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diff --git a/old/69703-0.txt b/old/69703-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d098064..0000000 --- a/old/69703-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5974 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The master mind of Mars, by Edgar Rice -Burroughs - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The master mind of Mars - -Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs - -Release Date: January 4, 2023 [eBook #69703] -[Most recently updated: October 22, 2023] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Al Haines, Cindy Beyer & the online Distributed - Proofreaders Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MASTER MIND OF MARS *** - - - - - - - - [Cover Illustration] - - - - - BATTLE DAMAGE - - Dar Tarus called in alarm, “We can’t alter our course—the ship - is useless!” - - Almost at the same instant, one of my bullets found and - extinguished the enemy searchlight. Our craft was out of - control, running swiftly toward a collision with the Toonolian - flyer. - - I asked Dar Tarus if our ship was beyond repair. His reply was - that it would take hours—in which time the whole Toonolian air - patrol would be upon us. - - “Then we must have another ship!” I said. I pointed at the enemy - craft. “We shall not have to look far.” - - Dar Tarus shrugged. “Why not? It would be a glorious fight . . . - and a worthy death!” - - - - - Edgar Rice Burroughs - MARS NOVELS - - A PRINCESS OF MARS (#1) - THE GODS OF MARS (#2) - THE WARLORD OF MARS (#3) - THUVIA, MAID OF MARS (#4) - THE CHESSMEN OF MARS (#5) - THE MASTER MIND OF MARS (#6) - A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS (#7) - SWORDS OF MARS (#8) - SYNTHETIC MEN OF MARS (#9) - LLANA OF GATHOL (#10) - JOHN CARTER OF MARS (#11) - - - - - THE - MASTER MIND - OF MARS - - - Edgar Rice Burroughs - - - - - - _The Master Mind of Mars_ was first published in _Amazing - Stories Annual_ magazine, Volume I, number 1 on July 15, 1927. - - Copyright © 1927 Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. - - ISBN 0-345-33424-8 - - - - - C O N T E N T S - - CHAPTER PAGE - A Letter 7 - - I The House of the Dead 10 - - II Preferment 20 - - III Valla Dia 28 - - IV The Compact 42 - - V Danger 53 - - VI Suspicions 61 - - VII Escape 72 - - VIII Hands Up! 81 - - IX The Palace of Mu Tel 92 - - X Phundahl 106 - - XI Xaxa 116 - - XII The Great Tur 129 - - XIII Back to Thavas 140 - - XIV John Carter 150 - - - - - A LETTER - - - HELIUM, June 8th, 1925 -MY DEAR MR. BURROUGHS: - -It was in the Fall of nineteen seventeen at an officers’ training camp -that I first became acquainted with John Carter, War Lord of Barsoom, -through the pages of your novel “A Princess of Mars.” The story made a -profound impression upon me and while my better judgment assured me that -it was but a highly imaginative piece of fiction, a suggestion of the -verity of it pervaded my inner consciousness to such an extent that I -found myself dreaming of Mars and John Carter, of Dejah Thoris, of Tars -Tarkas and of Woola as if they had been entities of my own experience -rather than the figments of your imagination. - -It is true that in those days of strenuous preparation there was little -time for dreaming, yet there were brief moments before sleep claimed me -at night and these were my dreams. Such dreams! Always of Mars, and -during my waking hours at night my eyes always sought out the Red Planet -when he was above the horizon and clung there seeking a solution of the -seemingly unfathomable riddle he has presented to the Earthman for ages. - -Perhaps the thing became an obsession. I know it clung to me all during -my training camp days, and at night, on the deck of the transport, I -would lie on my back gazing up into the red eye of the god of battle—my -god—and wishing that, like John Carter, I might be drawn across the -great void to the haven of my desire. - -And then came the hideous days and nights in the trenches—the rats, the -vermin, the mud—with an occasional glorious break in the monotony when -we were ordered over the top. I loved it then and I loved the bursting -shells, the mad, wild chaos of the thundering guns, but the rats and the -vermin and the mud—God! how I hated them. It sounds like boasting, I -know, and I am sorry; but I wanted to write you just the truth about -myself. I think you will understand. And it may account for much that -happened afterwards. - -There came at last to me what had come to so many others upon those -bloody fields. It came within the week that I had received my first -promotion and my captaincy, of which I was greatly proud, though humbly -so; realizing as I did my youth, the great responsibility that it placed -upon me as well as the opportunities it offered, not only in service to -my country but, in a personal way, to the men of my command. We had -advanced a matter of two kilometers and with a small detachment I was -holding a very advanced position when I received orders to fall back to -the new line. That is the last that I remember until I regained -consciousness after dark. A shell must have burst among us. What became -of my men I never knew. It was cold and very dark when I awoke and at -first, for an instant, I was quite comfortable—before I was fully -conscious, I imagine—and then I commenced to feel pain. It grew until -it seemed unbearable. It was in my legs. I reached down to feel them, -but my hand recoiled from what it found, and when I tried to move my -legs I discovered that I was dead from the waist down. Then the moon -came out from behind a cloud and I saw that I lay within a shell hole -and that I was not alone—the dead were all about me. - -It was a long time before I found the moral courage and the physical -strength to draw myself up upon one elbow that I might view the havoc -that had been done me. One look was enough, I sank back in an agony of -mental and physical anguish—my legs had been blown away from midway -between the hips and knees. For some reason I was not bleeding -excessively, yet I know that I had lost a great deal of blood and that I -was gradually losing enough to put me out of my misery in a short time -if I were not soon found; and as I lay there on my back, tortured with -pain, I prayed that they would not come in time, for I shrank more from -the thought of going maimed through life than I shrank from the thought -of death. Then my eyes suddenly focussed upon the bright red eye of Mars -and there surged through me a sudden wave of hope. I stretched out my -arms towards Mars, I did not seem to question or to doubt for an instant -as I prayed to the god of my vocation to reach forth and succour me. I -knew that he would do it, my faith was complete, and yet so great was -the mental effort that I made to throw off the hideous bonds of my -mutilated flesh that I felt a momentary qualm of nausea and then a sharp -click as of the snapping of a steel wire, and suddenly I stood naked -upon two good legs looking down upon the bloody, distorted thing that -had been I. Just for an instant did I stand thus before I turned my eyes -aloft again to my star of destiny and with outstretched arms stand there -in the cold of that French night—waiting. - -Suddenly I felt myself drawn with the speed of thought through the -trackless wastes of interplanetary space. There was an instant of -extreme cold and utter darkness, then—— - -But the rest is in the manuscript that, with the aid of one greater than -either of us, I have found the means to transmit to you with this -letter. You and a few others of the chosen will believe in it—for the -rest it matters not as yet. The time will come—but why tell you what -you already know? - -My salutations and my congratulations—the latter on your good fortune -in having been chosen as the medium through which Earthmen shall become -better acquainted with the manners and customs of Barsoom, against the -time that they shall pass through space as easily as John Carter, and -visit the scenes that he has described to them through you, as have I. - - Your sincere friend, - ULYSSES PAXTON, - _Late Captain, ——th Inf., U.S. Army_. - - - - - CHAPTER I - THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD - - -I must have closed my eyes involuntarily during the transition for when -I opened them I was lying flat on my back gazing up into a brilliant, -sun-lit sky, while standing a few feet from me and looking down upon me -with the most mystified expression was as strange a looking individual -as my eyes ever had rested upon. He appeared to be quite an old man, for -he was wrinkled and withered beyond description. His limbs were -emaciated; his ribs showed distinctly beneath his shrunken hide; his -cranium was large and well developed, which, in conjunction with his -wasted limbs and torso, lent him the appearance of top heaviness, as -though he had a head beyond all proportion to his body, which was, I am -sure, really not the case. - -As he stared down upon me through enormous, many lensed spectacles I -found the opportunity to examine him as minutely in return. He was, -perhaps, five feet five in height, though doubtless he had been taller -in youth, since he was somewhat bent; he was naked except for some -rather plain and well-worn leather harness which supported his weapons -and pocket pouches, and one great ornament, a collar, jewel studded, -that he wore around his scraggy neck—such a collar as a dowager empress -of pork or real estate might barter her soul for, if she had one. His -skin was red, his scant locks grey. As he looked at me his puzzled -expression increased in intensity, he grasped his chin between the thumb -and fingers of his left hand and slowly raising his right hand he -scratched his head most deliberately. Then he spoke to me, but in a -language I did not understand. - -At his first words I sat up and shook my head. Then I looked about me. I -was seated upon a crimson sward within a high walled enclosure, at least -two, and possibly three, sides of which were formed by the outer walls -of a structure that in some respects resembled more closely a feudal -castle of Europe than any familiar form of architecture that comes to my -mind. The façade presented to my view was ornately carved and of most -irregular design, the roof line being so broken as to almost suggest a -ruin, and yet the whole seemed harmonious and not without beauty. Within -the enclosure grew a number of trees and shrubs, all weirdly strange and -all, or almost all, profusely flowering. About them wound walks of -coloured pebbles among which scintillated what appeared to be rare and -beautiful gems, so lovely were the strange, unearthly rays that leaped -and played in the sunshine. - -The old man spoke again, peremptorily this time, as though repeating a -command that had been ignored, but again I shook my head. Then he laid a -hand upon one of his two swords, but as he drew the weapon I leaped to -my feet, with such remarkable results that I cannot even now say which -of us was the more surprised. I must have sailed ten feet into the air -and back about twenty feet from where I had been sitting; then I was -sure that I was upon Mars (not that I had for one instant doubted it), -for the effects of the lesser gravity, the colour of the sward and the -skin-hue of the red Martians I had seen described in the manuscripts of -John Carter, those marvellous and as yet unappreciated contributions to -the scientific literature of a world. There could be no doubt of it, I -stood upon the soil of the Red Planet, I had come to the world of my -dreams—to Barsoom. - -So startled was the old man by my agility that he jumped a bit himself, -though doubtless involuntarily, but, however, with certain results. His -spectacles tumbled from his nose to the sward, and then it was that I -discovered that the pitiful old wretch was practically blind when -deprived of these artificial aids to vision, for he got to his knees and -commenced to grope frantically for the lost glasses, as though his very -life depended upon finding them in the instant. Possibly he thought that -I might take advantage of his helplessness and slay him. Though the -spectacles were enormous and lay within a couple of feet of him he could -not find them, his hands, seemingly afflicted by that strange perversity -that sometimes confounds our simplest acts, passing all about the lost -object of their search, yet never once coming in contact with it. - -As I stood watching his futile efforts and considering the advisability -of restoring to him the means that would enable him more readily to find -my heart with his sword point, I became aware that another had entered -the enclosure. Looking towards the building I saw a large red-man -running rapidly towards the little old man of the spectacles. The -newcomer was quite naked, he carried a club in one hand, and there was -upon his face such an expression as unquestionably boded ill for the -helpless husk of humanity grovelling, mole-like, for its lost -spectacles. - -My first impulse was to remain neutral in an affair that it seemed could -not possibly concern me and of which I had no slightest knowledge upon -which to base a predilection towards either of the parties involved; but -a second glance at the face of the club-bearer aroused a question as to -whether it might not concern me after all. There was that in the -expression upon the man’s face that betokened either an inherent -savageness of disposition or a maniacal cast of mind which might turn -his evidently murderous attentions upon me after he had dispatched his -elderly victim, while, in outward appearance at least, the latter was a -sane and relatively harmless individual. It is true that his move to -draw his sword against me was not indicative of a friendly disposition -towards me, but at least, if there were any choice, he seemed the lesser -of two evils. - -He was still groping for his spectacles and the naked man was almost -upon him as I reached the decision to cast my lot upon the side of the -old man. I was twenty feet away, naked and unarmed, but to cover the -distance with my Earthly muscles required but an instant, and a naked -sword lay by the old man’s side where he had discarded it the better to -search for his spectacles. So it was that I faced the attacker at the -instant that he came within striking distance of his victim, and the -blow which had been intended for another was aimed at me. I sidestepped -it and then I learned that the greater agility of my Earthly muscles had -its disadvantages as well as its advantages, for, indeed, I had to learn -to walk at the very instant that I had to learn to fight with a new -weapon against a maniac armed with a bludgeon, or at least, so I assumed -him to be and I think that it is not strange that I should have done so, -what with his frightful show of rage and the terrible expression upon -his face. - -As I stumbled about endeavouring to accustom myself to the new -conditions, I found that instead of offering any serious opposition to -my antagonist I was hard put to it to escape death at his hands, so -often did I stumble and fall sprawling upon the scarlet sward; so that -the duel from its inception became but a series of efforts, upon his -part to reach and crush me with his great club, and upon mine to dodge -and elude him. It was mortifying but it is the truth. However, this did -not last indefinitely, for soon I learned, and quickly too under the -exigencies of the situation, to command my muscles, and then I stood my -ground and when he aimed a blow at me, and I had dodged it, I touched -him with my point and brought blood along with a savage roar of pain. He -went more cautiously then, and taking advantage of the change I pressed -him so that he fell back. The effect upon me was magical, giving me new -confidence, so that I set upon him in good earnest, thrusting and -cutting until I had him bleeding in a half-dozen places, yet taking good -care to avoid his mighty swings, any one of which would have felled an -ox. - -In my attempts to elude him in the beginning of the duel we had crossed -the enclosure and were now fighting at a considerable distance from the -point of our first meeting. It now happened that I stood facing towards -that point at the moment that the old man regained his spectacles, which -he quickly adjusted to his eyes. Immediately he looked about until he -discovered us, whereupon he commenced to yell excitedly at us at the -same time running in our direction and drawing his short-sword as he -ran. The red-man was pressing me hard, but I had gained almost complete -control of myself, and fearing that I was soon to have two antagonists -instead of one I set upon him with redoubled intensity. He missed me by -the fraction of an inch, the wind in the wake of his bludgeon fanning my -scalp, but he left an opening into which I stepped, running my sword -fairly through his heart. At least I thought that I had pierced his -heart, but I had forgotten what I had once read in one of John Carter’s -manuscripts to the effect that all the Martian internal organs are not -disposed identically with those of Earthmen. However, the immediate -results were quite as satisfactory as though I had found his heart, for -the wound was sufficiently grievous to place him _hors de combat_, and -at that instant the old gentleman arrived. He found me ready, but I had -mistaken his intentions. He made no unfriendly gestures with his weapon, -but seemed to be trying to convince me that he had no intention of -harming me. He was very excited and apparently tremendously annoyed that -I could not understand him, and perplexed, too. He hopped about -screaming strange sentences at me that bore the tones of peremptory -commands, rabid invective and impotent rage. But the fact that he had -returned his sword to its scabbard had greater significance than all his -jabbering, and when he ceased to yell at me and commenced to talk in a -sort of pantomime I realized that he was making overtures of peace if -not of friendship, so I lowered my point and bowed. It was all that I -could think of to assure him that I had no immediate intention of -spitting him. - -He seemed satisfied and at once turned his attention to the fallen man. -He examined his pulse and listened to his heart, then, nodding his head, -he arose and taking a whistle from one of his pocket pouches sounded a -single loud blast. There emerged immediately from one of the surrounding -buildings a score of naked red-men who came running towards us. None was -armed. To these he issued a few curt orders, whereupon they gathered the -fallen one in their arms and bore him off. Then the old man started -towards the building, motioning me to accompany him. There seemed -nothing else for me to do but obey. Wherever I might be upon Mars, the -chances were a million to one that I would be among enemies; and so I -was as well off here as elsewhere and must depend upon my own -resourcefulness, skill and agility to make my way upon the Red Planet. - -The old man led me into a small chamber from which opened numerous -doors, through one of which they were just bearing my late antagonist. -We followed into a large, brilliantly lighted chamber wherein there -burst upon my astounded vision the most gruesome scene that I ever had -beheld. Rows upon rows of tables arranged in parallel lines filled the -room and with few exceptions each table bore a similar grisly burden, a -partially dismembered or otherwise mutilated human corpse. Above each -table was a shelf bearing containers of various sizes and shapes, while -from the bottom of the shelf depended numerous surgical instruments, -suggesting that my entrance upon Barsoom was to be through a gigantic -medical college. - -At a word from the old man, those who bore the Barsoomian I had wounded -laid him upon an empty table and left the apartment. Whereupon my host, -if so I may call him, for certainly he was not as yet my captor, -motioned me forward. While he conversed in ordinary tones, he made two -incisions in the body of my late antagonist; one, I imagine, in a large -vein and one in an artery, to which he deftly attached the ends of two -tubes, one of which was connected with an empty glass receptacle and the -other with a similar receptacle filled with a colourless, transparent -liquid resembling clear water. The connections made, the old gentleman -pressed a button controlling a small motor, whereupon the victim’s blood -was pumped into the empty jar while the contents of the other was forced -into the emptying veins and arteries. - -The tones and gestures of the old man as he addressed me during this -operation convinced me that he was explaining in detail the method and -purpose of what was transpiring, but as I understood no word of all he -said I was as much in the dark when he had completed his discourse as I -was before he started it, though what I had seen made it appear -reasonable to believe that I was witnessing an ordinary Barsoomian -embalming. Having removed the tubes the old man closed the openings he -had made by covering them with bits of what appeared to be heavy -adhesive tape and then motioned me to follow him. We went from room to -room, in each of which were the same gruesome exhibits. At many of the -bodies the old man paused to make a brief examination or to refer to -what appeared to be a record of the case, that hung upon a hook at the -head of each of the tables. - -From the last of the chambers we visited upon the first floor my host -led me up an inclined runway to the second floor where there were rooms -similar to those below, but here the tables bore whole rather than -mutilated bodies, all of which were patched in various places with -adhesive tape. As we were passing among the bodies in one of these rooms -a Barsoomian girl, whom I took to be a servant or slave, entered and -addressed the old man, whereupon he signed me to follow him and together -we descended another runway to the first floor of another building. - -Here, in a large, gorgeously decorated and sumptuously furnished -apartment an elderly red-woman awaited us. She appeared to be quite old -and her face was terribly disfigured as by some injury. Her trappings -were magnificent and she was attended by a score of women and armed -warriors, suggesting that she was a person of some consequence, but the -little old man treated her quite brusquely, as I could see, quite to the -horror of her attendants. - -Their conversation was lengthy and at the conclusion of it, at the -direction of the woman, one of her male escort advanced and opening a -pocket pouch at his side withdrew a handful of what appeared to me to be -Martian coins. A quantity of these he counted out and handed to the -little old man, who then beckoned the woman to follow him, a gesture -which included me. Several of her women and guard started to accompany -us, but these the old man waved back peremptorily; whereupon there -ensued a heated discussion between the woman and one of her warriors on -one side and the old man on the other, which terminated in his -proffering the return of the woman’s money with a disgusted air. This -seemed to settle the argument, for she refused the coins, spoke briefly -to her people and accompanied the old man and myself alone. - -He led the way to the second floor and to a chamber which I had not -previously visited. It closely resembled the others except that all the -bodies therein were of young women, many of them of great beauty. -Following closely at the heels of the old man the woman inspected the -gruesome exhibit with painstaking care. Thrice she passed slowly among -the tables examining their ghastly burdens. Each time she paused longest -before a certain one which bore the figure of the most beautiful -creature I had ever looked upon; then she returned the fourth time to it -and stood looking long and earnestly into the dead face. For awhile she -stood there talking with the old man, apparently asking innumerable -questions, to which he returned quick, brusque replies, then she -indicated the body with a gesture and nodded assent to the withered -keeper of this ghastly exhibit. - -Immediately the old fellow sounded a blast upon his whistle, summoning a -number of servants to whom he issued brief instructions, after which he -led us to another chamber, a smaller one in which were several empty -tables similar to those upon which the corpses lay in adjoining rooms. -Two female slaves or attendants were in this room and at a word from -their master they removed the trappings from the old woman, unloosed her -hair and helped her to one of the tables. Here she was thoroughly -sprayed with what I presume was an antiseptic solution of some nature, -carefully dried and removed to another table, at a distance of about -twenty inches from which stood a second parallel table. - -Now the door of the chamber swung open and two attendants appeared -bearing the body of the beautiful girl we had seen in the adjoining -room. This they deposited upon the table the old woman had just quitted -and as she had been sprayed so was the corpse, after which it was -transferred to the table beside that on which she lay. The little old -man now made two incisions in the body of the old woman, just as he had -in the body of the red-man who had fallen to my sword; her blood was -drawn from her veins and the clear liquid pumped into them, life left -her and she lay upon the polished ersite slab that formed the table top, -as much a corpse as the poor, beautiful, dead creature at her side. - -The little old man, who had removed the harness down to his waist and -been thoroughly sprayed, now selected a sharp knife from among the -instruments above the table and removed the old woman’s scalp, following -the hair line entirely around her head. In a similar manner he then -removed the scalp from the corpse of the young woman, after which, by -means of a tiny circular saw attached to the end of a flexible, -revolving shaft he sawed through the skull of each, following the line -exposed by the removal of the scalps. This and the balance of the -marvellous operation was so skilfully performed as to baffle -description. Suffice it to say that at the end of four hours he had -transferred the brain of each woman to the brain pan of the other, -deftly connected the severed nerves and ganglia, replaced the skulls and -scalps and bound both heads securely with his peculiar adhesive tape, -which was not only antiseptic and healing but anaesthetic, locally, as -well. - -He now reheated the blood that he had withdrawn from the body of the old -woman, adding a few drops of some clear chemical solution, withdrew the -liquid from the veins of the beautiful corpse, replacing it with the -blood of the old woman and simultaneously administering a hypodermic -injection. - -During the entire operation he had not spoken a word. Now he issued a -few instructions in his curt manner to his assistants, motioned me to -follow him, and left the room. He led me to a distant part of the -building or series of buildings that composed the whole, ushered me into -a luxurious apartment, opened the door to a Barsoomian bath and left me -in the hands of trained servants. Refreshed and rested I left the bath -after an hour of relaxation to find harness and trappings awaiting me in -the adjoining chamber. Though plain, they were of good material, but -there were no weapons with them. - -Naturally I had been thinking much upon the strange things I had -witnessed since my advent upon Mars, but what puzzled me most lay in the -seemingly inexplicable act of the old woman in paying my host what was -evidently a considerable sum to murder her and transfer to the inside of -her skull the brain of a corpse. Was it the outcome of some horrible -religious fanaticism, or was there an explanation that my Earthly mind -could not grasp? - -I had reached no decision in the matter when I was summoned to follow a -slave to another and nearby apartment where I found my host awaiting me -before a table loaded with delicious foods, to which, it is needless to -say, I did ample justice after my long fast and longer weeks of rough -army fare. - -During the meal my host attempted to converse with me, but, naturally, -the effort was fruitless of results. He waxed quite excited at times and -upon three distinct occasions laid his hand upon one of his swords when -I failed to comprehend what he was saying to me, an action which -resulted in a growing conviction upon my part that he was partially -demented; but he evinced sufficient self-control in each instance to -avert a catastrophe for one of us. - -The meal over he sat for a long time in deep meditation, then a sudden -resolution seemed to possess him. He turned suddenly upon me with a -faint suggestion of a smile and dove headlong into what was to prove an -intensive course of instruction in the Barsoomian language. It was long -after dark before he permitted me to retire for the night, conducting me -himself to a large apartment, the same in which I had found my new -harness, where he pointed out a pile of rich sleeping silks and furs, -bid me a Barsoomian good night and left me, locking the door after him -upon the outside, and leaving me to guess whether I were more guest or -prisoner. - - - - - CHAPTER II - PREFERMENT - - -Three weeks passed rapidly. I had mastered enough of the Barsoomian -tongue to enable me to converse with my host in a reasonably -satisfactory manner, and I was also progressing slowly in the mastery of -the written language of his nation, which is different, of course, from -the written language of all other Barsoomian nations, though the spoken -language of all is identical. In these three weeks I had learned much of -the strange place in which I was half guest and half prisoner and of my -remarkable host-jailer, Ras Thavas, the old surgeon of Toonol, whom I -had accompanied almost constantly day after day until gradually there -had unfolded before my astounded faculties an understanding of the -purposes of the institution over which he ruled and in which he laboured -practically alone; for the slaves and attendants that served him were -but hewers of wood and carriers of water. It was his brain alone and his -skill that directed the sometimes beneficent, the sometimes malevolent, -but always marvellous activities of his life’s work. - -Ras Thavas himself was as remarkable as the things he accomplished. He -was never intentionally cruel; he was not, I am sure, intentionally -wicked. He was guilty of the most diabolical cruelties and the basest of -crimes; yet in the next moment he might perform a deed that if -duplicated upon Earth would have raised him to the highest pinnacle of -man’s esteem. Though I know that I am safe in saying that he was never -prompted to a cruel or criminal act by base motives, neither was he ever -urged to a humanitarian one by high motives. He had a purely scientific -mind entirely devoid of the cloying influences of sentiment, of which he -possessed none. His was a practical mind, as evidenced by the enormous -fees he demanded for his professional services; yet I know that he would -not operate for money alone and I have seen him devote days to the study -of a scientific problem the solution of which could add nothing to his -wealth, while the quarters that he furnished his waiting clients were -overflowing with wealthy patrons waiting to pour money into his coffers. - -His treatment of me was based entirely upon scientific requirements. I -offered a problem. I was either, quite evidently, not a Barsoomian at -all, or I was of a species of which he had no knowledge. It therefore -best suited the purposes of science that I be preserved and studied. I -knew much about my own planet. It pleased Ras Thavas’ scientific mind to -milk me of all I knew in the hope that he might derive some suggestion -that would solve one of the Barsoomian scientific riddles that still -baffle their savants; but he was compelled to admit that in this respect -I was a total loss, not alone because I was densely ignorant upon -practically all scientific subjects, but because the learned sciences on -Earth have not advanced even to the swaddling-clothes stage as compared -with the remarkable progress of corresponding activities on Mars. Yet he -kept me by him, training me in many of the minor duties of his vast -laboratory. I was entrusted with the formula of the “embalming fluid” -and taught how to withdraw a subject’s blood and replace it with this -marvellous preservative that arrests decay without altering in the -minutest detail the nerve or tissue structure of the body. I learned -also the secret of the few drops of solution which, added to the -rewarmed blood before it is returned to the veins of the subject, -revitalizes the latter and restores to normal and healthy activity each -and every organ of the body. - -He told me once why he had permitted me to learn these things that he -had kept a secret from all others, and why he kept me with him at all -times in preference to any of the numerous individuals of his own race -that served him and me in lesser capacities both day and night. - -“Vad Varo,” he said, using the Barsoomian name that he had given me -because he insisted that my own name was meaningless and impractical, -“for many years I have needed an assistant, but heretofore I have never -felt that I had discovered one who might work here for me wholeheartedly -and disinterestedly without ever having reason to go elsewhere or to -divulge my secrets to others. You, in all Barsoom, are unique—you have -no other friend or acquaintance than myself. Were you to leave me you -would find yourself in a world of enemies, for all are suspicious of a -stranger. You would not survive a dozen dawns and you would be cold and -hungry and miserable—a wretched outcast in a hostile world. Here you -have every luxury that the mind of man can devise or the hand of man -produce, and you are occupied with work of such engrossing interest that -your every hour must be fruitful of unparalleled satisfaction. There is -no selfish reason, therefore, why you should leave me and there is every -reason why you should remain. I expect no loyalty other than that which -may be prompted by egoism. You make an ideal assistant, not only for the -reasons I have just given you, but because you are intelligent and -quick-witted, and now I have decided, after observing you carefully for -a sufficient time, that you can serve me in yet another capacity—that -of personal bodyguard. - -“You may have noticed that I alone of all those connected with my -laboratory am armed. This is unusual upon Barsoom, where people of all -classes, and all ages and both sexes habitually go armed. But many of -these people I could not trust armed as they would slay me; and were I -to give arms to those whom I might trust, who knows but that the others -would obtain possession of them and slay me, or even those whom I had -trusted turn against me, for there is not one who might not wish to go -forth from this place back among his own people—only you, Vad Varo, for -there is no other place for you to go. So I have decided to give you -weapons. - -“You saved my life once. A similar opportunity might again present -itself. I know that, being a reasoning and reasonable creature, you will -not slay me, for you have nothing to gain and everything to lose by my -death, which would leave you friendless and unprotected in a world of -strangers where assassination is the order of society and natural death -one of the rarest of phenomena. Here are your arms.” He stepped to a -cabinet which he unlocked, displaying an assortment of weapons, and -selected for me a long-sword, a short-sword, a pistol and a dagger. - -“You seem sure of my loyalty, Ras Thavas,” I said. - -He shrugged his shoulders. “I am only sure that I know perfectly where -your interests lie—sentimentalists have words: love, loyalty, -friendship, enmity, jealousy, hate, a thousand others; a waste of -words—one word defines them all: self-interest. All men of intelligence -realize this. They analyse an individual and by his predilections and -his needs they classify him as friend or foe, leaving to the weak-minded -idiots who like to be deceived the drooling drivel of sentiment.” - -I smiled as I buckled my weapons to my harness, but I held my peace. -Nothing could be gained by arguing with the man and, too, I felt quite -sure that in any purely academic controversy I should get the worst of -it; but many of the matters of which he had spoken had aroused my -curiosity and one had reawakened in my mind a matter to which I had -given considerable thought. While partially explained by some of his -remarks I still wondered why the red-man from whom I had rescued him had -seemed so venomously bent upon slaying him the day of my advent upon -Barsoom, and so, as we sat chatting after our evening meal, I asked him. - -“A sentimentalist,” he said. “A sentimentalist of the most pronounced -type. Why that fellow hated me with a venom absolutely unbelievable by -any of the reactions of a trained, analytical mind such as mine; but -having witnessed his reactions I become cognizant of a state of mind -that I cannot of myself even imagine. Consider the facts. He was the -victim of assassination—a young warrior in the prime of life, -possessing a handsome face and a splendid physique. One of my agents -paid his relatives a satisfactory sum for the corpse and brought it to -me. It is thus that I obtain practically all of my material. I treated -it in the manner with which you are familiar. For a year the body lay in -the laboratory, there being no occasion during that time that I had use -for it; but eventually a rich client came, a not overly prepossessing -man of considerable years. He had fallen desperately in love with a -young woman who was attended by many handsome suitors. My client had -more money than any of them, more brains, more experience, but he lacked -the one thing that each of the others had that always weighs heavily -with the undeveloped, unreasoning, sentiment-ridden minds of young -females—good looks. - -“Now 378-J-493811-P had what my client lacked and could afford to -purchase. Quickly we reached an agreement as to price and I transferred -the brain of my rich client to the head of 378-J-493811-P and my client -went away and for all I know won the hand of the beautiful moron; and -378-J-493811-P might have rested on indefinitely upon his ersite slab -until I needed him or a part of him in my work, had I not, merely by -chance, selected him for resurgence because of an existing need for -another male slave. - -“Mind you now, the man had been murdered. He was dead. I bought and paid -for the corpse and all there was in it. He might have lain dead forever -upon one of my ersite slabs had I not breathed new life into his dead -veins. Did he have the brains to view the transaction in a wise and -dispassionate manner? He did not. His sentimental reactions caused him -to reproach me because I had given him another body, though it seemed to -me that, looking at the matter from a standpoint of sentiment, if one -must, he should have considered me as a benefactor for having given him -life again in a perfectly healthy, if somewhat used, body. - -“He had spoken to me upon the subject several times, begging me to -restore his body to him, a thing of which, of course, as I explained to -him, was utterly out of the question unless chance happened to bring to -my laboratory the corpse of the client who had purchased his carcass—a -contingency quite beyond the pale of possibility for one as wealthy as -my client. The fellow even suggested that I permit him to go forth and -assassinate my client, bringing the body back that I might reverse the -operation and restore his body to his brain. When I refused to divulge -the name of the present possessor of his body he grew sulky, but until -the very hour of your arrival, when he attacked me, I did not suspect -the depth of his hate complex. - -“Sentiment is indeed a bar to all progress. We of Toonol are probably -less subject to its vagaries than most other nations upon Barsoom, but -yet most of my fellow countrymen are victims of it in varying degrees. -It has its rewards and compensations, however. Without it we could -preserve no stable form of government and the Phundahlians, or some -other people, would overrun and conquer us; but enough of our lower -classes have sentiment to a sufficient degree to give them loyalty to -the Jeddak of Toonol and the upper classes are brainy enough to know -that it is to their own best interests to keep him upon his throne. - -“The Phundahlians, upon the other hand, are egregious sentimentalists, -filled with crass stupidities and superstitions, slaves to every variety -of brain withering conceit. Why the very fact that they keep the old -termagant, Xaxa, on the throne brands them with their stupid idiocy. She -is an ignorant, arrogant, selfish, stupid, cruel virago, yet the -Phundahlians would fight and die for her because her father was Jeddak -of Phundahl. She taxes them until they can scarce stagger beneath their -burden, she misrules them, exploits them, betrays them, and they fall -down and worship at her feet. Why? Because her father was Jeddak of -Phundahl and his father before him and so on back into antiquity; -because they are ruled by sentiment rather than reason; because their -wicked rulers play upon this sentiment. - -“She had nothing to recommend her to a sane person—not even beauty. You -know, you saw her.” - -“I saw her?” I demanded. - -“You assisted me the day that we gave her old brain a new casket—the -day you arrived from what you call your Earth.” - -“She! That old woman was Jeddara of Phundahl?” - -“That was Xaxa,” he assured me. - -“Why, you did not accord her the treatment that one of the Earth would -suppose would be accorded a ruler, and so I had no idea that she was -more than a rich old woman.” - -“I am Ras Thavas,” said the old man. “Why should I incline the head to -any other? In my world nothing counts but brain and in that respect, and -without egotism, I may say that I acknowledge no superior.” - -“Then you are not without sentiment,” I said, smiling. “You acknowledge -pride in your intellect!” - -“It is not pride,” he said, patiently, for him, “it is merely a fact -that I state. A fact that I should have no difficulty in proving. In all -probability I have the most highly developed and perfectly functioning -mind among all the learned men of my acquaintance, and reason indicates -that this fact also suggests that I possess the most highly developed -and perfectly functioning mind upon Barsoom. From what I know of Earth -and from what I have seen of you, I am convinced that there is no mind -upon your planet that may even faintly approximate in power that which I -have developed during a thousand years of active study and research. -Rasoom (Mercury) or Cosoom (Venus) may possibly support intelligences -equal to or even greater than mine. While we have made some study of -their thought waves, our instruments are not yet sufficiently developed -to more than suggest that they are of extreme refinement, power and -flexibility.” - -“And what of the girl whose body you gave to the Jeddara?” I asked, -irrelevantly, for my mind could not efface the memory of that sweet body -that must, indeed, have possessed an equally sweet and fine brain. - -“Merely a subject! Merely a subject!” he replied with a wave of his -hand. - -“What will become of her?” I insisted. - -“What difference does it make?” he demanded. “I bought her with a batch -of prisoners of war. I do not even recall from what country my agent -obtained them, or from whence they originated. Such matters are of no -import.” - -“She was alive when you bought her?” I demanded. - -“Yes. Why?” - -“You—er—ah—killed her, then?” - -“Killed her! No; I preserved her. That was some ten years ago. Why -should I permit her to grow old and wrinkled? She would no longer have -the same value then, would she? No, I preserved her. When Xaxa bought -her she was just as fresh and young as the day she arrived. I kept her a -long time. Many women looked at her and wanted her face and figure, but -it took a Jeddara to afford her. She brought the highest price that I -have ever been paid. - -“Yes, I kept her a long time, but I knew that some day she would bring -my price. She was indeed beautiful and so sentiment has its uses—were -it not for sentiment there would be no fools to support this work that I -am doing, thus permitting me to carry on investigations of far greater -merit. You would be surprised, I know, were I to tell you that I feel -that I am almost upon the point of being able to produce rational human -beings through the action upon certain chemical combinations of a group -of rays probably entirely undiscovered by your scientists, if I am to -judge by the paucity of your knowledge concerning such things.” - -“I would not be surprised,” I assured him. “I would not be surprised by -anything that you might accomplish.” - - - - - CHAPTER III - VALLA DIA - - -I lay awake a long time that night thinking of 4296-E-2631-H, the -beautiful girl whose perfect body had been stolen to furnish a gorgeous -setting for the cruel brain of a tyrant. It seemed such a horrid crime -that I could not rid my mind of it and I think that contemplation of it -sowed the first seed of my hatred and loathing for Ras Thavas. I could -not conjure a creature so utterly devoid of bowels of compassion as to -even consider for a moment the frightful ravishing of that sweet and -lovely body for even the holiest of purposes, much less one that could -have been induced to do so for filthy pelf. - -So much did I think upon the girl that night that her image was the -first to impinge upon my returning consciousness at dawn, and after I -had eaten, Ras Thavas not having appeared, I went directly to the -storage room where the poor thing was. Here she lay, identified only by -a small panel, bearing a number: 4296-E-2631-H. The body of an old woman -with a disfigured face lay before me in the rigid immobility of death; -yet that was not the figure that I saw, but instead, a vision of radiant -loveliness whose imprisoned soul lay dormant beneath those greying -locks. - -The creature here with the face and form of Xaxa was not Xaxa at all, -for all that made the other what she was had been transferred to this -cold corpse. How frightful would be the awakening, should awakening ever -come! I shuddered to think of the horror that must overwhelm the girl -when first she realized the horrid crime that had been perpetrated upon -her. Who was she? What story lay locked in that dead and silent brain? -What loves must have been hers whose beauty was so great and upon whose -fair face had lain the indelible imprint of graciousness! Would Ras -Thavas ever arouse her from this happy semblance of death?—far happier -than any quickening ever could be for her. I shrank from the thought of -her awakening and yet I longed to hear her speak, to know that that -brain lived again, to learn her name, to listen to the story of this -gentle life that had been so rudely snatched from its proper environment -and so cruelly handled by the hand of Fate. And suppose she were -awakened! Suppose she were awakened and that I—— A hand was laid upon -my shoulder and I turned to look into the face of Ras Thavas. - -“You seem interested in this subject,” he said. - -“I was wondering,” I replied, “what the reaction of this girl’s brain would -be were she to awaken to the discovery that she had become an old, -disfigured woman.” - -He stroked his chin and eyed me narrowly. “An interesting experiment,” -he mused. “I am gratified to discover that you are taking a scientific -interest in the labours that I am carrying on. The psychological phases -of my work I have, I must confess, rather neglected during the past -hundred years or so, though I formerly gave them a great deal of -attention. It would be interesting to observe and study several of these -cases. This one, especially, might prove of value to you as an initial -study, it being simple and regular. Later we will let you examine into a -case where a man’s brain has been transferred to a woman’s skull, and a -woman’s brain to a man’s. There are also the interesting cases where a -portion of diseased or injured brain has been replaced by a portion of -the brain from another subject; and, for experimental purposes alone, -those human brains that have been transplanted to the craniums of -beasts, and _vice versa_, offer tremendous opportunities for -observation. I have in mind one case in which I transferred half the -brain of an ape to the skull of a man, after having removed half of his -brain, which I grafted upon the remaining part of the brain in the ape’s -skull. That was a matter of several years ago and I have often thought -that I should like to recall these two subjects and note the results. I -shall have to have a look at them—as I recall it they are in vault -L-42-X, beneath building 4-J-21. We shall have to have a look at them -some day soon—it has been years since I have been below. There must be -some very interesting specimens there that have escaped my mind. But -come! let us recall 4296-E-2631-H.” - -“No!” I exclaimed, laying a hand upon his arm. “It would be horrible.” - -He turned a surprised look upon me and then a nasty, sneering smile -curled his lips. “Maudlin, sentimental fool!” he cried. “Who dare say no -to me?” - -I laid a hand upon the hilt of my long-sword and looked him steadily in -the eye. “Ras Thavas,” I said, “you are master in your own house; but -while I am your guest treat me with courtesy.” - -He returned my look for a moment but his eyes wavered. “I was hasty,” he -said. “Let it pass.” That, I let answer for an apology—really it was -more than I had expected—but the event was not unfortunate. I think he -treated me with far greater respect thereafter; but now he turned -immediately to the slab bearing the mortal remains of 4296-E-2631-H. - -“Prepare the subject for revivification,” he said, “and make what study -you can of all its reactions.” With that he left the room. - -I was now fairly adept at this work which I set about with some -misgivings but with the assurance that I was doing right in obeying Ras -Thavas while I remained a member of his entourage. The blood that had -once flowed through the veins of the beautiful body that Ras Thavas had -sold to Xaxa reposed in an hermetically sealed vessel upon the shelf -above the corpse. As I had before done in other cases beneath the -watchful eyes of the old surgeon I now did for the first time alone. The -blood heated, the incisions made, the tubes attached and the few drops -of life-giving solution added to the blood, I was now ready to restore -life to that delicate brain that had lain dead for ten years. As my -finger rested upon the little button that actuated the motor that was to -send the revivifying liquid into those dormant veins, I experienced such -a sensation as I imagined no mortal man has ever felt. - -I had become master of life and death, and yet at this moment that I -stood there upon the point of resurrecting the dead I felt more like a -murderer than a saviour. I tried to view the procedure dispassionately -through the cold eye of science, but I failed miserably. I could only -see a stricken girl grieving for her lost beauties. With a muffled oath -I turned away. I could not do it! And then, as though an outside force -had seized upon me, my finger moved unerringly to the button and pressed -it. I cannot explain it, unless upon the theory of dual mentality, which -may explain many things. Perhaps my subjective mind directed the act. I -do not know. Only I know that I did it, the motor started, the level of -the blood in the container commenced gradually to lower. - -Spell-bound, I stood watching. Presently the vessel was empty. I shut -off the motor, removed the tubes, sealed the openings with tape. The red -glow of life tinged the body, replacing the sallow, purplish hue of -death. The breasts rose and fell regularly, the head turned slightly and -the eyelids moved. A faint sigh issued from between the parting lips. -For a long time there was no other sign of life, then, suddenly, the -eyes opened. They were dull at first, but presently they commenced to -fill with questioning wonderment. They rested on me and then passed on -about that portion of the room that was visible from the position of the -body. Then they came back to me and remained steadily fixed upon my -countenance after having once surveyed me up and down. There was still -the questioning in them, but there was no fear. - -“Where am I?” she asked. The voice was that of an old woman—high and -harsh. A startled expression filled her eyes. “What is the matter with -me? What is wrong with my voice? What has happened?” - -I laid a hand upon her forehead. “Don’t bother about it now,” I said, -soothingly. “Wait until sometime when you are stronger. Then I will tell -you.” - -She sat up. “I am strong,” she said, and then her eyes swept her lower -body and limbs and a look of utter horror crossed her face. “What has -happened to me? In the name of my first ancestor, what has happened to -me?” - -The shrill, harsh voice grated upon me. It was the voice of Xaxa and -Xaxa now must possess the sweet musical tones that alone would have -harmonized with the beautiful face she had stolen. I tried to forget -those strident notes and think only of the pulchritude of the envelope -that had once graced the soul within this old and withered carcass. - -She extended a hand and laid it gently upon mine. The act was beautiful, -the movements graceful. The brain of the girl directed the muscles, but -the old, rough vocal chords of Xaxa could give forth no sweeter notes. -“Tell me, please!” she begged. There were tears in the old eyes, I’ll -venture for the first time in many years. “Tell me! You do not seem -unkind.” - -And so I told her. She listened intently and when I was through she -sighed. “After all,” she said, “it is not so dreadful, now that I really -know. It is better than being dead.” That made me glad that I had -pressed the button. She was glad to be alive, even draped in the hideous -carcass of Xaxa. I told her as much. - -“You were so beautiful,” I told her. - -“And now I am so ugly?” I made no answer. - -“After all, what difference does it make?” she inquired presently. “This -old body cannot change me, or make me different from what I have always -been. The good in me remains and whatever of sweetness and kindness, and -I can be happy to be alive and perhaps to do some good. I was terrified -at first, because I did not know what had happened to me. I thought that -maybe I had contracted some terrible disease that had so altered -me—that horrified me; but now that I know—pouf! what of it?” - -“You are wonderful,” I said. “Most women would have gone mad with the -horror and grief of it—to lose such wondrous beauty as was yours—and -you do not care.” - -“Oh, yes, I care, my friend,” she corrected me, “but I do not care -enough to ruin my life in all other respects because of it, or to cast a -shadow upon the lives of those around me. I have had my beauty and -enjoyed it. It is not an unalloyed happiness I can assure you. Men -killed one another because of it; two great nations went to war because -of it; and perhaps my father lost his throne or his life—I do not know, -for I was captured by the enemy while the war still raged. It may be -raging yet and men dying because I was too beautiful. No one will fight -for me now, though,” she added, with a rueful smile. - -“Do you know how long you have been here?” I asked. - -“Yes,” she replied. “It was the day before yesterday that they brought -me hither.” - -“It was ten years ago,” I told her. - -“Ten years! Impossible.” - -I pointed to the corpses around us. “You have lain like this for ten -years,” I explained. “There are subjects here who have lain thus for -fifty, Ras Thavas tells me.” - -“Ten years! Ten years! What may not have happened in ten years! It is -better thus. I should fear to go back now. I should not want to know -that my father, my mother too, perhaps, were gone. It is better thus. -Perhaps you will let me sleep again? May I not?” - -“That remains with Ras Thavas,” I replied; “but for a while I am to -observe you.” - -“Observe me?” - -“Study you—your reactions.” - -“Ah! and what good will that do?” - -“It may do some good in the world.” - -“It may give this horrid Ras Thavas some new ideas for his torture -chamber—some new scheme for coining money from the suffering of his -victims,” she said, her harsh voice saddened. - -“Some of his works are good,” I told her. “The money he makes permits -him to maintain this wonderful establishment where he constantly carries -on countless experiments. Many of his operations are beneficent. -Yesterday a warrior was brought in whose arm was crushed beyond repair. -Ras Thavas gave him a new arm. A demented child was brought. Ras Thavas -gave her a new brain. The arm and the brain were taken from two who had -met violent deaths. Through Ras Thavas they were permitted, after death, -to give life and happiness to others.” - -She thought for a moment. “I am content,” she said. “I only hope that -you will always be the observer.” - -Presently Ras Thavas came and examined her. “A good subject,” he said. -He looked at the chart where I had made a very brief record following -the other entries relative to the history of Case No. 4296-E-2631-H. Of -course this is, naturally, a rather free translation of this particular -identification number. The Barsoomians have no alphabet such as ours and -their numbering system is quite different. The thirteen characters above -were represented by four Toonolian characters, yet the meaning was quite -the same—they represented, in contracted form, the case number, the -room, the table and the building. - -“The subject will be quartered near you where you may regularly observe -it,” continued Ras Thavas. “There is a chamber adjoining yours. I will -see that it is unlocked. Take the subject there. When not under your -observation, lock it in.” _It_ was only another _case_ to him. - -I took the girl, if I may so call her, to her quarters. On the way I -asked her her name, for it seemed to me an unnecessary discourtesy -always to address her and refer to her as 4296-E-2631-H, and this I -explained to her. - -“It is considerate of you to think of that,” she said, “but really that -is all that I am here—just another subject for vivisection.” - -“You are more than that to me,” I told her. “You are friendless and -helpless. I want to be of service to you—to make your lot easier if I -can.” - -“Thank you again,” she said. “My name is Valla Dia, and yours?” - -“Ras Thavas calls me Vad Varo,” I told her. - -“But that is not your name?” - -“My name is Ulysses Paxton.” - -“It is a strange name, unlike any that I have ever heard, but you are -unlike any man I have ever seen—you do not seem Barsoomian. Your colour -is unlike that of any race.” - -“I am not of Barsoom, but from Earth, the planet you sometimes call -Jasoom. That is why I differ in appearance from any you have known -before.” - -“Jasoom! There is another Jasoomian here whose fame has reached to the -remotest corners of Barsoom, but I never have seen him.” - -“John Carter?” I asked. - -“Yes, The War Lord. He was of Helium and my people were not friendly -with those of Helium. I never could understand how he came here. And now -there is another from Jasoom—how can it be? How did you cross the great -void?” - -I shook my head. “I cannot even guess,” I told her. - -“Jasoom must be peopled with wonderful men,” she said. It was a pretty -compliment. - -“As Barsoom is with beautiful women,” I replied. - -She glanced down ruefully at her old and wrinkled body. - -“I have seen the real you,” I said gently. - -“I hate to think of my face,” she said. “I know it is a frightful -thing.” - -“It is not you, remember that when you see it and do not feel too -badly.” - -“Is it as bad as that?” she asked. - -I did not reply. “Never mind,” she said presently. “If I had not beauty -of the soul, I was not beautiful, no matter how perfect my features may -have been; but if I possessed beauty of soul then I have it now. So I -can think beautiful thoughts and perform beautiful deeds and that, I -think, is the real test of beauty, after all.” - -“And there is hope,” I added, almost in a whisper. - -“Hope? No, there is no hope, if what you mean to suggest is that I may -some time regain my lost self. You have told me enough to convince me -that that can never be.” - -“We will not speak of it,” I said, “but we may think of it and sometimes -thinking a great deal of a thing helps us to find a way to get it, if we -want it badly enough.” - -“I do not want to hope,” she said, “for it will but mean disappointment -for me. I shall be happy as I am. Hoping, I should always be unhappy.” - -I had ordered food for her and after it was brought Ras Thavas sent for -me and I left her, locking the door of her chamber as the old surgeon -had instructed. I found Ras Thavas in his office, a small room which -adjoined a very large one in which were a score of clerks arranging and -classifying reports from various departments of the great laboratory. He -arose as I entered. - -“Come with me, Vad Varo,” he directed. “We will have a look at the two -cases in L-42-X, the two of which I spoke.” - -“The man with half a simian brain and the ape with a half human brain?” -I asked. - -He nodded and preceded me towards the runway that led to the vaults -beneath the building. As we descended, the corridors and passageways -indicated long disuse. The floors were covered with an impalpable dust, -long undisturbed; the tiny radium bulbs that faintly illuminated the -sub-barsoomian depths were likewise coated. As we proceeded, we passed -many doorways on either side, each marked with its descriptive -hieroglyphic. Several of the openings had been tightly sealed with -masonry. What gruesome secrets were hid within? At last we came to -L-42-X. Here the bodies were arranged on shelves, several rows of which -almost completely filled the room from floor to ceiling, except for a -rectangular space in the centre of the chamber, which accommodated an -ersite topped operating table with its array of surgical instruments, -its motor and other laboratory equipment. - -Ras Thavas searched out the subjects of his strange experiment and -together we carried the human body to the table. While Ras Thavas -attached the tubes I returned for the vessel of blood which reposed upon -the same shelf with the corpse. The now familiar method of -revivification was soon accomplished and presently we were watching the -return of consciousness to the subject. - -The man sat up and looked at us, then he cast a quick glance about the -chamber; there was a savage light in his eyes as they returned to us. -Slowly he backed from the table to the floor, keeping the former between -us. - -“We will not harm you,” said Ras Thavas. - -The man attempted to reply, but his words were unintelligible gibberish, -then he shook his head and growled. Ras Thavas took a step towards him -and the man dropped to all fours, his knuckles resting on the floor, and -backed away, growling. - -“Come!” cried Ras Thavas. “We will not harm you.” Again he attempted to -approach the subject, but the man only backed quickly away, growling -more fiercely; and then suddenly he wheeled and climbed quickly to the -top of the highest shelf, where he squatted upon a corpse and gibbered -at us. - -“We shall have to have help,” said Ras Thavas and, going to the doorway, -he blew a signal upon his whistle. - -“What are you blowing that for?” demanded the man suddenly. “Who are -you? What am I doing here? What has happened to me?” - -“Come down,” said Ras Thavas. “We are friends.” - -Slowly the man descended to the floor and came towards us, but he still -moved with his knuckles to the pavement. He looked about at the corpses -and a new light entered his eyes. - -“I am hungry!” he cried. “I will eat!” and with that he seized the -nearest corpse and dragged it to the floor. - -“Stop! Stop!” cried Ras Thavas, leaping forward. “You will ruin the -subject,” but the man only backed away, dragging the corpse along the -floor after him. It was then that the attendants came and with their -help we subdued and bound the poor creature. Then Ras Thavas had the -attendants bring the body of the ape and he told them to remain, as we -might need them. - -The subject was a large specimen of the Barsoomian white ape, one of the -most savage and fearsome denizens of the Red Planet, and because of the -creature’s great strength and ferocity Ras Thavas took the precaution to -see that it was securely bound before resurgence. - -It was a colossal creature about ten or fifteen feet tall, standing -erect, and had an intermediary set of arms or legs midway between its -upper and lower limbs. The eyes were close together and non-protruding; -the ears were high set, while its snout and teeth were strikingly like -those of our African gorilla. - -With returning consciousness the creature eyed us questioningly. Several -times it seemed to essay to speak, but only inarticulate sounds issued -from its throat. Then it lay still for a period. - -Ras Thavas spoke to it. “If you understand my words, nod your head.” The -creature nodded. - -“Would you like to be freed of your bonds?” asked the surgeon. - -Again the creature nodded an affirmative. - -“I fear that you will attempt to injure us, or escape,” said Ras Thavas. - -The ape was apparently trying very hard to articulate and at last there -issued from its lips a sound that could not be misunderstood. It was the -single word no. - -“You will not harm us or try to escape?” Ras Thavas repeated his -question. - -“No,” said the ape, and this time the word was clearly enunciated. - -“We shall see,” said Ras Thavas. “But remember that with our weapons we -may dispatch you quickly if you attack us.” - -The ape nodded, and then, very laboriously: “I will not harm you.” - -At a sign from Ras Thavas the attendants removed the bonds and the -creature sat up. It stretched its limbs and slid easily to the floor, -where it stood erect upon two feet, which was not surprising, since the -white ape goes more often upon two feet than six; a fact of which I was -not cognizant at the time, but which Ras Thavas explained to me later in -commenting upon the fact that the human subject had gone upon all fours, -which, to Ras Thavas, indicated a reversion to type in the fractional -ape-brain transplanted to the human skull. - -Ras Thavas examined the subject at considerable length and then resumed -his examination of the human subject which continued to evince more -simian characteristics than human, though it spoke more easily than the -ape, because, undoubtedly, of its more perfect vocal organs. It was only -by exerting the closest attention that the diction of the ape became -understandable at all. - -“There is nothing remarkable about these subjects,” said Ras Thavas, -after devoting half a day to them. “They bear out what I had already -determined years ago in the transplanting of entire brains; that the act -of transplanting stimulates growth and activity of brain cells. You will -note that in each subject the transplanted portions of the brains are -more active—they, in a considerable measure, control. That is why we -have the human subject displaying distinctly simian characteristics, -while the ape behaves in a more human manner; though if longer and -closer observation were desirable you would doubtless find that each -reverted at times to his own nature—that is the ape would be more -wholly an ape and the human more manlike—but it is not worth the time, -of which I have already given too much to a rather unprofitable -forenoon. I shall leave you now to restore the subjects to anaesthesia -while I return to the laboratories above. The attendants will remain -here to assist you, if required.” - -The ape, who had been an interested listener, now stepped forward. “Oh, -please, I pray you,” it mumbled, “do not again condemn me to these -horrid shelves. I recall the day that I was brought here securely bound, -and though I have no recollection of what has transpired since I can but -guess from the appearance of my own skin and that of these dusty corpses -that I have lain here long. I beg that you will permit me to live and -either restore me to my fellows or allow me to serve in some capacity in -this establishment, of which I saw something between the time of my -capture and the day that I was carried into this laboratory, bound and -helpless, to one of your cold, ersite slabs.” - -Ras Thavas made a gesture of impatience. “Nonsense!” he cried. “You are -better off here, where you can be preserved in the interests of -science.” - -“Accede to his request,” I begged, “and I will myself take over all -responsibility for him while I profit by the study that he will afford -me.” - -“Do as you are directed,” snapped Ras Thavas as he quit the room. - -I shrugged my shoulders. “There is nothing for it, then,” I said. - -“I might dispatch you all and escape,” mused the ape, aloud, “but you -would have helped me. I could not kill one who would have befriended -me—yet I shrink from the thought of another death. How long have I lain -here?” - -I referred to the history of his case that had been brought and -suspended at the head of the table. “Twelve years,” I told him. - -“And yet, why not?” he demanded of himself. “This man would slay me—why -should I not slay him first.” - -“It would do you no good,” I assured him, “for you could never escape. -Instead you would be really killed, dying a death from which Ras Thavas -would probably think it not worth while ever to recall you, while I, who -might find the opportunity at some later date and who have the -inclination, would be dead at your hands and thus incapable of saving -you.” - -I had been speaking in a low voice, close to his ear, that the -attendants might not overhear me. The ape listened intently. - -“You will do as you suggest?” he asked. - -“At the first opportunity that presents itself,” I assured him. - -“Very well,” he said, “I will submit, trusting to you.” - -A half hour later both subjects had been returned to their shelves. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - THE COMPACT - - -Days ran into weeks, weeks into months, as day by day I labored at the -side of Ras Thavas, and more and more the old surgeon took me into his -confidence, more and more he imparted to me the secrets of his skill and -his profession. Gradually he permitted me to perform more and more -important functions in the actual practice of his vast laboratory. I -started transferring limbs from one subject to another, then internal -organs of the digestive tract. Then he entrusted to me a complete -operation upon a paying client. I removed the kidneys from a rich old -man, replacing them with healthy ones from a young subject. The -following day I gave a stunted child new thyroid glands. A week later I -transferred two hearts and then, at last, came the great day for -me—unassisted, with Ras Thavas standing silently beside me, I took the -brain of an old man and transplanted it within the cranium of a youth. - -When I had done Ras Thavas laid a hand upon my shoulder. “I could not -have done better myself,” he said. He seemed much elated and I could not -but wonder at this unusual demonstration of emotion upon his part, he -who so prided himself upon his lack of emotionalism. I had often -pondered the purpose which influenced Ras Thavas to devote so much time -to my training, but never had I hit upon any more satisfactory -explanation than that he had need of assistance in his growing practice. -Yet when I consulted the records, that were now open to me, I discovered -that his practice was no greater than it had been for many years; and -even had it been there was really no reason why he should have trained -me in preference to one of his red-Martian assistants, his belief in my -loyalty not being sufficient warrant, in my mind, for this preferment -when he could, as well as not, have kept me for a bodyguard and trained -one of his own kind to aid him in his surgical work. - -But I was presently to learn that he had an excellent reason for what he -was doing—Ras Thavas always had an excellent reason for whatever he -did. One night after we had finished our evening meal he sat looking at -me intently as he so often did, as though he would read my mind, which, -by the way, he was totally unable to do, much to his surprise and -chagrin; for unless a Martian is constantly upon the alert any other -Martian can read clearly his every thought; but Ras Thavas was unable to -read mine. He said that it was due to the fact that I was not a -Barsoomian. Yet I could often read the minds of his assistants, when -they were off their guard, though never had I read aught of Ras Thavas’ -thoughts, nor, I am sure, had any other read them. He kept his brain -sealed like one of his own blood jars, nor was he ever for a moment -found with his barriers down. - -He sat looking at me this evening for a long time, nor did it in the -least embarrass me, so accustomed was I to his peculiarities. “Perhaps,” -he said presently, “one of the reasons that I trust you is due to the -fact that I cannot ever, at any time, fathom your mind; so, if you -harbor traitorous thoughts concerning me I do not know it, while the -others, every one of them, reveal their inmost souls to my searching -mind and in each one there is envy, jealousy or hatred of me. Them, I -know, I cannot trust. Therefore I must accept the risk and place all my -dependence upon you, and my reason tells me that my choice is a wise -one—I have told you upon what grounds it based my selection of you as -my bodyguard. The same holds true in my selection of you for the thing I -have in mind. You cannot harm me without harming yourself and no man -will intentionally do that; nor is there any reason why you should feel -any deep antagonism towards me. - -“You are, of course, a sentimentalist and doubtless you look with horror -upon many of the acts of a sane, rational, scientific mind; but you are -also highly intelligent and can, therefore, appreciate better than -another, even though you may not approve them, the motives that prompt -me to do many of those things of which your sentimentality disapproves. -I may have offended you, but I have never wronged you, nor have I -wronged any creature for which you might have felt some of your -so-called friendship or love. Are my premises incorrect, or my reasoning -faulty?” - -I assured him to the contrary. - -“Very well! Now let me explain why I have gone to such pains to train -you as no other human being, aside from myself, has ever been trained. I -am not ready to use you yet, or rather you are not ready; but if you -know my purpose you will realize the necessity for bending your energy -to the consummation of my purpose, and to that end you will strive even -more diligently than you have to perfect yourself in the high, -scientific art I am imparting to you. - -“I am a very old man,” he continued after a brief pause, “even as age -goes upon Barsoom. I have lived more than a thousand years. I have -passed the allotted natural span of life, but I am not through with my -life’s work—I have but barely started it. I must not die. Barsoom must -not be robbed of this wondrous brain and skill of mine. I have long had -in mind a plan to thwart death, but it required another with skill equal -to mine—two such might live for ever. I have selected you to be that -other, for reasons that I already have explained—they are undefiled by -sentimentalism. I did not choose you because I love you, or because I -feel friendship for you, or because I think that you love me, or feel -friendship towards me. I chose you because I knew that of all the -inhabitants of a world you were the one least likely to fail me. For a -time you will have my life in your hands. You will understand now why I -have not been able to choose carelessly.” - -“This plan that I have chosen is simplicity itself provided that I can -count upon just two essential factors—skill and self-interested loyalty -in an assistant. My body is about worn out. I must have a new one. My -laboratory is filled with wonderful bodies, young and complete with -potential strength and health. I have but to select one of these and -have my skilled assistant transfer my brain from this old carcass to the -new one.” He paused. - -“I understand now, why you have trained me,” I said. “It has puzzled me -greatly.” - -“Thus and thus only may I continue my labors,” he went on, “and thus may -Barsoom be assured a continuance practically indefinitely, of the -benefits that my brain may bestow upon her children. I may live for -ever, provided I always have a skilled assistant, and I may assure -myself of such by seeing to it that he never dies; when he wears out one -organ, or his whole body, I can replace either from my great storehouse -of perfect parts, and for me he can perform the same service. Thus may -we continue to live indefinitely; for the brain, I believe, is almost -deathless, unless injured or attacked by disease. - -“You are not ready as yet to be entrusted with this important task. You -must transfer many more brains and meet with and overcome the various -irregularities and idiosyncrasies that constitute the never failing -differences that render no two operations identical. When you gain -sufficient proficiency I shall be the first to know it and then we shall -lose no time in making Barsoom safe for posterity.” - -The old man was far from achieving hatred of himself. However, his plan -was an excellent one, both for himself and for me. It assured us -immortality—we might live for ever and always with strong, healthy, -young bodies. The outlook was alluring—and what a wonderful position it -placed me in. If the old man could be assured of my loyalty because of -self-interest, similarly might I depend upon his loyalty; for he could -not afford to antagonize the one creature in the world who could assure -him immortality, or withhold it from him. For the first time since I had -entered his establishment I felt safe. - -As soon as I had left him I went directly to Valla Dia’s apartment, for -I wanted to tell her this wonderful news. In the weeks that had passed -since her resurrection I had seen much of her and in our daily -intercourse there had been revealed to me little by little the wondrous -beauties of her soul, until at last I no longer saw the hideous, -disfigured face of Xaxa when I looked upon her, but the eyes of my heart -penetrated deeper to the loveliness that lay within that sweet mind. She -had become my confidant, as I was hers, and this association constituted -the one great pleasure of my existence upon Barsoom. - -Her congratulations, when I told her of what had come to me, were very -sincere and lovely. She said that she hoped I would use this great power -of mine to do good in the world. I assured her that I would and that -among the first things that I should demand of Ras Thavas was that he -should give Valla Dia a beautiful body; but she shook her head. - -“No, my friend,” she said, “if I may not have my own body this old one -of Xaxa’s is quite as good for me as another. Without my own body I -should not care to return to my native country; while were Ras Thavas to -give me the beautiful body of another, I should always be in danger of -the covetousness of his clients, any one of whom might see and desire to -purchase it, leaving to me her old husk, conceivably one quite terribly -diseased or maimed. No, my friend, I am satisfied with the body of Xaxa, -unless I may again possess my own, for Xaxa at least bequeathed me a -tough and healthy envelope, however ugly it may be; and for what do -looks count here? You, alone, are my friend—that I have your friendship -is enough. You admire me for what I am, not for what I look like, so let -us leave well enough alone.” - -“If you could regain your own body and return to your native country, -you would like that?” I demanded. - -“Oh, do not say it!” she cried. “The simple thought of it drives me mad -with longing. I must not harbour so hopeless a dream that at best may -only tantalize me into greater abhorrence of my lot.” - -“Do not say that it is hopeless,” I urged. “Death, only, renders hope -futile.” - -“You mean to be kind,” she said, “but you are only hurting me. There can -be no hope.” - -“May I hope for you, then?” I asked. “For I surely see a way; however -slight a possibility for success it may have, still, it is a way.” - -She shook her head. “There is no way,” she said, with finality. “No more -will Duhor know me.” - -“Duhor?” I repeated. “Your—someone you care for very much?” - -“I care for Duhor very much,” she answered with a smile, “but Duhor is -not someone—Duhor is my home, the country of my ancestors.” - -“How came you to leave Duhor?” I asked. “You have never told me, Valla -Dia.” - -“It was because of the ruthlessness of Jal Had, Prince of Amhor,” she -replied. “Hereditary enemies were Duhor and Amhor; but Jal Had came -disguised into the city of Duhor, having heard, they say, of the great -beauty attributed to the only daughter of Kor San, Jeddak of Duhor; and -when he had seen her he determined to possess her. Returning to Amhor he -sent ambassadors to the court of Kor San to sue for the hand of the -Princess of Duhor; but Kor San, who had no son, had determined to wed -his daughter to one of his own Jeds, that the son of this union, with -the blood of Kor San in his veins, might rule over the people of Duhor; -and so the offer of Jal Had was declined. - -“This so incensed the Amhorian that he equipped a great fleet and set -forth to conquer Duhor and take by force that which he could not win by -honorable methods. Duhor was, at that time, at war with Helium and all -her forces were far afield in the south, with the exception of a small -army that had been left behind to guard the city. Jal Had, therefore, -could not have selected a more propitious time for an attack. Duhor -fell, and while his troops were looting the fair city Jal Had, with a -picked force, sacked the palace of the Jeddak and searched for the -princess; but the princess had no mind to go back with him as Princess -of Amhor. From the moment that the vanguard of the Amhorian fleet was -seen in the sky she had known, with the others of the city, the purpose -for which they came, and so she used her head to defeat that purpose. - -“There was in her retinue a cosmetologist whose duty it was to preserve -the lustrous beauty of the princess’ hair and skin and prepare her for -public audiences, for fêtes and for the daily intercourse of the court. -He was a master of his art; he could render the ugly pleasant to look -upon, he could make the plain lovely, and he could make the lovely -radiant. She called him quickly to her and commanded him to make the -radiant ugly; and when he had done with her none might guess that she -was the Princess of Duhor, so deftly had he wrought with his pigments -and his tiny brushes. - -“When Jal Had could not find the princess within the palace, and no -amount of threat or torture could force a statement of her whereabouts -from the loyal lips of her people, the Amhorian ordered that every woman -within the palace be seized and taken to Amhor; there to be held as -hostages until the princess of Duhor should be delivered to him in -marriage. We were, therefore, all seized and placed upon an Amhorian war -ship which was sent back to Amhor ahead of the balance of the fleet, -which remained to complete the sacking of Duhor. - -“When the ship, with its small convoy, had covered some four thousand of -the five thousand haads that separate Duhor from Amhor, it was sighted -by a fleet from Phundahl which immediately attacked. The convoying ships -were destroyed or driven off and that which carried us was captured. We -were taken to Phundahl where we were put upon the auction block and I -fell to the bid of one of Ras Thavas’ agents. The rest you know.” - -“And what became of the princess?” I asked. - -“Perhaps she died—her party was separated in Phundahl—but death could -not more definitely prevent her return to Duhor. The Princess of Duhor -will never again see her native country.” - -“But you may!” I cried, for I had suddenly hit upon a plan. “Where is -Duhor?” - -“You are going there?” she asked, laughingly. - -“Yes!” - -“You are mad, my friend,” she said. “Duhor lies a full seven thousand, -eight hundred haads from Toonol, upon the opposite side of the snow-clad -Artolian Hills. You, a stranger and alone, could never reach it; for -between lie the Toonolian Marshes, wild hordes, savage beasts and -warlike cities. You would but die uselessly within the first dozen -haads, even could you escape from the island upon which stands the -laboratory of Ras Thavas; and what motive is there to prompt you to such -a useless sacrifice?” - -I could not tell her. I could not look upon that withered figure and -into that hideous and disfigured face and say: “It is because I love -you, Valla Dia.” But that, alas, was my only reason. Gradually, as I had -come to know her through the slow revealment of the wondrous beauty of -her mind and soul, there had crept into my heart a knowledge of my love; -and yet, explain it I cannot, I could not speak the words to that -frightful old hag. I had seen the gorgeous mundane tabernacle that had -housed the equally gorgeous spirit of the real Valla Dia—_that_ I could -love; her heart and soul and mind I could love; but I could not love the -body of Xaxa. I was torn, too, by other emotions, induced by a great -doubt—could Valla Dia return my love. Habilitated in the corpse of -Xaxa, with no other suitor, nay, with no other friend she might, out of -gratitude or through sheer loneliness, be attracted to me; but once -again were she Valla Dia the beautiful and returned to the palace of her -king, surrounded by the great nobles of Duhor, would she have either -eyes or heart for a lone and friendless exile from another world? I -doubted it—and yet that doubt did not deter me from my determination to -carry out, as far as Fate would permit, the mad scheme that was -revolving in my brain. - -“You have not answered my question, Vad Varo,” she interrupted my -surging thoughts. “Why would you do this thing?” - -“To right the wrong that has been done you, Valla Dia,” I said. - -She sighed. “Do not attempt it, please,” she begged. “You would but rob -me of my one friend, whose association is the only source of happiness -remaining to me. I appreciate your generosity and your loyalty, even -though I may not understand them; your unselfish desire to serve me at -such suicidal risk touches me more deeply than I can reveal, adding -still further to the debt I owe you; but you must not attempt it—you -must not.” - -“If it troubles you, Valla Dia,” I replied, “we will not speak of it -again; but know always that it is never from my thoughts. Some day I -shall find a way, even though the plan I now have fails me.” - -The days moved on and on, the gorgeous Martian nights, filled with her -hurtling moons, followed one upon another. Ras Thavas spent more and -more time in directing my work of brain transference. I had long since -become an adept; and I realized that the time was rapidly approaching -when Ras Thavas would feel that he could safely entrust to my hands and -skill his life and future. He would be wholly within my power and he -knew that I knew it. I could slay him; I could permit him to remain for -ever in the preserving grip of his own anaesthetic; or I could play any -trick upon him that I chose, even to giving him the body of a calot or a -part of the brain of an ape; but he must take the chance and that I -knew, for he was failing rapidly. Already almost stone blind, it was -only the wonderful spectacles that he had himself invented that -permitted him to see at all; long deaf, he used artificial means for -hearing; and now his heart was showing symptoms of fatigue that he could -not longer ignore. - -One morning I was summoned to his sleeping apartment by a slave. I found -the old surgeon lying, a shrunken, pitiful heap of withered skin and -bones. - -“We must hasten, Vad Varo,” he said in a weak whisper. “My heart was -like to have stopped a few tals ago. It was then that I sent for you.” -He pointed to a door leading from his chamber. “There,” he said, “you -will find the body I have chosen. There, in the private laboratory I -long ago built for this very purpose, you will perform the greatest -surgical operation that the universe has ever known, transferring its -most perfect brain to the most beautiful and perfect body that ever has -passed beneath these ancient eyes. You will find the head already -prepared to receive my brain; the brain of the subject having been -removed and destroyed—totally destroyed by fire. I could not possibly -chance the existence of a brain desiring and scheming to regain its -wondrous body. No, I destroyed it. Call slaves and have them bear my -body to the ersite slab.” - -“That will not be necessary,” I told him; and lifting his shrunken form -in my arms as he had been an earthly babe, I carried him into the -adjoining room where I found a perfectly lighted and appointed -laboratory containing two operating tables, one of which was occupied by -the body of a red-man. Upon the surface of the other, which was vacant, -I laid Ras Thavas, then I turned to look at the new envelope he had -chosen. Never, I believe, had I beheld so perfect a form, so handsome a -face—Ras Thavas had indeed chosen well for himself. Then I turned back -to the old surgeon. Deftly, as he had taught me, I made the two -incisions and attached the tubes. My finger rested upon the button that -would start the motor pumping his blood from his veins and his -marvellous preservative-anaesthetic into them. Then I spoke. - -“Ras Thavas,” I said, “you have long been training me to this end. I -have labored assiduously to prepare myself that there might be no -slightest cause for apprehension as to the outcome. You have, -coincidentally, taught me that one’s every act should be prompted by -self-interest only. You are satisfied, therefore, that I am not doing -this for you because I love you, or because I feel any friendship for -you; but you think that you have offered me enough in placing before me -a similar opportunity for immortality. - -“Regardless of your teaching I am afraid that I am still somewhat of a -sentimentalist. I crave the redressing of wrongs. I crave friendship and -love. The price you offer is not enough. Are you willing to pay more -that this operation may be successfully concluded?” - -He looked at me steadily for a long minute. “What do you want?” he -asked. I could see that he was trembling with anger, but he did not -raise his voice. - -“Do you recall 4296-E-2631-H?” I inquired. - -“The subject with the body of Xaxa? Yes, I recall the case. What of it?” - -“I wish her body returned to her. That is the price you must pay for -this operation.” - -He glared at me. “It is impossible. Xaxa has the body. Even if I cared -to do so, I could never recover it. Proceed with the operation!” - -“When you have promised me,” I insisted. - -“I cannot promise the impossible—I cannot obtain Xaxa. Ask me something -else. I am not unwilling to grant any reasonable request.” - -“That is all I wish—just that; but I do not insist that you obtain the -body. If I bring Xaxa here will you make the transfer?” - -“It would mean war between Toonol and Phundahl,” he fumed. - -“That does not interest me,” I said. “Quick! Reach a decision. In five -tals I shall press this button. If you promise what I ask, you shall be -restored with a new and beautiful body; if you refuse you shall lie here -in the semblance of death for ever.” - -“I promise,” he said slowly, “that when you bring the body of Xaxa to me -I will transfer to that body any brain that you select from among my -subjects.” - -“Good!” I exclaimed, and pressed the button. - - - - - CHAPTER V - DANGER - - -Ras Thavas awakened from the anaesthetic a new and gorgeous creature—a -youth of such wondrous beauty that he seemed of heavenly rather than -worldly origin; but in that beautiful head was the hard, cold, -thousand-year-old brain of the master surgeon. As he opened his eyes he -looked upon me coldly. - -“You have done well,” he said. - -“What I have done, I have done for friendship—perhaps for love,” I -said, “so you can thank the sentimentalism you decry for the success of -the transfer.” - -He made no reply. - -“And now,” I continued, “I shall look to you for the fulfilment of the -promise you have made me.” - -“When you bring Xaxa’s body I shall transfer to it the brain of any of -my subjects you may select,” he said, “but were I you, I would not risk -my life in such an impossible venture—you cannot succeed. Select -another body—there are many beautiful ones—and I will give it the -brain of 4296-E-2631-H.” - -“None other than the body now owned by the Jeddara Xaxa will fulfill -your promise to me,” I said. - -He shrugged and there was a cold smile upon his handsome lips. “Very -well,” he said, “fetch Xaxa. When do you start?” - -“I am not yet ready. I will let you know when I am.” - -“Good and now begone—but wait! First go to the office and see what -cases await us and if there be any that do not require my personal -attention, and they fall within your skill and knowledge, attend to them -yourself.” - -As I left him I noticed a crafty smile of satisfaction upon his lips. -What had aroused that? I did not like it and as I walked away I tried to -conjure what could possibly have passed through that wondrous brain to -call forth at that particular instant so unpleasant a smile. As I passed -through the doorway and into the corridor beyond I heard him summon his -personal slave and body servant, Yamdor, a huge fellow whose loyalty he -kept through the bestowal of lavish gifts and countless favors. So great -was the fellow’s power that all feared him, as a word to the master from -the lips of Yamdor might easily send any of the numerous slaves or -attendants to an ersite slab for eternity. It was rumored that he was -the result of an unnatural experiment which had combined the brain of a -woman with the body of a man, and there was much in his actions and -mannerisms to justify this general belief. His touch, when he worked -about his master, was soft and light, his movements graceful, his ways -gentle, but his mind was jealous, vindictive and unforgiving. - -I believe that he did not like me, through jealousy of the authority I -had attained in the establishment of Ras Thavas; for there was no -questioning the fact that I was a lieutenant, while he was but a slave; -yet he always accorded me the utmost respect. He was, however, merely a -minor cog in the machinery of the great institution presided over by the -sovereign mind of Ras Thavas, and as such I had given him little -consideration; nor did I now as I bent my steps towards the office. - -I had gone but a short distance when I recalled a matter of importance -upon which it was necessary for me to obtain instructions from Ras -Thavas immediately; and so I wheeled about and retraced my way towards -his apartments, through the open doorway of which, as I approached, I -heard the new voice of the master surgeon. Ras Thavas had always spoken -in rather loud tones, whether as a vocal reflection of his naturally -domineering and authoritative character, or because of his deafness, I -do not know; and now, with the fresh young vocal chords of his new body, -his words rang out clearly and distinctly in the corridor leading to his -room. - -“You will, therefore, Yamdor,” he was saying, “go at once and, selecting -two slaves in whose silence and discretion you may trust, take the -subject from the apartments of Vad Varo and destroy it—let no vestige -of body or brain remain. Immediately after, you will bring the two -slaves to the laboratory F-30-L, permitting them to speak to no one, and -I will consign them to silence and forgetfulness for eternity. - -“Vad Varo will discover the absence of the subject and report the matter -to me. During my investigation you will confess that you aided -4296-E-2631-H to escape, but that you have no idea where it intended -going. I will sentence you to death as punishment, but at last, -explaining how urgently I need your services and upon your solemn -promise never to transgress again, I will defer punishment for the term -of your continued good behaviour. Do you thoroughly understand the -entire plan?” - -“Yes, master,” replied Yamdor. - -“Then depart at once and select the slaves who are to assist you.” - -Quickly and silently I sped along the corridor until the first -intersection permitted me to place myself out of sight of anyone coming -from Ras Thavas’ apartment; then I went directly to the chamber occupied -by Valla Dia. Unlocking the door I threw it open and beckoned her to -come out. “Quick! Valla Dia!” I cried. “No time is to be lost. In -attempting to save you I have but brought destruction upon you. First we -must find a hiding place for you, and that at once—afterwards we can -plan for the future.” - -The place that first occurred to me as affording adequate concealment -was the half forgotten vaults in the pits beneath the laboratories, and -towards these I hastened Valla Dia. As we proceeded I narrated all that -had transpired, nor did she once reproach me; but, instead, expressed -naught but gratitude for what she was pleased to designate as my -unselfish friendship. That it had miscarried, she assured me, was no -reflection upon me and she insisted that she would rather die in the -knowledge that she possessed one such friend than to live on -indefinitely, friendless. - -We came at last to the chamber I sought—vault L-42-X, in building -4-J-21, where reposed the bodies of the ape and the man, each of which -possessed half the brain of the other. Here I was forced to leave Valla -Dia for the time, that I might hasten to the office and perform the -duties imposed upon me by Ras Thavas, lest his suspicions be aroused -when Yamdor reported that he had found her apartment vacant. - -I reached the office without it being discovered by anyone who might -report the fact to Ras Thavas that I had been a long time coming from -his apartment. To my relief, I found there were no cases. Without -appearing in any undue haste, I nevertheless soon found an excuse to -depart and at once made my way towards my own quarters, moving in a -leisurely and unconcerned manner and humming as was my wont (a habit -which greatly irritated Ras Thavas), snatches from some song that had -been popular at the time that I quit Earth. In this instance it was “Oh, -Frenchy.” - -I was thus engaged when I met Yamdor moving hurriedly along the corridor -leading from my apartment, in company with two male slaves. I greeted -him pleasantly, as was my custom, and he returned my greeting; but there -was an expression of fear and suspicion in his eyes. I went at once to -my quarters, opened the door leading to the chamber formerly occupied by -Valla Dia and then hastened immediately to the apartment of Ras Thavas, -where I found him conversing with Yamdor. I rushed in apparently -breathless and simulating great excitement. - -“Ras Thavas,” I demanded, “what have you done with 4296-E-2631-H? She -has disappeared; her apartment is empty; and as I was approaching it I -met Yamdor and two other slaves coming from that direction.” I turned -then upon Yamdor and pointed an accusing finger at him. “Yamdor!” I -cried. “What have you done with this woman?” - -Both Ras Thavas and Yamdor seemed genuinely puzzled and I congratulated -myself that I had thus readily thrown them off the track. The master -surgeon declared that he would make an immediate investigation; and he -at once ordered a thorough search of the ground and of the island -outside the enclosure. Yamdor denied any knowledge of the woman and I, -at least, was aware of the sincerity of his protestations, but not so -Ras Thavas. I could see a hint of suspicion in his eyes as he questioned -his body servant; but evidently he could conjure no motive for any such -treasonable action on the part of Yamdor as would have been represented -by the abduction of the woman and the consequent gross disobedience of -orders. - -Ras Thavas’ investigation revealed nothing. I think as it progressed -that he became gradually more and more imbued with a growing suspicion -that I might know more about the disappearance of Valla Dia than my -attitude indicated, for I presently became aware of a delicately -concealed espionage. Up to this time I had been able to smuggle food to -Valla Dia every night, after Ras Thavas had retired to his quarters. -Then, on one occasion, I suddenly became subconsciously aware that I was -being followed, and instead of going to the vaults I went to the office, -where I added some observations to my report upon a case I had handled -that day. Returning to my room I hummed a few bars from “Over There,” -that the suggestion of my unconcern might be accentuated. From the -moment that I quit my quarters until I returned to them I was sure that -eyes had been watching my every move. What was I to do? Valla Dia must -have food, without it she would die; and were I to be followed to her -hiding place while taking it to her, she would die; Ras Thavas would see -to that. - -Half the night I lay awake, racking my brains for some solution to the -problem. There seemed only one way—I must elude the spies. If I could -do this but one single time I could carry out the balance of a plan that -had occurred to me, and which was, I thought, the only one feasible that -might eventually lead to the resurrection of Valla Dia in her own body. -The way was long, the risks great; but I was young, in love and utterly -reckless of consequences in so far as they concerned me; it was Valla -Dia’s happiness alone that I could not risk too greatly, other than -under dire stress. Well, the stress existed and I must risk that, even -as I risked my life. - -My plan was formulated and I lay awake upon my sleeping silks and furs -in the darkness of my room, awaiting the time when I might put it into -execution. My window, which was upon the third floor, overlooked the -walled enclosure, upon the scarlet sward of which I had made my first -bow to Barsoom. Across the open casement I had watched Cluros, the -farther moon, take his slow deliberate way. He had already set. Behind -him, Thuria, his elusive mistress, fled through the heavens. In five -xats (about 15 minutes) she would set; and then for about three and -three quarters Earth hours the heavens would be dark, except for the -stars. - -In the corridor, perhaps, lurked those watchful eyes. I prayed God that -they might not be elsewhere as Thuria sank at last beneath the horizon -and I swung to my window ledge, in my hand a long rope fabricated from -braided strips torn from my sleeping silks while I had awaited the -setting of the moons. One end I had fastened to a heavy sorapus bench -which I had drawn close to the window. I dropped the free end of the -rope and started my descent. My Earthly muscles, untried in such -endeavours, I had not trusted to the task of carrying me to my window -ledge in a single leap, when I should be returning. I felt that they -would, but I did not know; and too much depended upon the success of my -venture to risk any unnecessary chance of failure. And so I had prepared -the rope. - -Whether I was being observed I did not know. I must go on as though none -were spying upon me. In less than four hours Thuria would return (just -before the sudden Barsoomian dawn) and in the interval I must reach -Valla Dia, persuade her of the necessity of my plan and carry out its -details, returning to my chamber before Thuria could disclose me to any -accidental observer. I carried my weapons with me and in my heart was -unbending determination to slay whoever might cross my path and -recognize me during the course of my errand, however innocent of evil -intent against me he might be. - -The night was quiet except for the usual distant sounds that I had heard -ever since I had been here—sounds that I had interpreted as the cries -of savage beasts. Once I had asked Ras Thavas about them, but he had -been in ill humor and had ignored my question. I reached the ground -quickly and without hesitation moved directly to the nearest entrance of -the building, having previously searched out and determined upon the -route I would follow to the vault. No one was visible and I was -confident, when at last I reached the doorway, that I had come through -undetected. Valla Dia was so happy to see me again that it almost -brought the tears to my eyes. - -“I thought that something had happened to you,” she cried, “for I knew -that you would not remain away so long of your own volition.” - -I told her of my conviction that I was being watched and that it would -not be possible for me longer to bring food to her without incurring -almost certain detection, which would spell immediate death for her. - -“There is a single alternative,” I said, “and that I dread even to -suggest and would not were there any other way. You must be securely -hidden for a long time, until Ras Thavas’ suspicions have been allayed; -for as long as he has me watched I cannot possibly carry out the plans I -have formulated for your eventual release, the restoration of your own -body and your return to Duhor.” - -“Your will shall be my law, Vad Varo.” - -I shook my head. “It will be harder for you than you imagine.” - -“What is the way?” she asked. - -I pointed to the ersite topped table. “You must pass again through that -ordeal that I may hide you away in this vault until the time is ripe for -the carrying out of my plans. Can you endure it?” - -She smiled. “Why not?” she asked. “It is only sleep—if it lasts for -ever I shall be no wiser.” - -I was surprised that she did not shrink from the idea, but I was very -glad since I knew that it was the only way that we had a chance for -success. Without my help she disposed herself upon the ersite slab. - -“I am ready, Vad Varo,” she said, bravely; “but first promise me that -you will take no risks in this mad venture. You cannot succeed. When I -close my eyes I know that it will be for the last time if my -resurrection depends upon the successful outcome of the maddest venture -that ever man conceived; yet I am happy, because I know that it is -inspired by the greatest friendship with which any mortal woman has ever -been blessed.” - -As she talked I had been adjusting the tubes and now I stood beside her -with my finger upon the starting button of the motor. - -“Good-bye, Vad Varo,” she whispered. - -“Not good-bye, Valla Dia, but only a sweet sleep for what to you will be -the briefest instant. You will seem but to close your eyes and open them -again. As you see me now, I shall be standing here beside you as though -I never had departed from you. As I am the last that you look upon -to-night before you close your eyes, so shall I be the first that you -shall look upon as you open them on that new and beautiful morning; but -you shall not again look forth through the eyes of Xaxa, but from the -limpid depths of your own beautiful orbs.” - -She smiled and shook her head. Two tears formed beneath her lids. I -pressed her hand in mine and touched the button. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - SUSPICIONS - - -In so far as I could know I reached my apartment without detection. -Hiding my rope where I was sure it would not be discovered, I sought my -sleeping silks and furs and was soon asleep. - -The following morning as I emerged from my quarters I caught a fleeting -glimpse of a figure in a nearby corridor and from then on for a long -time I had further evidence that Ras Thavas suspicioned me. I went at -once to his quarters, as had been my habit. He seemed restless, but he -gave me no hint that he held any assurance that I had been responsible -for the disappearance of Valla Dia, and I think that he was far from -positive of it. It was simply that his judgment pointed to the fact that -I was the only person who might have any reason for interfering in any -way with this particular subject, and he was having me watched to either -prove or disprove the truth of his reasonable suspicions. His -restlessness he explained to me himself. - -“I have often studied the reaction of others who have undergone brain -transference,” he said, “and so I am not wholly surprised at my own. Not -only has my brain energy been stimulated, resulting in an increased -production of nervous energy, but I also feel the effects of the young -tissue and youthful blood of my new body. They are affecting my -consciousness in a way that my experiment had vaguely indicated, but -which I now see must be actually experienced to be fully understood. My -thoughts, my inclinations, even my ambitions have been changed, or at -least coloured, by the transfer. It will take some time for me to find -myself.” - -Though uninterested, I listened politely until he was through and then I -changed the subject. “Have you located the missing woman?” I asked. - -He shook his head, negatively. - -“You must appreciate, Ras Thavas,” I said, “that I fully realize that -you must have known that the removal or destruction of that woman would -entirely frustrate my entire plan. You are master here. Nothing that -passes is without your knowledge.” - -“You mean that I am responsible for the disappearance of the woman?” he -demanded. - -“Certainly. It is obvious. I demand that she be restored.” - -He lost his temper. “Who are you to demand?” he shouted. “You are naught -but a slave. Cease your impudence or I shall erase you—erase you. It -will be as though you never had existed.” - -I laughed in his face. “Anger is the most futile attribute of the -sentimentalist,” I reminded him. “You will not erase me, for I alone -stand between you and mortality.” - -“I can train another,” he parried. - -“But you could not trust him,” I pointed out. - -“But you bargained with me for my life when you had me in your power,” -he cried. - -“For nothing that it would have harmed you to have granted willingly. I -did not ask anything for myself. Be that as it may, you will trust me -again. You will trust, for no other reason than that you will be forced -to trust me. So why not win my gratitude and my loyalty by returning the -woman to me and carrying out in spirit as well as in fact the terms of -our agreement?” - -He turned and looked steadily at me. “Vad Varo,” he said, “I give you -the word of honor of a Barsoomian noble that I know absolutely nothing -concerning the whereabouts of 4296-E-2631-H.” - -“Perhaps Yamdor does,” I persisted. - -“Nor Yamdor. Of my knowledge no person in any way connected with me -knows what became of it. I have spoken the truth.” - -Well, the conversation was not as profitless as it might appear, for I -was sure that it had almost convinced Ras Thavas that I was equally as -ignorant of the fate of Valla Dia as was he. That it had not wholly -convinced him was evidenced by the fact that the espionage continued for -a long time, a fact which determined me to use Ras Thavas’ own methods -in my own defence. I had had allotted to me a number of slaves, and -these I had won over by kindness and understanding until I knew that I -had the full measure of their loyalty. They had no reason to love Ras -Thavas and every reason to hate him; on the other hand they had no -reason to hate me, and I saw to it that they had every reason to love -me. - -The result was that I had no difficulty in enlisting the services of a -couple of them to spy upon Ras Thavas’ spies, with the result that I was -soon apprised that my suspicions were well founded—I was being -constantly watched every minute that I was out of my apartments, but the -spying did not come beyond my outer chamber walls. That was why I had -been successful in reaching the vault in the manner that I had, the -spies having assumed that I would leave my chamber only by its natural -exit, had been content to guard that and permit my windows to go -unwatched. - -I think it was about two of our months that the spying continued and -then my men reported that it seemed to have ceased entirely. All that -time I was fretting at the delay, for I wanted to be about my plans -which would have been absolutely impossible for me to carry out if I -were being watched. I had spent the interval in studying the geography -of the north-eastern Barsoomian hemisphere where my activities were to -be carried on, and also in scanning a great number of case histories and -inspecting the subjects to which they referred; but at last, with the -removal of the spies, it began to look as though I might soon commence -to put my plans in active operation. - -Ras Thavas had for some time permitted me considerable freedom in -independent investigation and experiment, and this I determined to take -advantage of in every possible way that might forward my plans for the -resurrection of Valla Dia. My study of the histories of many of the -cases had been with the possibility in mind of discovering subjects that -might be of assistance to me in my venture. Among those that had -occupied my careful attention were, quite naturally, the cases with -which I had been most familiar, namely: 378-J-493811-P, the red-man from -whose vicious attack I had saved Ras Thavas upon the day of my advent -upon Mars; and he whose brain had been divided with an ape. - -The former, 378-J-493811-P, had been a native of Phundahl—a young -warrior attached to the court of Xaxa, Jeddara of Phundahl—and a victim -of assassination. His body had been purchased by a Phundahlian noble for -the purpose, as Ras Thavas had narrated, of winning the favor of a young -beauty. I felt that I might possibly enlist his services, but that would -depend upon the extent of his loyalty towards Xaxa, which I could only -determine by reviving and questioning him. - -He whose brain had been divided with an ape had originated in Ptarth, -which lay at a considerable distance to the west of Phundahl and a -little south and about an equal distance from Duhor, which lay north and -a little west of it. An inhabitant of Ptarth, I reasoned, would know -much of the entire country included in the triangle formed by Phundahl, -Ptarth and Duhor; the strength and ferocity of the great ape would prove -of value in crossing beast infested wastes; and I felt that I could hold -forth sufficient promise to the human half of the great beast’s brain, -which really now dominated the creature, to win its support and loyalty. -The third subject that I had tentatively selected had been a notorious -Toonolian assassin, whose audacity, fearlessness and swordsmanship had -won for him a reputation that had spread far beyond the boundaries of -his country. - -Ras Thavas, himself a Toonolian, had given me something of the history -of this man whose grim calling is not without honor upon Barsoom, and -which Gor Hajus had raised still higher in the esteem of his countrymen -through the fact that he never struck down a woman or a good man and -that he never struck from behind. His killings were always the results -of fair fights in which the victim had every opportunity to defend -himself and slay his attacker; and he was famous for his loyalty to his -friends. In fact this very loyalty had been a contributing factor in his -downfall which had brought him to one of Ras Thavas’ ersite slabs some -years since, for he had earned the enmity of Vobis Kan, Jeddak of -Toonol, through his refusal to assassinate a man who once had befriended -Gor Hajus in some slight degree; following which Vobis Kan conceived the -suspicion that Gor Hajus had him marked for slaying. The result was -inevitable: Gor Hajus was arrested and condemned to death; immediately -following the execution of the sentence an agent of Ras Thavas had -purchased the body. - -These three, then, I had chosen to be my partners in my great adventure. -It is true that I had not discussed the matter with any one of them, but -my judgment assured me that I would have no difficulty in enlisting -their services and loyalty in return for their total resurrection. - -My first task lay in renewing the organs of 378-J-493811-P and of Gor -Hajus which had been injured by the wounds that had laid them low; the -former requiring a new lung and the latter a new heart, his executioner -having run him through with a short-sword. I hesitated to ask Ras -Thavas’ permission to experiment on these subjects for fear of the -possibility of arousing his suspicions, in which event he would probably -have them destroyed; and so I was forced to accomplish my designs by -subterfuge and stealth. To this end I made it a practice for weeks to -carry my regular laboratory work far into the night, often requiring the -services of various assistants that all might become accustomed to the -sight of me at work at unusual hours. In my selection of these -assistants I made it a point to choose two of the very spies that Ras -Thavas had set to watching me. While it was true that they were no -longer employed in this particular service, I had hopes that they would -carry word of my activities to their master; and I was careful to see -that they received from me the proper suggestions that would mould their -report in language far from harmful to me. By the merest suggestion I -carried to them the idea that I worked thus late purely for the love of -the work itself and the tremendous interest in it that Ras Thavas had -awakened within my mind. Some nights I worked with assistants and as -often I did not, but always I was careful to assure myself that the -following morning those in the office were made aware that I had labored -far into the preceding night. - -This groundwork carefully prepared, I had comparatively little fear of -the results of actual discovery when I set to work upon the warrior of -Phundahl and the assassin of Toonol. I chose the former first. His lung -was badly injured where my blade had passed through it, but from the -laboratory where were kept fractional bodies I brought a perfect lung, -with which I replaced the one that I had ruined. The work occupied but -half the night. So anxious was I to complete my task that I immediately -opened up the breast of Gor Hajus, for whom I had selected an unusually -strong and powerful heart, and by working rapidly I succeeded in -completing the transference before dawn. Having known the nature of the -wounds that had dispatched these two men, I had spent weeks in -performing similar operations that I might perfect myself especially in -this work; and having encountered no unusual pathological conditions in -either subject, the work had progressed smoothly and with great -rapidity. I had completed what I had feared would be the most difficult -part of my task and now, having removed as far as possible all signs of -the operation except the therapeutic tape which closed the incisions, I -returned to my quarters for a few minutes of much needed rest, praying -that Ras Thavas would not by any chance examine either of the subjects -upon which I had been working; although I had fortified myself against -such a contingency by entering full details of the operation upon the -history card of each subject that, in the event of discovery, any -suspicion of ulterior motives upon my part might be allayed by my play -of open frankness. - -I arose at the usual time and went at once to Ras Thavas’ apartment, -where I was met with a bombshell that nearly wrecked my composure. He -eyed me closely for a long minute before he spoke. - -“You worked late last night, Vad Varo,” he said. - -“I often do,” I replied, lightly; but my heart was heavy as a stone. - -“And what might it have been that so occupied your interest?” he -inquired. - -I felt as a mouse with which the cat is playing. “I have been doing -quite a little lung and heart transference of late,” I replied, “and I -became so engrossed with my work that I did not note the passage of -time.” - -“I have known that you worked late at night. Do you think it wise?” - -At that moment I felt that it had been very unwise, yet I assured him to -the contrary. - -“I was restless,” he said. “I could not sleep and so I went to your -quarters after midnight, but you were not there. I wanted someone with -whom to talk, but your slaves knew only that you were not there—where -you were they did not know—so I set out to search for you.” My heart -went into my sandals. “I guessed that you were in one of the -laboratories, but though I visited several I did not find you.” My heart -arose with the lightness of a feather. “Since my own transference I have -been cursed with restlessness and sleeplessness, so that I could almost -wish for the return of my old corpse—the youth of my body harmonizes -not with the antiquity of my brain. It is filled with latent urges and -desires that comport illy with the serious subject matter of my mind.” - -“What your body needs,” I said, “is exercise. It is young, strong, -virile. Work it hard and it will let your brain rest at night.” - -“I know that you are right,” he replied. “I have reached that same -conclusion myself. In fact, not finding you, I walked in the gardens for -an hour or more before returning to my quarters, and then I slept -soundly. I shall walk every night when I cannot sleep, or I shall go -into the laboratories and work as do you.” - -This news was most disquieting. Now I could never be sure but that Ras -Thavas was wandering about at night and I had one more very important -night’s work to do, perhaps two. The only way that I could be sure of -him was to be with him. - -“Send for me when you are restless,” I said, “and I will walk and work -with you. You should not go about thus at night alone.” - -“Very well,” he said, “I may do that occasionally.” - -I hoped that he would do it always, for then I would know that when he -failed to send for me he was safe in his own quarters. Yet I saw that I -must henceforth face the menace of detection; and knowing this I -determined to hasten the completion of my plans and to risk everything -on a single bold stroke. - -That night I had no opportunity to put it into action as Ras Thavas sent -for me early and informed me that we would walk in the gardens until he -was tired. Now, as I needed a full night for what I had in mind and as -Ras Thavas walked until midnight, I was compelled to forego everything -for that evening, but the following morning I persuaded him to walk -early on the pretext that I should like to go beyond the enclosure and -see something of Barsoom beside the inside of his laboratories and his -gardens. I had little confidence that he would grant my request, yet he -did so. I am sure he never would have done it had he possessed his old -body; but thus greatly had young blood changed Ras Thavas. - -I had never been beyond the buildings, nor had I seen beyond, since -there were no windows in the outside walls of any of the structures and -upon the garden side the trees had grown to such a height that they -obstructed all view beyond them. For a time we walked in another garden -just inside the outer wall, and then I asked Ras Thavas if I might go -even beyond this. - -“No,” he said. “It would not be safe.” - -“And why not?” I asked. - -“I will show you and at the same time give you a much broader view of -the outside world than you could obtain by merely passing through the -gate. Come, follow me!” - -He led me immediately to a lofty tower that rose at the corner of the -largest building of the group that comprised his vast establishment. -Within was a circular runway which led not only upward, but down as -well. This we ascended, passing openings at each floor, until we came at -last out upon its lofty summit. - -About me spread the first Barsoomian landscape of any extent upon which -my eyes had yet rested during the long months that I had spent upon the -Red Planet. For almost an Earthly year I had been immured within the -grim walls of Ras Thavas’ bloody laboratory, until, such creatures of -habit are we, the weird life there had grown to seem quite natural and -ordinary; but with this first glimpse of open country there surged up -within me an urge for freedom, for space, for room to move about, such -as I knew would not be long denied. - -Directly beneath lay an irregular patch of rocky land elevated perhaps a -dozen feet or more above the general level of the immediately -surrounding country. Its extent was, at a rough guess, a hundred acres. -Upon this stood the buildings and grounds, which were enclosed in a high -wall. The tower upon which we stood was situated at about the centre of -the total area enclosed. Beyond the outer wall was a strip of rocky -ground on which grew a sparse forest of fair sized trees interspersed -with patches of a jungle growth, and beyond all, what appeared to be an -oozy marsh through which were narrow water courses connecting occasional -open water—little lakes, the largest of which could have comprised -scarce two acres. This landscape extended as far as the eye could reach, -broken by occasional islands similar to that upon which we were and at a -short distance by the skyline of a large city, whose towers and domes -and minarets glistened and sparkled in the sun as though plated with -shining metals and picked out with precious gems. - -This, I knew, must be Toonol and all about us the Great Toonolian -Marshes which extend nearly eighteen hundred Earth miles east and west -and in some places have a width of three hundred miles. Little is known -about them in other portions of Barsoom as they are frequented by fierce -beasts, afford no landing places for fliers and are commanded by -Phundahl at their western end and Toonol at the east; inhospitable -kingdoms that invite no intercourse with the outside world and maintain -their independence alone by their inaccessibility and savage aloofness. - -As my eyes returned to the island at our feet I saw a huge form emerge -from one of the nearby patches of jungle a short distance beyond the -outer wall. It was followed by a second and a third. Ras Thavas saw that -the creatures had attracted my notice. - -“There,” he said, pointing to them, “are three of a number of similar -reasons why it would not have been safe for us to venture outside the -enclosure.” - -They were great white apes of Barsoom, creatures so savage that even -that fierce Barsoomian lion, the banth, hesitates to cross their path. - -“They serve two purposes,” explained Ras Thavas. “They discourage those -who might otherwise creep upon me by night from the city of Toonol, -where I am not without many good enemies, and they prevent desertion -upon the part of my slaves and assistants.” - -“But how do your clients reach you?” I asked. “How are your supplies -brought in?” - -He turned and pointed down toward the highest portion of the irregular -roof of the building below us. Built upon it was a large, shed-like -structure. “There,” he said, “I keep three small ships. One of them goes -every day to Toonol.” - -I was overcome with eagerness to know more about these ships, in which I -thought I saw a much needed means of escape from the island; but I dared -not question him for fear of arousing his suspicions. - -As we turned to descend the tower runway I expressed interest in the -structure which gave evidence of being far older than any of the -surrounding buildings. - -“This tower,” said Ras Thavas, “was built some twenty-three thousand -years ago by an ancestor of mine who was driven from Toonol by the -reigning Jeddak of the time. Here, and upon other islands, he gathered a -considerable following, dominated the surrounding marshes and defended -himself successfully for hundreds of years. While my family has been -permitted to return to Toonol since, this has been their home; to which, -one by one, have been added the various buildings which you see about -the tower, each floor of which connects with the adjacent building from -the roof to the lowest pits beneath the ground.” - -This information also interested me greatly since I thought that I saw -where it too might have considerable bearing upon my plan of escape, and -so, as we descended the runway, I encouraged Ras Thavas to discourse -upon the construction of the tower, its relation to the other buildings -and especially its accessibility from the pits. We walked again in the -outer garden and by the time we returned to Ras Thavas’ quarters it was -almost dark and the master surgeon was considerably fatigued. - -“I feel that I shall sleep well to-night,” he said as I left him. - -“I hope so, Ras Thavas,” I replied. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - ESCAPE - - -It was usually about three hours after the evening meal, which was -served immediately after dark, that the establishment quieted down -definitely for the night. While I should have preferred waiting longer -before undertaking that which I had in mind, I could not safely do so, -since there was much to be accomplished before dawn. So it was that with -the first indications that the occupants of the building in which my -work was to be performed had retired for the night, I left my quarters -and went directly to the laboratory, where, fortunately for my plans, -the bodies of Gor Hajus, the assassin of Toonol, and 378-J-493811-P both -reposed. It was the work of a few minutes to carry them to adjoining -tables, where I quickly strapped them securely against the possibility -that one or both of them might not be willing to agree to the -proposition I was about to make them, and thus force me to anaesthetize -them again. At last the incisions were made, the tubes attached and the -motors started. 378-J-493811-P, whom I shall hereafter call by his own -name, Dar Tarus, was the first to open his eyes; but he had not regained -full consciousness when Gor Hajus showed signs of life. - -I waited until both appeared quite restored. Dar Tarus was eyeing me -with growing recognition that brought a most venomous expression of -hatred to his countenance. Gor Hajus was frankly puzzled. The last he -remembered was the scene in the death chamber at the instant that his -executioner had run a sword through his heart. It was I who broke the -silence. - -“In the first place,” I said, “let me tell you where you are, if you do -not already know.” - -“I know well enough where I am,” growled Dar Tarus. - -“Ah!” exclaimed Gor Hajus, whose eyes had been roaming about the -chamber. “I can guess where I am. What Toonolian has not heard of Ras -Thavas? So they sold my corpse to the old butcher did they? And what -now? Did I just arrive?” - -“You have been here six years,” I told him, “and you may stay here for -ever unless we three can reach an agreement within the next few minutes, -and that goes for you too, Dar Tarus.” - -“Six years!” mused Gor Hajus. “Well, out with it, man. What do you want? -If it is to slay Ras Thavas, no! He has saved me from utter destruction; -but name me some other, preferably Vobis Kan, Jeddak of Toonol. Find me -a blade and I will slay a hundred to regain life.” - -“I seek the life of none unless he stands in the way of the fulfilment -of my desire in this matter that I have in hand. Listen! Ras Thavas had -here a beautiful Duhorian girl. He sold her body to Xaxa, Jeddara of -Phundahl, transplanting the girl’s brain to the wrinkled and hideous -body of the Jeddara. It is my intention to regain the body, restore it -to its own brain and return the girl to Duhor.” - -Gor Hajus grinned. “You have a large contract on your hands,” he said, -“but I can see that you are a man after my own heart and I am with you. -It will give freedom and fighting, and all that I ask is a chance for -one thrust at Vobis Kan.” - -“I promise you life,” I replied; “but with the understanding that you -serve me faithfully and none other, undertaking no business of your own, -until mine has been carried to a successful conclusion.” - -“That means that I shall have to serve you for life,” he replied, “for -the thing you have undertaken you can never accomplish; but that is -better than lying here on a cold ersite slab waiting for old Ras Thavas -to come along and carve out my gizzard. I am yours! Let me up, that I -may feel a good pair of legs under me again.” - -“And you?” I asked, turning to Dar Tarus as I released the bonds that -held Gor Hajus. For the first time I now noticed that the ugly -expression that I had first noted upon the face of Dar Tarus had given -place to one of eagerness. - -“Strike off my bonds!” he cried. “I will follow you to the ends of -Barsoom and the way leads thus far to the fulfilment of your design; but -it will not. It will lead to Phundahl and to the chamber of the wicked -Xaxa, where, by the generosity of my ancestors, I may be given the -opportunity to avenge the hideous wrong the creature did me. You could -not have chosen one better fitted for your mission than Dar Tarus, one -time soldier of the Jeddara’s Guard, whom she had slain that in my -former body one of her rotten nobles might woo the girl I loved.” - -A moment later the two men stood at my side, and without more delay I -led them towards the runway that descended to the pits beneath the -building. As we went, I described to them the creature I had chosen to -be the fourth member of our strange party. Gor Hajus questioned the -wisdom of my choice, saying that the ape would attract too much -attention to us. Dar Tarus, however, believed that it might be helpful -in many respects, since it was possible that we might be compelled to -spend some time among the islands of the marshes which were often -infested with these creatures; while, once in Phundahl, the ape might -readily be used in the furtherance of our plans and would cause no -considerable comment in a city where many of these beasts are held in -captivity and often are seen performing for the edification of street -crowds. - -We went at once to the vault where the ape lay and where I had concealed -the anaesthetized body of Valla Dia. Here I revived the great anthropoid -and to my great relief found that the human half of its brain still was -dominant. Briefly I explained my plan as I had to the other two and won -the hearty promise of his support upon my engaging to restore his brain -to its rightful place upon the completion of our venture. - -First we must get off the island, and I outlined two plans I had in -mind. One was to steal one of Ras Thavas’ three fliers and set out -directly for Phundahl, and the other, in the event that the first did -not seem feasible, was to secrete ourselves aboard one of them on the -chance that we might either overpower the crew and take over the ship -after we had left the island, or escape undetected upon its arrival in -Toonol. Dar Tarus liked the first plan; the ape, whom we now called by -the name belonging to the human half of his brain, Hovan Du, preferred -the first alternative of the second plan; and Gor Hajus the second -alternative. - -Dar Tarus explained that as our principal objective was Phundahl, the -quicker we got there the better. Hovan Du argued that by seizing the -ship after it had left the island we would have longer time in which to -make our escape before the ship was missed and pursuit instituted, than -by seizing it now in the full knowledge that its absence would be -discovered within a few hours. Gor Hajus thought that it would be better -if we could come into Toonol secretly and there, through one of his -friends, secure arms and a flier of our own. It would never do, he -insisted, to attempt to go far without arms for himself and Dar Tarus, -nor could we hope to reach Phundahl without being overhauled by -pursuers; for we must plan on the hypothesis that Ras Thavas would -immediately discover my absence; that he would at once investigate; that -he would find Dar Tarus and Gor Hajus missing and thereupon lose no time -in advising Vobis Kan, Jeddak of Toonol, that Gor Hajus the assassin was -at large, whereupon the Jeddak’s best ships would be sent in pursuit. - -Gor Hajus’ reasoning was sound and coupled with my recollection that Ras -Thavas had told me that his three ships were slow, I could readily -foresee that our liberty would be of short duration were we to steal one -of the old surgeon’s fliers. - -As we discussed the matter we had made our way through the pits and I -had found the exit to the tower. Silently we passed upward along the -runway and out upon the roof. Both moons were winging low through the -heavens and the scene was almost as light as day. If anyone was about -discovery was certain. We hastened towards the hangar and were soon -within it, where, for a moment at least, I breathed far more easily than -I had beneath those two brilliant moons upon the exposed roof. - -The fliers were peculiar looking contrivances, low, squat, with rounded -bows and sterns and covered decks, their every line proclaiming them as -cargo carriers built for anything but speed. One was much smaller than -the other two and a second was evidently undergoing repairs. The third I -entered and examined carefully. Gor Hajus was with me and pointed out -several places where we might hide with little likelihood of discovery -unless it were suspected that we might be aboard, and that of course -constituted a very real danger; so much so that I had about decided to -risk all aboard the small flier, which Gor Hajus assured me would be the -fastest of the three, when Dar Tarus stuck his head into the ship and -motioned me to come quickly. - -“There is someone about,” he said when I reached his side. - -“Where?” I demanded. - -“Come,” he said, and led me to the rear of the hangar, which was flush -with the wall of the building upon which it stood, and pointed through -one of the windows into the inner garden where, to my consternation, I -saw Ras Thavas walking slowly to and fro. For an instant I was sick with -despair, for I knew that no ship could leave that roof unseen while -anyone was abroad in the garden beneath, and Ras Thavas least of all -people in the world; but suddenly a great light dawned upon me. I called -the three close to me and explained my plan. - -Instantly they grasped the possibilities in it and a moment later we had -run the small flier out upon the roof and turned her nose toward the -east, away from Toonol. Then Gor Hajus entered her, set the various -controls as we had decided, opened the throttle, slipped back to the -roof. The four of us hastened into the hangar and ran to the rear window -where we saw the ship moving slowly and gracefully out over the garden -and the head of Ras Thavas, whose ears must instantly have caught the -faint purring of the motor, for he was looking up by the time we reached -the window. - -Instantly he hailed the ship and stepping back from the window that he -might not see me I answered: “Good-bye, Ras Thavas! It is I, Vad Varo, -going out into a strange world to see what it is like. I shall return. -The spirits of your ancestors be with you until then.” That was a phrase -I had picked up from reading in Ras Thavas’ library and I was quite -proud of it. - -“Come back at once,” he shouted up in reply, “or you will be with the -spirits of your own ancestors before another day is done.” - -I made no reply. The ship was now at such a distance that I feared my -voice might no longer seem to come from it and that we should be -discovered. Without more delay we concealed ourselves aboard one of the -remaining fliers, that upon which no work was being done, and there -commenced as long and tiresome a period of waiting as I can recall ever -having passed through. - -I had at last given up any hope of the ship’s being flown that day when -I heard voices in the hangar, and presently the sound of footsteps -aboard the flier. A moment later a few commands were given and almost -immediately the ship moved slowly out into the open. - -The four of us were crowded into a small compartment built into a tiny -space between the forward and aft starboard buoyancy tanks. It was very -dark and poorly ventilated, having evidently been designed as a storage -closet to utilize otherwise waste space. We dared not converse for fear -of attracting attention to our presence, and for the same reason we -moved about as little as possible, since we had no means of knowing but -that some member of the crew might be just beyond the thin door that -separated us from the main cabin of the ship. Altogether we were most -uncomfortable; but the distance to Toonol is not so great but that we -might hope that our situation would soon be changed—at least if Toonol -was to be the destination of the ship. Of this we soon had cheering -hope. We had been out but a short time when, faintly, we heard a hail -and then the motors were immediately shut down and the ship stopped. - -“What ship?” we heard a voice demand, and from aboard our own came the -reply: - -“The Vosar, Tower of Thavas for Toonol.” We heard a scraping as the -other ship touched ours. - -“We are coming aboard to search you in the name of Vobis Kan, Jeddak of -Toonol. Make way!” shouted one from the other ship. Our cheer had been -of short duration. We heard the shuffling of many feet and Gor Hajus -whispered in my ear. - -“What shall we do?” he asked. - -I slipped my short-sword into his hand. “Fight!” I replied. - -“Good, Vad Varo,” he replied, and then I handed him my pistol and told -him to pass it on to Dar Tarus. We heard the voices again, but nearer -now. - -“What ho!” cried one. “It is Bal Zak himself, my old friend Bal Zak!” - -“None other,” replied a deep voice. “And whom did you expect to find in -command of the Vosar other than Bal Zak?” - -“Who could know but that it might have been this Vad Varo himself, or -even Gor Hajus,” said the other, “and our orders are to search all -ships.” - -“I would that they were here,” replied Bal Zak, “for the reward is high. -But how could they, when Ras Thavas himself with his own eyes saw them -fly off in the Pinsar before dawn this day and disappear in the east?” - -“Right you are, Bal Zak,” agreed the other, “and it were a waste of time -to search your ship. Come men! to our own!” - -I could feel the muscles about my heart relax with the receding -footfalls of Vobis Kan’s warriors as they quitted the deck of the Vosar -for their own ship, and my spirits rose with the renewed purring of our -own motor as Ras Thavas’ flier again got under way. Gor Hajus bent his -lips close to my ear. - -“The spirits of our ancestors smile upon us,” he whispered. “It is night -and the darkness will aid in covering our escape from the ship and the -landing stage.” - -“What makes you think it is night?” I asked. - -“Vobis Kan’s ship was close by when it hailed and asked our name. By -daylight it could have seen what ship we were.” - -He was right. We had been locked in that stuffy hole since before dawn, -and while I had thought that it had been for a considerable time, I also -had realized that the darkness and the inaction and the nervous strain -would tend to make it seem much longer than it really had been; so that -I would not have been greatly surprised had we made Toonol by daylight. - -The distance from the Tower of Thavas to Toonol is inconsiderable, so -that shortly after Vobis Kan’s ship had spoken to us we came to rest -upon the landing stage at our destination. For a long time we waited, -listening to the sounds of movement aboard the ship and wondering, upon -my part at least, as to what the intentions of the captain might be. It -was quite possible that Bal Zak might return to Thavas this same night, -especially if he had come to Toonol to fetch a rich or powerful patient -to the laboratories; but if he had come only for supplies he might well -lie here until the morrow. This much I had learned from Gor Hajus, my -own knowledge of the movements of the fliers of Ras Thavas being -considerably less than nothing; for, though I had been months a -lieutenant of the master surgeon, I had learned only the day before of -the existence of his small fleet, it being according to the policy of -Ras Thavas to tell me nothing unless the telling of it coincided with -and furthered his own plans. - -Questions which I asked he always answered, if he reasoned that the -effects would not be harmful to his own interests, but he volunteered -nothing that he did not particularly wish me to know; and the fact that -there were no windows in the outside walls of the building facing -towards Toonol, that I had never before the previous day been upon the -roof and that I never had seen a ship sail over the inner court towards -the east all tended to explain my ignorance of the fleet and its -customary operations. - -We waited quietly until silence fell upon the ship, betokening either -that the crew had retired for the night or that they had gone down into -the city. Then, after a whispered consultation with Gor Hajus, we -decided to make an attempt to leave the flier. It was our purpose to -seek a hiding place within the tower of the landing stage from which we -might investigate possible avenues of escape into the city, either at -once or upon the morrow when we might more easily mix with the crowd -that Gor Hajus said would certainly be in evidence from a few hours -after sunrise. - -Cautiously I opened the door of our closet and looked into the main -cabin beyond. It lay in darkness. Silently we filed out. The silence of -the tomb lay upon the flier, but from far below arose the subdued noises -of the city. So far, so good! Then, without sound, without warning, a -burst of brilliant light illuminated the interior of the cabin. I felt -my fingers tighten upon my sword-hilt as I glanced quickly about. - -Directly opposite us, in the narrow doorway of a small cabin, stood a -tall man whose handsome harness betokened the fact that he was no common -warrior. In either hand he held a heavy Barsoomian pistol, into the -muzzles of which we found ourselves staring. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - HANDS UP! - - -In quiet tones he spoke the words of the Barsoomian equivalent of our -Earthly _hands up!_ The shadow of a grim smile touched his lips, and as -he saw us hesitate to obey his commands he spoke again. - -“Do as I tell you and you will be well off. Keep perfect silence. A -raised voice may spell your doom; a pistol shot most assuredly.” - -Gor Hajus raised his hands above his head and we others followed his -example. - -“I am Bal Zak,” announced the stranger. My heart slumped. - -“Then you had better commence firing,” said Gor Hajus, “for you will not -take us alive and we are four to one.” - -“Not so fast, Gor Hajus,” admonished the captain of the Vosar, “until -you learn what is in my mind.” - -“That, we already know for we heard you speak of the large reward that -awaited the captor of Vad Varo and Gor Hajus,” snapped the assassin of -Toonol. - -“Had I craved that reward so much I could have turned you over to the -dwar of Vobis Kan’s ship when he boarded us,” said Bal Zak. - -“You did not know we were aboard the Vosar,” I reminded him. - -“Ah, but I did.” - -Gor Hajus snorted his disbelief. - -“How then,” Bal Zak reminded us, “was I able to be ready upon this very -spot when you emerged from your hiding place? Yes, I knew that you were -aboard.” - -“But how?” demanded Dar Tarus. - -“It is immaterial,” replied Bal Zak, “but to satisfy your natural -curiosity I will tell you that I have quarters in a small room in the -Tower of Thavas, my windows overlook the roof and the hangar. My long -life spent aboard fliers has made me very sensitive to every sound of a -ship—motors changing their speed will awaken me in the dead of night, -as quickly as will their starting or their stopping. I was awakened by -the starting of the motors of the Pinsar; I saw three of you upon the -roof and the fourth drop from the deck of the flier as she started and -my judgment told me that the ship was being sent out unmanned for some -reason of which I had no knowledge. It was too late for me to prevent -the act and so I waited in silence to learn what would follow. I saw you -hasten into the hangar and I heard Ras Thavas’ hail and your reply, and -then I saw you board the Vosar. Immediately I descended to the roof and -ran noiselessly to the hangar, apprehending that you intended making -away with this ship; but there was no one about the controls; and from a -tiny port in the control room, through which one has a view of the main -cabin, I saw you enter the closet. I was at once convinced that your -only purpose was to stow away for Toonol and consequently, aside from -keeping an eye upon your hiding place, I went about my business as -usual.” - -“And you did not advise Ras Thavas?” I asked. - -“I advised no one,” he replied. “Years ago I learned to mind my own -business, to see all, to hear all and to tell nothing unless it profited -me to do so.” - -“But you said that the reward is high for our apprehension,” Gor Hajus -reminded him. “Would it not be profitable to collect it?” - -“There are in the breasts of honourable men,” replied Bal Zak, “forces -that rise superior to the lust for gold, and while Toonolians are -supposedly a people free from the withering influences of sentiment yet -I for one am not totally unconscious of the demand of gratitude. Six -years ago, Gor Hajus, you refused to assassinate my father, holding that -he was a good man, worthy to live and one that had once befriended you -slightly. To-day, through his son, you reap your reward and in some -measure are repaid for the punishment that was meted out to you by Vobis -Kan because of your refusal to slay the sire of Bal Zak. I have sent my -crew away that none aboard the Vosar but myself might have knowledge of -your presence. Tell me your plans and command me in what way I may be of -further service to you.” - -“We wish to reach the streets, unobserved,” replied Gor Hajus. “Can you -but help us in that we shall not put upon your shoulders further -responsibility for our escape. You have our gratitude and in Toonol, I -need not remind you, the gratitude of Gor Hajus is a possession that -even the Jeddak has craved.” - -“Your problem is complicated,” said Bal Zak, after a moment of thought, -“by the personnel of your party. The ape would immediately attract -attention and arouse suspicion. Knowing much of Ras Thavas’ experiments -I realized at once this morning, after watching him with you, that he -had the brain of a man; but this very fact would attract to him and to -you the closer attention of the masses.” - -“I do not need acquaint them with the fact,” growled Hovan Du. “To them -I need be but a captive ape. Are such unknown in Toonol?” - -“Not entirely, though they are rare,” replied Bal Zak. “But there is -also the white skin of Vad Varo! Ras Thavas appears to have known -nothing of the presence of the ape with you; but he full well knew of -Vad Varo, and your description has been spread by every means at his -command. You would be recognized immediately by the first Toonolian that -lays eyes upon you, and then there is Gor Hajus. He has been as dead for -six years, yet I venture there is scarce a Toonolian that broke the -shell prior to ten years ago who does not know the face of Gor Hajus as -well as he knows that of his own mother. The Jeddak himself was not -better known to the people of Toonol than Gor Hajus. That leaves but one -who might possibly escape suspicion and detection in the streets of -Toonol.” - -“If we could but obtain weapons for these others,” I suggested, “we -might even yet reach the house of Gor Hajus’ friend.” - -“Fight your way through the city of Toonol?” demanded Bal Zak. - -“If there is no other way we should have to,” I replied. - -“I admire the will,” commented the commander of the Vosar, “but fear -that the flesh is without sufficient strength. Wait! there is a -way—perhaps. On the stage just below this there is a public depot where -equilibrimotors are kept and rented. Could we find the means to obtain -four of these there would be a chance, at least, for you to elude the -air patrols and reach the house of Gor Hajus’ friend; and I think I see -a way to the accomplishment of that. The landing tower is closed for the -night but there are several watchmen distributed through it at different -levels. There is one at the equilibrimotor depot and, as I happen to -know, he is a devotee of jetan. He would rather play jetan than attend -to his duties as watchman. I often remain aboard the Vosar at night and -occasionally he and I indulge in a game. I will ask him up to-night and -while he is thus engaged you may go to the depot, help yourselves to -equilibrimotors and pray to your ancestors that no air patrol suspects -you as you cross the city towards your destination. What think you of -this plan, Gor Hajus?” - -“It is splendid,” replied the assassin. “And you, Vad Varo?” - -“If I knew what an equilibrimotor is I might be in a better position to -judge the merits of the plan,” I replied. “However, I am satisfied to -abide by the judgment of Gor Hajus. I can assure you, Bal Zak, of our -great appreciation, and as Gor Hajus has put the stamp of his approval -upon your plan I can only urge you to arrange that we may put it into -effect with as little delay as possible.” - -“Good!” exclaimed Bal Zak. “Come with me and I will conceal you until I -have lured the watchman to the jetan game within my cabin. After that -your fate will be in your own hands.” - -We followed him from the ship on to the deck of the landing stage and -close under the side of the Vosar opposite that from which the watchman -must approach the ship and enter it. Then, bidding us good luck, Bal Zak -departed. - -From the summit of the landing tower I had my first view of a Martian -city. Several hundred feet below me lay spread the broad, well-lighted -avenues of Toonol, many of which were crowded with people. Here and -there, in this central district, a building was raised high upon its -supporting, cylindrical metal shaft; while further out, where the -residences predominated, the city took on the appearance of a colossal -and grotesque forest. Among the larger palaces only an occasional suite -of rooms was thus raised high above the level of the others, these being -the sleeping apartments of the owners, their servants or their guests; -but the smaller homes were raised in their entirety, a precaution -necessitated by the constant activities of the followers of Gor Hajus’ -ancient profession that permitted no man to be free from the constant -menace of assassination. Throughout the central district the sky was -pierced by the lofty towers of several other landing stages; but, as I -was later to learn, these were comparatively few in number. Toonol is in -no sense a flying nation, supporting no such enormous fleets of merchant -ships and vessels of war as, for example, the twin cities of Helium or -the great capital of Ptarth. - -A peculiar feature of the street lighting of Toonol, and in fact the -same condition applies to the lighting of other Barsoomian cities I have -visited, I noted for the first time that night as I waited upon the -landing stage for the return of Bal Zak with the watchman. The -luminosity below me seemed confined directly to the area to be lighted; -there was no diffusion of light upward or beyond the limits the lamps -were designed to light. This was effected, I was told, by lamps designed -upon principles resulting from ages of investigation of the properties -of light waves and the laws governing them which permit Barsoomian -scientists to confine and control light as we confine and control -matter. The light waves leave the lamp, pass along a prescribed circuit -and return to the lamp. There is no waste nor, strange this seemed to -me, are there any dense shadows when lights are properly installed and -adjusted; for the waves in passing around objects to return to the lamp, -illuminate all sides of them. - -The effect of this lighting from the great height of the tower was -rather remarkable. The night was dark, there being no moons at that hour -upon this night, and the effect was that obtained when sitting in a -darkened auditorium and looking upon a brilliantly lighted stage. I was -still intent upon watching the life and colour beneath when we heard Bal -Zak returning. That he had been successful in his mission was apparent -from the fact that he was conversing with another. - -Five minutes later we crept quietly from our hiding place and descended -to the stage below where lay the equilibrimotor depot. As theft is -practically unknown upon Barsoom, except for purposes entirely -disassociated from a desire to obtain pecuniary profit through the thing -stolen, no precautions are taken against theft. We therefore found the -doors of the depot open and Gor Hajus and Dar Tarus quickly selected -four equilibrimotors and adjusted them upon us. They consist of a broad -belt, not unlike the life belt used aboard trans-oceanic liners upon -Earth; these belts are filled with the eighth Barsoomian ray, or ray of -propulsion, to a sufficient degree to just about equalize the pull of -gravity and thus to maintain a person in equilibrium between that force -and the opposite force exerted by the eighth ray. Permanently attached -to the back of the belt is a small radium motor, the controls for which -are upon the front of the belt. Rigidly attached to and projecting from -each side of the upper rim of the belt is a strong, light wing with -small hand levers for quickly altering its position. - -Gor Hajus quickly explained the method of control, but I could apprehend -that there might be embarrassment and trouble awaiting me before I -mastered the art of flying in an equilibrimotor. He showed me how to -tilt the wings downward in walking so that I would not leave the ground -at every step, and thus he led me to the edge of the landing stage. - -“We will rise here,” he said, “and keeping in the darkness of the upper -levels seek to reach the house of my friend without being detected. If -we are pursued by air patrols we must separate; and later those who -escape may gather just west of the city wall where you will find a small -lake with a deserted tower upon its northern rim—this tower will be our -rendezvous in event of trouble. Follow me!” He started his motor and -rose gracefully into the air. - -Hovan Du followed him and then it was my turn. I rose beautifully for -about twenty feet, floating out over the city which lay hundreds of feet -below, and then, quite suddenly, I turned upside down. I had done -something wrong—I was quite positive of it. It was a most startling -sensation, I can assure you, floating there with my head down, quite -helpless; while below me lay the streets of a great city and no softer, -I was sure, than the streets of Los Angeles or Paris. My motor was still -going, and as I manipulated the controls which operated the wings I -commenced to describe all sorts of strange loops and spirals and spins; -and then Dar Tarus came to my rescue. First he told me to lie quietly -and then directed the manipulation of each wing until I had gained an -upright position. After that I did fairly well and was soon rising in -the wake of Gor Hajus and Hovan Du. - -I need not describe in detail the hour of flying, or rather floating, -that ensued. Gor Hajus led us to a considerable altitude and there, -through the darkness above the city, our slow motors drove us towards a -district of magnificent homes surrounded by spacious grounds; and here, -as we hovered over a large palace, we were suddenly startled by a sharp -challenge coming from directly above us. - -“Who flies by night?” a voice demanded. - -“Friends of Mu Tel, Prince of the House of Kan,” replied Gor Hajus -quickly. - -“Let me see your night flying permit and your flier’s licence,” ordered -the one above us, at the same time swooping suddenly to our level and -giving me my first sight of a Martian policeman. He was equipped with a -much swifter and handier equilibrimotor than ours. I think that was the -first fact to impress us deeply, and it demonstrated the futility of -flight; for he could have given us ten minutes start and overhauled each -of us within another ten minutes, even though we had elected to fly in -different directions. The fellow was a warrior rather than a policeman, -though detailed to duty such as our Earthly police officers perform; the -city being patrolled both day and night by the warriors of Vobis Kan’s -army. - -He dropped now close to the assassin of Toonol, again demanding permit -and license and at the same time flashing a light in the face of my -comrade. - -“By the sword of the Jeddak!” he cried. “Fortune heaps her favors upon -me. Who would have thought an hour since that it would be I who would -collect the reward for the capture of Gor Hajus?” - -“Any other fool might have thought it,” returned Gor Hajus, “but he -would have been as wrong as you,” and as he spoke he struck with the -short-sword I had loaned him. - -The blow was broken by the wing of the warrior’s equilibrimotor, which -it demolished, yet it inflicted a severe wound in the fellow’s shoulder. -He tried to back off, but the damaged wing caused him only to wheel -around erratically; and then he seized upon his whistle and attempted to -blow a mighty blast that was cut short by another blow from Gor Hajus’ -sword that split the man’s head open to the bridge of his nose. - -“Quick!” cried the assassin. “We must drop into the gardens of Mu Tel, -for that signal will bring a swarm of air patrols about our heads.” - -The others I saw falling rapidly towards the ground, but again I had -trouble. Depress my wings as I would I moved only slightly downward and -upon a path that, if continued, would have landed me at a considerable -distance from the gardens of Mu Tel. I was approaching one of the -elevated portions of the palace, what appeared to be a small suite that -was raised upon its shining metal shaft far above the ground. From all -directions I could hear the screaming whistles of the air patrols -answering the last call of their comrade whose corpse floated just above -me, a guide even in death to point the way for his fellows to search us -out. They were sure to discover him and then I would be in plain view of -them and my fate sealed. - -Perhaps I could find ingress to the apartment looming darkly near! There -I might hide until the danger had passed, provided I could enter, -undetected. I directed my course towards the structure; an open window -took form through the darkness and then I collided with a fine wire -netting—I had run into a protecting curtain that fends off assassins of -the air from these high-flung sleeping apartments. I felt that I was -lost. If I could but reach the ground I might find concealment among the -trees and shrubbery that I had seen vaguely outlined beneath me in the -gardens of this Barsoomian prince; but I could not drop at a sufficient -angle to bring me to ground within the garden, and when I tried to -spiral down I turned over and started up again. I thought of ripping -open my belt and letting the eighth ray escape; but in my unfamiliarity -with this strange force I feared that such an act might precipitate me -to the ground with too great violence, though I was determined to have -recourse to it as a last alternative if nothing less drastic presented -itself. - -In my last attempt to spiral downward I rose rapidly feet foremost to a -sudden and surprising collision with some object above me. As I -frantically righted myself, fully expecting to be immediately seized by -a member of the air patrol, I found myself face to face with the corpse -of the warrior Gor Hajus had slain. The whistling of the air patrols -sounded ever nearer—it could be only a question of seconds now before I -was discovered—and with the stern necessity that confronted me, with -death looking me in the face, there burst upon me a possible avenue of -escape from my dilemma. - -Seizing tightly with my left hand the harness of the dead Toonolian, I -whipped out my dagger and slashed his buoyancy belt a dozen times. -Instantly, as the rays escaped, his body started to drag me downward. -Our descent was rapid, but not precipitate, and it was but a matter of -seconds before we landed gently upon the scarlet sward of the gardens of -Mu Tel, Prince of the House of Kan, close beside a clump of heavy -shrubbery. Above me sounded the whistles of the circling patrols as I -dragged the corpse of the warrior into the concealing depth of the -foliage. Nor was I an instant too soon for safety, as almost immediately -the brilliant rays of a searchlight shot downward from the deck of a -small patrol ship, illuminating the open spaces of the garden all about -me. A hurried glance through the branches and the leaves of my sanctuary -revealed nothing of my companions and I breathed a sigh of relief in the -thought that they, too, had found concealment. - -The light played for a short time about the gardens and then passed on, -as did the sound of the patrol’s whistles, as the search proceeded -elsewhere; thus giving me the assurance that no suspicion was directed -upon our hiding place. - -Left in darkness I appropriated such of the weapons of the dead warrior -as I coveted, after having removed my equilibrimotor, which I was first -minded to destroy, but which I finally decided to moor to one of the -larger shrubs against the possibility that I might again have need for -it; and now, secure in the conviction that the danger of discovery by -the air patrol had passed, I left my concealment and started in search -of my companions. - -Keeping well in the shadows of the trees and shrubs I moved in the -direction of the main building, which loomed darkly near at hand; for in -this direction I believed Gor Hajus would lead the others as I knew that -the palace of Mu Tel was to have been our destination. As I crept along, -moving with utmost stealth, Thuria, the nearer moon, shot suddenly above -the horizon, illuminating the night with her brilliant rays. I was close -to the building’s ornately carved wall at the moment; beside me was a -narrow niche, its interior cast in deepest shadow by Thuria’s brilliant -rays; to my left was an open bit of lawn upon which, revealed in every -detail of its terrifying presence, stood as fearsome a creature as my -Earthly eyes ever had rested upon. It was a beast about the size of a -Shetland pony, with ten short legs and a terrifying head that bore some -slight resemblance to that of a frog, except that the jaws were equipped -with three rows of long, sharp tusks. - -The thing had its nose in the air and was sniffing about, while its -great pop eyes moved swiftly here and there, assuring me, beyond the -shadow of a doubt, that it was searching for someone. I am not inclined -to be egotistical, yet I could not avoid the conviction that it was -searching for me. It was my first experience of a Martian watch dog; and -as I sought concealment within the dark shadows of the niche behind me, -at the very instant that the creature’s eyes alighted upon me, and heard -his growl and saw him charge straight towards me, I had a premonition -that it might prove my last experience with one. - -I drew my long-sword as I backed into the niche, but with a sense of the -utter inadequacy of the unaccustomed weapon in the face of this three or -four hundred pounds of ferocity incarnate. Slowly I backed away into the -shadows as the creature bore down upon me and then, as it entered the -niche, my back collided with a solid obstacle that put an end to further -retreat. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - THE PALACE OF MU TEL - - -As the calot entered the niche I experienced, I believe, all of the -reactions of the cornered rat, and I certainly know that I set myself to -fight in that proverbial manner. The beast was almost upon me and I was -metaphorically kicking myself for not having remained in the open where -there were many tall trees when the support at my back suddenly gave -way, a hand reached out of the darkness behind me and seized my harness -and I was drawn swiftly into inky blackness. A door slammed and the -silhouette of the calot against the moonlit entrance to the niche was -blotted out. - -A gruff voice spoke in my ear. “Come with me!” it said. A hand found -mine and thus I was led along through the darkness of what I soon -discovered was a narrow corridor from the constantly recurring -collisions I had first with one side of it and then with the other. - -Ascending gradually, the corridor turned abruptly at right angles and I -saw beyond my guide a dim luminosity that gradually increased until -another turn brought us to the threshold of a brilliantly lighted -chamber—a magnificent apartment, the gorgeous furnishings and -decorations of which beggar the meagre descriptive powers of my native -tongue. Gold, ivory, precious stones, marvelous woods, resplendent -fabrics, gorgeous furs and startling architecture combined to impress -upon my earthly vision such a picture as I had never even dreamed of -dreaming; and in the center of this room, surrounded by a little group -of Martians, were my three companions. - -My guide conducted me towards the party, the members of which had turned -towards us as we entered the chamber, and stopped before a tall -Barsoomian, resplendent in jewel encrusted harness. - -“Prince,” he said, “I was scarce a tal too soon. In fact, as I opened -the door to step out into the garden in search of him, as you directed, -there he was upon the opposite side with one of the calots of the garden -almost upon him.” - -“Good!” exclaimed he who had been addressed as prince, and then he -turned to Gor Hajus. “This is he, my friend, of whom you told me?” - -“This is Vad Varo, who claims to be from the planet Jasoom,” replied Gor -Hajus; “and this, Vad Varo, is Mu Tel, Prince of the House of Kan.” - -I bowed and the prince advanced and placed his right hand upon my left -shoulder in true Barsoomian acknowledgment of an introduction; when I -had done similarly, the ceremony was over. There was no silly -pleased-to-meet-you, how-do-you-do? or it’s-a-pleasure-I-assure-you. - -At Mu Tel’s request I narrated briefly what had befallen me between the -time I had become separated from my companions and the moment that one -of his officers had snatched me from impending disaster. Mu Tel gave -instructions that all traces of the dead patrol be removed before dawn -lest their discovery bring upon him the further suspicion of his uncle, -Vobis Kan, Jeddak of Toonol, whom it seemed had long been jealous of his -nephew’s growing popularity and fearful that he harbored aspirations for -the throne. - -It was later in the evening, during one of those elaborate meals for -which the princes of Barsoom are justly famous, when mellowed slightly -by the rare vintages with which he delighted his guests, that Mu Tel -discoursed with less restraint upon his imperial uncle. - -“The nobles have long been tired of Vobis Kan,” he said, “and the people -are tiring of him—he is a conscienceless tyrant—but he is our -hereditary ruler, and so they hesitate to change. We are a practical -people, little influenced by sentiment; yet there is enough to keep the -masses loyal to their Jeddak even after he has ceased to deserve their -loyalty, while the fear of the wrath of the masses keeps the nobles -loyal. There is also the natural suspicion that I, the next in line for -succession, would make them no less tyrannical a Jeddak than has Vobis -Kan, while, having youth, I might be much more active in cruel and -nefarious practices. - -“For myself, I would not hesitate to destroy my uncle and seize his -throne were I sure of the support of the army, for with the warriors of -Vobis Kan at my back I might defy the balance of Toonol. It is because -of this that I long since offered my friendship to Gor Hajus; not that -he might slay my uncle, but that when I had slain him in fair fight Gor -Hajus might win to me the loyalty of the Jeddak’s warriors, for great is -the popularity of Gor Hajus among the soldiers, who ever look up to such -a great fighter with reverence and devotion. I have offered Gor Hajus a -high place in the affairs of Toonol should he cast his lot with me; but -he tells me that he has first to fulfil his obligations to you, Vad -Varo, and for the furtherance of your adventure he has asked me to give -you what assistance I may. This I offer gladly, from purely practical -motives, since your early success will hasten mine. Therefore I propose -to place at your disposal a staunch flier that will carry you and your -companions to Phundahl.” - -This offer I naturally accepted, after which we fell to discussing plans -for our departure which we finally decided to attempt early the -following night, at a time when neither of the moons would be in the -heavens. After a brief discussion of equipment we were, at my request, -permitted to retire since I had not slept for more than thirty-six hours -and my companions for twenty-four. - -Slaves conducted us to our sleeping apartments, which were luxuriously -furnished, and arranged magnificent sleeping silks and furs for our -comfort. After they had left us Gor Hajus touched a button and the room -rose swiftly upon its metal shaft to a height of forty or fifty feet; -the wire netting automatically dropped about us, and we were safe for -the night. - -The following morning, after our apartment had been lowered to its -daylight level and before I was permitted to leave it, a slave was sent -to me by Mu Tel with instructions to stain my entire body the beautiful -copper-red of my Barsoomian friends; furnishing me with a disguise which -I well knew to be highly essential to the success of my venture, since -my white skin would have drawn unpleasant notice upon me in any city of -Barsoom. Another slave brought harness and weapons for Gor Hajus, Dar -Tarus and myself, and a collar and chain for Hovan Du, the ape-man. Our -harness, while of heavy material, and splendid workmanship, was quite -plain, being free of all insignia either of rank or service—such -harness as is customarily worn by the Barsoomian panthan, or soldier of -fortune, at such times as he is not definitely in the service of any -nation or individual. These panthans are virtually men without a -country, being roving mercenaries ready to sell their swords to the -highest bidder. Although they have no organization they are ruled by a -severe code of ethics and while in the employ of a master are, almost -without exception, loyal to him. They are generally supposed to be men -who have flown from the wrath of their own Jeddaks or the justice of -their own courts, but there is among them a sprinkling of adventurous -souls who have adopted their calling because of the thrills and -excitement it offers. While they are well paid, they are also great -gamblers and notorious spenders, with the result that they are almost -always without funds and often reduced to strange expedients for the -gaining of their livelihood between engagements; a fact which gave great -plausibility to our possession of a trained ape, which upon Mars would -appear no more remarkable than would to us the possession of a monkey or -parrot by an old salt just returned, from a long cruise, to one of our -Earthly ports. - -This day that I stayed in the palace of Mu Tel I spent much in the -company of the prince, who found pleasure in questioning me concerning -the customs, the politics, the civilization and the geography of Earth, -with much of which, I was surprised to note, he seemed quite familiar; a -fact which he explained was due to the marvelous development of -Barsoomian astronomical instruments, wireless photography and wireless -telephony; the last of which has been brought to such a state of -perfection that many Barsoomian savants have succeeded in learning -several Earthly languages, notably Urdu, English and Russian, and, a -few, Chinese also. These have doubtless been the first languages to -attract their attention because of the fact that they are spoken by -great numbers of people over large areas of the world. - -Mu Tel took me to a small auditorium in his palace that reminded me -somewhat of private projection rooms on Earth. It had, I should say, a -capacity of some two hundred persons and was built like a large camera -obscura; the audience sitting within the instrument, their backs towards -the lens and in front of them, filling one entire end of the room, a -large ground glass upon which is thrown the image to be observed. - -Mu Tel seated himself at a table upon which was a chart of the heavens. -Just above the chart was a movable arm carrying a pointer. This pointer -Mu Tel moved until it rested upon the planet Earth, then he switched off -the light in the room and immediately there appeared upon the ground -glass plate a view such as one might obtain from an airplane riding at -an elevation of a thousand feet. There was something strangely familiar -about the scene before me. It was of a desolate, wasted country. I saw -shattered stumps whose orderly arrangement proclaimed that here once an -orchard had blossomed and borne fruit. There were great, unsightly holes -in the earth and over and across all a tangle of barbed wire. I asked Mu -Tel how we might change the picture to another locality. He lighted a -small radio bulb between us and I saw a globe there, a globe of Earth, -and a small pointer fixed over it. - -“The side of this globe now presented to you represents the face of the -Earth turned towards us,” explained Mu Tel. “You will note that the -globe is slowly revolving. Place this pointer where you will upon the -globe and that portion of Jasoom will be revealed for you.” - -I moved the pointer very slowly and the picture changed. A ruined -village came into view. I saw some people moving among its ruins. They -were not soldiers. A little further on I came upon trenches and -dug-outs—there were no soldiers here, either. I moved the pointer -rapidly north and south along a vast line of trenches. Here and there in -villages there were soldiers, but they were all French soldiers and -never were they in the trenches. There were no German soldiers and no -fighting. The war was over, then! I moved the pointer to the Rhine and -across. There were soldiers in Germany—French soldiers, English -soldiers, American soldiers. We had won the war! I was glad, but it -seemed very far away and quite unreal—as though no such world existed -and no such peoples had ever fought—it was as though I were recalling -through its illustrations a novel that I had read a long time since. - -“You seem much interested in that war torn country,” remarked Mu Tel. - -“Yes,” I explained, “I fought in that war. Perhaps I was killed. I do -not know.” - -“And you won?” he asked. - -“Yes, my people won,” I replied. “We fought for a great principle and -for the peace and happiness of a world. I hope that we did not fight in -vain.” - -“If you mean that you hope that your principle will triumph because you -fought and won, or that peace will come, your hopes are futile. War -never brought peace—it but brings more and greater wars. War is -Nature’s natural state—it is folly to combat it. Peace should be -considered only as a time for preparation for the principal business of -man’s existence. Were it not for constant warring of one form of life -upon another, and even upon itself, the planets would be so overrun with -life that it would smother itself out. We found upon Barsoom that long -periods of peace brought plagues and terrible diseases that killed more -than the wars killed and in a much more hideous and painful way. There -is neither pleasure nor thrill nor reward of any sort to be gained by -dying in bed of a loathsome disease. We must all die—let us therefore -go out and die in a great and exciting game, and make room for the -millions who are to follow us. We have tried it out upon Barsoom and we -would not be without war.” - -Mu Tel told me much that day about the peculiar philosophy of -Toonolians. They believe that no good deed was ever performed except for -a selfish motive; they have no god and no religion; they believe, as do -all educated Barsoomians, that man came originally from the Tree of -Life, but unlike most of their fellows they do not believe that an -omnipotent being created the Tree of Life. They hold that the only sin -is failure—success, however achieved, is meritorious; and yet, -paradoxical as it may seem, they never break their given word. Mu Tel -explained that they overcame the baneful results of this degrading -weakness—this sentimental bosh—by seldom, if ever, binding themselves -to loyalty to another, and then only for a definitely prescribed period. - -As I came to know them better, and especially Gor Hajus, I began to -realize that much of their flaunted contempt of the finer sensibilities -was specious. It is true that generations of inhibition had to some -extent atrophied those characteristics of heart and soul which the -noblest among us so highly esteem; that friendship’s ties were lax and -that blood kinship awakened no high sense of responsibility or love even -between parents and children; yet Gor Hajus was essentially a man of -sentiment, though he would doubtless have run through the heart any who -had dared accuse him of it, thus perfectly proving the truth of the -other’s accusation. His pride in his reputation for integrity and -loyalty proved him a man of heart as truly as did his jealousy of his -reputation for heartlessness prove him a man of sentiment; and in all -this he was but typical of the people of Toonol. They denied deity, and -in the same breath worshiped the fetish of science that they had -permitted to obsess them quite as harmfully as do religious fanatics -accept the unreasoning rule of their imaginary gods; and so, with all -their vaunted knowledge, they were unintelligent because unbalanced. - -As the day drew to a close I became the more anxious to be away. Far to -the west across desolate leagues of marsh lay Phundahl, and in Phundahl -the beauteous body of the girl I loved and that I was sworn to restore -to its rightful owner. The evening meal was over and Mu Tel himself had -conducted us to a secret hangar in one of the towers of his palace. Here -artisans had prepared a flier for us, having removed during the day all -signs of its real ownership, even to slightly altering its lines; so -that in the event of capture Mu Tel’s name might in no way be connected -with the expedition. Provisions were stored, including plenty of raw -meat for Hovan Du, and, as the farther moon sank below the horizon and -darkness fell, a panel of the tower wall, directly in front of the -flier’s nose, slid aside. Mu Tel wished us luck and the ship slipped -silently out into the night. The flier, like many of her type, was -without cockpit or cabin; a low, metal hand-rail surmounted her gunwale; -heavy rings were set substantially in her deck and to these her crew was -supposed to cling or attach themselves by means of their harness hooks -provided for this and similar purposes; a low wind shield, with a rakish -slant, afforded some protection from the wind; the motor and controls -were all exposed, as all the space below decks was taken up by the -buoyancy tanks. In this type everything is sacrificed to speed; there is -no comfort aboard. When moving at high speed each member of the crew -lies extended at full length upon the deck, each in his allotted place -to give the necessary trim, and hangs on for dear life. These Toonolian -crafts, however, are not overly fast, so I was told, being far -outstripped in speed by the fliers of such nations as Helium and Ptarth -who have for ages devoted themselves to the perfection of their navies; -but this one was quite fast enough for our purposes, to the consummation -of which it would be pitted against fliers of no higher rating, and it -was certainly fast enough for me. In comparison with the slow moving -Vosar, it seemed to shoot through the air like an arrow. - -We wasted no time in strategy or stealth, but opened her wide as soon as -we were in the clear, and directed her straight towards the west and -Phundahl. Scarcely had we passed over the gardens of Mu Tel when we met -with our first adventure. We shot by a solitary figure floating in the -air and almost simultaneously there shrilled forth the warning whistle -of an air patrol. A shot whistled above us harmlessly and we were gone; -but within a few seconds I saw the rays of a searchlight shining down -from above and moving searchingly to and fro through the air. - -“A patrol boat!” shouted Gor Hajus in my ear. Hovan Du growled savagely -and shook the chain upon his collar. We raced on, trusting to the big -gods and the little gods and all our ancestors that the relentless eye -of light would not find us out; but it did. Within a few seconds it fell -full upon our deck from above and in front of us and there it clung as -the patrol boat dropped rapidly towards us while it maintained a high -rate of speed upon a course otherwise identical with ours. Then, to our -consternation, the ship opened fire on us with explosive bullets. These -projectiles contain a high explosive that is detonated by light rays -when the opaque covering of the projectile is broken by impact with the -target. It is therefore not at all necessary to make a direct hit for a -shot to be effective. If the projectile strikes the ground or the deck -of a vessel or any solid substance near its target, it does considerably -more damage when fired at a group of men than if it strikes but one of -them, since it will then explode if its outer shell is broken and kill -or wound several; while if it enters the body of an individual the light -rays cannot reach it and it accomplishes no more than a non-explosive -bullet. Moonlight is not powerful enough to detonate this explosive and -so projectiles fired at night, unless touched by the powerful rays of -searchlights, detonate at sunrise the following morning, making a -battlefield a most unsafe place at that time even though the contending -forces are no longer there. Similarly they make the removal of the -unexploded projectiles from the bodies of the wounded a most ticklish -operation which may well result in the instant death of both the patient -and the surgeon. - -Dar Tarus, at the controls, turned the nose of our flier upward directly -towards the patrol boat and at the same time shouted to us to -concentrate our fire upon her propellers. For myself, I could see little -but the blinding eye of the searchlight, and at that I fired with the -strange weapon to which I had received my first introduction but a few -hours since when it was presented to me by Mu Tel. To me that all -searching eye represented the greatest menace that confronted us, and -could we blind it the patrol boat would have no great advantage over us. -So I kept my rifle straight upon it, my finger on the button that -controlled the fire, and prayed for a hit. - -Gor Hajus knelt at my side, his weapon spitting bullets at the patrol -boat. Dar Tarus’ hands were busy with the controls and Hovan Du squatted -in the bow and growled. - -Suddenly Dar Tarus voiced an exclamation of alarm. “The controls are -hit!” he shouted. “We can’t alter our course—the ship is useless.” -Almost the same instant the searchlight was extinguished—one of my -bullets evidently having found it. We were quite close to the enemy now -and heard their shout of anger. Our own craft, out of control, was -running swiftly towards the other. It seemed that if there was not a -collision we would pass directly beneath the keel of the air patrol. I -asked Dar Tarus if our ship was beyond repair. - -“We could repair it if we had time,” he replied, “but it would take -hours and while we were thus delayed the whole air patrol force of -Toonol would be upon us.” - -“Then we must have another ship,” I said. Dar Tarus laughed. “You are -right, Vad Varo,” he replied, “but where shall we find it?” - -I pointed to the patrol boat. “We shall not have to look far.” - -Dar Tarus shrugged his shoulders. “Why not!” he exclaimed. “It would be -a glorious fight and a worthy death.” - -Gor Hajus slapped me on the shoulder. “To the death, my captain!” he -cried. - -Hovan Du shook his chain and roared. - -The two ships were rapidly approaching one another. We had stopped -firing now for fear that we might disable the craft we hoped to use for -our escape; and for some reason the crew of the patrol ship had ceased -firing at us—I never learned why. We were moving in a line that would -bring us directly beneath the other ship. I determined to board her at -all costs. I could see her keel boarding tackle slung beneath her, ready -to be lowered to the deck of a quarry when once her grappling hooks had -seized the prey. Doubtless they were already manning the latter, and as -soon as we were beneath her the steel tentacles would reach down and -seize us as her crew swarmed down the board tackle to our deck. - -I called Hovan Du and he crept back to my side where I whispered my -instructions in his ear. When I was done he nodded his head with a low -growl. I cast off the harness hook that held me to the deck, and the ape -and I moved to our bow after I had issued brief, whispered instructions -to Gor Hajus and Dar Tarus. We were now almost directly beneath the -enemy craft; I could see the grappling hooks being prepared for -lowering. Our bow ran beneath the stern of the other ship and the moment -was at hand for which I had been waiting. Now those upon the deck of the -patrol boat could not see Hovan Du or me. The boarding tackle of the -other ship swung fifteen feet above our heads; I whispered a word of -command to the ape and simultaneously we crouched and sprang for the -tackle. It may sound like a mad chance—failure meant almost certain -death—but I felt that if two of us could reach the deck of the patrol -boat while her crew was busy with the grappling gear it would be well -worth the risk. - -Gor Hajus had assured me that there would not be more than six men -aboard the patrol ship; that one would be at the controls and the others -manning the grappling hooks. It would be a most propitious time to gain -a footing on the enemy’s deck. - -Hovan Du and I made our leaps and Fortune smiled upon us, though the -huge ape but barely reached the tackle with one outstretched hand, while -my Earthly muscles carried me easily to my goal. Together we made our -way rapidly towards the bow of the patrol craft and without hesitation, -and as previously arranged, he clambered quickly up the starboard side -and I the port. If I were the more agile jumper Hovan Du far outclassed -me in climbing, with the result that he reached the rail and was -clambering over while my eyes were still below the level of the deck, -which was, perhaps, a fortunate thing for me since, by chance, I had -elected to gain the deck directly at a point where, unknown to me, one -of the crew of the ship was engaged with the grappling hooks. Had his -eyes not been attracted elsewhere by the shout of one of his fellows who -was first to see Hovan Du’s savage face rise above the gunwale, he could -have dispatched me with a single blow before ever I could have set foot -upon the deck. - -The ape had also come up directly in front of a Toonolian warrior and -this fellow had let out a yell of surprise and sought to draw his sword, -but the ape, for all his great bulk, was too quick for him; and as my -eyes topped the rail I saw the mighty anthropoid seize the unfortunate -man by the harness, drag him to the side and hurl him to destruction far -below. Instantly we were both over the rail and squarely on deck while -the remaining members of the craft’s crew, abandoning their stations, -ran forward to overpower us. I think that the sight of the great, savage -beast must have had a demoralizing effect upon them, for they hesitated, -each seeming to be willing to accord his fellow the honour of first -engaging us; but they did come on, though slowly. This hesitation I was -delighted to see, for it accorded perfectly with the plan that I had -worked out, which depended largely upon the success which might attend -the efforts of Gor Hajus and Dar Tarus to reach the deck of the patrol -when our craft had risen sufficiently close beneath the other to permit -them to reach the boarding tackle, which we were utilizing with reverse -English, as one might say. - -Gor Hajus had cautioned me to dispatch the man at the controls as -quickly as possible, since his very first act would be to injure them -the instant that there appeared any possibility that we might be -successful in our attempt to take his ship, and so I ran quickly towards -him and before he could draw I cut him down. There were now four against -us and we waited for them to advance that we might gain time for our -fellows to reach the deck. - -The four moved slowly forward and were almost within striking distance -when I saw Gor Hajus’ head appear above the stern rail, quickly followed -by that of Dar Tarus. - -“Look!” I cried to the enemy, “and surrender,” and I pointed astern. - -One of them turned to look and what he saw brought an exclamation of -surprise to his lips. “It is Gor Hajus,” he cried, and then, to me: -“What is your purpose with us if we surrender?” - -“We have no quarrel with you,” I replied. “We but wish to leave Toonol -and go our way in peace—we shall not harm you.” - -He turned to his fellows while, at a sign from me, my three companions -stopped their advance and waited. For a few minutes the four warriors -conversed in low tones, then he who had first spoken addressed me. - -“There are few Toonolians,” he said, “who would not be glad to serve Gor -Hajus, whom we had thought long dead, but to surrender our ship to you -would mean certain death for us when we reported our defeat at our -headquarters. On the other hand were we to continue our defence most of -us here upon the deck of this flier would be killed. If you can assure -us that your plans are not aimed at the safety of Toonol I can make a -suggestion that will afford an avenue of escape and safety for us all.” - -“We only wish to leave Toonol,” I replied. “No harm can come to Toonol -because of what I seek to accomplish.” - -“Good! and where do you wish to go?” - -“That I may not tell you.” - -“You may trust us, if you accept my proposal,” he assured me, “which is -that we convey you to your destination, after which we can return to -Toonol and report that we engaged you and that after a long running -fight, in which two of our number were killed, you eluded us in the -darkness and escaped.” - -“Can we trust these men?” I asked, addressing Gor Hajus, who assured me -that we could, and thus the compact was entered into which saw us -speeding rapidly towards Phundahl aboard one of Vobis Kan’s own fliers. - - - - - CHAPTER X - PHUNDAHL - - -The following night the Toonolian crew set us down just inside the wall -of the city of Phundahl, following the directions of Dar Tarus who was a -native of the city, had been a warrior of the Jeddara’s Guard and, prior -to that, seen service in Phundahl’s tiny navy. That he was familiar with -every detail of Phundahl’s defences and her systems of patrols was -evidenced by the fact that we landed without detection and that the -Toonolian ship rose and departed apparently unnoticed. - -Our landing place had been the roof of a low building built within and -against the city wall. From this roof Dar Tarus led us down an inclined -runway to the street, which, at this point, was quite deserted. The -street was narrow and dark, being flanked upon one side by the low -buildings built against the city wall and upon the other by higher -buildings, some of which were windowless and none showing any light. Dar -Tarus explained that he had chosen this point for our entrance because -it was a district of storage houses, and while a hive of industry during -the day, was always deserted at night, not even a watchman being -required owing to the almost total absence of thievery upon Barsoom. - -By devious and roundabout ways he led us finally to a section of -second-rate shops, eating places and hotels such as are frequented by -the common soldiers, artisans and slaves, where the only attention we -attracted was due to the curiosity aroused by Hovan Du. As we had not -eaten since leaving Mu Tel’s palace, our first consideration was food. -Mu Tel had furnished Gor Hajus with money, so that we had the means to -gratify our wants. Our first stop was at a small shop where Gor Hajus -purchased four or five pounds of thoat steak for Hovan Du, and then we -repaired to an eating place of which Dar Tarus knew. At first the -proprietor would not let us bring Hovan Du inside, but finally, after -much argument, he permitted us to lock the great ape in an inner room -where Hovan Du was forced to remain with his thoat meat while we sat at -a table in the outer room. - -I will say for Hovan Du that he played his role well, nor was there once -when the proprietor of the place, or any of his patrons, or the -considerable crowd that gathered to listen to the altercation, could -have guessed that the body of the great, savage beast was animated by a -human brain. It was really only when feeding or fighting that the simian -half of Hovan Du’s brain appeared to exercise any considerable influence -upon him; yet there seemed little doubt that it always coloured all his -thoughts and actions to some extent, accounting for his habitual -taciturnity and the quickness with which he was aroused to anger, as -well as to the fact that he never smiled, nor appeared to appreciate in -any degree the humor of a situation. He assured me, however, that the -human half of his brain not only appreciated but greatly enjoyed the -lighter episodes and occurrences of our adventure and the witty stories -and anecdotes related by Gor Hajus, the Assassin, but that his simian -anatomy had developed no muscles wherewith to evidence physical -expression of his mental reactions. - -We dined heartily, though upon rough and simple fare, but were glad to -escape the prying curiosity of the garrulous and gossipy proprietor, who -plied us with so many questions as to our past performances and future -plans that Dar Tarus, who was our spokesman here, was hard put to it to -quickly fabricate replies that would be always consistent. However, -escape we did at last, and once again in the street, Dar Tarus set out -to lead us to a public lodging house of which he knew. As we went we -approached a great building of wondrous beauty in and out of which -constant streams of people were pouring, and when we were before it Dar -Tarus asked us to wait without as he must enter. When I asked him why, -he told me that this was a temple of Tur, the god worshipped by the -people of Phundahl. - -“I have been away for a long time,” he said, “and have had no -opportunity to do honor to my god. I shall not keep you waiting long. -Gor Hajus, will you loan me a few pieces of gold?” - -In silence the Toonolian took a few pieces of money from one of his -pocket pouches and handed them to Dar Tarus, but I could see that it was -only with difficulty that he hid an expression of contempt, since the -Toonolians are atheists. - -I asked Dar Tarus if I might accompany him into the temple, which seemed -to please him very much; and so we fell in with the stream approaching -the broad entrance. Dar Tarus gave me two of the gold pieces that he had -borrowed from Gor Hajus and told me to follow directly behind him and do -whatever I saw him doing. Directly inside the main entrance, and spread -entirely across it at intervals that permitted space for the worshippers -to pass between them, was a line of priests, their entire bodies, -including their heads and faces, covered by a mantle of white cloth. In -front of each was a substantial stand upon which rested a cash drawer. -As we approached one of these we handed him a piece of gold which he -immediately changed into many pieces of lesser value, one of which we -dropped into a box at his side; whereupon he made several passes with -his hands above our heads, dipped one of his fingers into a bowl of -dirty water which he rubbed upon the ends of our noses, mumbled a few -words which I could not understand and turned to the next in line as we -passed on into the interior of the great temple. Never have I seen such -a gorgeous display of wealth and lavish ornamentation as confronted my -eyes in this, the first of the temples of Tur that it was my fortune to -behold. - -The enormous floor was unbroken by a single pillar and arranged upon it -at regular intervals were carven images resting upon gorgeous pedestals. -Some of these images were of men and some of women and many of them were -beautiful; and there were others of beasts and of strange, grotesque -creatures and many of these were hideous indeed. The first we approached -was that of a beautiful female figure; and about the pedestal of this -lay a number of men and women prone upon the floor against which they -bumped their heads seven times and then arose and dropped a piece of -money into a receptacle provided for that purpose, moving on then to -another figure. The next that Dar Tarus and I visited was that of a man -with the body of a _silian_, about the pedestal of which was arranged a -series of horizontal wooden bars in concentric circles. The bars were -about five feet from the floor and hanging from them by their knees were -a number of men and women, repeating monotonously, over and over again, -something that sounded to me like, _bibble-babble-blup_. - -Dar Tarus and I swung to the bars like the others and mumbled the -meaningless phrase for a minute or two, then we swung down, dropped a -coin into the box, and moved on. I asked Dar Tarus what the words were -that we had repeated and what they meant, but he said he did not know. I -asked him if anyone knew, but he appeared shocked and said that such a -question was sacrilegious and revealed a marked lack of faith. At the -next figure we visited the people were all upon their hands and knees -crawling madly in a circle about the pedestal. Seven times around they -crawled and then they arose and put some money in a dish and went their -ways. At another the people rolled about, saying, “Tur is Tur; Tur is -Tur; Tur is Tur,” and dropping money in a golden bowl when they were -done. - -“What god was that?” I whispered to Dar Tarus when we had quit this last -figure, which had no head, but eyes, nose and mouth in the center of its -belly. - -“There is but one god,” replied Dar Tarus solemnly, “and he is Tur!” - -“Was that Tur?” I inquired. - -“Silence, man,” whispered Dar Tarus. “They would tear you to pieces were -they to hear such heresy.” - -“Oh, I beg your pardon,” I exclaimed. “I did not mean to offend. I see -now that that is merely one of your idols.” - -Dar Tarus clapped a hand over my mouth. “S-s-s-t!” he cautioned to -silence. “We do not worship idols—there is but one god and he is Tur!” - -“Well, what are these?” I insisted, with a sweep of a hand that embraced -the several score images about which were gathered the thousands of -worshippers. - -“We must not ask,” he assured me. “It is enough that we have faith that -all the works of Tur are just and righteous. Come! I shall soon be -through and we may join our companions.” - -He led me next to the figure of a monstrosity with a mouth that ran -entirely around its head. It had a long tail and the breasts of a woman. -About this image were a great many people, each standing upon his head. -They also were repeating, over and over, “Tur is Tur; Tur is Tur; Tur is -Tur.” When we had done this for a minute or two, during which I had a -devil of a time maintaining my equilibrium, we arose, dropped a coin -into the box by the pedestal and moved on. - -“We may go now,” said Dar Tarus. “I have done well in the sight of Tur.” - -“I notice,” I remarked, “that the people repeated the same phrase before -this figure that they did at the last—Tur is Tur.” - -“Oh, no,” exclaimed Dar Tarus. “On the contrary they said just exactly -the opposite from what they said at the other. At that they said, Tur is -Tur; while at this they absolutely reversed it and said, Tur is Tur. Do -you not see? They turned it right around backwards, which makes a very -great difference.” - -“It sounded the same to me,” I insisted. - -“That is because you lack faith,” he said sadly, and we passed out of -the temple, after depositing the rest of our money in a huge chest, of -which there were many standing about almost filled with coins. - -We found Gor Hajus and Hovan Du awaiting us impatiently, the center of a -large and curious throng among which were many warriors in the metal of -Xaxa, the Jeddara of Phundahl. They wanted to see Hovan Du perform, but -Dar Tarus told them that he was tired and in an ugly mood. - -“To-morrow,” he said, “when he is rested I shall bring him out upon the -avenues to amuse you.” - -With difficulty we extricated ourselves, and passing into a quieter -avenue, took a roundabout way to the lodging place, where Hovan Du was -confined in a small chamber while Gor Hajus, Dar Tarus and I were -conducted by slaves to a large sleeping apartment where sleeping silks -and furs were arranged for us upon a low platform that encircled the -room and was broken only at the single entrance to the chamber. Here -were already sleeping a considerable number of men, while two armed -slaves patrolled the aisle to guard the guests from assassins. - -It was still early and some of the other lodgers were conversing in low -whispers so I sought to engage Dar Tarus in conversation relative to his -religion, about which I was curious. - -“The mysteries of religions always fascinate me, Dar Tarus,” I told him. - -“Ah, but that is the beauty of the religion of Tur,” he exclaimed, “it -has no mysteries. It is simple, natural, scientific and every word and -work of it is susceptible of proof through the pages of Turgan, the -great book written by Tur himself. - -“Tur’s home is upon the sun. There, one hundred thousand years ago, he -made Barsoom and tossed it out into space. Then he amused himself by -creating man in various forms and two sexes; and later he fashioned -animals to be food for man and each other, and caused vegetation and -water to appear that man and the animals might live. Do you not see how -simple and scientific it all is?” - -But it was Gor Hajus who told me most about the religion of Tur one day -when Dar Tarus was not about. He said that the Phundahlians maintained -that Tur still created every living thing with his own hands. They -denied vigorously that man possessed the power to reproduce his kind and -taught their young that all such belief was vile; and always they hid -every evidence of natural procreation, insisting to the death that even -those things which they witnessed with their own eyes and experienced -with their own bodies in the bringing forth of their young never -transpired. - -Turgan taught them that Barsoom is flat and they shut their minds to -every proof to the contrary. They would not leave Phundahl far for fear -of falling off the edge of the world; they would not permit the -development of aeronautics because should one of their ships -circumnavigate Barsoom it would be a wicked sacrilege in the eyes of Tur -who made Barsoom flat. - -They would not permit the use of telescopes, for Tur taught them that -there was no other world than Barsoom and to look at another would be -heresy; nor would they permit the teaching in their schools of any -history of Barsoom that antedated the creation of Barsoom by Tur, though -Barsoom has a well authenticated written history that reaches back more -than one hundred thousand years; nor would they permit any geography of -Barsoom except that which appears in Turgan, nor any scientific -researches along biological lines. Turgan is their only text book—if it -is not in Turgan it is a wicked lie. - -Much of all this and a great deal more I gathered from one source or -another during my brief stay in Phundahl, whose people are, I believe, -the least advanced in civilization of any of the red nations upon -Barsoom. Giving, as they do, all their best thought to religious -matters, they have become ignorant, bigoted and narrow, going as far to -one extreme as the Toonolians do to the other. - -However, I had not come to Phundahl to investigate her culture but to -steal her queen, and that thought was uppermost in my mind when I awoke -to a new day—my first in Phundahl. Following the morning meal we set -out in the direction of the palace to reconnoitre, Dar Tarus leading us -to a point from which he might easily direct us the balance of the way, -as he did not dare accompany us to the immediate vicinity of the royal -grounds for fear of recognition, the body he now possessed having -formerly belonged to a well-known noble. - -It was arranged that Gor Hajus should act as spokesman and I as keeper -of the ape. This arranged, we bade farewell to Dar Tarus and set forth, -the three of us, along a broad and beautiful avenue that led directly to -the palace gates. We had been planning and rehearsing the parts that we -were to play and which we hoped would prove so successful that they -would open the gates to us and win us to the presence of the Jeddara. - -As we strolled with seeming unconcern along the avenue, I had ample -opportunity to enjoy the novel and beautiful sights of this rich -boulevard of palaces. The sun shone down upon vivid scarlet lawns, -gorgeous flowered pimalia and a score of other rarely beautiful -Barsoomian shrubs and trees, while the avenue itself was shaded by -almost perfect specimens of the magnificent sorapus. The sleeping -apartments of the buildings had all been lowered to their daytime level, -and from a hundred balconies gorgeous silks and furs were airing in the -sun. Slaves were briskly engaged with their duties about the grounds, -while upon many a balcony women and children sat at their morning meal. -Among the children we aroused considerable enthusiasm, or at least Hovan -Du did, nor was he without interest to the adults. Some of them would -have detained us for an exhibition, but we moved steadily on towards the -palace, for nowhere else had we business or concern within the walls of -Phundahl. - -Around the palace gates was the usual crowd of loitering curiosity -seekers; for after all human nature is much the same everywhere, whether -skins be black or white, red or yellow or brown, upon Earth or upon -Mars. The crowd before Xaxa’s gates were largely made up of visitors -from the islands of that part of the Great Toonolian Marshes which owes -allegiance to Phundahl’s queen, and like all provincials eager for a -glimpse of royalty; though none the less to be interested by the antics -of a simian, wherefore we had a ready made audience awaiting our -arrival. Their natural fear of the great brute caused them to fall back -a little at our approach so that we had a clear avenue to the very gates -themselves, and there we halted while the crowds closed in behind, -forming a half circle about us. Gor Hajus addressed them in a loud tone -of voice that might be overheard by the warriors and their officers -beyond the gates, for it was really them we had come to entertain, not -the crowds in which we had not the slightest interest. - -“Men and women of Phundahl,” cried Gor Hajus, “behold two poor panthans, -who, risking their lives, have captured and trained one of the most -savage and ferocious and at the same time most intelligent specimens of -the great white ape of Barsoom ever before seen in captivity and at -great expense have brought it to Phundahl for your entertainment and -edification. My friends, this wonderful ape is endowed with human -intelligence; he understands every word that is spoken to him. With your -kind attention, my friends, I will endeavor to demonstrate the -remarkable intelligence of this ferocious, man-eating beast—an -intelligence that has entertained the crowned heads of Barsoom and -mystified the minds of her most learned savants.” - -I thought Gor Hajus did pretty well as a bally-hoo artist. I had to -smile as I listened, here upon Mars, to the familiar lines that I had -taught him out of my Earthly experience of county fairs and amusement -parks, so highly ludicrous they sounded falling from the lips of the -Assassin of Toonol; but they evidently interested his auditors and -impressed them, too, for they craned their necks and stood in earnest -eyed silence awaiting the performance of Hovan Du. Even better, several -members of the Jeddara’s Guard pricked up their ears and sauntered -towards the gates; and among them was an officer. - -Gor Hajus caused Hovan Du to lie down at word of command, to get up, to -stand upon one foot, and to indicate the number of fingers that Gor -Hajus held up by growling once for each finger, thus satisfying the -audience that he could count; but these simple things were only by way -of leading up to the more remarkable achievements which we hoped would -win an audience before the Jeddara. Gor Hajus borrowed a set of harness -and weapons from a man in the crowd and had Hovan Du don it and fence -with him, and then indeed did we hear exclamations of amazement. - -The warriors and the officer of Xaxa had drawn near the gates and were -interested spectators, which was precisely what we wished, and now Gor -Hajus was ready for the final, astounding revelation of Hovan Du’s -intelligence. - -“These things that you have witnessed are as nothing,” he cried. “Why -this wonderful beast can even read and write. He was captured in a -deserted city near Ptarth and can read and write the language of that -country. Is there among you one who, by chance, comes from that distant -country?” - -A slave spoke up. “I am from Ptarth.” - -“Good!” said Gor Hajus. “Write some simple instructions and hand them to -the ape. I will turn my back that you may know that I cannot assist him -in any way.” - -The slave drew forth a tablet from a pocket pouch and wrote briefly. -What he wrote he handed to Hovan Du. The ape read the message and -without hesitation moved quickly to the gate and handed it to the -officer standing upon the other side, the gate being constructed of -wrought metal in fanciful designs that offered no obstruction to the -view or to the passage of small articles. The officer took the message -and examined it. - -“What does it say?” he demanded of the slave that had penned it. - -“It says,” replied the latter: “Take this message to the officer who -stands just within the gates.” - -There were exclamations of surprise from all parts of the crowd and -Hovan Du was compelled to repeat his performance several times with -different messages which directed him to do various things, the officer -always taking a great interest in the proceedings. - -“It is marvellous,” said he at last. “The Jeddara would be amused by the -performance of this beast. Wait here, therefore, until I have sent word -to her that she may, if she so desires, command your presence.” - -Nothing could have better suited us and so we waited with what patience -we might for the messenger to return; and while we waited Hovan Du -continued to mystify his audience with new proofs of his great -intelligence. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - XAXA - - -The officer returned, the gates swung out and we were commanded to enter -the courtyard of the palace of Xaxa, Jeddara of Phundahl. After that -events transpired with great rapidity—surprising and totally unexpected -events. We were led through an intricate maze of corridors and chambers -until I became suspicious that we were purposely being confused, and -convinced that whether such was the intention or not the fact remained -that I could no more have retraced my steps to the outer courtyard than -I could have flown without wings. We had planned that, in the event of -gaining admission to the palace, we would carefully note whatever might -be essential to a speedy escape; but when, in a whisper, I asked Gor -Hajus if he could find his way out again he assured me that he was as -confused as I. - -The palace was in no sense remarkable nor particularly interesting, the -work of the Phundahlian artists being heavy and oppressing and without -indication of high imaginative genius. The scenes depicted were mostly -of a religious nature illustrating passages from Turgan, the Phundahlian -bible, and, for the most part, were a series of monotonous repetitions. -There was one, which appeared again and again, depicting Turgan creating -a round, flat Mars and hurling it into Space, that always reminded me of -a culinary artist turning a flap jack in a child’s window. - -There were also numerous paintings of what appeared to be court scenes -delineating members of the Phundahlian royal line in various activities; -it was noticeable that the more recent ones in which Xaxa appeared had -had the principal figure repainted so that there confronted me from time -to time portraits, none too well done, of the beautiful face and figure -of Valla Dia in the royal trappings of a Jeddara. The effect of these -upon me is not easy of description. They brought home to me the fact -that I was approaching, and should presently be face to face with, the -person of the woman to whom I had consecrated my love and my life, and -yet in that same person I should be confronting one whom I loathed and -would destroy. - -We were halted at last before a great door and from the number of -warriors and nobles congregated before it I was confident that we were -soon to be ushered into the presence of the Jeddara. As we waited those -assembled about us eyed us with, it seemed to me, more of hostility than -curiosity and when the door swung open they accompanied us, with the -exception of a few warriors, into the chamber beyond. The room was of -medium size and at the farther side, behind a massive table, sat Xaxa. -About her were grouped a number of heavily armed nobles. As I looked -them over I wondered if among them was he for whom the body of Dar Tarus -had been filched; for we had promised him that if conditions were -favorable we would attempt to recover it. - -Xaxa eyed us coldly as we were halted before her. “Let us see the beast -perform,” she commanded, and then suddenly: “What mean you by permitting -strangers to enter my presence bearing arms?” she cried. “Sag Or, see -that their weapons are removed!” and she turned to a handsome young -warrior standing near her. - -Sag Or! That was the name. Before me stood the noble for whom Dar Tarus -had suffered the loss of his liberty, his body and his love. Gor Hajus -had also recognized the name and Hovan Du, too; I could tell by the way -they eyed the man as he advanced. Curtly he instructed us to hand our -weapons to two warriors who advanced to receive them. Gor Hajus -hesitated. I admit that I did not know what course to pursue. - -Everyone seemed hostile and yet that might be, and doubtless was, but a -reflection of their attitude towards all strangers. If we refused to -disarm we were but three against a room full, if they chose to resort to -force; or if they turned us out of the palace because of it we would be -robbed of this seemingly god given opportunity to win to the very heart -of Xaxa’s palace and to her very presence, where we must eventually win -before we could strike. Would such an opportunity ever be freely offered -us again? I doubted it and felt that we had better assume a vague risk -now than, by refusing their demand, definitely arm their suspicions. So -I quietly removed my weapons and handed them to the warrior waiting to -receive them; and following my example, Gor Hajus did likewise, though I -can imagine with what poor grace. - -Once again Xaxa signified that she would see Hovan Du perform. As Gor -Hajus put him through his antics she watched listlessly; nor did -anything that the ape did arouse the slightest flicker of interest among -the entire group assembled about the Jeddara. As the thing dragged on I -became obsessed with apprehensions that all was not right. It seemed to -me that an effort was being made to detain us for some purpose—to gain -time. I could not understand, for instance, why Xaxa required that we -repeat several times the least interesting of the ape’s performances. -And all the time Xaxa sat playing with a long, slim dagger, and I saw -that she watched me quite as much as she watched Hovan Du, while I found -it difficult to keep my eyes averted from that perfect face, even though -I knew that it was but a stolen mask behind which lurked the cruel mind -of a tyrant and a murderess. - -At last came an interruption to the performance. The door opened and a -noble entered, who went directly to the Jeddara whom he addressed -briefly and in a low tone. I saw that she asked him several questions -and that she seemed vexed by his replies. Then she dismissed him with a -curt gesture and turned towards us. - -“Enough of this!” she cried. Her eyes rested upon mine and she pointed -her slim dagger at me. “Where is the other?” she demanded. - -“What other?” I inquired. - -“There were three of you, beside the ape. I know nothing about the ape, -nor where, nor how you acquired it; but I do know all about you, Vad -Varo, and Gor Hajus, the Assassin of Toonol, and Dar Tarus. Where is Dar -Tarus?” her voice was low and musical and entirely beautiful—the voice -of Valla Dia—but behind it I knew was the terrible personality of Xaxa, -and I knew too that it would be hard to deceive her, for she must have -received what information she had directly from Ras Thavas. It had been -stupid of me not to foresee that Ras Thavas would immediately guess the -purpose of my mission and warn Xaxa. I perceived instantly that it would -be worse than useless to deny our identity, rather I must explain our -presence—if I could. - -“Where is Dar Tarus?” she repeated. - -“How should I know?” I countered. “Dar Tarus has reasons to believe that -he would not be safe in Phundahl and I imagine that he is not anxious -that anyone should know his whereabouts—myself included. He helped me -to escape from the Island of Thavas, for which his liberty was to be his -reward. He has not chosen to accompany me further upon my adventures.” - -Xaxa seemed momentarily disarmed that I did not deny my -identity—evidently she had supposed that I would do so. - -“You admit then,” she said, “that you are Vad Varo, the assistant of Ras -Thavas?” - -“Have I ever sought to deny it?” - -“You have disguised yourself as a red-man of Barsoom.” - -“How could I travel in Barsoom otherwise, where every man’s hand is -against a stranger?” - -“And why would you travel in Barsoom?” Her eyes narrowed as she waited -for my reply. - -“As Ras Thavas has doubtless sent you word, I am from another world and -I would see more of this one,” I told her. “Is that strange?” - -“And you come to Phundahl and seek to gain entrance to my presence and -bring with you the notorious Assassin of Toonol that you may see more of -Barsoom?” - -“Gor Hajus may not return to Toonol,” I explained, “and so he must seek -service for his sword at some other court than that of Vobis Kan—in -Phundahl perhaps, or if not here he must move on. I hope that he will -decide to accompany me as I am a stranger in Barsoom, unaccustomed to -the manners and ways of her people. I would fare ill without a guide and -mentor.” - -“You shall fare ill,” she cried. “You have seen all of Barsoom that you -are destined to see—you have reached the end of your adventure. You -think to deceive me, eh? You do not know, perhaps, that I have heard of -your infatuation for Valla Dia or that I am fully conversant with the -purpose of your visit to Phundahl.” Her eyes left me and swept her -nobles and her warriors. “To the pits with them!” she cried. “Later we -shall choose the manner of their passing.” - -Instantly we were surrounded by a score of naked blades. There was no -escape for Gor Hajus or me, but I thought that I saw an opportunity for -Hovan Du to get away. I had had the possibility of such a contingency in -mind from the first and always I had been on the look-out for an avenue -of escape for one of us, and so the open windows at the right of the -Jeddara had not gone unnoticed, nor the great trees growing in the -courtyard beneath. Hovan Du was close beside me as Xaxa spoke. - -“Go!” I whispered. “The windows are open. Go, and tell Dar Tarus what -has happened to us,” and then I fell back away from him and dragged Gor -Hajus with me as though we would attempt to resist arrest; and while I -thus distracted their attention from him Hovan Du turned towards an open -window. He had taken but a few steps when a warrior attempted to halt -him; with that the ferocious brain of the anthropoid seemed to seize -dominion over the great creature. With a hideous growl he leaped with -the agility of a cat upon the unfortunate Phundahlian, swung him high in -giant hands and using his body as a flail tumbled his fellows to right -and left as he cut a swath towards the open window nearest him. - -Instantly pandemonium reigned in the apartment. The attention of all -seemed centered upon the great ape and even those who had been -confronting us turned to attack Hovan Du. And in the midst of the -confusion I saw Xaxa step to some heavy hangings directly behind her -desk, part them and disappear. - -“Come!” I whispered to Gor Hajus. Apparently intent only upon watching -the conflict between the ape and the warriors I moved forward with the -fighters but always to the left towards the desk that Xaxa had just -quitted. Hovan Du was giving a good account of himself. He had discarded -his first victim and one by one had seized others as they came within -range of his long arms and powerful hands, sometimes four at a time as -he stood well braced upon two of his hand-like feet and fought with the -other four. His shock of bristling hair stood erect upon his skull and -his fierce eyes blazed with rage as, towering high above his -antagonists, he fought for his life—the most feared of all the savage -creatures of Barsoom. Perhaps his greatest advantage lay in the inherent -fear of him that was a part of every man in that room who faced him, and -it forwarded my quickly conceived plan, too, for it kept every eye -turned upon Hovan Du, so that Gor Hajus and I were able to work our way -to the rear of the desk. I think Hovan Du must have sensed my intention -then, for he did the one thing best suited to attract every eye from us -to him and, too, he gave me notice that the human half of his brain was -still alert and watchful of our welfare. - -Heretofore the Phundahlians must have looked upon him as a remarkable -specimen of great ape, marvelously trained, but now, of a sudden, he -paralyzed them with awe, for his roars and growls took the form of words -and he spoke with the tongue of a human. He was near the window now. -Several of the nobles were pushing bravely forward. Among them was Sag -Or. Hovan Du reached forth and seized him, wrenching his weapons from -him. “I go,” he cried, “but let harm befall my friends and I shall -return and tear the heart from Xaxa. Tell her that, from the Great Ape -of Ptarth.” - -For an instant the warriors and the nobles stood transfixed with awe. -Every eye was upon Hovan Du as he stood there with the struggling figure -of Sag Or in his mighty grasp. Gor Hajus and I were forgotten. And then -Hovan Du turned and leaped to the sill of the window and from there -lightly to the branches of the nearest tree; and with him went Sag Or, -the favorite of Xaxa, the Jeddara. At the same instant I drew Gor Hajus -with me between the hangings in the rear of Xaxa’s desk, and as they -fell behind us we found ourselves in the narrow mouth of a dark -corridor. - -Without knowledge of where the passage led we could only follow it -blindly, urged on by the necessity for discovering a hiding place or an -avenue of escape from the palace before the pursuit, which we knew would -be immediately instituted, overtook us. As our eyes became accustomed to -the gloom, which was partially dispelled by a faint luminosity, we moved -more rapidly and presently came to a narrow spiral runway which -descended into a dark hole below the level of the corridor and also -arose into equal darkness above. - -“Which way?” I asked Gor Hajus. - -“They will expect us to descend,” he replied, “for in that direction -lies the nearest avenue of escape.” - -“Then we will go up.” - -“Good!” he exclaimed. “All we seek now is a place to hide until night -has fallen, for we may not escape by day.” - -We had scarcely started to ascend before we heard the first sound of -pursuit—the clank of accoutrements in the corridor beneath. Yet, even -with this urge from behind, we were forced to move with great caution, -for we knew not what lay before. At the next level there was a doorway, -the door closed and locked, but there was no corridor, nor anywhere to -hide, and so we continued on upward. The second level was identical with -that just beneath, but at the third a single corridor ran straight off -into darkness and at our right was a door, ajar. The sounds of pursuit -were appreciably nearer now and the necessity for concealment seemed -increasing as the square of their growing proportions until every other -consideration was overwhelmed by it. Nor is this so strange when the -purpose of my adventure is considered and that discovery now must -assuredly spell defeat and blast for ever the slender ray of hope that -remained for the resurrection of Valla Dia in her own flesh. - -There was scarce a moment for consideration. The corridor before us was -shrouded in darkness—it might be naught but a blind alley. The door was -close and ajar. I pushed it gently inward. An odor of heavy incense -greeted our nostrils and through the small aperture we saw a portion of -a large chamber garishly decorated. Directly before us, and almost -wholly obstructing our view of the entire chamber, stood a colossal -statue of a squatting manlike figure. Behind us we heard voices—our -pursuers already were ascending the spiral—they would be upon us in a -few seconds. I examined the door and discovered that it fastened with a -spring lock. I looked again into the chamber and saw no one within the -range of our vision, and then I motioned Gor Hajus to follow me and -stepping into the room closed the door behind us. We had burned our -bridges. As the door closed the lock engaged with a sharp, metallic -click. - -“What was that?” demanded a voice, originating, seemingly, at the far -end of the chamber. - -Gor Hajus looked at me and shrugged his shoulders in resignation (he -must have been thinking what I was thinking—that with two avenues we -had chosen the wrong one) but he smiled and there was no reproach in his -eyes. - -“It sounded from the direction of the Great Tur,” replied a second -voice. - -“Perhaps someone is at the door,” suggested the first speaker. - -Gor Hajus and I were flattened against the back of the statue that we -might postpone as long as possible our inevitable discovery should the -speakers decide to investigate the origin of the noise that had -attracted their suspicions. I was facing against the polished stone of -the figure’s back, my hands outspread upon it. Beneath my fingers were -the carven bits of its ornamental harness—jutting protuberances that -were costly gems set in these trappings of stone, and there were -gorgeous inlays of gold filagree; but these things I had no eyes for -now. We could hear the two conversing as they came nearer. Perhaps I was -nervous, I do not know. I am sure I never shrank from an encounter when -either duty or expediency called; but in this instance both demanded -that we avoid conflict and remain undiscovered. However that may be, my -fingers must have been moving nervously over the jeweled harness of the -figure when I became vaguely, perhaps subconsciously, aware that one of -the gems was loose in its setting. I do not recall that this made any -impression upon my conscious mind, but I do know that it seemed to catch -the attention of my wandering fingers and they must have paused to play -with the loosened stone. - -The voices seemed quite close now—it could be but a matter of seconds -before we should be confronted by their owners. My muscles seemed to -tense for the anticipated encounter and unconsciously I pressed heavily -upon the loosened setting—whereat a portion of the figure’s back gave -noiselessly inward revealing to us the dimly lighted interior of the -statue. We needed no further invitation; simultaneously we stepped -across the threshold and in almost the same movement I turned and closed -the panel gently behind us. I think that there was absolutely no sound -connected with the entire transaction; and following it we remained in -utter silence, motionless—scarce breathing. Our eyes became quickly -accustomed to the dim interior which we discovered was lighted through -numerous small orifices in the shell of the statue, which was entirely -hollow, and through these same orifices every outside sound came clearly -to our ears. - -We had scarcely closed the opening when we heard the voices directly -outside it and simultaneously there came a hammering on the door by -which we had entered the apartment from the corridor. “Who seeks -entrance to Xaxa’s Temple?” demanded one of the voices within the room. - -“’Tis I, dwar of the Jeddara’s Guard,” boomed a voice from without. “We -are seeking two who came to assassinate Xaxa.” - -“Came they this way?” - -“Think you, priest, that I should be seeking them here had they not?” - -“How long since?” - -“Scarce twenty tals since,” replied the dwar. - -“Then they are not here,” the priest assured him, “for we have been here -for a full zode[A] and no other has entered the temple during that time. -Look quickly to Xaxa’s apartments above and to the roof and the hangars, -for if you followed them up the spiral there is no other where they -might flee.” - ------ - -[A] A tal is about one second, and a zode approximately two and one-half -hours, Earth time. - ------ - -“Watch then the temple carefully until I return,” shouted the warrior -and we heard him and his men moving on up the spiral. - -Now we heard the priests conversing as they moved slowly past the -statue. - -“What could have caused the noise that first attracted our attention?” -asked one. - -“Perhaps the fugitives tried the door,” suggested the other. - -“It must have been that, but they did not enter or we should have seen -them when they emerged from behind the Great Tur, for we were facing him -at the time, nor have once turned our eyes from this end of the temple.” - -“Then at least they are not within the temple.” - -“And where else they may be is no concern of ours.” - -“No, nor if they reached Xaxa’s apartment, if they did not pass through -the temple.” - -“Perhaps they did reach it.” - -“And they were assassins!” - -“Worse things might befall Phundahl.” - -“Hush! the gods have ears.” - -“Of stone.” - -“But the ears of Xaxa are not of stone and they hear many things that -are not intended for them.” - -“The old she-banth!” - -“She is Jeddara and High Priestess.” - -“Yes, but——” the voices passed beyond the range of our ears at the far -end of the temple, yet they had told me much—that Xaxa was feared and -hated by the priesthood and that the priests themselves had none too -much reverence for their deity as evidenced by the remark of one that -the gods have ears of stone. And they had told us other things, -important things, when they conversed with the dwar of the Jeddara’s -Guard. - -Gor Hajus and I now felt that we had fallen by chance upon a most ideal -place of concealment, for the very guardians of the temple would swear -that we were not, could not be, where we were. Already had they thrown -the pursuers off our track. - -Now, for the first time, we had an opportunity to examine our hiding -place. The interior of the statue was hollow and far above us, perhaps -forty feet, we could see the outside light shining through the mouth, -ears and nostrils, just below which a circular platform could be -discerned running around the inside of the neck. A ladder with flat -rungs led upward from the base to the platform. Thick dust covered the -floor on which we stood, and the extremity of our position suggested a -careful examination of this dust, with the result that I was at once -impressed by the evidence that it revealed; which indicated that we were -the first to enter the statue for a long time, possibly for years, as -the fine coating of almost impalpable dust that covered the floor was -undisturbed. As I searched for this evidence my eyes fell upon something -lying huddled close to the base of the ladder and approaching nearer I -saw that it was a human skeleton, while a closer examination revealed -that the skull was crushed and one arm and several ribs broken. About it -lay, dust-covered, the most gorgeous trappings I had ever seen. Its -position at the foot of the ladder, as well as the crushed skull and -broken bones, appeared quite conclusive evidence of the manner in which -death had come—the man had fallen head foremost from the circular -platform forty feet above, carrying with him to eternity, doubtless, the -secret of the entrance to the interior of the Great Tur. - -I suggested this to Gor Hajus who was examining the dead man’s trappings -and he agreed with me that such must have been the manner of his death. - -“He was a high priest of Tur,” whispered Gor Hajus, “and probably a -member of the royal house—possibly a Jeddak. He has been dead a long -time.” - -“I am going up above,” I said. “I will test the ladder. If it is safe, -follow me up. I think we shall be able to see the interior of the temple -through the mouth of Tur.” - -“Go carefully,” Gor Hajus admonished. “The ladder is very old.” - -I went carefully, testing each rung before I trusted my weight to it, -but I found the old sorapus wood of which it was constructed sound and -as staunch as steel. How the high priest came to his death must always -remain a mystery, for the ladder or the circular platform would have -carried the weight of a hundred red-men. - -From the platform I could see through the mouth of Tur. Below me was a -large chamber along the sides of which were ranged other, though lesser, -idols. They were even more grotesque than those I had seen in the temple -in the city and their trappings were rich beyond the conception of -man—Earthman—for the gems of Barsoom scintillate with rays unknown to -us and of such gorgeous and blinding beauty as to transcend description. -Directly in front of the Great Tur was an altar of palthon, a rare and -beautiful stone, blood red, in which are traced in purest white Nature’s -most fanciful designs; the whole vastly enhanced by the wondrous polish -which the stone takes beneath the hand of the craftsman. - -Gor Hajus joined me and together we examined the interior of the temple. -Tall windows lined two sides, letting in a flood of light. At the far -end, opposite the Great Tur, were two enormous doors, closing the main -entrance to the chamber, and here stood the two priests whom we had -heard conversing. Otherwise the temple was deserted. Incense burned upon -tiny altars before each of the minor idols, but whether any burned -before the Great Tur we could not see. - -Having satisfied our curiosity relative to the temple, we returned our -attention to a further examination of the interior of Tur’s huge head -and were rewarded by the discovery of another ladder leading upward -against the rear wall to a higher and smaller platform that evidently -led to the eyes. It did not take me long to investigate and here I found -a most comfortable chair set before a control that operated the eyes, so -that they could be made to turn from side to side, or up or down, -according to the whim of the operator; and here too was a speaking-tube -leading to the mouth. This again I must needs investigate and so I -returned to the lower platform and there I discovered a device beneath -the tongue of the idol, and this device, which was in the nature of an -amplifier, was connected with the speaking-tube from above. I could not -repress a smile as I considered these silent witnesses to the perfidy of -man and thought of the broken thing lying at the foot of the ladder. -Tur, I could have sworn, had been silent for many years. - -Together Gor Hajus and I returned to the higher platform and again I -made a discovery—the eyes of Tur were veritable periscopes. By turning -them we could see any portion of the temple and what we saw through the -eyes was magnified. Nothing could escape the eyes of Tur and presently, -when the priests began to talk again, we discovered that nothing could -escape Tur’s ears, for every slightest sound in the temple came clearly -to us. What a valuable adjunct to high priesthood this Great Tur must -have been in the days when that broken skeleton lying below us was a -thing of blood and life! - - - - - CHAPTER XII - THE GREAT TUR - - -The day dragged wearily for Gor Hajus and me. We watched the various -priests who came in pairs at intervals to relieve those who had preceded -them, and we listened to their prattle, mostly idle gossip of court -scandals. At times they spoke of us and we learned that Hovan Du had -escaped with Sag Or, nor had they been located as yet, nor had Dar -Tarus. The whole court was mystified by our seemingly miraculous -disappearance. Three thousand people, the inmates and attaches of the -palace, were constantly upon the look-out for us. Every part of the -palace and the palace grounds had been searched and searched again. The -pits had been explored more thoroughly than they had been explored -within the memory of the oldest retainer, and it seemed that queer -things had been unearthed there—things of which not even Xaxa dreamed; -and the priests whispered that at least one great and powerful house -would fall because of what a dwar of the Jeddara’s Guard had discovered -in a remote precinct of the pits. - -As the sun dropped below the horizon and darkness came, the interior of -the temple was illuminated by a soft white light, brilliantly but -without the glare of Earthly artificial illumination. More priests came -and many young girls, priestesses. They performed before the idols, -chanting meaningless gibberish. Gradually the chamber filled with -worshippers, nobles of the Jeddara’s court with their women and their -retainers, forming in two lines along either side of the temple before -the lesser idols, leaving a wide aisle from the great entrance to the -foot of the Great Tur and towards this aisle they all faced, waiting. -For what were they waiting? Their eyes were turned expectantly towards -the closed doors of the great entrance and Gor Hajus and I felt our eyes -held there too, fascinated by the suggestion that they were about to -open and reveal some stupendous spectacle. - -And presently the doors did swing slowly open and all we saw was what -appeared to be a great roll of carpet lying upon its side across the -opening. Twenty slaves, naked but for their scant leather harness, stood -behind the huge roll; and as the doors swung fully open they rolled the -carpet inward to the very feet of the altar before the Great Tur, -covering the wide aisle from the entranceway almost to the idol with a -thick, soft rug of gold and white and blue. It was the most beautiful -thing in the temple where all else was blatant, loud and garish or -hideous, or grotesque. And then the doors closed and again we waited; -but not for long. Bugles sounded from without, the sound increasing as -they neared the entrance. Once more the doors swung in. Across the -entrance stood a double rank of gorgeously trapped nobles. Slowly they -entered the temple and behind them came a splendid chariot drawn by two -banths, the fierce Barsoomian lion, held in leash by slaves on either -side. Upon the chariot was a litter and in the litter, reclining at -ease, lay Xaxa. As she entered the temple the people commenced to chant -her praises in a monotonous sing-song. Chained to the chariot and -following on foot was a red warrior and behind him a procession composed -of fifty young men and an equal number of young girls. - -Gor Hajus touched my arm. “The prisoner,” he whispered, “do you -recognize him?” - -“Dar Tarus!” I exclaimed. - -It was Dar Tarus—they had discovered his hiding place and arrested him, -but what of Hovan Du? Had they taken him, also? If they had it must have -been only after slaying him, for they never would have sought to capture -the fierce beast, nor would he have brooked capture. I looked for Sag -Or, but he was nowhere to be seen within the temple and this fact gave -me hope that Hovan Du might be still at liberty. - -The chariot was halted before the altar and Xaxa alighted; the lock that -held Dar Tarus’ chain to the vehicle was opened and the banths were led -away by their attendants to one side of the temple behind the lesser -idols. Then Dar Tarus was dragged roughly to the altar and thrown upon -it and Xaxa, mounting the steps at its base, came close to his side and -with hands outstretched above him looked up at the Great Tur towering -above her. How beautiful she was! How richly trapped! Ah, Valla Dia! -that your sweet form should be debased to the cruel purposes of the -wicked mind that now animates you! - -Xaxa’s eyes now rested upon the face of the Great Tur. “O, Tur, Father -of Barsoom,” she cried, “behold the offering we place before you, -All-seeing, All-knowing, All-powerful One, and frown no more upon us in -silence. For a hundred years you have not deigned to speak aloud to your -faithful slaves; never since Hora San, the high priest, was taken away -by you on that long-gone night of mystery have you unsealed your lips to -your people. Speak, Great Tur! Give us some sign, ere we plunge this -dagger into the heart of our offering, that our works are pleasing in -thine eyes. Tell us whither went the two who came here to-day to -assassinate your high priestess; reveal to us the fate of Sag Or. Speak, -Great Tur, ere I strike,” and she raised her slim blade above the heart -of Dar Tarus and looked straight upward into the eyes of Tur. - -And then, as a bolt from the blue, I was struck by the great -inspiration. My hand sought the lever controlling the eyes of Tur and I -turned them until they completed a full circuit of the room and rested -again upon Xaxa. The effect was magical. Never before had I seen a whole -room full of people so absolutely stunned and awe-struck as were these. -As the eyes returned to Xaxa she seemed turned to stone and her copper -skin to have taken on an ashen purple hue. Her dagger remained stiffly -poised above the heart of Dar Tarus. Not for a hundred years had they -seen the eyes of the Great Tur move. Then I placed the speaking-tube to -my lips and the voice of Tur rumbled through the chamber. As from one -great throat a gasp arose from the crowded temple floor and the people -fell upon their knees and buried their faces in their hands. - -“Judgment is mine!” I cried. “Strike not lest ye be struck! To Tur is -the sacrifice!” - -I was silent then, attempting to plan how best to utilize the advantage -I had gained. Fearfully, one by one, the bowed heads were raised and -frightened eyes sought the face of Tur. I gave them another thrill by -letting the god’s eyes wander slowly over the upturned faces, and while -I was doing this I had another inspiration, which I imparted to Gor -Hajus in a low whisper. I could hear him chuckle as he started down the -ladder to carry my new plan into effect. Again I had recourse to the -speaking-tube. - -“The sacrifice is Tur’s,” I rumbled. “Tur will strike with his own hand. -Extinguish the lights and let no one move under pain of instant death -until Tur gives the word. Prostrate yourselves and bury your eyes in -your palms, for whosoever sees shall be blinded when the spirit of Tur -walks among his people.” - -Down they went again and one of the priests hurriedly extinguished the -lights, leaving the temple in total darkness; and while Gor Hajus was -engaged with his part of the performance I tried to cover any accidental -noise he might make by keeping up a running fire of celestial -revelation. - -“Xaxa, the high priestess, asks what has become of the two whom she -believed came to assassinate her. I, Tur took them to myself. Vengeance -is Tur’s! And Sag Or I took, also. In the guise of a great ape I came -and took Sag Or and none knew me; though even a fool might have guessed, -for who is there ever heard a great ape speak with tongue of man unless -he was animated by the spirit of Tur?” - -I guess that convinced them, it being just the sort of logic suited to -their religion, or it would have convinced them if they had not already -been convinced. I wondered what might be passing in the mind of the -doubting priest who had remarked that the gods had ears of stone. - -Presently I heard a noise upon the ladder beneath me and a moment later -someone climbed upon the circular landing. - -“All’s well,” whispered the voice of Gor Hajus. “Dar Tarus is with me.” - -“Light the temple!” I commanded through the speaking-tube. “Rise and -look upon your altar.” - -The lights flashed on and the people rose, trembling, to their feet. -Every eye was bent upon the altar and what they saw there seemed to -crush them with terror. Some of the women screamed and fainted. It all -impressed me with the belief that none of them had taken this god of -theirs with any great amount of seriousness, and now when they were -confronted with absolute proof of his miraculous powers they were swept -completely off their feet. Where, a few moments before, they had seen a -live sacrifice awaiting the knife of the high priestess they saw now -only a dust-covered human skull. I grant you that without an explanation -it might have seemed a miracle to almost anyone so quickly had Gor Hajus -run from the base of the idol with the skull of the dead high priest and -returned again leading Dar Tarus with him. I had been a bit concerned as -to what the attitude of Dar Tarus might be, who was no more conversant -with the hoax than were the Phundahlians, but Gor Hajus had whispered -“For Valla Dia” in his ear and he had understood and come quickly. - -“The Great Tur,” I now announced, “is angry with his people. For a long -time they have denied him in their hearts even while they made open -worship of him. The Great Tur is angry with Xaxa. Only through Xaxa may -the people of Phundahl be saved from destruction, for the Great Tur is -angry. Go then from the temple and the palace leaving no human being -here other than Xaxa, the high priestess of Tur. Leave her here in -solitude beside the altar. Tur would speak with her alone.” - -I could see Xaxa fairly shrivel in fright. - -“Is the Jeddara Xaxa, High Priestess of the Great God Tur, afraid to -meet her master?” I demanded. The woman’s jaw trembled so that she could -not reply. “Obey! or Xaxa and all her people shall be struck dead!” I -fairly screamed at them. - -Like cattle they turned and fled towards the entrance and Xaxa, her -knees shaking so that she could scarce stand erect, staggered after -them. A noble saw her and pushed her roughly back, but she shrieked and -ran after him when he had left her. Then others dragged her to the foot -of the altar and threw her roughly down and one menaced her with his -sword, but at that I called aloud that no harm must befall the Jeddara -if they did not wish the wrath of Tur to fall upon them all. They left -her lying there and so weak from fright was she that she could not rise, -and a moment later the temple was empty, but not until I had shouted -after them to clear the whole palace within a quarter zode, for my plan -required a free and unobstructed as well as unobserved field of action. - -The last of them was scarce out of sight ere we three descended from the -head of Tur and stepped out upon the temple floor behind the idol. -Quickly I ran towards the altar, upon the other side of which Xaxa had -dropped to the floor in a swoon. She still lay there and I gathered her -into my arms and ran quickly back to the door in the wall behind the -idol—the doorway through which Gor Hajus and I had entered the temple -earlier in the day. - -Preceded by Gor Hajus and followed by Dar Tarus, I ascended the runway -towards the roof where the conversation of the priests had informed us -were located the royal hangars. Had Hovan Du and Sag Or been with us my -cup of happiness would have been full, for within half a day, what had -seemed utter failure and defeat had been turned almost to assured -success. At the landing where lay Xaxa’s apartments we halted and looked -within, for the long night voyage I contemplated would be cold and the -body of Valla Dia must be kept warm with suitable robes even though it -was inhabited by the spirit of Xaxa. Seeing no one we entered and soon -found what we required. As I was adjusting a heavy robe of orluk about -the Jeddara she regained consciousness. Instantly she recognized me and -then Gor Hajus and finally Dar Tarus. Mechanically she felt for her -dagger, but it was not there and when she saw my smile she paled with -anger. At first she must have jumped to the conclusion that she had been -the victim of a hoax, but presently a doubt seemed to enter her -mind—she must have been recalling some of the things that had -transpired within the temple of the Great Tur, and these, neither she -nor any other mortal might explain. - -“Who are you?” she demanded. - -“I am Tur,” I replied, brazenly. - -“What is your purpose with me?” - -“I am going to take you away from Phundahl,” I replied. - -“But I do not wish to go. You are not Tur. You are Vad Varo. I shall -call for help and my guards will come and slay you.” - -“There is no one in the palace,” I reminded her. “Did I, Tur, not send -them away?” - -“I shall not go with you,” she announced firmly. “Rather would I die.” - -“You shall go with me, Xaxa,” I replied, and though she fought and -struggled we carried her from her apartment and up the spiral runway to -the roof where, I prayed, I should find the hangars and the royal -fliers; and as we stepped out into the fresh night air of Mars we did -see the hangars before us, but we saw something else—a group of -Phundahlian warriors of the Jeddara’s Guard whom they had evidently -failed to notify of the commands of Tur. At sight of them Xaxa cried -aloud in relief. - -“To me! To the Jeddara!” she cried. “Strike down these assassins and -save me!” - -There were three of them and there were three of us, but they were armed -and between us we had but Xaxa’s slender dagger. Gor Hajus carried that. -Victory seemed turned to defeat as they rushed towards us; but it was -Gor Hajus who gave them pause. He seized Xaxa and raised the blade, its -point above her heart. “Halt!” he cried, “or I strike.” - -The warriors hesitated; Xaxa was silent, stricken with fear. Thus we -stood in stalemate when, just beyond the three Phundahlian warriors, I -saw a movement at the roof’s edge. What was it? In the dim light I saw -something that seemed a human head, and yet unhuman, rise slowly above -the edge of the roof, and then, silently, a great form followed, and -then I recognized it—Hovan Du, the great white ape. - -“Tell them,” I cried to Xaxa in a loud voice that Hovan Du might hear, -“that I am Tur, for see, I come again in the semblance of a white ape!” -and I pointed to Hovan Du. “I would not destroy these poor warriors. Let -them lay down their weapons and go in peace.” - -The men turned, and seeing the great ape standing there behind them, -materialized, it might have been, out of thin air, were shaken. - -“Who is he, Jeddara?” demanded one of the men. - -“It is Tur,” replied Xaxa in a weak voice; “but save me from him! Save -me from him!” - -“Throw down your weapons and your harness and fly!” I commanded, “or Tur -will strike you dead. Heard you not the people rushing from the palace -at Tur’s command? How think you we brought Xaxa hither with a lesser -power than Tur’s when all her palace was filled with her fighting men? -Go, while yet you may in safety.” - -One of them unbuckled his harness and threw it with his weapons upon the -roof, and as he started at a run for the spiral his companions followed -his example. Then Hovan Du approached us. - -“Well done, Vad Varo,” he growled, “though I know not what it is all -about.” - -“That you shall know later,” I told him, “but now we must find a swift -flier and be upon our way. Where is Sag Or? Does he still live?” - -“I have him securely bound and safely hidden in one of the high towers -of the palace,” replied the ape. “It will be easy to get him when we -have launched a flier.” - -Xaxa was eyeing us ragefully. “You are not Tur!” she cried. “The ape has -exposed you.” - -“But too late to profit you in any way, Jeddara,” I assured her. “Nor -could you convince one of your people who stood in the temple this night -that I am not Tur. Nor do you, yourself, know that I am not. The ways of -Tur, the all-powerful, all-knowing, are beyond the conception of mortal -man. To you then, Jeddara, I am Tur, and you will find me all-powerful -enough for my purposes.” - -I think she was still perplexed as we found and dragged forth a flier, -aboard which we placed her, and turned the craft’s nose towards a lofty -tower where Hovan Du told us lay Sag Or. - -“I shall be glad to see myself again,” said Dar Tarus, with a laugh. - -“And you shall be yourself again, Dar Tarus,” I told him, “as soon as -ever we can come again to the pits of Ras Thavas.” - -“Would that I might be reunited with my sweet Kara Vasa,” he sighed. -“Then, Vad Varo, the last full measure of my gratitude would be yours.” - -“Where may we find her?” - -“Alas, I do not know. It was while I was searching for her that I was -apprehended by the agents of Xaxa. I had been to her father’s palace -only to learn that he had been assassinated and his property -confiscated. The whereabouts of Kara Vasa they either did not know or -would not divulge; but they held me there upon one pretext or another -until a detachment of the Jeddara’s Guard could come and arrest me.” - -“We shall have to make inquiries of Sag Or,” I said. - -We were now coming to a stop alongside a window of the tower Hovan Du -had indicated, and he and Dar Tarus leaped to the sill and disappeared -within. We were all armed now, having taken the weapons discarded by the -three warriors at the hangars, and with a good flier beneath our feet -and all our little company reunited, with Xaxa and Sag Or, whom they -were now conducting aboard, we were indeed in high spirits. - -As we got under way again, setting our nose towards the east, I asked -Sag Or if he knew what had become of Kara Vasa, but he assured me, in -surly tones, that he did not. - -“Think again, Sag Or,” I admonished him, “and think hard, for perhaps -upon your answer your life depends.” - -“What chance have I for life?” he sneered, casting an ugly look towards -Dar Tarus. - -“You have every chance,” I replied. “Your life lies in the hollow of my -hand; and you serve me well it shall be yours, though in your own body -and not in that belonging to Dar Tarus.” - -“You do not intend destroying me?” - -“Neither you nor Xaxa,” I answered. “Xaxa shall live on in her own body -and you in yours.” - -“I do not wish to live in my own body,” snapped the Jeddara. - -Dar Tarus stood looking at Sag Or—looking at his own body like some -disembodied soul—as weird a situation as I have ever encountered. - -“Tell me, Sag Or,” he said, “what has become of Kara Vasa. When my body -has been restored to me and yours to you I shall hold no enmity against -you if you have not harmed Kara Vasa and will tell me where she be.” - -“I cannot tell you, for I do not know. She was not harmed, but the day -after you were assassinated she disappeared from Phundahl. We were -positive that she was spirited away by her father, but from him we could -learn nothing. Then he was assassinated,” the man glanced at Xaxa, “and -since, we have learned nothing. A slave told us that Kara Vasa, with -some of her father’s warriors, had embarked upon a flier and set out for -Helium, where she purposed placing herself under the protection of the -great War Lord of Barsoom; but of the truth of that we know nothing. -This is the truth. I, Sag Or, have spoken!” - -It was futile then to search Phundahl for Kara Vasa and so we held our -course towards the east and the Tower of Thavas. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - BACK TO THAVAS - - -All that night we sped beneath the hurtling moons of Mars, as strange a -company as was ever foregathered upon any planet, I will swear. Two men, -each possessing the body of the other, an old and wicked empress whose -fair body belonged to a youthful damsel beloved by another of this -company, a great white ape dominated by half the brain of a human being, -and I, a creature of a distant planet, with Gor Hajus, the Assassin of -Toonol, completed the mad roster. - -I could scarce keep my eyes from the fair form and face of Xaxa, and it -is well that I was thus fascinated for I caught her in the act of -attempting to hurl herself overboard, so repugnant to her was the -prospect of living again in her own old and hideous corpse. After that I -kept her securely bound and fastened to the deck, though it hurt me to -see the bonds upon those fair limbs. - -Dar Tarus was almost equally fascinated by the contemplation of his own -body, which he had not seen for many years. - -“By my first ancestor,” he ejaculated. “It must be that I was the least -vain of fellows, for I give you my word I had no idea that I was so fair -to look upon. I can say this now without seeming egotism, since I am -speaking of Sag Or,” and he laughed aloud at his little joke. - -But the fact remained that the body and face of Dar Tarus were beautiful -indeed, though there was a hint of steel in the eyes and the set of the -jaw that betokened fighting blood. Little wonder, then, that Sag Or had -coveted the body of this young warrior; for his own, which Dar Tarus now -possessed, was marked by dissipation and age; nor that Dar Tarus yearned -to come again into his own. - -Just before dawn we dropped to one of the numerous small islands that -dot the Great Toonolian Marshes and nosing the ship between the boles of -great trees we came to rest upon the surface of the ground, half buried -in the lush and gorgeous jungle grasses, well hidden from the sight of -possible pursuers. Here Hovan Du found fruits and nuts for us which the -simian section of his brain pronounced safe for human consumption, and -instinct led him to a nearby spring from which there bubbled delicious -water. We four were half famished and much fatigued, so that the food -and water were most welcome to us; nor did Xaxa and Sag Or refuse them. -Having eaten, three of us lay down upon the ship’s deck to sleep, after -securely chaining our prisoners, while the fourth stood watch. In this -way, taking turns, we slept away most of the day and when night fell, -rested and refreshed, we were ready to resume our flight. - -Making a wide detour to the south we avoided Toonol and about two hours -before dawn we sighted the high Tower of Thavas. I think we were all -keyed up to the highest pitch of excitement, for there was not one -aboard that flier but whose whole life would be seriously affected by -the success or failure of our venture. As a first precaution we secured -the hands of Xaxa and Sag Or behind their backs and placed gags in their -mouths, lest they succeed in giving warning of our approach. - -Cluros had long since set and Thuria was streaming towards the horizon -as we stopped our motor and drifted without lights a mile or two south -of the tower while we waited impatiently for Thuria to leave the heavens -to darkness and the world to us. To the north-west the lights of Toonol -shone plainly against the dark background of the windows of the great -laboratory of Ras Thavas, but the tower itself was dark from plinth to -pinnacle. - -And now the nearer moon dropped plummetlike beneath the horizon and left -the scene to darkness and to us. Dar Tarus started the motor, the -wonderful, silent motor of Barsoom, and we moved slowly, close to the -ground, towards Ras Thavas’ island, with no sound other than the gentle -whirring of our propeller; nor could that have been heard scarce a -hundred feet so slowly was it turning. Close off the island we came to a -stop behind a cluster of giant trees and Hovan Du, going into the bow, -uttered a few low growls. Then we stood waiting in silence, listening. -There was a rustling in the dense undergrowth upon the shore. Again -Hovan Du voiced his low, grim call and this time there came an answer -from the black shadows. Hovan Du spoke in the language of the great apes -and the invisible creature replied. - -For five minutes, during which time we were aware from the different -voices that others had joined in the conversation from the shore, the -apes conversed, and then Hovan Du turned to me. - -“It is arranged,” he said. “They will permit us to hide our ship beneath -these trees and they will permit us to pass out again when we are ready -and board her, nor will they harm us in any way. All they ask is that -when we are through we shall leave the gate open that leads to the inner -court.” - -“Do they understand that while an ape goes in with us none will return -with us?” I asked. - -“Yes; but they will not harm us.” - -“Why do they wish the gate left open?” - -“Do not inquire too closely, Vad Varo,” replied Hovan Du. “It should be -enough that the great apes make it possible for you to restore Valla -Dia’s body to her brain and escape with her from this terrible place.” - -“It is enough,” I replied. “When may we land?” - -“At once. They will help us drag the ship beneath the trees and make her -fast.” - -“But first we must top the wall to the inner court,” I reminded him. - -“Yes, true—I had forgotten that we cannot open the gate from this -side.” - -He spoke again, then, to the apes, whom we had not yet seen; and then he -told us that all was arranged and that he and Dar Tarus would return -with the ship after landing us inside the wall. - -Again we got under way and rising slowly above the outer wall dropped -silently to the courtyard beyond. The night was unusually dark, clouds -having followed Thuria and blotted out the stars after the moon had set. -No one could have seen the ship at a distance of fifty feet, and we -moved almost without noise. Quietly we lowered our prisoners over the -side and Gor Hajus and I remained with them while Dar Tarus and Hovan Du -rose again and piloted the ship back to its hiding place. - -I moved at once to the gate and, unlatching it, waited. I heard nothing. -Never, I think, have I endured such utter silence. There came no sound -from the great pile rising behind me, nor any from the dark jungle -beyond the wall. Dimly I could see the huddled forms of Gor Hajus, Xaxa -and Sag Or beside me—otherwise I might have been alone in the darkness -and immensity of space. - -It seemed an eternity that I waited there before I heard a soft -scratching on the panels of the heavy gate. I pushed it open and Dar -Tarus and Hovan Du stepped silently within as I closed and relatched it. -No one spoke. All had been carefully planned so that there was no need -of speech. Dar Tarus and I led the way, Gor Hajus and Hovan Du brought -up the rear with the prisoners. We moved directly to the entrance to the -tower, found the runway and descended to the pits. Every fortune seemed -with us. We met no one, we had no difficulty in finding the vault we -sought, and once within we secured the door so that we had no fear of -interruption—that was our first concern—and then I hastened to the -spot where I had hidden Valla Dia behind the body of a large warrior, -tucked far back against the wall in a dark corner. My heart stood still -as I dragged aside the body of the warrior, for always had I feared that -Ras Thavas, knowing my interest in her and guessing the purpose of my -venture, would cause every chamber and pit to be searched and every body -to be examined until he found her for whom he sought; but my fears had -been baseless, for there lay the body of Xaxa, the old and wrinkled -casket of the lovely brain of my beloved, where I had hidden it against -this very night. Gently I lifted it out and bore it to one of the two -ersite topped tables. Xaxa, standing there bound and gagged, looked on -with eyes that shot hate and loathing at me and at that hideous body to -which her brain was so soon to be restored. - -As I lifted her to the adjoining slab she tried to wriggle from my grasp -and hurl herself to the floor, but I held her and soon had strapped her -securely in place. A moment later she was unconscious and the -re-transference was well under way. Gor Hajus, Sag Or and Hovan Du were -interested spectators, but to Dar Tarus, who stood ready to assist me, -it was an old story, for he had worked in the laboratory and seen more -than enough of similar operations. I will not bore you with a -description of it—it was but a repetition of what I had done many times -in preparation for this very event. - -At last it was completed and my heart fairly stood still as I replaced -the embalming fluid with Valla Dia’s own life blood and saw the color -mount to her cheeks and her rounded bosom rise and fall to her gentle -breathing. Then she opened her eyes and looked up into mine. - -“What has happened, Vad Varo?” she asked. “Has something gone amiss that -you have recalled me so soon, or did I not respond to the fluid?” - -Her eyes wandered past me to the faces of the others standing about. -“What does it mean?” she asked. “Who are these?” - -I raised her gently in my arms and pointed at the body of Xaxa lying -deathlike on the ersite slab beside her. Valla Dia’s eyes went wide. “It -is done?” she cried, and clapped her hands to her face and felt of all -her features and of the soft, delicate contours of her smooth neck; and -yet she could scarce believe it and asked for a glass and I took one -from Xaxa’s pocket pouch and handed it to her. She looked long into it -and the tears commenced to roll down her cheeks, and then she looked up -at me through the mist of them and put her dear arms about my neck and -drew my face down to hers. “My chieftain,” she whispered—that was all. -But it was enough. For those two words I had risked my life and faced -unknown dangers, and gladly would I risk my life again for that same -reward and always, for ever. - -Another night had fallen before I had completed the restoration of Dar -Tarus and Hovan Du. Xaxa, and Sag Or and the great ape I left sleeping -the deathlike sleep of Ras Thavas’ marvelous anaesthetic. The great ape -I had no intention of restoring, but the others I felt bound to return -to Phundahl, though Dar Tarus, now resplendent in his own flesh and the -gorgeous trappings of Sag Or, urged me not to inflict them again upon -the long suffering Phundahlians. - -“But I have given my word,” I told him. - -“Then they must be returned,” he said. - -“Though what I may do afterward is another matter,” I added, for there -had suddenly occurred to me a bold scheme. - -I did not tell Dar Tarus what it was nor would I have had time, for at -the very instant we heard someone without trying the door and then we -heard voices and presently the door was tried again, this time with -force. We made no noise, but just waited. I hoped that whoever it was -would go away. The door was very strong and when they tried to force it -they must soon have realized the futility of it because they quickly -desisted and we heard their voices for only a short time thereafter and -then they seemed to have gone away. - -“We must leave,” I said, “before they return.” - -Strapping the hands of Xaxa and Sag Or behind them and placing gags in -their mouths I quickly restored them to life, nor ever did I see two -less grateful. The looks they cast upon me might well have killed could -looks do that, and with what disgust they viewed one another was writ -plain in their eyes. - -Cautiously unbolting the door I opened it very quietly, a naked sword in -my right hand and Dar Tarus, Gor Hajus and Hovan Du ready with theirs at -my shoulder, and as it swung back it revealed two standing in the -corridor watching—two of Ras Thavas’ slaves; and one of them was -Yamdor, his body servant. At sight of us the fellow gave a loud cry of -recognition and before I could leap through the doorway and prevent -them, they had both turned and were flying up the corridor as fast as -their feet would carry them. - -Now there was no time to be lost—everything must be sacrificed to -speed. Without thought of caution or silence we hastened through the -pits towards the runway in the tower; and when we stepped into the inner -court it was night again, but the farther moon was in the heavens and -there were no clouds. The result was that we were instantly discovered -by a sentry, who gave the alarm as he ran forward to intercept us. - -What was a sentry doing in the courtyard of Ras Thavas? I could not -understand. And what were these? A dozen armed warriors were hurrying -across the court on the heels of the sentry. - -“Toonolians!” shouted Gor Hajus. “The warriors of Vobis Kan, Jeddak of -Toonol!” - -Breathlessly we raced for the gate. If we could but reach it first! But -we were handicapped by our prisoners, who held back the moment they -discovered how they might embarrass us, and so it was that we all met in -front of the gate. Dar Tarus and Gor Hajus and Hovan Du and I put Valla -Dia and our prisoners behind us and fought the twenty warriors of Toonol -with the odds five to one against us; but we had more heart in the fight -than they and perhaps that gave us an advantage, though I am sure that -Gor Hajus was as ten men himself so terrible was the effect of his name -alone upon the men of Toonol. - -“Gor Hajus!” cried one, the first to recognize him. - -“Yes, it is Gor Hajus,” replied the assassin. “Prepare to meet your -ancestors!” and he drove into them like a racing propeller, and I was -upon his right and Hovan Du and Dar Tarus upon his left. - -It was a pretty fight, but it must eventually have gone against us, so -greatly were we outnumbered, had I not thought of the apes and the gate -beside us. Working my way to it I threw it open and there upon the -outside, attracted by the noise of the conflict, stood a full dozen of -the great beasts. I called to Gor Hajus and the others to fall back -beside the gate, and as the apes rushed in I pointed to the Toonolian -warriors. - -I think the apes were at a loss to know which were friends and which -were foes, but the Toonolians apprised them by attacking them, while we -stood aside with our points upon the ground. Just a moment we stood thus -waiting. Then as the apes rushed among the Toonolian warriors, we -slipped into the darkness of the jungle beyond the outer wall and sought -our flier. Behind us we could hear the growls and the roars of the -beasts mingled with the shouts and the curses of the men; and the sound -still rose from the courtyard as we clambered aboard the flier and -pushed off into the night. - -As soon as we felt that we were safely escaped from the Island of Thavas -I removed the gags from the mouths of Xaxa and Sag Or and I can tell you -that I immediately regretted it, for never in my life had I been -subjected to such horrid abuse as poured from the wrinkled old lips of -the Jeddara; and it was only when I started to gag her again that she -promised to desist. - -My plans were now well laid and they included a return to Phundahl since -I could not start for Duhor with Valla Dia without provisions and fuel; -nor could I obtain these elsewhere than in Phundahl, since I felt that I -held the key that would unlock the resources of that city to me; whereas -all Toonol was in arms against us owing to Vobis Kan’s fear of Gor -Hajus. - -So we retraced our way towards Phundahl as secretly as we had come, for -I had no mind to be apprehended before we had gained entrance to the -palace of Xaxa. - -Again we rested over daylight upon the same island that had given us -sanctuary two days before, and at dark we set out upon the last leg of -our journey to Phundahl. If there had been pursuit we had seen naught of -it; and that might easily be explained by the great extent of the -uninhabited marshes across which we flew and the far southerly course -that we followed close above the ground. - -As we neared Phundahl I caused Xaxa and Sag Or to be again gagged, and -further, I had their heads bandaged so that none might recognize them; -and then we sailed straight over the city towards the palace, hoping -that we would not be discovered and yet ready in the event that we -should be. - -But we came to the hangars on the roof apparently unseen and constantly -I coached each upon the part he was to play. As we were settling slowly -to the roof Dar Tarus, Hovan Du and Valla Dia quickly bound Gor Hajus -and me and wrapped our heads in bandages, for we had seen below the -figures of the hangar guard. Had we found the roof unguarded the binding -of Gor Hajus and me had been unnecessary. - -As we dropped nearer one of the guard hailed us. “What ship?” he cried. - -“The royal flier of the Jeddara of Phundahl,” replied Dar Tarus, -“returning with Xaxa and Sag Or.” - -The warriors whispered among themselves as we dropped nearer and I must -confess that I felt a bit nervous as to the outcome of our ruse; but -they permitted us to land without a word and when they saw Valla Dia -they saluted her after the manner of Barsoom, as, with the regal -carriage of an empress, she descended from the deck of the flier. - -“Carry the prisoners to my apartments!” she commanded, addressing the -guard, and with the help of Hovan Du and Dar Tarus the four bound and -muffled figures were carried from the flier down the spiral runway to -the apartments of Xaxa, Jeddara of Phundahl. Here excited slaves -hastened to do the bidding of the Jeddara. Word must have flown through -the palace with the speed of light that Xaxa had returned, for almost -immediately court functionaries began to arrive and be announced; but -Valla Dia sent word that she would see no one for a while. Then she -dismissed her slaves, and at my suggestion Dar Tarus investigated the -apartments with a view to finding a safe hiding place for Gor Hajus, me, -and the prisoners. This he soon found in a small antechamber directly -off the main apartment of the royal suite; the bonds were removed from -the assassin and myself and together we carried Xaxa and Sag Or into the -room. - -The entrance here was furnished with a heavy door over which there were -hangings that completely hid it. I bade Hovan Du, who, like the rest of -us, wore Phundahlian harness, stand guard before the hangings and let no -one enter but members of our own party. Gor Hajus and I took up our -positions just within the hangings through which we cut small holes that -permitted us to see all that went on within the main chamber, for I was -greatly concerned for Valla Dia’s safety while she posed as Xaxa, whom I -knew to be both feared and hated by her people and therefore always -liable to assassination. - -Valla Dia summoned the slaves and bade them admit the officials of the -court, and as the doors opened fully a score of nobles entered. They -appeared ill at ease and I could guess that they were recalling the -episode in the temple when they had deserted their Jeddara and even -hurled her roughly at the feet of the Great Tur, but Valla Dia soon put -them at their ease. - -“I have summoned you,” she said, “to hear the word of Tur. Tur would -speak again to his people. Three days and three nights have I spent with -Tur. His anger against Phundahl is great. He bids me summon all the -higher nobles to the temple after the evening meal to-night, and all the -priests, and the commanders and dwars of the Guard, and as many of the -lesser nobles as be in the palace; and then shall the people of Phundahl -hear the word and the law of Tur and all those who shall obey shall live -and all those who shall not obey shall die; and woe be to him who, -having been summoned, shall not be in the temple this night. I, Xaxa, -Jeddara of Phundahl, have spoken! Go!” - -They went and they seemed glad to go. Then Valla Dia summoned the odwar -of the Guard, who would be in our world a general, and she told him to -clear the palace of every living being from the temple level to the roof -an hour before the evening meal, nor to permit any one to enter the -temple or the levels above it until the hour appointed for the -assembling in the temple to hear the word of Tur, excepting however -those who might be in her own apartments, which were not to be entered -upon pain of death. She made it all very clear and plain and the odwar -understood and I think he trembled a trifle, for all were in great fear -of the Jeddara Xaxa; and then he went away and the slaves were dismissed -and we were alone. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - JOHN CARTER - - -Half an hour before the evening meal we carried Xaxa and Sag Or down the -spiral runway and placed them in the base of the Great Tur and Gor Hajus -and I took our places on the upper platform behind the eyes and voice of -the idol. Valla Dia, Dar Tarus and Hovan Du remained in the royal -apartments. Our plans were well formulated. There was no one between the -door at the rear of the Great Tur and the flier that lay ready on the -roof in the event that we were forced to flee through any miscarriage of -our mad scheme. - -The minutes dragged slowly by and darkness fell. The time was -approaching. We heard the doors of the temple open and beyond we saw the -great corridor brilliantly lighted. It was empty except for two priests -who stood hesitating nervously in the doorway. Finally one of them -mustered up sufficient courage to enter and switch on the lights. More -bravely now they advanced and prostrated themselves before the altar of -the Great Tur. When they arose and looked up into the face of the idol I -could not resist the temptation to turn those huge eyes until they had -rolled completely about the interior of the chamber and rested again -upon the priests; but I did not speak and I think the effect of the -awful silence in the presence of the living god was more impressive than -would words have been. The two priests simply collapsed. They slid to -the floor and lay there trembling, moaning and supplicating Tur to have -mercy on them, nor did they rise before the first of the worshippers -arrived. - -Thereafter the temple filled rapidly and I could see the word of Tur had -been well and thoroughly disseminated. They came as they had before; but -there were more this time, and they ranged upon either side of the -central aisle and there they waited, their eyes divided between the -doorway and the god. About the time that I thought the next scene was -about to be enacted I let Tur’s eyes travel over the assemblage that -they might be keyed to the proper pitch for what was to follow. They -reacted precisely as had the priests, falling upon the floor and moaning -and supplicating; and there they remained until the sounds of bugles -announced the coming of the Jeddara. Then they rose unsteadily to their -feet. The great doors swung open and there was the carpet and the slaves -behind it. As they rolled it down towards the altar the bugles sounded -louder and the head of the royal procession came into view. I had -ordered it thus to permit of greater pageantry than was possible when -the doors opened immediately upon the head of the procession. My plan -permitted the audience to see the royal retinue advancing down the long -corridor and the effect was splendid. First came the double rank of -nobles and behind these the chariot drawn by the two banths, bearing the -litter upon which reclined Valla Dia. Behind her walked Dar Tarus, but -all within that room thought they were looking upon the Jeddara Xaxa and -her favorite, Sag Or. Hovan Du walked behind Sag Or and following came -the fifty young men and the fifty maidens. - -The chariot halted before the altar and Valla Dia descended and knelt -and the voices that had been chanting the praises of Xaxa were stilled -as the beautiful creature extended her hands towards the Great Tur and -looked up into his face. - -“We are ready, Master!” she cried. “Speak! We await the word of Tur!” - -A gasp arose from the kneeling assemblage, a gasp that ended in a sob. I -felt that they were pretty well worked up and that everything ought to -go off without a hitch. I placed the speaking-tube to my lips. - -“I am Tur!” I thundered and the people trembled. “I come to pass -judgment on the men of Phundahl. As you receive my word so shall you -prosper or so shall you perish. The sins of the people may be atoned by -two who have sinned most in my sight.” I let the eyes of Tur rove about -over the audience and then brought them to rest upon Valla Dia. “Xaxa, -are you ready to atone for your sins and for the sins of your people?” - -Valla Dia bowed her beautiful head. “Thy will is law, Master!” she -replied. - -“And Sag Or,” I continued, “you have sinned. Are you prepared to pay?” - -“As Tur shall require,” said Dar Tarus. - -“Then it is my will,” I boomed, “that Xaxa and Sag Or shall give back to -those from whom they stole them, the beautiful bodies they now wear; -that he from whom Sag Or took this body shall become Jeddak of Phundahl -and High Priest of Tur; and that she from whom Xaxa stole her body shall -be returned in pomp to her native country. I have spoken. Let any who -would revolt against my word speak now or for ever hold his peace.” - -There was no objection voiced. I had felt pretty certain that there -would not be. I doubt if any god ever looked down upon a more subdued -and chastened flock. As I had talked, Gor Hajus had descended to the -base of the idol and removed the bonds from the feet and legs of Xaxa -and Sag Or. - -“Extinguish the lights!” I commanded. A trembling priest did my bidding. - -Valla Dia and Dar Tarus were standing side by side before the altar when -the lights went out. In the next minute they and Gor Hajus must have -worked fast, for when I heard a low whistle from the interior of the -idol’s base, the prearranged signal that Gor Hajus had finished his -work, and ordered the lights on again, there stood Xaxa and Sag Or where -Valla Dia and Dar Tarus had been, and the latter were nowhere in sight. -I think the dramatic effect of that transformation upon the people there -was the most stupendous thing I have ever seen. There was no cord or gag -upon either Xaxa or Sag Or, nothing to indicate that they had been -brought hither by force—no one about who might have so brought them. -The illusion was perfect—it was a gesture of omnipotence that simply -staggered the intellect. But I wasn’t through. - -“You have heard Xaxa renounce her throne,” I said, “and Sag Or submit to -the judgment of Tur.” - -“I have not renounced my throne!” cried Xaxa. “It is all a——” - -“Silence!” I thundered. “Prepare to greet the new Jeddak, Dar Tarus of -Phundahl!” I turned my eyes towards the great doors and the eyes of the -assemblage followed mine. They swung open and there stood Dar Tarus, -resplendent in the trappings of Hora San, the long dead Jeddak and high -priest, whose bones we had robbed in the base of the idol an hour -earlier. How Dar Tarus had managed to make the change so quickly is -beyond me, but he had done it and the effect was colossal. He looked -every inch a Jeddak as he moved with slow dignity up the wide aisle -along the blue and gold and white carpet. Xaxa turned purple with rage. -“Impostor!” she shrieked. “Seize him! Kill him!” and she ran forward to -meet him as though she would slay him with her bare hands. - -“Take her away,” said Dar Tarus in a quiet voice, and at that Xaxa fell -foaming to the floor. She shrieked and gasped and then lay still—a -wicked old woman dead of apoplexy. And when Sag Or saw her lying there -he must have been the first to realize that she was dead and that there -was now no one to protect him from the hatreds that are leveled always -at the person of a ruler’s favorite. He looked wildly about for an -instant and then threw himself at the feet of Dar Tarus. - -“You promised to protect me!” he cried. - -“None shall harm you,” replied Dar Tarus. “Go your way and live in -peace.” Then he turned his eyes upward towards the face of the Great -Tur. “What is thy will, Master?” he cried. “Dar Tarus, thy servant, -awaits thy commands!” - -I permitted an impressive silence before I replied. - -“Let the priests of Tur, the lesser nobles and a certain number of the -Jeddak’s Guard go forth into the city and spread the word of Tur among -the people that they may know that Tur smiles again upon Phundahl and -that they have a new Jeddak who stands high in the favor of Tur. Let the -higher nobles attend presently in the chambers that were Xaxa’s and do -honor to Valla Dia in whose perfect body their Jeddara once ruled them, -and effect the necessary arrangements for her proper return to Duhor, -her native city. There also will they find two who have served Tur well -and these shall be accorded the hospitality and friendship of every -Phundahlian—Gor Hajus of Toonol and Vad Varo of Jasoom. Go! and when -the last has gone let the temple be darkened. I, Tur, have spoken!” - -Valla Dia had gone directly to the apartments of the former Jeddara and -the moment that the lights were extinguished Gor Hajus and I joined her. -She could not wait to hear the outcome of our ruse, and when I assured -her that there had been no hitch the tears came to her eyes for very -joy. - -“You have accomplished the impossible, my chieftain,” she murmured, “and -already can I see the hills of Duhor and the towers of my native city. -Ah, Vad Varo, I had not dreamed that life might again hold for me such -happy prospects. I owe you life and more than life.” - -We were interrupted by the coming of Dar Tarus, and with him were Hovan -Du and a number of the higher nobles. The latter received us pleasantly, -though I think they were mystified as to just how we were linked with -the service of their god; nor, I am sure, did one of them ever learn. -They were frankly delighted to be rid of Xaxa; and while they could not -understand Tur’s purpose in elevating a former warrior of the Guard to -the throne, yet they were content if it served to relieve them from the -wrath of their god, now a very real and terrible god, since the miracles -that had been performed in the temple. That Dar Tarus had been of a -noble family relieved them of embarrassment, and I noted that they -treated him with great respect. I was positive that they would continue -to treat him so, for he was also high priest and for the first time in a -hundred years he would bring to the Great Tur in the royal Temple the -voice of god, for Hovan Du had agreed to take service with Dar Tarus, -and Gor Hajus as well, so that there would never be lacking a tongue -wherewith Tur might speak. I foresaw great possibilities for the reign -of Dar Tarus, Jeddak of Phundahl. - -At the meeting held in the apartments of Xaxa it was decided that Valla -Dia should rest two days in Phundahl while a small fleet was preparing -to transport her to Duhor. Dar Tarus assigned Xaxa’s apartments for her -use and gave her slaves from different cities to attend upon her, all of -whom were to be freed and returned with Valla Dia to her native land. - -It was almost dawn before we sought our sleeping silks and furs and the -sun was high before we awoke. Gor Hajus and I breakfasted with Valla -Dia, outside whose door we had spread our beds that we might not leave -her unprotected for a moment that it was not necessary. We had scarce -finished our meal when a messenger came from Dar Tarus summoning us to -the audience chamber, where we found some of the higher officers of the -court gathered about the throne upon which Dar Tarus sat, looking every -inch an emperor. He greeted us kindly, rising and descending from his -dais to receive Valla Dia and escort her to one of the benches he had -placed beside the throne for her and for me. - -“There is one,” he said to me, “who has come to Phundahl over night and -now begs audience of the Jeddak—one whom I thought you might like to -meet again,” and he signed to one of his attendants to admit the -petitioner; and when the doors at the opposite end of the room opened I -saw Ras Thavas standing there. He did not recognize me or Valla Dia or -Gor Hajus until he was almost at the foot of the throne, and when he did -he looked puzzled and glanced again quickly at Dar Tarus. - -“Ras Thavas of the Tower of Thavas, Toonol,” announced an officer. - -“What would Ras Thavas of the Jeddak of Phundahl?” asked Dar Tarus. - -“I came seeking audience of Xaxa,” replied Ras Thavas, “not knowing of -her death or your accession until this very morning; but I see Sag Or -upon Xaxa’s throne and beside him one whom I thought was Xaxa, though -they tell me Xaxa is dead, and another who was my assistant at Thavas -and one who is the Assassin of Toonol, and I am confused, Jeddak, and do -not know whether I be among friends or foes.” - -“Speak as though Xaxa still sat upon the throne of Phundahl,” Dar Tarus -told him, “for though I am Dar Tarus, whom you wronged, and not Sag Or, -yet need you have no fear in the court of Phundahl.” - -“Then let me tell you that Vobis Kan, Jeddak of Toonol, learning that -Gor Hajus had escaped me, swore that I had set him free to assassinate -him, and he sent warriors who took my island and would have imprisoned -me had I not been warned in time to escape; and I came hither to Xaxa to -beg her to send warriors to drive the men of Toonol from my island and -restore it to me that I may carry on my scientific labors.” - -Dar Tarus turned to me. “Vad Varo, of all others you are most familiar -with the work of Ras Thavas. Would you see him again restored to his -island and his laboratory?” - -“Only on condition that he devote his great skill to the amelioration of -human suffering,” I replied, “and no longer prostitute it to the foul -purposes of greed and sin.” This led to a discussion which lasted for -hours, the results of which were of far-reaching significance. Ras -Thavas agreed to all that I required and Dar Tarus commissioned Gor -Hajus to head an army against Toonol. - -But these matters, while of vast interest to those most directly -concerned, have no direct bearing upon the story of my adventures upon -Barsoom, as I had no part in them, since upon the second day I boarded a -flier with Valla Dia and, escorted by a Phundahlian fleet, set out -towards Duhor. Dar Tarus accompanied us for a short distance. When the -fleet was stopped at the shore of the great marsh he bade us farewell, -and was about to step to the deck of his own ship and return to Phundahl -when a shout arose from the deck of one of the other ships and word was -soon passed that a lookout had sighted what appeared to be a great fleet -far to the south-west. Nor was it long before it became plainly visible -to us all and equally plain that it was headed for Phundahl. - -Dar Tarus told me then that as much as he regretted it, there seemed -nothing to do but return at once to his capital with the entire fleet, -since he could not spare a single ship or man if this proved an enemy -fleet, nor could Valla Dia or I interpose any objection; and so we -turned about and sped as rapidly as the slow ships of Phundahl permitted -back towards the city. - -The stranger fleet had sighted us at about the same time that we had -sighted it, and we saw it change its course and bear down upon us; and -as it came nearer it fell into single file and prepared to encircle us. -I was standing at Dar Tarus’ side when the colors of the approaching -fleet became distinguishable and we first learned that it was from -Helium. - -“Signal and ask if they come in peace,” directed Dar Tarus. - -“We seek word with Xaxa, Jeddara of Phundahl,” came the reply. “The -question of peace or war will be hers to decide.” - -“Tell them that Xaxa is dead and that I, Dar Tarus, Jeddak of Phundahl, -will receive the commander of Helium’s fleet in peace upon the deck of -this ship, or that I will receive him in war with all my guns. I, Dar -Tarus, have spoken!” - -From the bow of a great ship of Helium there broke the flag of truce and -when Dar Tarus’ ship answered it in kind the other drew near and -presently we could see the men of Helium upon her decks. Slowly the -great flier came alongside our smaller ship and when the two had been -made fast a party of officers boarded us. They were fine looking men, -and at their head was one whom I recognized immediately though I never -before had laid eyes upon him. I think he was the most impressive figure -I have ever seen as he advanced slowly across the deck towards us—John -Carter, Prince of Helium, Warlord of Barsoom. - -“Dar Tarus,” he said, “John Carter greets you and in peace, though it -had been different, I think, had Xaxa still reigned.” - -“You came to war upon Xaxa?” asked Dar Tarus. - -“We came to right a wrong,” replied the Warlord. “But from what we know -of Xaxa that could have been done only by force.” - -“What wrong has Phundahl done Helium?” demanded Dar Tarus. - -“The wrong was against one of your own people—even against you in -person.” - -“I do not understand,” said Dar Tarus. - -“There is one aboard my ship who may be able to explain to you, Dar -Tarus,” replied John Carter, with a smile. He turned and spoke to one of -his aides in a whisper, and the man saluted and returned to the deck of -his own ship. “You shall see with your own eyes, Dar Tarus.” Suddenly -his eyes narrowed. “This is indeed Dar Tarus who was a warrior of the -Jeddara’s Guard and supposedly assassinated by her command?” - -“It is,” replied Dar Tarus. - -“I must be certain,” said the Warlord. - -“There is no question about it, John Carter,” I spoke up in English. - -His eyes went wide, and when they fell upon me and he noted my lighter -skin, from which the dye was wearing away, he stepped forward and held -out his hand. - -“A countryman?” he asked. - -“Yes, an American,” I replied. - -“I was almost surprised,” he said. “Yet why should I be? I have -crossed—there is no reason why others should not. And you have -accomplished it! You must come to Helium with me and tell me all about -it.” - -Further conversation was interrupted by the return of the aide, who -brought a young woman with him. At sight of her Dar Tarus uttered a cry -of joy and sprang forward, and I did not need to be told that this was -Kara Vasa. - -There is little more to tell that might not bore you in the telling—of -how John Carter himself took Valla Dia and me to Duhor after attending -the nuptials of Dar Tarus and Kara Vasa; and of the great surprise that -awaited me in Duhor, where I learned for the first time that Kor San, -Jeddak of Duhor, was the father of Valla Dia; and of the honors and the -great riches that he heaped upon me when Valla Dia and I were wed. - -John Carter was present at the wedding and we initiated upon Barsoom a -good old American custom, for the Warlord acted as best man; and then he -insisted that we follow that up with a honeymoon and bore us off to -Helium, where I am writing this. - -Even now it seems like a dream that I can look out of my window and see -the scarlet and the yellow towers of the twin cities of Helium; that I -have met, and see daily, Cathoris, Thuvia of Ptarth, Tara of Helium, -Gahan of Gathol and that peerless creature, Dejah Thoris, Princess of -Mars. Though to me, beautiful as she is, there is another even more -beautiful—Valla Dia, Princess of Duhor—Mrs. Ulysses Paxton. - - - - - TRANSCRIBER NOTES - -Misspelled words and printer errors have been corrected. Where multiple -spellings occur, majority use has been employed. - -Punctuation has been maintained except where obvious printer errors -occur. - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MASTER MIND OF MARS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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