A PRINCESS OF MARS by Edgar Rice Burroughs

A PRINCESS OF MARS
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
To My Son Jack
FOREWORD
To the Reader of this Work:
In submitting Captain Carter's strange manuscript to you in book
form, I believe that a few words relative to this remarkable
personality will be of interest.
My first recollection of Captain Carter is of the few months he
spent at my father's home in Virginia, just prior to the opening of
the civil war. I was then a child of but five years, yet I well
remember the tall, dark, smooth-faced, athletic man whom I called
Uncle Jack.
He seemed always to be laughing; and he entered into the sports
of the children with the same hearty good fellowship he displayed
toward those pastimes in which the men and women of his own age
indulged; or he would sit for an hour at a time entertaining my old
grandmother with stories of his strange, wild life in all parts of
the world. We all loved him, and our slaves fairly worshipped the
ground he trod.
He was a splendid specimen of manhood, standing a good two inches
over six feet, broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, with the
carriage of the trained fighting man. His features were regular
and clear cut, his hair black and closely cropped, while his eyes
were of a steel gray, reflecting a strong and loyal character,
filled with fire and initiative. His manners were perfect, and
his courtliness was that of a typical southern gentleman of the
highest type.
His horsemanship, especially after hounds, was a marvel and delight
even in that country of magnificent horsemen. I have often heard
my father caution him against his wild recklessness, but he would
only laugh, and say that the tumble that killed him would be from
the back of a horse yet unfoaled.
When the war broke out he left us, nor did I see him again for some
fifteen or sixteen years. When he returned it was without warning,
and I was much surprised to note that he had not aged apparently a
moment, nor had he changed in any other outward way. He was, when
others were with him, the same genial, happy fellow we had known of
old, but when he thought himself alone I have seen him sit for
hours gazing off into space, his face set in a look of wistful
longing and hopeless misery; and at night he would sit thus looking
up into the heavens, at what I did not know until I read his
manuscript years afterward.
He told us that he had been prospecting and mining in Arizona part
of the time since the war; and that he had been very successful
was evidenced by the unlimited amount of money with which he was
supplied. As to the details of his life during these years he
was very reticent, in fact he would not talk of them at all.
He remained with us for about a year and then went to New York,
where he purchased a little place on the Hudson, where I visited
him once a year on the occasions of my trips to the New York
market--my father and I owning and operating a string of general
stores throughout Virginia at that time. Captain Carter had a
small but beautiful cottage, situated on a bluff overlooking the
river, and during one of my last visits, in the winter of 1885, I
observed he was much occupied in writing, I presume now, upon this
manuscript.
He told me at this time that if anything should happen to him he
wished me to take charge of his estate, and he gave me a key to a
compartment in the safe which stood in his study, telling me I
would find his will there and some personal instructions which he
had me pledge myself to carry out with absolute fidelity.
After I had retired for the night I have seen him from my window
standing in the moonlight on the brink of the bluff overlooking the
Hudson with his arms stretched out to the heavens as though in
appeal. I thought at the time that he way praying, although I never
understood that he was in the strict sense of the term a religious
man.
Several months after I had returned home from my last visit, the
first of March, 1886, I think, I received a telegram from him asking
me to come to him at once. I had always been his favorite among the
younger generation of Carters and so I hastened to comply with his
demand.
I arrived at the little station, about a mile from his grounds, on
the morning of March 4, 1886, and when I asked the livery man to
drive me out to Captain Carter's he replied that if I was a friend
of the Captain's he had some very bad news for me; the Captain had
been found dead shortly after daylight that very morning by the
watchman attached to an adjoining property.
For some reason this news did not surprise me, but I hurried out to
his place as quickly as possible, so that I could take charge of the
body and of his affairs.
I found the watchman who had discovered him, together with the local
police chief and several townspeople, assembled in his little study.
The watchman related the few details connected with the finding of
the body, which he said had been still warm when he came upon it.
It lay, he said, stretched full length in the snow with the arms
outstretched above the head toward the edge of the bluff, and when
he showed me the spot it flashed upon me that it was the identical
one where I had seen him on those other nights, with his arms
raised in supplication to the skies.
There were no marks of violence on the body, and with the aid of a
local physician the coroner's jury quickly reached a decision of
death from heart failure. Left alone in the study, I opened the
safe and withdrew the contents of the drawer in which he had told
me I would find my instructions. They were in part peculiar
indeed, but I have followed them to each last detail as faithfully
as I was able.
He directed that I remove his body to Virginia without embalming,
and that he be laid in an open coffin within a tomb which he
previously had had constructed and which, as I later learned, was
well ventilated. The instructions impressed upon me that I must
personally see that this was carried out just as he directed,
even in secrecy if necessary.
His property was left in such a way that I was to receive the
entire income for twenty-five years, when the principal was to
become mine. His further instructions related to this manuscript
which I was to retain sealed and unread, just as I found it, for
eleven years; nor was I to divulge its contents until twenty-one
years after his death.
A strange feature about the tomb, where his body still lies, is
that the massive door is equipped with a single, huge gold-plated
spring lock which can be opened only from the inside.
Yours very sincerely,
Edgar Rice Burroughs.
CONTENTS
I On the Arizona Hills
II The Escape of the Dead
III My Advent on Mars
IV A Prisoner
V I Elude My Watch Dog
VI A Fight That Won Friends
VII Child-Raising on Mars
VIII A Fair Captive from the Sky
IX I Learn the Language
X Champion and Chief
XI With Dejah Thoris
XII A Prisoner with Power
XIII Love-Making on Mars
XIV A Duel to the Death
XV Sola Tells Me Her Story
XVI We Plan Escape
XVII A Costly Recapture
XVIII Chained in Warhoon
XIX Battling in the Arena
XX In the Atmosphere Factory
XXI An Air Scout for Zodanga
XXII I Find Dejah
XXIII Lost in the Sky
XXIV Tars Tarkas Finds a Friend
XXV The Looting of Zodanga
XXVI Through Carnage to Joy
XXVII From Joy to Death
XXVIII At the Arizona Cave
CHAPTER I
ON THE ARIZONA HILLS
I am a very old man; how old I do not know. Possibly I am a
hundred, possibly more; but I cannot tell because I have never aged
as other men, nor do I remember any childhood. So far as I can
recollect I have always been a man, a man of about thirty. I appear
today as I did forty years and more ago, and yet I feel that I
cannot go on living forever; that some day I shall die the real
death from which there is no resurrection. I do not know why I
should fear death, I who have died twice and am still alive; but yet
I have the same horror of it as you who have never died, and it is
because of this terror of death, I believe, that I am so convinced
of my mortality.
And because of this conviction I have determined to write down the
story of the interesting periods of my life and of my death. I
cannot explain the phenomena; I can only set down here in the words
of an ordinary soldier of fortune a chronicle of the strange events
that befell me during the ten years that my dead body lay
undiscovered in an Arizona cave.
I have never told this story, nor shall mortal man see this
manuscript until after I have passed over for eternity. I know that
the average human mind will not believe what it cannot grasp, and so
I do not purpose being pilloried by the public, the pulpit, and the
press, and held up as a colossal liar when I am but telling the
simple truths which some day science will substantiate. Possibly
the suggestions which I gained upon Mars, and the knowledge which I
can set down in this chronicle, will aid in an earlier understanding
of the mysteries of our sister planet; mysteries to you, but no
longer mysteries to me.
My name is John Carter; I am better known as Captain Jack Carter of
Virginia. At the close of the Civil War I found myself possessed
of several hundred thousand dollars (Confederate) and a captain's
commission in the cavalry arm of an army which no longer existed;
the servant of a state which had vanished with the hopes of the
South. Masterless, penniless, and with my only means of livelihood,
fighting, gone, I determined to work my way to the southwest and
attempt to retrieve my fallen fortunes in a search for gold.
I spent nearly a year prospecting in company with another
Confederate officer, Captain James K. Powell of Richmond. We
were extremely fortunate, for late in the winter of 1865, after
many hardships and privations, we located the most remarkable
gold-bearing quartz vein that our wildest dreams had ever pictured.
Powell, who was a mining engineer by education, stated that we had
uncovered over a million dollars worth of ore in a trifle over three
months.
As our equipment was crude in the extreme we decided that one of us
must return to civilization, purchase the necessary machinery and
return with a sufficient force of men properly to work the mine.
As Powell was familiar with the country, as well as with the
mechanical requirements of mining we determined that it would be
best for him to make the trip. It was agreed that I was to hold
down our claim against the remote possibility of its being jumped
by some wandering prospector.
On March 3, 1866, Powell and I packed his provisions on two of our
burros, and bidding me good-bye he mounted his horse, and started
down the mountainside toward the valley, across which led the first
stage of his journey.
The morning of Powell's departure was, like nearly all Arizona
mornings, clear and beautiful; I could see him and his little pack
animals picking their way down the mountainside toward the valley,
and all during the morning I would catch occasional glimpses of them
as they topped a hog back or came out upon a level plateau. My last
sight of Powell was about three in the afternoon as he entered the
shadows of the range on the opposite side of the valley.
Some half hour later I happened to glance casually across the valley
and was much surprised to note three little dots in about the same
place I had last seen my friend and his two pack animals. I am not
given to needless worrying, but the more I tried to convince myself
that all was well with Powell, and that the dots I had seen on his
trail were antelope or wild horses, the less I was able to assure
myself.
Since we had entered the territory we had not seen a hostile Indian,
and we had, therefore, become careless in the extreme, and were wont
to ridicule the stories we had heard of the great numbers of these
vicious marauders that were supposed to haunt the trails, taking
their toll in lives and torture of every white party which fell into
their merciless clutches.
Powell, I knew, was well armed and, further, an experienced Indian
fighter; but I too had lived and fought for years among the Sioux in
the North, and I knew that his chances were small against a party of
cunning trailing Apaches. Finally I could endure the suspense no
longer, and, arming myself with my two Colt revolvers and a carbine,
I strapped two belts of cartridges about me and catching my saddle
horse, started down the trail taken by Powell in the morning.
As soon as I reached comparatively level ground I urged my mount
into a canter and continued this, where the going permitted, until,
close upon dusk, I discovered the point where other tracks joined
those of Powell. They were the tracks of unshod ponies, three of
them, and the ponies had been galloping.
I followed rapidly until, darkness shutting down, I was forced to
await the rising of the moon, and given an opportunity to speculate
on the question of the wisdom of my chase. Possibly I had conjured
up impossible dangers, like some nervous old housewife, and when
I should catch up with Powell would get a good laugh for my pains.
However, I am not prone to sensitiveness, and the following of a
sense of duty, wherever it may lead, has always been a kind of
fetich with me throughout my life; which may account for the honors
bestowed upon me by three republics and the decorations and
friendships of an old and powerful emperor and several lesser kings,
in whose service my sword has been red many a time.
About nine o'clock the moon was sufficiently bright for me to
proceed on my way and I had no difficulty in following the trail
at a fast walk, and in some places at a brisk trot until, about
midnight, I reached the water hole where Powell had expected to
camp. I came upon the spot unexpectedly, finding it entirely
deserted, with no signs of having been recently occupied as a camp.
I was interested to note that the tracks of the pursuing horsemen,
for such I was now convinced they must be, continued after Powell
with only a brief stop at the hole for water; and always at the same
rate of speed as his.
I was positive now that the trailers were Apaches and that they
wished to capture Powell alive for the fiendish pleasure of the
torture, so I urged my horse onward at a most dangerous pace, hoping
against hope that I would catch up with the red rascals before they
attacked him.
Further speculation was suddenly cut short by the faint report of
two shots far ahead of me. I knew that Powell would need me now if
ever, and I instantly urged my horse to his topmost speed up the
narrow and difficult mountain trail.
I had forged ahead for perhaps a mile or more without hearing
further sounds, when the trail suddenly debouched onto a small, open
plateau near the summit of the pass. I had passed through a narrow,
overhanging gorge just before entering suddenly upon this table
land, and the sight which met my eyes filled me with consternation
and dismay.
The little stretch of level land was white with Indian tepees, and
there were probably half a thousand red warriors clustered around
some object near the center of the camp. Their attention was so
wholly riveted to this point of interest that they did not notice
me, and I easily could have turned back into the dark recesses of
the gorge and made my escape with perfect safety. The fact,
however, that this thought did not occur to me until the following
day removes any possible right to a claim to heroism to which the
narration of this episode might possibly otherwise entitle me.
I do not believe that I am made of the stuff which constitutes
heroes, because, in all of the hundreds of instances that my
voluntary acts have placed me face to face with death, I cannot
recall a single one where any alternative step to that I took
occurred to me until many hours later. My mind is evidently so
constituted that I am subconsciously forced into the path of duty
without recourse to tiresome mental processes. However that may be,
I have never regretted that cowardice is not optional with me.
In this instance I was, of course, positive that Powell was the
center of attraction, but whether I thought or acted first I do not
know, but within an instant from the moment the scene broke upon my
view I had whipped out my revolvers and was charging down upon the
entire army of warriors, shooting rapidly, and whooping at the top
of my lungs. Singlehanded, I could not have pursued better tactics,
for the red men, convinced by sudden surprise that not less than a
regiment of regulars was upon them, turned and fled in every
direction for their bows, arrows, and rifles.
The view which their hurried routing disclosed filled me with
apprehension and with rage. Under the clear rays of the Arizona
moon lay Powell, his body fairly bristling with the hostile arrows
of the braves. That he was already dead I could not but be
convinced, and yet I would have saved his body from mutilation at
the hands of the Apaches as quickly as I would have saved the man
himself from death.
Riding close to him I reached down from the saddle, and grasping
his cartridge belt drew him up across the withers of my mount. A
backward glance convinced me that to return by the way I had come
would be more hazardous than to continue across the plateau, so,
putting spurs to my poor beast, I made a dash for the opening to the
pass which I could distinguish on the far side of the table land.
The Indians had by this time discovered that I was alone and I was
pursued with imprecations, arrows, and rifle balls. The fact that
it is difficult to aim anything but imprecations accurately by
moonlight, that they were upset by the sudden and unexpected manner
of my advent, and that I was a rather rapidly moving target saved me
from the various deadly projectiles of the enemy and permitted me to
reach the shadows of the surrounding peaks before an orderly pursuit
could be organized.
My horse was traveling practically unguided as I knew that I had
probably less knowledge of the exact location of the trail to the
pass than he, and thus it happened that he entered a defile which
led to the summit of the range and not to the pass which I had
hoped would carry me to the valley and to safety. It is probable,
however, that to this fact I owe my life and the remarkable
experiences and adventures which befell me during the following
ten years.
My first knowledge that I was on the wrong trail came when I heard
the yells of the pursuing savages suddenly grow fainter and fainter
far off to my left.
I knew then that they had passed to the left of the jagged rock
formation at the edge of the plateau, to the right of which my
horse had borne me and the body of Powell.
I drew rein on a little level promontory overlooking the trail below
and to my left, and saw the party of pursuing savages disappearing
around the point of a neighboring peak.
I knew the Indians would soon discover that they were on the wrong
trail and that the search for me would be renewed in the right
direction as soon as they located my tracks.
I had gone but a short distance further when what seemed to be an
excellent trail opened up around the face of a high cliff. The
trail was level and quite broad and led upward and in the general
direction I wished to go. The cliff arose for several hundred feet
on my right, and on my left was an equal and nearly perpendicular
drop to the bottom of a rocky ravine.
I had followed this trail for perhaps a hundred yards when a sharp
turn to the right brought me to the mouth of a large cave. The
opening was about four feet in height and three to four feet wide,
and at this opening the trail ended.
It was now morning, and, with the customary lack of dawn which is a
startling characteristic of Arizona, it had become daylight almost
without warning.
Dismounting, I laid Powell upon the ground, but the most painstaking
examination failed to reveal the faintest spark of life. I forced
water from my canteen between his dead lips, bathed his face and
rubbed his hands, working over him continuously for the better part
of an hour in the face of the fact that I knew him to be dead.
I was very fond of Powell; he was thoroughly a man in every respect;
a polished southern gentleman; a staunch and true friend; and it was
with a feeling of the deepest grief that I finally gave up my crude
endeavors at resuscitation.
Leaving Powell's body where it lay on the ledge I crept into the
cave to reconnoiter. I found a large chamber, possibly a hundred
feet in diameter and thirty or forty feet in height; a smooth and
well-worn floor, and many other evidences that the cave had, at some
remote period, been inhabited. The back of the cave was so lost in
dense shadow that I could not distinguish whether there were
openings into other apartments or not.
As I was continuing my examination I commenced to feel a pleasant
drowsiness creeping over me which I attributed to the fatigue of my
long and strenuous ride, and the reaction from the excitement of the
fight and the pursuit. I felt comparatively safe in my present
location as I knew that one man could defend the trail to the cave
against an army.
I soon became so drowsy that I could scarcely resist the strong
desire to throw myself on the floor of the cave for a few moments'
rest, but I knew that this would never do, as it would mean certain
death at the hands of my red friends, who might be upon me at any
moment. With an effort I started toward the opening of the cave
only to reel drunkenly against a side wall, and from there slip
prone upon the floor.
CHAPTER II
THE ESCAPE OF THE DEAD
A sense of delicious dreaminess overcame me, my muscles relaxed,
and I was on the point of giving way to my desire to sleep when the
sound of approaching horses reached my ears. I attempted to spring
to my feet but was horrified to discover that my muscles refused to
respond to my will. I was now thoroughly awake, but as unable to
move a muscle as though turned to stone. It was then, for the first
time, that I noticed a slight vapor filling the cave. It was
extremely tenuous and only noticeable against the opening which led
to daylight. There also came to my nostrils a faintly pungent odor,
and I could only assume that I had been overcome by some poisonous
gas, but why I should retain my mental faculties and yet be unable
to move I could not fathom.
I lay facing the opening of the cave and where I could see the short
stretch of trail which lay between the cave and the turn of the
cliff around which the trail led. The noise of the approaching
horses had ceased, and I judged the Indians were creeping stealthily
upon me along the little ledge which led to my living tomb. I
remember that I hoped they would make short work of me as I did not
particularly relish the thought of the innumerable things they might
do to me if the spirit prompted them.
I had not long to wait before a stealthy sound apprised me of their
nearness, and then a war-bonneted, paint-streaked face was thrust
cautiously around the shoulder of the cliff, and savage eyes looked
into mine. That he could see me in the dim light of the cave I was
sure for the early morning sun was falling full upon me through the
opening.
The fellow, instead of approaching, merely stood and stared; his
eyes bulging and his jaw dropped. And then another savage face
appeared, and a third and fourth and fifth, craning their necks over
the shoulders of their fellows whom they could not pass upon the
narrow ledge. Each face was the picture of awe and fear, but for
what reason I did not know, nor did I learn until ten years later.
That there were still other braves behind those who regarded me was
apparent from the fact that the leaders passed back whispered word
to those behind them.
Suddenly a low but distinct moaning sound issued from the recesses
of the cave behind me, and, as it reached the ears of the Indians,
they turned and fled in terror, panic-stricken. So frantic were
their efforts to escape from the unseen thing behind me that one of
the braves was hurled headlong from the cliff to the rocks below.
Their wild cries echoed in the canyon for a short time, and then
all was still once more.
The sound which had frightened them was not repeated, but it had
been sufficient as it was to start me speculating on the possible
horror which lurked in the shadows at my back. Fear is a relative
term and so I can only measure my feelings at that time by what I
had experienced in previous positions of danger and by those that I
have passed through since; but I can say without shame that if the
sensations I endured during the next few minutes were fear, then may
God help the coward, for cowardice is of a surety its own
punishment.
To be held paralyzed, with one's back toward some horrible and
unknown danger from the very sound of which the ferocious Apache
warriors turn in wild stampede, as a flock of sheep would madly
flee from a pack of wolves, seems to me the last word in fearsome
predicaments for a man who had ever been used to fighting for his
life with all the energy of a powerful physique.
Several times I thought I heard faint sounds behind me as of
somebody moving cautiously, but eventually even these ceased, and I
was left to the contemplation of my position without interruption.
I could but vaguely conjecture the cause of my paralysis, and my
only hope lay in that it might pass off as suddenly as it had fallen
upon me.
Late in the afternoon my horse, which had been standing with
dragging rein before the cave, started slowly down the trail,
evidently in search of food and water, and I was left alone with
my mysterious unknown companion and the dead body of my friend,
which lay just within my range of vision upon the ledge where I
had placed it in the early morning.
From then until possibly midnight all was silence, the silence of
the dead; then, suddenly, the awful moan of the morning broke upon
my startled ears, and there came again from the black shadows the
sound of a moving thing, and a faint rustling as of dead leaves.
The shock to my already overstrained nervous system was terrible in
the extreme, and with a superhuman effort I strove to break my awful
bonds. It was an effort of the mind, of the will, of the nerves;
not muscular, for I could not move even so much as my little finger,
but none the less mighty for all that. And then something gave,
there was a momentary feeling of nausea, a sharp click as of the
snapping of a steel wire, and I stood with my back against the wall
of the cave facing my unknown foe.
And then the moonlight flooded the cave, and there before me lay my
own body as it had been lying all these hours, with the eyes staring
toward the open ledge and the hands resting limply upon the ground.
I looked first at my lifeless clay there upon the floor of the cave
and then down at myself in utter bewilderment; for there I lay
clothed, and yet here I stood but naked as at the minute of my
birth.
The transition had been so sudden and so unexpected that it left me
for a moment forgetful of aught else than my strange metamorphosis.
My first thought was, is this then death! Have I indeed passed over
forever into that other life! But I could not well believe this, as
I could feel my heart pounding against my ribs from the exertion of
my efforts to release myself from the anaesthesis which had held me.
My breath was coming in quick, short gasps, cold sweat stood out
from every pore of my body, and the ancient experiment of pinching
revealed the fact that I was anything other than a wraith.
Again was I suddenly recalled to my immediate surroundings by a
repetition of the weird moan from the depths of the cave. Naked and
unarmed as I was, I had no desire to face the unseen thing which
menaced me.
My revolvers were strapped to my lifeless body which, for some
unfathomable reason, I could not bring myself to touch. My carbine
was in its boot, strapped to my saddle, and as my horse had wandered
off I was left without means of defense. My only alternative seemed
to lie in flight and my decision was crystallized by a recurrence of
the rustling sound from the thing which now seemed, in the darkness
of the cave and to my distorted imagination, to be creeping
stealthily upon me.
Unable longer to resist the temptation to escape this horrible place
I leaped quickly through the opening into the starlight of a clear
Arizona night. The crisp, fresh mountain air outside the cave acted
as an immediate tonic and I felt new life and new courage coursing
through me. Pausing upon the brink of the ledge I upbraided myself
for what now seemed to me wholly unwarranted apprehension. I
reasoned with myself that I had lain helpless for many hours within
the cave, yet nothing had molested me, and my better judgment, when
permitted the direction of clear and logical reasoning, convinced me
that the noises I had heard must have resulted from purely natural
and harmless causes; probably the conformation of the cave was such
that a slight breeze had caused the sounds I heard.
I decided to investigate, but first I lifted my head to fill my
lungs with the pure, invigorating night air of the mountains. As I
did so I saw stretching far below me the beautiful vista of rocky
gorge, and level, cacti-studded flat, wrought by the moonlight into
a miracle of soft splendor and wondrous enchantment.
Few western wonders are more inspiring than the beauties of an
Arizona moonlit landscape; the silvered mountains in the distance,
the strange lights and shadows upon hog back and arroyo, and the
grotesque details of the stiff, yet beautiful cacti form a picture
at once enchanting and inspiring; as though one were catching for
the first time a glimpse of some dead and forgotten world, so
different is it from the aspect of any other spot upon our earth.
As I stood thus meditating, I turned my gaze from the landscape to
the heavens where the myriad stars formed a gorgeous and fitting
canopy for the wonders of the earthly scene. My attention was
quickly riveted by a large red star close to the distant horizon.
As I gazed upon it I felt a spell of overpowering fascination--it
was Mars, the god of war, and for me, the fighting man, it had
always held the power of irresistible enchantment. As I gazed at
it on that far-gone night it seemed to call across the unthinkable
void, to lure me to it, to draw me as the lodestone attracts a
particle of iron.
My longing was beyond the power of opposition; I closed my eyes,
stretched out my arms toward the god of my vocation and felt myself
drawn with the suddenness of thought through the trackless immensity
of space. There was an instant of extreme cold and utter darkness.
CHAPTER III
MY ADVENT ON MARS
I opened my eyes upon a strange and weird landscape. I knew that
I was on Mars; not once did I question either my sanity or my
wakefulness. I was not asleep, no need for pinching here; my inner
consciousness told me as plainly that I was upon Mars as your
conscious mind tells you that you are upon Earth. You do not
question the fact; neither did I.
I found myself lying prone upon a bed of yellowish, mosslike
vegetation which stretched around me in all directions for
interminable miles. I seemed to be lying in a deep, circular
basin, along the outer verge of which I could distinguish the
irregularities of low hills.
It was midday, the sun was shining full upon me and the heat of it
was rather intense upon my naked body, yet no greater than would
have been true under similar conditions on an Arizona desert. Here
and there were slight outcroppings of quartz-bearing rock which
glistened in the sunlight; and a little to my left, perhaps a
hundred yards, appeared a low, walled enclosure about four feet in
height. No water, and no other vegetation than the moss was in
evidence, and as I was somewhat thirsty I determined to do a little
exploring.
Springing to my feet I received my first Martian surprise, for
the effort, which on Earth would have brought me standing upright,
carried me into the Martian air to the height of about three yards.
I alighted softly upon the ground, however, without appreciable
shock or jar. Now commenced a series of evolutions which even then
seemed ludicrous in the extreme. I found that I must learn to walk
all over again, as the muscular exertion which carried me easily and
safely upon Earth played strange antics with me upon Mars.
Instead of progressing in a sane and dignified manner, my attempts
to walk resulted in a variety of hops which took me clear of the
ground a couple of feet at each step and landed me sprawling upon my
face or back at the end of each second or third hop. My muscles,
perfectly attuned and accustomed to the force of gravity on Earth,
played the mischief with me in attempting for the first time to cope
with the lesser gravitation and lower air pressure on Mars.
I was determined, however, to explore the low structure which was
the only evidence of habitation in sight, and so I hit upon the
unique plan of reverting to first principles in locomotion,
creeping. I did fairly well at this and in a few moments had
reached the low, encircling wall of the enclosure.
There appeared to be no doors or windows upon the side nearest me,
but as the wall was but about four feet high I cautiously gained my
feet and peered over the top upon the strangest sight it had ever
been given me to see.
The roof of the enclosure was of solid glass about four or five
inches in thickness, and beneath this were several hundred large
eggs, perfectly round and snowy white. The eggs were nearly uniform
in size being about two and one-half feet in diameter.
Five or six had already hatched and the grotesque caricatures which
sat blinking in the sunlight were enough to cause me to doubt my
sanity. They seemed mostly head, with little scrawny bodies, long
necks and six legs, or, as I afterward learned, two legs and two
arms, with an intermediary pair of limbs which could be used at will
either as arms or legs. Their eyes were set at the extreme sides of
their heads a trifle above the center and protruded in such a manner
that they could be directed either forward or back and also
independently of each other, thus permitting this queer animal to
look in any direction, or in two directions at once, without the
necessity of turning the head.
The ears, which were slightly above the eyes and closer together,
were small, cup-shaped antennae, protruding not more than an inch on
these young specimens. Their noses were but longitudinal slits in
the center of their faces, midway between their mouths and ears.
There was no hair on their bodies, which were of a very light
yellowish-green color. In the adults, as I was to learn quite soon,
this color deepens to an olive green and is darker in the male than
in the female. Further, the heads of the adults are not so out of
proportion to their bodies as in the case of the young.
The iris of the eyes is blood red, as in Albinos, while the pupil
is dark. The eyeball itself is very white, as are the teeth.
These latter add a most ferocious appearance to an otherwise
fearsome and terrible countenance, as the lower tusks curve upward
to sharp points which end about where the eyes of earthly human
beings are located. The whiteness of the teeth is not that of
ivory, but of the snowiest and most gleaming of china. Against
the dark background of their olive skins their tusks stand out in
a most striking manner, making these weapons present a singularly
formidable appearance.
Most of these details I noted later, for I was given but little time
to speculate on the wonders of my new discovery. I had seen that
the eggs were in the process of hatching, and as I stood watching
the hideous little monsters break from their shells I failed to note
the approach of a score of full-grown Martians from behind me.
Coming, as they did, over the soft and soundless moss, which covers
practically the entire surface of Mars with the exception of the
frozen areas at the poles and the scattered cultivated districts,
they might have captured me easily, but their intentions were far
more sinister. It was the rattling of the accouterments of the
foremost warrior which warned me.
On such a little thing my life hung that I often marvel that I
escaped so easily. Had not the rifle of the leader of the party
swung from its fastenings beside his saddle in such a way as to
strike against the butt of his great metal-shod spear I should have
snuffed out without ever knowing that death was near me. But the
little sound caused me to turn, and there upon me, not ten feet
from my breast, was the point of that huge spear, a spear forty
feet long, tipped with gleaming metal, and held low at the side
of a mounted replica of the little devils I had been watching.
But how puny and harmless they now looked beside this huge and
terrific incarnation of hate, of vengeance and of death. The man
himself, for such I may call him, was fully fifteen feet in height
and, on Earth, would have weighed some four hundred pounds. He sat
his mount as we sit a horse, grasping the animal's barrel with his
lower limbs, while the hands of his two right arms held his immense
spear low at the side of his mount; his two left arms were
outstretched laterally to help preserve his balance, the thing he
rode having neither bridle or reins of any description for guidance.
And his mount! How can earthly words describe it! It towered ten
feet at the shoulder; had four legs on either side; a broad flat
tail, larger at the tip than at the root, and which it held straight
out behind while running; a gaping mouth which split its head from
its snout to its long, massive neck.
Like its master, it was entirely devoid of hair, but was of a dark
slate color and exceeding smooth and glossy. Its belly was white,
and its legs shaded from the slate of its shoulders and hips to a
vivid yellow at the feet. The feet themselves were heavily padded
and nailless, which fact had also contributed to the noiselessness
of their approach, and, in common with a multiplicity of legs, is a
characteristic feature of the fauna of Mars. The highest type of
man and one other animal, the only mammal existing on Mars, alone
have well-formed nails, and there are absolutely no hoofed animals
in existence there.
Behind this first charging demon trailed nineteen others, similar
in all respects, but, as I learned later, bearing individual
characteristics peculiar to themselves; precisely as no two of us
are identical although we are all cast in a similar mold. This
picture, or rather materialized nightmare, which I have described at
length, made but one terrible and swift impression on me as I turned
to meet it.
Unarmed and naked as I was, the first law of nature manifested
itself in the only possible solution of my immediate problem, and
that was to get out of the vicinity of the point of the charging
spear. Consequently I gave a very earthly and at the same time
superhuman leap to reach the top of the Martian incubator, for
such I had determined it must be.
My effort was crowned with a success which appalled me no less than
it seemed to surprise the Martian warriors, for it carried me fully
thirty feet into the air and landed me a hundred feet from my
pursuers and on the opposite side of the enclosure.
I alighted upon the soft moss easily and without mishap, and turning
saw my enemies lined up along the further wall. Some were surveying
me with expressions which I afterward discovered marked extreme
astonishment, and the others were evidently satisfying themselves
that I had not molested their young.
They were conversing together in low tones, and gesticulating and
pointing toward me. Their discovery that I had not harmed the
little Martians, and that I was unarmed, must have caused them to
look upon me with less ferocity; but, as I was to learn later, the
thing which weighed most in my favor was my exhibition of hurdling.
While the Martians are immense, their bones are very large and they
are muscled only in proportion to the gravitation which they must
overcome. The result is that they are infinitely less agile and
less powerful, in proportion to their weight, than an Earth man, and
I doubt that were one of them suddenly to be transported to Earth he
could lift his own weight from the ground; in fact, I am convinced
that he could not do so.
My feat then was as marvelous upon Mars as it would have been upon
Earth, and from desiring to annihilate me they suddenly looked upon
me as a wonderful discovery to be captured and exhibited among their
fellows.
The respite my unexpected agility had given me permitted me to
formulate plans for the immediate future and to note more closely
the appearance of the warriors, for I could not disassociate these
people in my mind from those other warriors who, only the day
before, had been pursuing me.
I noted that each was armed with several other weapons in addition
to the huge spear which I have described. The weapon which caused
me to decide against an attempt at escape by flight was what was
evidently a rifle of some description, and which I felt, for some
reason, they were peculiarly efficient in handling.
These rifles were of a white metal stocked with wood, which I
learned later was a very light and intensely hard growth much prized
on Mars, and entirely unknown to us denizens of Earth. The metal of
the barrel is an alloy composed principally of aluminum and steel
which they have learned to temper to a hardness far exceeding that
of the steel with which we are familiar. The weight of these rifles
is comparatively little, and with the small caliber, explosive,
radium projectiles which they use, and the great length of the
barrel, they are deadly in the extreme and at ranges which would be
unthinkable on Earth. The theoretic effective radius of this rifle
is three hundred miles, but the best they can do in actual service
when equipped with their wireless finders and sighters is but a
trifle over two hundred miles.
This is quite far enough to imbue me with great respect for the
Martian firearm, and some telepathic force must have warned me
against an attempt to escape in broad daylight from under the
muzzles of twenty of these death-dealing machines.
The Martians, after conversing for a short time, turned and rode
away in the direction from which they had come, leaving one of their
number alone by the enclosure. When they had covered perhaps two
hundred yards they halted, and turning their mounts toward us sat
watching the warrior by the enclosure.
He was the one whose spear had so nearly transfixed me, and was
evidently the leader of the band, as I had noted that they seemed
to have moved to their present position at his direction. When
his force had come to a halt he dismounted, threw down his spear
and small arms, and came around the end of the incubator toward
me, entirely unarmed and as naked as I, except for the ornaments
strapped upon his head, limbs, and breast.
When he was within about fifty feet of me he unclasped an enormous
metal armlet, and holding it toward me in the open palm of his hand,
addressed me in a clear, resonant voice, but in a language, it is
needless to say, I could not understand. He then stopped as though
waiting for my reply, pricking up his antennae-like ears and cocking
his strange-looking eyes still further toward me.
As the silence became painful I concluded to hazard a little
conversation on my own part, as I had guessed that he was making
overtures of peace. The throwing down of his weapons and the
withdrawing of his troop before his advance toward me would have
signified a peaceful mission anywhere on Earth, so why not, then,
on Mars!
Placing my hand over my heart I bowed low to the Martian and
explained to him that while I did not understand his language, his
actions spoke for the peace and friendship that at the present
moment were most dear to my heart. Of course I might have been a
babbling brook for all the intelligence my speech carried to him,
but he understood the action with which I immediately followed my
words.
Stretching my hand toward him, I advanced and took the armlet from
his open palm, clasping it about my arm above the elbow; smiled at
him and stood waiting. His wide mouth spread into an answering
smile, and locking one of his intermediary arms in mine we turned
and walked back toward his mount. At the same time he motioned his
followers to advance. They started toward us on a wild run, but
were checked by a signal from him. Evidently he feared that were
I to be really frightened again I might jump entirely out of the
landscape.
He exchanged a few words with his men, motioned to me that I would
ride behind one of them, and then mounted his own animal. The
fellow designated reached down two or three hands and lifted me up
behind him on the glossy back of his mount, where I hung on as best
I could by the belts and straps which held the Martian's weapons and
ornaments.
The entire cavalcade then turned and galloped away toward the range
of hills in the distance.
CHAPTER IV
A PRISONER
We had gone perhaps ten miles when the ground began to rise very
rapidly. We were, as I was later to learn, nearing the edge of one
of Mars' long-dead seas, in the bottom of which my encounter with
the Martians had taken place.
In a short time we gained the foot of the mountains, and after
traversing a narrow gorge came to an open valley, at the far
extremity of which was a low table land upon which I beheld an
enormous city. Toward this we galloped, entering it by what
appeared to be a ruined roadway leading out from the city, but only
to the edge of the table land, where it ended abruptly in a flight
of broad steps.
Upon closer observation I saw as we passed them that the buildings
were deserted, and while not greatly decayed had the appearance of
not having been tenanted for years, possibly for ages. Toward the
center of the city was a large plaza, and upon this and in the
buildings immediately surrounding it were camped some nine or ten
hundred creatures of the same breed as my captors, for such I now
considered them despite the suave manner in which I had been
trapped.
With the exception of their ornaments all were naked. The women
varied in appearance but little from the men, except that their
tusks were much larger in proportion to their height, in some
instances curving nearly to their high-set ears. Their bodies were
smaller and lighter in color, and their fingers and toes bore the
rudiments of nails, which were entirely lacking among the males.
The adult females ranged in height from ten to twelve feet.
The children were light in color, even lighter than the women, and
all looked precisely alike to me, except that some were taller than
others; older, I presumed.
I saw no signs of extreme age among them, nor is there any
appreciable difference in their appearance from the age of maturity,
about forty, until, at about the age of one thousand years, they go
voluntarily upon their last strange pilgrimage down the river Iss,
which leads no living Martian knows whither and from whose bosom no
Martian has ever returned, or would be allowed to live did he return
after once embarking upon its cold, dark waters.
Only about one Martian in a thousand dies of sickness or disease,
and possibly about twenty take the voluntary pilgrimage. The other
nine hundred and seventy-nine die violent deaths in duels, in
hunting, in aviation and in war; but perhaps by far the greatest
death loss comes during the age of childhood, when vast numbers of
the little Martians fall victims to the great white apes of Mars.
The average life expectancy of a Martian after the age of maturity
is about three hundred years, but would be nearer the one-thousand
mark were it not for the various means leading to violent death.
Owing to the waning resources of the planet it evidently became
necessary to counteract the increasing longevity which their
remarkable skill in therapeutics and surgery produced, and so human
life has come to be considered but lightly on Mars, as is evidenced
by their dangerous sports and the almost continual warfare between
the various communities.
There are other and natural causes tending toward a diminution of
population, but nothing contributes so greatly to this end as the
fact that no male or female Martian is ever voluntarily without a
weapon of destruction.
As we neared the plaza and my presence was discovered we were
immediately surrounded by hundreds of the creatures who seemed
anxious to pluck me from my seat behind my guard. A word from the
leader of the party stilled their clamor, and we proceeded at a
trot across the plaza to the entrance of as magnificent an edifice
as mortal eye has rested upon.
The building was low, but covered an enormous area. It was
constructed of gleaming white marble inlaid with gold and brilliant
stones which sparkled and scintillated in the sunlight. The main
entrance was some hundred feet in width and projected from the
building proper to form a huge canopy above the entrance hall.
There was no stairway, but a gentle incline to the first floor of
the building opened into an enormous chamber encircled by galleries.
On the floor of this chamber, which was dotted with highly carved
wooden desks and chairs, were assembled about forty or fifty male
Martians around the steps of a rostrum. On the platform proper
squatted an enormous warrior heavily loaded with metal ornaments,
gay-colored feathers and beautifully wrought leather trappings
ingeniously set with precious stones. From his shoulders depended
a short cape of white fur lined with brilliant scarlet silk.
What struck me as most remarkable about this assemblage and the
hall in which they were congregated was the fact that the creatures
were entirely out of proportion to the desks, chairs, and other
furnishings; these being of a size adapted to human beings such as
I, whereas the great bulks of the Martians could scarcely have
squeezed into the chairs, nor was there room beneath the desks for
their long legs. Evidently, then, there were other denizens on Mars
than the wild and grotesque creatures into whose hands I had fallen,
but the evidences of extreme antiquity which showed all around me
indicated that these buildings might have belonged to some
long-extinct and forgotten race in the dim antiquity of Mars.
Our party had halted at the entrance to the building, and at a sign
from the leader I had been lowered to the ground. Again locking his
arm in mine, we had proceeded into the audience chamber. There were
few formalities observed in approaching the Martian chieftain. My
captor merely strode up to the rostrum, the others making way for
him as he advanced. The chieftain rose to his feet and uttered the
name of my escort who, in turn, halted and repeated the name of the
ruler followed by his title.
At the time, this ceremony and the words they uttered meant nothing
to me, but later I came to know that this was the customary greeting
between green Martians. Had the men been strangers, and therefore
unable to exchange names, they would have silently exchanged
ornaments, had their missions been peaceful--otherwise they would
have exchanged shots, or have fought out their introduction with
some other of their various weapons.
My captor, whose name was Tars Tarkas, was virtually the
vice-chieftain of the community, and a man of great ability as a
statesman and warrior. He evidently explained briefly the incidents
connected with his expedition, including my capture, and when he had
concluded the chieftain addressed me at some length.
I replied in our good old English tongue merely to convince him that
neither of us could understand the other; but I noticed that when I
smiled slightly on concluding, he did likewise. This fact, and the
similar occurrence during my first talk with Tars Tarkas, convinced
me that we had at least something in common; the ability to smile,
therefore to laugh; denoting a sense of humor. But I was to learn
that the Martian smile is merely perfunctory, and that the Martian
laugh is a thing to cause strong men to blanch in horror.
The ideas of humor among the green men of Mars are widely at
variance with our conceptions of incitants to merriment. The
death agonies of a fellow being are, to these strange creatures
provocative of the wildest hilarity, while their chief form of
commonest amusement is to inflict death on their prisoners of
war in various ingenious and horrible ways.
The assembled warriors and chieftains examined me closely, feeling
my muscles and the texture of my skin. The principal chieftain then
evidently signified a desire to see me perform, and, motioning me
to follow, he started with Tars Tarkas for the open plaza.
Now, I had made no attempt to walk, since my first signal failure,
except while tightly grasping Tars Tarkas' arm, and so now I went
skipping and flitting about among the desks and chairs like some
monstrous grasshopper. After bruising myself severely, much to
the amusement of the Martians, I again had recourse to creeping,
but this did not suit them and I was roughly jerked to my feet by
a towering fellow who had laughed most heartily at my misfortunes.
As he banged me down upon my feet his face was bent close to
mine and I did the only thing a gentleman might do under the
circumstances of brutality, boorishness, and lack of consideration
for a stranger's rights; I swung my fist squarely to his jaw and
he went down like a felled ox. As he sunk to the floor I wheeled
around with my back toward the nearest desk, expecting to be
overwhelmed by the vengeance of his fellows, but determined to
give them as good a battle as the unequal odds would permit before
I gave up my life.
My fears were groundless, however, as the other Martians, at first
struck dumb with wonderment, finally broke into wild peals of
laughter and applause. I did not recognize the applause as such,
but later, when I had become acquainted with their customs, I
learned that I had won what they seldom accord, a manifestation
of approbation.
The fellow whom I had struck lay where he had fallen, nor did any of
his mates approach him. Tars Tarkas advanced toward me, holding out
one of his arms, and we thus proceeded to the plaza without further
mishap. I did not, of course, know the reason for which we had come
to the open, but I was not long in being enlightened. They first
repeated the word "sak" a number of times, and then Tars Tarkas made
several jumps, repeating the same word before each leap; then,
turning to me, he said, "sak!" I saw what they were after, and
gathering myself together I "sakked" with such marvelous success
that I cleared a good hundred and fifty feet; nor did I this time,
lose my equilibrium, but landed squarely upon my feet without
falling. I then returned by easy jumps of twenty-five or thirty
feet to the little group of warriors.
My exhibition had been witnessed by several hundred lesser Martians,
and they immediately broke into demands for a repetition, which the
chieftain then ordered me to make; but I was both hungry and
thirsty, and determined on the spot that my only method of salvation
was to demand the consideration from these creatures which they
evidently would not voluntarily accord. I therefore ignored the
repeated commands to "sak," and each time they were made I motioned
to my mouth and rubbed my stomach.
Tars Tarkas and the chief exchanged a few words, and the former,
calling to a young female among the throng, gave her some
instructions and motioned me to accompany her. I grasped her
proffered arm and together we crossed the plaza toward a large
building on the far side.
My fair companion was about eight feet tall, having just arrived
at maturity, but not yet to her full height. She was of a light
olive-green color, with a smooth, glossy hide. Her name, as I
afterward learned, was Sola, and she belonged to the retinue of
Tars Tarkas. She conducted me to a spacious chamber in one of the
buildings fronting on the plaza, and which, from the litter of
silks and furs upon the floor, I took to be the sleeping quarters
of several of the natives.
The room was well lighted by a number of large windows and was
beautifully decorated with mural paintings and mosaics, but upon
all there seemed to rest that indefinable touch of the finger of
antiquity which convinced me that the architects and builders of
these wondrous creations had nothing in common with the crude
half-brutes which now occupied them.
Sola motioned me to be seated upon a pile of silks near the center
of the room, and, turning, made a peculiar hissing sound, as though
signaling to someone in an adjoining room. In response to her call
I obtained my first sight of a new Martian wonder. It waddled in
on its ten short legs, and squatted down before the girl like an
obedient puppy. The thing was about the size of a Shetland pony,
but its head bore a slight resemblance to that of a frog, except
that the jaws were equipped with three rows of long, sharp tusks.
CHAPTER V
I ELUDE MY WATCH DOG
Sola stared into the brute's wicked-looking eyes, muttered a word or
two of command, pointed to me, and left the chamber. I could not but
wonder what this ferocious-looking monstrosity might do when left
alone in such close proximity to such a relatively tender morsel of
meat; but my fears were groundless, as the beast, after surveying me
intently for a moment, crossed the room to the only exit which led
to the street, and lay down full length across the threshold.
This was my first experience with a Martian watch dog, but it was
destined not to be my last, for this fellow guarded me carefully
during the time I remained a captive among these green men; twice
saving my life, and never voluntarily being away from me a moment.
While Sola was away I took occasion to examine more minutely the
room in which I found myself captive. The mural painting depicted
scenes of rare and wonderful beauty; mountains, rivers, lake,
ocean, meadow, trees and flowers, winding roadways, sun-kissed
gardens--scenes which might have portrayed earthly views but for
the different colorings of the vegetation. The work had evidently
been wrought by a master hand, so subtle the atmosphere, so perfect
the technique; yet nowhere was there a representation of a living
animal, either human or brute, by which I could guess at the
likeness of these other and perhaps extinct denizens of Mars.
While I was allowing my fancy to run riot in wild conjecture on the
possible explanation of the strange anomalies which I had so far met
with on Mars, Sola returned bearing both food and drink. These she
placed on the floor beside me, and seating herself a short ways off
regarded me intently. The food consisted of about a pound of some
solid substance of the consistency of cheese and almost tasteless,
while the liquid was apparently milk from some animal. It was not
unpleasant to the taste, though slightly acid, and I learned in a
short time to prize it very highly. It came, as I later discovered,
not from an animal, as there is only one mammal on Mars and that one
very rare indeed, but from a large plant which grows practically
without water, but seems to distill its plentiful supply of milk
from the products of the soil, the moisture of the air, and the rays
of the sun. A single plant of this species will give eight or ten
quarts of milk per day.
After I had eaten I was greatly invigorated, but feeling the need
of rest I stretched out upon the silks and was soon asleep. I must
have slept several hours, as it was dark when I awoke, and I was
very cold. I noticed that someone had thrown a fur over me, but it
had become partially dislodged and in the darkness I could not see
to replace it. Suddenly a hand reached out and pulled the fur over
me, shortly afterwards adding another to my covering.
I presumed that my watchful guardian was Sola, nor was I wrong.
This girl alone, among all the green Martians with whom I came in
contact, disclosed characteristics of sympathy, kindliness, and
affection; her ministrations to my bodily wants were unfailing, and
her solicitous care saved me from much suffering and many hardships.
As I was to learn, the Martian nights are extremely cold, and as
there is practically no twilight or dawn, the changes in temperature
are sudden and most uncomfortable, as are the transitions from
brilliant daylight to darkness. The nights are either brilliantly
illumined or very dark, for if neither of the two moons of Mars
happen to be in the sky almost total darkness results, since the
lack of atmosphere, or, rather, the very thin atmosphere, fails to
diffuse the starlight to any great extent; on the other hand, if
both of the moons are in the heavens at night the surface of the
ground is brightly illuminated.
Both of Mars' moons are vastly nearer her than is our moon to Earth;
the nearer moon being but about five thousand miles distant, while
the further is but little more than fourteen thousand miles away,
against the nearly one-quarter million miles which separate us from
our moon. The nearer moon of Mars makes a complete revolution
around the planet in a little over seven and one-half hours, so that
she may be seen hurtling through the sky like some huge meteor two
or three times each night, revealing all her phases during each
transit of the heavens.
The further moon revolves about Mars in something over thirty and
one-quarter hours, and with her sister satellite makes a nocturnal
Martian scene one of splendid and weird grandeur. And it is well
that nature has so graciously and abundantly lighted the Martian
night, for the green men of Mars, being a nomadic race without
high intellectual development, have but crude means for artificial
lighting; depending principally upon torches, a kind of candle, and
a peculiar oil lamp which generates a gas and burns without a wick.
This last device produces an intensely brilliant far-reaching white
light, but as the natural oil which it requires can only be obtained
by mining in one of several widely separated and remote localities
it is seldom used by these creatures whose only thought is for
today, and whose hatred for manual labor has kept them in a
semi-barbaric state for countless ages.
After Sola had replenished my coverings I again slept, nor did I
awaken until daylight. The other occupants of the room, five in
number, were all females, and they were still sleeping, piled high
with a motley array of silks and furs. Across the threshold lay
stretched the sleepless guardian brute, just as I had last seen him
on the preceding day; apparently he had not moved a muscle; his eyes
were fairly glued upon me, and I fell to wondering just what might
befall me should I endeavor to escape.
I have ever been prone to seek adventure and to investigate and
experiment where wiser men would have left well enough alone. It
therefore now occurred to me that the surest way of learning the
exact attitude of this beast toward me would be to attempt to leave
the room. I felt fairly secure in my belief that I could escape him
should he pursue me once I was outside the building, for I had begun
to take great pride in my ability as a jumper. Furthermore, I could
see from the shortness of his legs that the brute himself was no
jumper and probably no runner.
Slowly and carefully, therefore, I gained my feet, only to see that
my watcher did the same; cautiously I advanced toward him, finding
that by moving with a shuffling gait I could retain my balance as
well as make reasonably rapid progress. As I neared the brute he
backed cautiously away from me, and when I had reached the open he
moved to one side to let me pass. He then fell in behind me and
followed about ten paces in my rear as I made my way along the
deserted street.
Evidently his mission was to protect me only, I thought, but when we
reached the edge of the city he suddenly sprang before me, uttering
strange sounds and baring his ugly and ferocious tusks. Thinking to
have some amusement at his expense, I rushed toward him, and when
almost upon him sprang into the air, alighting far beyond him and
away from the city. He wheeled instantly and charged me with the
most appalling speed I had ever beheld. I had thought his short
legs a bar to swiftness, but had he been coursing with greyhounds
the latter would have appeared as though asleep on a door mat. As I
was to learn, this is the fleetest animal on Mars, and owing to its
intelligence, loyalty, and ferocity is used in hunting, in war, and
as the protector of the Martian man.
I quickly saw that I would have difficulty in escaping the fangs
of the beast on a straightaway course, and so I met his charge by
doubling in my tracks and leaping over him as he was almost upon me.
This maneuver gave me a considerable advantage, and I was able to
reach the city quite a bit ahead of him, and as he came tearing
after me I jumped for a window about thirty feet from the ground
in the face of one of the buildings overlooking the valley.
Grasping the sill I pulled myself up to a sitting posture without
looking into the building, and gazed down at the baffled animal
beneath me. My exultation was short-lived, however, for scarcely
had I gained a secure seat upon the sill than a huge hand grasped
me by the neck from behind and dragged me violently into the room.
Here I was thrown upon my back, and beheld standing over me a
colossal ape-like creature, white and hairless except for an
enormous shock of bristly hair upon its head.
CHAPTER VI
A FIGHT THAT WON FRIENDS
The thing, which more nearly resembled our earthly men than it did
the Martians I had seen, held me pinioned to the ground with one
huge foot, while it jabbered and gesticulated at some answering
creature behind me. This other, which was evidently its mate,
soon came toward us, bearing a mighty stone cudgel with which it
evidently intended to brain me.
The creatures were about ten or fifteen feet tall, standing erect,
and had, like the green Martians, an intermediary set of arms or
legs, midway between their upper and lower limbs. Their eyes were
close together and non-protruding; their ears were high set, but
more laterally located than those of the Martians, while their
snouts and teeth were strikingly like those of our African gorilla.
Altogether they were not unlovely when viewed in comparison with
the green Martians.
The cudgel was swinging in the arc which ended upon my upturned
face when a bolt of myriad-legged horror hurled itself through the
doorway full upon the breast of my executioner. With a shriek of
fear the ape which held me leaped through the open window, but its
mate closed in a terrific death struggle with my preserver, which
was nothing less than my faithful watch-thing; I cannot bring myself
to call so hideous a creature a dog.
As quickly as possible I gained my feet and backing against the wall
I witnessed such a battle as it is vouchsafed few beings to see.
The strength, agility, and blind ferocity of these two creatures
is approached by nothing known to earthly man. My beast had an
advantage in his first hold, having sunk his mighty fangs far into
the breast of his adversary; but the great arms and paws of the ape,
backed by muscles far transcending those of the Martian men I had
seen, had locked the throat of my guardian and slowly were choking
out his life, and bending back his head and neck upon his body,
where I momentarily expected the former to fall limp at the end of
a broken neck.
In accomplishing this the ape was tearing away the entire front of
its breast, which was held in the vise-like grip of the powerful
jaws. Back and forth upon the floor they rolled, neither one
emitting a sound of fear or pain. Presently I saw the great eyes
of my beast bulging completely from their sockets and blood flowing
from its nostrils. That he was weakening perceptibly was evident,
but so also was the ape, whose struggles were growing momentarily
less.
Suddenly I came to myself and, with that strange instinct which
seems ever to prompt me to my duty, I seized the cudgel, which had
fallen to the floor at the commencement of the battle, and swinging
it with all the power of my earthly arms I crashed it full upon the
head of the ape, crushing his skull as though it had been an
eggshell.
Scarcely had the blow descended when I was confronted with a new
danger. The ape's mate, recovered from its first shock of terror,
had returned to the scene of the encounter by way of the interior
of the building. I glimpsed him just before he reached the doorway
and the sight of him, now roaring as he perceived his lifeless
fellow stretched upon the floor, and frothing at the mouth, in the
extremity of his rage, filled me, I must confess, with dire
forebodings.
I am ever willing to stand and fight when the odds are not too
overwhelmingly against me, but in this instance I perceived neither
glory nor profit in pitting my relatively puny strength against
the iron muscles and brutal ferocity of this enraged denizen of an
unknown world; in fact, the only outcome of such an encounter, so
far as I might be concerned, seemed sudden death.
I was standing near the window and I knew that once in the street I
might gain the plaza and safety before the creature could overtake
me; at least there was a chance for safety in flight, against almost
certain death should I remain and fight however desperately.
It is true I held the cudgel, but what could I do with it against
his four great arms? Even should I break one of them with my first
blow, for I figured that he would attempt to ward off the cudgel,
he could reach out and annihilate me with the others before I could
recover for a second attack.
In the instant that these thoughts passed through my mind I had
turned to make for the window, but my eyes alighting on the form
of my erstwhile guardian threw all thoughts of flight to the four
winds. He lay gasping upon the floor of the chamber, his great eyes
fastened upon me in what seemed a pitiful appeal for protection. I
could not withstand that look, nor could I, on second thought, have
deserted my rescuer without giving as good an account of myself in
his behalf as he had in mine.
Without more ado, therefore, I turned to meet the charge of the
infuriated bull ape. He was now too close upon me for the cudgel to
prove of any effective assistance, so I merely threw it as heavily
as I could at his advancing bulk. It struck him just below the
knees, eliciting a howl of pain and rage, and so throwing him off
his balance that he lunged full upon me with arms wide stretched
to ease his fall.
Again, as on the preceding day, I had recourse to earthly tactics,
and swinging my right fist full upon the point of his chin I
followed it with a smashing left to the pit of his stomach.
The effect was marvelous, for, as I lightly sidestepped, after
delivering the second blow, he reeled and fell upon the floor
doubled up with pain and gasping for wind. Leaping over his
prostrate body, I seized the cudgel and finished the monster
before he could regain his feet.
As I delivered the blow a low laugh rang out behind me, and,
turning, I beheld Tars Tarkas, Sola, and three or four warriors
standing in the doorway of the chamber. As my eyes met theirs I
was, for the second time, the recipient of their zealously guarded
applause.
My absence had been noted by Sola on her awakening, and she had
quickly informed Tars Tarkas, who had set out immediately with a
handful of warriors to search for me. As they had approached the
limits of the city they had witnessed the actions of the bull ape
as he bolted into the building, frothing with rage.
They had followed immediately behind him, thinking it barely
possible that his actions might prove a clew to my whereabouts
and had witnessed my short but decisive battle with him. This
encounter, together with my set-to with the Martian warrior on the
previous day and my feats of jumping placed me upon a high pinnacle
in their regard. Evidently devoid of all the finer sentiments of
friendship, love, or affection, these people fairly worship physical
prowess and bravery, and nothing is too good for the object of their
adoration as long as he maintains his position by repeated examples
of his skill, strength, and courage.
Sola, who had accompanied the searching party of her own volition,
was the only one of the Martians whose face had not been twisted in
laughter as I battled for my life. She, on the contrary, was sober
with apparent solicitude and, as soon as I had finished the monster,
rushed to me and carefully examined my body for possible wounds or
injuries. Satisfying herself that I had come off unscathed she
smiled quietly, and, taking my hand, started toward the door of
the chamber.
Tars Tarkas and the other warriors had entered and were standing
over the now rapidly reviving brute which had saved my life, and
whose life I, in turn, had rescued. They seemed to be deep in
argument, and finally one of them addressed me, but remembering
my ignorance of his language turned back to Tars Tarkas, who, with
a word and gesture, gave some command to the fellow and turned to
follow us from the room.
There seemed something menacing in their attitude toward my beast,
and I hesitated to leave until I had learned the outcome. It was
well I did so, for the warrior drew an evil looking pistol from its
holster and was on the point of putting an end to the creature when
I sprang forward and struck up his arm. The bullet striking the
wooden casing of the window exploded, blowing a hole completely
through the wood and masonry.
I then knelt down beside the fearsome-looking thing, and raising it
to its feet motioned for it to follow me. The looks of surprise
which my actions elicited from the Martians were ludicrous; they
could not understand, except in a feeble and childish way, such
attributes as gratitude and compassion. The warrior whose gun I
had struck up looked enquiringly at Tars Tarkas, but the latter
signed that I be left to my own devices, and so we returned to
the plaza with my great beast following close at heel, and Sola
grasping me tightly by the arm.
I had at least two friends on Mars; a young woman who watched over
me with motherly solicitude, and a dumb brute which, as I later came
to know, held in its poor ugly carcass more love, more loyalty, more
gratitude than could have been found in the entire five million
green Martians who rove the deserted cities and dead sea bottoms
of Mars.
CHAPTER VII
CHILD-RAISING ON MARS
After a breakfast, which was an exact replica of the meal of the
preceding day and an index of practically every meal which followed
while I was with the green men of Mars, Sola escorted me to the
plaza, where I found the entire community engaged in watching or
helping at the harnessing of huge mastodonian animals to great
three-wheeled chariots. There were about two hundred and fifty of
these vehicles, each drawn by a single animal, any one of which,
from their appearance, might easily have drawn the entire wagon
train when fully loaded.
The chariots themselves were large, commodious, and gorgeously
decorated. In each was seated a female Martian loaded with
ornaments of metal, with jewels and silks and furs, and upon the
back of each of the beasts which drew the chariots was perched a
young Martian driver. Like the animals upon which the warriors were
mounted, the heavier draft animals wore neither bit nor bridle, but
were guided entirely by telepathic means.
This power is wonderfully developed in all Martians, and accounts
largely for the simplicity of their language and the relatively
few spoken words exchanged even in long conversations. It is the
universal language of Mars, through the medium of which the higher
and lower animals of this world of paradoxes are able to communicate
to a greater or less extent, depending upon the intellectual sphere
of the species and the development of the individual.
As the cavalcade took up the line of march in single file, Sola
dragged me into an empty chariot and we proceeded with the
procession toward the point by which I had entered the city the
day before. At the head of the caravan rode some two hundred
warriors, five abreast, and a like number brought up the rear,
while twenty-five or thirty outriders flanked us on either side.
Every one but myself--men, women, and children--were heavily armed,
and at the tail of each chariot trotted a Martian hound, my own
beast following closely behind ours; in fact, the faithful creature
never left me voluntarily during the entire ten years I spent on
Mars. Our way led out across the little valley before the city,
through the hills, and down into the dead sea bottom which I had
traversed on my journey from the incubator to the plaza. The
incubator, as it proved, was the terminal point of our journey this
day, and, as the entire cavalcade broke into a mad gallop as soon
as we reached the level expanse of sea bottom, we were soon within
sight of our goal.
On reaching it the chariots were parked with military precision
on the four sides of the enclosure, and half a score of warriors,
headed by the enormous chieftain, and including Tars Tarkas and
several other lesser chiefs, dismounted and advanced toward it.
I could see Tars Tarkas explaining something to the principal
chieftain, whose name, by the way, was, as nearly as I can
translate it into English, Lorquas Ptomel, Jed; jed being his
title.
I was soon appraised of the subject of their conversation, as,
calling to Sola, Tars Tarkas signed for her to send me to him. I
had by this time mastered the intricacies of walking under Martian
conditions, and quickly responding to his command I advanced to
the side of the incubator where the warriors stood.
As I reached their side a glance showed me that all but a very few
eggs had hatched, the incubator being fairly alive with the hideous
little devils. They ranged in height from three to four feet, and
were moving restlessly about the enclosure as though searching for
food.
As I came to a halt before him, Tars Tarkas pointed over the
incubator and said, "Sak." I saw that he wanted me to repeat my
performance of yesterday for the edification of Lorquas Ptomel, and,
as I must confess that my prowess gave me no little satisfaction, I
responded quickly, leaping entirely over the parked chariots on the
far side of the incubator. As I returned, Lorquas Ptomel grunted
something at me, and turning to his warriors gave a few words of
command relative to the incubator. They paid no further attention
to me and I was thus permitted to remain close and watch their
operations, which consisted in breaking an opening in the wall of
the incubator large enough to permit of the exit of the young
Martians.
On either side of this opening the women and the younger Martians,
both male and female, formed two solid walls leading out through the
chariots and quite away into the plain beyond. Between these walls
the little Martians scampered, wild as deer; being permitted to run
the full length of the aisle, where they were captured one at a time
by the women and older children; the last in the line capturing the
first little one to reach the end of the gauntlet, her opposite in
the line capturing the second, and so on until all the little
fellows had left the enclosure and been appropriated by some youth
or female. As the women caught the young they fell out of line and
returned to their respective chariots, while those who fell into the
hands of the young men were later turned over to some of the women.
I saw that the ceremony, if it could be dignified by such a name,
was over, and seeking out Sola I found her in our chariot with a
hideous little creature held tightly in her arms.
The work of rearing young, green Martians consists solely in
teaching them to talk, and to use the weapons of warfare with
which they are loaded down from the very first year of their lives.
Coming from eggs in which they have lain for five years, the period
of incubation, they step forth into the world perfectly developed
except in size. Entirely unknown to their mothers, who, in turn,
would have difficulty in pointing out the fathers with any degree of
accuracy, they are the common children of the community, and their
education devolves upon the females who chance to capture them as
they leave the incubator.
Their foster mothers may not even have had an egg in the incubator,
as was the case with Sola, who had not commenced to lay, until
less than a year before she became the mother of another woman's
offspring. But this counts for little among the green Martians, as
parental and filial love is as unknown to them as it is common among
us. I believe this horrible system which has been carried on for
ages is the direct cause of the loss of all the finer feelings and
higher humanitarian instincts among these poor creatures. From
birth they know no father or mother love, they know not the meaning
of the word home; they are taught that they are only suffered to
live until they can demonstrate by their physique and ferocity that
they are fit to live. Should they prove deformed or defective in
any way they are promptly shot; nor do they see a tear shed for a
single one of the many cruel hardships they pass through from
earliest infancy.
I do not mean that the adult Martians are unnecessarily or
intentionally cruel to the young, but theirs is a hard and pitiless
struggle for existence upon a dying planet, the natural resources of
which have dwindled to a point where the support of each additional
life means an added tax upon the community into which it is thrown.
By careful selection they rear only the hardiest specimens of each
species, and with almost supernatural foresight they regulate the
birth rate to merely offset the loss by death.
Each adult Martian female brings forth about thirteen eggs each
year, and those which meet the size, weight, and specific gravity
tests are hidden in the recesses of some subterranean vault where
the temperature is too low for incubation. Every year these eggs
are carefully examined by a council of twenty chieftains, and all
but about one hundred of the most perfect are destroyed out of each
yearly supply. At the end of five years about five hundred almost
perfect eggs have been chosen from the thousands brought forth.
These are then placed in the almost air-tight incubators to be
hatched by the sun's rays after a period of another five years. The
hatching which we had witnessed today was a fairly representative
event of its kind, all but about one per cent of the eggs hatching
in two days. If the remaining eggs ever hatched we knew nothing of
the fate of the little Martians. They were not wanted, as their
offspring might inherit and transmit the tendency to prolonged
incubation, and thus upset the system which has maintained for ages
and which permits the adult Martians to figure the proper time for
return to the incubators, almost to an hour.
The incubators are built in remote fastnesses, where there is little
or no likelihood of their being discovered by other tribes. The
result of such a catastrophe would mean no children in the community
for another five years. I was later to witness the results of the
discovery of an alien incubator.
The community of which the green Martians with whom my lot was cast
formed a part was composed of some thirty thousand souls. They
roamed an enormous tract of arid and semi-arid land between forty
and eighty degrees south latitude, and bounded on the east and
west by two large fertile tracts. Their headquarters lay in the
southwest corner of this district, near the crossing of two of
the so-called Martian canals.
As the incubator had been placed far north of their own territory
in a supposedly uninhabited and unfrequented area, we had before us
a tremendous journey, concerning which I, of course, knew nothing.
After our return to the dead city I passed several days in
comparative idleness. On the day following our return all the
warriors had ridden forth early in the morning and had not returned
until just before darkness fell. As I later learned, they had been
to the subterranean vaults in which the eggs were kept and had
transported them to the incubator, which they had then walled up
for another five years, and which, in all probability, would not
be visited again during that period.
The vaults which hid the eggs until they were ready for the
incubator were located many miles south of the incubator, and would
be visited yearly by the council of twenty chieftains. Why they did
not arrange to build their vaults and incubators nearer home has
always been a mystery to me, and, like many other Martian mysteries,
unsolved and unsolvable by earthly reasoning and customs.
Sola's duties were now doubled, as she was compelled to care for the
young Martian as well as for me, but neither one of us required much
attention, and as we were both about equally advanced in Martian
education, Sola took it upon herself to train us together.
Her prize consisted in a male about four feet tall, very strong
and physically perfect; also, he learned quickly, and we had
considerable amusement, at least I did, over the keen rivalry we
displayed. The Martian language, as I have said, is extremely
simple, and in a week I could make all my wants known and understand
nearly everything that was said to me. Likewise, under Sola's
tutelage, I developed my telepathic powers so that I shortly could
sense practically everything that went on around me.
What surprised Sola most in me was that while I could catch
telepathic messages easily from others, and often when they were
not intended for me, no one could read a jot from my mind under any
circumstances. At first this vexed me, but later I was very glad
of it, as it gave me an undoubted advantage over the Martians.
CHAPTER VIII
A FAIR CAPTIVE FROM THE SKY
The third day after the incubator ceremony we set forth toward home,
but scarcely had the head of the procession debouched into the open
ground before the city than orders were given for an immediate and
hasty return. As though trained for years in this particular
evolution, the green Martians melted like mist into the spacious
doorways of the nearby buildings, until, in less than three minutes,
the entire cavalcade of chariots, mastodons and mounted warriors
was nowhere to be seen.
Sola and I had entered a building upon the front of the city, in
fact, the same one in which I had had my encounter with the apes,
and, wishing to see what had caused the sudden retreat, I mounted
to an upper floor and peered from the window out over the valley
and the hills beyond; and there I saw the cause of their sudden
scurrying to cover. A huge craft, long, low, and gray-painted,
swung slowly over the crest of the nearest hill. Following it came
another, and another, and another, until twenty of them, swinging
low above the ground, sailed slowly and majestically toward us.
Each carried a strange banner swung from stem to stern above the
upper works, and upon the prow of each was painted some odd device
that gleamed in the sunlight and showed plainly even at the distance
at which we were from the vessels. I could see figures crowding
the forward decks and upper works of the air craft. Whether they
had discovered us or simply were looking at the deserted city I
could not say, but in any event they received a rude reception,
for suddenly and without warning the green Martian warriors fired a
terrific volley from the windows of the buildings facing the little
valley across which the great ships were so peacefully advancing.
Instantly the scene changed as by magic; the foremost vessel swung
broadside toward us, and bringing her guns into play returned our
fire, at the same time moving parallel to our front for a short
distance and then turning back with the evident intention of
completing a great circle which would bring her up to position once
more opposite our firing line; the other vessels followed in her
wake, each one opening upon us as she swung into position. Our own
fire never diminished, and I doubt if twenty-five per cent of our
shots went wild. It had never been given me to see such deadly
accuracy of aim, and it seemed as though a little figure on one of
the craft dropped at the explosion of each bullet, while the banners
and upper works dissolved in spurts of flame as the irresistible
projectiles of our warriors mowed through them.
The fire from the vessels was most ineffectual, owing, as I
afterward learned, to the unexpected suddenness of the first volley,
which caught the ship's crews entirely unprepared and the sighting
apparatus of the guns unprotected from the deadly aim of our
warriors.
It seems that each green warrior has certain objective points for
his fire under relatively identical circumstances of warfare. For
example, a proportion of them, always the best marksmen, direct
their fire entirely upon the wireless finding and sighting apparatus
of the big guns of an attacking naval force; another detail attends
to the smaller guns in the same way; others pick off the gunners;
still others the officers; while certain other quotas concentrate
their attention upon the other members of the crew, upon the upper
works, and upon the steering gear and propellers.
Twenty minutes after the first volley the great fleet swung trailing
off in the direction from which it had first appeared. Several of
the craft were limping perceptibly, and seemed but barely under the
control of their depleted crews. Their fire had ceased entirely
and all their energies seemed focused upon escape. Our warriors
then rushed up to the roofs of the buildings which we occupied and
followed the retreating armada with a continuous fusillade of deadly
fire.
One by one, however, the ships managed to dip below the crests of
the outlying hills until only one barely moving craft was in sight.
This had received the brunt of our fire and seemed to be entirely
unmanned, as not a moving figure was visible upon her decks. Slowly
she swung from her course, circling back toward us in an erratic and
pitiful manner. Instantly the warriors ceased firing, for it was
quite apparent that the vessel was entirely helpless, and, far from
being in a position to inflict harm upon us, she could not even
control herself sufficiently to escape.
As she neared the city the warriors rushed out upon the plain to
meet her, but it was evident that she still was too high for them
to hope to reach her decks. From my vantage point in the window I
could see the bodies of her crew strewn about, although I could not
make out what manner of creatures they might be. Not a sign of life
was manifest upon her as she drifted slowly with the light breeze
in a southeasterly direction.
She was drifting some fifty feet above the ground, followed by all
but some hundred of the warriors who had been ordered back to the
roofs to cover the possibility of a return of the fleet, or of
reinforcements. It soon became evident that she would strike the
face of the buildings about a mile south of our position, and as I
watched the progress of the chase I saw a number of warriors gallop
ahead, dismount and enter the building she seemed destined to touch.
As the craft neared the building, and just before she struck, the
Martian warriors swarmed upon her from the windows, and with their
great spears eased the shock of the collision, and in a few moments
they had thrown out grappling hooks and the big boat was being
hauled to ground by their fellows below.
After making her fast, they swarmed the sides and searched the
vessel from stem to stern. I could see them examining the dead
sailors, evidently for signs of life, and presently a party of
them appeared from below dragging a little figure among them.
The creature was considerably less than half as tall as the green
Martian warriors, and from my balcony I could see that it walked
erect upon two legs and surmised that it was some new and strange
Martian monstrosity with which I had not as yet become acquainted.
They removed their prisoner to the ground and then commenced a
systematic rifling of the vessel. This operation required several
hours, during which time a number of the chariots were requisitioned
to transport the loot, which consisted in arms, ammunition, silks,
furs, jewels, strangely carved stone vessels, and a quantity of
solid foods and liquids, including many casks of water, the first
I had seen since my advent upon Mars.
After the last load had been removed the warriors made lines fast to
the craft and towed her far out into the valley in a southwesterly
direction. A few of them then boarded her and were busily engaged
in what appeared, from my distant position, as the emptying of the
contents of various carboys upon the dead bodies of the sailors and
over the decks and works of the vessel.
This operation concluded, they hastily clambered over her sides,
sliding down the guy ropes to the ground. The last warrior to leave
the deck turned and threw something back upon the vessel, waiting an
instant to note the outcome of his act. As a faint spurt of flame
rose from the point where the missile struck he swung over the side
and was quickly upon the ground. Scarcely had he alighted than
the guy ropes were simultaneous released, and the great warship,
lightened by the removal of the loot, soared majestically into
the air, her decks and upper works a mass of roaring flames.
Slowly she drifted to the southeast, rising higher and higher as the
flames ate away her wooden parts and diminished the weight upon her.
Ascending to the roof of the building I watched her for hours, until
finally she was lost in the dim vistas of the distance. The sight
was awe-inspiring in the extreme as one contemplated this mighty
floating funeral pyre, drifting unguided and unmanned through
the lonely wastes of the Martian heavens; a derelict of death
and destruction, typifying the life story of these strange and
ferocious creatures into whose unfriendly hands fate had carried it.
Much depressed, and, to me, unaccountably so, I slowly descended to
the street. The scene I had witnessed seemed to mark the defeat
and annihilation of the forces of a kindred people, rather than
the routing by our green warriors of a horde of similar, though
unfriendly, creatures. I could not fathom the seeming
hallucination, nor could I free myself from it; but somewhere in
the innermost recesses of my soul I felt a strange yearning toward
these unknown foemen, and a mighty hope surged through me that the
fleet would return and demand a reckoning from the green warriors
who had so ruthlessly and wantonly attacked it.
Close at my heel, in his now accustomed place, followed Woola, the
hound, and as I emerged upon the street Sola rushed up to me as
though I had been the object of some search on her part. The
cavalcade was returning to the plaza, the homeward march having been
given up for that day; nor, in fact, was it recommenced for more
than a week, owing to the fear of a return attack by the air craft.
Lorquas Ptomel was too astute an old warrior to be caught upon the
open plains with a caravan of chariots and children, and so we
remained at the deserted city until the danger seemed passed.
As Sola and I entered the plaza a sight met my eyes which filled my
whole being with a great surge of mingled hope, fear, exultation,
and depression, and yet most dominant was a subtle sense of relief
and happiness; for just as we neared the throng of Martians I caught
a glimpse of the prisoner from the battle craft who was being
roughly dragged into a nearby building by a couple of green Martian
females.
And the sight which met my eyes was that of a slender, girlish
figure, similar in every detail to the earthly women of my past
life. She did not see me at first, but just as she was disappearing
through the portal of the building which was to be her prison she
turned, and her eyes met mine. Her face was oval and beautiful in
the extreme, her every feature was finely chiseled and exquisite,
her eyes large and lustrous and her head surmounted by a mass of
coal black, waving hair, caught loosely into a strange yet becoming
coiffure. Her skin was of a light reddish copper color, against
which the crimson glow of her cheeks and the ruby of her beautifully
molded lips shone with a strangely enhancing effect.
She was as destitute of clothes as the green Martians who
accompanied her; indeed, save for her highly wrought ornaments she
was entirely naked, nor could any apparel have enhanced the beauty
of her perfect and symmetrical figure.
As her gaze rested on me her eyes opened wide in astonishment, and
she made a little sign with her free hand; a sign which I did not,
of course, understand. Just a moment we gazed upon each other, and
then the look of hope and renewed courage which had glorified her
face as she discovered me, faded into one of utter dejection,
mingled with loathing and contempt. I realized I had not answered
her signal, and ignorant as I was of Martian customs, I intuitively
felt that she had made an appeal for succor and protection which my
unfortunate ignorance had prevented me from answering. And then she
was dragged out of my sight into the depths of the deserted edifice.
CHAPTER IX
I LEARN THE LANGUAGE
As I came back to myself I glanced at Sola, who had witnessed this
encounter and I was surprised to note a strange expression upon her
usually expressionless countenance. What her thoughts were I did
not know, for as yet I had learned but little of the Martian tongue;
enough only to suffice for my daily needs.
As I reached the doorway of our building a strange surprise awaited
me. A warrior approached bearing the arms, ornaments, and full
accouterments of his kind. These he presented to me with a few
unintelligible words, and a bearing at once respectful and menacing.
Later, Sola, with the aid of several of the other women, remodeled
the trappings to fit my lesser proportions, and after they completed
the work I went about garbed in all the panoply of war.
From then on Sola instructed me in the mysteries of the various
weapons, and with the Martian young I spent several hours each day
practicing upon the plaza. I was not yet proficient with all the
weapons, but my great familiarity with similar earthly weapons made
me an unusually apt pupil, and I progressed in a very satisfactory
manner.
The training of myself and the young Martians was conducted solely
by the women, who not only attend to the education of the young
in the arts of individual defense and offense, but are also the
artisans who produce every manufactured article wrought by the
green Martians. They make the powder, the cartridges, the firearms;
in fact everything of value is produced by the females. In time
of actual warfare they form a part of the reserves, and when the
necessity arises fight with even greater intelligence and ferocity
than the men.
The men are trained in the higher branches of the art of war; in
strategy and the maneuvering of large bodies of troops. They make
the laws as they are needed; a new law for each emergency. They are
unfettered by precedent in the administration of justice. Customs
have been handed down by ages of repetition, but the punishment for
ignoring a custom is a matter for individual treatment by a jury of
the culprit's peers, and I may say that justice seldom misses fire,
but seems rather to rule in inverse ratio to the ascendency of law.
In one respect at least the Martians are a happy people; they have
no lawyers.
I did not see the prisoner again for several days subsequent to our
first encounter, and then only to catch a fleeting glimpse of her as
she was being conducted to the great audience chamber where I had
had my first meeting with Lorquas Ptomel. I could not but note the
unnecessary harshness and brutality with which her guards treated
her; so different from the almost maternal kindliness which Sola
manifested toward me, and the respectful attitude of the few green
Martians who took the trouble to notice me at all.
I had observed on the two occasions when I had seen her that the
prisoner exchanged words with her guards, and this convinced me that
they spoke, or at least could make themselves understood by a common
language. With this added incentive I nearly drove Sola distracted
by my importunities to hasten on my education and within a few more
days I had mastered the Martian tongue sufficiently well to enable
me to carry on a passable conversation and to fully understand
practically all that I heard.
At this time our sleeping quarters were occupied by three or four
females and a couple of the recently hatched young, beside Sola and
her youthful ward, myself, and Woola the hound. After they had
retired for the night it was customary for the adults to carry on a
desultory conversation for a short time before lapsing into sleep,
and now that I could understand their language I was always a keen
listener, although I never proffered any remarks myself.
On the night following the prisoner's visit to the audience chamber
the conversation finally fell upon this subject, and I was all ears
on the instant. I had feared to question Sola relative to the
beautiful captive, as I could not but recall the strange expression
I had noted upon her face after my first encounter with the
prisoner. That it denoted jealousy I could not say, and yet,
judging all things by mundane standards as I still did, I felt it
safer to affect indifference in the matter until I learned more
surely Sola's attitude toward the object of my solicitude.
Sarkoja, one of the older women who shared our domicile, had been
present at the audience as one of the captive's guards, and it
was toward her the question turned.
"When," asked one of the women, "will we enjoy the death throes of
the red one? or does Lorquas Ptomel, Jed, intend holding her for
ransom?"
"They have decided to carry her with us back to Thark, and exhibit
her last agonies at the great games before Tal Hajus," replied
Sarkoja.
"What will be the manner of her going out?" inquired Sola. "She
is very small and very beautiful; I had hoped that they would hold
her for ransom."
Sarkoja and the other women grunted angrily at this evidence of
weakness on the part of Sola.
"It is sad, Sola, that you were not born a million years ago,"
snapped Sarkoja, "when all the hollows of the land were filled with
water, and the peoples were as soft as the stuff they sailed upon.
In our day we have progressed to a point where such sentiments mark
weakness and atavism. It will not be well for you to permit Tars
Tarkas to learn that you hold such degenerate sentiments, as I
doubt that he would care to entrust such as you with the grave
responsibilities of maternity."
"I see nothing wrong with my expression of interest in this red
woman," retorted Sola. "She has never harmed us, nor would she
should we have fallen into her hands. It is only the men of her
kind who war upon us, and I have ever thought that their attitude
toward us is but the reflection of ours toward them. They live at
peace with all their fellows, except when duty calls upon them to
make war, while we are at peace with none; forever warring among
our own kind as well as upon the red men, and even in our own
communities the individuals fight amongst themselves. Oh, it is
one continual, awful period of bloodshed from the time we break the
shell until we gladly embrace the bosom of the river of mystery,
the dark and ancient Iss which carries us to an unknown, but at
least no more frightful and terrible existence! Fortunate indeed is
he who meets his end in an early death. Say what you please to Tars
Tarkas, he can mete out no worse fate to me than a continuation of
the horrible existence we are forced to lead in this life."
This wild outbreak on the part of Sola so greatly surprised and
shocked the other women, that, after a few words of general
reprimand, they all lapsed into silence and were soon asleep. One
thing the episode had accomplished was to assure me of Sola's
friendliness toward the poor girl, and also to convince me that I
had been extremely fortunate in falling into her hands rather than
those of some of the other females. I knew that she was fond of me,
and now that I had discovered that she hated cruelty and barbarity
I was confident that I could depend upon her to aid me and the girl
captive to escape, provided of course that such a thing was within
the range of possibilities.
I did not even know that there were any better conditions to escape
to, but I was more than willing to take my chances among people
fashioned after my own mold rather than to remain longer among the
hideous and bloodthirsty green men of Mars. But where to go, and
how, was as much of a puzzle to me as the age-old search for the
spring of eternal life has been to earthly men since the beginning
of time.
I decided that at the first opportunity I would take Sola into my
confidence and openly ask her to aid me, and with this resolution
strong upon me I turned among my silks and furs and slept the
dreamless and refreshing sleep of Mars.
CHAPTER X
CHAMPION AND CHIEF
Early the next morning I was astir. Considerable freedom was
allowed me, as Sola had informed me that so long as I did not
attempt to leave the city I was free to go and come as I pleased.
She had warned me, however, against venturing forth unarmed, as
this city, like all other deserted metropolises of an ancient
Martian civilization, was peopled by the great white apes of my
second day's adventure.
In advising me that I must not leave the boundaries of the city Sola
had explained that Woola would prevent this anyway should I attempt
it, and she warned me most urgently not to arouse his fierce nature
by ignoring his warnings should I venture too close to the forbidden
territory. His nature was such, she said, that he would bring me
back into the city dead or alive should I persist in opposing him;
"preferably dead," she added.
On this morning I had chosen a new street to explore when suddenly
I found myself at the limits of the city. Before me were low hills
pierced by narrow and inviting ravines. I longed to explore the
country before me, and, like the pioneer stock from which I sprang,
to view what the landscape beyond the encircling hills might
disclose from the summits which shut out my view.
It also occurred to me that this would prove an excellent
opportunity to test the qualities of Woola. I was convinced that
the brute loved me; I had seen more evidences of affection in him
than in any other Martian animal, man or beast, and I was sure that
gratitude for the acts that had twice saved his life would more
than outweigh his loyalty to the duty imposed upon him by cruel
and loveless masters.
As I approached the boundary line Woola ran anxiously before me, and
thrust his body against my legs. His expression was pleading rather
than ferocious, nor did he bare his great tusks or utter his fearful
guttural warnings. Denied the friendship and companionship of my
kind, I had developed considerable affection for Woola and Sola,
for the normal earthly man must have some outlet for his natural
affections, and so I decided upon an appeal to a like instinct in
this great brute, sure that I would not be disappointed.
I had never petted nor fondled him, but now I sat upon the ground
and putting my arms around his heavy neck I stroked and coaxed him,
talking in my newly acquired Martian tongue as I would have to my
hound at home, as I would have talked to any other friend among the
lower animals. His response to my manifestation of affection was
remarkable to a degree; he stretched his great mouth to its full
width, baring the entire expanse of his upper rows of tusks and
wrinkling his snout until his great eyes were almost hidden by the
folds of flesh. If you have ever seen a collie smile you may have
some idea of Woola's facial distortion.
He threw himself upon his back and fairly wallowed at my feet;
jumped up and sprang upon me, rolling me upon the ground by his
great weight; then wriggling and squirming around me like a playful
puppy presenting its back for the petting it craves. I could not
resist the ludicrousness of the spectacle, and holding my sides I
rocked back and forth in the first laughter which had passed my lips
in many days; the first, in fact, since the morning Powell had left
camp when his horse, long unused, had precipitately and unexpectedly
bucked him off headforemost into a pot of frijoles.
My laughter frightened Woola, his antics ceased and he crawled
pitifully toward me, poking his ugly head far into my lap; and then
I remembered what laughter signified on Mars--torture, suffering,
death. Quieting myself, I rubbed the poor old fellow's head and
back, talked to him for a few minutes, and then in an authoritative
tone commanded him to follow me, and arising started for the hills.
There was no further question of authority between us; Woola was my
devoted slave from that moment hence, and I his only and undisputed
master. My walk to the hills occupied but a few minutes, and I
found nothing of particular interest to reward me. Numerous
brilliantly colored and strangely formed wild flowers dotted the
ravines and from the summit of the first hill I saw still other
hills stretching off toward the north, and rising, one range above
another, until lost in mountains of quite respectable dimensions;
though I afterward found that only a few peaks on all Mars exceed
four thousand feet in height; the suggestion of magnitude was merely
relative.
My morning's walk had been large with importance to me for it had
resulted in a perfect understanding with Woola, upon whom Tars
Tarkas relied for my safe keeping. I now knew that while
theoretically a prisoner I was virtually free, and I hastened to
regain the city limits before the defection of Woola could be
discovered by his erstwhile masters. The adventure decided me never
again to leave the limits of my prescribed stamping grounds until I
was ready to venture forth for good and all, as it would certainly
result in a curtailment of my liberties, as well as the probable
death of Woola, were we to be discovered.
On regaining the plaza I had my third glimpse of the captive girl.
She was standing with her guards before the entrance to the audience
chamber, and as I approached she gave me one haughty glance and
turned her back full upon me. The act was so womanly, so earthly
womanly, that though it stung my pride it also warmed my heart with
a feeling of companionship; it was good to know that someone else on
Mars beside myself had human instincts of a civilized order, even
though the manifestation of them was so painful and mortifying.
Had a green Martian woman desired to show dislike or contempt she
would, in all likelihood, have done it with a sword thrust or a
movement of her trigger finger; but as their sentiments are mostly
atrophied it would have required a serious injury to have aroused
such passions in them. Sola, let me add, was an exception; I never
saw her perform a cruel or uncouth act, or fail in uniform
kindliness and good nature. She was indeed, as her fellow Martian
had said of her, an atavism; a dear and precious reversion to a
former type of loved and loving ancestor.
Seeing that the prisoner seemed the center of attraction I halted to
view the proceedings. I had not long to wait for presently Lorquas
Ptomel and his retinue of chieftains approached the building and,
signing the guards to follow with the prisoner entered the audience
chamber. Realizing that I was a somewhat favored character, and
also convinced that the warriors did not know of my proficiency in
their language, as I had pleaded with Sola to keep this a secret on
the grounds that I did not wish to be forced to talk with the men
until I had perfectly mastered the Martian tongue, I chanced an
attempt to enter the audience chamber and listen to the proceedings.
The council squatted upon the steps of the rostrum, while below them
stood the prisoner and her two guards. I saw that one of the women
was Sarkoja, and thus understood how she had been present at the
hearing of the preceding day, the results of which she had reported
to the occupants of our dormitory last night. Her attitude toward
the captive was most harsh and brutal. When she held her, she sunk
her rudimentary nails into the poor girl's flesh, or twisted her
arm in a most painful manner. When it was necessary to move from
one spot to another she either jerked her roughly, or pushed her
headlong before her. She seemed to be venting upon this poor
defenseless creature all the hatred, cruelty, ferocity, and spite
of her nine hundred years, backed by unguessable ages of fierce
and brutal ancestors.
The other woman was less cruel because she was entirely indifferent;
if the prisoner had been left to her alone, and fortunately she was
at night, she would have received no harsh treatment, nor, by the
same token would she have received any attention at all.
As Lorquas Ptomel raised his eyes to address the prisoner they fell
on me and he turned to Tars Tarkas with a word, and gesture of
impatience. Tars Tarkas made some reply which I could not catch,
but which caused Lorquas Ptomel to smile; after which they paid no
further attention to me.
"What is your name?" asked Lorquas Ptomel, addressing the prisoner.
"Dejah Thoris, daughter of Mors Kajak of Helium."
"And the nature of your expedition?" he continued.
"It was a purely scientific research party sent out by my father's
father, the Jeddak of Helium, to rechart the air currents, and to
take atmospheric density tests," replied the fair prisoner, in a
low, well-modulated voice.
"We were unprepared for battle," she continued, "as we were on a
peaceful mission, as our banners and the colors of our craft
denoted. The work we were doing was as much in your interests as
in ours, for you know full well that were it not for our labors and
the fruits of our scientific operations there would not be enough
air or water on Mars to support a single human life. For ages we
have maintained the air and water supply at practically the same
point without an appreciable loss, and we have done this in the
face of the brutal and ignorant interference of your green men.
"Why, oh, why will you not learn to live in amity with your fellows,
must you ever go on down the ages to your final extinction but
little above the plane of the dumb brutes that serve you! A people
without written language, without art, without homes, without love;
the victim of eons of the horrible community idea. Owning
everything in common, even to your women and children, has resulted
in your owning nothing in common. You hate each other as you hate
all else except yourselves. Come back to the ways of our common
ancestors, come back to the light of kindliness and fellowship. The
way is open to you, you will find the hands of the red men stretched
out to aid you. Together we may do still more to regenerate our
dying planet. The granddaughter of the greatest and mightiest of
the red jeddaks has asked you. Will you come?"
Lorquas Ptomel and the warriors sat looking silently and intently at
the young woman for several moments after she had ceased speaking.
What was passing in their minds no man may know, but that they were
moved I truly believe, and if one man high among them had been
strong enough to rise above custom, that moment would have marked
a new and mighty era for Mars.
I saw Tars Tarkas rise to speak, and on his face was such an
expression as I had never seen upon the countenance of a green
Martian warrior. It bespoke an inward and mighty battle with self,
with heredity, with age-old custom, and as he opened his mouth to
speak, a look almost of benignity, of kindliness, momentarily
lighted up his fierce and terrible countenance.
What words of moment were to have fallen from his lips were never
spoken, as just then a young warrior, evidently sensing the trend
of thought among the older men, leaped down from the steps of the
rostrum, and striking the frail captive a powerful blow across
the face, which felled her to the floor, placed his foot upon her
prostrate form and turning toward the assembled council broke into
peals of horrid, mirthless laughter.
For an instant I thought Tars Tarkas would strike him dead, nor did
the aspect of Lorquas Ptomel augur any too favorably for the brute,
but the mood passed, their old selves reasserted their ascendency,
and they smiled. It was portentous however that they did not laugh
aloud, for the brute's act constituted a side-splitting witticism
according to the ethics which rule green Martian humor.
That I have taken moments to write down a part of what occurred as
that blow fell does not signify that I remained inactive for any
such length of time. I think I must have sensed something of what
was coming, for I realize now that I was crouched as for a spring as
I saw the blow aimed at her beautiful, upturned, pleading face, and
ere the hand descended I was halfway across the hall.
Scarcely had his hideous laugh rang out but once, when I was upon
him. The brute was twelve feet in height and armed to the teeth,
but I believe that I could have accounted for the whole roomful in
the terrific intensity of my rage. Springing upward, I struck him
full in the face as he turned at my warning cry and then as he drew
his short-sword I drew mine and sprang up again upon his breast,
hooking one leg over the butt of his pistol and grasping one of his
huge tusks with my left hand while I delivered blow after blow upon
his enormous chest.
He could not use his short-sword to advantage because I was too
close to him, nor could he draw his pistol, which he attempted to do
in direct opposition to Martian custom which says that you may not
fight a fellow warrior in private combat with any other than the
weapon with which you are attacked. In fact he could do nothing but
make a wild and futile attempt to dislodge me. With all his immense
bulk he was little if any stronger than I, and it was but the matter
of a moment or two before he sank, bleeding and lifeless, to the
floor.
Dejah Thoris had raised herself upon one elbow and was watching the
battle with wide, staring eyes. When I had regained my feet I
raised her in my arms and bore her to one of the benches at the side
of the room.
Again no Martian interfered with me, and tearing a piece of silk
from my cape I endeavored to staunch the flow of blood from her
nostrils. I was soon successful as her injuries amounted to little
more than an ordinary nosebleed, and when she could speak she placed
her hand upon my arm and looking up into my eyes, said:
"Why did you do it? You who refused me even friendly recognition in
the first hour of my peril! And now you risk your life and kill one
of your companions for my sake. I cannot understand. What strange
manner of man are you, that you consort with the green men, though
your form is that of my race, while your color is little darker than
that of the white ape? Tell me, are you human, or are you more than
human?"
"It is a strange tale," I replied, "too long to attempt to tell you
now, and one which I so much doubt the credibility of myself that
I fear to hope that others will believe it. Suffice it, for the
present, that I am your friend, and, so far as our captors will
permit, your protector and your servant."
"Then you too are a prisoner? But why, then, those arms and the
regalia of a Tharkian chieftain? What is your name? Where your
country?"
"Yes, Dejah Thoris, I too am a prisoner; my name is John Carter,
and I claim Virginia, one of the United States of America, Earth,
as my home; but why I am permitted to wear arms I do not know,
nor was I aware that my regalia was that of a chieftain."
We were interrupted at this juncture by the approach of one of the
warriors, bearing arms, accouterments and ornaments, and in a flash
one of her questions was answered and a puzzle cleared up for me.
I saw that the body of my dead antagonist had been stripped, and I
read in the menacing yet respectful attitude of the warrior who had
brought me these trophies of the kill the same demeanor as that
evinced by the other who had brought me my original equipment, and
now for the first time I realized that my blow, on the occasion of
my first battle in the audience chamber had resulted in the death
of my adversary.
The reason for the whole attitude displayed toward me was now
apparent; I had won my spurs, so to speak, and in the crude justice,
which always marks Martian dealings, and which, among other things,
has caused me to call her the planet of paradoxes, I was accorded
the honors due a conqueror; the trappings and the position of the
man I killed. In truth, I was a Martian chieftain, and this I
learned later was the cause of my great freedom and my toleration
in the audience chamber.
As I had turned to receive the dead warrior's chattels I had
noticed that Tars Tarkas and several others had pushed forward
toward us, and the eyes of the former rested upon me in a most
quizzical manner. Finally he addressed me:
"You speak the tongue of Barsoom quite readily for one who was deaf
and dumb to us a few short days ago. Where did you learn it, John
Carter?"
"You, yourself, are responsible, Tars Tarkas," I replied, "in that
you furnished me with an instructress of remarkable ability; I have
to thank Sola for my learning."
"She has done well," he answered, "but your education in other
respects needs considerable polish. Do you know what your
unprecedented temerity would have cost you had you failed to
kill either of the two chieftains whose metal you now wear?"
"I presume that that one whom I had failed to kill, would have
killed me," I answered, smiling.
"No, you are wrong. Only in the last extremity of self-defense
would a Martian warrior kill a prisoner; we like to save them for
other purposes," and his face bespoke possibilities that were not
pleasant to dwell upon.
"But one thing can save you now," he continued. "Should you, in
recognition of your remarkable valor, ferocity, and prowess, be
considered by Tal Hajus as worthy of his service you may be taken
into the community and become a full-fledged Tharkian. Until we
reach the headquarters of Tal Hajus it is the will of Lorquas Ptomel
that you be accorded the respect your acts have earned you. You
will be treated by us as a Tharkian chieftain, but you must not
forget that every chief who ranks you is responsible for your safe
delivery to our mighty and most ferocious ruler. I am done."
"I hear you, Tars Tarkas," I answered. "As you know I am not of
Barsoom; your ways are not my ways, and I can only act in the
future as I have in the past, in accordance with the dictates of
my conscience and guided by the standards of mine own people. If
you will leave me alone I will go in peace, but if not, let the
individual Barsoomians with whom I must deal either respect my
rights as a stranger among you, or take whatever consequences may
befall. Of one thing let us be sure, whatever may be your ultimate
intentions toward this unfortunate young woman, whoever would offer
her injury or insult in the future must figure on making a full
accounting to me. I understand that you belittle all sentiments of
generosity and kindliness, but I do not, and I can convince your
most doughty warrior that these characteristics are not incompatible
with an ability to fight."
Ordinarily I am not given to long speeches, nor ever before had I
descended to bombast, but I had guessed at the keynote which would
strike an answering chord in the breasts of the green Martians, nor
was I wrong, for my harangue evidently deeply impressed them, and
their attitude toward me thereafter was still further respectful.
Tars Tarkas himself seemed pleased with my reply, but his only
comment was more or less enigmatical--"And I think I know Tal Hajus,
Jeddak of Thark."
I now turned my attention to Dejah Thoris, and assisting her to
her feet I turned with her toward the exit, ignoring her hovering
guardian harpies as well as the inquiring glances of the chieftains.
Was I not now a chieftain also! Well, then, I would assume the
responsibilities of one. They did not molest us, and so Dejah
Thoris, Princess of Helium, and John Carter, gentleman of Virginia,
followed by the faithful Woola, passed through utter silence from
the audience chamber of Lorquas Ptomel, Jed among the Tharks of
Barsoom.
CHAPTER XI
WITH DEJAH THORIS
As we reached the open the two female guards who had been detailed
to watch over Dejah Thoris hurried up and made as though to assume
custody of her once more. The poor child shrank against me and I
felt her two little hands fold tightly over my arm. Waving the
women away, I informed them that Sola would attend the captive
hereafter, and I further warned Sarkoja that any more of her cruel
attentions bestowed upon Dejah Thoris would result in Sarkoja's
sudden and painful demise.
My threat was unfortunate and resulted in more harm than good to
Dejah Thoris, for, as I learned later, men do not kill women upon
Mars, nor women, men. So Sarkoja merely gave us an ugly look and
departed to hatch up deviltries against us.
I soon found Sola and explained to her that I wished her to guard
Dejah Thoris as she had guarded me; that I wished her to find other
quarters where they would not be molested by Sarkoja, and I finally
informed her that I myself would take up my quarters among the men.
Sola glanced at the accouterments which were carried in my hand and
slung across my shoulder.
"You are a great chieftain now, John Carter," she said, "and I
must do your bidding, though indeed I am glad to do it under any
circumstances. The man whose metal you carry was young, but he was
a great warrior, and had by his promotions and kills won his way
close to the rank of Tars Tarkas, who, as you know, is second to
Lorquas Ptomel only. You are eleventh, there are but ten chieftains
in this community who rank you in prowess."
"And if I should kill Lorquas Ptomel?" I asked.
"You would be first, John Carter; but you may only win that honor
by the will of the entire council that Lorquas Ptomel meet you in
combat, or should he attack you, you may kill him in self-defense,
and thus win first place."
I laughed, and changed the subject. I had no particular desire
to kill Lorquas Ptomel, and less to be a jed among the Tharks.
I accompanied Sola and Dejah Thoris in a search for new quarters,
which we found in a building nearer the audience chamber and of far
more pretentious architecture than our former habitation. We also
found in this building real sleeping apartments with ancient beds of
highly wrought metal swinging from enormous gold chains depending
from the marble ceilings. The decoration of the walls was most
elaborate, and, unlike the frescoes in the other buildings I had
examined, portrayed many human figures in the compositions. These
were of people like myself, and of a much lighter color than
Dejah Thoris. They were clad in graceful, flowing robes, highly
ornamented with metal and jewels, and their luxuriant hair was of
a beautiful golden and reddish bronze. The men were beardless
and only a few wore arms. The scenes depicted for the most part,
a fair-skinned, fair-haired people at play.
Dejah Thoris clasped her hands with an exclamation of rapture as she
gazed upon these magnificent works of art, wrought by a people long
extinct; while Sola, on the other hand, apparently did not see them.
We decided to use this room, on the second floor and overlooking
the plaza, for Dejah Thoris and Sola, and another room adjoining
and in the rear for the cooking and supplies. I then dispatched
Sola to bring the bedding and such food and utensils as she might
need, telling her that I would guard Dejah Thoris until her return.
As Sola departed Dejah Thoris turned to me with a faint smile.
"And whereto, then, would your prisoner escape should you leave her,
unless it was to follow you and crave your protection, and ask your
pardon for the cruel thoughts she has harbored against you these
past few days?"
"You are right," I answered, "there is no escape for either of us
unless we go together."
"I heard your challenge to the creature you call Tars Tarkas, and
I think I understand your position among these people, but what I
cannot fathom is your statement that you are not of Barsoom."
"In the name of my first ancestor, then," she continued, "where may
you be from? You are like unto my people, and yet so unlike. You
speak my language, and yet I heard you tell Tars Tarkas that you had
but learned it recently. All Barsoomians speak the same tongue from
the ice-clad south to the ice-clad north, though their written
languages differ. Only in the valley Dor, where the river Iss
empties into the lost sea of Korus, is there supposed to be a
different language spoken, and, except in the legends of our
ancestors, there is no record of a Barsoomian returning up the river
Iss, from the shores of Korus in the valley of Dor. Do not tell me
that you have thus returned! They would kill you horribly anywhere
upon the surface of Barsoom if that were true; tell me it is not!"
Her eyes were filled with a strange, weird light; her voice was
pleading, and her little hands, reached up upon my breast, were
pressed against me as though to wring a denial from my very heart.
"I do not know your customs, Dejah Thoris, but in my own Virginia
a gentleman does not lie to save himself; I am not of Dor; I have
never seen the mysterious Iss; the lost sea of Korus is still lost,
so far as I am concerned. Do you believe me?"
And then it struck me suddenly that I was very anxious that she
should believe me. It was not that I feared the results which would
follow a general belief that I had returned from the Barsoomian
heaven or hell, or whatever it was. Why was it, then! Why should
I care what she thought? I looked down at her; her beautiful face
upturned, and her wonderful eyes opening up the very depth of her
soul; and as my eyes met hers I knew why, and--I shuddered.
A similar wave of feeling seemed to stir her; she drew away from me
with a sigh, and with her earnest, beautiful face turned up to mine,
she whispered: "I believe you, John Carter; I do not know what a
'gentleman' is, nor have I ever heard before of Virginia; but on
Barsoom no man lies; if he does not wish to speak the truth he is
silent. Where is this Virginia, your country, John Carter?" she
asked, and it seemed that this fair name of my fair land had never
sounded more beautiful than as it fell from those perfect lips on
that far-gone day.
"I am of another world," I answered, "the great planet Earth, which
revolves about our common sun and next within the orbit of your
Barsoom, which we know as Mars. How I came here I cannot tell you,
for I do not know; but here I am, and since my presence has
permitted me to serve Dejah Thoris I am glad that I am here."
She gazed at me with troubled eyes, long and questioningly. That
it was difficult to believe my statement I well knew, nor could I
hope that she would do so however much I craved her confidence and
respect. I would much rather not have told her anything of my
antecedents, but no man could look into the depth of those eyes
and refuse her slightest behest.
Finally she smiled, and, rising, said: "I shall have to believe even
though I cannot understand. I can readily perceive that you are not
of the Barsoom of today; you are like us, yet different--but why
should I trouble my poor head with such a problem, when my heart
tells me that I believe because I wish to believe!"
It was good logic, good, earthly, feminine logic, and if it
satisfied her I certainly could pick no flaws in it. As a matter of
fact it was about the only kind of logic that could be brought to
bear upon my problem. We fell into a general conversation then,
asking and answering many questions on each side. She was curious
to learn of the customs of my people and displayed a remarkable
knowledge of events on Earth. When I questioned her closely on this
seeming familiarity with earthly things she laughed, and cried out:
"Why, every school boy on Barsoom knows the geography, and much
concerning the fauna and flora, as well as the history of your
planet fully as well as of his own. Can we not see everything which
takes place upon Earth, as you call it; is it not hanging there in
the heavens in plain sight?"
This baffled me, I must confess, fully as much as my statements had
confounded her; and I told her so. She then explained in general
the instruments her people had used and been perfecting for ages,
which permit them to throw upon a screen a perfect image of what
is transpiring upon any planet and upon many of the stars. These
pictures are so perfect in detail that, when photographed and
enlarged, objects no greater than a blade of grass may be distinctly
recognized. I afterward, in Helium, saw many of these pictures, as
well as the instruments which produced them.
"If, then, you are so familiar with earthly things," I asked, "why
is it that you do not recognize me as identical with the inhabitants
of that planet?"
She smiled again as one might in bored indulgence of a questioning
child.
"Because, John Carter," she replied, "nearly every planet and star
having atmospheric conditions at all approaching those of Barsoom,
shows forms of animal life almost identical with you and me; and,
further, Earth men, almost without exception, cover their bodies
with strange, unsightly pieces of cloth, and their heads with
hideous contraptions the purpose of which we have been unable to
conceive; while you, when found by the Tharkian warriors, were
entirely undisfigured and unadorned.
"The fact that you wore no ornaments is a strong proof of your
un-Barsoomian origin, while the absence of grotesque coverings
might cause a doubt as to your earthliness."
I then narrated the details of my departure from the Earth,
explaining that my body there lay fully clothed in all the, to her,
strange garments of mundane dwellers. At this point Sola returned
with our meager belongings and her young Martian protege, who, of
course, would have to share the quarters with them.
Sola asked us if we had had a visitor during her absence, and seemed
much surprised when we answered in the negative. It seemed that as
she had mounted the approach to the upper floors where our quarters
were located, she had met Sarkoja descending. We decided that she
must have been eavesdropping, but as we could recall nothing of
importance that had passed between us we dismissed the matter as of
little consequence, merely promising ourselves to be warned to the
utmost caution in the future.
Dejah Thoris and I then fell to examining the architecture and
decorations of the beautiful chambers of the building we were
occupying. She told me that these people had presumably flourished
over a hundred thousand years before. They were the early
progenitors of her race, but had mixed with the other great race
of early Martians, who were very dark, almost black, and also with
the reddish yellow race which had flourished at the same time.
These three great divisions of the higher Martians had been forced
into a mighty alliance as the drying up of the Martian seas had
compelled them to seek the comparatively few and always diminishing
fertile areas, and to defend themselves, under new conditions of
life, against the wild hordes of green men.
Ages of close relationship and intermarrying had resulted in the
race of red men, of which Dejah Thoris was a fair and beautiful
daughter. During the ages of hardships and incessant warring
between their own various races, as well as with the green men, and
before they had fitted themselves to the changed conditions, much
of the high civilization and many of the arts of the fair-haired
Martians had become lost; but the red race of today has reached a
point where it feels that it has made up in new discoveries and in a
more practical civilization for all that lies irretrievably buried
with the ancient Barsoomians, beneath the countless intervening
ages.
These ancient Martians had been a highly cultivated and literary
race, but during the vicissitudes of those trying centuries of
readjustment to new conditions, not only did their advancement and
production cease entirely, but practically all their archives,
records, and literature were lost.
Dejah Thoris related many interesting facts and legends concerning
this lost race of noble and kindly people. She said that the city
in which we were camping was supposed to have been a center of
commerce and culture known as Korad. It had been built upon a
beautiful, natural harbor, landlocked by magnificent hills. The
little valley on the west front of the city, she explained, was all
that remained of the harbor, while the pass through the hills to
the old sea bottom had been the channel through which the shipping
passed up to the city's gates.
The shores of the ancient seas were dotted with just such cities,
and lesser ones, in diminishing numbers, were to be found converging
toward the center of the oceans, as the people had found it
necessary to follow the receding waters until necessity had forced
upon them their ultimate salvation, the so-called Martian canals.
We had been so engrossed in exploration of the building and in our
conversation that it was late in the afternoon before we realized
it. We were brought back to a realization of our present conditions
by a messenger bearing a summons from Lorquas Ptomel directing me
to appear before him forthwith. Bidding Dejah Thoris and Sola
farewell, and commanding Woola to remain on guard, I hastened to
the audience chamber, where I found Lorquas Ptomel and Tars Tarkas
seated upon the rostrum.
CHAPTER XII
A PRISONER WITH POWER
As I entered and saluted, Lorquas Ptomel signaled me to advance,
and, fixing his great, hideous eyes upon me, addressed me thus:
"You have been with us a few days, yet during that time you have
by your prowess won a high position among us. Be that as it may,
you are not one of us; you owe us no allegiance.
"Your position is a peculiar one," he continued; "you are a prisoner
and yet you give commands which must be obeyed; you are an alien and
yet you are a Tharkian chieftain; you are a midget and yet you can
kill a mighty warrior with one blow of your fist. And now you are
reported to have been plotting to escape with another prisoner of
another race; a prisoner who, from her own admission, half believes
you are returned from the valley of Dor. Either one of these
accusations, if proved, would be sufficient grounds for your
execution, but we are a just people and you shall have a trial on
our return to Thark, if Tal Hajus so commands.
"But," he continued, in his fierce guttural tones, "if you run off
with the red girl it is I who shall have to account to Tal Hajus;
it is I who shall have to face Tars Tarkas, and either demonstrate
my right to command, or the metal from my dead carcass will go to
a better man, for such is the custom of the Tharks.
"I have no quarrel with Tars Tarkas; together we rule supreme the
greatest of the lesser communities among the green men; we do not
wish to fight between ourselves; and so if you were dead, John
Carter, I should be glad. Under two conditions only, however, may
you be killed by us without orders from Tal Hajus; in personal
combat in self-defense, should you attack one of us, or were you
apprehended in an attempt to escape.
"As a matter of justice I must warn you that we only await one
of these two excuses for ridding ourselves of so great a
responsibility. The safe delivery of the red girl to Tal Hajus
is of the greatest importance. Not in a thousand years have the
Tharks made such a capture; she is the granddaughter of the
greatest of the red jeddaks, who is also our bitterest enemy.
I have spoken. The red girl told us that we were without the
softer sentiments of humanity, but we are a just and truthful
race. You may go."
Turning, I left the audience chamber. So this was the beginning of
Sarkoja's persecution! I knew that none other could be responsible
for this report which had reached the ears of Lorquas Ptomel so
quickly, and now I recalled those portions of our conversation
which had touched upon escape and upon my origin.
Sarkoja was at this time Tars Tarkas' oldest and most trusted
female. As such she was a mighty power behind the throne, for no
warrior had the confidence of Lorquas Ptomel to such an extent as
did his ablest lieutenant, Tars Tarkas.
However, instead of putting thoughts of possible escape from my
mind, my audience with Lorquas Ptomel only served to center my
every faculty on this subject. Now, more than before, the absolute
necessity for escape, in so far as Dejah Thoris was concerned, was
impressed upon me, for I was convinced that some horrible fate
awaited her at the headquarters of Tal Hajus.
As described by Sola, this monster was the exaggerated
personification of all the ages of cruelty, ferocity, and brutality
from which he had descended. Cold, cunning, calculating; he was,
also, in marked contrast to most of his fellows, a slave to that
brute passion which the waning demands for procreation upon their
dying planet has almost stilled in the Martian breast.
The thought that the divine Dejah Thoris might fall into the
clutches of such an abysmal atavism started the cold sweat upon me.
Far better that we save friendly bullets for ourselves at the last
moment, as did those brave frontier women of my lost land, who took
their own lives rather than fall into the hands of the Indian
braves.
As I wandered about the plaza lost in my gloomy forebodings Tars
Tarkas approached me on his way from the audience chamber. His
demeanor toward me was unchanged, and he greeted me as though we
had not just parted a few moments before.
"Where are your quarters, John Carter?" he asked.
"I have selected none," I replied. "It seemed best that I quartered
either by myself or among the other warriors, and I was awaiting an
opportunity to ask your advice. As you know," and I smiled, "I am
not yet familiar with all the customs of the Tharks."
"Come with me," he directed, and together we moved off across the
plaza to a building which I was glad to see adjoined that occupied
by Sola and her charges.
"My quarters are on the first floor of this building," he said, "and
the second floor also is fully occupied by warriors, but the third
floor and the floors above are vacant; you may take your choice of
these.
"I understand," he continued, "that you have given up your woman to
the red prisoner. Well, as you have said, your ways are not our
ways, but you can fight well enough to do about as you please, and
so, if you wish to give your woman to a captive, it is your own
affair; but as a chieftain you should have those to serve you, and
in accordance with our customs you may select any or all the females
from the retinues of the chieftains whose metal you now wear."
I thanked him, but assured him that I could get along very nicely
without assistance except in the matter of preparing food, and so he
promised to send women to me for this purpose and also for the care
of my arms and the manufacture of my ammunition, which he said would
be necessary. I suggested that they might also bring some of the
sleeping silks and furs which belonged to me as spoils of combat,
for the nights were cold and I had none of my own.
He promised to do so, and departed. Left alone, I ascended the
winding corridor to the upper floors in search of suitable quarters.
The beauties of the other buildings were repeated in this, and, as
usual, I was soon lost in a tour of investigation and discovery.
I finally chose a front room on the third floor, because this
brought me nearer to Dejah Thoris, whose apartment was on the second
floor of the adjoining building, and it flashed upon me that I could
rig up some means of communication whereby she might signal me in
case she needed either my services or my protection.
Adjoining my sleeping apartment were baths, dressing rooms, and
other sleeping and living apartments, in all some ten rooms on this
floor. The windows of the back rooms overlooked an enormous court,
which formed the center of the square made by the buildings which
faced the four contiguous streets, and which was now given over to
the quartering of the various animals belonging to the warriors
occupying the adjoining buildings.
While the court was entirely overgrown with the yellow, moss-like
vegetation which blankets practically the entire surface of Mars,
yet numerous fountains, statuary, benches, and pergola-like
contraptions bore witness to the beauty which the court must have
presented in bygone times, when graced by the fair-haired, laughing
people whom stern and unalterable cosmic laws had driven not only
from their homes, but from all except the vague legends of their
descendants.
One could easily picture the gorgeous foliage of the luxuriant
Martian vegetation which once filled this scene with life and color;
the graceful figures of the beautiful women, the straight and
handsome men; the happy frolicking children--all sunlight, happiness
and peace. It was difficult to realize that they had gone; down
through ages of darkness, cruelty, and ignorance, until their
hereditary instincts of culture and humanitarianism had risen
ascendant once more in the final composite race which now is
dominant upon Mars.
My thoughts were cut short by the advent of several young females
bearing loads of weapons, silks, furs, jewels, cooking utensils,
and casks of food and drink, including considerable loot from the
air craft. All this, it seemed, had been the property of the two
chieftains I had slain, and now, by the customs of the Tharks, it
had become mine. At my direction they placed the stuff in one of
the back rooms, and then departed, only to return with a second
load, which they advised me constituted the balance of my goods.
On the second trip they were accompanied by ten or fifteen other
women and youths, who, it seemed, formed the retinues of the two
chieftains.
They were not their families, nor their wives, nor their servants;
the relationship was peculiar, and so unlike anything known to us
that it is most difficult to describe. All property among the green
Martians is owned in common by the community, except the personal
weapons, ornaments and sleeping silks and furs of the individuals.
These alone can one claim undisputed right to, nor may he accumulate
more of these than are required for his actual needs. The surplus
he holds merely as custodian, and it is passed on to the younger
members of the community as necessity demands.
The women and children of a man's retinue may be likened to a
military unit for which he is responsible in various ways, as in
matters of instruction, discipline, sustenance, and the exigencies
of their continual roamings and their unending strife with other
communities and with the red Martians. His women are in no sense
wives. The green Martians use no word corresponding in meaning with
this earthly word. Their mating is a matter of community interest
solely, and is directed without reference to natural selection.
The council of chieftains of each community control the matter
as surely as the owner of a Kentucky racing stud directs the
scientific breeding of his stock for the improvement of the whole.
In theory it may sound well, as is often the case with theories, but
the results of ages of this unnatural practice, coupled with the
community interest in the offspring being held paramount to that of
the mother, is shown in the cold, cruel creatures, and their gloomy,
loveless, mirthless existence.
It is true that the green Martians are absolutely virtuous, both
men and women, with the exception of such degenerates as Tal Hajus;
but better far a finer balance of human characteristics even at
the expense of a slight and occasional loss of chastity.
Finding that I must assume responsibility for these creatures,
whether I would or not, I made the best of it and directed them to
find quarters on the upper floors, leaving the third floor to me.
One of the girls I charged with the duties of my simple cuisine,
and directed the others to take up the various activities which had
formerly constituted their vocations. Thereafter I saw little of
them, nor did I care to.
CHAPTER XIII
LOVE-MAKING ON MARS
Following the battle with the air ships, the community remained
within the city for several days, abandoning the homeward march
until they could feel reasonably assured that the ships would not
return; for to be caught on the open plains with a cavalcade of
chariots and children was far from the desire of even so warlike
a people as the green Martians.
During our period of inactivity, Tars Tarkas had instructed me
in many of the customs and arts of war familiar to the Tharks,
including lessons in riding and guiding the great beasts which bore
the warriors. These creatures, which are known as thoats, are as
dangerous and vicious as their masters, but when once subdued are
sufficiently tractable for the purposes of the green Martians.
Two of these animals had fallen to me from the warriors whose metal
I wore, and in a short time I could handle them quite as well as the
native warriors. The method was not at all complicated. If the
thoats did not respond with sufficient celerity to the telepathic
instructions of their riders they were dealt a terrific blow between
the ears with the butt of a pistol, and if they showed fight this
treatment was continued until the brutes either were subdued, or
had unseated their riders.
In the latter case it became a life and death struggle between the
man and the beast. If the former were quick enough with his pistol
he might live to ride again, though upon some other beast; if not,
his torn and mangled body was gathered up by his women and burned
in accordance with Tharkian custom.
My experience with Woola determined me to attempt the experiment
of kindness in my treatment of my thoats. First I taught them
that they could not unseat me, and even rapped them sharply between
the ears to impress upon them my authority and mastery. Then, by
degrees, I won their confidence in much the same manner as I had
adopted countless times with my many mundane mounts. I was ever a
good hand with animals, and by inclination, as well as because it
brought more lasting and satisfactory results, I was always kind and
humane in my dealings with the lower orders. I could take a human
life, if necessary, with far less compunction than that of a poor,
unreasoning, irresponsible brute.
In the course of a few days my thoats were the wonder of the entire
community. They would follow me like dogs, rubbing their great
snouts against my body in awkward evidence of affection, and respond
to my every command with an alacrity and docility which caused the
Martian warriors to ascribe to me the possession of some earthly
power unknown on Mars.
"How have you bewitched them?" asked Tars Tarkas one afternoon, when
he had seen me run my arm far between the great jaws of one of my
thoats which had wedged a piece of stone between two of his teeth
while feeding upon the moss-like vegetation within our court yard.
"By kindness," I replied. "You see, Tars Tarkas, the softer
sentiments have their value, even to a warrior. In the height of
battle as well as upon the march I know that my thoats will obey my
every command, and therefore my fighting efficiency is enhanced, and
I am a better warrior for the reason that I am a kind master. Your
other warriors would find it to the advantage of themselves as well
as of the community to adopt my methods in this respect. Only a few
days since you, yourself, told me that these great brutes, by the
uncertainty of their tempers, often were the means of turning
victory into defeat, since, at a crucial moment, they might elect
to unseat and rend their riders."
"Show me how you accomplish these results," was Tars Tarkas'
only rejoinder.
And so I explained as carefully as I could the entire method of
training I had adopted with my beasts, and later he had me repeat
it before Lorquas Ptomel and the assembled warriors. That moment
marked the beginning of a new existence for the poor thoats, and
before I left the community of Lorquas Ptomel I had the satisfaction
of observing a regiment of as tractable and docile mounts as one
might care to see. The effect on the precision and celerity of the
military movements was so remarkable that Lorquas Ptomel presented
me with a massive anklet of gold from his own leg, as a sign of
his appreciation of my service to the horde.
On the seventh day following the battle with the air craft we again
took up the march toward Thark, all probability of another attack
being deemed remote by Lorquas Ptomel.
During the days just preceding our departure I had seen but little
of Dejah Thoris, as I had been kept very busy by Tars Tarkas with my
lessons in the art of Martian warfare, as well as in the training of
my thoats. The few times I had visited her quarters she had been
absent, walking upon the streets with Sola, or investigating the
buildings in the near vicinity of the plaza. I had warned them
against venturing far from the plaza for fear of the great white
apes, whose ferocity I was only too well acquainted with. However,
since Woola accompanied them on all their excursions, and as Sola
was well armed, there was comparatively little cause for fear.
On the evening before our departure I saw them approaching along
one of the great avenues which lead into the plaza from the east.
I advanced to meet them, and telling Sola that I would take the
responsibility for Dejah Thoris' safekeeping, I directed her to
return to her quarters on some trivial errand. I liked and trusted
Sola, but for some reason I desired to be alone with Dejah Thoris,
who represented to me all that I had left behind upon Earth in
agreeable and congenial companionship. There seemed bonds of mutual
interest between us as powerful as though we had been born under the
same roof rather than upon different planets, hurtling through space
some forty-eight million miles apart.
That she shared my sentiments in this respect I was positive, for
on my approach the look of pitiful hopelessness left her sweet
countenance to be replaced by a smile of joyful welcome, as she
placed her little right hand upon my left shoulder in true red
Martian salute.
"Sarkoja told Sola that you had become a true Thark," she said,
"and that I would now see no more of you than of any of the
other warriors."
"Sarkoja is a liar of the first magnitude," I replied,
"notwithstanding the proud claim of the Tharks to absolute verity."
Dejah Thoris laughed.
"I knew that even though you became a member of the community you
would not cease to be my friend; 'A warrior may change his metal,
but not his heart,' as the saying is upon Barsoom."
"I think they have been trying to keep us apart," she continued,
"for whenever you have been off duty one of the older women of Tars
Tarkas' retinue has always arranged to trump up some excuse to get
Sola and me out of sight. They have had me down in the pits below
the buildings helping them mix their awful radium powder, and make
their terrible projectiles. You know that these have to be
manufactured by artificial light, as exposure to sunlight always
results in an explosion. You have noticed that their bullets
explode when they strike an object? Well, the opaque, outer coating
is broken by the impact, exposing a glass cylinder, almost solid,
in the forward end of which is a minute particle of radium powder.
The moment the sunlight, even though diffused, strikes this powder
it explodes with a violence which nothing can withstand. If you
ever witness a night battle you will note the absence of these
explosions, while the morning following the battle will be filled at
sunrise with the sharp detonations of exploding missiles fired the
preceding night. As a rule, however, non-exploding projectiles are
used at night." [I have used the word radium in describing this
powder because in the light of recent discoveries on Earth I believe
it to be a mixture of which radium is the base. In Captain Carter's
manuscript it is mentioned always by the name used in the written
language of Helium and is spelled in hieroglyphics which it would be
difficult and useless to reproduce.]
While I was much interested in Dejah Thoris' explanation of this
wonderful adjunct to Martian warfare, I was more concerned by the
immediate problem of their treatment of her. That they were keeping
her away from me was not a matter for surprise, but that they should
subject her to dangerous and arduous labor filled me with rage.
"Have they ever subjected you to cruelty and ignominy, Dejah
Thoris?" I asked, feeling the hot blood of my fighting ancestors
leap in my veins as I awaited her reply.
"Only in little ways, John Carter," she answered. "Nothing that can
harm me outside my pride. They know that I am the daughter of ten
thousand jeddaks, that I trace my ancestry straight back without a
break to the builder of the first great waterway, and they, who do
not even know their own mothers, are jealous of me. At heart they
hate their horrid fates, and so wreak their poor spite on me who
stand for everything they have not, and for all they most crave and
never can attain. Let us pity them, my chieftain, for even though
we die at their hands we can afford them pity, since we are greater
than they and they know it."
Had I known the significance of those words "my chieftain," as
applied by a red Martian woman to a man, I should have had the
surprise of my life, but I did not know at that time, nor for many
months thereafter. Yes, I still had much to learn upon Barsoom.
"I presume it is the better part of wisdom that we bow to our
fate with as good grace as possible, Dejah Thoris; but I hope,
nevertheless, that I may be present the next time that any Martian,
green, red, pink, or violet, has the temerity to even so much as
frown on you, my princess."
Dejah Thoris caught her breath at my last words, and gazed upon me
with dilated eyes and quickening breath, and then, with an odd
little laugh, which brought roguish dimples to the corners of her
mouth, she shook her head and cried:
"What a child! A great warrior and yet a stumbling little child."
"What have I done now?" I asked, in sore perplexity.
"Some day you shall know, John Carter, if we live; but I may not
tell you. And I, the daughter of Mors Kajak, son of Tardos Mors,
have listened without anger," she soliloquized in conclusion.
Then she broke out again into one of her gay, happy, laughing moods;
joking with me on my prowess as a Thark warrior as contrasted with
my soft heart and natural kindliness.
"I presume that should you accidentally wound an enemy you would
take him home and nurse him back to health," she laughed.
"That is precisely what we do on Earth," I answered. "At least
among civilized men."
This made her laugh again. She could not understand it, for, with
all her tenderness and womanly sweetness, she was still a Martian,
and to a Martian the only good enemy is a dead enemy; for every
dead foeman means so much more to divide between those who live.
I was very curious to know what I had said or done to cause her so
much perturbation a moment before and so I continued to importune
her to enlighten me.
"No," she exclaimed, "it is enough that you have said it and that I
have listened. And when you learn, John Carter, and if I be dead,
as likely I shall be ere the further moon has circled Barsoom
another twelve times, remember that I listened and that I--smiled."
It was all Greek to me, but the more I begged her to explain the
more positive became her denials of my request, and, so, in very
hopelessness, I desisted.
Day had now given away to night and as we wandered along the great
avenue lighted by the two moons of Barsoom, and with Earth looking
down upon us out of her luminous green eye, it seemed that we were
alone in the universe, and I, at least, was content that it should
be so.
The chill of the Martian night was upon us, and removing my silks I
threw them across the shoulders of Dejah Thoris. As my arm rested
for an instant upon her I felt a thrill pass through every fiber of
my being such as contact with no other mortal had even produced; and
it seemed to me that she had leaned slightly toward me, but of that
I was not sure. Only I knew that as my arm rested there across her
shoulders longer than the act of adjusting the silk required she did
not draw away, nor did she speak. And so, in silence, we walked the
surface of a dying world, but in the breast of one of us at least
had been born that which is ever oldest, yet ever new.
I loved Dejah Thoris. The touch of my arm upon her naked shoulder
had spoken to me in words I would not mistake, and I knew that I had
loved her since the first moment that my eyes had met hers that
first time in the plaza of the dead city of Korad.
CHAPTER XIV
A DUEL TO THE DEATH
My first impulse was to tell her of my love, and then I thought of
the helplessness of her position wherein I alone could lighten the
burdens of her captivity, and protect her in my poor way against the
thousands of hereditary enemies she must face upon our arrival at
Thark. I could not chance causing her additional pain or sorrow
by declaring a love which, in all probability she did not return.
Should I be so indiscreet, her position would be even more
unbearable than now, and the thought that she might feel that
I was taking advantage of her helplessness, to influence her
decision was the final argument which sealed my lips.
"Why are you so quiet, Dejah Thoris?" I asked. "Possibly you
would rather return to Sola and your quarters."
"No," she murmured, "I am happy here. I do not know why it is that
I should always be happy and contented when you, John Carter, a
stranger, are with me; yet at such times it seems that I am safe and
that, with you, I shall soon return to my father's court and feel
his strong arms about me and my mother's tears and kisses on my
cheek."
"Do people kiss, then, upon Barsoom?" I asked, when she had
explained the word she used, in answer to my inquiry as to its
meaning.
"Parents, brothers, and sisters, yes; and," she added in a low,
thoughtful tone, "lovers."
"And you, Dejah Thoris, have parents and brothers and sisters?"
"Yes."
"And a--lover?"
She was silent, nor could I venture to repeat the question.
"The man of Barsoom," she finally ventured, "does not ask personal
questions of women, except his mother, and the woman he has fought
for and won."
"But I have fought--" I started, and then I wished my tongue had
been cut from my mouth; for she turned even as I caught myself and
ceased, and drawing my silks from her shoulder she held them out to
me, and without a word, and with head held high, she moved with the
carriage of the queen she was toward the plaza and the doorway of
her quarters.
I did not attempt to follow her, other than to see that she reached
the building in safety, but, directing Woola to accompany her, I
turned disconsolately and entered my own house. I sat for hours
cross-legged, and cross-tempered, upon my silks meditating upon
the queer freaks chance plays upon us poor devils of mortals.
So this was love! I had escaped it for all the years I had roamed
the five continents and their encircling seas; in spite of beautiful
women and urging opportunity; in spite of a half-desire for love and
a constant search for my ideal, it had remained for me to fall
furiously and hopelessly in love with a creature from another world,
of a species similar possibly, yet not identical with mine. A woman
who was hatched from an egg, and whose span of life might cover a
thousand years; whose people had strange customs and ideas; a woman
whose hopes, whose pleasures, whose standards of virtue and of right
and wrong might vary as greatly from mine as did those of the green
Martians.
Yes, I was a fool, but I was in love, and though I was suffering the
greatest misery I had ever known I would not have had it otherwise
for all the riches of Barsoom. Such is love, and such are lovers
wherever love is known.
To me, Dejah Thoris was all that was perfect; all that was virtuous
and beautiful and noble and good. I believed that from the bottom
of my heart, from the depth of my soul on that night in Korad as I
sat cross-legged upon my silks while the nearer moon of Barsoom
raced through the western sky toward the horizon, and lighted up the
gold and marble, and jeweled mosaics of my world-old chamber, and I
believe it today as I sit at my desk in the little study overlooking
the Hudson. Twenty years have intervened; for ten of them I lived
and fought for Dejah Thoris and her people, and for ten I have lived
upon her memory.
The morning of our departure for Thark dawned clear and hot, as do
all Martian mornings except for the six weeks when the snow melts at
the poles.
I sought out Dejah Thoris in the throng of departing chariots, but
she turned her shoulder to me, and I could see the red blood mount
to her cheek. With the foolish inconsistency of love I held my
peace when I might have plead ignorance of the nature of my offense,
or at least the gravity of it, and so have effected, at worst, a
half conciliation.
My duty dictated that I must see that she was comfortable, and
so I glanced into her chariot and rearranged her silks and furs.
In doing so I noted with horror that she was heavily chained by
one ankle to the side of the vehicle.
"What does this mean?" I cried, turning to Sola.
"Sarkoja thought it best," she answered, her face betokening her
disapproval of the procedure.
Examining the manacles I saw that they fastened with a massive
spring lock.
"Where is the key, Sola? Let me have it."
"Sarkoja wears it, John Carter," she answered.
I turned without further word and sought out Tars Tarkas, to whom I
vehemently objected to the unnecessary humiliations and cruelties,
as they seemed to my lover's eyes, that were being heaped upon Dejah
Thoris.
"John Carter," he answered, "if ever you and Dejah Thoris escape the
Tharks it will be upon this journey. We know that you will not go
without her. You have shown yourself a mighty fighter, and we do
not wish to manacle you, so we hold you both in the easiest way
that will yet ensure security. I have spoken."
I saw the strength of his reasoning at a flash, and knew that it
were futile to appeal from his decision, but I asked that the
key be taken from Sarkoja and that she be directed to leave the
prisoner alone in future.
"This much, Tars Tarkas, you may do for me in return for the
friendship that, I must confess, I feel for you."
"Friendship?" he replied. "There is no such thing, John Carter;
but have your will. I shall direct that Sarkoja cease to annoy
the girl, and I myself will take the custody of the key."
"Unless you wish me to assume the responsibility," I said, smiling.
He looked at me long and earnestly before he spoke.
"Were you to give me your word that neither you nor Dejah Thoris
would attempt to escape until after we have safely reached the court
of Tal Hajus you might have the key and throw the chains into the
river Iss."
"It were better that you held the key, Tars Tarkas," I replied
He smiled, and said no more, but that night as we were making camp
I saw him unfasten Dejah Thoris' fetters himself.
With all his cruel ferocity and coldness there was an undercurrent
of something in Tars Tarkas which he seemed ever battling to subdue.
Could it be a vestige of some human instinct come back from an
ancient forbear to haunt him with the horror of his people's ways!
As I was approaching Dejah Thoris' chariot I passed Sarkoja, and the
black, venomous look she accorded me was the sweetest balm I had
felt for many hours. Lord, how she hated me! It bristled from her
so palpably that one might almost have cut it with a sword.
A few moments later I saw her deep in conversation with a warrior
named Zad; a big, hulking, powerful brute, but one who had never
made a kill among his own chieftains, and a second name only with
the metal of some chieftain. It was this custom which entitled me
to the names of either of the chieftains I had killed; in fact, some
of the warriors addressed me as Dotar Sojat, a combination of the
surnames of the two warrior chieftains whose metal I had taken, or,
in other words, whom I had slain in fair fight.
As Sarkoja talked with Zad he cast occasional glances in my
direction, while she seemed to be urging him very strongly to some
action. I paid little attention to it at the time, but the next
day I had good reason to recall the circumstances, and at the same
time gain a slight insight into the depths of Sarkoja's hatred and
the lengths to which she was capable of going to wreak her horrid
vengeance on me.
Dejah Thoris would have none of me again on this evening, and though
I spoke her name she neither replied, nor conceded by so much as
the flutter of an eyelid that she realized my existence. In my
extremity I did what most other lovers would have done; I sought
word from her through an intimate. In this instance it was Sola
whom I intercepted in another part of camp.
"What is the matter with Dejah Thoris?" I blurted out at her.
"Why will she not speak to me?"
Sola seemed puzzled herself, as though such strange actions on
the part of two humans were quite beyond her, as indeed they were,
poor child.
"She says you have angered her, and that is all she will say, except
that she is the daughter of a jed and the granddaughter of a jeddak
and she has been humiliated by a creature who could not polish the
teeth of her grandmother's sorak."
I pondered over this report for some time, finally asking,
"What might a sorak be, Sola?"
"A little animal about as big as my hand, which the red
Martian women keep to play with," explained Sola.
Not fit to polish the teeth of her grandmother's cat! I must rank
pretty low in the consideration of Dejah Thoris, I thought; but I
could not help laughing at the strange figure of speech, so homely
and in this respect so earthly. It made me homesick, for it sounded
very much like "not fit to polish her shoes." And then commenced a
train of thought quite new to me. I began to wonder what my people
at home were doing. I had not seen them for years. There was a
family of Carters in Virginia who claimed close relationship with
me; I was supposed to be a great uncle, or something of the kind
equally foolish. I could pass anywhere for twenty-five to thirty
years of age, and to be a great uncle always seemed the height of
incongruity, for my thoughts and feelings were those of a boy.
There was two little kiddies in the Carter family whom I had loved
and who had thought there was no one on Earth like Uncle Jack; I
could see them just as plainly, as I stood there under the moonlit
skies of Barsoom, and I longed for them as I had never longed for
any mortals before. By nature a wanderer, I had never known the
true meaning of the word home, but the great hall of the Carters had
always stood for all that the word did mean to me, and now my heart
turned toward it from the cold and unfriendly peoples I had been
thrown amongst. For did not even Dejah Thoris despise me! I was a
low creature, so low in fact that I was not even fit to polish the
teeth of her grandmother's cat; and then my saving sense of humor
came to my rescue, and laughing I turned into my silks and furs and
slept upon the moon-haunted ground the sleep of a tired and healthy
fighting man.
We broke camp the next day at an early hour and marched with only
a single halt until just before dark. Two incidents broke the
tediousness of the march. About noon we espied far to our right
what was evidently an incubator, and Lorquas Ptomel directed Tars
Tarkas to investigate it. The latter took a dozen warriors,
including myself, and we raced across the velvety carpeting of
moss to the little enclosure.
It was indeed an incubator, but the eggs were very small in
comparison with those I had seen hatching in ours at the time
of my arrival on Mars.
Tars Tarkas dismounted and examined the enclosure minutely, finally
announcing that it belonged to the green men of Warhoon and that
the cement was scarcely dry where it had been walled up.
"They cannot be a day's march ahead of us," he exclaimed,
the light of battle leaping to his fierce face.
The work at the incubator was short indeed. The warriors tore open
the entrance and a couple of them, crawling in, soon demolished all
the eggs with their short-swords. Then remounting we dashed back
to join the cavalcade. During the ride I took occasion to ask Tars
Tarkas if these Warhoons whose eggs we had destroyed were a
smaller people than his Tharks.
"I noticed that their eggs were so much smaller than those
I saw hatching in your incubator," I added.
He explained that the eggs had just been placed there; but, like all
green Martian eggs, they would grow during the five-year period of
incubation until they obtained the size of those I had seen hatching
on the day of my arrival on Barsoom. This was indeed an interesting
piece of information, for it had always seemed remarkable to me that
the green Martian women, large as they were, could bring forth such
enormous eggs as I had seen the four-foot infants emerging from.
As a matter of fact, the new-laid egg is but little larger than
an ordinary goose egg, and as it does not commence to grow until
subjected to the light of the sun the chieftains have little
difficulty in transporting several hundreds of them at one time
from the storage vaults to the incubators.
Shortly after the incident of the Warhoon eggs we halted to rest the
animals, and it was during this halt that the second of the day's
interesting episodes occurred. I was engaged in changing my riding
cloths from one of my thoats to the other, for I divided the day's
work between them, when Zad approached me, and without a word struck
my animal a terrific blow with his long-sword.
I did not need a manual of green Martian etiquette to know what
reply to make, for, in fact, I was so wild with anger that I could
scarcely refrain from drawing my pistol and shooting him down for
the brute he was; but he stood waiting with drawn long-sword, and
my only choice was to draw my own and meet him in fair fight with
his choice of weapons or a lesser one.
This latter alternative is always permissible, therefore I could
have used my short-sword, my dagger, my hatchet, or my fists had
I wished, and been entirely within my rights, but I could not use
firearms or a spear while he held only his long-sword.
I chose the same weapon he had drawn because I knew he prided
himself upon his ability with it, and I wished, if I worsted him
at all, to do it with his own weapon. The fight that followed was
a long one and delayed the resumption of the march for an hour.
The entire community surrounded us, leaving a clear space about
one hundred feet in diameter for our battle.
Zad first attempted to rush me down as a bull might a wolf, but I
was much too quick for him, and each time I side-stepped his rushes
he would go lunging past me, only to receive a nick from my sword
upon his arm or back. He was soon streaming blood from a half
dozen minor wounds, but I could not obtain an opening to deliver an
effective thrust. Then he changed his tactics, and fighting warily
and with extreme dexterity, he tried to do by science what he
was unable to do by brute strength. I must admit that he was a
magnificent swordsman, and had it not been for my greater endurance
and the remarkable agility the lesser gravitation of Mars lent me
I might not have been able to put up the creditable fight I did
against him.
We circled for some time without doing much damage on either side;
the long, straight, needle-like swords flashing in the sunlight, and
ringing out upon the stillness as they crashed together with each
effective parry. Finally Zad, realizing that he was tiring more
than I, evidently decided to close in and end the battle in a final
blaze of glory for himself; just as he rushed me a blinding flash of
light struck full in my eyes, so that I could not see his approach
and could only leap blindly to one side in an effort to escape the
mighty blade that it seemed I could already feel in my vitals. I
was only partially successful, as a sharp pain in my left shoulder
attested, but in the sweep of my glance as I sought to again locate
my adversary, a sight met my astonished gaze which paid me well for
the wound the temporary blindness had caused me. There, upon Dejah
Thoris' chariot stood three figures, for the purpose evidently of
witnessing the encounter above the heads of the intervening Tharks.
There were Dejah Thoris, Sola, and Sarkoja, and as my fleeting
glance swept over them a little tableau was presented which will
stand graven in my memory to the day of my death.
As I looked, Dejah Thoris turned upon Sarkoja with the fury of a
young tigress and struck something from her upraised hand; something
which flashed in the sunlight as it spun to the ground. Then I knew
what had blinded me at that crucial moment of the fight, and how
Sarkoja had found a way to kill me without herself delivering the
final thrust. Another thing I saw, too, which almost lost my life
for me then and there, for it took my mind for the fraction of an
instant entirely from my antagonist; for, as Dejah Thoris struck the
tiny mirror from her hand, Sarkoja, her face livid with hatred and
baffled rage, whipped out her dagger and aimed a terrific blow at
Dejah Thoris; and then Sola, our dear and faithful Sola, sprang
between them; the last I saw was the great knife descending upon her
shielding breast.
My enemy had recovered from his thrust and was making it extremely
interesting for me, so I reluctantly gave my attention to the work
in hand, but my mind was not upon the battle.
We rushed each other furiously time after time, 'til suddenly,
feeling the sharp point of his sword at my breast in a thrust
I could neither parry nor escape, I threw myself upon him with
outstretched sword and with all the weight of my body, determined
that I would not die alone if I could prevent it. I felt the
steel tear into my chest, all went black before me, my head
whirled in dizziness, and I felt my knees giving beneath me.
CHAPTER XV
SOLA TELLS ME HER STORY
When consciousness returned, and, as I soon learned, I was down but
a moment, I sprang quickly to my feet searching for my sword, and
there I found it, buried to the hilt in the green breast of Zad, who
lay stone dead upon the ochre moss of the ancient sea bottom. As I
regained my full senses I found his weapon piercing my left breast,
but only through the flesh and muscles which cover my ribs, entering
near the center of my chest and coming out below the shoulder. As I
had lunged I had turned so that his sword merely passed beneath the
muscles, inflicting a painful but not dangerous wound.
Removing the blade from my body I also regained my own, and turning
my back upon his ugly carcass, I moved, sick, sore, and disgusted,
toward the chariots which bore my retinue and my belongings. A
murmur of Martian applause greeted me, but I cared not for it.
Bleeding and weak I reached my women, who, accustomed to such
happenings, dressed my wounds, applying the wonderful healing and
remedial agents which make only the most instantaneous of death
blows fatal. Give a Martian woman a chance and death must take a
back seat. They soon had me patched up so that, except for weakness
from loss of blood and a little soreness around the wound, I
suffered no great distress from this thrust which, under earthly
treatment, undoubtedly would have put me flat on my back for days.
As soon as they were through with me I hastened to the chariot of
Dejah Thoris, where I found my poor Sola with her chest swathed in
bandages, but apparently little the worse for her encounter with
Sarkoja, whose dagger it seemed had struck the edge of one of Sola's
metal breast ornaments and, thus deflected, had inflicted but a
slight flesh wound.
As I approached I found Dejah Thoris lying prone upon her silks
and furs, her lithe form wracked with sobs. She did not notice my
presence, nor did she hear me speaking with Sola, who was standing
a short distance from the vehicle.
"Is she injured?" I asked of Sola, indicating Dejah Thoris by an
inclination of my head.
"No," she answered, "she thinks that you are dead."
"And that her grandmother's cat may now have no one to polish its
teeth?" I queried, smiling.
"I think you wrong her, John Carter," said Sola. "I do not
understand either her ways or yours, but I am sure the granddaughter
of ten thousand jeddaks would never grieve like this over any who
held but the highest claim upon her affections. They are a proud
race, but they are just, as are all Barsoomians, and you must have
hurt or wronged her grievously that she will not admit your
existence living, though she mourns you dead.
"Tears are a strange sight upon Barsoom," she continued, "and so it
is difficult for me to interpret them. I have seen but two people
weep in all my life, other than Dejah Thoris; one wept from sorrow,
the other from baffled rage. The first was my mother, years ago
before they killed her; the other was Sarkoja, when they dragged
her from me today."
"Your mother!" I exclaimed, "but, Sola, you could not have known
your mother, child."
"But I did. And my father also," she added. "If you would like
to hear the strange and un-Barsoomian story come to the chariot
tonight, John Carter, and I will tell you that of which I have
never spoken in all my life before. And now the signal has been
given to resume the march, you must go."
"I will come tonight, Sola," I promised. "Be sure to tell Dejah
Thoris I am alive and well. I shall not force myself upon her,
and be sure that you do not let her know I saw her tears. If she
would speak with me I but await her command."
Sola mounted the chariot, which was swinging into its place
in line, and I hastened to my waiting thoat and galloped
to my station beside Tars Tarkas at the rear of the column.
We made a most imposing and awe-inspiring spectacle as we strung out
across the yellow landscape; the two hundred and fifty ornate and
brightly colored chariots, preceded by an advance guard of some two
hundred mounted warriors and chieftains riding five abreast and one
hundred yards apart, and followed by a like number in the same
formation, with a score or more of flankers on either side; the
fifty extra mastodons, or heavy draught animals, known as zitidars,
and the five or six hundred extra thoats of the warriors running
loose within the hollow square formed by the surrounding warriors.
The gleaming metal and jewels of the gorgeous ornaments of the men
and women, duplicated in the trappings of the zitidars and thoats,
and interspersed with the flashing colors of magnificent silks and
furs and feathers, lent a barbaric splendor to the caravan which
would have turned an East Indian potentate green with envy.
The enormous broad tires of the chariots and the padded feet of the
animals brought forth no sound from the moss-covered sea bottom; and
so we moved in utter silence, like some huge phantasmagoria, except
when the stillness was broken by the guttural growling of a goaded
zitidar, or the squealing of fighting thoats. The green Martians
converse but little, and then usually in monosyllables, low and
like the faint rumbling of distant thunder.
We traversed a trackless waste of moss which, bending to the
pressure of broad tire or padded foot, rose up again behind us,
leaving no sign that we had passed. We might indeed have been the
wraiths of the departed dead upon the dead sea of that dying planet
for all the sound or sign we made in passing. It was the first
march of a large body of men and animals I had ever witnessed which
raised no dust and left no spoor; for there is no dust upon Mars
except in the cultivated districts during the winter months, and
even then the absence of high winds renders it almost unnoticeable.
We camped that night at the foot of the hills we had been
approaching for two days and which marked the southern boundary of
this particular sea. Our animals had been two days without drink,
nor had they had water for nearly two months, not since shortly
after leaving Thark; but, as Tars Tarkas explained to me, they
require but little and can live almost indefinitely upon the moss
which covers Barsoom, and which, he told me, holds in its tiny stems
sufficient moisture to meet the limited demands of the animals.
After partaking of my evening meal of cheese-like food and vegetable
milk I sought out Sola, whom I found working by the light of a torch
upon some of Tars Tarkas' trappings. She looked up at my approach,
her face lighting with pleasure and with welcome.
"I am glad you came," she said; "Dejah Thoris sleeps and I am
lonely. Mine own people do not care for me, John Carter; I am too
unlike them. It is a sad fate, since I must live my life amongst
them, and I often wish that I were a true green Martian woman,
without love and without hope; but I have known love and so I
am lost.
"I promised to tell you my story, or rather the story of my parents.
From what I have learned of you and the ways of your people I am
sure that the tale will not seem strange to you, but among green
Martians it has no parallel within the memory of the oldest living
Thark, nor do our legends hold many similar tales.
"My mother was rather small, in fact too small to be allowed the
responsibilities of maternity, as our chieftains breed principally
for size. She was also less cold and cruel than most green Martian
women, and caring little for their society, she often roamed the
deserted avenues of Thark alone, or went and sat among the wild
flowers that deck the nearby hills, thinking thoughts and wishing
wishes which I believe I alone among Tharkian women today may
understand, for am I not the child of my mother?
"And there among the hills she met a young warrior, whose duty it
was to guard the feeding zitidars and thoats and see that they
roamed not beyond the hills. They spoke at first only of such
things as interest a community of Tharks, but gradually, as they
came to meet more often, and, as was now quite evident to both, no
longer by chance, they talked about themselves, their likes, their
ambitions and their hopes. She trusted him and told him of the
awful repugnance she felt for the cruelties of their kind, for the
hideous, loveless lives they must ever lead, and then she waited
for the storm of denunciation to break from his cold, hard lips;
but instead he took her in his arms and kissed her.
"They kept their love a secret for six long years. She, my mother,
was of the retinue of the great Tal Hajus, while her lover was a
simple warrior, wearing only his own metal. Had their defection
from the traditions of the Tharks been discovered both would have
paid the penalty in the great arena before Tal Hajus and the
assembled hordes.
"The egg from which I came was hidden beneath a great glass vessel
upon the highest and most inaccessible of the partially ruined
towers of ancient Thark. Once each year my mother visited it for
the five long years it lay there in the process of incubation. She
dared not come oftener, for in the mighty guilt of her conscience
she feared that her every move was watched. During this period
my father gained great distinction as a warrior and had taken the
metal from several chieftains. His love for my mother had never
diminished, and his own ambition in life was to reach a point where
he might wrest the metal from Tal Hajus himself, and thus, as ruler
of the Tharks, be free to claim her as his own, as well as, by the
might of his power, protect the child which otherwise would be
quickly dispatched should the truth become known.
"It was a wild dream, that of wresting the metal from Tal Hajus in
five short years, but his advance was rapid, and he soon stood high
in the councils of Thark. But one day the chance was lost forever,
in so far as it could come in time to save his loved ones, for he
was ordered away upon a long expedition to the ice-clad south, to
make war upon the natives there and despoil them of their furs, for
such is the manner of the green Barsoomian; he does not labor for
what he can wrest in battle from others.
"He was gone for four years, and when he returned all had been over
for three; for about a year after his departure, and shortly before
the time for the return of an expedition which had gone forth to
fetch the fruits of a community incubator, the egg had hatched.
Thereafter my mother continued to keep me in the old tower, visiting
me nightly and lavishing upon me the love the community life
would have robbed us both of. She hoped, upon the return of the
expedition from the incubator, to mix me with the other young
assigned to the quarters of Tal Hajus, and thus escape the fate
which would surely follow discovery of her sin against the ancient
traditions of the green men.
"She taught me rapidly the language and customs of my kind, and one
night she told me the story I have told to you up to this point,
impressing upon me the necessity for absolute secrecy and the great
caution I must exercise after she had placed me with the other young
Tharks to permit no one to guess that I was further advanced in
education than they, nor by any sign to divulge in the presence of
others my affection for her, or my knowledge of my parentage; and
then drawing me close to her she whispered in my ear the name of
my father.
"And then a light flashed out upon the darkness of the tower
chamber, and there stood Sarkoja, her gleaming, baleful eyes fixed
in a frenzy of loathing and contempt upon my mother. The torrent of
hatred and abuse she poured out upon her turned my young heart cold
in terror. That she had heard the entire story was apparent, and
that she had suspected something wrong from my mother's long nightly
absences from her quarters accounted for her presence there on that
fateful night.
"One thing she had not heard, nor did she know, the whispered name
of my father. This was apparent from her repeated demands upon my
mother to disclose the name of her partner in sin, but no amount of
abuse or threats could wring this from her, and to save me from
needless torture she lied, for she told Sarkoja that she alone
knew nor would she even tell her child.
"With final imprecations, Sarkoja hastened away to Tal Hajus to
report her discovery, and while she was gone my mother, wrapping me
in the silks and furs of her night coverings, so that I was scarcely
noticeable, descended to the streets and ran wildly away toward the
outskirts of the city, in the direction which led to the far south,
out toward the man whose protection she might not claim, but on
whose face she wished to look once more before she died.
"As we neared the city's southern extremity a sound came to us from
across the mossy flat, from the direction of the only pass through
the hills which led to the gates, the pass by which caravans from
either north or south or east or west would enter the city. The
sounds we heard were the squealing of thoats and the grumbling of
zitidars, with the occasional clank of arms which announced the
approach of a body of warriors. The thought uppermost in her mind
was that it was my father returned from his expedition, but the
cunning of the Thark held her from headlong and precipitate flight
to greet him.
"Retreating into the shadows of a doorway she awaited the coming
of the cavalcade which shortly entered the avenue, breaking its
formation and thronging the thoroughfare from wall to wall. As the
head of the procession passed us the lesser moon swung clear of the
overhanging roofs and lit up the scene with all the brilliancy of
her wondrous light. My mother shrank further back into the friendly
shadows, and from her hiding place saw that the expedition was not
that of my father, but the returning caravan bearing the young
Tharks. Instantly her plan was formed, and as a great chariot
swung close to our hiding place she slipped stealthily in upon the
trailing tailboard, crouching low in the shadow of the high side,
straining me to her bosom in a frenzy of love.
"She knew, what I did not, that never again after that night would
she hold me to her breast, nor was it likely we would ever look upon
each other's face again. In the confusion of the plaza she mixed me
with the other children, whose guardians during the journey were now
free to relinquish their responsibility. We were herded together
into a great room, fed by women who had not accompanied the
expedition, and the next day we were parceled out among the
retinues of the chieftains.
"I never saw my mother after that night. She was imprisoned by Tal
Hajus, and every effort, including the most horrible and shameful
torture, was brought to bear upon her to wring from her lips the
name of my father; but she remained steadfast and loyal, dying at
last amidst the laughter of Tal Hajus and his chieftains during
some awful torture she was undergoing.
"I learned afterwards that she told them that she had killed me to
save me from a like fate at their hands, and that she had thrown my
body to the white apes. Sarkoja alone disbelieved her, and I feel
to this day that she suspects my true origin, but does not dare
expose me, at the present, at all events, because she also guesses,
I am sure, the identity of my father.
"When he returned from his expedition and learned the story of my
mother's fate I was present as Tal Hajus told him; but never by the
quiver of a muscle did he betray the slightest emotion; only he did
not laugh as Tal Hajus gleefully described her death struggles.
From that moment on he was the cruelest of the cruel, and I am
awaiting the day when he shall win the goal of his ambition, and
feel the carcass of Tal Hajus beneath his foot, for I am as sure
that he but waits the opportunity to wreak a terrible vengeance,
and that his great love is as strong in his breast as when it first
transfigured him nearly forty years ago, as I am that we sit here
upon the edge of a world-old ocean while sensible people sleep,
John Carter."
"And your father, Sola, is he with us now?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied, "but he does not know me for what I am, nor
does he know who betrayed my mother to Tal Hajus. I alone know my
father's name, and only I and Tal Hajus and Sarkoja know that it
was she who carried the tale that brought death and torture upon
her he loved."
We sat silent for a few moments, she wrapped in the gloomy thoughts
of her terrible past, and I in pity for the poor creatures whom the
heartless, senseless customs of their race had doomed to loveless
lives of cruelty and of hate. Presently she spoke.
"John Carter, if ever a real man walked the cold, dead bosom of
Barsoom you are one. I know that I can trust you, and because the
knowledge may someday help you or him or Dejah Thoris or myself,
I am going to tell you the name of my father, nor place any
restrictions or conditions upon your tongue. When the time comes,
speak the truth if it seems best to you. I trust you because I
know that you are not cursed with the terrible trait of absolute
and unswerving truthfulness, that you could lie like one of your
own Virginia gentlemen if a lie would save others from sorrow or
suffering. My father's name is Tars Tarkas."
CHAPTER XVI
WE PLAN ESCAPE
The remainder of our journey to Thark was uneventful. We were
twenty days upon the road, crossing two sea bottoms and passing
through or around a number of ruined cities, mostly smaller than
Korad. Twice we crossed the famous Martian waterways, or canals,
so-called by our earthly astronomers. When we approached these
points a warrior would be sent far ahead with a powerful field
glass, and if no great body of red Martian troops was in sight we
would advance as close as possible without chance of being seen and
then camp until dark, when we would slowly approach the cultivated
tract, and, locating one of the numerous, broad highways which cross
these areas at regular intervals, creep silently and stealthily
across to the arid lands upon the other side. It required five
hours to make one of these crossings without a single halt, and the
other consumed the entire night, so that we were just leaving the
confines of the high-walled fields when the sun broke out upon us.
Crossing in the darkness, as we did, I was unable to see but little,
except as the nearer moon, in her wild and ceaseless hurtling
through the Barsoomian heavens, lit up little patches of the
landscape from time to time, disclosing walled fields and low,
rambling buildings, presenting much the appearance of earthly farms.
There were many trees, methodically arranged, and some of them were
of enormous height; there were animals in some of the enclosures,
and they announced their presence by terrified squealings and
snortings as they scented our queer, wild beasts and wilder human
beings.
Only once did I perceive a human being, and that was at the
intersection of our crossroad with the wide, white turnpike which
cuts each cultivated district longitudinally at its exact center.
The fellow must have been sleeping beside the road, for, as I came
abreast of him, he raised upon one elbow and after a single glance
at the approaching caravan leaped shrieking to his feet and fled
madly down the road, scaling a nearby wall with the agility of a
scared cat. The Tharks paid him not the slightest attention; they
were not out upon the warpath, and the only sign that I had that
they had seen him was a quickening of the pace of the caravan as we
hastened toward the bordering desert which marked our entrance into
the realm of Tal Hajus.
Not once did I have speech with Dejah Thoris, as she sent no word to
me that I would be welcome at her chariot, and my foolish pride kept
me from making any advances. I verily believe that a man's way with
women is in inverse ratio to his prowess among men. The weakling
and the saphead have often great ability to charm the fair sex,
while the fighting man who can face a thousand real dangers
unafraid, sits hiding in the shadows like some frightened child.
Just thirty days after my advent upon Barsoom we entered the ancient
city of Thark, from whose long-forgotten people this horde of green
men have stolen even their name. The hordes of Thark number some
thirty thousand souls, and are divided into twenty-five communities.
Each community has its own jed and lesser chieftains, but all are
under the rule of Tal Hajus, Jeddak of Thark. Five communities
make their headquarters at the city of Thark, and the balance are
scattered among other deserted cities of ancient Mars throughout
the district claimed by Tal Hajus.
We made our entry into the great central plaza early in the
afternoon. There were no enthusiastic friendly greetings for the
returned expedition. Those who chanced to be in sight spoke the
names of warriors or women with whom they came in direct contact,
in the formal greeting of their kind, but when it was discovered
that they brought two captives a greater interest was aroused,
and Dejah Thoris and I were the centers of inquiring groups.
We were soon assigned to new quarters, and the balance of the day
was devoted to settling ourselves to the changed conditions. My
home now was upon an avenue leading into the plaza from the south,
the main artery down which we had marched from the gates of the
city. I was at the far end of the square and had an entire
building to myself. The same grandeur of architecture which was
so noticeable a characteristic of Korad was in evidence here, only,
if that were possible, on a larger and richer scale. My quarters
would have been suitable for housing the greatest of earthly
emperors, but to these queer creatures nothing about a building
appealed to them but its size and the enormity of its chambers; the
larger the building, the more desirable; and so Tal Hajus occupied
what must have been an enormous public building, the largest in the
city, but entirely unfitted for residence purposes; the next largest
was reserved for Lorquas Ptomel, the next for the jed of a lesser
rank, and so on to the bottom of the list of five jeds. The
warriors occupied the buildings with the chieftains to whose
retinues they belonged; or, if they preferred, sought shelter among
any of the thousands of untenanted buildings in their own quarter of
town; each community being assigned a certain section of the city.
The selection of building had to be made in accordance with these
divisions, except in so far as the jeds were concerned, they all
occupying edifices which fronted upon the plaza.
When I had finally put my house in order, or rather seen that it
had been done, it was nearing sunset, and I hastened out with the
intention of locating Sola and her charges, as I had determined
upon having speech with Dejah Thoris and trying to impress on her
the necessity of our at least patching up a truce until I could
find some way of aiding her to escape. I searched in vain until
the upper rim of the great red sun was just disappearing behind
the horizon and then I spied the ugly head of Woola peering from
a second-story window on the opposite side of the very street
where I was quartered, but nearer the plaza.
Without waiting for a further invitation I bolted up the winding
runway which led to the second floor, and entering a great chamber
at the front of the building was greeted by the frenzied Woola, who
threw his great carcass upon me, nearly hurling me to the floor; the
poor old fellow was so glad to see me that I thought he would devour
me, his head split from ear to ear, showing his three rows of tusks
in his hobgoblin smile.
Quieting him with a word of command and a caress, I looked hurriedly
through the approaching gloom for a sign of Dejah Thoris, and then,
not seeing her, I called her name. There was an answering murmur
from the far corner of the apartment, and with a couple of quick
strides I was standing beside her where she crouched among the furs
and silks upon an ancient carved wooden seat. As I waited she rose
to her full height and looking me straight in the eye said:
"What would Dotar Sojat, Thark, of Dejah Thoris his captive?"
"Dejah Thoris, I do not know how I have angered you. It was
furtherest from my desire to hurt or offend you, whom I had hoped
to protect and comfort. Have none of me if it is your will, but
that you must aid me in effecting your escape, if such a thing be
possible, is not my request, but my command. When you are safe
once more at your father's court you may do with me as you please,
but from now on until that day I am your master, and you must obey
and aid me."
She looked at me long and earnestly and I thought that she was
softening toward me.
"I understand your words, Dotar Sojat," she replied, "but you I do
not understand. You are a queer mixture of child and man, of brute
and noble. I only wish that I might read your heart."
"Look down at your feet, Dejah Thoris; it lies there now where it
has lain since that other night at Korad, and where it will ever lie
beating alone for you until death stills it forever."
She took a little step toward me, her beautiful hands outstretched
in a strange, groping gesture.
"What do you mean, John Carter?" she whispered. "What are you
saying to me?"
"I am saying what I had promised myself that I would not say to you,
at least until you were no longer a captive among the green men;
what from your attitude toward me for the past twenty days I had
thought never to say to you; I am saying, Dejah Thoris, that I am
yours, body and soul, to serve you, to fight for you, and to die for
you. Only one thing I ask of you in return, and that is that you
make no sign, either of condemnation or of approbation of my words
until you are safe among your own people, and that whatever
sentiments you harbor toward me they be not influenced or colored
by gratitude; whatever I may do to serve you will be prompted
solely from selfish motives, since it gives me more pleasure to
serve you than not."
"I will respect your wishes, John Carter, because I understand
the motives which prompt them, and I accept your service no more
willingly than I bow to your authority; your word shall be my
law. I have twice wronged you in my thoughts and again I ask
your forgiveness."
Further conversation of a personal nature was prevented by the
entrance of Sola, who was much agitated and wholly unlike her
usual calm and possessed self.
"That horrible Sarkoja has been before Tal Hajus," she cried, "and
from what I heard upon the plaza there is little hope for either of
you."
"What do they say?" inquired Dejah Thoris.
"That you will be thrown to the wild calots [dogs] in the great
arena as soon as the hordes have assembled for the yearly games."
"Sola," I said, "you are a Thark, but you hate and loathe the
customs of your people as much as we do. Will you not accompany us
in one supreme effort to escape? I am sure that Dejah Thoris can
offer you a home and protection among her people, and your fate
can be no worse among them than it must ever be here."
"Yes," cried Dejah Thoris, "come with us, Sola, you will be better
off among the red men of Helium than you are here, and I can promise
you not only a home with us, but the love and affection your nature
craves and which must always be denied you by the customs of your
own race. Come with us, Sola; we might go without you, but your
fate would be terrible if they thought you had connived to aid us.
I know that even that fear would not tempt you to interfere in our
escape, but we want you with us, we want you to come to a land of
sunshine and happiness, amongst a people who know the meaning of
love, of sympathy, and of gratitude. Say that you will, Sola;
tell me that you will."
"The great waterway which leads to Helium is but fifty miles to the
south," murmured Sola, half to herself; "a swift thoat might make it
in three hours; and then to Helium it is five hundred miles, most of
the way through thinly settled districts. They would know and they
would follow us. We might hide among the great trees for a time,
but the chances are small indeed for escape. They would follow us
to the very gates of Helium, and they would take toll of life at
every step; you do not know them."
"Is there no other way we might reach Helium?" I asked. "Can you not
draw me a rough map of the country we must traverse, Dejah Thoris?"
"Yes," she replied, and taking a great diamond from her hair she
drew upon the marble floor the first map of Barsoomian territory I
had ever seen. It was crisscrossed in every direction with long
straight lines, sometimes running parallel and sometimes converging
toward some great circle. The lines, she said, were waterways; the
circles, cities; and one far to the northwest of us she pointed out
as Helium. There were other cities closer, but she said she feared
to enter many of them, as they were not all friendly toward Helium.
Finally, after studying the map carefully in the moonlight which
now flooded the room, I pointed out a waterway far to the north of
us which also seemed to lead to Helium.
"Does not this pierce your grandfather's territory?" I asked.
"Yes," she answered, "but it is two hundred miles north of us;
it is one of the waterways we crossed on the trip to Thark."
"They would never suspect that we would try for that distant
waterway," I answered, "and that is why I think that it is the
best route for our escape."
Sola agreed with me, and it was decided that we should leave Thark
this same night; just as quickly, in fact, as I could find and
saddle my thoats. Sola was to ride one and Dejah Thoris and I the
other; each of us carrying sufficient food and drink to last us for
two days, since the animals could not be urged too rapidly for so
long a distance.
I directed Sola to proceed with Dejah Thoris along one of the less
frequented avenues to the southern boundary of the city, where I
would overtake them with the thoats as quickly as possible; then,
leaving them to gather what food, silks, and furs we were to need,
I slipped quietly to the rear of the first floor, and entered the
courtyard, where our animals were moving restlessly about, as was
their habit, before settling down for the night.
In the shadows of the buildings and out beneath the radiance of the
Martian moons moved the great herd of thoats and zitidars, the
latter grunting their low gutturals and the former occasionally
emitting the sharp squeal which denotes the almost habitual state
of rage in which these creatures passed their existence. They were
quieter now, owing to the absence of man, but as they scented me
they became more restless and their hideous noise increased. It
was risky business, this entering a paddock of thoats alone and at
night; first, because their increasing noisiness might warn the
nearby warriors that something was amiss, and also because for the
slightest cause, or for no cause at all some great bull thoat might
take it upon himself to lead a charge upon me.
Having no desire to awaken their nasty tempers upon such a night as
this, where so much depended upon secrecy and dispatch, I hugged the
shadows of the buildings, ready at an instant's warning to leap into
the safety of a nearby door or window. Thus I moved silently to the
great gates which opened upon the street at the back of the court,
and as I neared the exit I called softly to my two animals. How I
thanked the kind providence which had given me the foresight to win
the love and confidence of these wild dumb brutes, for presently
from the far side of the court I saw two huge bulks forcing their
way toward me through the surging mountains of flesh.
They came quite close to me, rubbing their muzzles against my body
and nosing for the bits of food it was always my practice to reward
them with. Opening the gates I ordered the two great beasts to pass
out, and then slipping quietly after them I closed the portals
behind me.
I did not saddle or mount the animals there, but instead walked
quietly in the shadows of the buildings toward an unfrequented
avenue which led toward the point I had arranged to meet Dejah
Thoris and Sola. With the noiselessness of disembodied spirits
we moved stealthily along the deserted streets, but not until we
were within sight of the plain beyond the city did I commence to
breathe freely. I was sure that Sola and Dejah Thoris would find
no difficulty in reaching our rendezvous undetected, but with my
great thoats I was not so sure for myself, as it was quite unusual
for warriors to leave the city after dark; in fact there was no
place for them to go within any but a long ride.
I reached the appointed meeting place safely, but as Dejah Thoris
and Sola were not there I led my animals into the entrance hall of
one of the large buildings. Presuming that one of the other women
of the same household may have come in to speak to Sola, and so
delayed their departure, I did not feel any undue apprehension until
nearly an hour had passed without a sign of them, and by the time
another half hour had crawled away I was becoming filled with grave
anxiety. Then there broke upon the stillness of the night the sound
of an approaching party, which, from the noise, I knew could be no
fugitives creeping stealthily toward liberty. Soon the party was
near me, and from the black shadows of my entranceway I perceived
a score of mounted warriors, who, in passing, dropped a dozen
words that fetched my heart clean into the top of my head.
"He would likely have arranged to meet them just without the city,
and so--" I heard no more, they had passed on; but it was enough.
Our plan had been discovered, and the chances for escape from now
on to the fearful end would be small indeed. My one hope now was
to return undetected to the quarters of Dejah Thoris and learn what
fate had overtaken her, but how to do it with these great monstrous
thoats upon my hands, now that the city probably was aroused by the
knowledge of my escape was a problem of no mean proportions.
Suddenly an idea occurred to me, and acting on my knowledge of the
construction of the buildings of these ancient Martian cities with
a hollow court within the center of each square, I groped my way
blindly through the dark chambers, calling the great thoats after
me. They had difficulty in negotiating some of the doorways, but
as the buildings fronting the city's principal exposures were all
designed upon a magnificent scale, they were able to wriggle through
without sticking fast; and thus we finally made the inner court
where I found, as I had expected, the usual carpet of moss-like
vegetation which would prove their food and drink until I could
return them to their own enclosure. That they would be as quiet
and contented here as elsewhere I was confident, nor was there but
the remotest possibility that they would be discovered, as the
green men had no great desire to enter these outlying buildings,
which were frequented by the only thing, I believe, which caused
them the sensation of fear--the great white apes of Barsoom.
Removing the saddle trappings, I hid them just within the rear
doorway of the building through which we had entered the court, and,
turning the beasts loose, quickly made my way across the court to
the rear of the buildings upon the further side, and thence to the
avenue beyond. Waiting in the doorway of the building until I was
assured that no one was approaching, I hurried across to the
opposite side and through the first doorway to the court beyond;
thus, crossing through court after court with only the slight chance
of detection which the necessary crossing of the avenues entailed,
I made my way in safety to the courtyard in the rear of Dejah
Thoris' quarters.
Here, of course, I found the beasts of the warriors who quartered in
the adjacent buildings, and the warriors themselves I might expect
to meet within if I entered; but, fortunately for me, I had another
and safer method of reaching the upper story where Dejah Thoris
should be found, and, after first determining as nearly as possible
which of the buildings she occupied, for I had never observed them
before from the court side, I took advantage of my relatively great
strength and agility and sprang upward until I grasped the sill of
a second-story window which I thought to be in the rear of her
apartment. Drawing myself inside the room I moved stealthily toward
the front of the building, and not until I had quite reached the
doorway of her room was I made aware by voices that it was occupied.
I did not rush headlong in, but listened without to assure myself
that it was Dejah Thoris and that it was safe to venture within. It
was well indeed that I took this precaution, for the conversation I
heard was in the low gutturals of men, and the words which finally
came to me proved a most timely warning. The speaker was a
chieftain and he was giving orders to four of his warriors.
"And when he returns to this chamber," he was saying, "as he surely
will when he finds she does not meet him at the city's edge, you
four are to spring upon him and disarm him. It will require the
combined strength of all of you to do it if the reports they bring
back from Korad are correct. When you have him fast bound bear him
to the vaults beneath the jeddak's quarters and chain him securely
where he may be found when Tal Hajus wishes him. Allow him to speak
with none, nor permit any other to enter this apartment before he
comes. There will be no danger of the girl returning, for by this
time she is safe in the arms of Tal Hajus, and may all her ancestors
have pity upon her, for Tal Hajus will have none; the great Sarkoja
has done a noble night's work. I go, and if you fail to capture him
when he comes, I commend your carcasses to the cold bosom of Iss."
CHAPTER XVII
A COSTLY RECAPTURE
As the speaker ceased he turned to leave the apartment by the door
where I was standing, but I needed to wait no longer; I had heard
enough to fill my soul with dread, and stealing quietly away I
returned to the courtyard by the way I had come. My plan of action
was formed upon the instant, and crossing the square and the
bordering avenue upon the opposite side I soon stood within the
courtyard of Tal Hajus.
The brilliantly lighted apartments of the first floor told me where
first to seek, and advancing to the windows I peered within. I
soon discovered that my approach was not to be the easy thing I
had hoped, for the rear rooms bordering the court were filled
with warriors and women. I then glanced up at the stories above,
discovering that the third was apparently unlighted, and so decided
to make my entrance to the building from that point. It was the
work of but a moment for me to reach the windows above, and soon
I had drawn myself within the sheltering shadows of the unlighted
third floor.
Fortunately the room I had selected was untenanted, and creeping
noiselessly to the corridor beyond I discovered a light in the
apartments ahead of me. Reaching what appeared to be a doorway I
discovered that it was but an opening upon an immense inner chamber
which towered from the first floor, two stories below me, to the
dome-like roof of the building, high above my head. The floor of
this great circular hall was thronged with chieftains, warriors
and women, and at one end was a great raised platform upon which
squatted the most hideous beast I had ever put my eyes upon. He had
all the cold, hard, cruel, terrible features of the green warriors,
but accentuated and debased by the animal passions to which he had
given himself over for many years. There was not a mark of dignity
or pride upon his bestial countenance, while his enormous bulk
spread itself out upon the platform where he squatted like some huge
devil fish, his six limbs accentuating the similarity in a horrible
and startling manner.
But the sight that froze me with apprehension was that of Dejah
Thoris and Sola standing there before him, and the fiendish leer of
him as he let his great protruding eyes gloat upon the lines of her
beautiful figure. She was speaking, but I could not hear what she
said, nor could I make out the low grumbling of his reply. She
stood there erect before him, her head high held, and even at the
distance I was from them I could read the scorn and disgust upon her
face as she let her haughty glance rest without sign of fear upon
him. She was indeed the proud daughter of a thousand jeddaks, every
inch of her dear, precious little body; so small, so frail beside
the towering warriors around her, but in her majesty dwarfing them
into insignificance; she was the mightiest figure among them and I
verily believe that they felt it.
Presently Tal Hajus made a sign that the chamber be cleared, and
that the prisoners be left alone before him. Slowly the chieftains,
the warriors and the women melted away into the shadows of the
surrounding chambers, and Dejah Thoris and Sola stood alone before
the jeddak of the Tharks.
One chieftain alone had hesitated before departing; I saw him
standing in the shadows of a mighty column, his fingers nervously
toying with the hilt of his great-sword and his cruel eyes bent in
implacable hatred upon Tal Hajus. It was Tars Tarkas, and I could
read his thoughts as they were an open book for the undisguised
loathing upon his face. He was thinking of that other woman who,
forty years ago, had stood before this beast, and could I have
spoken a word into his ear at that moment the reign of Tal Hajus
would have been over; but finally he also strode from the room,
not knowing that he left his own daughter at the mercy of the
creature he most loathed.
Tal Hajus arose, and I, half fearing, half anticipating his
intentions, hurried to the winding runway which led to the floors
below. No one was near to intercept me, and I reached the main
floor of the chamber unobserved, taking my station in the shadow
of the same column that Tars Tarkas had but just deserted. As I
reached the floor Tal Hajus was speaking.
"Princess of Helium, I might wring a mighty ransom from your people
would I but return you to them unharmed, but a thousand times rather
would I watch that beautiful face writhe in the agony of torture; it
shall be long drawn out, that I promise you; ten days of pleasure
were all too short to show the love I harbor for your race. The
terrors of your death shall haunt the slumbers of the red men
through all the ages to come; they will shudder in the shadows of
the night as their fathers tell them of the awful vengeance of the
green men; of the power and might and hate and cruelty of Tal Hajus.
But before the torture you shall be mine for one short hour, and
word of that too shall go forth to Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium,
your grandfather, that he may grovel upon the ground in the agony of
his sorrow. Tomorrow the torture will commence; tonight thou art Tal
Hajus'; come!"
He sprang down from the platform and grasped her roughly by the arm,
but scarcely had he touched her than I leaped between them. My
short-sword, sharp and gleaming was in my right hand; I could have
plunged it into his putrid heart before he realized that I was upon
him; but as I raised my arm to strike I thought of Tars Tarkas, and,
with all my rage, with all my hatred, I could not rob him of that
sweet moment for which he had lived and hoped all these long, weary
years, and so, instead, I swung my good right fist full upon the
point of his jaw. Without a sound he slipped to the floor as one
dead.
In the same deathly silence I grasped Dejah Thoris by the hand, and
motioning Sola to follow we sped noiselessly from the chamber and
to the floor above. Unseen we reached a rear window and with the
straps and leather of my trappings I lowered, first Sola and then
Dejah Thoris to the ground below. Dropping lightly after them I
drew them rapidly around the court in the shadows of the buildings,
and thus we returned over the same course I had so recently
followed from the distant boundary of the city.
We finally came upon my thoats in the courtyard where I had left
them, and placing the trappings upon them we hastened through the
building to the avenue beyond. Mounting, Sola upon one beast,
and Dejah Thoris behind me upon the other, we rode from the city
of Thark through the hills to the south.
Instead of circling back around the city to the northwest and toward
the nearest waterway which lay so short a distance from us, we
turned to the northeast and struck out upon the mossy waste across
which, for two hundred dangerous and weary miles, lay another main
artery leading to Helium.
No word was spoken until we had left the city far behind, but I
could hear the quiet sobbing of Dejah Thoris as she clung to me
with her dear head resting against my shoulder.
"If we make it, my chieftain, the debt of Helium will be a mighty
one; greater than she can ever pay you; and should we not make it,"
she continued, "the debt is no less, though Helium will never know,
for you have saved the last of our line from worse than death."
I did not answer, but instead reached to my side and pressed the
little fingers of her I loved where they clung to me for support,
and then, in unbroken silence, we sped over the yellow, moonlit
moss; each of us occupied with his own thoughts. For my part I
could not be other than joyful had I tried, with Dejah Thoris' warm
body pressed close to mine, and with all our unpassed danger my
heart was singing as gaily as though we were already entering the
gates of Helium.
Our earlier plans had been so sadly upset that we now found
ourselves without food or drink, and I alone was armed. We
therefore urged our beasts to a speed that must tell on them
sorely before we could hope to sight the ending of the first
stage of our journey.
We rode all night and all the following day with only a few short
rests. On the second night both we and our animals were completely
fagged, and so we lay down upon the moss and slept for some five or
six hours, taking up the journey once more before daylight. All
the following day we rode, and when, late in the afternoon we had
sighted no distant trees, the mark of the great waterways throughout
all Barsoom, the terrible truth flashed upon us--we were lost.
Evidently we had circled, but which way it was difficult to say,
nor did it seem possible with the sun to guide us by day and the
moons and stars by night. At any rate no waterway was in sight,
and the entire party was almost ready to drop from hunger, thirst
and fatigue. Far ahead of us and a trifle to the right we could
distinguish the outlines of low mountains. These we decided to
attempt to reach in the hope that from some ridge we might discern
the missing waterway. Night fell upon us before we reached our goal,
and, almost fainting from weariness and weakness, we lay down and
slept.
I was awakened early in the morning by some huge body pressing close
to mine, and opening my eyes with a start I beheld my blessed old
Woola snuggling close to me; the faithful brute had followed us
across that trackless waste to share our fate, whatever it might be.
Putting my arms about his neck I pressed my cheek close to his, nor
am I ashamed that I did it, nor of the tears that came to my eyes as
I thought of his love for me. Shortly after this Dejah Thoris and
Sola awakened, and it was decided that we push on at once in an
effort to gain the hills.
We had gone scarcely a mile when I noticed that my thoat was
commencing to stumble and stagger in a most pitiful manner, although
we had not attempted to force them out of a walk since about noon
of the preceding day. Suddenly he lurched wildly to one side and
pitched violently to the ground. Dejah Thoris and I were thrown
clear of him and fell upon the soft moss with scarcely a jar; but
the poor beast was in a pitiable condition, not even being able
to rise, although relieved of our weight. Sola told me that the
coolness of the night, when it fell, together with the rest would
doubtless revive him, and so I decided not to kill him, as was my
first intention, as I had thought it cruel to leave him alone there
to die of hunger and thirst. Relieving him of his trappings, which
I flung down beside him, we left the poor fellow to his fate, and
pushed on with the one thoat as best we could. Sola and I walked,
making Dejah Thoris ride, much against her will. In this way we had
progressed to within about a mile of the hills we were endeavoring
to reach when Dejah Thoris, from her point of vantage upon the
thoat, cried out that she saw a great party of mounted men filing
down from a pass in the hills several miles away. Sola and I
both looked in the direction she indicated, and there, plainly
discernible, were several hundred mounted warriors. They seemed to
be headed in a southwesterly direction, which would take them away
from us.
They doubtless were Thark warriors who had been sent out to capture
us, and we breathed a great sigh of relief that they were traveling
in the opposite direction. Quickly lifting Dejah Thoris from the
thoat, I commanded the animal to lie down and we three did the same,
presenting as small an object as possible for fear of attracting
the attention of the warriors toward us.
We could see them as they filed out of the pass, just for an
instant, before they were lost to view behind a friendly ridge; to
us a most providential ridge; since, had they been in view for any
great length of time, they scarcely could have failed to discover
us. As what proved to be the last warrior came into view from the
pass, he halted and, to our consternation, threw his small but
powerful fieldglass to his eye and scanned the sea bottom in all
directions. Evidently he was a chieftain, for in certain marching
formations among the green men a chieftain brings up the extreme
rear of the column. As his glass swung toward us our hearts stopped
in our breasts, and I could feel the cold sweat start from every
pore in my body.
Presently it swung full upon us and--stopped. The tension on
our nerves was near the breaking point, and I doubt if any of us
breathed for the few moments he held us covered by his glass; and
then he lowered it and we could see him shout a command to the
warriors who had passed from our sight behind the ridge. He did
not wait for them to join him, however, instead he wheeled his
thoat and came tearing madly in our direction.
There was but one slight chance and that we must take quickly.
Raising my strange Martian rifle to my shoulder I sighted and
touched the button which controlled the trigger; there was a
sharp explosion as the missile reached its goal, and the
charging chieftain pitched backward from his flying mount.
Springing to my feet I urged the thoat to rise, and directed Sola
to take Dejah Thoris with her upon him and make a mighty effort to
reach the hills before the green warriors were upon us. I knew that
in the ravines and gullies they might find a temporary hiding place,
and even though they died there of hunger and thirst it would be
better so than that they fell into the hands of the Tharks. Forcing
my two revolvers upon them as a slight means of protection, and, as
a last resort, as an escape for themselves from the horrid death
which recapture would surely mean, I lifted Dejah Thoris in my arms
and placed her upon the thoat behind Sola, who had already mounted
at my command.
"Good-bye, my princess," I whispered, "we may meet in Helium yet.
I have escaped from worse plights than this," and I tried to smile
as I lied.
"What," she cried, "are you not coming with us?"
"How may I, Dejah Thoris? Someone must hold these fellows off for a
while, and I can better escape them alone than could the three of us
together."
She sprang quickly from the thoat and, throwing her dear arms about
my neck, turned to Sola, saying with quiet dignity: "Fly, Sola!
Dejah Thoris remains to die with the man she loves."
Those words are engraved upon my heart. Ah, gladly would I give
up my life a thousand times could I only hear them once again; but
I could not then give even a second to the rapture of her sweet
embrace, and pressing my lips to hers for the first time, I picked
her up bodily and tossed her to her seat behind Sola again,
commanding the latter in peremptory tones to hold her there by
force, and then, slapping the thoat upon the flank, I saw them
borne away; Dejah Thoris struggling to the last to free herself
from Sola's grasp.
Turning, I beheld the green warriors mounting the ridge and looking
for their chieftain. In a moment they saw him, and then me; but
scarcely had they discovered me than I commenced firing, lying flat
upon my belly in the moss. I had an even hundred rounds in the
magazine of my rifle, and another hundred in the belt at my back,
and I kept up a continuous stream of fire until I saw all of the
warriors who had been first to return from behind the ridge either
dead or scurrying to cover.
My respite was short-lived however, for soon the entire party,
numbering some thousand men, came charging into view, racing madly
toward me. I fired until my rifle was empty and they were almost
upon me, and then a glance showing me that Dejah Thoris and Sola had
disappeared among the hills, I sprang up, throwing down my useless
gun, and started away in the direction opposite to that taken by
Sola and her charge.
If ever Martians had an exhibition of jumping, it was granted those
astonished warriors on that day long years ago, but while it led
them away from Dejah Thoris it did not distract their attention
from endeavoring to capture me.
They raced wildly after me until, finally, my foot struck a
projecting piece of quartz, and down I went sprawling upon the moss.
As I looked up they were upon me, and although I drew my long-sword
in an attempt to sell my life as dearly as possible, it was soon
over. I reeled beneath their blows which fell upon me in perfect
torrents; my head swam; all was black, and I went down beneath them
to oblivion.
CHAPTER XVIII
CHAINED IN WARHOON
It must have been several hours before I regained consciousness
and I well remember the feeling of surprise which swept over me as
I realized that I was not dead.
I was lying among a pile of sleeping silks and furs in the corner of
a small room in which were several green warriors, and bending over
me was an ancient and ugly female.
As I opened my eyes she turned to one of the warriors, saying,
"He will live, O Jed."
"'Tis well," replied the one so addressed, rising and approaching my
couch, "he should render rare sport for the great games."
And now as my eyes fell upon him, I saw that he was no Thark, for
his ornaments and metal were not of that horde. He was a huge
fellow, terribly scarred about the face and chest, and with one
broken tusk and a missing ear. Strapped on either breast were human
skulls and depending from these a number of dried human hands.
His reference to the great games of which I had heard so much while
among the Tharks convinced me that I had but jumped from purgatory
into gehenna.
After a few more words with the female, during which she assured him
that I was now fully fit to travel, the jed ordered that we mount
and ride after the main column.
I was strapped securely to as wild and unmanageable a thoat as I had
ever seen, and, with a mounted warrior on either side to prevent the
beast from bolting, we rode forth at a furious pace in pursuit of
the column. My wounds gave me but little pain, so wonderfully and
rapidly had the applications and injections of the female exercised
their therapeutic powers, and so deftly had she bound and plastered
the injuries.
Just before dark we reached the main body of troops shortly after
they had made camp for the night. I was immediately taken before
the leader, who proved to be the jeddak of the hordes of Warhoon.
Like the jed who had brought me, he was frightfully scarred, and
also decorated with the breastplate of human skulls and dried dead
hands which seemed to mark all the greater warriors among the
Warhoons, as well as to indicate their awful ferocity, which
greatly transcends even that of the Tharks.
The jeddak, Bar Comas, who was comparatively young, was the object
of the fierce and jealous hatred of his old lieutenant, Dak Kova,
the jed who had captured me, and I could not but note the almost
studied efforts which the latter made to affront his superior.
He entirely omitted the usual formal salutation as we entered the
presence of the jeddak, and as he pushed me roughly before the
ruler he exclaimed in a loud and menacing voice.
"I have brought a strange creature wearing the metal of a Thark
whom it is my pleasure to have battle with a wild thoat at the
great games."
"He will die as Bar Comas, your jeddak, sees fit, if at all,"
replied the young ruler, with emphasis and dignity.
"If at all?" roared Dak Kova. "By the dead hands at my throat but
he shall die, Bar Comas. No maudlin weakness on your part shall
save him. O, would that Warhoon were ruled by a real jeddak rather
than by a water-hearted weakling from whom even old Dak Kova could
tear the metal with his bare hands!"
Bar Comas eyed the defiant and insubordinate chieftain for an
instant, his expression one of haughty, fearless contempt and hate,
and then without drawing a weapon and without uttering a word he
hurled himself at the throat of his defamer.
I never before had seen two green Martian warriors battle with
nature's weapons and the exhibition of animal ferocity which ensued
was as fearful a thing as the most disordered imagination could
picture. They tore at each others' eyes and ears with their hands
and with their gleaming tusks repeatedly slashed and gored until
both were cut fairly to ribbons from head to foot.
Bar Comas had much the better of the battle as he was stronger,
quicker and more intelligent. It soon seemed that the encounter was
done saving only the final death thrust when Bar Comas slipped in
breaking away from a clinch. It was the one little opening that Dak
Kova needed, and hurling himself at the body of his adversary he
buried his single mighty tusk in Bar Comas' groin and with a last
powerful effort ripped the young jeddak wide open the full length of
his body, the great tusk finally wedging in the bones of Bar Comas'
jaw. Victor and vanquished rolled limp and lifeless upon the moss,
a huge mass of torn and bloody flesh.
Bar Comas was stone dead, and only the most herculean efforts on
the part of Dak Kova's females saved him from the fate he deserved.
Three days later he walked without assistance to the body of Bar
Comas which, by custom, had not been moved from where it fell, and
placing his foot upon the neck of his erstwhile ruler he assumed
the title of Jeddak of Warhoon.
The dead jeddak's hands and head were removed to be added to the
ornaments of his conqueror, and then his women cremated what
remained, amid wild and terrible laughter.
The injuries to Dak Kova had delayed the march so greatly that it
was decided to give up the expedition, which was a raid upon a small
Thark community in retaliation for the destruction of the incubator,
until after the great games, and the entire body of warriors, ten
thousand in number, turned back toward Warhoon.
My introduction to these cruel and bloodthirsty people was but an
index to the scenes I witnessed almost daily while with them. They
are a smaller horde than the Tharks but much more ferocious. Not a
day passed but that some members of the various Warhoon communities
met in deadly combat. I have seen as high as eight mortal duels
within a single day.
We reached the city of Warhoon after some three days march and I was
immediately cast into a dungeon and heavily chained to the floor
and walls. Food was brought me at intervals but owing to the utter
darkness of the place I do not know whether I lay there days, or
weeks, or months. It was the most horrible experience of all my
life and that my mind did not give way to the terrors of that inky
blackness has been a wonder to me ever since. The place was filled
with creeping, crawling things; cold, sinuous bodies passed over me
when I lay down, and in the darkness I occasionally caught glimpses
of gleaming, fiery eyes, fixed in horrible intentness upon me. No
sound reached me from the world above and no word would my jailer
vouchsafe when my food was brought to me, although I at first
bombarded him with questions.
Finally all the hatred and maniacal loathing for these awful
creatures who had placed me in this horrible place was centered
by my tottering reason upon this single emissary who represented
to me the entire horde of Warhoons.
I had noticed that he always advanced with his dim torch to where he
could place the food within my reach and as he stooped to place it
upon the floor his head was about on a level with my breast. So,
with the cunning of a madman, I backed into the far corner of my
cell when next I heard him approaching and gathering a little slack
of the great chain which held me in my hand I waited his coming,
crouching like some beast of prey. As he stooped to place my food
upon the ground I swung the chain above my head and crashed the
links with all my strength upon his skull. Without a sound he
slipped to the floor, stone dead.
Laughing and chattering like the idiot I was fast becoming I fell
upon his prostrate form my fingers feeling for his dead throat.
Presently they came in contact with a small chain at the end of
which dangled a number of keys. The touch of my fingers on these
keys brought back my reason with the suddenness of thought. No
longer was I a jibbering idiot, but a sane, reasoning man with
the means of escape within my very hands.
As I was groping to remove the chain from about my victim's neck
I glanced up into the darkness to see six pairs of gleaming eyes
fixed, unwinking, upon me. Slowly they approached and slowly I
shrank back from the awful horror of them. Back into my corner I
crouched holding my hands palms out, before me, and stealthily on
came the awful eyes until they reached the dead body at my feet.
Then slowly they retreated but this time with a strange grating
sound and finally they disappeared in some black and distant recess
of my dungeon.
CHAPTER XIX
BATTLING IN THE ARENA
Slowly I regained my composure and finally essayed again to attempt
to remove the keys from the dead body of my former jailer. But as
I reached out into the darkness to locate it I found to my horror
that it was gone. Then the truth flashed on me; the owners of
those gleaming eyes had dragged my prize away from me to be
devoured in their neighboring lair; as they had been waiting for
days, for weeks, for months, through all this awful eternity of
my imprisonment to drag my dead carcass to their feast.
For two days no food was brought me, but then a new messenger
appeared and my incarceration went on as before, but not again did
I allow my reason to be submerged by the horror of my position.
Shortly after this episode another prisoner was brought in and
chained near me. By the dim torch light I saw that he was a red
Martian and I could scarcely await the departure of his guards to
address him. As their retreating footsteps died away in the
distance, I called out softly the Martian word of greeting, kaor.
"Who are you who speaks out of the darkness?" he answered
"John Carter, a friend of the red men of Helium."
"I am of Helium," he said, "but I do not recall your name."
And then I told him my story as I have written it here, omitting
only any reference to my love for Dejah Thoris. He was much excited
by the news of Helium's princess and seemed quite positive that she
and Sola could easily have reached a point of safety from where they
left me. He said that he knew the place well because the defile
through which the Warhoon warriors had passed when they discovered
us was the only one ever used by them when marching to the south.
"Dejah Thoris and Sola entered the hills not five miles from a great
waterway and are now probably quite safe," he assured me.
My fellow prisoner was Kantos Kan, a padwar (lieutenant) in the navy
of Helium. He had been a member of the ill-fated expedition which
had fallen into the hands of the Tharks at the time of Dejah Thoris'
capture, and he briefly related the events which followed the defeat
of the battleships.
Badly injured and only partially manned they had limped slowly
toward Helium, but while passing near the city of Zodanga, the
capital of Helium's hereditary enemies among the red men of Barsoom,
they had been attacked by a great body of war vessels and all but
the craft to which Kantos Kan belonged were either destroyed or
captured. His vessel was chased for days by three of the Zodangan
war ships but finally escaped during the darkness of a moonless
night.
Thirty days after the capture of Dejah Thoris, or about the time of
our coming to Thark, his vessel had reached Helium with about ten
survivors of the original crew of seven hundred officers and men.
Immediately seven great fleets, each of one hundred mighty war
ships, had been dispatched to search for Dejah Thoris, and from
these vessels two thousand smaller craft had been kept out
continuously in futile search for the missing princess.
Two green Martian communities had been wiped off the face of Barsoom
by the avenging fleets, but no trace of Dejah Thoris had been found.
They had been searching among the northern hordes, and only within
the past few days had they extended their quest to the south.
Kantos Kan had been detailed to one of the small one-man fliers
and had had the misfortune to be discovered by the Warhoons while
exploring their city. The bravery and daring of the man won my
greatest respect and admiration. Alone he had landed at the city's
boundary and on foot had penetrated to the buildings surrounding the
plaza. For two days and nights he had explored their quarters and
their dungeons in search of his beloved princess only to fall into
the hands of a party of Warhoons as he was about to leave, after
assuring himself that Dejah Thoris was not a captive there.
During the period of our incarceration Kantos Kan and I became well
acquainted, and formed a warm personal friendship. A few days only
elapsed, however, before we were dragged forth from our dungeon for
the great games. We were conducted early one morning to an enormous
amphitheater, which instead of having been built upon the surface of
the ground was excavated below the surface. It had partially filled
with debris so that how large it had originally been was difficult
to say. In its present condition it held the entire twenty thousand
Warhoons of the assembled hordes.
The arena was immense but extremely uneven and unkempt. Around
it the Warhoons had piled building stone from some of the ruined
edifices of the ancient city to prevent the animals and the
captives from escaping into the audience, and at each end had been
constructed cages to hold them until their turns came to meet some
horrible death upon the arena.
Kantos Kan and I were confined together in one of the cages. In the
others were wild calots, thoats, mad zitidars, green warriors, and
women of other hordes, and many strange and ferocious wild beasts of
Barsoom which I had never before seen. The din of their roaring,
growling and squealing was deafening and the formidable appearance
of any one of them was enough to make the stoutest heart feel grave
forebodings.
Kantos Kan explained to me that at the end of the day one of these
prisoners would gain freedom and the others would lie dead about
the arena. The winners in the various contests of the day would be
pitted against each other until only two remained alive; the victor
in the last encounter being set free, whether animal or man. The
following morning the cages would be filled with a new consignment
of victims, and so on throughout the ten days of the games.
Shortly after we had been caged the amphitheater began to fill
and within an hour every available part of the seating space was
occupied. Dak Kova, with his jeds and chieftains, sat at the
center of one side of the arena upon a large raised platform.
At a signal from Dak Kova the doors of two cages were thrown open
and a dozen green Martian females were driven to the center of the
arena. Each was given a dagger and then, at the far end, a pack
of twelve calots, or wild dogs were loosed upon them.
As the brutes, growling and foaming, rushed upon the almost
defenseless women I turned my head that I might not see the horrid
sight. The yells and laughter of the green horde bore witness to
the excellent quality of the sport and when I turned back to the
arena, as Kantos Kan told me it was over, I saw three victorious
calots, snarling and growling over the bodies of their prey.
The women had given a good account of themselves.
Next a mad zitidar was loosed among the remaining dogs, and so it
went throughout the long, hot, horrible day.
During the day I was pitted against first men and then beasts, but
as I was armed with a long-sword and always outclassed my adversary
in agility and generally in strength as well, it proved but child's
play to me. Time and time again I won the applause of the
bloodthirsty multitude, and toward the end there were cries that
I be taken from the arena and be made a member of the hordes of
Warhoon.
Finally there were but three of us left, a great green warrior of
some far northern horde, Kantos Kan, and myself.
The other two were to battle and then I to fight the conqueror for
the liberty which was accorded the final winner.
Kantos Kan had fought several times during the day and like myself
had always proven victorious, but occasionally by the smallest of
margins, especially when pitted against the green warriors. I had
little hope that he could best his giant adversary who had mowed
down all before him during the day. The fellow towered nearly
sixteen feet in height, while Kantos Kan was some inches under six
feet. As they advanced to meet one another I saw for the first time
a trick of Martian swordsmanship which centered Kantos Kan's every
hope of victory and life on one cast of the dice, for, as he came to
within about twenty feet of the huge fellow he threw his sword arm
far behind him over his shoulder and with a mighty sweep hurled his
weapon point foremost at the green warrior. It flew true as an
arrow and piercing the poor devil's heart laid him dead upon the
arena.
Kantos Kan and I were now pitted against each other but as we
approached to the encounter I whispered to him to prolong the battle
until nearly dark in the hope that we might find some means of
escape. The horde evidently guessed that we had no hearts to fight
each other and so they howled in rage as neither of us placed a
fatal thrust. Just as I saw the sudden coming of dark I whispered
to Kantos Kan to thrust his sword between my left arm and my body.
As he did so I staggered back clasping the sword tightly with my arm
and thus fell to the ground with his weapon apparently protruding
from my chest. Kantos Kan perceived my coup and stepping quickly to
my side he placed his foot upon my neck and withdrawing his sword
from my body gave me the final death blow through the neck which is
supposed to sever the jugular vein, but in this instance the cold
blade slipped harmlessly into the sand of the arena. In the
darkness which had now fallen none could tell but that he had really
finished me. I whispered to him to go and claim his freedom and
then look for me in the hills east of the city, and so he left me.
When the amphitheater had cleared I crept stealthily to the top and
as the great excavation lay far from the plaza and in an untenanted
portion of the great dead city I had little trouble in reaching the
hills beyond.
CHAPTER XX
IN THE ATMOSPHERE FACTORY
For two days I waited there for Kantos Kan, but as he did not come
I started off on foot in a northwesterly direction toward a point
where he had told me lay the nearest waterway. My only food
consisted of vegetable milk from the plants which gave so
bounteously of this priceless fluid.
Through two long weeks I wandered, stumbling through the nights
guided only by the stars and hiding during the days behind some
protruding rock or among the occasional hills I traversed. Several
times I was attacked by wild beasts; strange, uncouth monstrosities
that leaped upon me in the dark, so that I had ever to grasp my
long-sword in my hand that I might be ready for them. Usually my
strange, newly acquired telepathic power warned me in ample time,
but once I was down with vicious fangs at my jugular and a hairy
face pressed close to mine before I knew that I was even threatened.
What manner of thing was upon me I did not know, but that it was
large and heavy and many-legged I could feel. My hands were at its
throat before the fangs had a chance to bury themselves in my neck,
and slowly I forced the hairy face from me and closed my fingers,
vise-like, upon its windpipe.
Without sound we lay there, the beast exerting every effort to reach
me with those awful fangs, and I straining to maintain my grip and
choke the life from it as I kept it from my throat. Slowly my arms
gave to the unequal struggle, and inch by inch the burning eyes and
gleaming tusks of my antagonist crept toward me, until, as the hairy
face touched mine again, I realized that all was over. And then a
living mass of destruction sprang from the surrounding darkness full
upon the creature that held me pinioned to the ground. The two
rolled growling upon the moss, tearing and rending one another in
a frightful manner, but it was soon over and my preserver stood
with lowered head above the throat of the dead thing which would
have killed me.
The nearer moon, hurtling suddenly above the horizon and lighting
up the Barsoomian scene, showed me that my preserver was Woola, but
from whence he had come, or how found me, I was at a loss to know.
That I was glad of his companionship it is needless to say, but my
pleasure at seeing him was tempered by anxiety as to the reason of
his leaving Dejah Thoris. Only her death I felt sure, could account
for his absence from her, so faithful I knew him to be to my
commands.
By the light of the now brilliant moons I saw that he was but a
shadow of his former self, and as he turned from my caress and
commenced greedily to devour the dead carcass at my feet I realized
that the poor fellow was more than half starved. I, myself, was in
but little better plight but I could not bring myself to eat the
uncooked flesh and I had no means of making a fire. When Woola had
finished his meal I again took up my weary and seemingly endless
wandering in quest of the elusive waterway.
At daybreak of the fifteenth day of my search I was overjoyed to
see the high trees that denoted the object of my search. About noon
I dragged myself wearily to the portals of a huge building which
covered perhaps four square miles and towered two hundred feet in
the air. It showed no aperture in the mighty walls other than the
tiny door at which I sank exhausted, nor was there any sign of life
about it.
I could find no bell or other method of making my presence known to
the inmates of the place, unless a small round role in the wall
near the door was for that purpose. It was of about the bigness
of a lead pencil and thinking that it might be in the nature of a
speaking tube I put my mouth to it and was about to call into it
when a voice issued from it asking me whom I might be, where from,
and the nature of my errand.
I explained that I had escaped from the Warhoons and was dying of
starvation and exhaustion.
"You wear the metal of a green warrior and are followed by a calot,
yet you are of the figure of a red man. In color you are neither
green nor red. In the name of the ninth day, what manner of
creature are you?"
"I am a friend of the red men of Barsoom and I am starving. In the
name of humanity open to us," I replied.
Presently the door commenced to recede before me until it had sunk
into the wall fifty feet, then it stopped and slid easily to the
left, exposing a short, narrow corridor of concrete, at the further
end of which was another door, similar in every respect to the one I
had just passed. No one was in sight, yet immediately we passed the
first door it slid gently into place behind us and receded rapidly
to its original position in the front wall of the building. As the
door had slipped aside I had noted its great thickness, fully twenty
feet, and as it reached its place once more after closing behind us,
great cylinders of steel had dropped from the ceiling behind it and
fitted their lower ends into apertures countersunk in the floor.
A second and third door receded before me and slipped to one side as
the first, before I reached a large inner chamber where I found food
and drink set out upon a great stone table. A voice directed me to
satisfy my hunger and to feed my calot, and while I was thus engaged
my invisible host put me through a severe and searching
cross-examination.
"Your statements are most remarkable," said the voice, on concluding
its questioning, "but you are evidently speaking the truth, and it
is equally evident that you are not of Barsoom. I can tell that by
the conformation of your brain and the strange location of your
internal organs and the shape and size of your heart."
"Can you see through me?" I exclaimed.
"Yes, I can see all but your thoughts, and were you a Barsoomian I
could read those."
Then a door opened at the far side of the chamber and a strange,
dried up, little mummy of a man came toward me. He wore but a
single article of clothing or adornment, a small collar of gold from
which depended upon his chest a great ornament as large as a dinner
plate set solid with huge diamonds, except for the exact center
which was occupied by a strange stone, an inch in diameter, that
scintillated nine different and distinct rays; the seven colors of
our earthly prism and two beautiful rays which, to me, were new and
nameless. I cannot describe them any more than you could describe
red to a blind man. I only know that they were beautiful in the
extreme.
The old man sat and talked with me for hours, and the strangest part
of our intercourse was that I could read his every thought while he
could not fathom an iota from my mind unless I spoke.
I did not apprise him of my ability to sense his mental operations,
and thus I learned a great deal which proved of immense value to me
later and which I would never have known had he suspected my strange
power, for the Martians have such perfect control of their mental
machinery that they are able to direct their thoughts with absolute
precision.
The building in which I found myself contained the machinery which
produces that artificial atmosphere which sustains life on Mars.
The secret of the entire process hinges on the use of the ninth ray,
one of the beautiful scintillations which I had noted emanating from
the great stone in my host's diadem.
This ray is separated from the other rays of the sun by means
of finely adjusted instruments placed upon the roof of the huge
building, three-quarters of which is used for reservoirs in which
the ninth ray is stored. This product is then treated electrically,
or rather certain proportions of refined electric vibrations are
incorporated with it, and the result is then pumped to the five
principal air centers of the planet where, as it is released,
contact with the ether of space transforms it into atmosphere.
There is always sufficient reserve of the ninth ray stored in the
great building to maintain the present Martian atmosphere for a
thousand years, and the only fear, as my new friend told me, was
that some accident might befall the pumping apparatus.
He led me to an inner chamber where I beheld a battery of twenty
radium pumps any one of which was equal to the task of furnishing
all Mars with the atmosphere compound. For eight hundred years, he
told me, he had watched these pumps which are used alternately a day
each at a stretch, or a little over twenty-four and one-half Earth
hours. He has one assistant who divides the watch with him. Half a
Martian year, about three hundred and forty-four of our days, each
of these men spend alone in this huge, isolated plant.
Every red Martian is taught during earliest childhood the principles
of the manufacture of atmosphere, but only two at one time ever
hold the secret of ingress to the great building, which, built as
it is with walls a hundred and fifty feet thick, is absolutely
unassailable, even the roof being guarded from assault by air craft
by a glass covering five feet thick.
The only fear they entertain of attack is from the green Martians
or some demented red man, as all Barsoomians realize that the
very existence of every form of life of Mars is dependent upon
the uninterrupted working of this plant.
One curious fact I discovered as I watched his thoughts was that
the outer doors are manipulated by telepathic means. The locks
are so finely adjusted that the doors are released by the action
of a certain combination of thought waves. To experiment with
my new-found toy I thought to surprise him into revealing this
combination and so I asked him in a casual manner how he had managed
to unlock the massive doors for me from the inner chambers of the
building. As quick as a flash there leaped to his mind nine Martian
sounds, but as quickly faded as he answered that this was a secret
he must not divulge.
From then on his manner toward me changed as though he feared that
he had been surprised into divulging his great secret, and I read
suspicion and fear in his looks and thoughts, though his words were
still fair.
Before I retired for the night he promised to give me a letter to a
nearby agricultural officer who would help me on my way to Zodanga,
which he said, was the nearest Martian city.
"But be sure that you do not let them know you are bound for Helium
as they are at war with that country. My assistant and I are of no
country, we belong to all Barsoom and this talisman which we wear
protects us in all lands, even among the green men--though we do
not trust ourselves to their hands if we can avoid it," he added.
"And so good-night, my friend," he continued, "may you have a long
and restful sleep--yes, a long sleep."
And though he smiled pleasantly I saw in his thoughts the wish that
he had never admitted me, and then a picture of him standing over me
in the night, and the swift thrust of a long dagger and the half
formed words, "I am sorry, but it is for the best good of Barsoom."
As he closed the door of my chamber behind him his thoughts were
cut off from me as was the sight of him, which seemed strange to me
in my little knowledge of thought transference.
What was I to do? How could I escape through these mighty walls?
Easily could I kill him now that I was warned, but once he was dead
I could no more escape, and with the stopping of the machinery of
the great plant I should die with all the other inhabitants of the
planet--all, even Dejah Thoris were she not already dead. For the
others I did not give the snap of my finger, but the thought of
Dejah Thoris drove from my mind all desire to kill my mistaken host.
Cautiously I opened the door of my apartment and, followed by Woola,
sought the inner of the great doors. A wild scheme had come to me;
I would attempt to force the great locks by the nine thought waves
I had read in my host's mind.
Creeping stealthily through corridor after corridor and down winding
runways which turned hither and thither I finally reached the great
hall in which I had broken my long fast that morning. Nowhere had
I seen my host, nor did I know where he kept himself by night.
I was on the point of stepping boldly out into the room when a
slight noise behind me warned me back into the shadows of a recess
in the corridor. Dragging Woola after me I crouched low in the
darkness.
Presently the old man passed close by me, and as he entered the
dimly lighted chamber which I had been about to pass through I
saw that he held a long thin dagger in his hand and that he was
sharpening it upon a stone. In his mind was the decision to inspect
the radium pumps, which would take about thirty minutes, and then
return to my bed chamber and finish me.
As he passed through the great hall and disappeared down the runway
which led to the pump-room, I stole stealthily from my hiding place
and crossed to the great door, the inner of the three which stood
between me and liberty.
Concentrating my mind upon the massive lock I hurled the nine
thought waves against it. In breathless expectancy I waited, when
finally the great door moved softly toward me and slid quietly to
one side. One after the other the remaining mighty portals opened
at my command and Woola and I stepped forth into the darkness, free,
but little better off than we had been before, other than that we
had full stomachs.
Hastening away from the shadows of the formidable pile I made for
the first crossroad, intending to strike the central turnpike as
quickly as possible. This I reached about morning and entering
the first enclosure I came to I searched for some evidences of a
habitation.
There were low rambling buildings of concrete barred with heavy
impassable doors, and no amount of hammering and hallooing brought
any response. Weary and exhausted from sleeplessness I threw
myself upon the ground commanding Woola to stand guard.
Some time later I was awakened by his frightful growlings and opened
my eyes to see three red Martians standing a short distance from us
and covering me with their rifles.
"I am unarmed and no enemy," I hastened to explain. "I have been a
prisoner among the green men and am on my way to Zodanga. All I ask
is food and rest for myself and my calot and the proper directions
for reaching my destination."
They lowered their rifles and advanced pleasantly toward me placing
their right hands upon my left shoulder, after the manner of their
custom of salute, and asking me many questions about myself and my
wanderings. They then took me to the house of one of them which was
only a short distance away.
The buildings I had been hammering at in the early morning were
occupied only by stock and farm produce, the house proper standing
among a grove of enormous trees, and, like all red-Martian homes,
had been raised at night some forty or fifty feet from the ground
on a large round metal shaft which slid up or down within a sleeve
sunk in the ground, and was operated by a tiny radium engine in the
entrance hall of the building. Instead of bothering with bolts and
bars for their dwellings, the red Martians simply run them up out
of harm's way during the night. They also have private means for
lowering or raising them from the ground without if they wish to
go away and leave them.
These brothers, with their wives and children, occupied three
similar houses on this farm. They did no work themselves, being
government officers in charge. The labor was performed by convicts,
prisoners of war, delinquent debtors and confirmed bachelors who
were too poor to pay the high celibate tax which all red-Martian
governments impose.
They were the personification of cordiality and hospitality and I
spent several days with them, resting and recuperating from my long
and arduous experiences.
When they had heard my story--I omitted all reference to Dejah
Thoris and the old man of the atmosphere plant--they advised me
to color my body to more nearly resemble their own race and then
attempt to find employment in Zodanga, either in the army or the
navy.
"The chances are small that your tale will be believed until after
you have proven your trustworthiness and won friends among the
higher nobles of the court. This you can most easily do through
military service, as we are a warlike people on Barsoom," explained
one of them, "and save our richest favors for the fighting man."
When I was ready to depart they furnished me with a small domestic
bull thoat, such as is used for saddle purposes by all red Martians.
The animal is about the size of a horse and quite gentle, but in
color and shape an exact replica of his huge and fierce cousin of
the wilds.
The brothers had supplied me with a reddish oil with which I
anointed my entire body and one of them cut my hair, which had grown
quite long, in the prevailing fashion of the time, square at the
back and banged in front, so that I could have passed anywhere upon
Barsoom as a full-fledged red Martian. My metal and ornaments were
also renewed in the style of a Zodangan gentleman, attached to the
house of Ptor, which was the family name of my benefactors.
They filled a little sack at my side with Zodangan money. The
medium of exchange upon Mars is not dissimilar from our own except
that the coins are oval. Paper money is issued by individuals as
they require it and redeemed twice yearly. If a man issues more
than he can redeem, the government pays his creditors in full and
the debtor works out the amount upon the farms or in mines, which
are all owned by the government. This suits everybody except the
debtor as it has been a difficult thing to obtain sufficient
voluntary labor to work the great isolated farm lands of Mars,
stretching as they do like narrow ribbons from pole to pole,
through wild stretches peopled by wild animals and wilder men.
When I mentioned my inability to repay them for their kindness to me
they assured me that I would have ample opportunity if I lived long
upon Barsoom, and bidding me farewell they watched me until I was
out of sight upon the broad white turnpike.
CHAPTER XXI
AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA
As I proceeded on my journey toward Zodanga many strange and
interesting sights arrested my attention, and at the several farm
houses where I stopped I learned a number of new and instructive
things concerning the methods and manners of Barsoom.
The water which supplies the farms of Mars is collected in immense
underground reservoirs at either pole from the melting ice caps,
and pumped through long conduits to the various populated centers.
Along either side of these conduits, and extending their entire
length, lie the cultivated districts. These are divided into tracts
of about the same size, each tract being under the supervision of
one or more government officers.
Instead of flooding the surface of the fields, and thus wasting
immense quantities of water by evaporation, the precious liquid is
carried underground through a vast network of small pipes directly
to the roots of the vegetation. The crops upon Mars are always
uniform, for there are no droughts, no rains, no high winds, and
no insects, or destroying birds.
On this trip I tasted the first meat I had eaten since leaving
Earth--large, juicy steaks and chops from the well-fed domestic
animals of the farms. Also I enjoyed luscious fruits and
vegetables, but not a single article of food which was exactly
similar to anything on Earth. Every plant and flower and vegetable
and animal has been so refined by ages of careful, scientific
cultivation and breeding that the like of them on Earth dwindled
into pale, gray, characterless nothingness by comparison.
At a second stop I met some highly cultivated people of the noble
class and while in conversation we chanced to speak of Helium. One
of the older men had been there on a diplomatic mission several
years before and spoke with regret of the conditions which seemed
destined ever to keep these two countries at war.
"Helium," he said, "rightly boasts the most beautiful women of
Barsoom, and of all her treasures the wondrous daughter of Mors
Kajak, Dejah Thoris, is the most exquisite flower.
"Why," he added, "the people really worship the ground she walks
upon and since her loss on that ill-starred expedition all Helium
has been draped in mourning.
"That our ruler should have attacked the disabled fleet as it was
returning to Helium was but another of his awful blunders which I
fear will sooner or later compel Zodanga to elevate a wiser man to
his place."
"Even now, though our victorious armies are surrounding Helium, the
people of Zodanga are voicing their displeasure, for the war is
not a popular one, since it is not based on right or justice. Our
forces took advantage of the absence of the principal fleet of
Helium on their search for the princess, and so we have been able
easily to reduce the city to a sorry plight. it is said she will
fall within the next few passages of the further moon."
"And what, think you, may have been the fate of the princess, Dejah
Thoris?" I asked as casually as possible.
"She is dead," he answered. "This much was learned from a green
warrior recently captured by our forces in the south. She escaped
from the hordes of Thark with a strange creature of another world,
only to fall into the hands of the Warhoons. Their thoats were
found wandering upon the sea bottom and evidences of a bloody
conflict were discovered nearby."
While this information was in no way reassuring, neither was it
at all conclusive proof of the death of Dejah Thoris, and so I
determined to make every effort possible to reach Helium as quickly
as I could and carry to Tardos Mors such news of his granddaughter's
possible whereabouts as lay in my power.
Ten days after leaving the three Ptor brothers I arrived at Zodanga.
From the moment that I had come in contact with the red inhabitants
of Mars I had noticed that Woola drew a great amount of unwelcome
attention to me, since the huge brute belonged to a species which is
never domesticated by the red men. Were one to stroll down Broadway
with a Numidian lion at his heels the effect would be somewhat
similar to that which I should have produced had I entered Zodanga
with Woola.
The very thought of parting with the faithful fellow caused me so
great regret and genuine sorrow that I put it off until just before
we arrived at the city's gates; but then, finally, it became
imperative that we separate. Had nothing further than my own safety
or pleasure been at stake no argument could have prevailed upon me
to turn away the one creature upon Barsoom that had never failed in
a demonstration of affection and loyalty; but as I would willingly
have offered my life in the service of her in search of whom I was
about to challenge the unknown dangers of this, to me, mysterious
city, I could not permit even Woola's life to threaten the success
of my venture, much less his momentary happiness, for I doubted
not he soon would forget me. And so I bade the poor beast an
affectionate farewell, promising him, however, that if I came
through my adventure in safety that in some way I should find
the means to search him out.
He seemed to understand me fully, and when I pointed back in the
direction of Thark he turned sorrowfully away, nor could I bear to
watch him go; but resolutely set my face toward Zodanga and with
a touch of heartsickness approached her frowning walls.
The letter I bore from them gained me immediate entrance to the
vast, walled city. It was still very early in the morning and the
streets were practically deserted. The residences, raised high
upon their metal columns, resembled huge rookeries, while the
uprights themselves presented the appearance of steel tree trunks.
The shops as a rule were not raised from the ground nor were their
doors bolted or barred, since thievery is practically unknown upon
Barsoom. Assassination is the ever-present fear of all Barsoomians,
and for this reason alone their homes are raised high above the
ground at night, or in times of danger.
The Ptor brothers had given me explicit directions for reaching the
point of the city where I could find living accommodations and be
near the offices of the government agents to whom they had given me
letters. My way led to the central square or plaza, which is a
characteristic of all Martian cities.
The plaza of Zodanga covers a square mile and is bounded by the
palaces of the jeddak, the jeds, and other members of the royalty
and nobility of Zodanga, as well as by the principal public
buildings, cafes, and shops.
As I was crossing the great square lost in wonder and admiration of
the magnificent architecture and the gorgeous scarlet vegetation
which carpeted the broad lawns I discovered a red Martian walking
briskly toward me from one of the avenues. He paid not the
slightest attention to me, but as he came abreast I recognized him,
and turning I placed my hand upon his shoulder, calling out:
"Kaor, Kantos Kan!"
Like lightning he wheeled and before I could so much as lower my
hand the point of his long-sword was at my breast.
"Who are you?" he growled, and then as a backward leap carried me
fifty feet from his sword he dropped the point to the ground and
exclaimed, laughing,
"I do not need a better reply, there is but one man upon all Barsoom
who can bounce about like a rubber ball. By the mother of the
further moon, John Carter, how came you here, and have you become
a Darseen that you can change your color at will?"
"You gave me a bad half minute my friend," he continued, after I had
briefly outlined my adventures since parting with him in the arena
at Warhoon. "Were my name and city known to the Zodangans I would
shortly be sitting on the banks of the lost sea of Korus with my
revered and departed ancestors. I am here in the interest of Tardos
Mors, Jeddak of Helium, to discover the whereabouts of Dejah Thoris,
our princess. Sab Than, prince of Zodanga, has her hidden in the
city and has fallen madly in love with her. His father, Than Kosis,
Jeddak of Zodanga, has made her voluntary marriage to his son the
price of peace between our countries, but Tardos Mors will not
accede to the demands and has sent word that he and his people would
rather look upon the dead face of their princess than see her wed to
any than her own choice, and that personally he would prefer being
engulfed in the ashes of a lost and burning Helium to joining the
metal of his house with that of Than Kosis. His reply was the
deadliest affront he could have put upon Than Kosis and the
Zodangans, but his people love him the more for it and his strength
in Helium is greater today than ever.
"I have been here three days," continued Kantos Kan, "but I have
not yet found where Dejah Thoris is imprisoned. Today I join the
Zodangan navy as an air scout and I hope in this way to win the
confidence of Sab Than, the prince, who is commander of this
division of the navy, and thus learn the whereabouts of Dejah
Thoris. I am glad that you are here, John Carter, for I know your
loyalty to my princess and two of us working together should be
able to accomplish much."
The plaza was now commencing to fill with people going and coming
upon the daily activities of their duties. The shops were opening
and the cafes filling with early morning patrons. Kantos Kan led me
to one of these gorgeous eating places where we were served entirely
by mechanical apparatus. No hand touched the food from the time it
entered the building in its raw state until it emerged hot and
delicious upon the tables before the guests, in response to the
touching of tiny buttons to indicate their desires.
After our meal, Kantos Kan took me with him to the headquarters of
the air-scout squadron and introducing me to his superior asked that
I be enrolled as a member of the corps. In accordance with custom
an examination was necessary, but Kantos Kan had told me to have no
fear on this score as he would attend to that part of the matter.
He accomplished this by taking my order for examination to the
examining officer and representing himself as John Carter.
"This ruse will be discovered later," he cheerfully explained,
"when they check up my weights, measurements, and other personal
identification data, but it will be several months before this is
done and our mission should be accomplished or have failed long
before that time."
The next few days were spent by Kantos Kan in teaching me
the intricacies of flying and of repairing the dainty little
contrivances which the Martians use for this purpose. The body
of the one-man air craft is about sixteen feet long, two feet wide
and three inches thick, tapering to a point at each end. The driver
sits on top of this plane upon a seat constructed over the small,
noiseless radium engine which propels it. The medium of buoyancy is
contained within the thin metal walls of the body and consists of
the eighth Barsoomian ray, or ray of propulsion, as it may be termed
in view of its properties.
This ray, like the ninth ray, is unknown on Earth, but the Martians
have discovered that it is an inherent property of all light no
matter from what source it emanates. They have learned that it
is the solar eighth ray which propels the light of the sun to the
various planets, and that it is the individual eighth ray of each
planet which "reflects," or propels the light thus obtained out
into space once more. The solar eighth ray would be absorbed by the
surface of Barsoom, but the Barsoomian eighth ray, which tends to
propel light from Mars into space, is constantly streaming out from
the planet constituting a force of repulsion of gravity which when
confined is able to life enormous weights from the surface of the
ground.
It is this ray which has enabled them to so perfect aviation that
battle ships far outweighing anything known upon Earth sail as
gracefully and lightly through the thin air of Barsoom as a toy
balloon in the heavy atmosphere of Earth.
During the early years of the discovery of this ray many strange
accidents occurred before the Martians learned to measure and
control the wonderful power they had found. In one instance, some
nine hundred years before, the first great battle ship to be built
with eighth ray reservoirs was stored with too great a quantity
of the rays and she had sailed up from Helium with five hundred
officers and men, never to return.
Her power of repulsion for the planet was so great that it had
carried her far into space, where she can be seen today, by the aid
of powerful telescopes, hurtling through the heavens ten thousand
miles from Mars; a tiny satellite that will thus encircle Barsoom
to the end of time.
The fourth day after my arrival at Zodanga I made my first flight,
and as a result of it I won a promotion which included quarters in
the palace of Than Kosis.
As I rose above the city I circled several times, as I had seen
Kantos Kan do, and then throwing my engine into top speed I raced
at terrific velocity toward the south, following one of the great
waterways which enter Zodanga from that direction.
I had traversed perhaps two hundred miles in a little less than an
hour when I descried far below me a party of three green warriors
racing madly toward a small figure on foot which seemed to be trying
to reach the confines of one of the walled fields.
Dropping my machine rapidly toward them, and circling to the rear
of the warriors, I soon saw that the object of their pursuit was a
red Martian wearing the metal of the scout squadron to which I was
attached. A short distance away lay his tiny flier, surrounded by
the tools with which he had evidently been occupied in repairing
some damage when surprised by the green warriors.
They were now almost upon him; their flying mounts charging down on
the relatively puny figure at terrific speed, while the warriors
leaned low to the right, with their great metal-shod spears. Each
seemed striving to be the first to impale the poor Zodangan and in
another moment his fate would have been sealed had it not been for
my timely arrival.
Driving my fleet air craft at high speed directly behind the
warriors I soon overtook them and without diminishing my speed I
rammed the prow of my little flier between the shoulders of the
nearest. The impact sufficient to have torn through inches of
solid steel, hurled the fellow's headless body into the air over the
head of his thoat, where it fell sprawling upon the moss. The mounts
of the other two warriors turned squealing in terror, and bolted in
opposite directions.
Reducing my speed I circled and came to the ground at the feet of
the astonished Zodangan. He was warm in his thanks for my timely
aid and promised that my day's work would bring the reward it
merited, for it was none other than a cousin of the jeddak of
Zodanga whose life I had saved.
We wasted no time in talk as we knew that the warriors would
surely return as soon as they had gained control of their mounts.
Hastening to his damaged machine we were bending every effort to
finish the needed repairs and had almost completed them when we saw
the two green monsters returning at top speed from opposite sides of
us. When they had approached within a hundred yards their thoats
again became unmanageable and absolutely refused to advance further
toward the air craft which had frightened them.
The warriors finally dismounted and hobbling their animals advanced
toward us on foot with drawn long-swords.
I advanced to meet the larger, telling the Zodangan to do the best
he could with the other. Finishing my man with almost no effort, as
had now from much practice become habitual with me, I hastened to
return to my new acquaintance whom I found indeed in desperate
straits.
He was wounded and down with the huge foot of his antagonist upon
his throat and the great long-sword raised to deal the final thrust.
With a bound I cleared the fifty feet intervening between us, and
with outstretched point drove my sword completely through the body
of the green warrior. His sword fell, harmless, to the ground and
he sank limply upon the prostrate form of the Zodangan.
A cursory examination of the latter revealed no mortal injuries
and after a brief rest he asserted that he felt fit to attempt the
return voyage. He would have to pilot his own craft, however, as
these frail vessels are not intended to convey but a single person.
Quickly completing the repairs we rose together into the still,
cloudless Martian sky, and at great speed and without further mishap
returned to Zodanga.
As we neared the city we discovered a mighty concourse of civilians
and troops assembled upon the plain before the city. The sky was
black with naval vessels and private and public pleasure craft,
flying long streamers of gay-colored silks, and banners and flags
of odd and picturesque design.
My companion signaled that I slow down, and running his machine
close beside mine suggested that we approach and watch the ceremony,
which, he said, was for the purpose of conferring honors on
individual officers and men for bravery and other distinguished
service. He then unfurled a little ensign which denoted that his
craft bore a member of the royal family of Zodanga, and together we
made our way through the maze of low-lying air vessels until we hung
directly over the jeddak of Zodanga and his staff. All were mounted
upon the small domestic bull thoats of the red Martians, and their
trappings and ornamentation bore such a quantity of gorgeously
colored feathers that I could not but be struck with the startling
resemblance the concourse bore to a band of the red Indians of my
own Earth.
One of the staff called the attention of Than Kosis to the presence
of my companion above them and the ruler motioned for him to
descend. As they waited for the troops to move into position facing
the jeddak the two talked earnestly together, the jeddak and his
staff occasionally glancing up at me. I could not hear their
conversation and presently it ceased and all dismounted, as the last
body of troops had wheeled into position before their emperor. A
member of the staff advanced toward the troops, and calling the name
of a soldier commanded him to advance. The officer then recited the
nature of the heroic act which had won the approval of the jeddak,
and the latter advanced and placed a metal ornament upon the left
arm of the lucky man.
Ten men had been so decorated when the aide called out,
"John Carter, air scout!"
Never in my life had I been so surprised, but the habit of military
discipline is strong within me, and I dropped my little machine
lightly to the ground and advanced on foot as I had seen the others
do. As I halted before the officer, he addressed me in a voice
audible to the entire assemblage of troops and spectators.
"In recognition, John Carter," he said, "of your remarkable courage
and skill in defending the person of the cousin of the jeddak Than
Kosis and, singlehanded, vanquishing three green warriors, it is the
pleasure of our jeddak to confer on you the mark of his esteem."
Than Kosis then advanced toward me and placing an ornament upon me,
said:
"My cousin has narrated the details of your wonderful achievement,
which seems little short of miraculous, and if you can so well
defend a cousin of the jeddak how much better could you defend the
person of the jeddak himself. You are therefore appointed a padwar
of The Guards and will be quartered in my palace hereafter."
I thanked him, and at his direction joined the members of his staff.
After the ceremony I returned my machine to its quarters on the roof
of the barracks of the air-scout squadron, and with an orderly from
the palace to guide me I reported to the officer in charge of the
palace.
CHAPTER XXII
I FIND DEJAH
The major-domo to whom I reported had been given instructions to
station me near the person of the jeddak, who, in time of war, is
always in great danger of assassination, as the rule that all is
fair in war seems to constitute the entire ethics of Martian
conflict.
He therefore escorted me immediately to the apartment in which Than
Kosis then was. The ruler was engaged in conversation with his son,
Sab Than, and several courtiers of his household, and did not
perceive my entrance.
The walls of the apartment were completely hung with splendid
tapestries which hid any windows or doors which may have pierced
them. The room was lighted by imprisoned rays of sunshine held
between the ceiling proper and what appeared to be a ground-glass
false ceiling a few inches below.
My guide drew aside one of the tapestries, disclosing a passage
which encircled the room, between the hangings and the walls of the
chamber. Within this passage I was to remain, he said, so long as
Than Kosis was in the apartment. When he left I was to follow.
My only duty was to guard the ruler and keep out of sight as much
as possible. I would be relieved after a period of four hours.
The major-domo then left me.
The tapestries were of a strange weaving which gave the appearance
of heavy solidity from one side, but from my hiding place I could
perceive all that took place within the room as readily as though
there had been no curtain intervening.
Scarcely had I gained my post than the tapestry at the opposite end
of the chamber separated and four soldiers of The Guard entered,
surrounding a female figure. As they approached Than Kosis the
soldiers fell to either side and there standing before the jeddak
and not ten feet from me, her beautiful face radiant with smiles,
was Dejah Thoris.
Sab Than, Prince of Zodanga, advanced to meet her, and hand in hand
they approached close to the jeddak. Than Kosis looked up in
surprise, and, rising, saluted her.
"To what strange freak do I owe this visit from the Princess of
Helium, who, two days ago, with rare consideration for my pride,
assured me that she would prefer Tal Hajus, the green Thark, to my
son?"
Dejah Thoris only smiled the more and with the roguish dimples
playing at the corners of her mouth she made answer:
"From the beginning of time upon Barsoom it has been the prerogative
of woman to change her mind as she listed and to dissemble in
matters concerning her heart. That you will forgive, Than Kosis, as
has your son. Two days ago I was not sure of his love for me, but
now I am, and I have come to beg of you to forget my rash words and
to accept the assurance of the Princess of Helium that when the time
comes she will wed Sab Than, Prince of Zodanga."
"I am glad that you have so decided," replied Than Kosis. "It is
far from my desire to push war further against the people of Helium,
and, your promise shall be recorded and a proclamation to my people
issued forthwith."
"It were better, Than Kosis," interrupted Dejah Thoris, "that the
proclamation wait the ending of this war. It would look strange
indeed to my people and to yours were the Princess of Helium to
give herself to her country's enemy in the midst of hostilities."
"Cannot the war be ended at once?" spoke Sab Than. "It requires but
the word of Than Kosis to bring peace. Say it, my father, say the
word that will hasten my happiness, and end this unpopular strife."
"We shall see," replied Than Kosis, "how the people of Helium take
to peace. I shall at least offer it to them."
Dejah Thoris, after a few words, turned and left the apartment,
still followed by her guards.
Thus was the edifice of my brief dream of happiness dashed, broken,
to the ground of reality. The woman for whom I had offered my life,
and from whose lips I had so recently heard a declaration of love
for me, had lightly forgotten my very existence and smilingly given
herself to the son of her people's most hated enemy.
Although I had heard it with my own ears I could not believe it.
I must search out her apartments and force her to repeat the cruel
truth to me alone before I would be convinced, and so I deserted my
post and hastened through the passage behind the tapestries toward
the door by which she had left the chamber. Slipping quietly
through this opening I discovered a maze of winding corridors,
branching and turning in every direction.
Running rapidly down first one and then another of them I soon
became hopelessly lost and was standing panting against a side wall
when I heard voices near me. Apparently they were coming from the
opposite side of the partition against which I leaned and presently
I made out the tones of Dejah Thoris. I could not hear the words
but I knew that I could not possibly be mistaken in the voice.
Moving on a few steps I discovered another passageway at the end of
which lay a door. Walking boldly forward I pushed into the room
only to find myself in a small antechamber in which were the four
guards who had accompanied her. One of them instantly arose and
accosted me, asking the nature of my business.
"I am from Than Kosis," I replied, "and wish to speak privately with
Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium."
"And your order?" asked the fellow.
I did not know what he meant, but replied that I was a member of The
Guard, and without waiting for a reply from him I strode toward the
opposite door of the antechamber, behind which I could hear Dejah
Thoris conversing.
But my entrance was not to be so easily accomplished. The guardsman
stepped before me, saying,
"No one comes from Than Kosis without carrying an order or the
password. You must give me one or the other before you may pass."
"The only order I require, my friend, to enter where I will, hangs
at my side," I answered, tapping my long-sword; "will you let me
pass in peace or no?"
For reply he whipped out his own sword, calling to the others to
join him, and thus the four stood, with drawn weapons, barring my
further progress.
"You are not here by the order of Than Kosis," cried the one who had
first addressed me, "and not only shall you not enter the apartments
of the Princess of Helium but you shall go back to Than Kosis under
guard to explain this unwarranted temerity. Throw down your sword;
you cannot hope to overcome four of us," he added with a grim smile.
My reply was a quick thrust which left me but three antagonists and
I can assure you that they were worthy of my metal. They had me
backed against the wall in no time, fighting for my life. Slowly I
worked my way to a corner of the room where I could force them to
come at me only one at a time, and thus we fought upward of twenty
minutes; the clanging of steel on steel producing a veritable bedlam
in the little room.
The noise had brought Dejah Thoris to the door of her apartment,
and there she stood throughout the conflict with Sola at her back
peering over her shoulder. Her face was set and emotionless and
I knew that she did not recognize me, nor did Sola.
Finally a lucky cut brought down a second guardsman and then, with
only two opposing me, I changed my tactics and rushed them down
after the fashion of my fighting that had won me many a victory.
The third fell within ten seconds after the second, and the last lay
dead upon the bloody floor a few moments later. They were brave men
and noble fighters, and it grieved me that I had been forced to kill
them, but I would have willingly depopulated all Barsoom could I
have reached the side of my Dejah Thoris in no other way.
Sheathing my bloody blade I advanced toward my Martian Princess,
who still stood mutely gazing at me without sign of recognition.
"Who are you, Zodangan?" she whispered. "Another enemy to harass me
in my misery?"
"I am a friend," I answered, "a once cherished friend."
"No friend of Helium's princess wears that metal," she replied,
"and yet the voice! I have heard it before; it is not--it cannot
be--no, for he is dead."
"It is, though, my Princess, none other than John Carter,"
I said. "Do you not recognize, even through paint and strange
metal, the heart of your chieftain?"
As I came close to her she swayed toward me with outstretched hands,
but as I reached to take her in my arms she drew back with a shudder
and a little moan of misery.
"Too late, too late," she grieved. "O my chieftain that was,
and whom I thought dead, had you but returned one little hour
before--but now it is too late, too late."
"What do you mean, Dejah Thoris?" I cried. "That you would not have
promised yourself to the Zodangan prince had you known that I
lived?"
"Think you, John Carter, that I would give my heart to you yesterday
and today to another? I thought that it lay buried with your ashes
in the pits of Warhoon, and so today I have promised my body to
another to save my people from the curse of a victorious Zodangan
army."
"But I am not dead, my princess. I have come to claim you, and all
Zodanga cannot prevent it."
"It is too late, John Carter, my promise is given, and on Barsoom
that is final. The ceremonies which follow later are but
meaningless formalities. They make the fact of marriage no more
certain than does the funeral cortege of a jeddak again place the
seal of death upon him. I am as good as married, John Carter.
No longer may you call me your princess. No longer are you my
chieftain."
"I know but little of your customs here upon Barsoom, Dejah Thoris,
but I do know that I love you, and if you meant the last words you
spoke to me that day as the hordes of Warhoon were charging down
upon us, no other man shall ever claim you as his bride. You meant
them then, my princess, and you mean them still! Say that it is
true."
"I meant them, John Carter," she whispered. "I cannot repeat them
now for I have given myself to another. Ah, if you had only known
our ways, my friend," she continued, half to herself, "the promise
would have been yours long months ago, and you could have claimed
me before all others. It might have meant the fall of Helium, but
I would have given my empire for my Tharkian chief."
Then aloud she said: "Do you remember the night when you offended
me? You called me your princess without having asked my hand of me,
and then you boasted that you had fought for me. You did not know,
and I should not have been offended; I see that now. But there was
no one to tell you what I could not, that upon Barsoom there are two
kinds of women in the cities of the red men. The one they fight for
that they may ask them in marriage; the other kind they fight for
also, but never ask their hands. When a man has won a woman he may
address her as his princess, or in any of the several terms which
signify possession. You had fought for me, but had never asked me
in marriage, and so when you called me your princess, you see," she
faltered, "I was hurt, but even then, John Carter, I did not repulse
you, as I should have done, until you made it doubly worse by
taunting me with having won me through combat."
"I do not need ask your forgiveness now, Dejah Thoris," I cried.
"You must know that my fault was of ignorance of your Barsoomian
customs. What I failed to do, through implicit belief that my
petition would be presumptuous and unwelcome, I do now, Dejah
Thoris; I ask you to be my wife, and by all the Virginian fighting
blood that flows in my veins you shall be."
"No, John Carter, it is useless," she cried, hopelessly,
"I may never be yours while Sab Than lives."
"You have sealed his death warrant, my princess--Sab Than dies."
"Nor that either," she hastened to explain. "I may not wed the man
who slays my husband, even in self-defense. It is custom. We are
ruled by custom upon Barsoom. It is useless, my friend. You must
bear the sorrow with me. That at least we may share in common.
That, and the memory of the brief days among the Tharks. You must
go now, nor ever see me again. Good-bye, my chieftain that was."
Disheartened and dejected, I withdrew from the room, but I was not
entirely discouraged, nor would I admit that Dejah Thoris was lost
to me until the ceremony had actually been performed.
As I wandered along the corridors, I was as absolutely lost in the
mazes of winding passageways as I had been before I discovered Dejah
Thoris' apartments.
I knew that my only hope lay in escape from the city of Zodanga, for
the matter of the four dead guardsmen would have to be explained,
and as I could never reach my original post without a guide,
suspicion would surely rest on me so soon as I was discovered
wandering aimlessly through the palace.
Presently I came upon a spiral runway leading to a lower floor, and
this I followed downward for several stories until I reached the
doorway of a large apartment in which were a number of guardsmen.
The walls of this room were hung with transparent tapestries behind
which I secreted myself without being apprehended.
The conversation of the guardsmen was general, and awakened no
interest in me until an officer entered the room and ordered four
of the men to relieve the detail who were guarding the Princess of
Helium. Now, I knew, my troubles would commence in earnest and
indeed they were upon me all too soon, for it seemed that the squad
had scarcely left the guardroom before one of their number burst in
again breathlessly, crying that they had found their four comrades
butchered in the antechamber.
In a moment the entire palace was alive with people. Guardsmen,
officers, courtiers, servants, and slaves ran helter-skelter
through the corridors and apartments carrying messages and orders,
and searching for signs of the assassin.
This was my opportunity and slim as it appeared I grasped it, for as
a number of soldiers came hurrying past my hiding place I fell in
behind them and followed through the mazes of the palace until, in
passing through a great hall, I saw the blessed light of day coming
in through a series of larger windows.
Here I left my guides, and, slipping to the nearest window, sought
for an avenue of escape. The windows opened upon a great balcony
which overlooked one of the broad avenues of Zodanga. The ground
was about thirty feet below, and at a like distance from the
building was a wall fully twenty feet high, constructed of polished
glass about a foot in thickness. To a red Martian escape by this
path would have appeared impossible, but to me, with my earthly
strength and agility, it seemed already accomplished. My only fear
was in being detected before darkness fell, for I could not make the
leap in broad daylight while the court below and the avenue beyond
were crowded with Zodangans.
Accordingly I searched for a hiding place and finally found one
by accident, inside a huge hanging ornament which swung from the
ceiling of the hall, and about ten feet from the floor. Into the
capacious bowl-like vase I sprang with ease, and scarcely had I
settled down within it than I heard a number of people enter the
apartment. The group stopped beneath my hiding place and I could
plainly overhear their every word.
"It is the work of Heliumites," said one of the men.
"Yes, O Jeddak, but how had they access to the palace? I could
believe that even with the diligent care of your guardsmen a single
enemy might reach the inner chambers, but how a force of six or
eight fighting men could have done so unobserved is beyond me. We
shall soon know, however, for here comes the royal psychologist."
Another man now joined the group, and, after making his formal
greetings to his ruler, said:
"O mighty Jeddak, it is a strange tale I read in the dead minds
of your faithful guardsmen. They were felled not by a number
of fighting men, but by a single opponent."
He paused to let the full weight of this announcement impress his
hearers, and that his statement was scarcely credited was evidenced
by the impatient exclamation of incredulity which escaped the lips
of Than Kosis.
"What manner of weird tale are you bringing me, Notan?" he cried.
"It is the truth, my Jeddak," replied the psychologist. "In fact
the impressions were strongly marked on the brain of each of the
four guardsmen. Their antagonist was a very tall man, wearing the
metal of one of your own guardsmen, and his fighting ability was
little short of marvelous for he fought fair against the entire four
and vanquished them by his surpassing skill and superhuman strength
and endurance. Though he wore the metal of Zodanga, my Jeddak, such
a man was never seen before in this or any other country upon
Barsoom.
"The mind of the Princess of Helium whom I have examined and
questioned was a blank to me, she has perfect control, and I could
not read one iota of it. She said that she witnessed a portion of
the encounter, and that when she looked there was but one man
engaged with the guardsmen; a man whom she did not recognize as
ever having seen."
"Where is my erstwhile savior?" spoke another of the party, and I
recognized the voice of the cousin of Than Kosis, whom I had rescued
from the green warriors. "By the metal of my first ancestor," he
went on, "but the description fits him to perfection, especially as
to his fighting ability."
"Where is this man?" cried Than Kosis. "Have him brought to me at
once. What know you of him, cousin? It seemed strange to me now
that I think upon it that there should have been such a fighting man
in Zodanga, of whose name, even, we were ignorant before today. And
his name too, John Carter, who ever heard of such a name upon
Barsoom!"
Word was soon brought that I was nowhere to be found, either in the
palace or at my former quarters in the barracks of the air-scout
squadron. Kantos Kan, they had found and questioned, but he knew
nothing of my whereabouts, and as to my past, he had told them he
knew as little, since he had but recently met me during our
captivity among the Warhoons.
"Keep your eyes on this other one," commanded Than Kosis. "He also
is a stranger and likely as not they both hail from Helium, and
where one is we shall sooner or later find the other. Quadruple
the air patrol, and let every man who leaves the city by air or
ground be subjected to the closest scrutiny."
Another messenger now entered with word that I was still within the
palace walls.
"The likeness of every person who has entered or left the palace
grounds today has been carefully examined," concluded the fellow,
"and not one approaches the likeness of this new padwar of the
guards, other than that which was recorded of him at the time he
entered."
"Then we will have him shortly," commented Than Kosis contentedly,
"and in the meanwhile we will repair to the apartments of the
Princess of Helium and question her in regard to the affair. She
may know more than she cared to divulge to you, Notan. Come."
They left the hall, and, as darkness had fallen without, I slipped
lightly from my hiding place and hastened to the balcony. Few were
in sight, and choosing a moment when none seemed near I sprang
quickly to the top of the glass wall and from there to the avenue
beyond the palace grounds.
CHAPTER XXIII
LOST IN THE SKY
Without effort at concealment I hastened to the vicinity of our
quarters, where I felt sure I should find Kantos Kan. As I neared
the building I became more careful, as I judged, and rightly, that
the place would be guarded. Several men in civilian metal loitered
near the front entrance and in the rear were others. My only means
of reaching, unseen, the upper story where our apartments were
situated was through an adjoining building, and after considerable
maneuvering I managed to attain the roof of a shop several doors
away.
Leaping from roof to roof, I soon reached an open window in the
building where I hoped to find the Heliumite, and in another moment
I stood in the room before him. He was alone and showed no surprise
at my coming, saying he had expected me much earlier, as my tour of
duty must have ended some time since.
I saw that he knew nothing of the events of the day at the palace,
and when I had enlightened him he was all excitement. The news that
Dejah Thoris had promised her hand to Sab Than filled him with
dismay.
"It cannot be," he exclaimed. "It is impossible! Why no man in all
Helium but would prefer death to the selling of our loved princess
to the ruling house of Zodanga. She must have lost her mind to have
assented to such an atrocious bargain. You, who do not know how we
of Helium love the members of our ruling house, cannot appreciate
the horror with which I contemplate such an unholy alliance."
"What can be done, John Carter?" he continued. "You are a
resourceful man. Can you not think of some way to save Helium from
this disgrace?"
"If I can come within sword's reach of Sab Than," I answered, "I can
solve the difficulty in so far as Helium is concerned, but for
personal reasons I would prefer that another struck the blow that
frees Dejah Thoris."
Kantos Kan eyed me narrowly before he spoke.
"You love her!" he said. "Does she know it?"
"She knows it, Kantos Kan, and repulses me only because she is
promised to Sab Than."
The splendid fellow sprang to his feet, and grasping me by the
shoulder raised his sword on high, exclaiming:
"And had the choice been left to me I could not have chosen a more
fitting mate for the first princess of Barsoom. Here is my hand
upon your shoulder, John Carter, and my word that Sab Than shall go
out at the point of my sword for the sake of my love for Helium, for
Dejah Thoris, and for you. This very night I shall try to reach his
quarters in the palace."
"How?" I asked. "You are strongly guarded and a quadruple force
patrols the sky."
He bent his head in thought a moment, then raised it with an air of
confidence.
"I only need to pass these guards and I can do it," he said at last.
"I know a secret entrance to the palace through the pinnacle of the
highest tower. I fell upon it by chance one day as I was passing
above the palace on patrol duty. In this work it is required that
we investigate any unusual occurrence we may witness, and a face
peering from the pinnacle of the high tower of the palace was, to
me, most unusual. I therefore drew near and discovered that the
possessor of the peering face was none other than Sab Than. He was
slightly put out at being detected and commanded me to keep the
matter to myself, explaining that the passage from the tower led
directly to his apartments, and was known only to him. If I can
reach the roof of the barracks and get my machine I can be in Sab
Than's quarters in five minutes; but how am I to escape from this
building, guarded as you say it is?"
"How well are the machine sheds at the barracks guarded?" I asked.
"There is usually but one man on duty there at night upon the roof."
"Go to the roof of this building, Kantos Kan, and wait me there."
Without stopping to explain my plans I retraced my way to the street
and hastened to the barracks. I did not dare to enter the building,
filled as it was with members of the air-scout squadron, who, in
common with all Zodanga, were on the lookout for me.
The building was an enormous one, rearing its lofty head fully a
thousand feet into the air. But few buildings in Zodanga were
higher than these barracks, though several topped it by a few
hundred feet; the docks of the great battleships of the line
standing some fifteen hundred feet from the ground, while the
freight and passenger stations of the merchant squadrons rose nearly
as high.
It was a long climb up the face of the building, and one fraught
with much danger, but there was no other way, and so I essayed the
task. The fact that Barsoomian architecture is extremely ornate
made the feat much simpler than I had anticipated, since I found
ornamental ledges and projections which fairly formed a perfect
ladder for me all the way to the eaves of the building. Here I met
my first real obstacle. The eaves projected nearly twenty feet from
the wall to which I clung, and though I encircled the great building
I could find no opening through them.
The top floor was alight, and filled with soldiers engaged in the
pastimes of their kind; I could not, therefore, reach the roof
through the building.
There was one slight, desperate chance, and that I decided I must
take--it was for Dejah Thoris, and no man has lived who would not
risk a thousand deaths for such as she.
Clinging to the wall with my feet and one hand, I unloosened one of
the long leather straps of my trappings at the end of which dangled
a great hook by which air sailors are hung to the sides and bottoms
of their craft for various purposes of repair, and by means of which
landing parties are lowered to the ground from the battleships.
I swung this hook cautiously to the roof several times before it
finally found lodgment; gently I pulled on it to strengthen its
hold, but whether it would bear the weight of my body I did not
know. It might be barely caught upon the very outer verge of the
roof, so that as my body swung out at the end of the strap it would
slip off and launch me to the pavement a thousand feet below.
An instant I hesitated, and then, releasing my grasp upon the
supporting ornament, I swung out into space at the end of the
strap. Far below me lay the brilliantly lighted streets, the hard
pavements, and death. There was a little jerk at the top of the
supporting eaves, and a nasty slipping, grating sound which turned
me cold with apprehension; then the hook caught and I was safe.
Clambering quickly aloft I grasped the edge of the eaves and drew
myself to the surface of the roof above. As I gained my feet I was
confronted by the sentry on duty, into the muzzle of whose revolver
I found myself looking.
"Who are you and whence came you?" he cried.
"I am an air scout, friend, and very near a dead one, for just by
the merest chance I escaped falling to the avenue below," I replied.
"But how came you upon the roof, man? No one has landed or come up
from the building for the past hour. Quick, explain yourself, or I
call the guard."
"Look you here, sentry, and you shall see how I came and how close a
shave I had to not coming at all," I answered, turning toward the
edge of the roof, where, twenty feet below, at the end of my strap,
hung all my weapons.
The fellow, acting on impulse of curiosity, stepped to my side and
to his undoing, for as he leaned to peer over the eaves I grasped
him by his throat and his pistol arm and threw him heavily to the
roof. The weapon dropped from his grasp, and my fingers choked off
his attempted cry for assistance. I gagged and bound him and then
hung him over the edge of the roof as I myself had hung a few
moments before. I knew it would be morning before he would be
discovered, and I needed all the time that I could gain.
Donning my trappings and weapons I hastened to the sheds, and soon
had out both my machine and Kantos Kan's. Making his fast behind
mine I started my engine, and skimming over the edge of the roof I
dove down into the streets of the city far below the plane usually
occupied by the air patrol. In less than a minute I was settling
safely upon the roof of our apartment beside the astonished Kantos
Kan.
I lost no time in explanation, but plunged immediately into a
discussion of our plans for the immediate future. It was decided
that I was to try to make Helium while Kantos Kan was to enter the
palace and dispatch Sab Than. If successful he was then to follow
me. He set my compass for me, a clever little device which will
remain steadfastly fixed upon any given point on the surface of
Barsoom, and bidding each other farewell we rose together and sped
in the direction of the palace which lay in the route which I must
take to reach Helium.
As we neared the high tower a patrol shot down from above, throwing
its piercing searchlight full upon my craft, and a voice roared out
a command to halt, following with a shot as I paid no attention to
his hail. Kantos Kan dropped quickly into the darkness, while I
rose steadily and at terrific speed raced through the Martian sky
followed by a dozen of the air-scout craft which had joined the
pursuit, and later by a swift cruiser carrying a hundred men and
a battery of rapid-fire guns. By twisting and turning my little
machine, now rising and now falling, I managed to elude their
search-lights most of the time, but I was also losing ground by
these tactics, and so I decided to hazard everything on a
straight-away course and leave the result to fate and the speed
of my machine.
Kantos Kan had shown me a trick of gearing, which is known only
to the navy of Helium, that greatly increased the speed of our
machines, so that I felt sure I could distance my pursuers if
I could dodge their projectiles for a few moments.
As I sped through the air the screeching of the bullets around me
convinced me that only by a miracle could I escape, but the die was
cast, and throwing on full speed I raced a straight course toward
Helium. Gradually I left my pursuers further and further behind,
and I was just congratulating myself on my lucky escape, when a
well-directed shot from the cruiser exploded at the prow of my
little craft. The concussion nearly capsized her, and with a
sickening plunge she hurtled downward through the dark night.
How far I fell before I regained control of the plane I do not know,
but I must have been very close to the ground when I started to rise
again, as I plainly heard the squealing of animals below me. Rising
again I scanned the heavens for my pursuers, and finally making out
their lights far behind me, saw that they were landing, evidently
in search of me.
Not until their lights were no longer discernible did I venture
to flash my little lamp upon my compass, and then I found to my
consternation that a fragment of the projectile had utterly
destroyed my only guide, as well as my speedometer. It was true
I could follow the stars in the general direction of Helium, but
without knowing the exact location of the city or the speed at
which I was traveling my chances for finding it were slim.
Helium lies a thousand miles southwest of Zodanga, and with my
compass intact I should have made the trip, barring accidents, in
between four and five hours. As it turned out, however, morning
found me speeding over a vast expanse of dead sea bottom after
nearly six hours of continuous flight at high speed. Presently a
great city showed below me, but it was not Helium, as that alone of
all Barsoomian metropolises consists in two immense circular walled
cities about seventy-five miles apart and would have been easily
distinguishable from the altitude at which I was flying.
Believing that I had come too far to the north and west, I turned
back in a southeasterly direction, passing during the forenoon
several other large cities, but none resembling the description
which Kantos Kan had given me of Helium. In addition to the
twin-city formation of Helium, another distinguishing feature is the
two immense towers, one of vivid scarlet rising nearly a mile into
the air from the center of one of the cities, while the other, of
bright yellow and of the same height, marks her sister.
CHAPTER XXIV
TARS TARKAS FINDS A FRIEND
About noon I passed low over a great dead city of ancient Mars, and
as I skimmed out across the plain beyond I came full upon several
thousand green warriors engaged in a terrific battle. Scarcely had
I seen them than a volley of shots was directed at me, and with the
almost unfailing accuracy of their aim my little craft was instantly
a ruined wreck, sinking erratically to the ground.
I fell almost directly in the center of the fierce combat, among
warriors who had not seen my approach so busily were they engaged
in life and death struggles. The men were fighting on foot with
long-swords, while an occasional shot from a sharpshooter on the
outskirts of the conflict would bring down a warrior who might
for an instant separate himself from the entangled mass.
As my machine sank among them I realized that it was fight or die,
with good chances of dying in any event, and so I struck the ground
with drawn long-sword ready to defend myself as I could.
I fell beside a huge monster who was engaged with three antagonists,
and as I glanced at his fierce face, filled with the light of
battle, I recognized Tars Tarkas the Thark. He did not see me, as I
was a trifle behind him, and just then the three warriors opposing
him, and whom I recognized as Warhoons, charged simultaneously. The
mighty fellow made quick work of one of them, but in stepping back
for another thrust he fell over a dead body behind him and was down
and at the mercy of his foes in an instant. Quick as lightning they
were upon him, and Tars Tarkas would have been gathered to his
fathers in short order had I not sprung before his prostrate form
and engaged his adversaries. I had accounted for one of them when
the mighty Thark regained his feet and quickly settled the other.
He gave me one look, and a slight smile touched his grim lip as,
touching my shoulder, he said,
"I would scarcely recognize you, John Carter, but there is no other
mortal upon Barsoom who would have done what you have for me. I
think I have learned that there is such a thing as friendship, my
friend."
He said no more, nor was there opportunity, for the Warhoons were
closing in about us, and together we fought, shoulder to shoulder,
during all that long, hot afternoon, until the tide of battle turned
and the remnant of the fierce Warhoon horde fell back upon their
thoats, and fled into the gathering darkness.
Ten thousand men had been engaged in that titanic struggle, and upon
the field of battle lay three thousand dead. Neither side asked or
gave quarter, nor did they attempt to take prisoners.
On our return to the city after the battle we had gone directly to
Tars Tarkas' quarters, where I was left alone while the chieftain
attended the customary council which immediately follows an
engagement.
As I sat awaiting the return of the green warrior I heard something
move in an adjoining apartment, and as I glanced up there rushed
suddenly upon me a huge and hideous creature which bore me backward
upon the pile of silks and furs upon which I had been reclining. It
was Woola--faithful, loving Woola. He had found his way back to
Thark and, as Tars Tarkas later told me, had gone immediately to my
former quarters where he had taken up his pathetic and seemingly
hopeless watch for my return.
"Tal Hajus knows that you are here, John Carter," said Tars Tarkas,
on his return from the jeddak's quarters; "Sarkoja saw and
recognized you as we were returning. Tal Hajus has ordered me to
bring you before him tonight. I have ten thoats, John Carter; you
may take your choice from among them, and I will accompany you to
the nearest waterway that leads to Helium. Tars Tarkas may be a
cruel green warrior, but he can be a friend as well. Come, we
must start."
"And when you return, Tars Tarkas?" I asked.
"The wild calots, possibly, or worse," he replied. "Unless I should
chance to have the opportunity I have so long waited of battling
with Tal Hajus."
"We will stay, Tars Tarkas, and see Tal Hajus tonight. You shall
not sacrifice yourself, and it may be that tonight you can have the
chance you wait."
He objected strenuously, saying that Tal Hajus often flew into wild
fits of passion at the mere thought of the blow I had dealt him, and
that if ever he laid his hands upon me I would be subjected to the
most horrible tortures.
While we were eating I repeated to Tars Tarkas the story which Sola
had told me that night upon the sea bottom during the march to
Thark.
He said but little, but the great muscles of his face worked in
passion and in agony at recollection of the horrors which had been
heaped upon the only thing he had ever loved in all his cold, cruel,
terrible existence.
He no longer demurred when I suggested that we go before Tal Hajus,
only saying that he would like to speak to Sarkoja first. At his
request I accompanied him to her quarters, and the look of venomous
hatred she cast upon me was almost adequate recompense for any
future misfortunes this accidental return to Thark might bring me.
"Sarkoja," said Tars Tarkas, "forty years ago you were instrumental
in bringing about the torture and death of a woman named Gozava.
I have just discovered that the warrior who loved that woman has
learned of your part in the transaction. He may not kill you,
Sarkoja, it is not our custom, but there is nothing to prevent him
tying one end of a strap about your neck and the other end to a wild
thoat, merely to test your fitness to survive and help perpetuate
our race. Having heard that he would do this on the morrow, I
thought it only right to warn you, for I am a just man. The river
Iss is but a short pilgrimage, Sarkoja. Come, John Carter."
The next morning Sarkoja was gone, nor was she ever seen after.
In silence we hastened to the jeddak's palace, where we were
immediately admitted to his presence; in fact, he could scarcely
wait to see me and was standing erect upon his platform glowering
at the entrance as I came in.
"Strap him to that pillar," he shrieked. "We shall see who it is
dares strike the mighty Tal Hajus. Heat the irons; with my own
hands I shall burn the eyes from his head that he may not pollute
my person with his vile gaze."
"Chieftains of Thark," I cried, turning to the assembled council and
ignoring Tal Hajus, "I have been a chief among you, and today I have
fought for Thark shoulder to shoulder with her greatest warrior.
You owe me, at least, a hearing. I have won that much today. You
claim to be just people--"
"Silence," roared Tal Hajus. "Gag the creature and bind him as I
command."
"Justice, Tal Hajus," exclaimed Lorquas Ptomel. "Who are you to set
aside the customs of ages among the Tharks."
"Yes, justice!" echoed a dozen voices, and so, while Tal Hajus fumed
and frothed, I continued.
"You are a brave people and you love bravery, but where was your
mighty jeddak during the fighting today? I did not see him in the
thick of battle; he was not there. He rends defenseless women and
little children in his lair, but how recently has one of you seen
him fight with men? Why, even I, a midget beside him, felled him
with a single blow of my fist. Is it of such that the Tharks
fashion their jeddaks? There stands beside me now a great Thark,
a mighty warrior and a noble man. Chieftains, how sounds, Tars
Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark?"
A roar of deep-toned applause greeted this suggestion.
"It but remains for this council to command, and Tal Hajus must
prove his fitness to rule. Were he a brave man he would invite Tars
Tarkas to combat, for he does not love him, but Tal Hajus is afraid;
Tal Hajus, your jeddak, is a coward. With my bare hands I could
kill him, and he knows it."
After I ceased there was tense silence, as all eyes were riveted
upon Tal Hajus. He did not speak or move, but the blotchy green of
his countenance turned livid, and the froth froze upon his lips.
"Tal Hajus," said Lorquas Ptomel in a cold, hard voice, "never in my
long life have I seen a jeddak of the Tharks so humiliated. There
could be but one answer to this arraignment. We wait it." And
still Tal Hajus stood as though electrified.
"Chieftains," continued Lorquas Ptomel, "shall the jeddak, Tal
Hajus, prove his fitness to rule over Tars Tarkas?"
There were twenty chieftains about the rostrum, and twenty swords
flashed high in assent.
There was no alternative. That decree was final, and so Tal Hajus
drew his long-sword and advanced to meet Tars Tarkas.
The combat was soon over, and, with his foot upon the neck of the
dead monster, Tars Tarkas became jeddak among the Tharks.
His first act was to make me a full-fledged chieftain with the rank
I had won by my combats the first few weeks of my captivity among
them.
Seeing the favorable disposition of the warriors toward Tars Tarkas,
as well as toward me, I grasped the opportunity to enlist them in
my cause against Zodanga. I told Tars Tarkas the story of my
adventures, and in a few words had explained to him the thought
I had in mind.
"John Carter has made a proposal," he said, addressing the council,
"which meets with my sanction. I shall put it to you briefly.
Dejah Thoris, the Princess of Helium, who was our prisoner, is now
held by the jeddak of Zodanga, whose son she must wed to save her
country from devastation at the hands of the Zodangan forces.
"John Carter suggests that we rescue her and return her to Helium.
The loot of Zodanga would be magnificent, and I have often thought
that had we an alliance with the people of Helium we could obtain
sufficient assurance of sustenance to permit us to increase the size
and frequency of our hatchings, and thus become unquestionably
supreme among the green men of all Barsoom. What say you?"
It was a chance to fight, an opportunity to loot, and they rose to
the bait as a speckled trout to a fly.
For Tharks they were wildly enthusiastic, and before another half
hour had passed twenty mounted messengers were speeding across dead
sea bottoms to call the hordes together for the expedition.
In three days we were on the march toward Zodanga, one hundred
thousand strong, as Tars Tarkas had been able to enlist the services
of three smaller hordes on the promise of the great loot of Zodanga.
At the head of the column I rode beside the great Thark while at the
heels of my mount trotted my beloved Woola.
We traveled entirely by night, timing our marches so that we camped
during the day at deserted cities where, even to the beasts, we
were all kept indoors during the daylight hours. On the march Tars
Tarkas, through his remarkable ability and statesmanship, enlisted
fifty thousand more warriors from various hordes, so that, ten days
after we set out we halted at midnight outside the great walled city
of Zodanga, one hundred and fifty thousand strong.
The fighting strength and efficiency of this horde of ferocious
green monsters was equivalent to ten times their number of red men.
Never in the history of Barsoom, Tars Tarkas told me, had such a
force of green warriors marched to battle together. It was a
monstrous task to keep even a semblance of harmony among them, and
it was a marvel to me that he got them to the city without a mighty
battle among themselves.
But as we neared Zodanga their personal quarrels were submerged
by their greater hatred for the red men, and especially for
the Zodangans, who had for years waged a ruthless campaign of
extermination against the green men, directing special attention
toward despoiling their incubators.
Now that we were before Zodanga the task of obtaining entry to the
city devolved upon me, and directing Tars Tarkas to hold his forces
in two divisions out of earshot of the city, with each division
opposite a large gateway, I took twenty dismounted warriors and
approached one of the small gates that pierced the walls at short
intervals. These gates have no regular guard, but are covered by
sentries, who patrol the avenue that encircles the city just
within the walls as our metropolitan police patrol their beats.
The walls of Zodanga are seventy-five feet in height and fifty feet
thick. They are built of enormous blocks of carborundum, and the
task of entering the city seemed, to my escort of green warriors, an
impossibility. The fellows who had been detailed to accompany me
were of one of the smaller hordes, and therefore did not know me.
Placing three of them with their faces to the wall and arms locked,
I commanded two more to mount to their shoulders, and a sixth I
ordered to climb upon the shoulders of the upper two. The head
of the topmost warrior towered over forty feet from the ground.
In this way, with ten warriors, I built a series of three steps from
the ground to the shoulders of the topmost man. Then starting from
a short distance behind them I ran swiftly up from one tier to the
next, and with a final bound from the broad shoulders of the highest
I clutched the top of the great wall and quietly drew myself to its
broad expanse. After me I dragged six lengths of leather from an
equal number of my warriors. These lengths we had previously
fastened together, and passing one end to the topmost warrior I
lowered the other end cautiously over the opposite side of the wall
toward the avenue below. No one was in sight, so, lowering myself
to the end of my leather strap, I dropped the remaining thirty feet
to the pavement below.
I had learned from Kantos Kan the secret of opening these gates,
and in another moment my twenty great fighting men stood within
the doomed city of Zodanga.
I found to my delight that I had entered at the lower boundary of
the enormous palace grounds. The building itself showed in the
distance a blaze of glorious light, and on the instant I determined
to lead a detachment of warriors directly within the palace itself,
while the balance of the great horde was attacking the barracks of
the soldiery.
Dispatching one of my men to Tars Tarkas for a detail of fifty
Tharks, with word of my intentions, I ordered ten warriors to
capture and open one of the great gates while with the nine
remaining I took the other. We were to do our work quietly, no
shots were to be fired and no general advance made until I had
reached the palace with my fifty Tharks. Our plans worked to
perfection. The two sentries we met were dispatched to their
fathers upon the banks of the lost sea of Korus, and the guards
at both gates followed them in silence.
CHAPTER XXV
THE LOOTING OF ZODANGA
As the great gate where I stood swung open my fifty Tharks, headed
by Tars Tarkas himself, rode in upon their mighty thoats. I led
them to the palace walls, which I negotiated easily without
assistance. Once inside, however, the gate gave me considerable
trouble, but I finally was rewarded by seeing it swing upon its
huge hinges, and soon my fierce escort was riding across the
gardens of the jeddak of Zodanga.
As we approached the palace I could see through the great windows of
the first floor into the brilliantly illuminated audience chamber
of Than Kosis. The immense hall was crowded with nobles and their
women, as though some important function was in progress. There was
not a guard in sight without the palace, due, I presume, to the fact
that the city and palace walls were considered impregnable, and so
I came close and peered within.
At one end of the chamber, upon massive golden thrones encrusted
with diamonds, sat Than Kosis and his consort, surrounded by
officers and dignitaries of state. Before them stretched a broad
aisle lined on either side with soldiery, and as I looked there
entered this aisle at the far end of the hall, the head of a
procession which advanced to the foot of the throne.
First there marched four officers of the jeddak's Guard bearing a
huge salver on which reposed, upon a cushion of scarlet silk, a
great golden chain with a collar and padlock at each end. Directly
behind these officers came four others carrying a similar salver
which supported the magnificent ornaments of a prince and princess
of the reigning house of Zodanga.
At the foot of the throne these two parties separated and halted,
facing each other at opposite sides of the aisle. Then came more
dignitaries, and the officers of the palace and of the army, and
finally two figures entirely muffled in scarlet silk, so that not
a feature of either was discernible. These two stopped at the
foot of the throne, facing Than Kosis. When the balance of the
procession had entered and assumed their stations Than Kosis
addressed the couple standing before him. I could not hear his
words, but presently two officers advanced and removed the scarlet
robe from one of the figures, and I saw that Kantos Kan had failed
in his mission, for it was Sab Than, Prince of Zodanga, who stood
revealed before me.
Than Kosis now took a set of the ornaments from one of the salvers
and placed one of the collars of gold about his son's neck,
springing the padlock fast. After a few more words addressed to
Sab Than he turned to the other figure, from which the officers
now removed the enshrouding silks, disclosing to my now
comprehending view Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium.
The object of the ceremony was clear to me; in another moment Dejah
Thoris would be joined forever to the Prince of Zodanga. It was an
impressive and beautiful ceremony, I presume, but to me it seemed
the most fiendish sight I had ever witnessed, and as the ornaments
were adjusted upon her beautiful figure and her collar of gold swung
open in the hands of Than Kosis I raised my long-sword above my
head, and, with the heavy hilt, I shattered the glass of the great
window and sprang into the midst of the astonished assemblage. With
a bound I was on the steps of the platform beside Than Kosis, and as
he stood riveted with surprise I brought my long-sword down upon the
golden chain that would have bound Dejah Thoris to another.
In an instant all was confusion; a thousand drawn swords menaced me
from every quarter, and Sab Than sprang upon me with a jeweled
dagger he had drawn from his nuptial ornaments. I could have killed
him as easily as I might a fly, but the age-old custom of Barsoom
stayed my hand, and grasping his wrist as the dagger flew toward my
heart I held him as though in a vise and with my long-sword pointed
to the far end of the hall.
"Zodanga has fallen," I cried. "Look!"
All eyes turned in the direction I had indicated, and there, forging
through the portals of the entranceway rode Tars Tarkas and his
fifty warriors on their great thoats.
A cry of alarm and amazement broke from the assemblage, but no word
of fear, and in a moment the soldiers and nobles of Zodanga were
hurling themselves upon the advancing Tharks.
Thrusting Sab Than headlong from the platform, I drew Dejah Thoris
to my side. Behind the throne was a narrow doorway and in this Than
Kosis now stood facing me, with drawn long-sword. In an instant we
were engaged, and I found no mean antagonist.
As we circled upon the broad platform I saw Sab Than rushing up the
steps to aid his father, but, as he raised his hand to strike, Dejah
Thoris sprang before him and then my sword found the spot that made
Sab Than jeddak of Zodanga. As his father rolled dead upon the
floor the new jeddak tore himself free from Dejah Thoris' grasp,
and again we faced each other. He was soon joined by a quartet of
officers, and, with my back against a golden throne, I fought once
again for Dejah Thoris. I was hard pressed to defend myself and yet
not strike down Sab Than and, with him, my last chance to win the
woman I loved. My blade was swinging with the rapidity of lightning
as I sought to parry the thrusts and cuts of my opponents. Two I
had disarmed, and one was down, when several more rushed to the aid
of their new ruler, and to avenge the death of the old.
As they advanced there were cries of "The woman! The woman!
Strike her down; it is her plot. Kill her! Kill her!"
Calling to Dejah Thoris to get behind me I worked my way toward the
little doorway back of the throne, but the officers realized my
intentions, and three of them sprang in behind me and blocked my
chances for gaining a position where I could have defended Dejah
Thoris against any army of swordsmen.
The Tharks were having their hands full in the center of the room,
and I began to realize that nothing short of a miracle could save
Dejah Thoris and myself, when I saw Tars Tarkas surging through the
crowd of pygmies that swarmed about him. With one swing of his
mighty longsword he laid a dozen corpses at his feet, and so he
hewed a pathway before him until in another moment he stood upon the
platform beside me, dealing death and destruction right and left.
The bravery of the Zodangans was awe-inspiring, not one attempted
to escape, and when the fighting ceased it was because only Tharks
remained alive in the great hall, other than Dejah Thoris and
myself.
Sab Than lay dead beside his father, and the corpses of the flower
of Zodangan nobility and chivalry covered the floor of the bloody
shambles.
My first thought when the battle was over was for Kantos Kan,
and leaving Dejah Thoris in charge of Tars Tarkas I took a dozen
warriors and hastened to the dungeons beneath the palace. The
jailers had all left to join the fighters in the throne room, so
we searched the labyrinthine prison without opposition.
I called Kantos Kan's name aloud in each new corridor and
compartment, and finally I was rewarded by hearing a faint response.
Guided by the sound, we soon found him helpless in a dark recess.
He was overjoyed at seeing me, and to know the meaning of the fight,
faint echoes of which had reached his prison cell. He told me that
the air patrol had captured him before he reached the high tower of
the palace, so that he had not even seen Sab Than.
We discovered that it would be futile to attempt to cut away the
bars and chains which held him prisoner, so, at his suggestion I
returned to search the bodies on the floor above for keys to open
the padlocks of his cell and of his chains.
Fortunately among the first I examined I found his jailer, and soon
we had Kantos Kan with us in the throne room.
The sounds of heavy firing, mingled with shouts and cries, came to
us from the city's streets, and Tars Tarkas hastened away to direct
the fighting without. Kantos Kan accompanied him to act as guide,
the green warriors commencing a thorough search of the palace for
other Zodangans and for loot, and Dejah Thoris and I were left
alone.
She had sunk into one of the golden thrones, and as I turned to her
she greeted me with a wan smile.
"Was there ever such a man!" she exclaimed. "I know that Barsoom
has never before seen your like. Can it be that all Earth men are
as you? Alone, a stranger, hunted, threatened, persecuted, you have
done in a few short months what in all the past ages of Barsoom no
man has ever done: joined together the wild hordes of the sea
bottoms and brought them to fight as allies of a red Martian
people."
"The answer is easy, Dejah Thoris," I replied smiling. "It was not
I who did it, it was love, love for Dejah Thoris, a power that would
work greater miracles than this you have seen."
A pretty flush overspread her face and she answered,
"You may say that now, John Carter, and I may listen, for I
am free."
"And more still I have to say, ere it is again too late," I
returned. "I have done many strange things in my life, many things
that wiser men would not have dared, but never in my wildest fancies
have I dreamed of winning a Dejah Thoris for myself--for never had I
dreamed that in all the universe dwelt such a woman as the Princess
of Helium. That you are a princess does not abash me, but that you
are you is enough to make me doubt my sanity as I ask you, my
princess, to be mine."
"He does not need to be abashed who so well knew the answer to his
plea before the plea were made," she replied, rising and placing her
dear hands upon my shoulders, and so I took her in my arms and
kissed her.
And thus in the midst of a city of wild conflict, filled with the
alarms of war; with death and destruction reaping their terrible
harvest around her, did Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, true
daughter of Mars, the God of War, promise herself in marriage to
John Carter, Gentleman of Virginia.
CHAPTER XXVI
THROUGH CARNAGE TO JOY
Sometime later Tars Tarkas and Kantos Kan returned to report that
Zodanga had been completely reduced. Her forces were entirely
destroyed or captured, and no further resistance was to be expected
from within. Several battleships had escaped, but there were
thousands of war and merchant vessels under guard of Thark warriors.
The lesser hordes had commenced looting and quarreling among
themselves, so it was decided that we collect what warriors we
could, man as many vessels as possible with Zodangan prisoners
and make for Helium without further loss of time.
Five hours later we sailed from the roofs of the dock buildings with
a fleet of two hundred and fifty battleships, carrying nearly one
hundred thousand green warriors, followed by a fleet of transports
with our thoats.
Behind us we left the stricken city in the fierce and brutal
clutches of some forty thousand green warriors of the lesser hordes.
They were looting, murdering, and fighting amongst themselves. In
a hundred places they had applied the torch, and columns of dense
smoke were rising above the city as though to blot out from the
eye of heaven the horrid sights beneath.
In the middle of the afternoon we sighted the scarlet and yellow
towers of Helium, and a short time later a great fleet of Zodangan
battleships rose from the camps of the besiegers without the city,
and advanced to meet us.
The banners of Helium had been strung from stem to stern of each
of our mighty craft, but the Zodangans did not need this sign to
realize that we were enemies, for our green Martian warriors had
opened fire upon them almost as they left the ground. With their
uncanny marksmanship they raked the on-coming fleet with volley
after volley.
The twin cities of Helium, perceiving that we were friends, sent out
hundreds of vessels to aid us, and then began the first real air
battle I had ever witnessed.
The vessels carrying our green warriors were kept circling above
the contending fleets of Helium and Zodanga, since their batteries
were useless in the hands of the Tharks who, having no navy, have
no skill in naval gunnery. Their small-arm fire, however, was
most effective, and the final outcome of the engagement was
strongly influenced, if not wholly determined, by their presence.
At first the two forces circled at the same altitude, pouring
broadside after broadside into each other. Presently a great hole
was torn in the hull of one of the immense battle craft from the
Zodangan camp; with a lurch she turned completely over, the little
figures of her crew plunging, turning and twisting toward the
ground a thousand feet below; then with sickening velocity she tore
after them, almost completely burying herself in the soft loam of
the ancient sea bottom.
A wild cry of exultation arose from the Heliumite squadron, and with
redoubled ferocity they fell upon the Zodangan fleet. By a pretty
maneuver two of the vessels of Helium gained a position above their
adversaries, from which they poured upon them from their keel bomb
batteries a perfect torrent of exploding bombs.
Then, one by one, the battleships of Helium succeeded in rising
above the Zodangans, and in a short time a number of the
beleaguering battleships were drifting hopeless wrecks toward the
high scarlet tower of greater Helium. Several others attempted
to escape, but they were soon surrounded by thousands of tiny
individual fliers, and above each hung a monster battleship of
Helium ready to drop boarding parties upon their decks.
Within but little more than an hour from the moment the victorious
Zodangan squadron had risen to meet us from the camp of the
besiegers the battle was over, and the remaining vessels of the
conquered Zodangans were headed toward the cities of Helium under
prize crews.
There was an extremely pathetic side to the surrender of these
mighty fliers, the result of an age-old custom which demanded that
surrender should be signalized by the voluntary plunging to earth of
the commander of the vanquished vessel. One after another the brave
fellows, holding their colors high above their heads, leaped from
the towering bows of their mighty craft to an awful death.
Not until the commander of the entire fleet took the fearful plunge,
thus indicating the surrender of the remaining vessels, did the
fighting cease, and the useless sacrifice of brave men come to an
end.
We now signaled the flagship of Helium's navy to approach, and
when she was within hailing distance I called out that we had the
Princess Dejah Thoris on board, and that we wished to transfer her
to the flagship that she might be taken immediately to the city.
As the full import of my announcement bore in upon them a great cry
arose from the decks of the flagship, and a moment later the colors
of the Princess of Helium broke from a hundred points upon her upper
works. When the other vessels of the squadron caught the meaning of
the signals flashed them they took up the wild acclaim and unfurled
her colors in the gleaming sunlight.
The flagship bore down upon us, and as she swung gracefully to and
touched our side a dozen officers sprang upon our decks. As their
astonished gaze fell upon the hundreds of green warriors, who now
came forth from the fighting shelters, they stopped aghast, but at
sight of Kantos Kan, who advanced to meet them, they came forward,
crowding about him.
Dejah Thoris and I then advanced, and they had no eyes for other
than her. She received them gracefully, calling each by name, for
they were men high in the esteem and service of her grandfather,
and she knew them well.
"Lay your hands upon the shoulder of John Carter," she said to them,
turning toward me, "the man to whom Helium owes her princess as well
as her victory today."
They were very courteous to me and said many kind and complimentary
things, but what seemed to impress them most was that I had won the
aid of the fierce Tharks in my campaign for the liberation of Dejah
Thoris, and the relief of Helium.
"You owe your thanks more to another man than to me," I said, "and
here he is; meet one of Barsoom's greatest soldiers and statesmen,
Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark."
With the same polished courtesy that had marked their manner toward
me they extended their greetings to the great Thark, nor, to my
surprise, was he much behind them in ease of bearing or in courtly
speech. Though not a garrulous race, the Tharks are extremely
formal, and their ways lend themselves amazingly well to dignified
and courtly manners.
Dejah Thoris went aboard the flagship, and was much put out that I
would not follow, but, as I explained to her, the battle was but
partly won; we still had the land forces of the besieging Zodangans
to account for, and I would not leave Tars Tarkas until that had
been accomplished.
The commander of the naval forces of Helium promised to arrange to
have the armies of Helium attack from the city in conjunction with
our land attack, and so the vessels separated and Dejah Thoris was
borne in triumph back to the court of her grandfather, Tardos Mors,
Jeddak of Helium.
In the distance lay our fleet of transports, with the thoats of the
green warriors, where they had remained during the battle. Without
landing stages it was to be a difficult matter to unload these
beasts upon the open plain, but there was nothing else for it, and
so we put out for a point about ten miles from the city and began
the task.
It was necessary to lower the animals to the ground in slings and
this work occupied the remainder of the day and half the night.
Twice we were attacked by parties of Zodangan cavalry, but with
little loss, however, and after darkness shut down they withdrew.
As soon as the last thoat was unloaded Tars Tarkas gave the command
to advance, and in three parties we crept upon the Zodangan camp
from the north, the south and the east.
About a mile from the main camp we encountered their outposts and,
as had been prearranged, accepted this as the signal to charge.
With wild, ferocious cries and amidst the nasty squealing of
battle-enraged thoats we bore down upon the Zodangans.
We did not catch them napping, but found a well-entrenched battle
line confronting us. Time after time we were repulsed until, toward
noon, I began to fear for the result of the battle.
The Zodangans numbered nearly a million fighting men, gathered
from pole to pole, wherever stretched their ribbon-like waterways,
while pitted against them were less than a hundred thousand green
warriors. The forces from Helium had not arrived, nor could we
receive any word from them.
Just at noon we heard heavy firing all along the line between the
Zodangans and the cities, and we knew then that our much-needed
reinforcements had come.
Again Tars Tarkas ordered the charge, and once more the mighty
thoats bore their terrible riders against the ramparts of the enemy.
At the same moment the battle line of Helium surged over the
opposite breastworks of the Zodangans and in another moment they
were being crushed as between two millstones. Nobly they fought,
but in vain.
The plain before the city became a veritable shambles ere the last
Zodangan surrendered, but finally the carnage ceased, the prisoners
were marched back to Helium, and we entered the greater city's
gates, a huge triumphal procession of conquering heroes.
The broad avenues were lined with women and children, among which
were the few men whose duties necessitated that they remain within
the city during the battle. We were greeted with an endless round
of applause and showered with ornaments of gold, platinum, silver,
and precious jewels. The city had gone mad with joy.
My fierce Tharks caused the wildest excitement and enthusiasm.
Never before had an armed body of green warriors entered the gates
of Helium, and that they came now as friends and allies filled the
red men with rejoicing.
That my poor services to Dejah Thoris had become known to the
Heliumites was evidenced by the loud crying of my name, and by the
loads of ornaments that were fastened upon me and my huge thoat as
we passed up the avenues to the palace, for even in the face of the
ferocious appearance of Woola the populace pressed close about me.
As we approached this magnificent pile we were met by a party of
officers who greeted us warmly and requested that Tars Tarkas and
his jeds with the jeddaks and jeds of his wild allies, together with
myself, dismount and accompany them to receive from Tardos Mors an
expression of his gratitude for our services.
At the top of the great steps leading up to the main portals of the
palace stood the royal party, and as we reached the lower steps one
of their number descended to meet us.
He was an almost perfect specimen of manhood; tall, straight as an
arrow, superbly muscled and with the carriage and bearing of a ruler
of men. I did not need to be told that he was Tardos Mors, Jeddak
of Helium.
The first member of our party he met was Tars Tarkas and his first
words sealed forever the new friendship between the races.
"That Tardos Mors," he said, earnestly, "may meet the greatest
living warrior of Barsoom is a priceless honor, but that he
may lay his hand on the shoulder of a friend and ally is a far
greater boon."
"Jeddak of Helium," returned Tars Tarkas, "it has remained for a man
of another world to teach the green warriors of Barsoom the meaning
of friendship; to him we owe the fact that the hordes of Thark can
understand you; that they can appreciate and reciprocate the
sentiments so graciously expressed."
Tardos Mors then greeted each of the green jeddaks and jeds, and to
each spoke words of friendship and appreciation
As he approached me he laid both hands upon my shoulders.
"Welcome, my son," he said; "that you are granted, gladly, and
without one word of opposition, the most precious jewel in all
Helium, yes, on all Barsoom, is sufficient earnest of my esteem."
We were then presented to Mors Kajak, Jed of lesser Helium, and
father of Dejah Thoris. He had followed close behind Tardos Mors
and seemed even more affected by the meeting than had his father.
He tried a dozen times to express his gratitude to me, but his voice
choked with emotion and he could not speak, and yet he had, as I was
to later learn, a reputation for ferocity and fearlessness as a
fighter that was remarkable even upon warlike Barsoom. In common
with all Helium he worshiped his daughter, nor could he think of
what she had escaped without deep emotion.
CHAPTER XXVII
FROM JOY TO DEATH
For ten days the hordes of Thark and their wild allies were feasted
and entertained, and, then, loaded with costly presents and escorted
by ten thousand soldiers of Helium commanded by Mors Kajak, they
started on the return journey to their own lands. The jed of lesser
Helium with a small party of nobles accompanied them all the way to
Thark to cement more closely the new bonds of peace and friendship.
Sola also accompanied Tars Tarkas, her father, who before all his
chieftains had acknowledged her as his daughter.
Three weeks later, Mors Kajak and his officers, accompanied by Tars
Tarkas and Sola, returned upon a battleship that had been dispatched
to Thark to fetch them in time for the ceremony which made Dejah
Thoris and John Carter one.
For nine years I served in the councils and fought in the armies of
Helium as a prince of the house of Tardos Mors. The people seemed
never to tire of heaping honors upon me, and no day passed that
did not bring some new proof of their love for my princess, the
incomparable Dejah Thoris.
In a golden incubator upon the roof of our palace lay a snow-white
egg. For nearly five years ten soldiers of the jeddak's Guard had
constantly stood over it, and not a day passed when I was in the
city that Dejah Thoris and I did not stand hand in hand before our
little shrine planning for the future, when the delicate shell
should break.
Vivid in my memory is the picture of the last night as we sat there
talking in low tones of the strange romance which had woven our
lives together and of this wonder which was coming to augment our
happiness and fulfill our hopes.
In the distance we saw the bright-white light of an approaching
airship, but we attached no special significance to so common a
sight. Like a bolt of lightning it raced toward Helium until its
very speed bespoke the unusual.
Flashing the signals which proclaimed it a dispatch bearer for the
jeddak, it circled impatiently awaiting the tardy patrol boat which
must convoy it to the palace docks.
Ten minutes after it touched at the palace a message called me to
the council chamber, which I found filling with the members of that
body.
On the raised platform of the throne was Tardos Mors, pacing back
and forth with tense-drawn face. When all were in their seats he
turned toward us.
"This morning," he said, "word reached the several governments of
Barsoom that the keeper of the atmosphere plant had made no wireless
report for two days, nor had almost ceaseless calls upon him from a
score of capitals elicited a sign of response.
"The ambassadors of the other nations asked us to take the matter
in hand and hasten the assistant keeper to the plant. All day a
thousand cruisers have been searching for him until just now one
of them returns bearing his dead body, which was found in the pits
beneath his house horribly mutilated by some assassin.
"I do not need to tell you what this means to Barsoom. It would
take months to penetrate those mighty walls, in fact the work has
already commenced, and there would be little to fear were the engine
of the pumping plant to run as it should and as they all have for
hundreds of years now; but the worst, we fear, has happened. The
instruments show a rapidly decreasing air pressure on all parts of
Barsoom--the engine has stopped."
"My gentlemen," he concluded, "we have at best three days to live."
There was absolute silence for several minutes, and then a young
noble arose, and with his drawn sword held high above his head
addressed Tardos Mors.
"The men of Helium have prided themselves that they have ever shown
Barsoom how a nation of red men should live, now is our opportunity
to show them how they should die. Let us go about our duties as
though a thousand useful years still lay before us."
The chamber rang with applause and as there was nothing better to
do than to allay the fears of the people by our example we went our
ways with smiles upon our faces and sorrow gnawing at our hearts.
When I returned to my palace I found that the rumor already had
reached Dejah Thoris, so I told her all that I had heard.
"We have been very happy, John Carter," she said, "and I thank
whatever fate overtakes us that it permits us to die together."
The next two days brought no noticeable change in the supply of air,
but on the morning of the third day breathing became difficult at
the higher altitudes of the rooftops. The avenues and plazas of
Helium were filled with people. All business had ceased. For
the most part the people looked bravely into the face of their
unalterable doom. Here and there, however, men and women gave
way to quiet grief.
Toward the middle of the day many of the weaker commenced to succumb
and within an hour the people of Barsoom were sinking by thousands
into the unconsciousness which precedes death by asphyxiation.
Dejah Thoris and I with the other members of the royal family had
collected in a sunken garden within an inner courtyard of the
palace. We conversed in low tones, when we conversed at all, as
the awe of the grim shadow of death crept over us. Even Woola
seemed to feel the weight of the impending calamity, for he
pressed close to Dejah Thoris and to me, whining pitifully.
The little incubator had been brought from the roof of our palace
at request of Dejah Thoris and now she sat gazing longingly upon
the unknown little life that now she would never know.
As it was becoming perceptibly difficult to breathe Tardos Mors
arose, saying,
"Let us bid each other farewell. The days of the greatness of
Barsoom are over. Tomorrow's sun will look down upon a dead world
which through all eternity must go swinging through the heavens
peopled not even by memories. It is the end."
He stooped and kissed the women of his family, and laid his strong
hand upon the shoulders of the men.
As I turned sadly from him my eyes fell upon Dejah Thoris. Her head
was drooping upon her breast, to all appearances she was lifeless.
With a cry I sprang to her and raised her in my arms.
Her eyes opened and looked into mine.
"Kiss me, John Carter," she murmured. "I love you! I love you!
It is cruel that we must be torn apart who were just starting upon
a life of love and happiness."
As I pressed her dear lips to mine the old feeling of unconquerable
power and authority rose in me. The fighting blood of Virginia
sprang to life in my veins.
"It shall not be, my princess," I cried. "There is, there must be
some way, and John Carter, who has fought his way through a strange
world for love of you, will find it."
And with my words there crept above the threshold of my conscious
mind a series of nine long forgotten sounds. Like a flash of
lightning in the darkness their full purport dawned upon me--the
key to the three great doors of the atmosphere plant!
Turning suddenly toward Tardos Mors as I still clasped my dying love
to my breast I cried.
"A flier, Jeddak! Quick! Order your swiftest flier to the palace
top. I can save Barsoom yet."
He did not wait to question, but in an instant a guard was racing
to the nearest dock and though the air was thin and almost gone at
the rooftop they managed to launch the fastest one-man, air-scout
machine that the skill of Barsoom had ever produced.
Kissing Dejah Thoris a dozen times and commanding Woola, who would
have followed me, to remain and guard her, I bounded with my old
agility and strength to the high ramparts of the palace, and in
another moment I was headed toward the goal of the hopes of all
Barsoom.
I had to fly low to get sufficient air to breathe, but I took a
straight course across an old sea bottom and so had to rise only
a few feet above the ground.
I traveled with awful velocity for my errand was a race against time
with death. The face of Dejah Thoris hung always before me. As I
turned for a last look as I left the palace garden I had seen her
stagger and sink upon the ground beside the little incubator. That
she had dropped into the last coma which would end in death, if the
air supply remained unreplenished, I well knew, and so, throwing
caution to the winds, I flung overboard everything but the engine
and compass, even to my ornaments, and lying on my belly along the
deck with one hand on the steering wheel and the other pushing the
speed lever to its last notch I split the thin air of dying Mars
with the speed of a meteor.
An hour before dark the great walls of the atmosphere plant loomed
suddenly before me, and with a sickening thud I plunged to the
ground before the small door which was withholding the spark of
life from the inhabitants of an entire planet.
Beside the door a great crew of men had been laboring to pierce the
wall, but they had scarcely scratched the flint-like surface, and
now most of them lay in the last sleep from which not even air would
awaken them.
Conditions seemed much worse here than at Helium, and it was with
difficulty that I breathed at all. There were a few men still
conscious, and to one of these I spoke.
"If I can open these doors is there a man who can start the
engines?" I asked.
"I can," he replied, "if you open quickly. I can last but a few
moments more. But it is useless, they are both dead and no one else
upon Barsoom knew the secret of these awful locks. For three days
men crazed with fear have surged about this portal in vain attempts
to solve its mystery."
I had no time to talk, I was becoming very weak and it was with
difficulty that I controlled my mind at all.
But, with a final effort, as I sank weakly to my knees I hurled the
nine thought waves at that awful thing before me. The Martian had
crawled to my side and with staring eyes fixed on the single panel
before us we waited in the silence of death.
Slowly the mighty door receded before us. I attempted to rise and
follow it but I was too weak.
"After it," I cried to my companion, "and if you reach the pump room
turn loose all the pumps. It is the only chance Barsoom has to
exist tomorrow!"
From where I lay I opened the second door, and then the third, and
as I saw the hope of Barsoom crawling weakly on hands and knees
through the last doorway I sank unconscious upon the ground.
CHAPTER XXVIII
AT THE ARIZONA CAVE
It was dark when I opened my eyes again. Strange, stiff garments
were upon my body; garments that cracked and powdered away from me
as I rose to a sitting posture.
I felt myself over from head to foot and from head to foot I was
clothed, though when I fell unconscious at the little doorway I had
been naked. Before me was a small patch of moonlit sky which showed
through a ragged aperture.
As my hands passed over my body they came in contact with pockets
and in one of these a small parcel of matches wrapped in oiled
paper. One of these matches I struck, and its dim flame lighted
up what appeared to be a huge cave, toward the back of which I
discovered a strange, still figure huddled over a tiny bench. As
I approached it I saw that it was the dead and mummified remains
of a little old woman with long black hair, and the thing it
leaned over was a small charcoal burner upon which rested a round
copper vessel containing a small quantity of greenish powder.
Behind her, depending from the roof upon rawhide thongs, and
stretching entirely across the cave, was a row of human skeletons.
From the thong which held them stretched another to the dead hand
of the little old woman; as I touched the cord the skeletons swung
to the motion with a noise as of the rustling of dry leaves.
It was a most grotesque and horrid tableau and I hastened out
into the fresh air; glad to escape from so gruesome a place.
The sight that met my eyes as I stepped out upon a small ledge which
ran before the entrance of the cave filled me with consternation.
A new heaven and a new landscape met my gaze. The silvered
mountains in the distance, the almost stationary moon hanging in
the sky, the cacti-studded valley below me were not of Mars. I
could scarcely believe my eyes, but the truth slowly forced itself
upon me--I was looking upon Arizona from the same ledge from which
ten years before I had gazed with longing upon Mars.
Burying my head in my arms I turned, broken, and sorrowful, down the
trail from the cave.
Above me shone the red eye of Mars holding her awful secret,
forty-eight million miles away.
Did the Martian reach the pump room? Did the vitalizing air reach
the people of that distant planet in time to save them? Was my
Dejah Thoris alive, or did her beautiful body lie cold in death
beside the tiny golden incubator in the sunken garden of the inner
courtyard of the palace of Tardos Mors, the jeddak of Helium?
For ten years I have waited and prayed for an answer to my
questions. For ten years I have waited and prayed to be taken
back to the world of my lost love. I would rather lie dead beside
her there than live on Earth all those millions of terrible miles
from her.
The old mine, which I found untouched, has made me fabulously
wealthy; but what care I for wealth!
As I sit here tonight in my little study overlooking the Hudson,
just twenty years have elapsed since I first opened my eyes upon
Mars.
I can see her shining in the sky through the little window by my
desk, and tonight she seems calling to me again as she has not
called before since that long dead night, and I think I can see,
across that awful abyss of space, a beautiful black-haired woman
standing in the garden of a palace, and at her side is a little boy
who puts his arm around her as she points into the sky toward the
planet Earth, while at their feet is a huge and hideous creature
with a heart of gold.
I believe that they are waiting there for me, and something tells me
that I shall soon know.