just within
the walls as our metropolitan police patrol their beats.
</p>

<p>
The walls of Zodanga are seventy-five feet in height and fifty feet thick. They
are built of enormous blocks of carborundum, and the task of entering the city
seemed, to my escort of green warriors, an impossibility. The fellows who had
been detailed to accompany me were of one of the smaller hordes, and therefore
did not know me.
</p>

<p>
Placing three of them with their faces to the wall and arms locked, I commanded
two more to mount to their shoulders, and a sixth I ordered to climb upon the
shoulders of the upper two. The head of the topmost warrior towered over forty
feet from the ground.
</p>

<p>
In this way, with ten warriors, I built a series of three steps from the ground
to the shoulders of the topmost man. Then starting from a short distance behind
them I ran swiftly up from one tier to the next, and with a final bound from
the broad shoulders of the highest I clutched the top of the great wall and
quietly drew myself to its broad expanse. After me I dragged six lengths of
leather from an equal number of my warriors. These lengths we had previously
fastened together, and passing one end to the topmost warrior I lowered the
other end cautiously over the opposite side of the wall toward the avenue
below. No one was in sight, so, lowering myself to the end of my leather strap,
I dropped the remaining thirty feet to the pavement below.
</p>

<p>
I had learned from Kantos Kan the secret of opening these gates, and in another
moment my twenty great fighting men stood within the doomed city of Zodanga.
</p>

<p>
I found to my delight that I had entered at the lower boundary of the enormous
palace grounds. The building itself showed in the distance a blaze of glorious
light, and on the instant I determined to lead a detachment of warriors
directly within the palace itself, while the balance of the great horde was
attacking the barracks of the soldiery.
</p>

<p>
Dispatching one of my men to Tars Tarkas for a detail of fifty Tharks, with
word of my intentions, I ordered ten warriors to capture and open one of the
great gates while with the nine remaining I took the other. We were to do our
work quietly, no shots were to be fired and no general advance made until I had
reached the palace with my fifty Tharks. Our plans worked to perfection. The
two sentries we met were dispatched to their fathers upon the banks of the lost
sea of Korus, and the guards at both gates followed them in silence.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap25"></a>CHAPTER XXV<br/>
THE LOOTING OF ZODANGA</h2>

<p>
As the great gate where I stood swung open my fifty Tharks, headed by Tars
Tarkas himself, rode in upon their mighty thoats. I led them to the palace
walls, which I negotiated easily without assistance. Once inside, however, the
gate gave me considerable trouble, but I finally was rewarded by seeing it
swing upon its huge hinges, and soon my fierce escort was riding across the
gardens of the jeddak of Zodanga.
</p>

<p>
As we approached the palace I could see through the great windows of the first
floor into the brilliantly illuminated audience chamber of Than Kosis. The
immense hall was crowded with nobles and their women, as though some important
function was in progress. There was not a guard in sight without the palace,
due, I presume, to the fact that the city and palace walls were considered
impregnable, and so I came close and peered within.
</p>

<p>
At one end of the chamber, upon massive golden thrones encrusted with diamonds,
sat Than Kosis and his consort, surrounded by officers and dignitaries of
state. Before them stretched a broad aisle lined on either side with soldiery,
and as I looked there entered this aisle at the far end of the hall, the head
of a procession which advanced to the foot of the throne.
</p>

<p>
First there marched four officers of the jeddak&rsquo;s Guard bearing a huge
salver on which reposed, upon a cushion of scarlet silk, a great golden chain
with a collar and padlock at each end. Directly behind these officers came four
others carrying a similar salver which supported the magnificent ornaments of a
prince and princess of the reigning house of Zodanga.
</p>

<p>
At the foot of the throne these two parties separated and halted, facing each
other at opposite sides of the aisle. Then came more dignitaries, and the
officers of the palace and of the army, and finally two figures entirely
muffled in scarlet silk, so that not a feature of either was discernible. These
two stopped at the foot of the throne, facing Than Kosis. When the balance of
the procession had entered and assumed their stations Than Kosis addressed the
couple standing before him. I could not hear his words, but presently two
officers advanced and removed the scarlet robe from one of the figures, and I
saw that Kantos Kan had failed in his mission, for it was Sab Than, Prince of
Zodanga, who stood revealed before me.
</p>

<p>
Than Kosis now took a set of the ornaments from one of the salvers and placed
one of the collars of gold about his son&rsquo;s neck, springing the padlock
fast. After a few more words addressed to Sab Than he turned to the other
figure, from which the officers now removed the enshrouding silks, disclosing
to my now comprehending view Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium.
</p>

<p>
The object of the ceremony was clear to me; in another moment Dejah Thoris
would be joined forever to the Prince of Zodanga. It was an impressive and
beautiful ceremony, I presume, but to me it seemed the most fiendish sight I
had ever witnessed, and as the ornaments were adjusted upon her beautiful
figure and her collar of gold swung open in the hands of Than Kosis I raised my
long-sword above my head, and, with the heavy hilt, I shattered the glass of
the great window and sprang into the midst of the astonished assemblage. With a
bound I was on the steps of the platform beside Than Kosis, and as he stood
riveted with surprise I brought my long-sword down upon the golden chain that
would have bound Dejah Thoris to another.
</p>

<p>
In an instant all was confusion; a thousand drawn swords menaced me from every
quarter, and Sab Than sprang upon me with a jeweled dagger he had drawn from
his nuptial ornaments. I could have killed him as easily as I might a fly, but
the age-old custom of Barsoom stayed my hand, and grasping his wrist as the
dagger flew toward my heart I held him as though in a vise and with my
long-sword pointed to the far end of the hall.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Zodanga has fallen,&rdquo; I cried. &ldquo;Look!&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
All eyes turned in the direction I had indicated, and there, forging through
the portals of the entranceway rode Tars Tarkas and his fifty warriors on their
great thoats.
</p>

<p>
A cry of alarm and amazement broke from the assemblage, but no word of fear,
and in a moment the soldiers and nobles of Zodanga were hurling themselves upon
the advancing Tharks.
</p>

<p>
Thrusting Sab Than headlong from the platform, I drew Dejah Thoris to my side.
Behind the throne was a narrow doorway and in this Than Kosis now stood facing
me, with drawn long-sword. In an instant we were engaged, and I found no mean
antagonist.
</p>

<p>
As we circled upon the broad platform I saw Sab Than rushing up the steps to
aid his father, but, as he raised his hand to strike, Dejah Thoris sprang
before him and then my sword found the spot that made Sab Than jeddak of
Zodanga. As his father rolled dead upon the floor the new jeddak tore himself
free from Dejah Thoris&rsquo; grasp, and again we faced each other. He was soon
joined by a quartet of officers, and, with my back against a golden throne, I
fought once again for Dejah Thoris. I was hard pressed to defend myself and yet
not strike down Sab Than and, with him, my last chance to win the woman I
loved. My blade was swinging with the rapidity of lightning as I sought to
parry the thrusts and cuts of my opponents. Two I had disarmed, and one was
down, when several more rushed to the aid of their new ruler, and to avenge the
death of the old.
</p>

<div class="fig" style="width:60%;">
<a name="img-front"></a>
<img src="images/img-front.jpg" width="445" height="600" alt="[Illustration: ]" />
<p class="caption">With my back against a golden throne, I fought once again for Dejah Thoris.</p>
</div>

<p>
As they advanced there were cries of &ldquo;The woman! The woman! Strike her
down; it is her plot. Kill her! Kill her!&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Calling to Dejah Thoris to get behind me I worked my way toward the little
doorway back of the throne, but the officers realized my intentions, and three
of them sprang in behind me and blocked my chances for gaining a position where
I could have defended Dejah Thoris against an army of swordsmen.
</p>

<p>
The Tharks were having their hands full in the center of the room, and I began
to realize that nothing short of a miracle could save Dejah Thoris and myself,
when I saw Tars Tarkas surging through the crowd of pygmies that swarmed about
him. With one swing of his mighty longsword he laid a dozen corpses at his
feet, and so he hewed a pathway before him until in another moment he stood
upon the platform beside me, dealing death and destruction right and left.
</p>

<p>
The bravery of the Zodangans was awe-inspiring, not one attempted to escape,
and when the fighting ceased it was because only Tharks remained alive in the
great hall, other than Dejah Thoris and myself.
</p>

<p>
Sab Than lay dead beside his father, and the corpses of the flower of Zodangan
nobility and chivalry covered the floor of the bloody shambles.
</p>

<p>
My first thought when the battle was over was for Kantos Kan, and leaving Dejah
Thoris in charge of Tars Tarkas I took a dozen warriors and hastened to the
dungeons beneath the palace. The jailers had all left to join the fighters in
the throne room, so we searched the labyrinthine prison without opposition.
</p>

<p>
I called Kantos Kan&rsquo;s name aloud in each new corridor and compartment,
and finally I was rewarded by hearing a faint response. Guided by the sound, we
soon found him helpless in a dark recess.
</p>

<p>
He was overjoyed at seeing me, and to know the meaning of the fight, faint
echoes of which had reached his prison cell. He told me that the air patrol had
captured him before he reached the high tower of the palace, so that he had not
even seen Sab Than.
</p>

<p>
We discovered that it would be futile to attempt to cut away the bars and
chains which held him prisoner, so, at his suggestion I returned to search the
bodies on the floor above for keys to open the padlocks of his cell and of his
chains.
</p>

<p>
Fortunately among the first I examined I found his jailer, and soon we had
Kantos Kan with us in the throne room.
</p>

<p>
The sounds of heavy firing, mingled with shouts and cries, came to us from the
city&rsquo;s streets, and Tars Tarkas hastened away to direct the fighting
without. Kantos Kan accompanied him to act as guide, the green warriors
commencing a thorough search of the palace for other Zodangans and for loot,
and Dejah Thoris and I were left alone.
</p>

<p>
She had sunk into one of the golden thrones, and as I turned to her she greeted
me with a wan smile.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Was there ever such a man!&rdquo; she exclaimed. &ldquo;I know that
Barsoom has never before seen your like. Can it be that all Earth men are as
you? Alone, a stranger, hunted, threatened, persecuted, you have done in a few
short months what in all the past ages of Barsoom no man has ever done: joined
together the wild hordes of the sea bottoms and brought them to fight as allies
of a red Martian people.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The answer is easy, Dejah Thoris,&rdquo; I replied smiling. &ldquo;It
was not I who did it, it was love, love for Dejah Thoris, a power that would
work greater miracles than this you have seen.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
A pretty flush overspread her face and she answered,
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You may say that now, John Carter, and I may listen, for I am
free.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;And more still I have to say, ere it is again too late,&rdquo; I
returned. &ldquo;I have done many strange things in my life, many things that
wiser men would not have dared, but never in my wildest fancies have I dreamed
of winning a Dejah Thoris for myself&mdash;for never had I dreamed that in all
the universe dwelt such a woman as the Princess of Helium. That you are a
princess does not abash me, but that you are you is enough to make me doubt my
sanity as I ask you, my princess, to be mine.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;He does not need to be abashed who so well knew the answer to his plea
before the plea were made,&rdquo; she replied, rising and placing her dear
hands upon my shoulders, and so I took her in my arms and kissed her.
</p>

<p>
And thus in the midst of a city of wild conflict, filled with the alarms of
war; with death and destruction reaping their terrible harvest around her, did
Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, true daughter of Mars, the God of War,
promise herself in marriage to John Carter, Gentleman of Virginia.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap26"></a>CHAPTER XXVI<br/>
THROUGH CARNAGE TO JOY</h2>

<p>
Sometime later Tars Tarkas and Kantos Kan returned to report that Zodanga had
been completely reduced. Her forces were entirely destroyed or captured, and no
further resistance was to be expected from within. Several battleships had
escaped, but there were thousands of war and merchant vessels under guard of
Thark warriors.
</p>

<p>
The lesser hordes had commenced looting and quarreling among themselves, so it
was decided that we collect what warriors we could, man as many vessels as
possible with Zodangan prisoners and make for Helium without further loss of
time.
</p>

<p>
Five hours later we sailed from the roofs of the dock buildings with a fleet of
two hundred and fifty battleships, carrying nearly one hundred thousand green
warriors, followed by a fleet of transports with our thoats.
</p>

<p>
Behind us we left the stricken city in the fierce and brutal clutches of some
forty thousand green warriors of the lesser hordes. They were looting,
murdering, and fighting amongst themselves. In a hundred places they had
applied the torch, and columns of dense smoke were rising above the city as
though to blot out from the eye of heaven the horrid sights beneath.
</p>

<p>
In the middle of the afternoon we sighted the scarlet and yellow towers of
Helium, and a short time later a great fleet of Zodangan battleships rose from
the camps of the besiegers without the city, and advanced to meet us.
</p>

<p>
The banners of Helium had been strung from stem to stern of each of our mighty
craft, but the Zodangans did not need this sign to realize that we were
enemies, for our green Martian warriors had opened fire upon them almost as
they left the ground. With their uncanny marksmanship they raked the on-coming
fleet with volley after volley.
</p>

<p>
The twin cities of Helium, perceiving that we were friends, sent out hundreds
of vessels to aid us, and then began the first real air battle I had ever
witnessed.
</p>

<p>
The vessels carrying our green warriors were kept circling above the contending
fleets of Helium and Zodanga, since their batteries were useless in the hands
of the Tharks who, having no navy, have no skill in naval gunnery. Their
small-arm fire, however, was most effective, and the final outcome of the
engagement was strongly influenced, if not wholly determined, by their
presence.
</p>

<p>
At first the two forces circled at the same altitude, pouring broadside after
broadside into each other. Presently a great hole was torn in the hull of one
of the immense battle craft from the Zodangan camp; with a lurch she turned
completely over, the little figures of her crew plunging, turning and twisting
toward the ground a thousand feet below; then with sickening velocity she tore
after them, almost completely burying herself in the soft loam of the ancient
sea bottom.
</p>

<p>
A wild cry of exultation arose from the Heliumite squadron, and with redoubled
ferocity they fell upon the Zodangan fleet. By a pretty maneuver two of the
vessels of Helium gained a position above their adversaries, from which they
poured upon them from their keel bomb batteries a perfect torrent of exploding
bombs.
</p>

<p>
Then, one by one, the battleships of Helium succeeded in rising above the
Zodangans, and in a short time a number of the beleaguering battleships were
drifting hopeless wrecks toward the high scarlet tower of greater Helium.
Several others attempted to escape, but they were soon surrounded by thousands
of tiny individual fliers, and above each hung a monster battleship of Helium
ready to drop boarding parties upon their decks.
</p>

<p>
Within but little more than an hour from the moment the victorious Zodangan
squadron had risen to meet us from the camp of the besiegers the battle was
over, and the remaining vessels of the conquered Zodangans were headed toward
the cities of Helium under prize crews.
</p>

<p>
There was an extremely pathetic side to the surrender of these mighty fliers,
the result of an age-old custom which demanded that surrender should be
signalized by the voluntary plunging to earth of the commander of the
vanquished vessel. One after another the brave fellows, holding their colors
high above their heads, leaped from the towering bows of their mighty craft to
an awful death.
</p>

<p>
Not until the commander of the entire fleet took the fearful plunge, thus
indicating the surrender of the remaining vessels, did the fighting cease, and
the useless sacrifice of brave men come to an end.
</p>

<p>
We now signaled the flagship of Helium&rsquo;s navy to approach, and when she
was within hailing distance I called out that we had the Princess Dejah Thoris
on board, and that we wished to transfer her to the flagship that she might be
taken immediately to the city.
</p>

<p>
As the full import of my announcement bore in upon them a great cry arose from
the decks of the flagship, and a moment later the colors of the Princess of
Helium broke from a hundred points upon her upper works. When the other vessels
of the squadron caught the meaning of the signals flashed them they took up the
wild acclaim and unfurled her colors in the gleaming sunlight.
</p>

<p>
The flagship bore down upon us, and as she swung gracefully to and touched our
side a dozen officers sprang upon our decks. As their astonished gaze fell upon
the hundreds of green warriors, who now came forth from the fighting shelters,
they stopped aghast, but at sight of Kantos Kan, who advanced to meet them,
they came forward, crowding about him.
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris and I then advanced, and they had no eyes for other than her. She
received them gracefully, calling each by name, for they were men high in the
esteem and service of her grandfather, and she knew them well.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Lay your hands upon the shoulder of John Carter,&rdquo; she said to
them, turning toward me, &ldquo;the man to whom Helium owes her princess as
well as her victory today.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
They were very courteous to me and said many kind and complimentary things, but
what seemed to impress them most was that I had won the aid of the fierce
Tharks in my campaign for the liberation of Dejah Thoris, and the relief of
Helium.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;You owe your thanks more to another man than to me,&rdquo; I said,
&ldquo;and here he is; meet one of Barsoom&rsquo;s greatest soldiers and
statesmen, Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
With the same polished courtesy that had marked their manner toward me they
extended their greetings to the great Thark, nor, to my surprise, was he much
behind them in ease of bearing or in courtly speech. Though not a garrulous
race, the Tharks are extremely formal, and their ways lend themselves amazingly
to dignified and courtly manners.
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris went aboard the flagship, and was much put out that I would not
follow, but, as I explained to her, the battle was but partly won; we still had
the land forces of the besieging Zodangans to account for, and I would not
leave Tars Tarkas until that had been accomplished.
</p>

<p>
The commander of the naval forces of Helium promised to arrange to have the
armies of Helium attack from the city in conjunction with our land attack, and
so the vessels separated and Dejah Thoris was borne in triumph back to the
court of her grandfather, Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium.
</p>

<p>
In the distance lay our fleet of transports, with the thoats of the green
warriors, where they had remained during the battle. Without landing stages it
was to be a difficult matter to unload these beasts upon the open plain, but
there was nothing else for it, and so we put out for a point about ten miles
from the city and began the task.
</p>

<p>
It was necessary to lower the animals to the ground in slings and this work
occupied the remainder of the day and half the night. Twice we were attacked by
parties of Zodangan cavalry, but with little loss, however, and after darkness
shut down they withdrew.
</p>

<p>
As soon as the last thoat was unloaded Tars Tarkas gave the command to advance,
and in three parties we crept upon the Zodangan camp from the north, the south
and the east.
</p>

<p>
About a mile from the main camp we encountered their outposts and, as had been
prearranged, accepted this as the signal to charge. With wild, ferocious cries
and amidst the nasty squealing of battle-enraged thoats we bore down upon the
Zodangans.
</p>

<p>
We did not catch them napping, but found a well-entrenched battle line
confronting us. Time after time we were repulsed until, toward noon, I began to
fear for the result of the battle.
</p>

<p>
The Zodangans numbered nearly a million fighting men, gathered from pole to
pole, wherever stretched their ribbon-like waterways, while pitted against them
were less than a hundred thousand green warriors. The forces from Helium had
not arrived, nor could we receive any word from them.
</p>

<p>
Just at noon we heard heavy firing all along the line between the Zodangans and
the cities, and we knew then that our much-needed reinforcements had come.
</p>

<p>
Again Tars Tarkas ordered the charge, and once more the mighty thoats bore
their terrible riders against the ramparts of the enemy. At the same moment the
battle line of Helium surged over the opposite breastworks of the Zodangans and
in another moment they were being crushed as between two millstones. Nobly they
fought, but in vain.
</p>

<p>
The plain before the city became a veritable shambles ere the last Zodangan
surrendered, but finally the carnage ceased, the prisoners were marched back to
Helium, and we entered the greater city&rsquo;s gates, a huge triumphal
procession of conquering heroes.
</p>

<p>
The broad avenues were lined with women and children, among which were the few
men whose duties necessitated that they remain within the city during the
battle. We were greeted with an endless round of applause and showered with
ornaments of gold, platinum, silver, and precious jewels. The city had gone mad
with joy.
</p>

<p>
My fierce Tharks caused the wildest excitement and enthusiasm. Never before had
an armed body of green warriors entered the gates of Helium, and that they came
now as friends and allies filled the red men with rejoicing.
</p>

<p>
That my poor services to Dejah Thoris had become known to the Heliumites was
evidenced by the loud crying of my name, and by the loads of ornaments that
were fastened upon me and my huge thoat as we passed up the avenues to the
palace, for even in the face of the ferocious appearance of Woola the populace
pressed close about me.
</p>

<p>
As we approached this magnificent pile we were met by a party of officers who
greeted us warmly and requested that Tars Tarkas and his jeds with the jeddaks
and jeds of his wild allies, together with myself, dismount and accompany them
to receive from Tardos Mors an expression of his gratitude for our services.
</p>

<p>
At the top of the great steps leading up to the main portals of the palace
stood the royal party, and as we reached the lower steps one of their number
descended to meet us.
</p>

<p>
He was an almost perfect specimen of manhood; tall, straight as an arrow,
superbly muscled and with the carriage and bearing of a ruler of men. I did not
need to be told that he was Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium.
</p>

<p>
The first member of our party he met was Tars Tarkas and his first words sealed
forever the new friendship between the races.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;That Tardos Mors,&rdquo; he said, earnestly, &ldquo;may meet the
greatest living warrior of Barsoom is a priceless honor, but that he may lay
his hand on the shoulder of a friend and ally is a far greater boon.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Jeddak of Helium,&rdquo; returned Tars Tarkas, &ldquo;it has remained
for a man of another world to teach the green warriors of Barsoom the meaning
of friendship; to him we owe the fact that the hordes of Thark can understand
you; that they can appreciate and reciprocate the sentiments so graciously
expressed.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
Tardos Mors then greeted each of the green jeddaks and jeds, and to each spoke
words of friendship and appreciation.
</p>

<p>
As he approached me he laid both hands upon my shoulders.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Welcome, my son,&rdquo; he said; &ldquo;that you are granted, gladly,
and without one word of opposition, the most precious jewel in all Helium, yes,
on all Barsoom, is sufficient earnest of my esteem.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
We were then presented to Mors Kajak, Jed of lesser Helium, and father of Dejah
Thoris. He had followed close behind Tardos Mors and seemed even more affected
by the meeting than had his father.
</p>

<p>
He tried a dozen times to express his gratitude to me, but his voice choked
with emotion and he could not speak, and yet he had, as I was to later learn, a
reputation for ferocity and fearlessness as a fighter that was remarkable even
upon warlike Barsoom. In common with all Helium he worshiped his daughter, nor
could he think of what she had escaped without deep emotion.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap27"></a>CHAPTER XXVII<br/>
FROM JOY TO DEATH</h2>

<p>
For ten days the hordes of Thark and their wild allies were feasted and
entertained, and, then, loaded with costly presents and escorted by ten
thousand soldiers of Helium commanded by Mors Kajak, they started on the return
journey to their own lands. The jed of lesser Helium with a small party of
nobles accompanied them all the way to Thark to cement more closely the new
bonds of peace and friendship.
</p>

<p>
Sola also accompanied Tars Tarkas, her father, who before all his chieftains
had acknowledged her as his daughter.
</p>

<p>
Three weeks later, Mors Kajak and his officers, accompanied by Tars Tarkas and
Sola, returned upon a battleship that had been dispatched to Thark to fetch
them in time for the ceremony which made Dejah Thoris and John Carter one.
</p>

<p>
For nine years I served in the councils and fought in the armies of Helium as a
prince of the house of Tardos Mors. The people seemed never to tire of heaping
honors upon me, and no day passed that did not bring some new proof of their
love for my princess, the incomparable Dejah Thoris.
</p>

<p>
In a golden incubator upon the roof of our palace lay a snow-white egg. For
nearly five years ten soldiers of the jeddak&rsquo;s Guard had constantly stood
over it, and not a day passed when I was in the city that Dejah Thoris and I
did not stand hand in hand before our little shrine planning for the future,
when the delicate shell should break.
</p>

<p>
Vivid in my memory is the picture of the last night as we sat there talking in
low tones of the strange romance which had woven our lives together and of this
wonder which was coming to augment our happiness and fulfill our hopes.
</p>

<p>
In the distance we saw the bright-white light of an approaching airship, but we
attached no special significance to so common a sight. Like a bolt of lightning
it raced toward Helium until its very speed bespoke the unusual.
</p>

<p>
Flashing the signals which proclaimed it a dispatch bearer for the jeddak, it
circled impatiently awaiting the tardy patrol boat which must convoy it to the
palace docks.
</p>

<p>
Ten minutes after it touched at the palace a message called me to the council
chamber, which I found filling with the members of that body.
</p>

<p>
On the raised platform of the throne was Tardos Mors, pacing back and forth
with tense-drawn face. When all were in their seats he turned toward us.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;This morning,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;word reached the several
governments of Barsoom that the keeper of the atmosphere plant had made no
wireless report for two days, nor had almost ceaseless calls upon him from a
score of capitals elicited a sign of response.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The ambassadors of the other nations asked us to take the matter in hand
and hasten the assistant keeper to the plant. All day a thousand cruisers have
been searching for him until just now one of them returns bearing his dead
body, which was found in the pits beneath his house horribly mutilated by some
assassin.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I do not need to tell you what this means to Barsoom. It would take
months to penetrate those mighty walls, in fact the work has already commenced,
and there would be little to fear were the engine of the pumping plant to run
as it should and as they all have for hundreds of years; but the worst, we
fear, has happened. The instruments show a rapidly decreasing air pressure on
all parts of Barsoom&mdash;the engine has stopped.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;My gentlemen,&rdquo; he concluded, &ldquo;we have at best three days to
live.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
There was absolute silence for several minutes, and then a young noble arose,
and with his drawn sword held high above his head addressed Tardos Mors.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;The men of Helium have prided themselves that they have ever shown
Barsoom how a nation of red men should live, now is our opportunity to show
them how they should die. Let us go about our duties as though a thousand
useful years still lay before us.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
The chamber rang with applause and as there was nothing better to do than to
allay the fears of the people by our example we went our ways with smiles upon
our faces and sorrow gnawing at our hearts.
</p>

<p>
When I returned to my palace I found that the rumor already had reached Dejah
Thoris, so I told her all that I had heard.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;We have been very happy, John Carter,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;and I
thank whatever fate overtakes us that it permits us to die together.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
The next two days brought no noticeable change in the supply of air, but on the
morning of the third day breathing became difficult at the higher altitudes of
the rooftops. The avenues and plazas of Helium were filled with people. All
business had ceased. For the most part the people looked bravely into the face
of their unalterable doom. Here and there, however, men and women gave way to
quiet grief.
</p>

<p>
Toward the middle of the day many of the weaker commenced to succumb and within
an hour the people of Barsoom were sinking by thousands into the
unconsciousness which precedes death by asphyxiation.
</p>

<p>
Dejah Thoris and I with the other members of the royal family had collected in
a sunken garden within an inner courtyard of the palace. We conversed in low
tones, when we conversed at all, as the awe of the grim shadow of death crept
over us. Even Woola seemed to feel the weight of the impending calamity, for he
pressed close to Dejah Thoris and to me, whining pitifully.
</p>

<p>
The little incubator had been brought from the roof of our palace at request of
Dejah Thoris and she sat gazing longingly upon the unknown little life that now
she would never know.
</p>

<p>
As it was becoming perceptibly difficult to breathe Tardos Mors arose, saying,
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Let us bid each other farewell. The days of the greatness of Barsoom are
over. Tomorrow&rsquo;s sun will look down upon a dead world which through all
eternity must go swinging through the heavens peopled not even by memories. It
is the end.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
He stooped and kissed the women of his family, and laid his strong hand upon
the shoulders of the men.
</p>

<p>
As I turned sadly from him my eyes fell upon Dejah Thoris. Her head was
drooping upon her breast, to all appearances she was lifeless. With a cry I
sprang to her and raised her in my arms.
</p>

<p>
Her eyes opened and looked into mine.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;Kiss me, John Carter,&rdquo; she murmured. &ldquo;I love you! I love
you! It is cruel that we must be torn apart who were just starting upon a life
of love and happiness.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
As I pressed her dear lips to mine the old feeling of unconquerable power and
authority rose in me. The fighting blood of Virginia sprang to life in my
veins.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;It shall not be, my princess,&rdquo; I cried. &ldquo;There is, there
must be some way, and John Carter, who has fought his way through a strange
world for love of you, will find it.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
And with my words there crept above the threshold of my conscious mind a series
of nine long forgotten sounds. Like a flash of lightning in the darkness their
full purport dawned upon me&mdash;the key to the three great doors of the
atmosphere plant!
</p>

<p>
Turning suddenly toward Tardos Mors as I still clasped my dying love to my
breast I cried.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;A flier, Jeddak! Quick! Order your swiftest flier to the palace top. I
can save Barsoom yet.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
He did not wait to question, but in an instant a guard was racing to the
nearest dock and though the air was thin and almost gone at the rooftop they
managed to launch the fastest one-man, air-scout machine that the skill of
Barsoom had ever produced.
</p>

<p>
Kissing Dejah Thoris a dozen times and commanding Woola, who would have
followed me, to remain and guard her, I bounded with my old agility and
strength to the high ramparts of the palace, and in another moment I was headed
toward the goal of the hopes of all Barsoom.
</p>

<p>
I had to fly low to get sufficient air to breathe, but I took a straight course
across an old sea bottom and so had to rise only a few feet above the ground.
</p>

<p>
I traveled with awful velocity for my errand was a race against time with
death. The face of Dejah Thoris hung always before me. As I turned for a last
look as I left the palace garden I had seen her stagger and sink upon the
ground beside the little incubator. That she had dropped into the last coma
which would end in death, if the air supply remained unreplenished, I well
knew, and so, throwing caution to the winds, I flung overboard everything but
the engine and compass, even to my ornaments, and lying on my belly along the
deck with one hand on the steering wheel and the other pushing the speed lever
to its last notch I split the thin air of dying Mars with the speed of a
meteor.
</p>

<p>
An hour before dark the great walls of the atmosphere plant loomed suddenly
before me, and with a sickening thud I plunged to the ground before the small
door which was withholding the spark of life from the inhabitants of an entire
planet.
</p>

<p>
Beside the door a great crew of men had been laboring to pierce the wall, but
they had scarcely scratched the flint-like surface, and now most of them lay in
the last sleep from which not even air would awaken them.
</p>

<p>
Conditions seemed much worse here than at Helium, and it was with difficulty
that I breathed at all. There were a few men still conscious, and to one of
these I spoke.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;If I can open these doors is there a man who can start the
engines?&rdquo; I asked.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;I can,&rdquo; he replied, &ldquo;if you open quickly. I can last but a
few moments more. But it is useless, they are both dead and no one else upon
Barsoom knew the secret of these awful locks. For three days men crazed with
fear have surged about this portal in vain attempts to solve its
mystery.&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
I had no time to talk, I was becoming very weak and it was with difficulty that
I controlled my mind at all.
</p>

<p>
But, with a final effort, as I sank weakly to my knees I hurled the nine
thought waves at that awful thing before me. The Martian had crawled to my side
and with staring eyes fixed on the single panel before us we waited in the
silence of death.
</p>

<p>
Slowly the mighty door receded before us. I attempted to rise and follow it but
I was too weak.
</p>

<p>
&ldquo;After it,&rdquo; I cried to my companion, &ldquo;and if you reach the
pump room turn loose all the pumps. It is the only chance Barsoom has to exist
tomorrow!&rdquo;
</p>

<p>
From where I lay I opened the second door, and then the third, and as I saw the
hope of Barsoom crawling weakly on hands and knees through the last doorway I
sank unconscious upon the ground.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div class="chapter">

<h2><a name="chap28"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII<br/>
AT THE ARIZONA CAVE</h2>

<p>
It was dark when I opened my eyes again. Strange, stiff garments were upon my
body; garments that cracked and powdered away from me as I rose to a sitting
posture.
</p>

<p>
I felt myself over from head to foot and from head to foot I was clothed,
though when I fell unconscious at the little doorway I had been naked. Before
me was a small patch of moonlit sky which showed through a ragged aperture.
</p>

<p>
As my hands passed over my body they came in contact with pockets and in one of
these a small parcel of matches wrapped in oiled paper. One of these matches I
struck, and its dim flame lighted up what appeared to be a huge cave, toward
the back of which I discovered a strange, still figure huddled over a tiny
bench. As I approached it I saw that it was the dead and mummified remains of a
little old woman with long black hair, and the thing it leaned over was a small
charcoal burner upon which rested a round copper vessel containing a small
quantity of greenish powder.
</p>

<p>
Behind her, depending from the roof upon rawhide thongs, and stretching
entirely across the cave, was a row of human skeletons. From the thong which
held them stretched another to the dead hand of the little old woman; as I
touched the cord the skeletons swung to the motion with a noise as of the
rustling of dry leaves.
</p>

<p>
It was a most grotesque and horrid tableau and I hastened out into the fresh
air; glad to escape from so gruesome a place.
</p>

<p>
The sight that met my eyes as I stepped out upon a small ledge which ran before
the entrance of the cave filled me with consternation.
</p>

<p>
A new heaven and a new landscape met my gaze. The silvered mountains in the
distance, the almost stationary moon hanging in the sky, the cacti-studded
valley below me were not of Mars. I could scarce believe my eyes, but the truth
slowly forced itself upon me&mdash;I was looking upon Arizona from the same
ledge from which ten years before I had gazed with longing upon Mars.
</p>

<p>
Burying my head in my arms I turned, broken, and sorrowful, down the trail from
the cave.
</p>

<p>
Above me shone the red eye of Mars holding her awful secret, forty-eight
million miles away.
</p>

<p>
Did the Martian reach the pump room? Did the vitalizing air reach the people of
that distant planet in time to save them? Was my Dejah Thoris alive, or did her
beautiful body lie cold in death beside the tiny golden incubator in the sunken
garden of the inner courtyard of the palace of Tardos Mors, the jeddak of
Helium?
</p>

<p>
For ten years I have waited and prayed for an answer to my questions. For ten
years I have waited and prayed to be taken back to the world of my lost love. I
would rather lie dead beside her there than live on Earth all those millions of
terrible miles from her.
</p>

<p>
The old mine, which I found untouched, has made me fabulously wealthy; but what
care I for wealth!
</p>

<p>
As I sit here tonight in my little study overlooking the Hudson, just twenty
years have elapsed since I first opened my eyes upon Mars.
</p>

<p>
I can see her shining in the sky through the little window by my desk, and
tonight she seems calling to me again as she has not called before since that
long dead night, and I think I can see, across that awful abyss of space, a
beautiful black-haired woman standing in the garden of a palace, and at her
side is a little boy who puts his arm around her as she points into the sky
toward the planet Earth, while at their feet is a huge and hideous creature
with a heart of gold.
</p>

<p>
I believe that they are waiting there for me, and something tells me that I
shall soon know.
</p>

</div><!--end chapter-->

<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 62 ***</div>
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