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McClurg & Co. 1917 Published October, 1917 Copyrighted in Great Britain r, n t- f 1 Co Mv JACK % FOREWORD f o the Reader of this Work: In submitting Captain Carter’s strange manu¬ script 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 en¬ tered 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, stand- [vii] FOREWORD ing 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 mag¬ nificent 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 w r as 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 hope- [viii] FOREWORD less 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 writ¬ ing, 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 instruc- [«] FOREWORD tions 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 was praying, although I never had 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 iamong 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 [x] FOREWORD 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 instruc¬ tions. They were in part peculiar indeed, but I have followed them to each last detail as faith¬ fully 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 [xi] FOREWORD had constructed and which, as I later learned, was well ventilated. The instructions impressed upon me that I must personally see that this was car¬ ried 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 CHAPTER I On the Arizona Hills . PAGE i II The Escape of the Dead 14 III My Advent on Mars 22 IV A Prisoner. 35 V I Elude My Watch Dog 46 VI A Fight That Won Friends 54 VII Child-Raising on Mars 62 VIII A Fair Captive from the Sky 72 IX I Learn the Language 82 X Champion and Chief 89 XI With Dejah Thoris 106 XII A Prisoner with Power 118 XIII Love-Making on Mars 128 XIV A Duel to the Death 139 XV Sola Tells Me Her Story . 155 XVI We Plan Escape 170 XVII A Costly Recapture 188 XVIII Chained in Warhoon . 202 XIX Battling in the Arena . 210 XX In the Atmosphere Factory • 219 XXI An Air Scout for Zodanga 235 XXII I Find Dejah .... 252 XXIII Lost in the Sky 270 XXIV Tars Tarkas Finds a Friend 281 XXV The Looting of Zodanga . 294 XXVI Through Carnage to Joy . 303 XXVII From Joy to Death 314 KXVIII At the Arizona Cave . „ or • 32* > * A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 resurrec¬ tion. 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 [i] A PRINCESS OF MARS _ 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 imans of livelihood, fighting, gone, I determined [ 2 ] ON THE ARIZONA HILLS 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. Tpov/ell 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 [ 3 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 sup- [ 4 ] ON THE ARIZONA HILLS posed 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 con¬ jured up impossible dangers, like some nervous old housewife, and when I should catch up with m A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 mid¬ night, I reached the water hole where Powell had expected to camp. I came upon the spot unex¬ pectedly, 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 [ 6 ] ON THE ARIZONA HILLS 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 atten¬ tion 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 dav removes any possible right *[ 7 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 sub¬ consciously 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. Single handed, 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 [ 8 ] ON THE ARIZONA HILLS 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 con¬ tinue 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 per¬ mitted me to reach the shadows of the surround- [ 9 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS mg 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 follow¬ ing 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 diew rein on a little level promontory over¬ looking 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 [io] ON THE ARIZONA HILLS 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 te 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, j 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 I 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 con¬ tinuously for the better part of an hour in the face of the fact that I knew him to be dead. [ii] A PRINCESS OF MARS I was very fond of Powell; he was thoroughly a man In every respect; a polished southern gentle¬ man; 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 cre^t into the cave to reconnoiter. I found a large chamber, possibly a hundred feet in diam¬ eter 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 in¬ habited. 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 com¬ menced 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 fell comparatively safe in my present location as ] knew that one man could defend the trail to th< cave against an army. I soon became so drowsy that I could scarcely resist the strong desire to throw myself on thi floor of the cave for a few moments’ rest, but ! knew that this would never do, as it would meai [12] ON THE ARIZONA HILLS 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 SENSE of delicious dreaminess overcame me, my muscles relaxed, and I was on th< point of giving away to my desire to sleep wher the sound of approaching horses reached my ears I attempted to spring to my feet but was horrifiec to discover that my muscles refused to responc to my will. I was now thoroughly awake, but a! unable to move a muscle as though turned to stone It was then, for the first time, that I noticed £ slight vapor filling the cave. It was extremely tenuous and only noticeable against the opening which led to daylight. There also came to m3 nostrils a faintly pungent odor, and I coulc only assume that I had been overcome by some poisonous gas, but why I should retain my menta’ faculties and yet be unable to move I could nol fathom. I lay facing the opening of the cave and where I could see the short stretch of trail which la) between the cave and the turn of the cliff arounc [14] THE ESCAPE OF THE DEAD 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 cau¬ tiously 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 [ 15 ] _ A PRINCESS OF MARS _ the fact that the leaders passed back whisperec word to those behind them. Suddenly a low but distinct moaning sounc issued from the recesses of the cave behind me and, as it reached the ears of the Indians, the) turned and fled in terror, panic stricken. So frantii were their efforts to escape from the unseen thing behind me that one of the braves was hurled head¬ long from the cliff to the rocks below. Their wile 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 rela¬ tive 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 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 [16] THE ESCAPE OF THE DEAD 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 some body 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 [ 17] A PRINCESS OF MARS in the extreme, and with a superhuman effori strove to break my awful bonds. It was an eff< of the mind, of the will, of the nerves; not m cular, for I could not move even so much as i little finger, but none the less mighty for all th And then something gave, there was a moment; feeling of nausea, a sharp click as of the snappi of a steel wire, and I stood with my back agaii the wall of the cave facing my unknown foe. And then the moonlight flooded the cave, a there before me lay my own body as it had be lying all these hours, with the eyes staring towa the open ledge and the hands resting limply up the ground. I looked first at my lifeless cl there upon the floor of the cave and then do^ at myself in utter bewilderment; for there I 1 clothed, and yet here I stood but naked as at t minute of my birth. The transition had been so sudden and so uni pected that it left me for a moment forgetful aught else than my strange metamorphosis. ]> first thought was, is this then death! Have indeed passed over forever into that other lil But I could not well believe this, as I could f my heart pounding against my ribs from the ex tion of my efforts to release myself from t [18] THE ESCAPE OF THE DEAD anaesthesls 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 imme¬ diate 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 wan¬ dered 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 icted as an immediate tonic and I felt new life and lew courage coursing through me. Pausing upon [ 19,1 A PRINCESS OF MARS the brink of the ledge I upbraided myself for what now seemed to me wholly unwarranted apprehen¬ sion. I reasoned with myself that I had lain helpless for many hours within the cave, yet noth¬ ing 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 land¬ scape; 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 Arst time a glimpse of some dead and forgotten [20] THE ESCAPE OF THE DEAD 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 opposi¬ tion; 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 1 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 wake¬ fulness. 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 yel¬ lowish, moss-like 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 [ 22 ] MY ADVENT ON MARS 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, with¬ out 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 exer¬ tion 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. [23] A PRINCESS OF 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, creep¬ ing. I did fairly well at this and in a few moments had reached the low, encircling wall of the en- closure. 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. J 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 gro¬ tesque caricatures which sat blinking in the sun¬ light 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 inter¬ mediary pair of limbs which could be used at will either as arms or legs. Their eyes were set at the [24] MY ADVENT ON MARS 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, mid¬ way 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 [25] A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 for¬ midable 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 rat¬ tling 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 [26] MY ADVENT ON MARS strike against the butt of his great metal shod spear I should have snuffed out without ever know¬ ing 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 gleam¬ ing 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 de¬ scribe 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 [27] r A PRINCESS OF MARS mouth which split Its head from Its snout to ifc long, massive neck. Like its master, it was entirely devoid of hair but was of a dark slate color and exceeding smootl and glossy. Its belly was white, and its legs shade* from the slate of its shoulders and hips to a vivic yellow at the feet. The feet themselves wer< heavily padded and nailless, which fact had alsc contributed to the noiselessness of their approach and, in common with a multiplicity of legs, is s characteristic feature of the fauna of Mars. Th< highest type of man and one other animal, th( only mammal existing on Mars, alone have well formed nails, and there are absolutely no hoofec animals in existence there. Behind this first charging demon trailed nine teen others, similar in all respects, but, as I learnec later, bearing individual characteristics peculiar tc themselves; precisely as no two of us are identica although we are all cast in a similar mold. Thi: picture, or rather materialized nightmare, whicl I have described at length, made but one terribb and swift impression on me as I turned to meet it Unarmed and naked as I was, the first law o nature manifested itself in the only possible solu tion of my immediate problem, and that was t< [28] MY ADVENT ON MARS 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 th(? Martian incubator, for such I had deter¬ mined 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 with¬ out 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 Mar¬ tians, 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 [29] A PRINCESS OF MARS are very large and they are muscled only In pi portion to the gravitation which they must ovi come. The result is that they are infinitely 1( agile and less powerful, in proportion to th' weight, than an Earth man, and I doubt that we one of them suddenly to be transported to Eai he could lift his own weight from the ground; fact, I am convinced that he could not do so. My feat then was as marvelous upon Mars it would have been upon Earth, and from desiri to annihilate me they suddenly looked upon me a wonderful discovery to be captured and exhibit among their fellows. The respite my unexpected agility had given : permitted me to formulate plans for the immedi; future and to note more closely the appearai of the warriors, for I could not disassociate th people in my mind from those other warriors wl only the day before, had been pursuing me. I noted that each was armed with several ot] weapons in addition to the huge spear whicl have described. The weapon which caused me decide against an attempt at escape by flight ^ what was evidently a rifle of some descripti and which I felt, for some reason, they were culiarly efficient in handling. [30] MY ADVENT ON MARS These rifles were of a white metal stocked with vood, which I learned later was a very light and ntensely hard growth much prized on Mars, and :ntirely unknown to us denizens of Earth. The netal of the barrel is an alloy composed principally )f aluminum and steel which they have learned to emper to a hardness far exceeding that of the ;teel with which we are familiar. The weight of hese rifles is comparatively little, and with the imall caliber, explosive, radium projectiles which hey use, and the great length of the barrel, they ire deadly in the extreme and at ranges which vould be unthinkable on Earth. The theoretic :ffective radius of this rifle is three hundred miles, rnt the best they can do in actual service when iquipped with their wireless finders and sighters s but a trifle over two hundred miles. This is quite far enough to imbue me with great aspect for the Martian firearm, and some tele- )athic force must have warned me against an ittempt to escape in broad daylight from under he muzzles of twenty of these death-dealing nachines. The Martians, after conversing for a short ime, turned and rode away in the direction from diich they had come, leaving one of their number [31] A PRINCESS OF MARS alone by the enclosure. When they had cove perhaps two hundred yards they halted, and ti ing their mounts toward us sat watching the vs rior by the enclosure. He was the one whose spear had so nea transfixed me, and was evidently the leader the band, as I had noted that they seemed have moved to their present position at his di] tion. When his force had come to a halt he < mounted, threw down his spear and small ar and came around the end of the incubator tow; me, entirely unarmed and as naked as I, exc for the ornaments strapped upon his head, liir and breast. When he was within about fifty feet of me unclasped an enormous metal armlet, and hold it toward me in the open palm of his ha addressed me in a clear, resonant voice, btft ii language, it is needless to say, I could not unc stand. He then stopped as though waiting my reply, pricking up his antennae-like ears ; cocking his strange looking eyes still furt toward me. As the silence became painful I concluded hazard a little conversation on my own part, < had guessed that he was making overtures of pe« [ 32 ] MY ADVENT ON MARS 'he throwing down of his weapons and the with- rawing of his troop before his advance toward le would have signified a peaceful mission any- here on Earth, so why not, then, on Mars! Placing my hand over my heart I bowed low ) the Martian and explained to him that while did not understand his language, his actions )oke for the peace and friendship that at the resent moment were most dear to my heart. If course I might have been a babbling brook )r all the intelligence my speech carried to him, at he understood the action with which I imme- [ately followed my words. Stretching my hand toward him, I advanced id took the armlet from his open palm, clasping about my arm above the elbow; smiled at him id stood waiting. His wide mouth spread into 1 answering smile, and locking one of his inter- ediary arms in mine we turned and walked back ward his mount. At the same time he motioned s followers to advance. They started toward us 1 a wild run, but were checked by a signal from m. Evidently he feared that were I to be really ightened again I might jump entirely out of e landscape. He exchanged a few words with his men, [33] A PRINCESS OF MARS motioned to me that I would ride behind one o them, and then mounted his own animal. Th fellow designated reached down two or thre hands and lifted me up behind him on the gloss; back of his mount, where I hung on as best ' could by the belts and straps which held th( Martian’s weapons and ornaments. The entire cavalcade then turned and gallopec away toward the range of hills in the distance. CHAPTER IV A PRISONER W E 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 moun¬ tains, and after traversing a narrow gorge came to an open valley, at the far extremity of which was a low tableland upon which I beheld an enor¬ mous city. Toward this we galloped, entering it by what appeared to be a ruined roadway leading out from the cfty, 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, [ 35 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS and upon this and In the buildings immediately surrounding it were camped some nine or ter hundred creatures of the same breed as my cap- tors, 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 [ 36 ] A PRISONER bosom no Martian has ever returned, or would be allowed to live did he return after once embark¬ ing 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 hun¬ dred 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 [37] r A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 tc 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 m^le Martians around the steps of a rostrum. On the platform proper squatted an enormous warrior heavily [ 38 ] A PRISONER loaded with metal ornaments, gay-colored feathers and beautifully wrought leather trappings ingen¬ iously set with precious stones. From his shoul¬ ders 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 con¬ gregated 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 [ had fallen, but the evidences of extreme antiquity tvhich showed all around me indicated that these buildings might have belonged to some long extinct md forgotten race in the dim antiquity of Mars. Our party had halted at the entrance to the milding, and at a sign from the leader I had )een lowered to the ground. Again locking his irm in mine, we had proceeded into the audience ihamber. There were few formalities observed n approaching the Martian chieftain. My captor Cm] A PRINCESS OF MARS merely strode up to the rostrum, the others mak ing way for him as he advanced. The chieftair rose to his feet and uttered the name of my escorl who, in turn, halted and repeated the name oi the ruler followed by his title. At the time, this ceremony and the words the} uttered meant nothing to me, but later I came tc 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 w r arrior. He evidently explained briefly the incidents con¬ nected 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 [ 40 ] A PRISONER the similar occurrence during my first talk with Tars Tarkas, convinced me that we had at least something in common; the ability to smile, there¬ fore 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, pro¬ vocative 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 exam¬ ined me closely, feeling my muscles and the tex¬ ture 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 grasp¬ ing Tars Tarkas’ arm, and so now I went skip¬ ping and flitting about among the desks and chairs like some monstrous grasshopper. [4i] After bruis- A PRINCESS OF MARS ing myself severely, much to the amusement oi the Martians, I again had recourse to creeping but this did not suit them and I was roughly jerkec to my feet by a towering fellow who had laughec most heartily at my misfortunes. As he banged me down upon my feet his fact 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 wonder¬ ment, finally broke into wild peals of laughter and applause. I did not recognize the applause as 1 such, but later, when I had become acquainted with their customs, I learned that I had won what they seldom accord, a manifestation of approba¬ tion. The fellow whom I had struck lay where he had [42] A PRISONER 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 1 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 littlf 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 ter demand the consideration from these creature? cvdiich they evidently would not voluntarily accord, [ therefore ignored the repeated commands t<* [43] A PRINCESS OF MARS “sak,” and each time they were made I motioml to my mouth and rubbed my stomach. Tars Tarkas and the chief exchanged a fe 1 words, and the former, calling to a young femai among the throng, gave her some instruction and motioned me to accompany her. I graspe her proffered arm and together we crossed tl plaza toward a large building on the far side. My fair companion was about eight feet tal having just arrived at maturity, but not yet to h< full height. She was of a light olive-green colo with a smooth, glossy hide. Her name, as I afte ward learned, was Sola, and she belonged to tf retinue of Tars Tarkas. She conducted me to spacious chamber in one of the buildings frontin on the plaza, and which, from the litter of silk and furs upon the floor, I took to be the sleepin quarters of several of the natives. The room was well lighted by a number o large windows and was beautifully decorated wit mural paintings and mosaics, but upon all ther seemed to rest that indefinable touch of the finge of antiquity which convinced me that the arch tects and builders of these wondrous creation had nothing in common with the crude half-brute which now occupied them. [ 44 ] A PRISONER 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 some one 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. Usl CHAPTER V I ELUDE MY WATCH DOG S OLA stared into the brute’s wicked-lookii eyes, muttered a word or two of comman pointed to me, and left the chamber. I could n but wonder what this ferocious-looking monstrc ity might do when left alone in such close pro imity to such a relatively tender morsel of mea but my fears were groundless, as the beast, aft surveying me intently for a moment, crossed tl room to the only exit which led to the street, ar lay down full length across the threshold. This was my first experience with a Marti; watch dog, but it was destined not to be my la; for this fellow guarded me carefully during tl time I remained a captive among these green me twice saving my life, and never voluntarily beii away from me a moment. While Sola was away I took occasion to examii more minutely the room in which I found myse captive. The mural painting depicted scenes rare and wonderful beauty: mountains, rivei / ELUDE MY WATCH DOG 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 seat¬ ing 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 an d that one very rare indeed, but from a large pknt which grows prac¬ tically without water, but seems to distill its plenty [47] A PRINCESS OF MARS ful supply of milk from the products of the soi the moisture of the air, and the rays of the sui A single plant of this species will give eight o ten quarts of milk per day. After I had eaten I was greatly invigorated, bi feeling the need of rest I stretched out upon th silks and was soon asleep. I must have slept seA eral hours, as it was dark when I awoke, and was very cold. I noticed that someone had throw a fur over me, hut it had become partially dn lodged and in the darkness I could not see t replace it. Suddenly a hand reached out an pulled the fur over me, shortly afterwards addin another to my covering. I presumed that my watchful guardian was Sol; nor was I wrong. This girl alone, among all th green Martians with whom I came in contaci disclosed characteristics of sympathy, kindlines: and affection; her ministrations to my bodily wanl were unfailing, and her solicitous care saved m from much suffering and many hardships. As I was to learn, the Martian nights ai extremely cold, and as there is practically n twilight or dawn, the changes in temperature ai sudden and most uncomfortable, as are the trai sitions from brilliant daylight to darkness. Tf [48] I ELUDE MY WATCH DOG 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 fur¬ ther 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 revolu¬ tion 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 some¬ thing 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 . wd 1 that nature has so graciously and abundantly lighted the Martian night, for the green men of A PRINCESS OF MARS Mars, being a nomadic race without high inti lectual development, have but crude means f artificial lighting; depending principally up< torches, a kind of candle, and a peculiar oil lan which generates a gas and burns without a wick. This last device produces an intensely brillia far-reaching white light, but as the natural < which it requires can only be obtained by minii in one of several widely separated and remo localities it is seldom used by these creatur whose only thought is for today, and whose hatr< for manual labor has kept them in a semi-barbai state for countless ages. After Sola had replenished my coverings again slept, nor did I awaken until daylight. T1 other occupants of the room, five in number, we all females, and they were still sleeping, pili high with a motley array of silks and furs. Aero the threshold lay stretched the sleepless guardi; brute, just as I had last seen him on the precedii day; apparently he had not moved a muscle; 1 eyes were fairly glued upon me, and I fell to wc dering just what might befall me should I endeav to escape. I have ever been prone to seek adventure ai to investigate and experiment where wiser m [50] I ELUDE MY WATCH DOG would have left well enough alone. It therefore now occurred to me that the surest way of learn¬ ing 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 build¬ ing, 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 him¬ self 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 prog¬ ress. 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, [5i] A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 Mar¬ tian 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 over¬ looking 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. M) exultation was short lived, however, for scarcely [ 52 ] I ELUDE MY WATCH DOG 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 HE thing, which more nearly resembled our X 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. Alto¬ gether 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' [ 54 ] A FIGHT THAT WON FRIENDS 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, hav¬ ing 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 emit- [55] A PRINCE SS OF MARS _ ting 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 egg shell. 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. Iam 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 [ 56 ] A FIGHT THAT WON FRIENDS 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 r 't least there was a chance for safety in fligb almost certain death should I remain u however desperately. It is true I held the cudgel, but what could jl do with it against his four great arms ? Even shoulc 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 cduld I, on [ 57 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS second thought, have deserted my rescuer withoul giving as good an account of myself in his behali as he had in mine. Without more ado, therefore, I turned to meel the charge of the infuriated bull ape. He was no^ too close upon me for the cudgel to prove of an) 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 . , and so throwing him off his balance that he u 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 side-stepped, 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 [ 53 ] A FIGHT THAT WON FRIENDS 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 hand¬ ful of warriors to search for me. As they had approached the limits of the city they had wit¬ nessed 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 wit¬ nessed my short but decisive battle with him. This encounter, together with my set-to with the Mar¬ tian 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 senti¬ ments of friendship, love, or affection, these people fairly worship physical prowess and bravery, and nothing is too good for the object of their adora¬ tion as long as he maintains his position by repeated examples of his skill, strength, and cour¬ age. Sola, who had accompanied the searching party of her own volition, was the only one of the Mar¬ tians whose face had not been twisted in laughter [59] :A PRINCESS OF MARS as I battled for my life. She, on the contrar was sober with apparent solicitude and, as so( as I had finished the monster, rushed to me ai carefully examined my body for possible woun< or injuries. Satisfying herself that I had come c unscathed she smiled quietly, and, taking my han started toward the door of the chamber. Tars Tarkas and the other warriors had enter< and were standing over the now rapidly revivir brute which had saved my life, and whose life in turn, had rescued. They seemed to be deep argument, and finally one of them addressed m but remembering my ignorance of his languaj turned back to Tars Tarkas, who, with a woi and gesture, gave some command to the fello and turned to follow us from the room. There seemed something menacing in their at tude toward my beast, and I hesitated to lea'’ until I had learned the outcome. It was well did so, for the warrior drew an evil-looking pist from its holster and was on the point of puttii an end to the creature when I sprang forward ai struck up his arm. The bullet striking the woodi casing of the window exploded, blowing a ho completely through the wood and masonry. I then knelt down beside the fearsome lookir £60] A FIGHT THAT WON FRIENDS thing, and raising it to its feet motioned for it to follow me. The looks of surprise which my actions j elicited from the Martians were ludicrous; they could not understand, except in a feeble and child- ! ish way, such attributes as gratitude and compas¬ sion. The warrior whose gun I had struck up looked inquiringly at Tars Tarkas, but the latter signed that I be left to my own devices, and so j we returned to the plaza with my great beast fol¬ lowing 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 solic¬ itude, 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 1 found in the entire five million green Martians who rove the deserted cities and dead sea bottoms of Mars. CHAPTER yil CHILD-RAISING ON MARS FTER a breakfast, which was an JlJl replica of the meal of the preceding < and an index of practically every meal which i lowed while I was with the green men of Ms Sola escorted me to the plaza, where I found entire community engaged in watching or help at the harnessing of huge mastodonian animals great three-wheeled chariots. There were ab two hundred and fifty of these vehicles, e: drawn by a single animal, any one of which, fr their appearance, might easily have drawn entire wagon train when fully loaded. The chariots themselves were large, comr dious, and gorgeously decorated. In each ’v seated a female Martian loaded with orname of metal, with jewels and silks and furs, and u\ the back’ of each of the beasts which drew chariots was perched a young Martian driver. L the animals upon which the warriors w mounted, the heavier draft animals wore neit [62] CHILD-RAISING ON MARS bit nor bridle, but were guided entirely by tel¬ epathic 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 : j is the universal language of Mars, through the :j medium of which the higher and lower animals of f this world of paradoxes are able to communicate i to a greater or less extent, depending upon the t intellectual sphere of the species and the develop- ;| ment of the individual. As the cavalcade took up the line of march in j single file, Sola dragged me into an empty chariot and we proceeded with the procession toward the i point by which I had entered the city the day j 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 chil¬ dren— 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 [63] A PRINCESS OF MARS led out across the little valley before the through the hills, and down into the dead sea tom which I had traversed on my journey f the incubator to the plaza. The incubator, ; proved, was the terminal point of our journey day, and, as the entire cavalcade broke into a 3 gallop as soon as we reached the level expans sea bottom, we were soon .within sight of goal. On reaching it the chariots were parked i military precision on the four sides of the enc ure, and half a score of warriors, headed by enormous chieftain, and including Tars Tai and several other lesser chiefs, dismounted advanced toward it. I could see Tars Tai explaining something to the principal chieft whose name, by the way, was, as nearly as I translate it into English, Lorquas Ptomel, J jed being his title. I was soon appraised of the subject of their < versation, as, calling to Sola, Tars Tarkas sig for her to send me to him. I had by this t mastered the intricacies of walking under N tian conditions, and quickly responding to his c mand I advanced to the side of the incub; where the warriors stood. [64] CHILD-RAISiNG ON MARS As I reached their side a glance showed me that all but a very few eggs had hatched, the incu¬ bator being fairly alive with the hideous little 1 devils. They ranged in height from three to 1 four feet, and were moving restlessly about the r 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 thart 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 war¬ riors 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 break¬ ing 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. [65.1 A PRINCESS OF MARS Between these walls the little Martians scampered wild as deer; being permitted to run the full lengtl! of the aisle, where they were captured one at time by the women and older children; the last ii the line capturing the first little one to reach th end of the gauntlet, her opposite in the line cap turing the second, and so on until all the littl fellows had left the enclosure and been apprc priated by some youth or female. As the wome caught the young they fell out of line and retume to their respective chariots, while those who fel into the hands of the young men were later tume< over to some of the women. I saw that the ceremony, if it could be dignifie by such a name, was over, and seeking out Sol I found her in our chariot with a hideous littl creature held tightly in her arms. The work' of rearing young, green Martian consists solely in teaching them to talk, and t use the weapons of warfare with which they ar loaded down from the very first year of their lives Coming from eggs in which they have lain fo five years, the period of incubation, they step fort! into the world perfectly developed except in size Entirely unknown to their own mothers, who, ii turn, would have difficulty in pointing out th< [ 66 ] CHILD-RAISING ON MARS fathers with any degree of accuracy, they are the common children of the community, and their edu¬ cation 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, [ 6 ?] A PRINCESS OF MARS but theirs is a hard and pitiless struggle for exist- ence 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 super¬ natural foresight they regulate the birth rate to merely offset the loss by death. Each adult Mar¬ tian 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 hun¬ dred 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 land, all but about one per.cent of the eggs hatching in two days. If the remaining eggs ever hatched we [ 68 ] CHILD-RAISING ON MARS 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 commu¬ nity for another five years. I was later to wit¬ ness the results of the discovery of an alien incu¬ bator. 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 lati¬ tude, and bounded on the east and west by two large fertile tracts. Their headquarters lay in the southwest corner of this district, near the cross¬ ing 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 tre- [69] A PRINCESS OF MARS mendous journey, concerning which I, of course, knew nothing. After our return to the dead city I passed sev¬ eral days in comparative idleness. On the day fol¬ lowing 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 com¬ pelled to care for the young Martian as well as for me, but neither one of us required much atten¬ tion, and as we were both about equally advanced in Martian education, Sola took it upon herself tc train us together. [70] CHILD-RAISING ON MARS Her prize consisted in a male about four feet tall, very strong and physically perfect; also, he learned quickly, and we had considerable amuse¬ ment, at least I did, over the keen rivalry we dis¬ played. The Martian language, as I have said, is extremely simple, and in a week I could make all my wants known and understand nearly every¬ thing 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 yill A FAIR CAPTIVE FROM THE SKY HE third day after the incubator ceremony JL we set forth toward home, hot 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 evolu¬ tion, the green Martians melted like mist into the spacious doorways of the near-by buildings, until, in less than three minutes, the entire caval¬ cade 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, wish¬ ing 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 scurry¬ ing to cover. A huge craft, long, low, and gray painted, swung slowly over the crest of the nearest [72] A FAIR CAPTIVE FROM THE SKY 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 stem 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 evi¬ dent 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 [ 73 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS wake, each one opening upon us as she swung int< position. Our own fire never diminished, and . doubt if twenty-five per cent of our shots wen wild. It had never been given me to see sue! deadly accuracy of aim, and it seemed as thougl a little figure on one of the craft dropped at the explosion of each bullet, while the banners anc 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 deadlj aim of our warriors. It seems that each green warrior has certair objective points for his fire under relatively iden¬ tical 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 ar attacking naval force; another detail attends tc the smaller guns in the same way; others pick of the^gunners; still others the officers; while certair other quotas concentrate their attention upon th< [74] A FAIR CAPTIVE FROM THE SKY 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 con¬ tinuous 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 [ 75 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS she still was too high for them to hope to rea her decks. From my vantage point in the wind( I could see the bodies of her crew strewn abo although I could not make out what manner creatures they might be. Not a sign of life v manifest upon her as she drifted slowly with t light breeze in a southeasterly direction. She was drifting some fifty feet above t ground, followed by all but some hundred of t warriors who had been ordered back to the roc to cover the possibility of a return of the fleet, of reinforcements. It soon became evident tl she would strike the face of the buildings abc a mile south of our position, and as I watch the progress of the chase I saw a number of w; riors gallop ahead, dismount and enter the bui ing she seemed destined to touch. As the craft neared the building, and just befc she struck, the Martian warriors swarmed up her from the windows, and with their great spe; eased the shock of the collision, and in a ft moments they had thrown out grappling hooks a the big boat was being hauled to ground by th< fellows below. After making her fast, they swarmed the sic and searched the vessel from stem to stem. [761 A FAIR CAPTIVE FROM THE SKY could see them examining the dead sailors, evi¬ dently 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 requisi¬ tioned 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 war¬ riors 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 posi¬ tion, 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. [77] A PRINCESS OF MARS This operation concluded, they hastily cla bered over her sides, sliding down the guy ropes the ground. The last warrior to leave the de turned and threw something back upon the vess waiting an instant to note the outcome of his a As a faint spurt of flame rose from the po where the missile struck he swung over the si and was quickly upon the ground. Scarcely h he alighted than the guy ropes were simuitaneou: released, and the great warship, lightened by t removal of the loot, soared majestically into t air, her decks and upper works a mass of roari flames. Slowly she drifted to the southeast, rising high and higher as the flames ate away her wood parts and diminished the weight upon her. Ascer ing to the roof of the building I watched^ her f hours, until Anally she was lost in the dim vist of the distance. The sight was awe-inspiring the extreme as one contemplated this mighty flo; ing funeral pyre, drifting unguided and unmann through the lonely wastes of the Martian heaver a derelict of death and destruction, typifying t life story of these strange and ferocious creatur into whose unfriendly hands fate had carried it. Much depressed, and, to me, unaccountably $ [78] , A FAIR CAPTIVE FROM THE SKY I slowly descended to the street. The scene I had witnessed seemed to mark the defeat and annihi¬ lation 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 inner¬ most 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 [ 79 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS eyes which filled my whole being with a great su of mingled hope, fear, exultation, and depressi and yet most dominant was a subtle sense of re' and happiness; for just as we neared the thrc of Martians I caught a glimpse of the priso from the battle craft who was being roug dragged into a near-by building by a couple green Martian females. And the sight which met my eyes was that o slender, girlish figure, similar in every detail the earthly women of my past life. She did see me at first, but just as she was disappear through the portal of the building which was to her prison she turned, and her eyes met mine. I face was oval and beautiful in the extreme, . every feature was finely chiseled and exquisite, eyes large and lustrous and her head surmoun by a mass of coal black, waving hair, cau:i loosely into a strange yet becoming coiffure. 1 skin was of a light reddish copper color, agai which the crimson glow of her cheeks and the n of her beautifully molded lips shone with strangely enhancing effect. She was as destitute of clothes as the gr: Martians who accompanied her; indeed, save her highly wrought ornaments she was entir [80] A FAIR CAPTIVE FROM THE SKY 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 dis¬ covered 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 ®ut of my sight into the depths of the deserted edifice. CHAPTER IX I LEARN THE LANGUAGE > I came back to myself I glanced at Sc /jLwho had witnessed this encounter and I v surprised to note a strange expression upon 1 usually expressionless countenance. What 1 thoughts were I did not know, for as yet I h learned but little of the Martian tongue; enoc only to suffice for my daily needs, As I reached the doorway of our building strange surprise awaited me. A warrior proached bearing the arms, ornaments, and i accouterments of his kind. These he presen to me with a few unintelligible words, and a be ing at once respectful and menacing. Later, Sola, with the aid of several of the ot women, remodeled the trappings to fit my les proportions, and after they completed the w< I went about garbed in all the panoply of war. From then on Sola instructed me in the n teries of the various weapons, and with the N. tian young I spent several hours each day p] [*a] / LEARN THE LANGUAGE ticing 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 fire arms; in fact every¬ thing 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 e They are unfettered by precedent in the admin* istration 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 [83] . ■ A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 respect¬ ful 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 suffi¬ ciently well to enable me to carry on a passable conversation and to fully understand practically all that I heard. [8 4 ] I LEARN THE LANGUAGE 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 youth¬ ful 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 beau¬ tiful 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 die captive’s guards, and it was toward her the questioners turned. [85] A PRINCESS OF MARS will not be well for you to permit Tars Tarkas tc learn that you hold such degenerate sentiments, a: I doubt that he would care to entrust such as yoi with the grave responsibilities of maternity.” “I see nothing wrong with my expression o interest in this red woman,” retorted Sola. “ Sh has never harmed us, nor w^ould she should w [ 86 ] 1 LEARN THE LANGUAGE 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 com¬ munities the individuals fight amongst themselves. Oh, it is one continual, awful period of blood¬ shed 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 ter¬ rible 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 [87] A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 confi¬ dent 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 begin¬ ning 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. [ 38 ] CHAPTER X CHAMPION AND CHIEF E ARLY the next morning I was astir. Con¬ siderable 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 boun¬ daries 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 hack 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 [89] A PRINCESS OF MARS limits of the city. Before me were low hills pierce by narrow and inviting ravines. I longed t explore the country before me, and, like the pionee stock from which I sprang, to view what the lane scape beyond the encircling hills might disclos from the summits which shut out my view. It also occurred to me that this would prov an excellent opportunity to test the qualities o Woola. I was convinced that the brute love me; I had seen more evidences of affection in hir than in any other Martian animal, man or beasl and I was sure that gratitude for the acts that ha< twice saved his life would more than outweigl his loyalty to the duty imposed upon him by crue and loveless masters. As I approached the boundary line Woola rai anxiously before me, and thrust his body agains my legs. His expression was pleading rather thai ferocious, nor did he bare his great tusks or utte his fearful guttural warnings. Denied the friend ship and companionship of my kind, I had devel oped considerable affection for Woola and Sola for the normal earthly man must have some outle for his natural affections, and so I decided upoi an appeal to a like instinct in this great brute, sur that I would not be disappointed. [90] f CHAMPION AND CHIEF 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 wal¬ lowed 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 ludicrous¬ ness 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 unex¬ pectedly bucked him off headforemost into a pot of frijoles. A PRINCESS OF MARS My laughter frightened Woola, his an ceased and he crawled pitifully toward me, pok his ugly head far into my lap; and then I rem bered what laughter signified on Mars — torti suffering, death. Quieting myself, I rubbed poor old fellow’s head and back, talked to 1 for a few minutes, and then in an authorital tone commanded him to follow me, and aris started for the hills. There was no further question of autho: between us; Woola was my devoted slave fr that moment hence, and I his only and undispu master. My walk to the hills occupied but a i minutes, and I found nothing of particular inter to reward me. Numerous brilliantly colored j strangely formed wild flowers dotted the ravi and from the summit of the first hill I saw s other hills stretching off toward the north, i rising, one range above another, until lost in mo tains of quite respectable dimensions; thougl afterward found that only a few peaks on all M exceed four thousand feet in height; the suggest of magnitude was merely relative. My morning’s walk had been large with imp tance to me for it had resulted in a perfect unc standing with Woola, upon whom Tars Tar] [ 92 ] CHAMPION AND CHIEF 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 dis¬ covered. i On regaining the plaza I had my third glimpse of the captive girl. She w r as 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 womanl} r , that though it stung my pride it also warmed my heart with a feeling of companionship; it was good to know that some one else on Mars beside myself had human instincts of a civilized order, even j 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 [ 93 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS of her trigger finger; but as their sentiments a mostly atrophied it would have required a seric injury to have aroused such passions in the Sola, let me add, was an exception; I never s; her perform a cruel or uncouth act, or fail in u form kindliness and good nature. She was inded as her fellow Martian had said of her, an atavisi a dear and precious reversion to a former ty of loved and loving ancestor. Seeing that the prisoner seemed the center attraction I halted to view the proceedings, had not long to wait for presently Lorquas Pton and his retinue of chieftains approached the bui ing and, signing the guards to follow with t prisoner, entered the audience chamber. Real ing that I was a somewhat favored character, a also convinced that the warriors did not know my proficiency in their language, as I had pie with Sola to keep this a secret on the grounds tl I did not wish to be forced to talk with the ir until I had perfectly mastered the Martian tong I chanced an attempt to enter the audiei chamber and listen to. the proceedings. The council squatted upon the steps of the r trum, while below them stood the prisoner a her two guards. I saw that one of the won - [94] CHAMPION AND CHIEF as Sarkoja, and thus understood how she had ?en present at the hearing of the preceding day, le results of which she had reported to the occu- ants of our dormitory last night Her attitude >ward the captive was most harsh and brutal. iThen she held her, she sunk her rudimentary nails ito the poor girl’s flesh, or twisted her arm in most painful manner. When it was necessary ) move from one spot to another she either jerked er roughly, or pushed her headlong before her. he seemed to be venting upon this poor defense¬ 's creature all the hatred, cruelty, ferocity, and )ite of her nine hundred years, backed by unguess- ble ages of fierce and brutal ancestors. The other woman was less cruel because she as entirely indifferent; if the prisoner had been ft to her alone* and fortunately she was at night, le would have received no harsh treatment, nor, 1 the same token would she have received any tention at all. As Lorquas Ptomel raised his eyes to address e prisoner they fell on me and he turned to Tars arkas with a word, and gesture of impatience, ars Tarkas made some reply which I could not tch, but which caused Lorquas Ptomel to smile; ter which they paid no further attention to me* [ 95 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS “ What is your name?” asked Lorquas Ptoi addressing the prisoner. “Dejah Thoris, daughter of Mors Kajat Helium/’ “And the nature of your expedition?” He - tinued. “It was a purely scientific research party out by my father’s father, the Jeddak of Heli to rechart the air currents, and to take atmosph density tests,” replied the fair prisoner, in a ] well modulated voice. “We were unprepared for battle,” she tinued, “ as we were on a peaceful mission, as banners and the colors of our craft denoted, work we were doing was as much in your inter as in ours, for you know full well that were it for our labors and the fruits of our scier operations there would not be enough air or w on Mars to support a single human life. For j we have maintained the air and water suppl practically the same point without an appreci loss, and we have done this in the face of brutal and ignorant interference of }^ou green r “Why, oh, why will you not learn to liv amity with your fellows, must you ever go down the ages to your final extinction but 1 [ 96 ] CHAMPION AND CHIEF _ - . .* above the plane of the dumb brutes that serve you ! A people without written language, without art, without homes, without love; the victims of eons of the horrible community idea. Owning every¬ thing in common, even to your women and chil¬ dren, 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 kind¬ liness 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 grand¬ daughter 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 sev¬ eral 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 I have marked a new and mighty era for Mars. I saw Tars Tarka9 rise^to speak, and on his face was such an expression as I had never seen upon the countenance of a green Martian warrior. [ 97 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS Ic bespoke an inward and mighty battle with s< with heredity, with age-old custom, and as opened his mouth to speak, a look almost benignity, of kindliness, momentarily lighted his fierce and terrible countenance. What words of moment were to have fal from his lips were never spoken, as just ther young warrior, evidently sensing the trend thought among the older men, leaped down fr< the steps of the rostrum, and striking the fr captive a powerful blow across the face, wh felled her to the floor, placed his foot upon 1 prostrate form and turning toward the assemb] council broke into peals of horrid, mirthl laughter. For an instant I thought Tars Tarkas woi strike him dead, nor did the aspect of Lorqi Ptomel augur any too favorably for the bru but the mood passed, their old selves reasserl their ascendency, and they smiled. It was p tentous however that they did not laugh aloud, i the brute’s act constituted a side-splitting wittici according to the ethics which rule green Marti humor. That I have taken moments to write down part of what occurred as that blow fell does i [98] CHAMPION AND CHIEF signify that I jremained inactive for any such length of time. I think I must have sensed some¬ thing 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 room¬ ful 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 oppo¬ sition 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 [99] A PRINCESS OF MARS wild and futile attempt to dislodge me. With a! his immense bulk he was little if any stronger tha I, and it was but the matter of a moment or tw before he sank, bleeding and lifeless, to the flooi Dejah Thoris had raised herself upon one elboi and was watching the battle with wide, starin eyes. When I had regained my feet I raised he in my arms and bore her to one of the benches a the side of the room. Again no Martian interfered with me, and teal ing a piece of silk from my cape I endeavored t staunch the flow of blood from her nostrils, was soon successful as her injuries amounted t little more than an ordinary nosebleed, and whe: she could speak she placed her hand upon my arn and looking up into my eyes, said: “Why did you it? You who refused me evei friendly recognition in the first hour of my peril And now you risk your life and kill one of you companions for my sake. I cannot understand What strange manner of man are you, that yoi consort with the green men, though your forn is that of my race, while your color is little darke: than that of the white ape? Tell me, are yoi human, or are you more than human?” “It is a strange tale,” I replied, “too long tc [ ioo ] CHAMPION AND CHIEF 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 antag¬ onist had been stripped, and I read in the menacing pet respectful attitude of the warrior who had brought me these trophies of the kill the same iemeanor as that evinced by the other who had jrought me my original equipment, and now for [ioi] A PRINCESS OF MARS the first time I realized that my blow, on the occa sion of my first battle in the audience chamber ha< resulted in the death of my adversary. The reason for the whole attitude displaye( toward me was now apparent; I had won my spurs so to speak, and in the crude justice, which alway marks Martian dealings, and which, among othe things, has caused me to call her the planet o paradoxes, I was accorded the honors due a con queror; the trappings and the position of the mai I killed. In truth, I was a Martian chieftain, anc this I learned later was the cause of my great free dom and my toleration in the audience chamber As I had turned to receive the dead warrior’; chattels I had noticed that Tars Tarkas and sev eral others had pushed forward toward us, anc the eyes of the former rested upon me in a mos quizzical manner. Finally he addressed me: “You speak the tongue of Barsoom quit< readily for one who was deaf and dumb to us < few short days ago. Where did you learn it, Johr Carter?” “You, yourself, are responsible, Tars Tarkas,’ I replied, “in that you furnished me with ar instructress of remarkable ability; I have to than 1 * Sola for my learning.” f 102 ] CHAMPION AND CHIEF “ 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 con¬ tinued. “Should you, in recognition of your remarkable valor, ferocity, and prowess, be con¬ sidered by Tal Ha jus as worthy of his service you may be taken into the community and become a full-fledged Tharkian. Until we reach the head¬ quarters 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 fero¬ cious ruler. I am done.” [ 103] A PRINCESS OF MARS “I hear you, Tars Tarlcas,” I answered. “ Ai you know I am not of Barsoom; your ways arc 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 o\ mine own people. If you will leave me alone 1 will go in peace, but if not, let the individual Bar- soomians with whom I must deal either respect my rights as a stranger among you, or take what¬ ever consequences may befalL Of one tiling let us be sure, whatever may be your ultimate inten¬ tions toward this unfortunate young woman, who¬ ever 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 evi¬ dently deeply impressed them, and their attitude toward me thereafter was still further respectful. [ 104] CHAMPION AND CHIEF 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. 1 105 3 CHAPTER XI WITH DEJAH THORIS i we reached the open the two female guar ilLwho had been detailed to watch over Dej; Thoris hurried up and made as though to assun custody of her once more. The poor child shrai against me and I felt her two little hands fo tightly over my arm. Waving the women awa I informed them that Sola would attend the ca tive hereafter, and I further warned Sarkoja th any more of her cruel attentions bestowed upi Dej ah Thoris would result in Sarkoja’s sudd and painful demise. My threat was unfortunate and resulted in mo harm than good to Dej ah Thoris, for, as I learn later, men do not kill women upon Mars, n women, men. So Sarkoja merely gave us an ug look and departed to hatch up deviltries against i I soon found Sola and explained to her th I wished her to guard Dej ah Thoris as she h; guarded me; that I wished her to find oth quarters where they would not be molested [ 106 ] WITH DEJAH THORIS 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 coun¬ cil 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 build- [107] A PRINCESS OF MARS ing nearer the audience chamber and of far m pretentious architecture than our former hab tion. We also found in this building real sleep apartments with ancient beds of highly wrou metal swinging from enormous gold chains depe ing from the marble ceilings. The decoration the walls was most elaborate, and, unlike frescoes in the other buildings I had examin portrayed many human figures in the compositic These were of people like myself, and of a nr lighter color than Dejah Thoris. They were c in graceful, flowing robes, highly ornamented v metal and jewels, and their luxuriant hair was a beautiful golden and reddish bronze. The n were beardless and only a few wore arms. 1 scenes depicted for the most part, a fair-skinn fair-haired people at play. Dejah Thoris clasped her hands with' exclamation of rapture as she gazed upon th magnificent works of art, wrought by a peo long extinct; while Sola, on the other hand, apj: ently did not see them. We decided to use this room, on the sec< floor and overlooking the plaza, for Dejah The and Sola, and another room adjoining and in rear for the cooking and supplies. I then i [i°8] WITH DEJAH THORIS patched 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 posi¬ tion 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 Bar- soomians 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 :he river Iss empties into the lost sea of Korus, s there supposed to be a different language spoken* [109] A PRINCESS OF MARS and, except in the legends of our ancestors, tl is no record of a Barsoomian returning up river Iss, from the shores of Korus in the va of Dor. Do not tell me that you have i returned! They would kill you horribly anywl upon the surface of Barsoom if that were t: tell me it is not! ” Her eyes were filled with a strange, weird lij her voice was pleading, and her little hai reached up upon my breast, were pressed aga me as though to wring a denial from my ^ heart. “I do not know your customs, Dejah The but in my own Virginia a gentleman does not to save himself; I am not of Dor; I have ne seen the mysterious Iss; the lost sea of Koru still lost, so far as I am concerned. Do believe me?” And then it struck me suddenly that I was \ anxious that she should believe me. It was that I feared the results which would follow general belief that I had returned from the I soomian heaven or hell, or whatever it was. \ was it, then! Why should I care what thought? I looked down at her; her beaut face upturned, and her wonderful eyes opening [no] WITH DEJAH THORIS 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 whis¬ pered: “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 com¬ mon 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 Wd [in] A PRINCESS OF MARS her anything of my antecedents, but no man cov look into the depth of those eyes and refuse 1 slightest behest. Finally she smiled, and, rising, said: “I sh have to believe even though I cannot understai I can readily perceive that you are not of 1 Barsoom of today; you are like us, yet different but why should I trouble my poor head with sucl problem, when my heart tells me that I belie because I wish to believe! ” It was good logic, good, earthly, feminine log and if it satisfied her I certainly could pick flaws in it. As a matter of fact it was about t only kind of logic that could be brought to be upon my problem. We fell into a general cc versation then, asking and answering many qu tions on each side. She was curious to learn the customs of my people and displayed a remai able knowledge of events on earth. When questioned her closely on this seeming familiar; with earthly things she laughed, and cried out: “Why every school boy on Barsoom kno the geography, and much concerning the fau and flora, as well as the history of your plar fully as well as of his own. Can we not see evei thing which takes place upon Earth, as you c [112] WITH DEJAH THORIS it; is it not hanging there in the heavens in plain fight?” 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 instru¬ ments 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 photo¬ graphed and enlarged, objects no greater than a blade of grass may be distinctly recognized. I afterward, in Helium, saw many of these pic¬ tures, 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 recog¬ nize me as identical with the inhabitants of that planet?” She smiled again as one might in bored indul¬ gence of a questioning child. “Because, John Carter,” she replied, “nearly wery planet and star having atmospheric condi- :ions at all approaching those of Barsoom, shows forms of animal life almost identical with you and ne; and, further, Earth men, almost without [ ” 3 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS exception, cover their bodies with strange, sightly pieces of cloth, and their heads w hideous contraptions the purpose of which we h; been unable to conceive; while you, when foi by the Tharkian warriors, were entirely urn figured and unadorned. “The fact that you wore no ornaments h strong proof of your un-Barsoomian origin, wf the absence of grotesque coverings might ca 1 a doubt as to your earthliness.” I then narrated the details of my departure fr the Earth, explaining that my body there fully clothed in all the, to her, strange garme of mundane dwellers. At this point Sola returr with our meager belongings and her young Mart protege, who, of course, would have to share i quarters with them. Sola asked us if we had had a visitor dur; her absence, and seemed much surprised when answered in the negative. It seemed that as i had mounted the approach to the upper flo< where our quarters were located, she had r Sarkoja descending. We decided that she m have been eavesdropping, but as we could rec nothing of importance that had passed betw< us we dismissed the matter as of little consequen [114] WITH DEJAH THORIS 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 Mar¬ tians, 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 Mar¬ tians 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 them¬ selves, 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 war¬ ring 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 [ii 5] A PRINCESS OF MARS high civilization and many of the arts of the fa haired Martians had become lost; but the red n of today has reached a point where it feels tl it has made up in new discoveries and in a me practical civilization for all that lies irretrieval buried with the ancient Barsoomians, beneath t countless intervening ages. These ancient Martians had been a highly c tivated and literary race, but during the vicis tudes of those trying centuries of readjustment new conditions, not only did their advanceme and production cease entirely, but practically their archives, records, and literature were lost. Dejah Thoris related many interesting facts a legends concerning this lost race of noble a kindly people. She said that the city in which 1 were camping was supposed to have been a cent of commerce and culture known as Korad. It h been built upon a beautiful, natural harbor, la locked by magnificent hills. The little valley the west front of the city, she explained, was that remained of the harbor, while the p; through the hills to the old sea bottom had be the channel through which the shipping passed to the city’s gates. The shores of the ancient seas were dotted wi [ n6] WITH DEJAH THORIS just such cities, and lesser ones, in diminishing num¬ bers, were to be found converging toward the center of the oceans, as the people had found it necessary to follow the receding waters until neces¬ sity 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 con¬ ditions 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. T ”7 1 CHAPTER XIL A PRISONER WITH POWER A S I entered and saluted, Lorquas Ptomel si naled me to advance, and, fixing his grer hideous eyes upon me, addressed me thus: “ You have been with us a few days, yet durii that time you have by your prowess won a hi^ position among us. Be that as it may, you are n one of us; you owe us no allegiance. “Your position is a peculiar one,” he co tinued; “you are a prisoner and yet you give cor mands which must be obeyed; you are an alic and yet you are a Tharkian chieftain; you are midget and yet you can kill a mighty warrior wil one blow of your fist. And now you are reports to have been plotting to escape with anothi prisoner of another race; a prisoner who, fro: her own admission, half believes you are returns from the valley of Dor. Either one of these acc sations, if proved, would be sufficient grounds f< your execution, but we are a just people and yc shall have a trial on our return to Thark, if T Hajus so commands. [ 11 8 ] A PRISONER WITH POWER “ 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 com¬ munities 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 [119] A PRINCESS OF MARS softer sentiments of humanity, but we are a ju: and truthful race. You may go.” Turning, I left the audience chamber. So thi was the beginning of Sarkoja’s persecution! knew that none other could be responsible for thi report which had reached the ears of Lorqua Ptomel so quickly, and now I recalled those poi tions of our conversation which had touched upo escape and upon my origin. Sarkoja was at this time Tars Tarkas’ oldei and most trusted female. As such she was mighty power behind the throne, for no warric had the confidence of Lorquas Ptomel to such a extent as did his ablest lieutenant, Tars Tarka; However, instead of putting thoughts of po: sible escape from my mind, my audience wit Lorquas Ptomel only served to center my ever faculty on this subject. Now, more than befor< the absolute necessity for escape, in so far as Deja Thoris was concerned, was impressed upon m< for I was convinced that some horrible fat awaited her at the headquarters of Tal Hajus. As described by Sola, this monster was th exaggerated personification of all the ages c cruelty, ferocity, and brutality from which he ha descended. Cold, cunning, calculating; he wa [ 120 ] A PRISONER WITH POWER 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 yve 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 oppor¬ tunity 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 [ 121 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS we moved off across the plaza to a building whic I was glad to see adjoined that occupied by Sol and her charges. “ My quarters are on the first floor of this buil< ing,” he said, “and the second floor also is full occupied by warriors, but the third floor and th floors above are vacant; you may take your choic of these. “I understand,’’ he continued, “that you hav given up your woman to the red prisoner. Wei as you have said, your ways are not our wayi but you can fight well enough to do about as yo please, and so, if you wish to give your woman t a captive, it is your own affair; but as a chieftai you should have those to serve you, and i accordance with our customs you may select an or all the females from the retinues of the chiel tains whose metal you now wear.” I thanked him, but assured him that I could ge along very nicely without assistance except in th matter of preparing food, and so he promised t send women to me for this purpose and also fo the care of my arms and the manufacture of m ammunition, which he said would be necessary, suggested that they might also bring some of th sleeping silks and furs which belonged to me a [122] A PRISONER WITH POWER spoils of combat, for the nights were cold and I had none of my own. He promised to do so, and departed. Left *lone, 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 batTis, 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 [ 123 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS practically the entire surface of Mars, yet nume ous fountains, statuary, benches, and pergola-lil contraptions bore witness to the beauty which tl court must have presented in bygone times, wh< graced by the fair-haired, laughing people who stern and unalterable cosmic laws had driven n< only from their homes, but from all except tl vague legends of their descendants. One could easily picture the gorgeous folia* of the luxuriant Martian vegetation which om filled this scene with life and color; the gracef figures of the beautiful women, the straight ar handsome men; the happy frolicking children — a sunlight, happiness and peace. It was difficult 1 realize that they had gone; down through ag< of darkness, cruelty, and ignorance, until the hereditary instincts of culture and humanitarianis had risen ascendant once more in the final cor posite race which now is dominant upon Mars. My thoughts were cut short by the advent < several young females bearing loads of weapor silks, furs, jewels, cooking utensils, and casks < food and drink, including considerable loot fro the air craft. All this, it seemed, had been tl property of the two chieftains I had slain, ai now, by the customs of the Tharks, it had becon [124] A PRISONER WITH POWER 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 sleep¬ ing 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 cus¬ todian, 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 mstruction, discipline, sustenance, and the exigen¬ ces of their continual roamings and their unending strife with other communities and with the red Martians. His women are in no sense wives. [ 125] A PRINCESS OF MARS The green Martians use no word correspondii in meaning with this earthly word. Their matii is a matter of community interest solely, and directed without reference to natural selectio The council of chieftains of each communi control the matter as surely as the owner of Kentucky racing stud directs the scientific bree ing of his stock for the improvement of the who] In theory it may sound well, as is often the ca with theories, but the results of ages of tl unnatural practice, coupled with the communi interest in the offspring being held paramount that of the mother, is shown in the cold, cru creatures, and their gloomy, loveless, mirthle existence. It is true that the green Martians are absolute virtuous, both men and women, with the excepti< of such degenerates as Tal Hajus; but better f a finer balance of human characteristics even the expense of a slight and occasional loss chastity. Finding that I must assume responsibility f these creatures, whether I would or not, I ma< the best of it and directed them to find quarte on the upper floors, leaving the third floor to rr One of the girls I charged with the duties of r [126] A PRISONER WITH POWER simple cuisine, and directed the others to talfe up the various activities which had formerly com stituted their vocations. Thereafter I saw little of them, nor did I care to. [1273 CHAPTER XIII LOVE-MAKING ON MARS F OLLOWING the battle with the air ship the community remained within the city f several days, abandoning the homeward mar until they could feel reasonably assured that tl ships would not return; for to be caught on tl open plains with a cavalcade of chariots and ch dren was far from the desire of even so warlike people as the green Martians. During our period of inactivity, Tars Tark had instructed me in many of the customs and ai of war familiar to the Tharks, including lessons riding and guiding the great beasts which bore t warriors. These creatures, which are known thoats, are as dangerous and vicious as th< masters, but when once subdued are sufficient tractable for the purposes of the green Martiar Two of these animals had fallen to me frc the warriors whose metal I wore, and in a she time I could handle them quite as well as the nati warriors. The method was not at all complicate [128] LOVE-MAKING ON MARS 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 Thar- kian custom. My experience with Woola determined me to attempt the experiment of kindness in my treat¬ ment of my tho-ats. First I taught them that they could not unseat me, and even rapped them sharply between the ears to impress upon them my author¬ ity 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, [ 129] A PRINCESS OF MARS with’ far less compunction than that of a poc unreasoning, irresponsible brute. In the course of a few days my thoats were tl wonder of the entire community. They wou follow me like dogs, rubbing their great snou against my body in awkward evidence of affectio and respond to my every command with an alacri and docility which caused the Martian warrio to ascribe to me the possession of some earth power unknown on Mars. “ How have you bewitched them ? ” asked Ta Tarkas one afternoon, when he had seen me ri my arm far between the great jaws of one < my thoats which had wedged a piece of stoi between two of his teeth while feeding upon tl moss-like vegetation within our court yard. “By kindness,” I replied. “You see, Ta Tarkas, the softer sentiments have their vain even to a warrior. In the height of battle as w< as upon the march I know that my thoats w obey my every command, and therefore my figl ing efficiency is enhanced, and I am a better wa rior for the reason that I am a kind master. Yo other warriors would find it to the advantage themselves as well as of the community to ado my methods in this respect. Only a few days sin £130] LOVE-MAKING ON MARS 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 Lor- quas Ptomel and the assembled warriors. That moment marked the beginning of a new existence for the poor thoats, and before I left the com¬ munity 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 move¬ ments 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 [ 131.1 A PRINCESS OF MARS I had seen but little of Dejah Thoris, as I h been kept very busy by Tars Tarkas with my 1 sons in the art of Martian warfare, as well as the training of my thoats. The few times I h visited her quarters she had been absent, walki upon the streets with Sola, or investigating t buildings in the near vicinity of the Plaza. I h warned them against venturing far from the pla for fear of the great white apes, whose feroci I was only too well acquainted with. Howev< since Woola accompanied them on all their exci sions, and as Sola was well armed, there was co: paratively little cause for fear. On the evening before our departure I saw the approaching along one of the great avenues whi lead into the plaza from the east. I advanced meet them, and telling Sola that I would take t responsibility for Dejah Thoris’ safe keeping, directed her to return to her quarters on soi trivial errand. I liked and trusted Sola, but f some reason I desired^ to be alone with Dej Thoris, who represented to me all that I had 1 behind upon Earth in agreeable and congen companionship. There seemed bonds of muti interest between us as powerful as though we h been bom under the same roof rather than up [132] LOVE-MAKING ON MARS 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 [ 133 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS make their terrible projectiles. You know tha these have to be manufactured by artificial 1-ighl as exposure to sunlight always results in an explc sion. You have noticed that their bullets explod when they strike an object? Well, the opaque outer coating is broken by the impact, exposing ; glass cylinder, almost solid, in the forward end o which is a minute particle of radium powder. Th moment the sunlight, even though diffused, strike this powder it explodes with a violence whicl nothing can withstand. If you ever witness ; night battle you will note the absence of thes explosions, while the morning following the battl will be filled at sunrise with the sharp detonation of exploding missiles fired the preceding night As a rule, however, non-exploding projectiles ar used at night.” 1 While I was much interested in Dejah Thoris explanation of this wonderful adjunct to Martial warfare, I was more concerned by the immediat problem of their treatment of her. That the; were keeping her away from me was not a matte a I have used the word radium in describing this powde because in the light of recent discoveries on Earth I believe i to be a mixture of which radium is the base. In Captain Carter manuscript it is mentioned always by the name used in the writte language of Helium and is spelled in hieroglyphics which : would be difficult and useless to reproduce. [ 134] LOVE-MAKING ON MARS 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 w T e 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. [135] A PRINCESS OF MARS “ I presume it is the better part of wisdom tl we bow to our fate with as good grace as p sible, Dejah Thoris; but I hope, nevertheless, tl I may be present the next time that any Marti; green, red, pink, or violet, has the temerity even so much as frown on you, my princess.” Dejah Thoris caught her breath at my 1; words, and gazed upon me with dilated eyes a quickening breath, and then, with an odd lit laugh, which brought roguish dimples to the a ners of her mouth, she shook her head and crie “What a child! A great warrior and yet stumbling little child.” “What have I done now?” I asked, in sc perplexity. “Some day you shall know, John Carter, if' live; but I may not tell you. And I, the daughl of Mors Kajak, son of Tardos Mors, have listen without anger,” she soliloquized in conclusion. Then she broke out again into one of her g; happy, laughing moods; joking with me on r prowess as a Thark warrior as contrasted wi my soft heart and natural kindliness. “ I presume that should you accidentally wou an enemy you would take him home and nurse h back to health,” she laughed. [ 136] LOVE-MAKING ON MARS “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 enough 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 hopeless¬ ness, 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 [ 137] A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 ui and removing my silks I threw them across th shoulders of Dejah Thoris. As my arm reste for an instant upon her I felt a thrill pass throug .1 every fiber of my being such as contact with n other mortal had even produced; and it seemed t me that she had leaned slightly toward me, bu of that I was not sure. Only I knew that as m arm rested there across her shoulders longer tha: the act of adjusting the silk required she did no draw away, nor did she speak. And so, in silence we walked the surface of a dying world, but ii the breast of one of us at least had been bom tha * which is ever oldest, yet ever new. I loved Dejah Thoris. The touch of my am upon her naked shoulder had spoken to me it words I could not mistake, and I knew that I ha< loved her since the first moment that my eyes ha( met hers that first time in the plaza of the deac city of Korad. [138] I SOUGHT OUT DEJAH THORIS IN THE THRONG OF DEPARTING CHARIOTS. Page 142 CHAPTER XIV A DUEL TO THE DEATH M Y 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 ene¬ mies 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. u 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 [139] A PRINCESS OF MARS stranger, are with me; yet at such times it seems that I am safe and that, with you, I shall soorj 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?” 1 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 [140] A DUEL TO THE DEATH 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 dis¬ consolately 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 beautfful 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 ivoman whose hopes, whose pleasures, whose standards of virtue and of right and wrong might pary as greatly from mine as did those of the ^reen Martians. Yes, I was a fool, but I was in love, and though [ was suffering the greatest misery I had ever [ 141 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS .- - ■ ■ ■ known I would not have had it otherwise for a the riches of Barsoom. Such is love, and sue are lovers wherever love is known. To me, Dejah Thoris was all that was perfec: all that was virtuous and beautiful and nob: and good. I believed that from the bottom c my heart, from the depth of my soul on that nigl in Korad as I sat cross-legged upon my silks whii the nearer moon of Barsoom raced through tli western sky toward the horizon, and lighted u the gold and marble, and jeweled mosaics of m world-old chamber, and I believe it today as I s at my desk in the little study overlooking the Hue son. Twenty years have intervened; for ten c them I lived and fought for Dejah Thoris an her people, and for ten I have lived upon her men ory. The morning of our departure for Thar dawned clear and hot, as do all Martian morr ings except for the six weeks when the snow melt at the poles. I sought out Dejah Thoris in the throng o departing chariots, but she turned her shoulder t me, and I could see the red blood mount to he cheek. With the foolish inconsistency of love held my peace when I might have plead ignoranc [ 142] A DUEL TO THE DEATH >f the nature of my offense, or at least the gravity ff it, and so have effected, at worst, a half con- iliatioru My duty dictated that I must see that she was :omfortable, and so I glanced into her chariot and earranged her silks and furs. In doing so I noted vith horror that she was heavily chained by one inkle to the side of the vehicle. “What does this mean?” I cried, turning to iola. “Sarkoja thought it best,” she answered, her : ace betokening her disapproval of the procedure. Examining the manacles I saw that they fastened vith 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 Pars Tarkas, to whom I vehemently objected to he unnecessary humiliations and cruelties, as they eemed to my lover’s eyes, that were being heaped ipon Dejah Thoris. “John Carter,” he answered, “if ever you and )ejah Thoris escape the Tharks it will be upon bis journey. We know that you will not go with- ut her. You have shown yourself a mighty ghter, and we do not wish to manacle you, so we [ 143] A PRINCESS OF MARS hold you both in the easiest way that will } ensure security. I have spoken.’’ I saw the strength of his reasoning at a flaj and knew that it were futile to appeal from 1 decision, but I asked that the key be taken frc Sarkoja and that she be directed to leave t prisoner alone in future. “This much, Tars Tarkas, you may do for r in return for the friendship that, I must confe I feel for you.” “Friendship?” he replied. “There is no su thing, John Carter; but have your will. I sh direct that Sarkoja cease to annoy the girl, anc myself will take the custody of the key.” “Unless you wish me to assume the respc sibility,” I said, smiling. He looked at me long and earnestly before spoke. “Were you to give me your word that neitb you nor Dejah Thoris would attempt to esca until after we have safely reached the court Tal Hajus you might have the key and throw t chains into the river Iss.” “It were better that you held the key, Ti Tarkas,” I replied. He smiled, and said no more, but that nig [ 144 ] A DUEL TO THE DEATH 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 conver¬ sation with a warrior named Zad; a big, hulking, powerful brute, but one who had never made a kill among his own chieftains, and so was still an o mad, or man with one name; he could win a second name only with the metal of some chief¬ tain. 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 [145] A PRINCESS OF MARS ■As Sarkoja talked with Zad he cast occasion; glances in my direction, while she seemed to t urging him very strongly to some action. I pai little attention to it at the time, but the next da I had good reason to recall the circumstances, an at the same time gain a slight insight into tf depths of Sarkoja’s hatred and the lengths t which she was capable of going to wreak her horri vengeance on me. Dejah Thoris would have none of me agai on this evening, and though I spoke her name sf neither replied, nor conceded by so much as tf flutter of an eyelid that she realized my existenc In my extremity I did what most other lovers woul have done; I sought word from her through an int mate. In this instance it was Sola whom I inte cepted in another part of camp. “What is the matter with Dejah Thoris?” blurted out at her. “Why will she not spea to me?” Sola seemed puzzled herself, as though sue strange actions on the part of two humans wei quite beyond her, as indeed they were, poor chik “She says you have angered her, and that all she will say, except that she is the daughter c a jed and the granddaughter of a jeddak and sh [146] A DUEL TO THE DEATH 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,” ex¬ plained 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 hoipe- sick, 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 Car¬ ters 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 feel¬ ings were those of a boy. There were two little kiddies in the Carter family whom I had loved and C147 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS who had thought there was no one on Earth lil Uncle Jack; I could see them just as plainly, as stood there under the moonlit skies of Barsoon and I longed for them as I had never longed f( any mortals before. By nature a wanderer, I ha never known the true meaning of the word horn but the great hall of the Carters had always stoc for all that the word did mean to me, and no my heart turned toward it from the cold an unfriendly peoples I had been thrown amongs For did not even Dejah Thoris despise me ! was a low creature, so low in fact that I was n< even fit to polish the teeth of her grandmother cat; and then my saving sense of humor came t my rescue, and laughing I turned into my sill and furs and slept upon the moon-haunted grour the sleep of a tired and healthy fighting man. We broke camp the next day at an early hoi and marched with only a single halt until ju before dark. Two incidents broke the tediou ness of the march. About noon we espied far i our right what was evidently an incubator, ar Lorquas Ptomel directed Tars Tarkas to invesi gate it. The latter took a dozen warriors, inclu ing myself, and we raced across the velvety ca peting of moss to the little enclosure. [148] A DUEL TO THE DEATH 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 inclosure 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 [ 149] A PRINCESS OF MARS hatching on the day of my arrival on Barsoon This was indeed an interesting piece of inform; tion, for it had always seemed remarkable to m that the green Martian women, large as they wen could bring forth such enormous eggs as I ha seen the four-foot infants emerging from. As matter of fact, the new-laid egg is but little large than an ordinary goose egg, and as it does nc commence to grow until subjected to the light c the sun the chieftains have little difficulty in tran; porting several hundreds of them at one time fror the storage vaults to the incubators. Shortly after the incident of the Warhoon egg we halted to rest the animals, and it was durin this halt that the second of the day’s interestin episodes occurred. I was engaged in changin my riding cloths from one of my thoats to th other, for I divided the day’s work between then when Zad approached me, and without a wor struck my animal a terrific blow with his lon$ sword. I did not need a manual of green Martian et quette to know what reply to make, for, in fac I was so wild with anger that I could scarce! refrain from drawing my pistol and shooting hii down for the brute he was; but he stood waitin [ 150 ] A DUEL TO THE DEATH 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 fire arms or a ipear 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 [150 A PRINCESS OF MARS tried to do by science what he was unable to d< by brute strength. I must admit that he was magnificent swordsman, and had it not been fo my greater endurance and the remarkable agilit the lesser gravitation of Mars lent me I might no have been able to put up the creditable fight I d l against him. We circled for some time without doing muc. damage on either side; the long, straight, needk like swords flashing in the sunlight, and ringing ou upon the stillness as they crashed together wit each effective parry. Finally Zad, realizing tha he was tiring more than I, evidently decided t close in and end the battle in a final blaze of glor for himself; just as he rushed me a blinding flasl of light struck full in my eyes, so that I coul not see his approach and could only leap blindl to one side in an effort to escape the mighty blad that it seemed I could already feel in my vitah I was only partially successful, as a sharp pain i my left shoulder attested, but in the sweep of m glance as I sought to again locate my adversary a sight met my astonished gaze which paid me we for the wound the temporary blindness had cause me. There, upon Dejah Thoris* chariot stoo three figures, for the purpose evidently of wi [ IJ2] A DUEL TO THE DEATH nessing 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 some¬ thing 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 with¬ out 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 [*53] A PRINCESS OF MARS reluctantly gave my attention to the work in han< but my mind was not upon the battle. We rushed each other furiously time after tirn I ’til suddenly, feeling the sharp point of his swor at my breast in a thrust I could neither parry nc escape, I threw myself upon him with outstretche sword and with all the weight of my body, dete mined that I would not die alone if I could pr< vent it. I felt the steel tear into my chest, a went black before me, my head whirled in di#>£ ness, and I felt my knees giving beneath me. 1 154 1 CHAPTER XV SOLA TELLS ME IIER STORY W HEN consciousness returned, and, as I soon learned, I was down but a moment, I 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. Removiitg 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, [155] A PRINCESS OF MARS accustomed to such happenings, dressed wounds, applying the wonderful healing < remedial agents which make only the most inst taneous of death blows fatal. Give a Mart woman a chance and death must take a back s( They soon had me patched up so that, except weakness from loss of blood and a little sc ness around the wound, I suffered no great < tress from this thrust which, under earthly tre ment, undoubtedly would have put me flat on back for days. As soon as they were through with I hastened to the chariot of Dejah Thoris, wh I found my poor Sola with her chest swathed bandages, but apparently little the worse for ] encounter with Sarkoja, whose dagger it seen had struck the edge of one of Sola’s metal bre ornaments and, thus deflected, had inflicted bu slight flesh wound. As I approached I found Dejah Thoris ly prone upon her silks and furs, her lithe fo wracked with sobs. She did not notice my pi ence, nor did she hear me speaking with Sola, v was standing a short distance from the vehicle. “Is she injured?” I asked of Sola, indicat Dejah Thoris by an inclination of my head. [ij6] SOLA TELLS ME HER STORY “ 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, smih ing. “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 thou¬ sand jeddaks would never grieve like this over the death of one she considered beneath her, or indeed 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 :ould not have known your mother, child.” [ 157] A PRINCESS OF MARS “But I did. And my father also,” she ad< “If you would like to hear the strange and Barsoomian story come to the chariot toni John Carter, and I will tell you that of whic have never spoken in all my life before. 'And i the signal has been given to resume the ma you must go.” “ I will come tonight, Sola,” I promised. 4 sure to tell Dejah Thoris I am alive and well, shall not force myself upon her, and be sure t you do not let her know I saw her tears. If would speak with me I but await her comman Sola mounted the chariot, which was swing into its place in line, and I hastened to my wail thoat and galloped to my station beside Tars 1 kas at the rear of the column. We made a most imposing and awe-inspir spectacle as we strung out across the yellow la scape; the two hundred and fifty ornate ; brightly colored chariots, preceded by an adva guard of some two hundred mounted warriors ; chieftains riding five'abreast and one hund yards apart, and followed by a like number in same formation, with a score or more of flank on either side; the fifty extra mastodons, or he; draught animals, known as zitidars, and the 1 [ 158 ] SOLA TELLS ME HER STORY )F six hundred extra thoats of the warriors running oose within the hollow square formed by the sur- ounding warriors. The gleaming metal and ewels of the gorgeous ornaments of the men and vomen, duplicated in the trappings of the zitidars tnd thoats, and interspersed with the flashing olors of magnificent silks and furs and feathers, *nt a barbaric splendor to the caravan which would lave turned an East Indian potentate green with :nvy. The enormous broad tires of the chariots and he padded feet of the animals brought forth no ound from the moss-covered sea bottom; and so ve moved in utter silence, like some huge phan- asmagoria, except when the stillness was broken >y the guttural growling of a goaded zitidar, or he squealing of fighting thoats. The green Mar¬ ians converse but little, and then usually in nonosyllables, low and like the faint rumbling of iistant thunder. We traversed a trackless waste of moss which, ending to the pressure of broad tire or padded oot, rose up again behind us, leaving no sign hat we had passed. We might indeed have been he wraiths of the departed dead upon the dead ea of that dying planet for all the sound or sigQ [ 159] A PRINCESS OF MARS we made in passing. It was the first march c large body of men and animals I had ever 1 nessed which raised no dust and left no spoor; there is no dust upon Mars except in the cultiva districts during the winter months, and even t the absence of high winds renders it almost noticeable. We camped that night at the foot of the h we had been approaching for two days and wf marked the southern boundary of this partici sea. Our animals had been two days with drink, nor had they had water for nearly 1 months, not since shortly after leaving Tha but, as Tars Tarkas explained to me, they reqi but little and can live almost indefinitely upon moss which covers Barsoom, and which, he t me, holds in its tiny stems sufficient moisture meet the limited demands of the animals. After partaking of my evening meal of chei like food and vegetable milk I sought out S< whom I found working by the light of a tc upon some of Tars Tarkas’ trappings. She loo up at my approach, her face lighting with pleas and with welcome. “ I am glad you came,” she said; “ Dejah Th sleeps and I am lonely. Mine own people do [160] SOLA TELLS ME HER STORY are for me, John Carter; I am too unlike them, t is a sad fate, since I must live my life amongst lem, and I often wish that I were a true green dartian woman, without love and without hope; ut I have known love and so I am lost. “I promised to tell you my story, or rather le story of my parents. From what I have learned f you and the ways of your people I am sure lat the tale will not seem strange to you, but mong green Martians it has no parallel within le memory of the oldest living Thark, nor do our igends hold many similar tales. “ My mother was rather small, in fact too small d be allowed the responsibilities of maternity, as ur chieftains breed principally for size. She was Iso less cold and cruel than most green Martian r omen, and caring little for their society, she ften roamed the deserted avenues of Thark alone, r went and sat among the wild flowers that deck le near-by hills, thinking thoughts and wishing ishes which I believe I alone among Tharkian omen today may understand, for am I not the lild of my mother? “And there among the hills she met a young arrior, whose duty it was to guard the feeding itidars and thoats and see that they roamed not [ 161 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS beyond the hills. They spoke at first only of si things as interest a community of Tharks, 1 gradually, as they came to meet more often, ai as was now quite evident to both, no longer chance, they talked about themselves, their lik their ambitions and their hopes. She trusted h and told him of the awful repugnance she felt i the cruelties of their kind, for the hideous, kr less lives they must ever lead, and then she wait for the storm of denunciation to break from ] cold, hard lips; but instead he took her in his ar and kissed her. “They kept their love a secret for six lo years. She, my mother, was of the retinue of t great Tal Haj[us, while her lover was a simple w: rior, wearing only his own metal. Had th defection from the traditions of the Tharks be discovered both would have paid the penalty the great arena before Tal Hajus and t assembled hordes. “The egg from which I came was hide beneath a great glass vessel upon the highest a most inaccessible of the partially ruined towers ancient Thark. Once each year my mother visi it for the five long years it lay there in the proc of incubation. She dared not come oftener, : [162] SOLA TELLS ME HER STORY p- — . --- i the mighty guilt of her conscience :»he feared hat her every move was watched. During this •eriod my father gained great distinction as a Varrior and had taken the metal from several hieftains. His love for my mother had never diminished, and his one ambition in life was to each a point where he might wrest the metal from Tal Hajus himself, and thus, as ruler of the fharks, be free to claim her as his own, as well is, by the might of his power, protect the child vhich otherwise would be quickly dispatched hould the truth become known. “It was a wild dream, that of wresting the netal from Tal Hajus in five short years, but his idvance was rapid, and he soon stood high in the ouncils of Thark. But one day the chance was ost forever, in so far as it could come in time to lave his loved ones, for he was ordered away upon i long expedition to the ice-clad south, to make var upon the natives there and despoil them of heir furs, for such is the manner of the green larsoomian; he does not labor for what he can vrest in battle from others. “He was gone for four years, and when he *eturned all had been over for three; for about a 'ear after his departure, and shortly before the [163] A PRINCESS OF MARS time for the return of an expedition which Y gone forth to fetch the fruits of a community in bator, the egg had hatched. Thereafter my motl continued to keep me in the old tower, visiting nightly and lavishing upon me the love the cc munity life would have robbed us both of. 5 hoped, upon the return of the expedition from i incubator, to mix me with the other young assigr to the quarters of Tal Hajus, and thus escape 1 fate which would surely follow discovery of 1 sin against the ancient traditions of the green m “ She taught me rapidly the language and c toms of my kind, and one night she told me 1 story I have told to you up to this point, impre ing upon me the necessity for absolute secrecy a the great caution I must exercise after she b placed me with the other young Tharks to peri no one to guess that I was further advanced education than they, nor by any sign to divu in the presence of others my affection for her, my knowledge of my parentage; and then drawi me close to her she whispered in my ear the na of my father. “And then a light flashed out upon the da ness of the tower chamber, and there stood S koja, her gleaming, baleful eyes fixed in a frer [ 164] SOLA TELLS ME HER STORY 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 tor¬ ture 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 l 4 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. [165] A PRINCESS OF MARS “As we neared the city’s southern extremity sound came to us from across the mossy flat, frc the direction of the only pass through the hi which led to the gates, the pass by which carava from either north or south or east or west woe enter the city. The sounds we heard were t squealing of thoats and the grumbling of zitida with the occasional clank of arms which announc the approach of a body of warriors. The thoug uppermost in her mind was that it was my fath returned from his expedition, but the cunning the Thark held her from headlong and precipita flight to greet him. “ Retreating into the shadows of a doorway s‘ awaited the coming of the cavalcade which short entered the avenue, breaking its formation ai thronging the thoroughfare from wall to wa As the head of the procession passed us the less moon swung clear of the overhanging roofs ai lit up the scene with all the brilliancy of her wo drous light. My mother shrank further ba into the friendly shadows, and from her hidii place saw that the expedition was not that of n father, but the returning caravan bearing the youi Tharks. Instantly her plan was formed, and a great chariot swung close to our hiding pla [ 166 ] SOLA TELLS ME HER STORY he slipped stealthily in upon the trailing tail board, touching 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, lor 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 guar¬ dians during the journey were now free to relin¬ quish their responsibility. We were herded together into a great room, fed by women who fiad 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 laugh¬ ter 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 ;he white apes. Sarkoja alone disbelieved her, and [167] A PRINCESS OF MARS I feel to this day that she suspects my true origi but does not dare expose me, at the present, all events, because she also guesses, I am sui the identity of my father. “When he returned from his expedition ai learned the story of my mother’s fate I was pr< ent as Tal Hajus told him; but never by the quiv of a muscle did he betray the slightest emotio only he did not laugh as Tal Hajus gleeful described her death struggles. From that mome on he was the crudest of the cruel, and I a awaiting the day when he shall win the goal his ambition, and feel the carcass of Tal Haj beneath his foot, for I am as sure that he b waits the opportunity to wreak a terrible ve geance, and that his great love is as strong in 1: breast as when it first transfigured him near forty years ago, as I am that we sit here upon tl edge of a world-old ocean while sensible peop sleep, John Carter.” “And your father, Sola, is he with us now: I asked. “Yes,” she replied, “but he does not know r for what I am, nor does he know who betray* my mother to Tal Hajus. I alone know my fathei name, and only I and Tal Hajus and Sarkoja knc [ 168] SOLA TELLS ME HER STORY ihat it was she who carried the tale that brought R leath and torture upon her he loved.” s We sat silent for a few moments, she wrapped n the gloomy thoughts of her terrible past, and I ; n pity for the poor creatures whom the heartless, senseless customs of their race had doomed to oveless lives of cruelty and of hate. Presently he spoke. i “John Carter, if ever a real man walked the old, dead bosom of Barsoom you are one. I know hat I can trust you, and because the knowledge nay some day help you or him or Dejah Thoris >r myself, I am going to tell you the name of my ather, nor place any restrictions or conditions upon , T our tongue. When the time comes, speak the :ruth if it seems best to you. I trust you because [ know that you are not cursed with the terrible :rait of absolute and unswerving truthfulness, diat you could lie like one of your own Virginia gentlemen if a lie would save others from sorrow Dr suffering. My father’s name is Tars Tarkas.” c 169] CHAPTER XVI WE PLAN ESCAPE HE remainder of our journey to Thark ws JL uneventful. We were twenty days upon th road, crossing two. sea bottoms and passin through or around a number of ruined eitie mostly smaller than Korad. Twice we crosse the famous Martian waterways, or canals, s< called by our earthly astronomers. When v approached these points a warrior would be sei far ahead with a powerful field glass, and if n great body of red Martian troops was in sigl we would advance as close as possible withoi chance of being seen and then camp until dar] when we would slowly approach the cultivate tract, and, locating one of the numerous, broa highways which cross these areas at regular inte vals, creep silently and stealthily across to the ari lands upon the other side. It required five houi to make one of these crossings without a sing halt, and the other consumed the entire night, s that we were just leaving the confines of tl high-walled fields when the sun broke out upon u [170] WE PLAN ESCAPE Crossing in the darkness, as we did, I was unable to see but little, except as the nearer moon, in her w$d 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 appear¬ ance 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 pres¬ ence 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 approach¬ ing caravan leaped shrieking to his feet and fled madly dovn the road, scaling a near-by 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 [ 171 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS caravan as we hastened toward the bordering des ert which marked our entrance into the realm o Tal Ha jus. . Not once did I have speech with Dejah Thoris as she sent no word to me that I would be welcom at her chariot, and my foolish pride kept me fror making any advances. I verily believe that man’s way with Women is in inverse ratio to hi prowess among men. The weakling and the sap head have often great ability to charm the fai sex, while the fighting man who can face a thoi sand real dangers unafraid, sits hiding in th shadows like some frightened child. Just thirty days after my advent upon Barsoor we entered the ancient city of Thark, from whos long forgotten people this horde of green me have stolen even their name. The hordes of Thar number some thirty thousand souls, and are divide into twenty-five communities. Each communit has its own jed and lesser chieftains, but all ar under the rule of Tal Hajus, Jeddak of Tharl Five communities make their headquarters at th city of Thark, and the balance are scattered amon other deserted cities of ancient Mars throughoi the district claimed by Tal Hajus. We made our entry into the great central plaz [ 172] WE PLAN ESCAPE early in the afternoon. There were no enthusiastic friendly greetings for the returned expedition. Those who chanced to be in sight spoke the names af warriors or women with whom they came in direct contact, in the formal greeting of their kind, 3ut when it was discovered that they brought two :aptives 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 lalance of the day was devoted to settling our¬ selves to the changed conditions. My home now vas upon an avenue leading into the plaza from :he south, the main artery down which we had narched from the gates of the city. I was at the : ar end of the square and had an entire building o myself. The same grandeur of architecture vhich was so noticeable a characteristic of Korad vas in evidence here, only, if that were possible, )n a larger and richer scale. My quarters would lave been suitable for housing the greatest of earthly emperors, but to these queer creatures lothing about a building appealed to them but its iize and the enormity of its chambers; the larger he building, the more desirable; and so Tal Hajus iccupied what must have been an enormous public luilding, the largest in the city, but entirely unfitted [ 173 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS f«vr residence purposes; the next largest w; reserved forTorquas Ptomel, the next for the jc of a lesser rank, and so on to the bottom of tl list of five jeds. The warriors occupied the bud ings with the chieftains to whose retinues th< belonged; or, if they preferred, sought shelti among any of the thousands of untenanted bud ings in their own quarter of town; each communii being assigned a certain section of the city. Tl selection of building had to be made in accordan< tvith these divisions, except in so far as the jec were concerned, they all occupying edifices whic fronted upon the plaza. When I had finally put my house in order, < rather seen that it had been done, it was nearin sunset, and I hastened out with the intention c locating Sola and her charges, as I had determine upon having speech with Dejah Thoris and tryiri to impress on her the necessity of our at lea patching up a truce until I could find some way c aiding her to escape. I searched in vain until tl upper rim of the great red sun was just disappea ing behind the horizon and then I spied the ug! head of Woola peering from a second-story wi: daw on the opposite side of the very street whej I was quartern! hut nearer the plaza. [ 174 ] WE PLAN ESCAPE 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 hurl¬ ing 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 approach¬ ing 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 svas standing beside her where she crouched among :he furs and silks upon an ancient carved wooden >eat. As I waited she rose to her full height and ooking 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 ito hurt or offend you, whom I had hoped to pro¬ ject and comfort. Have none of me if it is your tvill, but that you must aid me in effecting your [175] A PRINCESS OF MARS escape, if such a thing be possible, is not r request, but my command. When you are sa once more at your father’s court you may do wi me as you please, but from now on until that d I am your master, and you must obey and aid me She looked at me long and earnestly and thought that she was softening toward me. “I understand your words, Dotar Sojat,” s replied, “ but you I do not understand. You are queer mixture of child and man, of brute ai noble. I only wish that I might read your heart “ Look down at your feet, Dejah Thoris; it li there now where it has lain since that other nig at Korad, and where it will ever lie beating alo for you until death stills it forever.” She took a little step toward me, her beautif hands outstretched in a strange, groping gestui “What do you mean, John Carter?” she wh pered. “ What are you saying to me ? ” “ I am saying what I had promised myself th I would not say to you, at least until you were i longer a captive among the green men; what fre your attitude toward me for the past twenty da I had thought never to say to you; I am sayin Dejah Thoris, that I am yours, body and soi to.serve you, to fight for you, and to die for yc [ r 76] WE PLAN ESCAPE Dnly one thing I ask of you in return, and that is hat you make no sign, either of condemnation or )f approbation of my words until you are safe imong your own people, and that whatever senti- nents you harbor toward me they be not influenced >r colored by gratitude; whatever I may do to erve you will be prompted solely from selfish notives, since it gives me more pleasure to serve ou than not.” “ I will respect your wishes, John Carter, iecause I understand the motives which prompt hem, and I accept your service no more willingly han I bow to your authority; your word shall be ly law. I have twice wronged you in my thoughts nd again I ask your forgiveness.” Further conversation of a personal nature was •revented by the entrance of Sola, who was much gitated and wholly unlike her usual calm and ossessed self. “That horrible Sarkoja has been before Tal lajus,” she cried, “ and from what I heard upon tie 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 ave assembled for the yearly games.” [ 177 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS ‘‘Sola,” I said, “you are a Thark, but you ha and loathe the customs of your people as much we do. Will you not accompany us in one suprer effort to escape? I am sure that Dejah Thoi can offer you a home and protection among h people, a.$d your fate can be no worse among the than it must ever be here.” “Yes,” cried Dejah Thoris, “come with i Sola, you will be better off among the red men < Helium than you are here, and I can promise y< not only a home with us, but the love and affectic your nature craves and which must always 1 denied you by the customs of your own race. Con with us, Sola; we might go without you, but yoi fate would be terrible if they thought you hi connived to aid us. I know that even that fe; would not tempt you to interfere in our escap but we want you with us, we want you to come i a land of sunshine and happiness, amongst a pe pie who know the meaning of love, of sympath and of gratitude. Say that you will, Sola; U me that you will.” “The great waterway which leads to Helium but fifty miles to the south,” murmured Sola, ha to herself; “a swift thoat might make it in thr< hours; and then to Helium it is five hundred mile [i?8] SHE DREW UPON THE MARBLE FLOOR THE FIRST MAP OF THE BARSOOMIAN TERRITORY I HAD EVER SEEN. Page 178 WE PLAN ESCAPE 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. [1793 A PRINCESS OF MARS “Does not this pierce your grandfather’s terri¬ tory?” 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 dis¬ tance. 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 over¬ take 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. [ 180] WE PLAN ESCAPE 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 grunt¬ ing 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 enter¬ ing a paddock of thoats alone and at night; first, because their increasing noisiness might warn the near-by 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 tem¬ pers 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 near-by 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 fore- [181] A PRINCESS OF MARS sight to win the love and confidence of these wile dumb brutes, for presently from the far side of the court I saw two huge bulks forcing their waj 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 lead 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, [182] WE PLAN ESCAPE 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 know could be no fugi¬ tives creeping stealthily toward liberty. Soon the party was near me, and from the black shadows of my entrance way 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 unde¬ tected to the quarters of Dejah Thoris and learn what fate had overtaken her, but how to do it [183] A PRINCESS OF MARS with these great monstrous thoats upon my hand now that the city probably was aroused by th knowledge of my escape was a problem of n mean proportions. Suddenly an idea occurred to me, and actin on my knowledge of the construction of the builc ings of these ancient Martian cities with a holloa court within the center of each square, I grope my way blindly through the dark chambers, callin the great thoats after me. They had difficulty i negotiating some of the doorways, but as th buildings fronting the city’s principal exposure were all designed upon a magnificent scale, the were able to wriggle through without sticking fast and thus we finally made the inner court where found, as I had expected, the usual carpet o moss-like vegetation which would prove their foo and drink until I could return them to their ow enclosure. That they would be as quiet and cor tented here as elsewhere I was confident, nor wa there but the remotest possibility that they woul be discovered, as the green men had no grea desire to enter these outlying buildings, whic were frequented by the only thing, I believe, whic caused them the sensation of fear — the gres white apes of Barsoom. [ 184] WE PLAN ESCAPE 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 fur¬ ther side, and thence to the avenue beyond. Wait¬ ing 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 war¬ riors 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 [185] A PRINCES'S OF MARS in the rear of her apartment. Drawing myst inside the room I moved stealthily toward t front of the building, and not until I had qui reached the doorway of her room was I ma aware by voices that it was occupied. I did not rush headlong in, but listened witho to assure myself that it was Dejah Thoris and th it was safe to venture within. It was well indei that I took this precaution, for the conversath I heard was in the low gutturals of men, and tl words which finally came to me proved a me timely warning. The speaker was a chieftain ai he was giving orders to four of his warriors* “And when he returns to this chamber,” he w saying, “ as he surely will when he finds she do not meet him at the city’s edge, you four are spring upon him and disarm him. It will requi the combined strength of all of you to do it if tl reports they bring back from Korad are correi When you have him fast bound bear him to tl vaults beneath the jeddak’s quarters and cha him securely where he may be found when T Hajus wishes him. Allow him to speak with nor nor permit any other to enter this apartment befo he comes. There will be no danger of the g returning, for by this time she is safe in the arr [ 165 } WE PLAN ESCAPE A Tal Hajus, and may all her ancestors have pity jpon 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 com- nend your carcasses to the cold bosom of Iss.” r »??l CHAPTER XVII A COSTLY RECAPTURE i the speaker ceased he turned to leave 1 JLapartment by the door where I was sta ing, but I needed to wait no longer; I had he: enough to fill my soul with dread, and steal quietly away I returned to the courtyard by way I had come. My plan of action was forn upon the instant, and crossing the square and bordering avenue upon the opposite side I s< stood within the courtyard of Tal Ha jus. The brilliantly lighted apartments of the f floor told me where first to seek, and advanc to the windows I peered within. I soon discove that my approach was not to be the easy thin had hoped, for the rear rooms bordering the cc were filled with warriors and women. I t glanced up at the stories above, discovering t the third was apparently unlighted, and so deci to make my entrance to the building from t point. It was the work of but a moment for to reach the windows above, and soon I had dr; 11881 A COSTLY RECAPTURE lyself within the sheltering shadows of the un- ghted third floor. Fortunately the room I had selected was unten- nted, and creeping noiselessly to the corridor eyond I discovered a light in the apartments head of me. Reaching what appeared to be a oorway I discovered that it was but an opening pon an immense inner chamber which towered rom the first floor, two stories below me, to the iome-like roof of the building, high above my iead. The floor of this great circular hall was hronged with chieftains, warriors and women, nd at one end was a great raised platform upon riiich squatted the most hideous beast I had ever >ut my eyes upon. He had all the cold, hard, ruel, terrible features of the green warriors, but iccentuated and debased by the animal passions o which he had given himself over for many years, rhere was not a mark of dignity or pride upon lis bestial countenance, while his enormous bulk pread itself out upon the platform where he quatted like some huge devil fish, his six limbs ccentuating the similarity in a horrible and star¬ ling manner. But the sight that froze me with apprehension ras that of Dejah Thoris and Sola standing there [ 189] A PRINCESS OF MARS before him, and the fiendish leer of him as he 1 his great protruding eyes gloat upon the lines her beautiful figure. She was speaking, but could not hear what she said, nor could I mal out the low grumbling of his reply. She stO( there erect before him, her head high held, ai even at the distance I was from them I could re; the scorn and disgust upon her face as she let h haughty glance rest without sign of fear upon hii She was indeed the proud daughter of a thousai jeddaks, every inch of her dear, precious litt body; so small, so frail beside the towering wi riors around her, but in her majesty dwarfii them into insignificance; she was the mightie figure among them and I verily believe that th felt it. Presently Tal Hajus made a sign that t chamber be cleared, and that the prisoners be 1< alone before him. Slowly the chieftains, the w; riors and the women melted away into the shado of the surrounding chambers, and Dejah Tho and Sola stood alone before the jeddak of t Tharks. One chieftain alone had hesitated before depa ing; I saw him standing in the shadows of a migl column, his fingers nervously toying with the 1 . [190] A COSTLY RECAPTURE : his great-sword and his cruel eyes bent in implac- jle hatred upon Tal Hajus. It was Tars Tarkas, id I could read his thoughts as they were an open iok for the undisguised loathing upon his face. ! e was thinking of that other woman who, forty fars ago, had stood before this beast, and could have spoken a word into his ear at that moment e reign of Tal Hajus would have been over; ft finally he also strode from the room, not know- y that he left his own daughter at the mercy of e creature he most loathed. Tal Hajus arose, and I, half fearing, half antici- .ting his intentions, hurried to the winding run¬ ny which led to the floors below. No one was ar to intercept me, and I reached the main floor ’ the chamber unobserved, taking my station in e shadow of the same column that Tars Tarkas d but just deserted. As I reached the floor il Hajus was speaking. “Princess of Helium, I might wring a mighty nsom from your people would I but return you them unharmed, but a thousand times rather mid I watch that beautiful face writhe in the ony of torture; it shall be long drawn out, that iromise you; ten days of pleasure were all too ort to show the love I harbor for your race. The [ 191 3 A PRINCESS OF MARS terrors of your death shall haunt the slumber the red men through all the ages to come; t will shudder in the shadows of the night as t fathers tell them of the awful vengeance of green men; of the power and might and hate cruelty of Tal Hajus. But before the torture shall be mine for one short hour, and word of i too shall go forth to Tardos Mors, Jeddak Helium, your grandfather, that he may gr< upon the ground in the agony of his son Tomorrow the torture will commence; ton thou art Tal Hajus’; come!” He sprang down from the platform and gras her roughly by the arm, but scarcely had he touc her than I leaped between them. My short-swi sharp and gleaming was in my right hand; I c< have plunged it into his putrid heart before realized that I was upon him; but as I raised arm to strike I thought of Tars Tarkas, and, i all my rage, with all my hatred, I could not him of that sweet moment for which he had li and hoped all these long, weary years, and instead, I swung my good right fist full upon point of his jaw. Without a sound he slippe« the floor as one dead. In the same deathly silence I grasped D< [192] A COSTLY RECAPTURE "horis by the hand, and motioning to Sola to fol- dw we sped noiselessly from the chamber and to be floor above. Unseen we reached a rear win- ow and with the straps and leather of my trap- ings I lowered, first Sola and then Dejah Thoris o the ground below. Dropping lightly after them drew them rapidly around the court in the hadows of the buildings, and thus we returned ver the same course I had so recently followed rom the distant boundary of the city. We finally came upon my thoats in the court- ard where I had left them, and placing the trap- lings upon them we hastened through the build- ng to the avenue beyond. Mounting, Sola upon me beast, and Dejah Thoris behind me upon the ither, we rode from the city of Thark through the tills to the south. Instead of circling back around the city to the lorthwest and toward the nearest waterway which ay so short a distance from us, we turned to the ortheast and struck out upon the mossy waste cross which, for two hundred dangerous and reary miles, lay another main artery leading to lelium. No word was spoken until we had left the city ar behind, but I could hear the quiet sobbing of [ 193] A PRINCESS OF MARS Dejah Thoris as she clung to me with her de head resting against my shoulder. “ If we make it, my chieftain, the debt Helium will be a mighty one; greater than s can every pay you; and should we not make il she continued, “ the debt is no less, though Helii will never know, for you have saved the last our line from worse than death.’’ I did not answer, but instead reached to my si and pressed the little fingers of her I loved whe they clung to me for support, and then, in i broken silence, we sped over the yellow, moon moss; each of us occupied with his own though For my part I could not be other than joyful hac tried, with Dejah Thoris’ warm body pressed clc to mine, and with all our unpassed danger r heart was singing as gaily as though we we already entering the gates of Helium. Our earlier plans had been so sadly upset th we now found ourselves without food or drir and I alone w T as armed. We therefore urged o beasts to a speed that must tell on them son before we could hope to sight the ending of t first stage of our journey. We rode all night and all the following d with only a few short rests. On the second nig [194] A COSTLY RECAPTURE )Oth we and our animals were completely fagged, md so we lay down upon the moss and slept for some five or six hours, taking up the journey once nore 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 fol¬ lowed us across that trackless waste to share our [195] A PRINCESS OF MARS fate, whatever it might be. Putting my arms abo his neck I pressed my cheek close to his, nor am ashamed that I did it, nor of the tears that can to my eyes as I thought of his love for me. Short after this Dejah Thoris and Sola awakened, ar it was decided that we push on at once in an effo to gain the hills. We had gone scarcely a mile when I notic< that my thoat was commencing to stumble ar stagger in a most pitiful manner, although we hi not attempted to force them out of a walk sin about noon of the preceding day. Suddenly 1 lurched wildly to one side and pitched violently the ground. Dejah Thoris and I were throv clear of him and fell upon the soft moss wi scarcely a jar; but the poor beast was in a pitiab condition, not even being able to rise, althou^ relieved of our weight. Sola told me that tl coolness of the night, when it fell, together wi the rest would doubtless revive him, and so decided not to kill him, as was my first intentio as I had thought it cruel to leave him alone the to die of hunger and thirst. Relieving him of li trappings, which I flung down beside him, we le the poor fellow to his fate, and pushed on wi : the one thoat as best we could. Sola and I walke [ 196 ] A COSTLY RECAPTURE 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 south¬ westerly 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 then did the same, presenting as small an object as possible for fear of attract¬ ing 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 v As what proved to be the last war- [ 197] A PRINCESS OF MARS rior came into view from the pass, he halted am to our consternation, threw his small but powerfi fieldglass to his eye and scanned the sea bottom i all directions. Evidently he was a chieftain, for i certain marching formations among the green me a chieftain brings up at the extreme rear of tl column. As his glass swung toward us our hear stopped in our breasts, and I could feel the col sweat start from every pore in my body. Presently it swung full upon us and—stopper The tension on our nerves was near the breakin point, and I doubt if any of us breathed for tl few moments he held us covered by his glass; an then he lowered it and we could see him shout command to the warriors who had passed fro] our sight behind the ridge. He did not wait fc them to join him, however, instead he wheele his thoat and came tearing madly in our directio: There was but one slight chance and that v must take quickly. Raising my strange Martia rifle to my shoulder I sighted and touched tl button which controlled the trigger; there was sharp explosion as the missile reached its goa and the charging chieftain pitched backward fro his flying mount. Springing to my feet I urged the thoat to ris [ 198] A COSTLY RECAPTURE 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? Some one 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, throw- ing her dear arms about my neck, turned to Sola, [ 199 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS saying with quiet dignity: “Fly, Sola! Dejal 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 time: could I only hear them once again; but I coulc not then give even a second to the rapture of hei sweet embrace, and pressing my lips to hers foi the first time, I picked her up bodily and tossec her to her seat behind Sola again, commanding th( latter in peremptory tones to hold her there b] 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 j moment they saw him, and then me; but scarcel] had they discovered me than I commenced firing lying flat upon my belly in the moss. I had ar even hundred rounds in the magazine of my rifle and another hundred in the belt at my back, and ] kept up a continuous stream of fire until I saw al of the warriors who had been first to return fron behind the ridge either dead or scurrying to cover My respite was short lived however, for sooi the entire party, numbering some thousand men came charging into view, racing madly toward me [200] A COSTLY RECAPTURE 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 atten¬ tion 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. t 201 J CHAPTER XVIII CHAINED IN WARHOON I T must have been several hours before I re¬ gained 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, ris¬ ing and approaching my couch, “he should rendei 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 or either breast were human skulls and depending from these a number of dried human hands. [ 202 ] CHAINED IN WARHOON His reference to the great games of which I ad heard so much while among the Tharks con- inced me that I had but jumped from purgatory ito gehenna. After a few more words with the female, during hich she assured him that I was now fully fit ) travel, the jed ordered that we mount and ride fter the main column. I was strapped securely to as wild and unman- geable a thoat as I had ever seen, and, with a lounted warrior on either side to prevent the east from bolting, we rode forth at a furious pace 1 pursuit of the column. My wounds gave me ut little pain, so wonderfully and rapidly had the pplications and injections of the female exer- ised their therapeutic powers, and so deftly had he bound and plastered the injuries. Just before dark we reached the main body of roops shortly after they had made camp for the ight. I was immediately taken before the leader, dio proved to be the jeddak of the hordes of Varhoon. Like the jed who had brought me, he was fright- ully scarred, and also decorated with the breast- late of human skulls and dried dead hands w T hich denied to mark all the greater warriors among [203] A PRINCESS OF MARS the Warhoons, as well as to indicate their aw ferocity, which greatly transcends even that of I Tharks. The jeddak, Bar Comas, who was compa tively young, was the object of the fierce a jealous hatred of his old lieutenant, Dak Kcr the jed who had captured me, and I could not t note the almost studied efforts which the lati made to affront his superior. He entirely omitted the usual formal salu tion as we entered the presence of the jeddak, a as he pushed me roughly before the ruler exclaimed in a loud and menacing voice, “ I have brought a strange creature wearing t metal of a Thark whom it is my pleasure to ha battle with a wild thoat at the great games.” “He will die as Bar Comas, your jeddak, s< fit, if at all,” replied the young ruler, with e phasis and dignity. “ If at all ? ” roared Dak Kova. “ By the de hands at my throat but he shall die, Bar Com No maudlin weakness on your part shall sa him. O, would that Warhoon were ruled by real jeddak rather than by a water-hearted we; ling from whom even old Dak Kova could t( the metal with his bare hands 1 ” [204] CHAINED IN WARHOON Bar Comas eyed the- defiant and insubordinate nieftain for an instant, his expression one of liughty, fearless contempt and hate, and then ithout drawing a weapon and without uttering a ord he hurled himself at the throat of his i^famer. I never before had seen two green Martian arriors battle with nature’s weapons and the diibition of animal ferocity which ensued was ; fearful a thing as the most disordered imagina- on could picture. They tore at each others’ eyes id ears with their hands and with their gleaming isks repeatedly slashed and gored until both were it fairly to ribbons from head to foot. Bar Comas had much the better of the battle i he was stronger, quicker and more intelligent. : soon seemed that the encounter was done sav- ig only the final death thrust when Bar Comas ipped in breaking away from a clinch. It was le one little opening that Dak Kova needed, and urling himself at the body of his adversary he iried his single mighty tusk in Bar Comas’ groin id with a last powerful effort ripped the young ddak wide open the full length of his body, the reat tusk finally wedging in the bones of Bar omas’ jaw. Victor and vanquished rolled limp [ 2 °S ] A PRINCESS OF MARS and lifeless upon the moss, a huge mass of t and bloody flesh. Bar Comas was stone dead, and only the n herculean efforts on the part of Dak Ko females saved him from the fate he desen Three days later he walked without assistant the body of Bar Comas which, by custom, had been moved from where it fell, and placing foot upon the neck of his erstwhile ruler assumed the title of Jeddak of Warhoon. The dead jeddak’s hands and head v removed to be added to the ornaments of conqueror, and then his women cremated w remained, amid wild and terrible laughter. The injuries to Dak Kova had delayed march so greatly that it was decided to give the expedition, which was a raid upon a sn Thark community in retaliation for the desti tion of the incubator, until after the great gan and the entire body of warriors, ten thousanc number, turned back toward Warhoon. My introduction to these cruel and bio thirsty people was but an index to the scene witnessed almost daily while with them. T are a smaller horde than the Tharks but m more ferocious. Not a day passed but that sc [206] CHAINED IN WARHOON - -------- 'imbers of the various Warhoon communities ;t in deadly combat. I have seen as high as i'ht mortal duels within a single day. -We reached the city of Warhoon after some jree days march and I was immediately cast :o a dungeon and heavily chained to the floor d walls. Food was brought me at intervals but ying to the utter darkness of the place I do not ow whether I lay there days, or weeks, or Dnths. It was the most horrible experience of l my life and that my mind did not give way to e terrors of that inky blackness has been a mder to me ever since. The place was filled th creeping, crawling things; cold, sinuous •dies passed over me when I lay down, and in e darkness I occasionally caught glimpses of earning, fiery eyes, fixed in horrible intentness •on me. No sound reached me from the world iove and no word would my jailer vouchsafe len my food was brought to me, although I at st bombarded him with questions. Finally all the hatred and maniacal loathing for ese awful creatures who had placed me in this irrible place was centered by my tottering reason •on this single emissary who represented to me e entire horde of Warhoons. [207] A PRINCESS OF MARS I had noticed that he always advanced wi his dim torch to where he could place the fo< within my reach and as he stooped to place it up< the floor his head was about on a level with n breast. So, with the cunning of a madman, backed into the far corner of my cell when ne I heard him approaching and gathering a lit! slack of the great chain which held me in my hai I waited his coming, crouching like some beast prey. As he stooped to place my food upon ti ground I swung the chain above my head ai crashed the links with all my strength upon 1 skull. Without a sound he slipped to the floe stone dead. Laughing and chattering like the idiot I w fast becoming I fell upon his prostrate form r fingers feeling for his dead throat. Presently th came in contact with a small chain at the end which dangled a number of keys. The touch my fingers on these keys brought back my reas< with the suddenness of thought. No longer was a jibbering idiot, but a sane, reasoning man wi the means of escape within my very hands. As I was groping to remove the chain fre about my victim’s neck I glanced up into the dai ness to see six pairs of gleaming eyes fixed, unwir [208] CHAINED IN WARHOON 5, upon me. Slowly they approached and slowly shrank back from the awful horror of them, ick into my comer I crouched holding my hands, ,1ms out, before me, and stealthily on came the rful eyes until they reached the dead body at my et. Then slowly they retreated but this time th a strange grating sound and finally they sappeared in some black and distant recess of y dungeon. CHAPTER XIX BATTLING IN THE ARENA S LOWLY I regained my composure and fin; essayed again to attempt to remove the k from the dead body of my former jailer. But I reached out into the darkness to locate i found to my horror that it was gone. Then truth flashed on me; the owners of those gleam eyes had dragged my prize away from me to devoured in their neighboring lair; as they 1 been waiting for days, for weeks, for mont through all this awful eternity of my impris ment to drag my dead carcass to their feast. For two days no food was brought me, then a new messenger appeared and my incarce tion went on as before, but not again did I all my reason to be submerged by the horror of position. Shortly after this episode another prisoner t brought in and chained near me. By the c torch light I saw that he was a red Martian £ I could scarcely await the departure of his gua f 210 J BATTLING IN THE ARENA to address him. As their retreating footsteps died away in the distance, I called out softly the Mar¬ tian word of greeting, kaor. “Who are you who speaks out of the dark¬ ness?” 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 r 2 11 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS time of Dejah Thoris’ capture, and he briefly related the events which followed the defeat of th< battleships. Badly injured and only partially manned the) had limped slowly toward Helium, but whih passing near the city of Zodanga, the capital ol Helium’s hereditary enemies among the red mer of Barsoom, they had been attacked by a great body of war vessels and all but the craft to whict Kantos Kan belonged were either destroyed 01 captured. His vessel was chased for days b) three of the Zodangan war ships but finally escapee 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 sur¬ vivors of the original crew of seven hundred officers and men. Immediately seven great fleets, each of one hundred mighty war ships, had beer dispatched to search for Dejah Thoris, and frorr these vessels two thousand smaller craft had beer kept out continuously in futile search for the missing princess. Two green Martian communities had beer wiped off the face of Barsoom by the avenging fleets, but no trace of Dejah Thoris had beer [ 212 ] BATTLING IN THE ARENA ound. They had been searching among the orthern hordes, and only within the past few 'ays had they extended their quest to the south. Kantos Kan had been detailed to one of the mall one man fliers and had had the misfortune o be discovered by the Warhoons while exploring heir city. The bravery and daring of the man /on my greatest respect and admiration. Alone ie had landed at the city’s boundary and on foot tad penetrated to the buildings surrounding the ilaza. For two days and nights he had explored heir quarters and their dungeons in search of his -eloved princess only to fall into the hands of . party of Warhoons as he was about to leave, fter assuring himself that Dejah Thoris was not . captive there. During the period of our incarceration Kantos Can and I became well acquainted, and formed a krm personal friendship. A few days only lapsed, however, before we were dragged forth rom our dungeon for the great games. We were onducted early one morning to an enormous mphitheater, which instead of having been built pon the surface of the ground was excavated elow the surface. It had partially filled with debris so that how large it had originally been [213] A PRINCESS OF MARS was difficult to say. In its present condition held the entire twenty thousand Warhoons of t assembled hordes. The arena was immense but extremely unev and unkempt. Around it the Warhoons had pil building stone from some of the ruined edifk of the ancient city to prevent the animals and t captives from escaping into the audience, and each end had been constructed cages to hold th< until their turns came to meet some horrible dea upon the arena. Kantos Kan and I were confined together one of the cages. In the others were wild calo thoats, mad zitidars, green warriors, and worn of other hordes, and many strange and ferocio wild beasts of Barsoom which I had never befc 6 een. The din of their roaring, growling a squealing was deafening and the formidat appearance of any one of them was enough make the stoutest heart feel grave foreboding Kantos Kan explained to me that at the end the day one of these prisoners would gain freedc and the others would lie dead about the arer The winners in the various contests of the d would be pitted against each other until only ti remained alive; the victor in the last encounl [2x4] BATTLING IN THE ARENA being set free, whether animal or man. The fol¬ lowing 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 amphi¬ theater 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 Mar¬ tian 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 [215] A PRINCESS OF MARS remaining dogs, and so it went throughout t long, hot, horrible day. During the day I was pitted against first rr and then beasts, but as I was armed with a loi sword and always outclassed my adversary agility and generally in strength as well, it prov but child’s play to me. Time and time agair won the applause of the bloodthirsty multitn and toward the end there were cries that I taken from the arena and be made a member the hordes of Warhoon. Finally there were but three of us left, a gr green warrior of some far northern horde, Kan Kan, and myself. The other two were to bal and then I to fight the conqueror for the libe which was accorded the final winner. Kantos Kan had fought several times dur the day and like myself had always proven > torious, but occasionally by the smallest of margi especially when pitted against the green warric I had little hope that he could best his giant ad\ sary who had mowed down all before him dur the day. The fellow towered nearly sixteen f in height, while Kantos Kan was some inches un six feet. As they advanced to meet one anot I saw for the first time a trick of Martian swoi [216] BATTLING IN THE ARENA manship 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 Dver his shoulder and with a mighty sweep hurled his weapon point foremost at the green warrior, [t 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 [ 217 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS in this instance the cold blade slipped harmlei into the sand of the arena. In the darkness wh had now fallen none could tell but that he 1 really finished me. I whispered to him to go z claim his freedom and then look for me in the h east of the city, and so he left me. When the amphitheater had cleared I cr stealthily to the top and as the great excavat lay far from the plaza and in an untenanted p tion of the great dead city I had little trouble reaching the hills beyond. T»81 CHAPTER XX IN THE ATMOSPHERE FACTORY F OR two days I waited there for Kantos Kan, but as he did not come I started off on foot n a northwesterly direction toward a point vhere be had told me lay the nearest waterway. Vly only food consisted of vegetable milk from he plants which gave so bounteously of this price- ess fluid. Through two long weeks I wandered, stumbling :hrough the nights guided only by the stars and biding 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 tele¬ pathic 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. [219] A PRINCESS OF MARS What manner of thing was upon me I did n know, but that it was large and heavy and mar legged I could feel. My hands were at its thro before the fangs had a chance to bury themselv in my neck, and slowly I forced the hairy fa from me and closed my fingers, vise-like, upon : windpipe. Without sound we lay there, the beast exertii every effort to reach me with those awful fan£ and I straining to maintain my grip and choke t life from it as I kept it from my throat. Slov my arms gave to the unequal struggle, and inch inch the burning eyes and gleaming tusks of i antagonist crept toward me, until, as the hairy fa touched mine again, I realized that all was ov And then a living mass of destruction sprang frc the surrounding darkness full upon the creati that held me pinioned to the ground. The rolled growling upon the moss, tearing and rer ing one another in a frightful manner, but it v soon over and my preserver stood with lower head above the throat of the dead thing wh; would have killed me. The nearer moon, hurtling suddenly abc the horizon and lighting up the Barsoomi scene, showed me that my preserver was Woo [ 220 ] IN THE ATMOSPHERE FACTORY nt from whence he had come, or how found me, was at a loss to know. That I was glad of his jmpanionship it is needless to say, but my pleasure i seeing him was tempered by anxiety as to the iason of his leaving Dejah Thoris. Only her sath I felt sure, could account for his absence •om her, so faithful I knew him to be to my )mmands. By the light of the now brilliant moons I saw lat he was but a shadow of his former self, and i he turned from my caress and commenced reedily to devour the dead carcass at my feet I jalized that the poor fellow was more than half arved. I, myself, was in but little better plight it I could not bring myself to eat the uncooked esh and I had no means of making a fire. When ^oola had finished his meal I again took up my eary and seemingly endless wandering in quest f the elusive waterway. At daybreak of the fifteenth day of my search was overjoyed to see the high trees that denoted le object of my search. About noon I dragged lyself wearily to the portals of a huge building hich covered perhaps four square miles and )wered two hundred feet in the air. It showed o aperture in the mighty walls other than the [221] A PRINCESS OF MARS tiny door at which I sank exhausted, nor was th any sign of life about it. I could find no bell or other method of mak my presence known to the inmates of the ph unless a small round hole in the wall near the d was for that purpose. It was of about the bigr of a lead pencil and thinking that it might be the nature of a speaking tube I put my mouth it and was about to call into it when a voice issi from it asking me whom I might be, where fr< and the nature of my errand. I explained that I had escaped from the W hoons and was dying of starvation and exhausti “You wear the metal of a green warrior ; are followed by a calot, yet you are of the fig of a red man. In color you are neither green' red. In the name of the ninth day, what man of creature are you?” “I am a friend of the red men of Barsc and I am starving. In the name of humanity o to us,” I replied. Presently the door commenced to recede be* me until it had sunk into the wall fifty feet, the stopped and slid easily to the left, exposing a sh narrow corridor of concrete, at the further enc which was another door, similar in every res] [ 2 22 ] IN THE ATMOSPHERE FACTORY o the one I had just passed. No one was in sight, et immediately we passed the first door it slid ently into place behind us and receded rapidly to :s original position in the front wall of the build- 1 g. As the door had slipped aside I had noted its reat thickness, fully twenty feet, and as it reached s place once more after closing behind us, great flinders of steel had dropped from the ceiling ehind it and fitted their lower ends into apertures Duntersunk in the floor. A second and a third door receded before me ad slipped to one side as the first, before I reached large inner chamber where I found food and rink set out upon a great stone table. A voice irected me to satisfy my hunger and to feed my alot, and while I was thus engaged my invisible ost put me through a severe and searching cross- xamination. “Your statements are most remarkable,” said he voice, on concluding its questioning, “but you re evidently speaking the truth, and it is equally vident that you are not of Barsoom. I can tell hat by the conformation of your brain and rhe trange location of your internal organs and the hape and size of your heart.” “Can you see through me?” I exclaimed. [223] A PRINCESS OF MARS “Yes, I can see all but your thoughts, and we you a Barsoomian I could read those.” Then a door opened at the far side of t chamber and a strange, dried up, little mummy a man came toward me. He wore but a sinj article of clothing or adornment, a small collar gold from which depended upon his chest a gre ornament as large as a dinner plate set solid wi huge diamonds, except for the exact center whS was occupied by a strange stone, an inch in dia eter, that scintillated nine different and distil rays; the seven colors of our earthly prism a two beautiful rays which, to me, were new a nameless. I cannot describe them any more th you could describe red to a blind man. I oi know that they were beautiful in the extreme. The old man sat and talked with me for hou and the strangest part of our intercourse was tl I could read his every thought while he could r fathom an iota from my mind unless I spoke. I did not apprise him of my ability to sense 1 mental operations, and thus I learned a great di which proved of immense value to me later a which I would never have known had he suspecl my strange power, for the Martians have si perfect control df their mental machinery that tl [ 224] IN THE ATMOSPHERE FACTORY e able to direct their thoughts with absolute ecision. The building in which I found myself contained e machinery which produces that artificial atmos- ere which sustains life on Mars. The secret of e entire process hinges on the use of the ninth y, one of the beautiful scintillations whieh I had ted emanating from the great stone in my host’s idem. This ray is separated from the other rays of 2 sun by means of finely adjusted instruments iced upon the roof of the huge building, three- arters of which is used for reservoirs in which ^ ninth ray is stored. This product is then :ated electrically, or rather certain proportions refined electric vibrations are incorporated with and the result is then pumped to the five prin- »al air centers of the planet where, as it is re- sed, contact with the ether of space transforms nto atmosphere. There is always sufficient reserve of the ninth j stored in the great building to maintain the jsent Martian atmosphere for a thousand years, i the only fear, as my new friend told me, was it some accident might befall the pumping paratus. [225] A PRINCESS OF MARS He led me to an inner chamber where I behe a battery of twenty radium pumps any one which was equal to the task of furnishing all Ma with the atmosphere compound. For eig hundred years, he told me, he had watched the pumps which are used alternately a day each at stretch, or a little over twenty-four and one-ha Earth hours. He has one assistant who divid the watch with him. Half a Martian year, abo three hundred and forty-four of our days, eai of these men spend alone in this huge, isolat< plant. Every red Martian is taught during earlie childhood the principles of the manufacture < atmosphere, but only two at one time ever ho the secret of ingress to the great building, whic built as it is with walls a hundred and fifty fe thick, is absolutely unassailable, even the ro« being guarded from assault by air craft by a gla covering five feet thick. The only fear they entertain of attack is fro the green Martians or some demented red ma as all Barsoomians realize that the very existen of every form of life on Mars is dependent up< the uninterrupted working of this plant. One curious fact I discovered as I watched 1 [226] THE OLD MAN SAT AND TALKED WITH ME FOR HOURS. Page 224 * <• f. IN THE ATMOSPHERE FACTORY 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 sus¬ picion 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 near-by 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 talis¬ man which we wear protects us in all lands, even [227] A PRINCESS OF MARS among the green men — though we do not tru: ourselves to their hands if we can avoid it,” h added. “ And so good-night, my friend,” he continuec “may you have a long and restful sleep—yes, long sleep.” And though he smiled pleasantly I saw in hi thoughts the wish that he had never admitted m< and then a picture of him standing over me in th night, and the swift thrust of a long dagger an the half formed words, “I am sorry, but it is fc the best good of Barsoom.” As he closed the door of my chamber behin him his thoughts were cut off from me as was th sight of him, which seemed strange to me in m little knowledge of thought transference. What was I to do? How could I escap through these mighty walls? Easily could I ki him now that I was warned, but once he was dea I could no more escape, and with the stopping c the machinery of the great plant I should die wit all the other inhabitants of the planet—all, eve Dejah Thoris were she not already dead. Fc the others I did not give the snap of my finge but the thought of Dejah Thoris drove from ir mind all desire to kill my mistaken host. [228] IN THE ATMOSPHERE FACTORY Cautiously I opened the door of my apartment nd, followed by Woola, sought the inner of the ;reat doors. A wild scheme had come to me; I 70uld attempt to force the great locks by the nine hought waves I had read in my host’s mind. Creeping stealthily through corridor after cor- idor and down winding runways which turned ither and thither I finally reached the great hall 1 which I had broken my long fast that morning, lowhere had I seen my host, nor did I know here he kept himself by night. I was on the point of stepping boldly out into le room when a slight noise behind me warned le back into the shadows of a recess in the cor¬ don Dragging Woola after me I crouched low i the darkness. Presently the old man passed close by me, and ss he entered the dimly lighted chamber which i had been about to pass through I saw that he bid a long thin dagger in his hand and that he ’as sharpening it upon a stone. In his mind was lie decision to inspect the radium pumps, which ^ould take about thirty minutes, and then return t my bed chamber and finish me. As he passed through the great hall and disap- pared down the runway which led to the pump- [229] A PRINCESS OF MARS room, I stole stealthily from my hiding place a crossed to the great door, the inner of the thi which stood between me and liberty. Concentrating my mind upon the massive lc I hurled the nine thought waves against it. breathless expectancy I waited, when finally t great door moved softly toward me and slid quie to one side. One after the other the remaini mighty portals opened at my command and Woe and I stepped forth into the darkness, free, t little better off than we had been before, otf than that we had full stomachs. Hastening away from the shadows of the f< midable pile I made for the first crossroad, inter ing to strike the central turnpike as quickly possible. This I reached about morning a: entering the first enclosure I came to I search for some evidences of a habitation. There were low rambling buildings of concn barred with heavy impassable doors, and amount of hammering and hallooing brought a -response. Weary and exhausted from sleeple ness I threw myself upon the ground commandi Woola to stand guard. Some time later I was awakened by his frighti growlings and opened my eyes to see three r [230] IN THE ATMOSPHERE FACTORY Martians standing a short distance from us and :overing me with their rifles. “I am unarmed and no enemy,” I hastened to explain. “ I have been a prisoner among the green nen and am on my way to Zodanga. All I ask s food and rest for myself and my calot and the >roper directions for reaching my destination.” They lowered their rifles and advanced pleas- mtly toward me placing their right hands upon ny left shoulder, after the manner of their custom )f salute, and asking me many questions about nyself and my wanderings. They then took me o the house of one of them which was only a hort distance away. The buildings I had been hammering at in the :arly morning were occupied only by stock and arm produce, the house proper standing among a 'rove of enormous trees, and, like all red-Mar- ian homes, had been raised at night some forty >r fifty feet from the ground on a large round netal shaft which slid up or down within a sleeve unk in the ground, and was operated by a tiny •adium engine in the entrance hall of the building, nstead of bothering with bolts and bars for their iwellings, the red Martians simply run them up >ut of harm’s way during the night. They also [ 231 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS have private means 'for lowering or raising the from the ground without if they wish to go aw; and leave them. These brothers, with their wives and childre occupied three similar houses on this farm. Thi did no work themselves, being government office in charge. The labor was performed by convict prisoners of war, delinquent debtors and confirm< bachelors who were too poor to pay the hi^ celibate tax which all red-Martian governmen impose. They were the personification of cordiality ai hospitality and I spent several days with ther resting and recuperating from my long and arduo experiences. When they had heard my story—I omitted 2 reference to Dejah Thoris and the old man of t3 atmosphere plant—they advised me to color n body to more nearly resemble their own race ai then attempt to find employment in Zodang either in the army or the navy. “The chances are small that your tale will 1 believed until after you have proven your tru: worthiness and won friends among the high nobles of the court. This you can most easily < through military service, as we are a warlil [232] IN THE ATMOSPHERE FACTORY >eople on Barsoom,” explained one of them, “ and ave our richest favors for the fighting man.” When I was ready to depart they furnished me vith a small domestic bull thoat, such as is used 'or saddle purposes by all red Martians. The mimal is about the size of a horse and quite gentle, >ut in color and shape an exact replica of his huge .nd fierce cousin of the wilds. The brothers had supplied me with a reddish >il with which I anointed my entire body and one >f them cut my hair, which had grown quite long, a the prevailing fashion of the time, square at the iack and banged in front, so that I could have rnssed anywhere upon Barsoom as a full-fledged ed Martian. My metal and ornaments were also enewed in the style of a Zodangan gentleman, tttached to the house of Ptor, which was the amily name of my benefactors. They filled a little sack at my side with Zodangan noney. The medium of exchange upon Mars is ot dissimilar from our own except that the coins ,re oval. Paper money is issued by individuals s they require it and redeemed twice yearly. If . man issues more than he can redeem, the govern- aent pays his creditors in full and the debtor forks out the amount upon the farms or in mines, [ 2.33 1 A PRINCESS OF MARS .which are all owned by the government. '1 suits everybody except the debtor as it has t a difficult thing to obtain sufficient voluntary la to work the great isolated farm lands of M stretching as they do like narrow ribbons f] pole to pole, through wild stretches peopled wild animals and wilder men. When I mentioned my inability to repay tl for their kindness to me they assured me th; would have ample opportunity if I lived long u Barsoom, and bidding me farewell they watc me until I was out of sight upon the broad w turnpike. [234] I f i CHAPTER XXI AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA A S I proceeded on my journey toward Zodanga ^many strange and interesting sights arrested ny attention, and at the several farm houses where [ stopped I learned a number of new and instruc¬ ts.. . . - ive things concerning the methods and manners )f Barsoom. The water which supplies the farms of Mars s collected in immense underground reservoirs at ;ither pole from the melting ice caps, and pumped hrough long conduits to the various populated enters. Along either side of these conduits, and extending their entire length, lie the cultivated dis- iriets. These are divided into tracts of about the lame size, each tract being under *the supervision )f one or more government officers. Instead of flooding the surface of the fields, and :hus wasting immense quantities of water by evap- Dration, the precious liquid is carried underground :hrough a vast network of small pipes directly to ffie roots of the vegetation. The crops upon Marf E 235 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS are always uniform, for there are no droughts, rains, no high winds, and no insects, or destroyi : birds. On this trip I tasted the first meat I had eat since leaving Earth—large, juicy steaks and ehc from the well fed domestic animals of the farn Also I enjoyed luscious fruits and vegetables, t not a single article of food which was exactly si ilar to anything on Earth. Every plant and flovs and vegetable and animal has been so refined ages of careful, scientific cultivation and breedi that the like of them on Earth dwindled into pa gray, characterless nothingness by comparison. At a second stop I met some highly cultivat people of the noble class and while in conversati we chanced to speak of Helium. One of the ole men had been there on a diplomatic mission sevej years before and spoke with regret of the con tions which seemed destined ever to keep these F countries at war. “Helium,” he said, “rightly boasts the nn beautiful women of Barsoom, and of all 1 treasures the wondrous daughter of Mors Kajj Dejah Thoris, is the most exquisite flower. “Why,” he added, “the people really worsl the ground she walks upon and since her loss [236] AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA ! at ill-starred expedition all Helium has been raped in mourning. “ That our ruler should have attacked the dis¬ ced fleet as it was returning to Helium was but mother of his awful blunders which I fear will loner or later compel Zodanga to elevate a user man to his place. “Even now, though our victorious armies are grounding Helium, the people of Zodanga are oicing their displeasure, for the war is not a :>pular one, since it is not based on right or jus- ::e. Our forces took advantage of the absence ’ the principal fleet of Helium on their search r the princess, and so we have been able easily reduce the city to a sorry plight. It is said she ill fall within the next few passages of the rther moon.” “And what, think you, may have been the fate : the princess, Dejah Thoris?” I asked as .sually as possible. “She is dead,” he answered. “This much was arned from a green warrior recently captured f our forces in the south. She escaped from the Drdes of Thark with a strange creature of another orld, only to fall into the hands of the Warhoons. heir thoats were found wandering upon the [ 237 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS bottom and evidences of a bloody conflict w discovered near-by.” While this information was in no way reass ing, neither was it at all conclusive proof of death of Dejah Thoris, and so I determined make every effort possible to reach Helium quickly as I could and carry to Tardos Mors s news of his granddaughter’s possible whereabc as lay in my power. Ten days after leaving the three Ptor brod I arrived at Zodanga. From the moment ths had come in contact with the red inhabitants Mars I had noticed that Woola drew a gi amount of unwelcome attention to me, since huge brute belonged to a species which is ne domesticated by the red men. Were one to st down Broadway with a Numidian lion at his h the effect would be somewhat similar to that wl I should have produced had I entered Zoda with Woola. The very thought of parting with the faitl fellow caused me so great regret and genuine row that I put it off until just before we arrive the city’s gates; but then, finally, it became imp !tive that we separate. Had nothing further t my own safety or pleasure been at stake no a [233] AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA * lent could have prevailed upon me to turn away he one creature upon Barsoom that had never ailed in a demonstration of affection and loyalty; ut as I would willingly have offered my life in he service of her in search of whom I was about o challenge the unknown dangers of this, to me, lysterious city, I could not permit even Woola’s ie to threaten the success of my venture, much *ss his momentary happiness, for I doubted not e soon would forget me. And so I bade the poor east an affectionate farewell, promising him, owever, that if I came through my adventure in afety that in some way I should find the means to earch him out. He seemed to understand me fully, and when I •ointed back in the direction of Thark he turned orrowfully away, nor could I bear to watch him ;o; but resolutely set my face toward Zodanga nd with a touch of heartsickness approached her rowning walls. The letter I bore from them gained me imme- Liate entrance to the vast, walled eity. It was till very early in the morning and the streets yere practically deserted. The residences, raised ligh upon their metal columns, resembled huge ookeries, while the uprights themselves presented [239] A PRINCESS OF MARS the appearance of steel tree trunks. The shoj as a rule were not raised from the ground n< were their doors bolted or barred, since thieve] is practically unknown upon Barsoom. Assassin tion is the ever present fear of all Barsoomian and for this reason alone their homes are rais« high above the ground at night, or in times c danger. The Ptor brothers had given me explicit dire tions for reaching the point of the city where could find living accommodations and be near tl offices of the government agents to whom the had given me letters. My way led to the centr; square or plaza, which is a characteristic of a Martian cities. The plaza of Zodanga covers a square mile an is bounded by the palaces of the jeddak, the jed and other members of the royalty and nobility c Zodanga, as well as by the principal public buil< ings, cafes, and shops. As I was crossing the great square lost in wondc and admiration of the magnificent architects and the gorgeous scarlet vegetation which carpete the broad lawns I discovered a red Martian wall ing briskly toward me from one of the avenue He paid not the slightest attention to me, but j [240] I AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA i came abreast I recognized him, and turning I iced my hand upon his shoulder, calling out: “ Kaor, Kantos Kan I ” Like lightning he wheeled and before I could much as lower my hand the point of his long- ord was at my breast. “Who are you?” he growled, and then as a ckward leap carried me fifty feet from his sword dropped the point to the ground and exclaimed, ighing, “ I do not need a better reply, there is but one in upon all Barsoom who can bounce about like ubber ball. By the mother of the further moon, hn Carter, how came you here, and have you x>me a Darseen that you can change your color will ? “ You gave me a bad half minute my friend,” continued, after I had briefly outlined my adven- *es since parting with him in the arena at War- on*. “Were my name and city known to the dangans I would shortly be sitting on the banks the lost sea of Korus with my revered and parted ancestors. I am here in the interests of irdos Mors, Jeddak of Helium, to discover the lereabouts of Dejah Thoris, our princess. Sab tan, prince of Zodanga, has her hidden in the [mo A PRINCESS OF MARS city and has fallen madly in love with her. father, Than Kosis, Jeddak of Zodanga, has n her voluntary marriage to his son the pric peace between our countries, but Tardos IN will not accede to the demands and has sent t that he and his people would rather look upor dead face of their princess than see her we any than her own choice, and that personal! would prefer being engulfed in the ashes of a and burning Helium to joining the metal oi house with that of Than Kosis. His reply the deadliest affront he could have put upon 1 Kosis and the Zodangans, but his people love the more for it and his strength in Heliui greater today than ever. “ I have been here three days,” continued ] tos Kan, “but I have not yet found where D Thoris is imprisoned. Today I join the Zodai navy as an air scout and I hope in this way to the confidence of Sab Than, the prince, wb commander of this division of the navy, and learn the whereabouts of Dejah Thoris. I glad that you are here, John Carter, for I k your loyalty to my princess and two of us wor together should be able to accomplish much.” The plaza was now commencing to fill [242] AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA ople going and coming upon the daily activities their duties. The shops were opening and the fes filling with early morning patrons. Kantos m led me to one of these gorgeous eating places lere we were served entirely by mechanical appa- tus. No hand touched the food from the time entered the building in its raw state until it lerged hot and delicious upon the tables before e guests, in response to the touching of tiny ttons to indicate their desires. After our meal, Kantos Kan took me with him the headquarters of the air-scout squadron and :roducing me to his superior asked that I be rolled as a member of the corps. In accord- ce with custom an examination was necessary, t Kantos Kan had told me to have no fear on is score as he would attend to that part of the itter. He accomplished this by taking my order r examination to the examining officer and repe¬ ating himself as John Carter. “This ruse will be discovered later,” he cheer¬ ily explained, “ when they check up my weights, ?asurements, and other personal identification ta, but it will be several months before this is »ne and our mission should be accomplished or ve failed long before that time.” [243] A PRINCESS OF MARS The next few days were spent by Kantos I in teaching me the intricacies of flying and repairing the dainty little contrivances which Martians use for this purpose. The body of one-man air craft is about sixteen feet long, t feet wide and three inches thick, tapering t< point at each end. The driver sits on top of i plane upon a seat constructed over the small, no less radium engine which propels it. The medi of buoyancy is contained within the thin m< walls of the body and consists of the eighth E soomian ray, or ray of propulsion, as it may termed in view of its properties. This ray, like the ninth ray, is unknown Earth, but the Martians have discovered that i an inherent property of all light no matter fi what source it emanates. They have learned t it is the solar eighth ray which propels the li of the sun to the various planets, and that i the individual eighth ray of each planet wl “ reflects,” or propels the light thus obtained into space once more. The solar eighth ray wc be absorbed by the surface of Barsoom, but Barsoomian eighth ray, which tends to propel li from Mars into space, is constantly streaming from the planet constituting a force of repuh [244] AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA ■f gravity which when confined is able to lift enor- ious weights from the surface of the ground. It is this ray which has enabled them to so per- ect aviation that battle ships far outweighing any- hing known upon Earth sail as gracefully and ightly through the thin air of Barsoom as a toy alloon in the heavy atmosphere of Earth. During the early years of the discovery of this ay many strange accidents occurred before the vlartians learned to measure and control the won- lerful power they had found. In one instance, ome nine hundred years before, the first great iattle ship to he built with eighth ray reservoirs yas stored with too great a quantity of the rays nd she had sailed up from Helium with five lundred officers and men, never to return. Her power of repulsion for the planet was so ;reat that it had carried her far into space, where he can be seen today, by the aid of powerful tele¬ copes, hurtling through the heavens ten thousand niles from Mars; a tiny satellite that will thus :ncircle Barsoom to the end of time. The fourth day after my arrival at Zodanga ’ made my first flight, and as a result of it I won t promotion which included quarters in the palace )f Than Kosis. T 245 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS ’As I rose above the city I circled several time as I had seen Kantos Kan do, and then throwii my engine into top speed I raced at terrific veloci toward the south, following one of the great wate ways which enter Zodanga from that directio I had traversed perhaps two hundred mil in a little less than an hour when I descried f below me a party of three green warriors racii madly toward a small figure on foot which seem< to be trying to reach the confines of one of tl walled fields. Dropping my machine rapidly toward thei and circling to the rear of the warriors, I so< saw that the object of their pursuit was a r< Martian wearing the metal of the scout squadn to which I was attached. A short distance aw; lay his tiny flier, surrounded by the tools wi which he had evidently been occupied in repairii some damage when surprised by the gre warriors. They were now almost upon him; their flyii mounts charging down on the relatively puny figu at terrific speed, while the warriors leaned lc to the right, with their great metal-shod speai Each seemed striving to be the first to impale t poor Zodangan and in another moment his fa [246] AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA rould have been sealed had it not been for my mely arrival. Driving my fleet air craft at high speed directly ehind the warriors I soon overtook them and 'ithout diminishing my speed I rammed the prow f my little flier between the shoulders of the rarest. The impact sufficient to have torn through iches of solid steel, hurled the fellow’s headless ody into the air over the head of his thoat, where fell sprawling upon the moss. The mounts of le other two warriors turned squealing in terror, nd bolted in opposite directions. Reducing my speed I circled and came to the round at the feet of the astonished Zodangan. le was warm in his thanks for my timely aid and romised that my day’s work would bring the eward it merited, for it was none other than a ousin of the jeddak of Zodanga whose life I had aved. We wasted no time in talk as we knew that the warriors would surely return as soon as they had ;ained control of their mounts. Hastening to his lamaged machine we were bending every effort to nish the needed repairs and had almost completed hem when we saw the two green monsters return- lg at top speed from opposite sides of us. When [247] A PRINCESS OF MARS they had approached within a hundred yards the thoats again became unmanageable and absolute refused to advance further toward the air era which had frightened them. The warriors finally dismounted and hobblii their animals advanced toward us on foot wi drawn long-swords. I advanced to meet tl laiger, telling the Zodangan to do the best he cou with the other. Finishing my man with almc no effort, as had now from much practice becon habitual with me, I hastened to return to my ne acquaintance whom I found indeed in despera straits. He was wounded and down with the huge fo of his antagonist upon his throat and the gre long-sword raised to deal the final thrust. Wi a bound I cleared the fifty feet intervening betwe us, and with out-stretched point drove my swo completely through the body of the green warric His sword fell, harmless, to the ground and j sank limply upon the prostrate form of t Zodangan. A cursory examination of the latter revealed i mortal injuries and after a brief rest he assert that he felt fit to attempt the return voyage. I would have to pilot his own craft, however, [248] AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA bese frail vessels are not intended to convey but- single person. Quickly completing the repairs we rose together ito the still, cloudless Martian sky, and at great peed and without further mishap returned to 'odanga. As we neared the city we discovered a mighty oncourse of civilians and troops assembled upon be plain before the city. The sky was black with aval vessels and private and public pleasure craft, ying long streamers of gay-colored silks, and ban- ers and flags of odd and picturesque design. My companion signaled that I slow down, and unning his machine close beside mine suggested bat we approach and watch the ceremony, which, e said, was for the purpose of conferring honors n individual officers and men for bravery and •ther distinguished service. He then unfurled a ittle ensign which denoted that his craft bore a nember of the royal family of Zodanga, and ogether we made our way through the maze of ow-lying air vessels until we hung directly over he jeddak of Zodanga and his staff. All were nounted upon the small domestic bull thoats of the •ed Martians, and their trappings and ornamenta- ion bore such a quantity of gorgeously colored [249] A PRINCESS OF MARS feathers that I could not but be struck with t startling resemblance the concourse bore to a ba of the red Indians of my own Earth. One of the staff called the attention of Th Kosis to the presence of my companion abo i them and the ruler motioned for him to descer As they waited for the troops to move into po tion facing the jeddak the two talked earnes together, the jeddak and his staff occasiona glancing up at me. I could not hear their convi sation and presently it ceased and all dismount as the last body of troops had wheeled into po tion before their emperor. A member of the st advanced toward the troops, and calling the nai of a soldier commanded him to advance. T officer then recited the nature of the heroic ; which had won the approval of the jeddak, a the latter advanced and placed a metal orname upon the left arm of the lucky man. Ten men had been so decorated when the < called out, “John Carter, air scout! ” Never in my life had I been so surprised, l the habit of military discipline is strong within n and I dropped my little machine lightly to t ground and advanced on foot as I had seen 1 [250] AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA ithers do. As I halted before the officer, ta ddressed me in a voice audible to the entire ssemblage of troops and spectators. “In recognition, John Carter,” he said, “of our remarkable courage and skill in defending be person of the cousin of the jeddak Than Kosis nd, single-handed, vanquishing three green war- iors, it is the pleasure of our jeddak to confer n you the mark of his esteem.” Than Kosis then advanced toward me and plac- 1 g an ornament upon me, said: “ My cousin has narrated the details of your wonderful achievement, which seems little short f miraculous, and if you can so well defend a ousin of the jeddak how much better could you efend the person of the jeddak himself. You are lerefore appointed a padwar of The Guards and ill be quartered in my palace hereafter.” I thanked him, and at his direction joined the lembers of his staff. After the ceremony I eturned my machine to its quarters on the roof f the barracks of the air-scout squadron, and nth an orderly from the palace to guide me I eported to the officer in charge of the palace. [251 ] CHAPTER XXII I FIND DEJAH T HE major-domo to whom I reported ha been given instructions to station me nea the person of the jeddak, who, in time of war, always in great danger of assassination, as th rule that all is fair in war seems to constitute th entire ethics of Martian conflict. He therefore escorted me immediately to th apartment in which Than Kosis then was. TI ruler was engaged in conversation with his soi Sab Than, and several courtiers of his househoh and did not perceive my entrance. The walls of the apartment were complete! hung with splendid tapestries which hid any wii dows or doors which may have pierced them. Tt room was lighted by imprisoned rays of sunshir held between the ceiling proper and what appeare to be a ground glass false ceiling a few inchi below. My guide drew aside one of the tapestries, di closing a passage which encircled the roor [252] I FIND DEJAH ;tween the hangings and the walls of the cham- :r. Within this passage I was to remain, he id, so long as Than Kosis was in the apartment. T'hen he left I was to follow. My only duty as to guard the ruler and keep out of sight as uch as possible. I would be relieved after a :riod of four hours. The major-domo then ft me. The tapestries were of a strange weaving which ive the appearance of heavy solidity from one de, but from my hiding place I could perceive 1 that took place within the room as readily as ough there had been no curtain intervening. Scarcely had I gained my post than the tapestry the opposite end of the chamber separated and ur soldiers of The Guard entered, surrounding female figure. As they approached Than Kosis e soldiers fell to either side and there standing fore the jeddak and not ten feet from me, her autiful face radiant with smiles, was Dejah boris. Sab Than, Prince of Zodanga, advanced to meet r, and hand in hand they approached close to e jeddak. Than Kosis looked up in surprise, id, rising, saluted her. “To*what strange freak do I owe this visit [253] A PRINCESS OF MARS from the Princess of Helium, who, two days a£ with rare consideration for my pride, assured i that she would prefer Tal Hajus, the green Tha] to my son?” Dejah Thoris only smiled the more and wi the roguish dimples playing at the corners of h mouth she made answer: “ From the beginning of time upon Barsoom has been the prerogative of woman to change h mind as she listed and to dissemble in matters cc cerning her heart. That you will forgive, Th Kosis, as has your son. Two days ago I was n sure of his love for me, but now I am, and I ha come to beg of you to forget my rash words ai to accept the assurance of the Princess of Helii that when the time comes she will wed Sab Tha Prince of Zodanga.” “ I am glad that you have so decided,” repli Than Kosis. “ It is far from my desire to pu war further against the people of Helium, ar your promise shall be recorded and a proclamati to my people issued forthwith.” “It were better, Than Kosis,” interrupt Dejah Thoris, ‘‘that the proclamation wait t ending of this war. It would look strange inde to my people and to yours were the Princess [254] I FIND DEJAH lelium to give herself to her country’s enemy in le midst of hostilities.” “Cannot the war be ended at once?” spoke ab Than. “ It requires but the word of Than :osis to bring peace. Say it my father, say the ord that will hasten my happiness, and end this npopular strife.” “We shall see,” replied Than Kosis, “how the eople of Helium take to peace. I shall at least ffer it to them.” Dejah Thoris, after a few words, turned and ft the apartment, still followed by her guards. Thus was the edifice of my brief dream of appiness dashed, broken, to the ground of reality, he woman for whom I had offered my life, and ■om whose lips I had so recently heard a declara- on of love for me, had lightly forgotten my very dstence and smilingly given herself to the son of “r people’s most hated enemy. 'Although I had heard it with my own ears I >uld not believe it. I must search out her apart- ents and force her to repeat the cruel truth to e alone before I would be convinced, and so I verted my post and hastened through the pas- ige behind the tapestries toward the door by hich she had left the chamber. Slipping quietly [ 255 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS through this opening I discovered a maze of wini ing corridors, branching and turning in evei direction. Running rapidly down first one and then anoth< of them I soon became hopelessly lost and wj standing panting against a side wall when I hear voices near me. Apparently they were comin from the opposite side of the partition again: which I leaned and presently I made out the tom of Dejah Thoris. I could not hear the words bi I knew that I could not possibly be mistaken i the voice. Moving on a few steps I discovered anothc passage-way at the end of which lay a doo: Walking boldly forward I pushed into the rooi only to find myself in a small ante chamber i which were the four guards who had accompanie her. One of them instantly arose and accoste me, asking the nature of my business. “ I am from Than Kosis,” I replied, “ and wis to speak privately with Dejah Thoris, Princess c Helium.” “And your order?” asked the fellow. I did not know what he meant, but replied th I was a member of The Guard, and without wa; ing for a reply from him I strode toward tl [256] 1 FIND DEJAH 1 - — _ ._ _ _ _ _ pposite door of the ante chamber, behind which could hear Dejah Thoris conversing. But my entrance was not to be so easily accom- lished. The guardsman stepped before me, aying, f “ No one comes from Than Kosis without carry- lg an order or the pass word. You must give le one or the other before you may pass.” “ The only order I require, my friend, to enter 'here I will, hangs at my side,” I answered, tap¬ ing my long-sword; “ will you let me pass in peace r no?” For reply he whipped out his own sword, call- ig to the others to join him, and thus the four tood, with drawn weapons, barring my further Togress. “ You are not here by the order of Than Kosis,” ried the one who had first addressed me, “ and ot only s'hall you not enter the apartments of the ’rincess of Helium but you shall go back to Than iosis under guard to explain this unwarranted imerity. Throw down your sword; you cannot ope to overcome four of us,” he added with a rim smile. My reply was a quick thrust which left me but iree antagonists and I can assure you that they [257] A PRINCESS OF MARS were worthy of my metal. They had me back< against the wall in no time, fighting for my lif Slowly I worked my way to a corner of the roo where I could force them to come at me only 01 ( at a time, and thus we fought upward of twen minutes; the clanging of steel on steel producir a veritable bedlam in the little room. The noise had brought Dejah Thoris to tl door of her apartment, and there she stoc throughout the conflict with Sola at her back pee ing over her shoulder. Her face was set ar emotionless and I knew that she did not recognii me, nor did Sola. Finally a lucky cut brought down a secon guardsman and then, with only two opposing m I changed my tactics and rushed them down afti the fashion of my fighting that had won me mar a victory. The third fell within ten seconds afti the second, and the last lay dead upon the blooc floor a few moments later. They were brave me and noble fighters, and it grieved me that I ha been forced to kill them, but I would have wil ingly depopulated all Barsoom could I ha> reached the side of my Dejah Thoris in no othe way. Sheathing my bloody blade I advanced towai [258] I FIND DEJAH y Martian Princess, who still stood mutely zing at me without sign of recognition. “Who are you, Zodangan?” she whispered. \nother enemy to harass me in my misery?” “ I am a friend,” I answered, “ a once cherished end.” “No friend of Helium’s princess wears that ;tal,” she replied, “ and yet the voice! I have ard it before; it is not — it cannot be — no, r he is dead.” “It is, though, my Princess, none other than hn Carter,” I said. “ Do you not recognize, en through paint and strange metal, the heart your chieftain?” As I came close to her she swayed toward me th outstretched hands, but as I reached to take r in my arms she drew back with a shudder and ittle moan of misery. “Too late, too late,” she grieved. “O my ieftain that was, and whom I thought dead, had u but returned one little hour before — but now is too late, too late.” “ What do you mean, Dejah Thoris?” I cried. Fhat you would not have promised yourself to e Zodangan prince had you known that I ed?” [259] A PRINCESS OF MARS “Think you, John Carter, that I would give heart to you yesterday and today to another? thought that it lay buried with your ashes in pits of Warhoon, and so today I have promii my body to another to save my people from curse of a victorious Zodangan army.” “ But I am not dead, my princess. I have co to claim you, and all Zodanga cannot prevent i “ It is too late, John Carter, my promise given, and on Barsoom that is final. The ce monies which follow later are but meaningl formalities. They make the fact of marriage more certain than does the funeral cortege oi jeddak again place the seal of death upon hi I am as good as married, John Carter. No lonj may you call me your princess. No longer are j my chieftain.” “ I know but little of your customs here up Barsoom, Dejah Thoris, but I do knowthal love you, and if you meant the last words > spoke to me that day as the hordes of Warhc were charging down upon us, no other man sb ever claim you as his bride. You meant them th my princess, and you mean them still! Say tl it is true.” “ I meant them, John Carter,” she whisper [260] I FIND DEJAH I cannot repeat them now for I have given lyself to another. Ah, if you had only known ur ways, my friend,” she continued, half to her- elf, “the promise would have been yours long lonths ago, and you could have claimed me before II others. It might have meant the fall of lelium, but I would have given my empire for ly Tharkian chief.” Then aloud she said: “Do you remember the ight when you offended me ? You called me your irincess without having asked my hand of me, nd then you boasted that you had fought for me. r ou did not know, and I should not have been ffended; I see that now. But there was no one o tell you, what I could not, that upon Barsoom here are two kinds of women in the cities of the ed men. The one they fight for that they may sk them in marriage; the other kind they fight or also, but never ask their hands. When a man as won a woman he may address her as his prim ess, or in any of the several terms which signify ossession. You had fought for me, but had ever asked me in marriage, and so when you ailed me your princess, you see,” she faltered, “I r as hurt, but even then, John Carter, I did not spulse you, as I should have done, until you made [261] A PRINCESS OF MARS it doiably worse by taunting me with having wc me through combat.” “ I do not need ask your forgiveness now, Dejz Thoris,” I cried. “ You must know that my fan was of ignorance of your Barsoomian custom What I failed to do, through implicit belief th; my petition would be presumptious and unwe come, I do now, Dejah Thoris; I ask you to 1 my wife, and by all the Virginian fighting bloc that flows in my veins you shall be.” “No, John Carter, it is useless,” she cric hopelessly, “ I may never be yours while Sab Tha lives.” “You have sealed his death warrant, my pri: cess — Sab Than dies.” “ Nor that either,” she hastened to explain. “ may not wed the man who slays my husband, ev< in self-defense. It is custom. We are ruled t custom upon Barsoom. It is useless, my frien You must bear the sorrow with me. That at lea we may share in common. That, and the mer ory of the brief days among the Tharks. Yc must go now, nor ever see me again. Good-by my chieftain that was.” Disheartened and dejected, I withdrew from tl room, but I was not entirely discouraged, n< [ 262 ] I FIND DEJAH r °uld I admit that Dejah Thorls was lost to me ntil the ceremony had actually been performed. As I wandered along the corridors, I was as bsolutely lost in the mazes of winding passage- r ays as I had been before I discovered Dejah 'horis’ apartments. I knew that my only hope lay in escape from le city of Zodanga, for the matter of the four ead guardsmen would have to be explained, and s I could never reach my original post without guide, suspicion would surely rest on me so soon 3 I was discovered wandering aimlessly through le palace. Presently I came upon a spiral runway leading > a lower floor, and this 1 followed downward )r several stories until I reached the doorway f a large apartment in which were a number of jardsmen. The walls of this room were hung ith transparent tapestries behind which I :creted myself without being apprehended. The conversation of the guardsmen was general, id awakened no interest in me until an officer itered the room and ordered four of the men to ilieve the detail who were guarding the Princess ! Helium. Now, I knew, my troubles would immence in earnest and indeed they were upon [263 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS me all too soon, for It seemed that the squ had scarcely left the guardroom before one their number burst In again breathlessly, cryi that they had found their four comrades butcher in the ante-chamber. In a moment the entire palace was alive w; people. Guardsmen, officers, courtiers, servan and slaves ran helter skelter through the corridc and apartments carrying messages and orders, a searching for signs of the assassin. This was my opportunity and slim as it appear I grasped it, for as a number of soldiers cai hurrying past my hiding place I fell in behind th< and followed through the mazes of the pah until, in passing through a great hall, I saw t blessed light of day coming in through a series larger windows. Here I left my guides, and, slipping to the ne est window, sought for an avenue of escape. T windows opened upon a great balcony which ov looked one of the broad avenues of Zodanj The ground was about thirty feet below, and ai like distance from the building was a wall fu twenty feet high, constructed of polished gl; about a foot in thickness. To a red Marti escape by this path would have appeared imp [264] / FIND DEJAH Me, but to me, with my earthly strength and ;ility, it seemed already accomplished. My only ar was in being detected before darkness fell, r I could not make the leap in broad daylight bile the court below and the avenue beyond were owded with Zodangans. Accordingly I searched for a hiding place and lally found one by accident, inside a huge hang- g ornament which swung from the ceiling of the ill, and about ten feet from the floor. Into the pacious bowl-like vase I sprang with ease, and arcely had I settled down within it than I heard number of people enter the apartment. The *oup stopped beneath my hiding place and I iuld plainly overhear their every word. “ It is the work of Heliumites,” said one of the en. “Yes, O Jeddak, but how had they access to e palace? I could believe that even with the dil- ent care of your guardsmen a single enemy might ach the inner chambers, but how a force of six ■ eight fighting men could have done so unob- rved is beyond me. We shall soon know, how- r er, for here comes the royal psychologist.” Another man now joined the group, and, after aking his formal greetings to his ruler, said: L 265 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS “O mighty Jeddak, it is a strange tale I re in the dead minds of your faithful guardsn* They were felled not by a number of fighting me but by a single opponent.” He paused to let the full weight of this annount ment impress his hearers, and that his stateme was scarcely credited was evidenced by the imp tient exclamation of incredulity which escaped tl lips of Than Kosis. “ What manner of weird tale are you bringii me, Notan?” he cried. “It is the truth, my Jeddak,” replied the ps chologist. “ In fact the impressions were strong marked on the brain of each of the four guarc men. Their antagonist was a very tall man, wea ing the metal of one of your own guardsmen, ai his fighting ability was little short of marvelo for he fought fair against the entire four and va quished them by his surpassing skill and supe human strength and endurance. Though he wo the metal of Zodanga, my Jeddak, such a m; w r as never seen before in this or any other count upon Barsoom. “The mind of the Princess of Helium who I have examined and questioned was a blank me, she has perfect control, and I could not res [2 66 ] I FIND DEJAH )ne iota of it. She said that she witnessed a por- :ion of the encounter, and that when she looked :here was but one man engaged with the guards¬ men; a man whom she did not recognize as ever laving seen.” “Where is my erstwhile savior?” spoke mother of the party, and I recognized the voice of the cousin of Than Kosis, whom I had rescued from the green warriors. u 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 e “ 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 :o be found, either in the palace or at my former quarters in the barracks of the air-scout squadron. [Cantos Kan, they had found and questioned, but le knew nothing of my whereabouts, and as to my last, he had told them he knew as little, since he [267] A PRINCESS OF MARS had but recently met me during our captivity amon, the Warhoons. “ Keep your eyes on this other one,” commander Than Kosis. “He also is a stranger and likel as not they both hail from Helium, and wher one is we shall sooner or later find the other Quadruple the air patrol, and let every man wh< leaves the city by air or ground be subjected t< the closest scrutiny.” Another messenger now entered with word tha I was still within the palace walls. “ The likeness of every person who has entere< or left the palace grounds today has been care fully examined,” concluded the fellow, “ and no one approaches the likeness of this new padwa of the guards, other than that which was recorde< of him at the time he entered.” “Then we will have him shortly,” commentec Than Kosis contentedly, “and in the meanwhiL we will repair to the apartments of the Princes: of Helium and question her in regard to the affair She may know more than she cared to divulg< to you, Notan. Come.” They left the hall, and, as darkness had fallei without, I slipped lightly from my hiding plao and hastened to the balcony. Few were in sight [268] I FIND DEJAH nd choosing a moment when none seemed near sprang quickly to the top of the glass wall and rom there to the avenue beyond the palace rounds. [ 2 6 9 ] CHAPTER XXIII LOST IN THE SKY ITHOUT effort at concealment I hastene' ▼ ▼ to the vicinity of our quarters, where felt sure I should find Kantos Kan. As I nearei the building I became more careful, as I judged and rightly, that the place would be guarded. Sev eral men in civilian metal loitered near the fron entrance and in the rear were others. My onl means of reaching, unseen, the upper story wher our apartments were situated was through a; adjoining building, and after considerable manei vering I managed to attain the roof of a shop sev eral doors away. Leaping from roof to roof, I soon reached ai open window in the building where I hoped to fim the Heliumite, and in another moment I stood i: the room before him. He was alone and showe* no surprise at my coming, saying he had expects me much earlier, as my tour of duty must hav ended some time since. I saw that he knew nothing of the events o [270] LOST IN THE SKY i day at the palace, and when I had enlightened i he was all excitement. The news that Dejah oris had promised her hand to Sab Than filled a with dismay. “ It cannot be,” he exclaimed. “ It is impos- le! Why no man in all Helium but would pre- • death to the selling of our loved princess to ; ruling house of Zodanga. She must have lost r mind to have assented to such an atrocious rgain. You, who do not know how we of dium love the members of our ruling house, inot appreciate the horror with which I contem- ite such an unholy alliance.” “What can be done, John Carter?” he con- ued. “You are a resourceful man. Can you t think of some way to save Helium from this >grace t “If I can come within sword’s reach of Sab lan,” I answered, “I can solve the difficulty in far as Helium is concerned, but for personal isons I would prefer that another struck the )w 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 ly because she is promised to Sdb Than.” [271] A PRINCESS OF MARS The splendid fellow sprang to his feet, s grasping me by the shoulder raised his sword high, exclaiming: “And had the choice been left to me I co not have chosen a more fitting mate for the f princess of Barsoom. Here is my hand uf your shoulder, John Carter, and my word t] Sab Than shall go out at the point of my swc for the sake of my love for Helium, for Dej Thoris, and for you. This very night I shall to reach his quarters in the palace. ,, “How?” I asked. “You are strongly guarc and a quadruple force patrols the sky.” He bent his head in thought a moment, tl raised it with an air of confidence. “ I only need to pass these guards and I < do it,” he said at last. “ I know a secret entrai to the palace through the pinnacle of the high tower. I fell upon it by chance one day as I \ passing above the palace on patrol duty. In t work it is required that we investigate any unusi occurrence we may witness, and a face peeri from the pinnacle of the high tower of the pal; was, to me, most unusual. I therefore drew n< and discovered that the possessor of the peeri face was none other than Sab Than. He v [272] LOST IN THE SKY lightly put out at being detected and commanded le to keep the matter to myself, explaining that be passage from the tower led directly to his partments, and was known only to him. If I an reach the roof of the barracks and get my lachine I can be in Sab Than’s quarters in five linutes; but how am I to escape from this build- lg, guarded as you say it is?” “How well are the machine sheds at the bar- acks guarded?” I asked. “There is usually but one man on duty there at ight upon the roof.” “ Go to the roof of this building, Kantos Kan, nd wait me there.” Without stopping to explain my plans I retraced ly way to the street and hastened to the barracks. did not dare to enter the building, filled as it r as with members of the air-scout squadron, who, 1 common with all Zodanga, were on the lookout Dr me. The building was an enormous one, rearing its )fty head fully a thousand feet into the air. But jw buildings in Zodanga were higher than these arracks, though several topped it by a few hun¬ ted feet; the docks of the great battleships of the tie standing some fifteen hundred feet from the [273] A PRINCESS OF MARS ground, while the freight and passenger statioi of the merchant squadrons rose nearly as high. It was a long climb up the face of the buildin and one fraught with much danger, but there w; no other way, and so I essayed the task. T1 fact that Barsoomian architecture is extreme ornate made the feat much simpler than I ha anticipated, since I found ornamental ledges ar projections which fairly formed a perfect laddi for me all the way to the eaves of the buildin Here I met my first real obstacle. The eav projected nearly twenty feet from the wall to whi< I clung, and though I encircled the great buildir I could find no opening through them. The top floor was alight, and filled with soldie engaged in the pastimes of their kind; I could nc therefore, reach the roof through the building. There was one slight, desperate chance, ar that I decided I must take—it was for Dejz Thoris, and no man has lived who would not rii a thousand deaths for such as she. Clinging to the wall with my feet and one han I unloosened one of the long leather straps of n trappings at the end of which dangled a gre hook by which air sailors are hung to the sides ar bottoms of their craft for various purposes < [274] LOST IN THE SKY ipair, and by means of which landing parties are >wered to the ground from the battleships. I swung this hook cautiously to the roof several mes before it finally found lodgment; gently I ulled on it to strengthen its hold, but whether it 'ould bear the weight of my body I did not know, t might be barely caught upon the very outer erge of the roof, so that as my body swung out t the end of the strap it would slip off and launch le to the pavement a thousand feet below. An instant I hesitated, and then, releasing my rasp upon the supporting ornament, I swung out ito space at the end of the strap. Far below me ay the brilliantly lighted streets, the hard pave¬ ments, and death. There was a little jerk at the op of the supporting eaves, and a nasty slipping, grating sound which turned me cold with appre- tension; then the hook caught and I was safe. Clambering quickly aloft I grasped the edge of he eaves and drew myself to the surface of the oof above. As I gained my feet I was confronted >y the sentry on duty, into the muzzle of whose evolver I found myself looking. “Who are you and whence came you?” he ried. “I am an air scout, friend, and very near a [ 275 ] _ A PRINCESS OF MARS dead one, for just by the merest chance I escap falling to the avenue below,” I replied. “But how came you upon the roof, man? > one has landed or come up from the building f< the past hour. Quick, explain yourself, or I C 2 the guard.” “ Look you here, sentry, and you shall see ho I came and how close a shave I had to not comir at all,” I answered, turning toward the edge < the roof, where, twenty feet below, at the end « my strap, hung all my weapons. The fellow, acting on impulse of curiosit stepped to my side and to his undoing, for as 1 leaned to peer over the eaves I grasped him by h throat and his pistol arm and threw him heavi to the roof. The weapon dropped from his gras and my fingers choked off his attempted cry f< assistance. I gagged and bound him and th< hung him over the edge of the roof as I myse had hung a few moments before. I knew it wou be morning before he would be discovered, and needed all the time that I could gain. Donning my trappings and weapons I hasten* to the sheds, and soon had out both my machii and Kantos Kan’s. Making his fast behind mil I started my engine, and skimming over the edj [276] LOST IN THE SKY >f the roof I dove down into the streets of the ity far below the plane usually occupied by the tir patrol. In less than a minute I was settling afely upon the roof of our apartment beside the istonished Kantos Kan. I lost no time in explanations, but plunged imme- liately into a discussion of our plans for the imme- liate future. It was decided that I was to try to nake Helium while Kantos Kan was to enter the )alace and dispatch Sab Than. If successful he vas then to follow me. He set my compass for ne, a clever little device which will remain stead- : astly fixed upon any given point on the surface )f Barsoom, and bidding each other farewell we *ose together and sped in the direction of the pal- ice which lay in the route which I must take to •each Helium. As we neared the high tower a patrol shot down :rom above, throwing its piercing searchlight full lpon my craft, and a voice roared out a command o halt, following with a shot as I paid no atten- ion to his hail. Kantos Kan dropped quickly into he darkness, while I rose steadily and at terrific speed raced through the Martian sky followed )y a dozen of the air-scout craft which had joined ;he pursuit, and later by a swift cruiser carrying a [« 7 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS hundred men and a battery of rapid-fire guns. E twisting and turning my little machine, now risir and now falling, I managed to elude their seard lights most of the time, but I was also losin ground by these tactics, and so I decided to hazar everything on a straight-away course and leave tl: 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, thj greatly increased the speed of our machines, s that I felt sure I could distance my pursuers if Could dodge their projectiles for a few moments. As I sped through the air the screeching of th bullets around me convinced me that only by miracle could I escape, but the die was cast, an throwing on full speed I raced a straight coun toward Helium. Gradually I left my pursue! further and further behind, and I was just coi gratulating myself on my lucky escape, when well-directed shot from the cruiser exploded ; the prow of my little craft. The concussion near] capsized her, and with a sickening plunge st hurtled downward through the dark night. How far I fell before I regained control c the plane I do not know, but I must have bee very close to the ground when I started to rh [278] LOST IN THE SKY 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 land¬ ing, evidently in search of me. Not until their lights were no longer discern¬ ible 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 speed¬ ometer. It was true I could follow the stars in the general direction of Helium, but without know¬ ing 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 con¬ tinuous flight at high speed. Presently a great city showed below me, but it was not Helium, as that alone of all Barsoomian metropolises consists n two immense circular walled cities about seventy- Sve miles apart and would have been easily dis- [ 279 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS tinguishable from the altitude at which I was flyinj Believing that I had come too far to the nort and west, I turned back in a southeasterly dire tion, passing during the forenoon several othe large cities, but none resembling the descriptio which Kantos Kan had given me of Helium. I addition to the twin-city formation of Heliun another distinguishing feature is the two immens towers, one of vivid scarlet rising nearly a mil into the air from the center of one of the citie: while the other, of bright yellow and of the sam height, marks her sister. I 280 J CHAPTER XXIV TARS TARKAS FINDS A FRIEND \ BOUT noon I passed low over a great dead city of ancient Mars, and as I*skimmed out :ross the plain beyond I came full upon several lousand green warriors engaged in a terrific bat- e. Scarcely had I seen them than a volley of lots was directed at me, and with the almost ifailing accuracy of their aim my little craft was istantly a ruined wreck, sinking erratically to the round. I fell almost directly in the center of the fierce )mbat, among warriors who had not seen my Dproach so busily were they engaged in life and ^ath struggles. The men were fighting on foot ith long-swords, while an occasional shot from sharpshooter on the outskirts of the conflict ould bring down a warrior who might for an stant separate himself from the entangled mass. As my machine sank among them I realized at it was fight or die, with good chances of dying any event, and so I struck the ground with drawn ng-sword ready to defend myself as I could. [281 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS I fell beside a huge monster who was engage with three antagonists, and as I glanced at hi fierce face, filled with the light of battle, I rec ognized Tars Tarkas the Thark. He did no see me, as I was a trifle behind him, and just thei the three warrriors opposing him, amd whom I rec ognized as Warhoons, charged simultaneously The mighty fellow made quick work of one o them, but in stepping back for another thrust h fell over a dead body behind him and was dowi and at the mercy of his foes in an instant. Quid as lightning they were upon him, and Tars Tarka would have been gathered to his fathers in shor order had I not sprung before his prostrate fom and engaged his adversaries. I had accounted fo: one of them when the mighty Thark regained hi feet and quickly settled the other. He gave me one look, and a slight smile touchec his grim lips as, touching my shoulder, he said, “ I would scarcely recognize you, John Carter but there is no other mortal upon Barsoom wh< would have done what you have for me. I thin! I have learned that there is such a thing as friend ship, my friend.” He said no more, nor was there opportunity for the Warhoons were closing in about us, anc [282] TARS TARKAS FINDS A FRIEND gether we fought, shoulder to shoulder, during t that long, hot afternoon, until the tide of bat- : turned and the remnant of the fierce Warhoon >rde fell back upon their thoats, and fled into e gathering darkness. Ten thousand men had been engaged in that anic struggle, and upon the field of battle lay ree thousand dead. Neither side asked or gave tarter, nor did they attempt to take prisoners. On our return to the city after the battle we d gone directly to Tars Tarkas* quarters, where was left alone while the chieftain attended the stomary council which immediately follows an gagement. As I sat awaiting the return of the green war- 3r I heard something move in an adjoining apart- ent, and as I glanced up there rushed suddenly >on me a huge and hideous creature which bore e backward upon the pile of silks and furs upon rich I had been reclining. It was Woola— ithful, loving Woola. He had found his way ck to Thark and, as Tars Tarkas later told me, ,d gone immediately to my former quarters lere he had taken up his pathetic and seemingly >peless watch for my return. “Tal Hajus knows that you are here, John [283] A PRINCESS OF MARS Carter,” said Tars Tarkas, on his return from t jeddak’s quarters; “Sarkoja saw and recogniz you as we were returning. Tal Hajus has order me to bring you before him tonight. I have 1 thoats, John Carter; you may take your cho 'from among them, and I will accompany you the nearest waterway that leads to Helium. T; 'Tarkas may be a cruel green warrior, but he c be a friend as well. Come, we must start.” “And when you return, Tars Tarkas? ” I aski “The wild calots, possibly, or worse,” replied. “Unless I should chance to have t opportunity I have so long waited of battling w [Tal Hajus.” “We will stay, Tars Tarkas, and see Tal Ha; tonight. You shall not sacrifice yourself, and may be that tonight you can have the chance y wait.” He objected strenuously, saying that Tal Ha; often flew into wild fits of passion at the rm thought of the blow I had dealt him, and that ever he laid his hands upon me I would be si jected to the most horrible tortures. While we were eating I repeated to Tars Tart the story which Sola had told me that night up the sea bottom during the march to Thark. [284] TARS TARKAS FINDS A FRIEND He said but little, but the great muscles of his ice worked in passion and in agony at recollec- on of the horrors which had been heaped upon le only thing he had ever loved in all his cold, •uel, terrible existence. He no longer demurred when I suggested that e go before Tal Hajus, only saying that he would ke to speak to Sarkoja first. At his request I ccompanied him to her quarters, and the look of enomous hatred she cast upon me was almost dequate recompense for any future misfortunes lis accidental return to Thark might bring me. “ Sarkoja,” said Tars Tarkas, “ forty years ago ou were instrumental in bringing about the tor- ire and death of a woman named Gozava. I ave just discovered that the warrior who loved lat woman has learned of your part in the trans¬ ition. He may not kill you, Sarkoja, it is not ur custom, but there is nothing to prevent him r ing one end of a strap about your neck and the :her end to a wild thoat, merely to test your ness to survive and help perpetuate our race, [aving heard that he would do this on the mor- >w, I thought it only right to warn you, for I n a just man. The river Iss is but a short pil- •image, Sarkoja. Come, John Carter.” [285] A PRINCESS OF MARS The next morning Sarkoja was gone, nor wa she ever seen after. In silence we hastened to the jeddak’s palaci where we were immediately admitted to his pre ence; in fact, he could scarcely wait to see me an was standing erect upon his platform glowerin at the entrance as I came in. “Strap him to that pillar,” he shrieked. “W shall see who it is dares strike the mighty T; Hajus. Heat the irons; with my own hands I sha burn the eyes from his head that he may nc pollute my person with his vile gaze.” “ Chieftains of Thark,” I cried, turning to th assembled council and ignoring Tal Hajus, “ have been a chief among you, and today I hav fought for Thark shoulder to shoulder with hi greatest warrior. You owe me, at least, a hea ing. I have won that much today. You claii to be just people — ” “Silence,” roared Tal Hajus. “Gag the ere; ture and bind him as I command.” “Justice, Tal Hajus,” exclaimed Lorqu; Ptomel. “ Who are you to set aside the custon of ages among the Tharks.” “Yes, justice!” echoed a dozen voices, and S' while Tal Hajus fumed and frothed, I continue [286] TARS TARKAS FINDS A FRIEND 1 You are a brave people and you love bravery, where was your mighty jeddak during the fight- today? I did not see him in the thick of bat¬ he was not there. He rends defenseless women l little children in his lair, but how recently has : of you seen him fight with men? Why, even i midget beside him, felled him with a single w of my fist. Is it of such that the Tharks hion their jeddaks? There stands beside me v a great Thark, a mighty warrior and a noble n. Chieftains, how sounds, Tars Tarkas, Jed- : of Thark?” A roar of deep-toned applause greeted this sug- tion. It but remains for this council to command, 1 Tal Hajus must prove his fitness to rule. Were a brave man he would invite Tars Tarkas to nbat, for he does not love him, but Tal Hajus afraid; Tal Hajus, your jeddak, is a coward, th my bare hands I could kill him, and he dws it.” After I ceased there was tense silence, as all :s -were riveted upon Tal Hajus. He did not :ak or move, but the blotchy green of his coun- ance turned livid, and the froth froze upon his A PRINCESS OF MARS “Tal Hajus,” said Lorquas Ptomel in a co hard voice, “nev^ in my long life have I seer jeddak of the Tharks so humiliated. There coi be but one answer to this arraignment. We w it.” And still Tal Hajus stood as though p rified. “ Chieftains,” continued Lorquas Ptomel, “sh the jeddak, Tal Hajus, prove his fitness to n over Tars Tarkas?” There were twenty chieftains about the rostru and twenty swords flashed high in assent. There was no alternative. That decree ^ hnal, and so Tal Hajus drew his long-sword a advanced to meet Tars Tarkas. The combat was soon over, and, with his fc upon the neck of the dead monster, Tars Tark became jeddak among the Tharks. His first act was to make me a full-fledged chi tain with the rank I had won by my combats t first few weeks of my captivity among them. Seeing the favorable disposition of the warric toward Tars Tarkas, as well as toward me, grasped the opportunity to enlist them in my cai against Zodanga. I told Tars Tarkas the story my adventures, and in a few words had explain to him the thought I had in mind. [288] TARS TARKAS FINDS A FRIEND “John Carter has made a proposal,” he said, [dressing the council, “which meets with my nction. I shall put it to you briefly. Dejah loris, the Princess of Helium, who was our isoner, is now T held by the jeddak of Zodanga, lose son she must wed to save her country from vastation at the hands of the Zodangan forces. “John Carter suggests that we rescue her and turn her to Helium. The loot of Zodanga would magnificent, and I have often thought that had ; an alliance with the people of Helium we could itain sufficient assurance of sustenance to permit to increase the size and frequency of our hatch¬ es, and thus become unquestionably supreme nong the green men of all Barsoom. What y you ?” It was a chance to fight, an opportunity to loot, id they rose to the bait as a speckled trout to a For Tharks they were wildly enthusiastic, and fore another half hour had passed twenty Dunted messengers were speeding across dead a bottoms to call the hordes together for the pedition. In three days we were on the march toward idanga, one hundred thousand strong, as Tars [ 289 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS Tarkas had been able to enlist the services of thr smaller hordes on the promise of the great loot < Zodanga. At the head of the column I rode beside tl great Thark while at the heels of my mount trc ted my beloved Woola. We traveled entirely by night, timing 01 marches so that we camped during the day i deserted cities where, even to the beasts, we we; all kept indoors during the daylight hours. C the march Tars Tarkas, through his remarkab ability and statesmanship, enlisted fifty thousar more warriors from various hordes, so that, t< days after we set out we halted at midnight ou side the great walled city of Zodanga, oi hundred and fifty thousand strong. The fighting strength and efficiency of this hon of ferocious green monsters was equivalent to t< times their number of red men. Never in tl history of Barsoom, Tars Tarkas told me, hi such a force of green warriors marched to batt together. It was a monstrous task to keep ev< a semblance of harmony among them, and it w a marvel to me that he got them to the city witho a mighty battle among themselves. But as we neared Zodanga their personal qua [290] TARS TARKAS FINDS A FRIEND fc " j were submerged by their greater hatred for red men, and especially for the Zodangans, o had for years waged a ruthless campaign of termination against the green men, directing spe- • attention toward despoiling their incubators. Now that we were before Zodanga the task of aining entry to the city devolved upon me, and ecting Tars Tarkas to hold his forces in two isions out of earshot of the city, with each di¬ ion opposite a large gateway, I took twenty mounted warriors and approached one of the all gates that pierced the walls at short inter- s. These gates have no regular guard, but are ered by sentries, who patrol the avenue that ircles the city just within the walls much as ■ metropolitan police patrol their beats. Hie walls of Zodanga are seventy-five feet in ght and fifty feet thick. They are built of enor- us blocks of carborundum, and the task of ering the city seemed, to my escort of green •riors, an impossibility. The fellows who had n detailed to accompany me were of one of the Her hordes, and therefore did not know me. facing three of them with their faces to the I and arms locked, I commanded two more nount to their shoulders, and a sixth I ordered [291 ] PRINCESS OF MARS to climb upon the shoulders of the upper two. T head of the topmost warrior towered over fo feet from the ground. In this way, with ten warriors, I built a ser of three steps from the ground to the shoulders the topmost man. Then starting from a short c tance behind them I ran swiftly up from one t to the next, and with a final bound from the bro shoulders of the highest I clutched the top of t great wall and quietly drew myself to its bro expanse. After me I dragged six lengths of leatt from an equal number of my warriors. The lengths we had previously fastened together, a passing one end to the topmost warrior I lower the other end cautiously over the opposite side the wall toward the avenue below. No one w in sight, so, lowering myself to the end of i leather strap, I dropped the remaining thirty f< to the pavement below. I had learned from Kantos Kan the secret opening these gates, and in another moment i twenty great fighting men stood within the doom city of Zodanga. I found to my delight that I had entered at t lower boundary of the enormous palace groun< The building itself showed in the distance a bla [292] TARS TARKAS FINDS A FRIEND )f glorious light, and on the instant I determined :o lead a detachment of warriors direcdy within :he palace itself, while the balance of the great lorde was attacking the barracks of the soldiery. Dispatching one of my men to Tars Tarkas for i detail of fifty Tharks, with word of my inten- :ions, I ordered ten warriors to capture and open 3 ne of the great gates while with the nine remain¬ ing I took the other. We were to do our work quietly, no shots were to be fired and no general ad¬ vance 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. T 293 T CHAPTER XXV THE LOOTING OF ZODANGA S the great gate where I stood swung o\ +■ A- my fifty Tharks, headed by Tars Tarl himself, rode in upon their mighty thoats. I ! them to the palace walls, which I negotiated eas without assistance. Once inside, however, 1 gate gave me considerable trouble, but I fina was rewarded by seeing it swing upon its hi hinges, and soon my fierce escort was riding acr< the gardens of the jeddak of Zodanga. As we approached the palace I could see throu the great windows of the first floor into the b; liantly illuminated audience chamber of Th Kosis. The immense hall was crowded with nob and their women, as though some important fu; tion was in progress. There was not a guard sight without the palace, due, I presume, to t fact that the city and palace walls were consider impregnable, and so I came close and peer within. At one end of the chamber, upon massive gold [ 294 j THE LOOTING OF ZODANGA :hrones encrusted with diamonds, sat Than Kosis and his consort, surrounded by officers and dig¬ nitaries 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 jed- dak’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 prin- :ess of the reigning house of Zodanga. At the foot of the throne these two parties sep¬ arated 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 discerni¬ ble. These two stopped at the foot of the throne, Facing Than Kosis. When the balance of the pro- :ession had entered and assumed their stations rhan Kosis addressed the couple standing before aim. I could not hear his words, but presently [ 295 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS two officers advanced and removed the scarl robe from one of the figures, and I saw that Kant< Kan had failed in his mission, for it was Sab Tha Prince of Zodanga, who stood revealed before m Than Kosis now took a set of the ornamen from one of the salvers and placed one of the co Jars of gold about his son’s neck, springing th padlock fast. After a few more words addresse to Sab Than he turned to the other figure, fror which the officers now removed the enshroudin silks, disclosing to my now comprehending viei Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium. The object of the ceremony was clear to me in another moment Dejah Thoris would be joine forever to the Prince of Zodanga. It was a impressive and beautiful ceremony, I presume, bi to me it seemed the most fiendish sight I had eve witnessed, and as the ornaments were adjuste upon her beautiful figure and her collar of gol swung open in the hands of Than Kosis I raise my long-sword above my head, and, with the heav hilt, I shattered the glass of the great window and sprang into the midst of the astonished asseir blage. With a bound I was on the steps of th platform beside Than Kosis, and as he stoo riveted with surprise I brought my long-swor [ 29 6 ] THE LOOTING OF ZODANGA down upon the golden chain that would have bound Dejah Thoris to another. In an instant all was confusion; a thousana 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. “Lookl” All eyes turned in the direction I had indicated, and there, forging through the portals of the entrance-way rode Tars Tarkas and his fifty war¬ riors 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 plat¬ form, 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. [ 297] A PRINCESS OF MARS As we circled upon the broad platform I sa Sab Than rushing up the steps to aid his fathe but, as he raised his hand to strike, Dejah Thor sprang before him and then my sword found th spot that made Sab Than jeddak of Zodanga. A his father rolled dead upon the floor the new jec dak tore himself free from Dejah Thoris’ grasp and again we faced each other. He was sooi joined by a quartet of officers, and, with my bad against a golden throne, I fought once again fo] Dejah Thoris. I was hard pressed to defenc myself and yet not strike down Sab Than and with him, my last chance to win the woman ] loved. My blade was swinging with the rapidity of lightning as I sought to parry the thrusts anc cuts of my opponents. Two I had disarmed, anc one was down, when several more rushed to th< aid of their new ruler, and to avenge the death o: the old. As they advanced there were cries of “Th< woman! The woman! Strike her down; it is hei plot. Kill her! Kill her!” Calling to Dejah Thoris to get behind me J worked my way toward the little doorway back o: the throne, but the officers realized my intentions and three of them sprang in behind me and blockec [298] THE LOOTING OF ZODANGA my chances for gaining a position where I could have defended Dejah Thoris against an army of swordsmen. The Tharks were having their hands full in the center of the room, and I began to realize that lothing short of a miracle could save Dejah Thoris and myself, when I saw Tars Tarkas surging through the crowd of pigmies that swarmed about him. With one swing of his mighty long-sword he [aid 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-inspir¬ ing, not one attempted to escape, and when the ighting ceased it was because only Tharks remained alive in the great hall, other than Dejah rhoris and myself. Sab Than lay dead beside his father, and the rorpses of the flower of Zodangan nobility and rhivalry covered the floor of the bloody shambles. My first thought when the battle was over was : or Kantos Kan, and leaving Dejah Thoris in :harge of Tars Tarkas I took a dozen warriors md hastened to the dungeons beneath the palace, rhe jailers had all left to join the fighters in tb* A PRINCESS OF MARS throne room, so we searched the labyrinthii prison without opposition. I called Kantos Kan’s name aloud in each ne corridor and compartment, and finally I w: rewarded by hearing a faint response. Guide by the sound, we soon found him helpless in dark recess. He was overjoyed at seeing me, and to kno the meaning of the fight, faint echoes of whi< had reached his prison cell. He told me that tl air patrol had captured him before he reach* the high tower of the palace, so that he had n< even seen Sab Than. We discovered that it would be futile to attem; to cut away the bars and chains which held hi prisoner, so, at his suggestion I returned to sear* the bodies on the floor above for keys to open tl padlocks of his cell and of his chains. Fortunately among the first I examined I four his jailer, and soon we had Kantos Kan with i in the throne room. The sounds of heavy firing, mingled with shou and cries, came to us from the city’s streets, ar Tars Tarkas hastened away to direct the fightir without. Kantos Kan accompanied him to act ; guide, the green warriors commencing a thoroug [300 ] THE LOOTING OF ZODANGA search of the palace for other Zodangans and for .00 1 , and Dejah Thoris and I were left alone. She had sunk into one of the golden thrones, md 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 ike. Can it be that all Earth men are as you? ^\ione, a stranger, hunted, threatened, persecuted, pou have done in a few short months what in all :he past ages of Barsoom no man has ever done: ioined together the wild hordes of the sea bottoms md brought them to fight as allies of a red Mar¬ tian people.” “The answer is easy, Dejah Thoris,” I replied smiling. “ It was not I who did it, it was love, [ove 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 nay 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 [301'J A PRINCESS OF MARS fancies have I dreamed of winning a Dejah Tho for myself—for never had I dreamed that in the universe dwelt such a woman as the Princi of Helium. That you are a princess does r abash me, but that you are you is enough to ma me doubt my sanity as I ask you, my princess, be mine.” “He does not need to be abashed who so w knew the answer to his plea before the plea wc made,” she replied, rising and placing her de hands upon my shoulders, and so I took her in ] arms and kissed her. And thus in the midst of a city of wild confli filled with the alarms of war; with death a destruction reaping their terrible harvest arou her, did Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, ti daughter of Mars, the God of War, promise h self in marriage to John Carter, Gentleman [Virginia. [302] CHAPTER XXVI THROUGH CARNAGE TO JOY S OMETIME 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 svas to be expected from within. Several battle¬ ships had escaped, but there were thousands of ivar and merchant vessels under guard of Thark ivarriors. The lesser hordes had commenced looting and quarreling among themselves, so it was decided Eat we collect what warriors we could, man as nany vessels as possible with Zodangan prisoners ind make for Helium without further loss of time. Five hours later we sailed from the roofs of he dock buildings with a fleet of two hundred and ifty battleships, carrying nearly one hundred housand green warrjors, followed by a fleet of ransports with our thoats. Behind us we left the stricken city in the fierce ,nd brutal clutches of some forty thousand gree * [303] A PRINCESS OF MARS warriors of the lesser hordes. They were lootin murdering, and fighting amongst themselves. ] a hundred places they had applied the torch, ar columns of dense smoke were rising above tl city as though to blot out from the eye of heave the horrid sights beneath. In the middle of the afternoon we sighted tl scarlet and yellow towers of Helium, and a sho time later a great fleet of Zodangan battleshij rose from the camps of the besiegers without tl city, and advanced to meet us. The banners of Helium had been strung fro] stem to stern of each of our mighty craft, but tl Zodangans did not need this sign to realize th; we were enemies, for our green Martian warrio] had opened fire upon them almost as they left tl ground. With their uncanny marksmanship the raked the on-coming fleet with volley after voile; The twin cities of Helium, perceiving that v were friends, sent out hundreds of vessels to ai us, and then began the first real air battle I ha ever witnessed. The vessels carrying our green warriors wei kept circling above the contending fleets of Heliui and Zodanga, since their batteries were useless i the hands of the Tharks who, having no nay [304] THROUGH CARNAGE TO JOY lave no skill in naval gunnery. Their smallarm ire, however, was most effective, and the final mtcome of the engagement was strongly influ- jnced, if not wholly determined, by their presence. At first the two forces circled at the same alti- ude, pouring broadside after broadside into each )ther. Presently a great hole was torn in the hull )f one of the immense battle craft from the Zodan- £an camp; with a lurch she turned completely over, :he little figures of her crew plunging, turning and wisting toward the ground a thousand feet below; :hen with sickening velocity she tore after them, ilmost completely burying herself in the soft loam if the ancient sea bottom. A wild cry of exultation arose from the Hel- umite squadron, and with redoubled ferocity they : ell upon the Zodangan fleet. By a pretty maneu¬ ver two of the vessels of Helium gained a posi- :ion above their adversaries, from which they soured upon them from their keel bomb batteries i perfect torrent of exploding bombs. Then, one by one, the battleships of Helium lucceeded in rising above the Zodangans, and in a >hort time a number of the beleaguering battleships vere drifting hopeless wrecks toward the high icarlet tower of greater Helium. Several others [ 505 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS attempted to escape, but they were soon surround by thousands of tiny individual fliers, and abo each hung a monster battleship of Helium rea< to drop boarding parties upon their decks. Within but little more than an hour from tl moment the victorious Zodangan squadron h; risen to meet us from the camp of the besiege the battle was over, and the remaining vessels < the conquered Zodangans were headed toward tl cities of Helium underprize crews. There was an extremely pathetic side to the su render of these mighty fliers, the result of an ag< old custom which demanded that surrender shoul be signalized by the voluntary plunging to eart of the commander of the vanquished vessel. On after another the brave fellows, holding thei colors high above their heads, leaped from th towering bows of their mighty craft to an awfi death. Not until the commander of the entire flee took the fearful plunge, thus indicating the sui render of the remaining vessels, did the fightin cease, and the useless sacrifice of brave men com to an end. We now signaled the flagship of Helium’s nav; to approach, and when she was within hailing dis [306] THROUGH CARNAGE TO JOY ance I called out that we had the Princess Dejah rhoris on board, and that we wished to transfer ier to the flagship that she might be taken imme- liately to the city. As the full import of my announcement bore a upon them a great cry arose from the decks of he flagship, and a moment later the colors of the Princess of Helium broke from a hundred points ipon her upper works. When the other vessels >f the squadron caught the meaning of the signals lashed them they took up the wild acclaim and mfurled her colors in the gleaming sunlight. The flagship bore down upon us, and as she wung gracefully to and touched our side a dozen >fficers sprang upon our decks. As their aston- shed gaze fell upon the hundreds of green warriors, who now came forth from the fighting helters, they stopped aghast, but at sight of Kan¬ os Kan, who advanced to meet them, they came orward, crowding about him. Dejah Thoris and I then advanced, and they lad no eyes for other than her. She received them gracefully, calling each by name, for they were nen high in the esteem and service of her grand- 'ather, and she knew them well. u Lay your hands upon the shoulder of John [ 307 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS Carter,” she said to them, turning toward rr “the man to whom Helium owes her princess well as her victory today.” They were very courteous to me and said maj kind and complimentary things, but what seem< to impress them most was that I had won the a of the fierce Tharks in my campaign for the libe ation of Dejah Thoris, and the relief of Heliur “You owe your thanks more to another m; than to me,” I said, “and here he is; meet one < Barsoom’s greatest soldiers and statesmen, Ta Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark.” With the same polished courtesy that ha marked their manner toward me they extende their greetings to the great Thark, nor, to my su prise, was he much behind them in ease of bearir or in courtly speech. Though not a garrulous rac the Tharks are extremely formal, and their wa } lend themselves amazingly to dignified and court! manners. Dejah Thoris went aboard the flagship, an was much put out that I would not follow, but, j I explained to her, the battle was but partly wor we still had the land forces of the besieging Zodai gans to account for, and I would not leave Tai Tarkas until that had been accomplished. [308] THROUGH CARNAGE TO JOY The commander of the naval forces of Helium romised to arrange to have the armies of Helium ttack from the city in conjunction with our land ttack, and so the vessels separated and Dejah Toris was borne in triumph back to the court of er grandfather,Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium. In the distance lay our fleet of transports, with re thoats of the green warriors, where they had emained during the battle. Without landing tages it was to be a difficult matter to unload these easts upon the open plain, but there was noth- ig else for it, and so we put out for a point about sn miles from the city and began the task. It was necessary to lower the animals to the ;round in slings and this work occupied the re- lainder of the day and half the night. Twice vt were attacked by parties of Zodangan cavalry, iut with little loss, however, and after darkness hut down they withdrew. As soon as the last thoat was unloaded Tars Parkas gave the command to advance, and in hree parties we crept upon the Zodangan camp rom the north, the south and the east. About a mile from the main camp we encoun- ered their outposts and, as had been prearranged, ccepted this as the signal to charge. With wild, [ 309 ] A PRINCESS OF MARS ferocious cries and amidst, the nasty squealing c battle-enraged thoats we bore down upon th Zodangans. We did not catch them napping, but found well-entrenched battle line confronting us. Tim after time we were repulsed until, toward noon, began to fear for the result of the battle. The Zodangans numbered nearly a millio: fighting men, gathered from pole to pole, where ever stretched their ribbon-like waterways, whiL pitted against them were less than a hundred thou sand green warriors. The forces from Heliun had not arrived, nor could we receive any won from them. Just at noon we heard heavy firing all along th* line between the Zodangans and the cities, and w< knew then that our much-needed reinforcement had come. Again Tars Tarkas ordered the charge, ant once more the mighty thoats bore their terribL riders against the ramparts of the enemy. At th< same moment the battle line of Helium surget over the opposite breastworks of the Zodangan and in another moment they were being crushet as between two millstones. Nobly they fought but in vain. r 3101 THROUGH CARNAGE TO JOY 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 Df 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 end¬ less round of applause and showered with orna¬ ments 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 lecome known to the Heliumites was evidenced ly the loud crying of my name, and by the loads of ornaments that were fastened upon me and my luge thoat as we passed up the avenues to the palace, for even in the face of the ferocious ap¬ pearance of Woola the populace pressed close ibout me. [311] A PRINCESS OF MARS As we approached this magnificent pile we we met by a party of officers who greeted us warm and requested that Tars Tarkas and his jeds wit the jeddaks and jeds of his wild allies, togeth< with myself, dismount and accompany them receive from Tardos Mors an expression of h gratitude for our services. At the top of the great steps leading up to th main portals of the palace stood the royal part] and as we reached the lower steps one of the number descended to meet us. He was an almos perfect specimen of manhood; tall, straight as a arrow, superbly muscled and with the carriage an bearing of a ruler of men. I did not need to b told that he was Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Heliurr The first member of our party he met was Tar Tarkas and his first words sealed forever the nei friendship between the races. “That Tardos Mors,” he said, earnestly, “ma meet the greatest living warrior of Barsocm is priceless honor, but that he may lay his hand o the shoulder of a friend and ally is a far greate boon.” “Jeddak of Helium,” returned Tars Tarka* “ it has remained for a man of another world t teach the green warriors of Barsoom the meanin f3I2] THROUGH CARNAGE TO JOY '■ friendship; to him we owe the fact that the >rdes of Thark can understand you; that they n appreciate and reciprocate the sentiments so ■aciously expressed.” Tardos Mors then greeted ea:ch of the green* ddaks and jeds, and to each spoke words of^ iendship and appreciation. As he approached me he laid both hands upon y shoulders. “Welcome, my son,” he said; “that you are •anted, gladly, and without one word of oppo- "ion, the most precious jewel in all Helium, yes, 1 all Barsoom, is sufficient earnest of my esteem.” We were then presented to Mors Kajak, Jed of sser Helium, and father of Dejah Thoris. He id followed close behind Tardos Mors and emed even more affected by the meeting than had s father. He tried a dozen times to express his gratitude 1 me, but his voice choked with emotion and he uld not speak, and yet he had, as I was to later arn, a reputation for ferocity and fearlessness a fighter that was remarkable even upon war- :e Barsoom. In common with all Helium he Drshiped his daughter, nor could he think of !iat she had escaped without deep emotion. [313] CHAPTER XXVII FROM JOY TO DEATH F OR 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 [314] FROM JOY TO DEATH 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 con¬ stantly 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 plan¬ ning 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 dis¬ patch bearer for the jeddak, it circled impatiently awaiting the tardy patrol boat which must convoy it to the palace docks. [315] A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 Tar- dos 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 assist¬ ant keeper to the plant. All day a thousand cruis¬ ers 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; but [316] FROM JOY TO DEATH the worst, we fear, has happened. The instru¬ ments 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 i 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 l of red men should live, now is our opportunity to i show them how they should die. Let us go about I 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 chat it permits us to die together.” [317] A PRINCESS OF MARS The next two days brought no noticeable change in the supply of air, but on tha morning of the third day breathing became difficult at the highei altitudes of the roof tops. 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 houi the people of Barsoom were sinking by thousands into the unconsciousness which precedes death bj asphyxiation. Dejah Thoris and I with the other members oi the royal family had collected in a sunken garden within an inner court-yard of the palace. We con¬ versed 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 she sat gazing longingly upon the unknown little life that now she would never know. FROM JOY TO DEATH 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 tom apart who were just starting upon a life of love and happiness.” As I pressed her dear lips to mine the old feel¬ ing 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 [319] A PRINCESS OF MARS has fought his way through a strange world for love of you, will find it.” And with my words there crept above the thresh¬ old of fny 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 roof top 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 com¬ manding 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 set [320] FROM JOY TO DEATH bottom and so had to rise only a few feet above the ground. I traveled with awful velocity for my errand Jwas 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 [32i] A PRINCESS OF MARS 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 use¬ less, they are both dead and no one else upon Bar- soom 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 awdul 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. [322] FROM JOY TO DEATH “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 to¬ morrow ! ” From where I lay I opened the second door, and then the third, and as I saw the hope of Bar¬ soom crawling weakly on hands and knees through the last doorway I sank unconscious upon the ground. CHAPTER XXVIII AT THE ARIZONA CAVE I T was dark when I opened my eyes agaii Strange, stiff garments were upon my bod] garments that cracked and powdered away fro] me as I rose to a sitting posture. I felt myself over from head to foot and froi head to foot I was clothed, though when I fe unconscious at the little doorway I had bee naked. Before me was a small patch of moonl sky which showed through a ragged aperture. i As my hands passed over my body they cam in contact with pockets and in one of these a sma parcel of matches wrapped in oiled paper. One c these matches I struck, and its dim flame lighte up what appeared to be a huge cave, toward th back of which I discovered a strange, still figui huddled over a tiny bench. As I approached I saw that it was the dead and mummified remair of a little old woman with long black hair, an the thing it leaned over was a small charcoal burn( upon which rested a round copper vessel contaii ing a small quantity of greenish powder. [324] AT THE ARIZONA CAVE Behind her, depending from the roof upon raw- lide thongs, and stretching entirely across the ave, was a row of human skeletons. From the hong which held them stretched another to the lead hand of the little old woman; as I touched he cord the skeletons swung to the motion with . noise as of the rustling of dry leaves. It was a most grotesque and horrid tableau nd I hastened out into the fresh air; glad to ■scape from so gruesome a place. The sight that met my eyes as I stepped out :pon a small ledge which ran before the entrance >f the cave filled me with consternation. A new heaven and a new landscape met my ;aze. The silvered mountains in the distance, he almost stationary moon hanging in the sky, he cacti-studded valley below me were not of Tars. I could scarce believe my eyes, but the ruth slowly forced itself upon me — I was look- lg upon Arizona from the same ledge from which m years before I had gazed with longing upon Tars. Burying my head in my arms I turned, broken, ,nd sorrowful, down the trail from the cave. Above me shone the red eye of Mars holding er awful secret, forty-eight million miles away. [325] A PRINCESS OF MARS Did the Martian reach the pump room? Die the vitalizing air reach the people of that dis tant planet in time to save them? Was my Dejal Thoris alive, or did her beautiful body lie cold ir death beside the tiny golden incubator in th< sunken garden of the inner courtyard of the palac< of Tardos Mors, the jeddak of Helium? For ten years I have waited and prayed for ai answer to my questions. For ten years I havi waited and prayed to be taken back to the work of my lost love. I would rather lie dead besid* her there than live on Earth all those millions o terrible miles from her. The old mine, which I found untouched, ha: made me fabulously wealthy; but what care I fo wealth! As I sit here tonight in my little study over looking the Hudson, just twenty years have elapsec since I first opened my eyes upon Mars. I can see her shining in the sky through the litth window by my desk, and tonight she seems calling to me again as she has not called before sinc< that long dead night, and I think I can see, acros: that awful abyss of space, a beautiful black-hairec woman standing in the garden of a palace, and a her side is a little boy who puts his arm arounc [326] AT THE ARIZONA CAVE 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. “The Books You Like to Read at the Price You Like to Pay" There Are Two Sides to Everything — —including the wrapper which covers every Grosset & Dunlap book. When you feel in the mood for a good ro¬ mance, refer to the carefully selected list of modern fiction comprising most of the successes by prominent writers of the day which is printed on the back of every Grosset & Dunlap book wrapper. You will find more than five hundred titles to choose from—books for every mood and every taste and every pocket- book. Don't forget the other side , hut in case the wrapper is lost , write to the publishers for a complete catalog. There is a Grosset & Dunlap Book for every mood and for every taste EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS NOVELS May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset and Dunlap’s list BANDIT OF HELL'S BEND, THE CAVE GIRL, THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, THE TARZAN AND THE ANT MEN TARZAN AND THE GOLDEN LION TARZAN THE TERRIBLE TARZAN THE UNTAMED JUNGLE TALES OF TARZAN AT THE EARTHS CORE THE MUCKER A PRINCESS OF MARS THE GODS OF MARS THE WARLORD OF MARS THUVIA, MAID OF MARS THE CHESSMEN OF MARS iGROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, NEW YORK THE NOVELS OF TEMPLE BAILEY May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap’s list. “ Although my ancestry is all of New England, I was born in the old town of Petersburg, Virginia. I went later to Richmond and finally at the age of five to Washington, D. C., returning to Richmond for a few years in a girl’s school, which was picturesquely quartered in General Lee’s / mansion. PEACOCK FEATHERS The eternal conflict between wealth and love. Jerry, the idealist who is poor, loves Mimi, a beautiful, spoiled society girl. THE DIM LANTERN The romance of little Jane Barnes who is loved by two men. THE GAY COCKADE Unusual short stories where Miss Bailey shows her keen knowledge of character and environment, and how romance comes to different people. THE TRUMPETER SWAN Randy Paine comes back from France to the monotony of every-day affairs. But the girl he loves shows him the beauty in the common-place. THE TIN SOLDIER A man who wishes to serve his country, but is bound by a tie he can¬ not in honor break—that’s Derry. A girl who loves him, shares his humiliac tion and helps him to win—that’s Jean. Their love is the story. 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THE HOUSE OF DREAMS-COME-TRUE How a man and a woman fulfilled a gypsy’s strange prophecy. THE HERMIT OF FAR END How love made its way into a walled-in house and a walled-in heart. THE LAMP OF FATE The story of a woman who tried to take all and give nothing. THE SPLENDID FOLLY Do you beheve that husbands and wives should have no se¬ crets from each other ? THE VISION OF DESIRE An absorbing romance written with all that sense of feminine tenderness that has given the novels of Margaret Pedler their universal appeal. GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, NEW YORK JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD’S STORIES OF ADVENTURE ' - . . .. . .' - ‘ 1 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grosset & Dunlap's list „. ■ . - ■■ - — . THE COUNTRY BEYOND THE FLAMING FOREST THE VALLEY OF SILENT MEN THE RIVER'S END THE GOLDEN SNARE NOMADS OF THE NORTH KAZAN BAREE, SON OF KAZAN THE COURAGE OF CAPTAIN PLUM THE DANGER TRAIL THE HUNTED WOMAN THE FLOWER OF THE NORTH THE GRIZZLY KING 1SOBEL THE WOLF HUNTERS THE GOLD HUNTERS THE COURAGE OF MARGE OTOONE BACK TO GOD'S COUNTRY Ask for Complete free list of G. & D. Popular Copyrighted Fiction GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, NEW YORK ZANE GREY’S NOVELS May ba had wherever books are sold. Ask for Grossgt and Dunlap’s list. THE CALL OF THE CANYON WANDERER OF THE W ASTELAND TO THE LAST MAN THE MYSTERIOUS RIDER THE MAN OF THE F OREST THE DESERT OF WHEAT THE U. P. 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THE PRIDE OF PALOMAR When two strong men clash and the under-dog has Irish blood in his veins—there’s a tale that Kyne can tell! KINDRED OF THE DUST Donald McKay, son of Hector McKay, millionaire lumber king, falls in love with “ Nan of the sawdust pile,” a charming girl who has been ostracized by her townsfolk. THE VALLEY OF THE GIANTS The fight of the Cardigans, father and son, to hold the Valley of the Giants against treachery. CAPPY RICKS Cappy Ricks gave Matt Peasley the acid test because he knew it was good for his souL WEBSTER: MAN’S MAN A man and a woman hailing from the “ States,” met up with a revolution while in Central America. Adventures and excitement came so thick and fast that their love affair had to wait for a lull in the game. CAPTAIN SCRAGGS This sea yarn recounts the adventures of three rapscallion sea¬ faring men. THE LONG CHANCE Harley P. Hennage is the best gambler, the best and worst man of San Pasqual and of lovely Donna. GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers, NEW YORK o^’ ° Wj < V i *“'V .v»« %'°° 1 0 *°\ 0 -- *< ''>^.% ° 0 y ■ ^ ° c#§&; ^ > r &M&* - •*%. a . * x 0 o V A ✓ r> ’ c^v ^ s A «► ^ * a , \ * *0 O. ♦ - ’ * 0 , * 1 cy* s s * > /, r/ c> & „ *f, £. A^ ^ ^ 'Pj. •^. C ’> ^ - ^ V

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