The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

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almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
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Title: A Princess of Mars

Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Release Date: June 23, 2008 [EBook #62]

Last updated: October 12, 2012
Last updated: December 8, 2012
Last updated: February 6, 2013
Last updated: March 11, 2013

Language: English

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*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A PRINCESS OF MARS ***

With my back against a golden throne, I fought once again for Dejah Thoris.
 A PRINCESS OF MARS
The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: A Princess of Mars

Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Release Date: June 23, 2008 [EBook #62]

Last updated: October 12, 2012
Last updated: December 8, 2012
Last updated: February 6, 2013
Last updated: March 11, 2013

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A PRINCESS OF MARS ***

With my back against a golden throne, I fought once again for Dejah Thoris.
 A PRINCESS OF MARS

by

Edgar Rice Burroughs

To My Son Jack

FOREWORD

To the Reader of this Work:

In submitting Captain Carter's strange manuscript to you in book form, I believe

that a few words relative to this remarkable personality will be of interest.

My first recollection of Captain Carter is of the few months he spent at my

father's home in Virginia, just prior to the opening of the civil war. I was then a child
of but five years, yet I well remember the tall, dark, smooth-faced, athletic man whom
I called Uncle Jack.

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

He was a splendid specimen of manhood, standing a good two inches over six
feet, broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, with the carriage of the trained fighting
man. His features were regular and clear cut, his hair black and closely cropped, while
his eyes were of a steel gray, reflecting a strong and loyal character, filled with fire
and initiative. His manners were perfect, and his courtliness was that of a typical
southern gentleman of the highest type.
 His horsemanship, especially after hounds, was a marvel and delight even in that
country of magnificent horsemen. I have often heard my father caution him against his
wild recklessness, but he would only laugh, and say that the tumble that killed him
would be from the back of a horse yet unfoaled.

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

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

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

He told me at this time that if anything should happen to him he wished me to

take charge of his estate, and he gave me a key to a compartment in the safe which
stood in his study, telling me I would find his will there and some personal
instructions which he had me pledge myself to carry out with absolute fidelity.

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

Several months after I had returned home from my last visit, the first of March,
1886, I think, I received a telegram from him asking me to come to him at once. I had
always been his favorite among the younger generation of Carters and so I hastened to
comply with his demand.
 I arrived at the little station, about a mile from his grounds, on the morning of
March 4, 1886, and when I asked the livery man to drive me out to Captain Carter's he
replied that if I was a friend of the Captain's he had some very bad news for me; the
Captain had been found dead shortly after daylight that very morning by the
watchman attached to an adjoining property.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yours very sincerely,

Edgar Rice Burroughs.
 CONTENTS

I On the Arizona Hills

II The Escape of the Dead
III My Advent on Mars
IV A Prisoner
V I Elude My Watch Dog
VI A Fight That Won Friends
VII Child-Raising on Mars
VIII A Fair Captive from the Sky
IX I Learn the Language
X Champion and Chief
XI With Dejah Thoris
XII A Prisoner with Power
XIII Love-Making on Mars
XIV A Duel to the Death
XV Sola Tells Me Her Story
XVI We Plan Escape
XVII A Costly Recapture
XVIII Chained in Warhoon
XIX Battling in the Arena
XX In the Atmosphere Factory
XXI An Air Scout for Zodanga
XXII I Find Dejah
XXIII Lost in the Sky
XXIV Tars Tarkas Finds a Friend
XXV The Looting of Zodanga
 XXVI Through Carnage to Joy
XXVII From Joy to Death
XXVIII At the Arizona Cave

ILLUSTRATIONS

With my back against a golden throne, I fought once again for Dejah Thoris . . . . .
Frontispiece

I sought out Dejah Thoris in the throng of departing chariots.

She drew upon the marble floor the first map of the Barsoomian territory I had ever
seen.

The old man sat and talked with me for hours.

CHAPTER I

ON THE ARIZONA HILLS

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

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

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

My name is John Carter; I am better known as Captain Jack Carter of Virginia. At

the close of the Civil War I found myself possessed of several hundred thousand
dollars (Confederate) and a captain's commission in the cavalry arm of an army which
no longer existed; the servant of a state which had vanished with the hopes of the
South. Masterless, penniless, and with my only means of livelihood, fighting, gone, I
determined to work my way to the southwest and attempt to retrieve my fallen
fortunes in a search for gold.

I spent nearly a year prospecting in company with another Confederate officer,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As soon as I reached comparatively level ground I urged my mount into a canter

and continued this, where the going permitted, until, close upon dusk, I discovered the
point where other tracks joined those of Powell. They were the tracks of unshod
ponies, three of them, and the ponies had been galloping.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I drew rein on a little level promontory overlooking the trail below and to my left,
and saw the party of pursuing savages disappearing around the point of a neighboring
peak.
 I knew the Indians would soon discover that they were on the wrong trail and that
the search for me would be renewed in the right direction as soon as they located my
tracks.

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

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

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

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

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

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

As I was continuing my examination I commenced to feel a pleasant drowsiness

creeping over me which I attributed to the fatigue of my long and strenuous ride, and
the reaction from the excitement of the fight and the pursuit. I felt comparatively safe
in my present location as I knew that one man could defend the trail to the cave
against an army.

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

CHAPTER II

THE ESCAPE OF THE DEAD

A sense of delicious dreaminess overcame me, my muscles relaxed, and I was on

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

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

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

The fellow, instead of approaching, merely stood and stared; his eyes bulging and
his jaw dropped. And then another savage face appeared, and a third and fourth and
fifth, craning their necks over the shoulders of their fellows whom they could not pass
upon the narrow ledge. Each face was the picture of awe and fear, but for what reason
I did not know, nor did I learn until ten years later. That there were still other braves
behind those who regarded me was apparent from the fact that the leaders passed back
whispered word to those behind them.
 Suddenly a low but distinct moaning sound issued from the recesses of the cave
behind me, and, as it reached the ears of the Indians, they turned and fled in terror,
panic-stricken. So frantic were their efforts to escape from the unseen thing behind me
that one of the braves was hurled headlong from the cliff to the rocks below. Their
wild cries echoed in the canyon for a short time, and then all was still once more.

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

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

Several times I thought I heard faint sounds behind me as of somebody moving

cautiously, but eventually even these ceased, and I was left to the contemplation of my
position without interruption. I could but vaguely conjecture the cause of my
paralysis, and my only hope lay in that it might pass off as suddenly as it had fallen
upon me.

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

From then until possibly midnight all was silence, the silence of the dead; then,
suddenly, the awful moan of the morning broke upon my startled ears, and there came
again from the black shadows the sound of a moving thing, and a faint rustling as of
dead leaves. The shock to my already overstrained nervous system was terrible in the
extreme, and with a superhuman effort I strove to break my awful bonds. It was an
effort of the mind, of the will, of the nerves; not muscular, for I could not move even
so much as my little finger, but none the less mighty for all that. And then something
gave, there was a momentary feeling of nausea, a sharp click as of the snapping of a
steel wire, and I stood with my back against the wall of the cave facing my unknown
foe.
 And then the moonlight flooded the cave, and there before me lay my own body
as it had been lying all these hours, with the eyes staring toward the open ledge and
the hands resting limply upon the ground. I looked first at my lifeless clay there upon
the floor of the cave and then down at myself in utter bewilderment; for there I lay
clothed, and yet here I stood but naked as at the minute of my birth.

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

Again was I suddenly recalled to my immediate surroundings by a repetition of

the weird moan from the depths of the cave. Naked and unarmed as I was, I had no
desire to face the unseen thing which menaced me.

My revolvers were strapped to my lifeless body which, for some unfathomable

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

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

I decided to investigate, but first I lifted my head to fill my lungs with the pure,
invigorating night air of the mountains. As I did so I saw stretching far below me the
beautiful vista of rocky gorge, and level, cacti-studded flat, wrought by the moonlight
into a miracle of soft splendor and wondrous enchantment.
 Few western wonders are more inspiring than the beauties of an Arizona moonlit
landscape; the silvered mountains in the distance, the strange lights and shadows upon
hog back and arroyo, and the grotesque details of the stiff, yet beautiful cacti form a
picture at once enchanting and inspiring; as though one were catching for the first
time a glimpse of some dead and forgotten world, so different is it from the aspect of
any other spot upon our earth.

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

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

CHAPTER III

MY ADVENT ON MARS

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

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

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

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

Instead of progressing in a sane and dignified manner, my attempts to walk

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

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

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

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

Five or six had already hatched and the grotesque caricatures which sat blinking
in the sunlight were enough to cause me to doubt my sanity. They seemed mostly
head, with little scrawny bodies, long necks and six legs, or, as I afterward learned,
two legs and two arms, with an intermediary pair of limbs which could be used at will
either as arms or legs. Their eyes were set at the extreme sides of their heads a trifle
above the center and protruded in such a manner that they could be directed either
forward or back and also independently of each other, thus permitting this queer
animal to look in any direction, or in two directions at once, without the necessity of
turning the head.
 The ears, which were slightly above the eyes and closer together, were small,
cup-shaped antennae, protruding not more than an inch on these young specimens.
Their noses were but longitudinal slits in the center of their faces, midway between
their mouths and ears.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The respite my unexpected agility had given me permitted me to formulate plans

for the immediate future and to note more closely the appearance of the warriors, for I
could not disassociate these people in my mind from those other warriors who, only
the day before, had been pursuing me.

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

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

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

The Martians, after conversing for a short time, turned and rode away in the
direction from which they had come, leaving one of their number alone by the
enclosure. When they had covered perhaps two hundred yards they halted, and turning
their mounts toward us sat watching the warrior by the enclosure.
 He was the one whose spear had so nearly transfixed me, and was evidently the
leader of the band, as I had noted that they seemed to have moved to their present
position at his direction. When his force had come to a halt he dismounted, threw
down his spear and small arms, and came around the end of the incubator toward me,
entirely unarmed and as naked as I, except for the ornaments strapped upon his head,
limbs, and breast.

When he was within about fifty feet of me he unclasped an enormous metal

armlet, and holding it toward me in the open palm of his hand, addressed me in a
clear, resonant voice, but in a language, it is needless to say, I could not understand.
He then stopped as though waiting for my reply, pricking up his antennae-like ears
and cocking his strange-looking eyes still further toward me.

As the silence became painful I concluded to hazard a little conversation on my

own part, as I had guessed that he was making overtures of peace. The throwing down
of his weapons and the withdrawing of his troop before his advance toward me would
have signified a peaceful mission anywhere on Earth, so why not, then, on Mars!

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

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

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

The entire cavalcade then turned and galloped away toward the range of hills in
the distance.
 CHAPTER IV

A PRISONER

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

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

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

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

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

I saw no signs of extreme age among them, nor is there any appreciable
difference in their appearance from the age of maturity, about forty, until, at about the
age of one thousand years, they go voluntarily upon their last strange pilgrimage down
the river Iss, which leads no living Martian knows whither and from whose bosom no
Martian has ever returned, or would be allowed to live did he return after once
embarking upon its cold, dark waters.
 Only about one Martian in a thousand dies of sickness or disease, and possibly
about twenty take the voluntary pilgrimage. The other nine hundred and seventy-nine
die violent deaths in duels, in hunting, in aviation and in war; but perhaps by far the
greatest death loss comes during the age of childhood, when vast numbers of the little
Martians fall victims to the great white apes of Mars.

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

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

As we neared the plaza and my presence was discovered we were immediately

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The assembled warriors and chieftains examined me closely, feeling my muscles

and the texture of my skin. The principal chieftain then evidently signified a desire to
see me perform, and, motioning me to follow, he started with Tars Tarkas for the open
plaza.

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

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

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

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

My exhibition had been witnessed by several hundred lesser Martians, and they
immediately broke into demands for a repetition, which the chieftain then ordered me
to make; but I was both hungry and thirsty, and determined on the spot that my only
method of salvation was to demand the consideration from these creatures which they
evidently would not voluntarily accord. I therefore ignored the repeated commands to
"sak," and each time they were made I motioned to my mouth and rubbed my
stomach.
 Tars Tarkas and the chief exchanged a few words, and the former, calling to a
young female among the throng, gave her some instructions and motioned me to
accompany her. I grasped her proffered arm and together we crossed the plaza toward
a large building on the far side.

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

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

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

CHAPTER V

I ELUDE MY WATCH DOG

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I have ever been prone to seek adventure and to investigate and experiment where
wiser men would have left well enough alone. It therefore now occurred to me that the
surest way of learning the exact attitude of this beast toward me would be to attempt
to leave the room. I felt fairly secure in my belief that I could escape him should he
pursue me once I was outside the building, for I had begun to take great pride in my
ability as a jumper. Furthermore, I could see from the shortness of his legs that the
brute himself was no jumper and probably no runner.
 Slowly and carefully, therefore, I gained my feet, only to see that my watcher did
the same; cautiously I advanced toward him, finding that by moving with a shuffling
gait I could retain my balance as well as make reasonably rapid progress. As I neared
the brute he backed cautiously away from me, and when I had reached the open he
moved to one side to let me pass. He then fell in behind me and followed about ten
paces in my rear as I made my way along the deserted street.

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

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

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

CHAPTER VI

A FIGHT THAT WON FRIENDS

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

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

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

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

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

Suddenly I came to myself and, with that strange instinct which seems ever to
prompt me to my duty, I seized the cudgel, which had fallen to the floor at the
commencement of the battle, and swinging it with all the power of my earthly arms I
crashed it full upon the head of the ape, crushing his skull as though it had been an
eggshell.
 Scarcely had the blow descended when I was confronted with a new danger. The
ape's mate, recovered from its first shock of terror, had returned to the scene of the
encounter by way of the interior of the building. I glimpsed him just before he reached
the doorway and the sight of him, now roaring as he perceived his lifeless fellow
stretched upon the floor, and frothing at the mouth, in the extremity of his rage, filled
me, I must confess, with dire forebodings.

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

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

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

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

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

Again, as on the preceding day, I had recourse to earthly tactics, and swinging my
right fist full upon the point of his chin I followed it with a smashing left to the pit of
his stomach. The effect was marvelous, for, as I lightly sidestepped, after delivering
the second blow, he reeled and fell upon the floor doubled up with pain and gasping
for wind. Leaping over his prostrate body, I seized the cudgel and finished the
monster before he could regain his feet.
 As I delivered the blow a low laugh rang out behind me, and, turning, I beheld
Tars Tarkas, Sola, and three or four warriors standing in the doorway of the chamber.
As my eyes met theirs I was, for the second time, the recipient of their zealously
guarded applause.

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

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

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

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

There seemed something menacing in their attitude toward my beast, and I

hesitated to leave until I had learned the outcome. It was well I did so, for the warrior
drew an evil looking pistol from its holster and was on the point of putting an end to
the creature when I sprang forward and struck up his arm. The bullet striking the
wooden casing of the window exploded, blowing a hole completely through the wood
and masonry.

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

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

CHAPTER VII

CHILD-RAISING ON MARS

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

The chariots themselves were large, commodious, and gorgeously decorated. In

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

This power is wonderfully developed in all Martians, and accounts largely for the
simplicity of their language and the relatively few spoken words exchanged even in
long conversations. It is the universal language of Mars, through the medium of which
the higher and lower animals of this world of paradoxes are able to communicate to a
greater or less extent, depending upon the intellectual sphere of the species and the
development of the individual.
 As the cavalcade took up the line of march in single file, Sola dragged me into an
empty chariot and we proceeded with the procession toward the point by which I had
entered the city the day before. At the head of the caravan rode some two hundred
warriors, five abreast, and a like number brought up the rear, while twenty-five or
thirty outriders flanked us on either side.

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

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

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

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

As I came to a halt before him, Tars Tarkas pointed over the incubator and said,
"Sak." I saw that he wanted me to repeat my performance of yesterday for the
edification of Lorquas Ptomel, and, as I must confess that my prowess gave me no
little satisfaction, I responded quickly, leaping entirely over the parked chariots on the
far side of the incubator. As I returned, Lorquas Ptomel grunted something at me, and
turning to his warriors gave a few words of command relative to the incubator. They
paid no further attention to me and I was thus permitted to remain close and watch
their operations, which consisted in breaking an opening in the wall of the incubator
large enough to permit of the exit of the young Martians.
 On either side of this opening the women and the younger Martians, both male
and female, formed two solid walls leading out through the chariots and quite away
into the plain beyond. Between these walls the little Martians scampered, wild as deer;
being permitted to run the full length of the aisle, where they were captured one at a
time by the women and older children; the last in the line capturing the first little one
to reach the end of the gauntlet, her opposite in the line capturing the second, and so
on until all the little fellows had left the enclosure and been appropriated by some
youth or female. As the women caught the young they fell out of line and returned to
their respective chariots, while those who fell into the hands of the young men were
later turned over to some of the women.

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

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

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

I do not mean that the adult Martians are unnecessarily or intentionally cruel to
the young, but theirs is a hard and pitiless struggle for existence upon a dying planet,
the natural resources of which have dwindled to a point where the support of each
additional life means an added tax upon the community into which it is thrown.
 By careful selection they rear only the hardiest specimens of each species, and
with almost supernatural foresight they regulate the birth rate to merely offset the loss
by death.

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

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

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

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

After our return to the dead city I passed several days in comparative idleness. On
the day following our return all the warriors had ridden forth early in the morning and
had not returned until just before darkness fell. As I later learned, they had been to the
subterranean vaults in which the eggs were kept and had transported them to the
incubator, which they had then walled up for another five years, and which, in all
probability, would not be visited again during that period.
 The vaults which hid the eggs until they were ready for the incubator were
located many miles south of the incubator, and would be visited yearly by the council
of twenty chieftains. Why they did not arrange to build their vaults and incubators
nearer home has always been a mystery to me, and, like many other Martian
mysteries, unsolved and unsolvable by earthly reasoning and customs.

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

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

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

CHAPTER VIII

A FAIR CAPTIVE FROM THE SKY

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Close at my heel, in his now accustomed place, followed Woola, the hound, and
as I emerged upon the street Sola rushed up to me as though I had been the object of
some search on her part. The cavalcade was returning to the plaza, the homeward
march having been given up for that day; nor, in fact, was it recommenced for more
than a week, owing to the fear of a return attack by the air craft.
 Lorquas Ptomel was too astute an old warrior to be caught upon the open plains
with a caravan of chariots and children, and so we remained at the deserted city until
the danger seemed passed.

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

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

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

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

CHAPTER IX

I LEARN THE LANGUAGE

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

As I reached the doorway of our building a strange surprise awaited me. A

warrior approached bearing the arms, ornaments, and full accouterments of his kind.
These he presented to me with a few unintelligible words, and a bearing at once
respectful and menacing.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sarkoja, one of the older women who shared our domicile, had been present at
the audience as one of the captive's guards, and it was toward her the question turned.

"When," asked one of the women, "will we enjoy the death throes of the red one?
or does Lorquas Ptomel, Jed, intend holding her for ransom?"

"They have decided to carry her with us back to Thark, and exhibit her last
agonies at the great games before Tal Hajus," replied Sarkoja.

"What will be the manner of her going out?" inquired Sola. "She is very small
and very beautiful; I had hoped that they would hold her for ransom."

Sarkoja and the other women grunted angrily at this evidence of weakness on the
part of Sola.
 "It is sad, Sola, that you were not born a million years ago," snapped Sarkoja,
"when all the hollows of the land were filled with water, and the peoples were as soft
as the stuff they sailed upon. In our day we have progressed to a point where such
sentiments mark weakness and atavism. It will not be well for you to permit Tars
Tarkas to learn that you hold such degenerate sentiments, as I doubt that he would
care to entrust such as you with the grave responsibilities of maternity."

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

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

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

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

CHAMPION AND CHIEF

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As Lorquas Ptomel raised his eyes to address the prisoner they fell on me and he
turned to Tars Tarkas with a word, and gesture of impatience. Tars Tarkas made some
reply which I could not catch, but which caused Lorquas Ptomel to smile; after which
they paid no further attention to me.
 "What is your name?" asked Lorquas Ptomel, addressing the prisoner.

"Dejah Thoris, daughter of Mors Kajak of Helium."

"And the nature of your expedition?" he continued.

"It was a purely scientific research party sent out by my father's father, the Jeddak
of Helium, to rechart the air currents, and to take atmospheric density tests," replied
the fair prisoner, in a low, well-modulated voice.

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

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

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

I saw Tars Tarkas rise to speak, and on his face was such an expression as I had
never seen upon the countenance of a green Martian warrior. It bespoke an inward and
mighty battle with self, with heredity, with age-old custom, and as he opened his
mouth to speak, a look almost of benignity, of kindliness, momentarily lighted up his
fierce and terrible countenance.
 What words of moment were to have fallen from his lips were never spoken, as
just then a young warrior, evidently sensing the trend of thought among the older men,
leaped down from the steps of the rostrum, and striking the frail captive a powerful
blow across the face, which felled her to the floor, placed his foot upon her prostrate
form and turning toward the assembled council broke into peals of horrid, mirthless
laughter.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Then you too are a prisoner? But why, then, those arms and the regalia of a
Tharkian chieftain? What is your name? Where your country?"

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

We were interrupted at this juncture by the approach of one of the warriors,

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

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

As I had turned to receive the dead warrior's chattels I had noticed that Tars
Tarkas and several others had pushed forward toward us, and the eyes of the former
rested upon me in a most quizzical manner. Finally he addressed me:
 "You speak the tongue of Barsoom quite readily for one who was deaf and dumb
to us a few short days ago. Where did you learn it, John Carter?"

"You, yourself, are responsible, Tars Tarkas," I replied, "in that you furnished me
with an instructress of remarkable ability; I have to thank Sola for my learning."

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

"I presume that that one whom I had failed to kill, would have killed me," I
answered, smiling.

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

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

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

Ordinarily I am not given to long speeches, nor ever before had I descended to
bombast, but I had guessed at the keynote which would strike an answering chord in
the breasts of the green Martians, nor was I wrong, for my harangue evidently deeply
impressed them, and their attitude toward me thereafter was still further respectful.
 Tars Tarkas himself seemed pleased with my reply, but his only comment was
more or less enigmatical—"And I think I know Tal Hajus, Jeddak of Thark."

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

CHAPTER XI

WITH DEJAH THORIS

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

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

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

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

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

"And if I should kill Lorquas Ptomel?" I asked.

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

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

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

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

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

As Sola departed Dejah Thoris turned to me with a faint smile.

"And whereto, then, would your prisoner escape should you leave her, unless it
was to follow you and crave your protection, and ask your pardon for the cruel
thoughts she has harbored against you these past few days?"

"You are right," I answered, "there is no escape for either of us unless we go

together."
 "I heard your challenge to the creature you call Tars Tarkas, and I think I
understand your position among these people, but what I cannot fathom is your
statement that you are not of Barsoom."

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

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

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

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

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

"I am of another world," I answered, "the great planet Earth, which revolves
about our common sun and next within the orbit of your Barsoom, which we know as
Mars. How I came here I cannot tell you, for I do not know; but here I am, and since
my presence has permitted me to serve Dejah Thoris I am glad that I am here."
 She gazed at me with troubled eyes, long and questioningly. That it was difficult
to believe my statement I well knew, nor could I hope that she would do so however
much I craved her confidence and respect. I would much rather not have told her
anything of my antecedents, but no man could look into the depth of those eyes and
refuse her slightest behest.

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

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

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

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

"If, then, you are so familiar with earthly things," I asked, "why is it that you do
not recognize me as identical with the inhabitants of that planet?"

She smiled again as one might in bored indulgence of a questioning child.

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

"The fact that you wore no ornaments is a strong proof of your un-Barsoomian
origin, while the absence of grotesque coverings might cause a doubt as to your
earthliness."

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

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

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

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

Ages of close relationship and intermarrying had resulted in the race of red men,
of which Dejah Thoris was a fair and beautiful daughter. During the ages of hardships
and incessant warring between their own various races, as well as with the green men,
and before they had fitted themselves to the changed conditions, much of the high
civilization and many of the arts of the fair-haired Martians had become lost; but the
red race of today has reached a point where it feels that it has made up in new
discoveries and in a more practical civilization for all that lies irretrievably buried
with the ancient Barsoomians, beneath the countless intervening ages.
 These ancient Martians had been a highly cultivated and literary race, but during
the vicissitudes of those trying centuries of readjustment to new conditions, not only
did their advancement and production cease entirely, but practically all their archives,
records, and literature were lost.

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

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

We had been so engrossed in exploration of the building and in our conversation

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

CHAPTER XII

A PRISONER WITH POWER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

However, instead of putting thoughts of possible escape from my mind, my

audience with Lorquas Ptomel only served to center my every faculty on this subject.
Now, more than before, the absolute necessity for escape, in so far as Dejah Thoris
was concerned, was impressed upon me, for I was convinced that some horrible fate
awaited her at the headquarters of Tal Hajus.
 As described by Sola, this monster was the exaggerated personification of all the
ages of cruelty, ferocity, and brutality from which he had descended. Cold, cunning,
calculating; he was, also, in marked contrast to most of his fellows, a slave to that
brute passion which the waning demands for procreation upon their dying planet has
almost stilled in the Martian breast.

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

As I wandered about the plaza lost in my gloomy forebodings Tars Tarkas

approached me on his way from the audience chamber. His demeanor toward me was
unchanged, and he greeted me as though we had not just parted a few moments
before.

"Where are your quarters, John Carter?" he asked.

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

"Come with me," he directed, and together we moved off across the plaza to a
building which I was glad to see adjoined that occupied by Sola and her charges.

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

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

I thanked him, but assured him that I could get along very nicely without
assistance except in the matter of preparing food, and so he promised to send women
to me for this purpose and also for the care of my arms and the manufacture of my
ammunition, which he said would be necessary. I suggested that they might also bring
some of the sleeping silks and furs which belonged to me as spoils of combat, for the
nights were cold and I had none of my own.
 He promised to do so, and departed. Left alone, I ascended the winding corridor
to the upper floors in search of suitable quarters. The beauties of the other buildings
were repeated in this, and, as usual, I was soon lost in a tour of investigation and
discovery.

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

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

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

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

My thoughts were cut short by the advent of several young females bearing loads
of weapons, silks, furs, jewels, cooking utensils, and casks of food and drink,
including considerable loot from the air craft. All this, it seemed, had been the
property of the two chieftains I had slain, and now, by the customs of the Tharks, it
had become mine. At my direction they placed the stuff in one of the back rooms, and
then departed, only to return with a second load, which they advised me constituted
the balance of my goods. On the second trip they were accompanied by ten or fifteen
other women and youths, who, it seemed, formed the retinues of the two chieftains.
 They were not their families, nor their wives, nor their servants; the relationship
was peculiar, and so unlike anything known to us that it is most difficult to describe.
All property among the green Martians is owned in common by the community,
except the personal weapons, ornaments and sleeping silks and furs of the individuals.
These alone can one claim undisputed right to, nor may he accumulate more of these
than are required for his actual needs. The surplus he holds merely as custodian, and it
is passed on to the younger members of the community as necessity demands.

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

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

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

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

CHAPTER XIII

LOVE-MAKING ON MARS

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

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

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

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

My experience with Woola determined me to attempt the experiment of kindness

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

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

"How have you bewitched them?" asked Tars Tarkas one afternoon, when he had
seen me run my arm far between the great jaws of one of my thoats which had
wedged a piece of stone between two of his teeth while feeding upon the moss-like
vegetation within our court yard.
 "By kindness," I replied. "You see, Tars Tarkas, the softer sentiments have their
value, even to a warrior. In the height of battle as well as upon the march I know that
my thoats will obey my every command, and therefore my fighting efficiency is
enhanced, and I am a better warrior for the reason that I am a kind master. Your other
warriors would find it to the advantage of themselves as well as of the community to
adopt my methods in this respect. Only a few days since you, yourself, told me that
these great brutes, by the uncertainty of their tempers, often were the means of turning
victory into defeat, since, at a crucial moment, they might elect to unseat and rend
their riders."

"Show me how you accomplish these results," was Tars Tarkas' only rejoinder.

And so I explained as carefully as I could the entire method of training I had

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

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

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

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

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

"Sarkoja told Sola that you had become a true Thark," she said, "and that I would
now see no more of you than of any of the other warriors."

"Sarkoja is a liar of the first magnitude," I replied, "notwithstanding the proud

claim of the Tharks to absolute verity."

Dejah Thoris laughed.

"I knew that even though you became a member of the community you would not
cease to be my friend; 'A warrior may change his metal, but not his heart,' as the
saying is upon Barsoom."

"I think they have been trying to keep us apart," she continued, "for whenever
you have been off duty one of the older women of Tars Tarkas' retinue has always
arranged to trump up some excuse to get Sola and me out of sight. They have had me
down in the pits below the buildings helping them mix their awful radium powder,
and make their terrible projectiles. You know that these have to be manufactured by
artificial light, as exposure to sunlight always results in an explosion. You have
noticed that their bullets explode when they strike an object? Well, the opaque, outer
coating is broken by the impact, exposing a glass cylinder, almost solid, in the
forward end of which is a minute particle of radium powder. The moment the
sunlight, even though diffused, strikes this powder it explodes with a violence which
nothing can withstand. If you ever witness a night battle you will note the absence of
these explosions, while the morning following the battle will be filled at sunrise with
the sharp detonations of exploding missiles fired the preceding night. As a rule,
however, non-exploding projectiles are used at night." [I have used the word radium
in describing this powder because in the light of recent discoveries on Earth I believe
it to be a mixture of which radium is the base. In Captain Carter's manuscript it is
mentioned always by the name used in the written language of Helium and is spelled
in hieroglyphics which it would be difficult and useless to reproduce.]

While I was much interested in Dejah Thoris' explanation of this wonderful

adjunct to Martian warfare, I was more concerned by the immediate problem of their
treatment of her. That they were keeping her away from me was not a matter for
surprise, but that they should subject her to dangerous and arduous labor filled me
with rage.

"Have they ever subjected you to cruelty and ignominy, Dejah Thoris?" I asked,
feeling the hot blood of my fighting ancestors leap in my veins as I awaited her reply.

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

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

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

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

"What a child! A great warrior and yet a stumbling little child."

"What have I done now?" I asked, in sore perplexity.

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

Then she broke out again into one of her gay, happy, laughing moods; joking
with me on my prowess as a Thark warrior as contrasted with my soft heart and
natural kindliness.
 "I presume that should you accidentally wound an enemy you would take him
home and nurse him back to health," she laughed.

"That is precisely what we do on Earth," I answered. "At least among civilized

men."

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

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

"No," she exclaimed, "it is enough that you have said it and that I have listened.
And when you learn, John Carter, and if I be dead, as likely I shall be ere the further
moon has circled Barsoom another twelve times, remember that I listened and that I—
smiled."

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

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

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

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

A DUEL TO THE DEATH

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

"Why are you so quiet, Dejah Thoris?" I asked. "Possibly you would rather return
to Sola and your quarters."

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

"Do people kiss, then, upon Barsoom?" I asked, when she had explained the word
she used, in answer to my inquiry as to its meaning.

"Parents, brothers, and sisters, yes; and," she added in a low, thoughtful tone,
"lovers."

"And you, Dejah Thoris, have parents and brothers and sisters?"

"Yes."

"And a—lover?"

She was silent, nor could I venture to repeat the question.

"The man of Barsoom," she finally ventured, "does not ask personal questions of
women, except his mother, and the woman he has fought for and won."
 "But I have fought—" I started, and then I wished my tongue had been cut from
my mouth; for she turned even as I caught myself and ceased, and drawing my silks
from her shoulder she held them out to me, and without a word, and with head held
high, she moved with the carriage of the queen she was toward the plaza and the
doorway of her quarters.

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

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

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

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

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

I sought out Dejah Thoris in the throng of departing chariots, but she turned her
shoulder to me, and I could see the red blood mount to her cheek. With the foolish
inconsistency of love I held my peace when I might have pled ignorance of the nature
of my offense, or at least the gravity of it, and so have effected, at worst, a half
conciliation.
I sought out Dejah Thoris in the throng of departing chariots.
 My duty dictated that I must see that she was comfortable, and so I glanced into
her chariot and rearranged her silks and furs. In doing so I noted with horror that she
was heavily chained by one ankle to the side of the vehicle.

"What does this mean?" I cried, turning to Sola.

"Sarkoja thought it best," she answered, her face betokening her disapproval of
the procedure.

Examining the manacles I saw that they fastened with a massive spring lock.

"Where is the key, Sola? Let me have it."

"Sarkoja wears it, John Carter," she answered.

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

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

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

"This much, Tars Tarkas, you may do for me in return for the friendship that, I
must confess, I feel for you."

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

"Unless you wish me to assume the responsibility," I said, smiling.

He looked at me long and earnestly before he spoke.

"Were you to give me your word that neither you nor Dejah Thoris would attempt
to escape until after we have safely reached the court of Tal Hajus you might have the
key and throw the chains into the river Iss."
 "It were better that you held the key, Tars Tarkas," I replied

He smiled, and said no more, but that night as we were making camp I saw him
unfasten Dejah Thoris' fetters himself.

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

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

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

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

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

"What is the matter with Dejah Thoris?" I blurted out at her. "Why will she not
speak to me?"

Sola seemed puzzled herself, as though such strange actions on the part of two
humans were quite beyond her, as indeed they were, poor child.
 "She says you have angered her, and that is all she will say, except that she is the
daughter of a jed and the granddaughter of a jeddak and she has been humiliated by a
creature who could not polish the teeth of her grandmother's sorak."

I pondered over this report for some time, finally asking, "What might a sorak be,
Sola?"

"A little animal about as big as my hand, which the red Martian women keep to
play with," explained Sola.

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

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

It was indeed an incubator, but the eggs were very small in comparison with
those I had seen hatching in ours at the time of my arrival on Mars.
 Tars Tarkas dismounted and examined the enclosure minutely, finally
announcing that it belonged to the green men of Warhoon and that the cement was
scarcely dry where it had been walled up.

"They cannot be a day's march ahead of us," he exclaimed, the light of battle
leaping to his fierce face.

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

"I noticed that their eggs were so much smaller than those I saw hatching in your
incubator," I added.

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

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

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

This latter alternative is always permissible, therefore I could have used my short-
sword, my dagger, my hatchet, or my fists had I wished, and been entirely within my
rights, but I could not use firearms or a spear while he held only his long-sword.
 I chose the same weapon he had drawn because I knew he prided himself upon
his ability with it, and I wished, if I worsted him at all, to do it with his own weapon.
The fight that followed was a long one and delayed the resumption of the march for an
hour. The entire community surrounded us, leaving a clear space about one hundred
feet in diameter for our battle.

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

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

As I looked, Dejah Thoris turned upon Sarkoja with the fury of a young tigress
and struck something from her upraised hand; something which flashed in the sunlight
as it spun to the ground. Then I knew what had blinded me at that crucial moment of
the fight, and how Sarkoja had found a way to kill me without herself delivering the
final thrust. Another thing I saw, too, which almost lost my life for me then and there,
for it took my mind for the fraction of an instant entirely from my antagonist; for, as
Dejah Thoris struck the tiny mirror from her hand, Sarkoja, her face livid with hatred
and baffled rage, whipped out her dagger and aimed a terrific blow at Dejah Thoris;
and then Sola, our dear and faithful Sola, sprang between them; the last I saw was the
great knife descending upon her shielding breast.
 My enemy had recovered from his thrust and was making it extremely interesting
for me, so I reluctantly gave my attention to the work in hand, but my mind was not
upon the battle.

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

CHAPTER XV

SOLA TELLS ME HER STORY

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

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

Bleeding and weak I reached my women, who, accustomed to such happenings,

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

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

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

"Is she injured?" I asked of Sola, indicating Dejah Thoris by an inclination of my

head.

"No," she answered, "she thinks that you are dead."

"And that her grandmother's cat may now have no one to polish its teeth?" I
queried, smiling.

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

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

"Your mother!" I exclaimed, "but, Sola, you could not have known your mother,
child."

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

"I will come tonight, Sola," I promised. "Be sure to tell Dejah Thoris I am alive
and well. I shall not force myself upon her, and be sure that you do not let her know I
saw her tears. If she would speak with me I but await her command."
 Sola mounted the chariot, which was swinging into its place in line, and I
hastened to my waiting thoat and galloped to my station beside Tars Tarkas at the rear
of the column.

We made a most imposing and awe-inspiring spectacle as we strung out across

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

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

We traversed a trackless waste of moss which, bending to the pressure of broad

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

We camped that night at the foot of the hills we had been approaching for two
days and which marked the southern boundary of this particular sea. Our animals had
been two days without drink, nor had they had water for nearly two months, not since
shortly after leaving Thark; but, as Tars Tarkas explained to me, they require but little
and can live almost indefinitely upon the moss which covers Barsoom, and which, he
told me, holds in its tiny stems sufficient moisture to meet the limited demands of the
animals.
 After partaking of my evening meal of cheese-like food and vegetable milk I
sought out Sola, whom I found working by the light of a torch upon some of Tars
Tarkas' trappings. She looked up at my approach, her face lighting with pleasure and
with welcome.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"And then a light flashed out upon the darkness of the tower chamber, and there
stood Sarkoja, her gleaming, baleful eyes fixed in a frenzy of loathing and contempt
upon my mother. The torrent of hatred and abuse she poured out upon her turned my
young heart cold in terror. That she had heard the entire story was apparent, and that
she had suspected something wrong from my mother's long nightly absences from her
quarters accounted for her presence there on that fateful night.
 "One thing she had not heard, nor did she know, the whispered name of my
father. This was apparent from her repeated demands upon my mother to disclose the
name of her partner in sin, but no amount of abuse or threats could wring this from
her, and to save me from needless torture she lied, for she told Sarkoja that she alone
knew nor would she ever tell her child.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"And your father, Sola, is he with us now?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied, "but he does not know me for what I am, nor does he know
who betrayed my mother to Tal Hajus. I alone know my father's name, and only I and
Tal Hajus and Sarkoja know that it was she who carried the tale that brought death
and torture upon her he loved."

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

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

WE PLAN ESCAPE

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

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

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

Not once did I have speech with Dejah Thoris, as she sent no word to me that I
would be welcome at her chariot, and my foolish pride kept me from making any
advances. I verily believe that a man's way with women is in inverse ratio to his
prowess among men. The weakling and the saphead have often great ability to charm
the fair sex, while the fighting man who can face a thousand real dangers unafraid, sits
hiding in the shadows like some frightened child.
 Just thirty days after my advent upon Barsoom we entered the ancient city of
Thark, from whose long-forgotten people this horde of green men have stolen even
their name. The hordes of Thark number some thirty thousand souls, and are divided
into twenty-five communities. Each community has its own jed and lesser chieftains,
but all are under the rule of Tal Hajus, Jeddak of Thark. Five communities make their
headquarters at the city of Thark, and the balance are scattered among other deserted
cities of ancient Mars throughout the district claimed by Tal Hajus.

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

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

When I had finally put my house in order, or rather seen that it had been done, it
was nearing sunset, and I hastened out with the intention of locating Sola and her
charges, as I had determined upon having speech with Dejah Thoris and trying to
impress on her the necessity of our at least patching up a truce until I could find some
way of aiding her to escape. I searched in vain until the upper rim of the great red sun
was just disappearing behind the horizon and then I spied the ugly head of Woola
peering from a second-story window on the opposite side of the very street where I
was quartered, but nearer the plaza.
 Without waiting for a further invitation I bolted up the winding runway which led
to the second floor, and entering a great chamber at the front of the building was
greeted by the frenzied Woola, who threw his great carcass upon me, nearly hurling
me to the floor; the poor old fellow was so glad to see me that I thought he would
devour me, his head split from ear to ear, showing his three rows of tusks in his
hobgoblin smile.

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

"What would Dotar Sojat, Thark, of Dejah Thoris his captive?"

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

She looked at me long and earnestly and I thought that she was softening toward
me.

"I understand your words, Dotar Sojat," she replied, "but you I do not understand.
You are a queer mixture of child and man, of brute and noble. I only wish that I might
read your heart."

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

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

"What do you mean, John Carter?" she whispered. "What are you saying to me?"

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

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

Further conversation of a personal nature was prevented by the entrance of Sola,

who was much agitated and wholly unlike her usual calm and possessed self.

"That horrible Sarkoja has been before Tal Hajus," she cried, "and from what I
heard upon the plaza there is little hope for either of you."

"What do they say?" inquired Dejah Thoris.

"That you will be thrown to the wild calots [dogs] in the great arena as soon as
the hordes have assembled for the yearly games."

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

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

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

"Is there no other way we might reach Helium?" I asked. "Can you not draw me a
rough map of the country we must traverse, Dejah Thoris?"

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

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

"Does not this pierce your grandfather's territory?" I asked.

"Yes," she answered, "but it is two hundred miles north of us; it is one of the
waterways we crossed on the trip to Thark."

"They would never suspect that we would try for that distant waterway," I
answered, "and that is why I think that it is the best route for our escape."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"He would likely have arranged to meet them just without the city, and so—" I
heard no more, they had passed on; but it was enough. Our plan had been discovered,
and the chances for escape from now on to the fearful end would be small indeed. My
one hope now was to return undetected to the quarters of Dejah Thoris and learn what
fate had overtaken her, but how to do it with these great monstrous thoats upon my
hands, now that the city probably was aroused by the knowledge of my escape was a
problem of no mean proportions.
 Suddenly an idea occurred to me, and acting on my knowledge of the
construction of the buildings of these ancient Martian cities with a hollow court within
the center of each square, I groped my way blindly through the dark chambers, calling
the great thoats after me. They had difficulty in negotiating some of the doorways, but
as the buildings fronting the city's principal exposures were all designed upon a
magnificent scale, they were able to wriggle through without sticking fast; and thus
we finally made the inner court where I found, as I had expected, the usual carpet of
moss-like vegetation which would prove their food and drink until I could return them
to their own enclosure. That they would be as quiet and contented here as elsewhere I
was confident, nor was there but the remotest possibility that they would be
discovered, as the green men had no great desire to enter these outlying buildings,
which were frequented by the only thing, I believe, which caused them the sensation
of fear—the great white apes of Barsoom.

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

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

I did not rush headlong in, but listened without to assure myself that it was Dejah
Thoris and that it was safe to venture within. It was well indeed that I took this
precaution, for the conversation I heard was in the low gutturals of men, and the
words which finally came to me proved a most timely warning. The speaker was a
chieftain and he was giving orders to four of his warriors.
 "And when he returns to this chamber," he was saying, "as he surely will when he
finds she does not meet him at the city's edge, you four are to spring upon him and
disarm him. It will require the combined strength of all of you to do it if the reports
they bring back from Korad are correct. When you have him fast bound bear him to
the vaults beneath the jeddak's quarters and chain him securely where he may be
found when Tal Hajus wishes him. Allow him to speak with none, nor permit any
other to enter this apartment before he comes. There will be no danger of the girl
returning, for by this time she is safe in the arms of Tal Hajus, and may all her
ancestors have pity upon her, for Tal Hajus will have none; the great Sarkoja has done
a noble night's work. I go, and if you fail to capture him when he comes, I commend
your carcasses to the cold bosom of Iss."

CHAPTER XVII

A COSTLY RECAPTURE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Good-bye, my princess," I whispered, "we may meet in Helium yet. I have

escaped from worse plights than this," and I tried to smile as I lied.

"What," she cried, "are you not coming with us?"

"How may I, Dejah Thoris? Someone must hold these fellows off for a while, and
I can better escape them alone than could the three of us together."

She sprang quickly from the thoat and, throwing her dear arms about my neck,
turned to Sola, saying with quiet dignity: "Fly, Sola! Dejah Thoris remains to die with
the man she loves."

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

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

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

If ever Martians had an exhibition of jumping, it was granted those astonished

warriors on that day long years ago, but while it led them away from Dejah Thoris it
did not distract their attention from endeavoring to capture me.

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

CHAPTER XVIII

CHAINED IN WARHOON

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

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

As I opened my eyes she turned to one of the warriors, saying,

"He will live, O Jed."

"'Tis well," replied the one so addressed, rising and approaching my couch, "he
should render rare sport for the great games."

And now as my eyes fell upon him, I saw that he was no Thark, for his ornaments
and metal were not of that horde. He was a huge fellow, terribly scarred about the face
and chest, and with one broken tusk and a missing ear. Strapped on either breast were
human skulls and depending from these a number of dried human hands.
 His reference to the great games of which I had heard so much while among the
Tharks convinced me that I had but jumped from purgatory into gehenna.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I have brought a strange creature wearing the metal of a Thark whom it is my
pleasure to have battle with a wild thoat at the great games."

"He will die as Bar Comas, your jeddak, sees fit, if at all," replied the young ruler,
with emphasis and dignity.

"If at all?" roared Dak Kova. "By the dead hands at my throat but he shall die,
Bar Comas. No maudlin weakness on your part shall save him. O, would that
Warhoon were ruled by a real jeddak rather than by a water-hearted weakling from
whom even old Dak Kova could tear the metal with his bare hands!"
 Bar Comas eyed the defiant and insubordinate chieftain for an instant, his
expression one of haughty, fearless contempt and hate, and then without drawing a
weapon and without uttering a word he hurled himself at the throat of his defamer.

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

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

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

The dead jeddak's hands and head were removed to be added to the ornaments of
his conqueror, and then his women cremated what remained, amid wild and terrible
laughter.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BATTLING IN THE ARENA

Slowly I regained my composure and finally essayed again to attempt to remove

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

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

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

"Who are you who speaks out of the darkness?" he answered

"John Carter, a friend of the red men of Helium."

"I am of Helium," he said, "but I do not recall your name."

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

"Dejah Thoris and Sola entered the hills not five miles from a great waterway and
are now probably quite safe," he assured me.

My fellow prisoner was Kantos Kan, a padwar (lieutenant) in the navy of Helium.
He had been a member of the ill-fated expedition which had fallen into the hands of
the Tharks at the time of Dejah Thoris' capture, and he briefly related the events
which followed the defeat of the battleships.
 Badly injured and only partially manned they had limped slowly toward Helium,
but while passing near the city of Zodanga, the capital of Helium's hereditary enemies
among the red men of Barsoom, they had been attacked by a great body of war vessels
and all but the craft to which Kantos Kan belonged were either destroyed or captured.
His vessel was chased for days by three of the Zodangan war ships but finally escaped
during the darkness of a moonless night.

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

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

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

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

The arena was immense but extremely uneven and unkempt. Around it the
Warhoons had piled building stone from some of the ruined edifices of the ancient
city to prevent the animals and the captives from escaping into the audience, and at
each end had been constructed cages to hold them until their turns came to meet some
horrible death upon the arena.
 Kantos Kan and I were confined together in one of the cages. In the others were
wild calots, thoats, mad zitidars, green warriors, and women of other hordes, and
many strange and ferocious wild beasts of Barsoom which I had never before seen.
The din of their roaring, growling and squealing was deafening and the formidable
appearance of any one of them was enough to make the stoutest heart feel grave
forebodings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finally there were but three of us left, a great green warrior of some far northern
horde, Kantos Kan, and myself.
 The other two were to battle and then I to fight the conqueror for the liberty
which was accorded the final winner.

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

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

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

CHAPTER XX

IN THE ATMOSPHERE FACTORY

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

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

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

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

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

By the light of the now brilliant moons I saw that he was but a shadow of his
former self, and as he turned from my caress and commenced greedily to devour the
dead carcass at my feet I realized that the poor fellow was more than half starved. I,
myself, was in but little better plight but I could not bring myself to eat the uncooked
flesh and I had no means of making a fire. When Woola had finished his meal I again
took up my weary and seemingly endless wandering in quest of the elusive waterway.
 At daybreak of the fifteenth day of my search I was overjoyed to see the high
trees that denoted the object of my search. About noon I dragged myself wearily to the
portals of a huge building which covered perhaps four square miles and towered two
hundred feet in the air. It showed no aperture in the mighty walls other than the tiny
door at which I sank exhausted, nor was there any sign of life about it.

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

I explained that I had escaped from the Warhoons and was dying of starvation
and exhaustion.

"You wear the metal of a green warrior and are followed by a calot, yet you are of
the figure of a red man. In color you are neither green nor red. In the name of the
ninth day, what manner of creature are you?"

"I am a friend of the red men of Barsoom and I am starving. In the name of
humanity open to us," I replied.

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

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

"Your statements are most remarkable," said the voice, on concluding its
questioning, "but you are evidently speaking the truth, and it is equally evident that
you are not of Barsoom. I can tell that by the conformation of your brain and the
strange location of your internal organs and the shape and size of your heart."
 "Can you see through me?" I exclaimed.

"Yes, I can see all but your thoughts, and were you a Barsoomian I could read
those."

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

The old man sat and talked with me for hours, and the strangest part of our
intercourse was that I could read his every thought while he could not fathom an iota
from my mind unless I spoke.
The old man sat and talked with me for hours.
 I did not apprise him of my ability to sense his mental operations, and thus I
learned a great deal which proved of immense value to me later and which I would
never have known had he suspected my strange power, for the Martians have such
perfect control of their mental machinery that they are able to direct their thoughts
with absolute precision.

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

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

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

He led me to an inner chamber where I beheld a battery of twenty radium pumps

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

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

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

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

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

Before I retired for the night he promised to give me a letter to a nearby

agricultural officer who would help me on my way to Zodanga, which he said, was
the nearest Martian city.

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

"And so good-night, my friend," he continued, "may you have a long and restful
sleep—yes, a long sleep."

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

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

What was I to do? How could I escape through these mighty walls? Easily could I
kill him now that I was warned, but once he was dead I could no more escape, and
with the stopping of the machinery of the great plant I should die with all the other
inhabitants of the planet—all, even Dejah Thoris were she not already dead. For the
others I did not give the snap of my finger, but the thought of Dejah Thoris drove
from my mind all desire to kill my mistaken host.
 Cautiously I opened the door of my apartment and, followed by Woola, sought
the inner of the great doors. A wild scheme had come to me; I would attempt to force
the great locks by the nine thought waves I had read in my host's mind.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some time later I was awakened by his frightful growlings and opened my eyes
to see three red Martians standing a short distance from us and covering me with their
rifles.
 "I am unarmed and no enemy," I hastened to explain. "I have been a prisoner
among the green men and am on my way to Zodanga. All I ask is food and rest for
myself and my calot and the proper directions for reaching my destination."

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

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

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

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

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

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

When I was ready to depart they furnished me with a small domestic bull thoat,
such as is used for saddle purposes by all red Martians. The animal is about the size of
a horse and quite gentle, but in color and shape an exact replica of his huge and fierce
cousin of the wilds.
 The brothers had supplied me with a reddish oil with which I anointed my entire
body and one of them cut my hair, which had grown quite long, in the prevailing
fashion of the time, square at the back and banged in front, so that I could have passed
anywhere upon Barsoom as a full-fledged red Martian. My metal and ornaments were
also renewed in the style of a Zodangan gentleman, attached to the house of Ptor,
which was the family name of my benefactors.

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

When I mentioned my inability to repay them for their kindness to me they

assured me that I would have ample opportunity if I lived long upon Barsoom, and
bidding me farewell they watched me until I was out of sight upon the broad white
turnpike.

CHAPTER XXI

AN AIR SCOUT FOR ZODANGA

As I proceeded on my journey toward Zodanga many strange and interesting

sights arrested my attention, and at the several farm houses where I stopped I learned
a number of new and instructive things concerning the methods and manners of
Barsoom.

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

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

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

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

"Helium," he said, "rightly boasts the most beautiful women of Barsoom, and of
all her treasures the wondrous daughter of Mors Kajak, Dejah Thoris, is the most
exquisite flower.

"Why," he added, "the people really worship the ground she walks upon and
since her loss on that ill-starred expedition all Helium has been draped in mourning.

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

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

"And what, think you, may have been the fate of the princess, Dejah Thoris?" I
asked as casually as possible.

"She is dead," he answered. "This much was learned from a green warrior
recently captured by our forces in the south. She escaped from the hordes of Thark
with a strange creature of another world, only to fall into the hands of the Warhoons.
Their thoats were found wandering upon the sea bottom and evidences of a bloody
conflict were discovered nearby."
 While this information was in no way reassuring, neither was it at all conclusive
proof of the death of Dejah Thoris, and so I determined to make every effort possible
to reach Helium as quickly as I could and carry to Tardos Mors such news of his
granddaughter's possible whereabouts as lay in my power.

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

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

He seemed to understand me fully, and when I pointed back in the direction of

Thark he turned sorrowfully away, nor could I bear to watch him go; but resolutely set
my face toward Zodanga and with a touch of heartsickness approached her frowning
walls.

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

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

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

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

"Kaor, Kantos Kan!"

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

"Who are you?" he growled, and then as a backward leap carried me fifty feet
from his sword he dropped the point to the ground and exclaimed, laughing,

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

"You gave me a bad half minute my friend," he continued, after I had briefly
outlined my adventures since parting with him in the arena at Warhoon. "Were my
name and city known to the Zodangans I would shortly be sitting on the banks of the
lost sea of Korus with my revered and departed ancestors. I am here in the interest of
Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium, to discover the whereabouts of Dejah Thoris, our
princess. Sab Than, prince of Zodanga, has her hidden in the city and has fallen madly
in love with her. His father, Than Kosis, Jeddak of Zodanga, has made her voluntary
marriage to his son the price of peace between our countries, but Tardos Mors will not
accede to the demands and has sent word that he and his people would rather look
upon the dead face of their princess than see her wed to any than her own choice, and
that personally he would prefer being engulfed in the ashes of a lost and burning
Helium to joining the metal of his house with that of Than Kosis. His reply was the
deadliest affront he could have put upon Than Kosis and the Zodangans, but his
people love him the more for it and his strength in Helium is greater today than ever.
 "I have been here three days," continued Kantos Kan, "but I have not yet found
where Dejah Thoris is imprisoned. Today I join the Zodangan navy as an air scout and
I hope in this way to win the confidence of Sab Than, the prince, who is commander
of this division of the navy, and thus learn the whereabouts of Dejah Thoris. I am glad
that you are here, John Carter, for I know your loyalty to my princess and two of us
working together should be able to accomplish much."

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

After our meal, Kantos Kan took me with him to the headquarters of the air-scout
squadron and introducing me to his superior asked that I be enrolled as a member of
the corps. In accordance with custom an examination was necessary, but Kantos Kan
had told me to have no fear on this score as he would attend to that part of the matter.
He accomplished this by taking my order for examination to the examining officer
and representing himself as John Carter.

"This ruse will be discovered later," he cheerfully explained, "when they check
up my weights, measurements, and other personal identification data, but it will be
several months before this is done and our mission should be accomplished or have
failed long before that time."

The next few days were spent by Kantos Kan in teaching me the intricacies of
flying and of repairing the dainty little contrivances which the Martians use for this
purpose. The body of the one-man air craft is about sixteen feet long, two feet wide
and three inches thick, tapering to a point at each end. The driver sits on top of this
plane upon a seat constructed over the small, noiseless radium engine which propels
it. The medium of buoyancy is contained within the thin metal walls of the body and
consists of the eighth Barsoomian ray, or ray of propulsion, as it may be termed in
view of its properties.

This ray, like the ninth ray, is unknown on Earth, but the Martians have
discovered that it is an inherent property of all light no matter from what source it
emanates. They have learned that it is the solar eighth ray which propels the light of
the sun to the various planets, and that it is the individual eighth ray of each planet
which "reflects," or propels the light thus obtained out into space once more. The solar
eighth ray would be absorbed by the surface of Barsoom, but the Barsoomian eighth
ray, which tends to propel light from Mars into space, is constantly streaming out
from the planet constituting a force of repulsion of gravity which when confined is
able to lift enormous weights from the surface of the ground.

It is this ray which has enabled them to so perfect aviation that battle ships far
outweighing anything known upon Earth sail as gracefully and lightly through the thin
air of Barsoom as a toy balloon in the heavy atmosphere of Earth.

During the early years of the discovery of this ray many strange accidents
occurred before the Martians learned to measure and control the wonderful power
they had found. In one instance, some nine hundred years before, the first great battle
ship to be built with eighth ray reservoirs was stored with too great a quantity of the
rays and she had sailed up from Helium with five hundred officers and men, never to
return.

Her power of repulsion for the planet was so great that it had carried her far into
space, where she can be seen today, by the aid of powerful telescopes, hurtling
through the heavens ten thousand miles from Mars; a tiny satellite that will thus
encircle Barsoom to the end of time.

The fourth day after my arrival at Zodanga I made my first flight, and as a result
of it I won a promotion which included quarters in the palace of Than Kosis.

As I rose above the city I circled several times, as I had seen Kantos Kan do, and
then throwing my engine into top speed I raced at terrific velocity toward the south,
following one of the great waterways which enter Zodanga from that direction.

I had traversed perhaps two hundred miles in a little less than an hour when I
descried far below me a party of three green warriors racing madly toward a small
figure on foot which seemed to be trying to reach the confines of one of the walled
fields.

Dropping my machine rapidly toward them, and circling to the rear of the
warriors, I soon saw that the object of their pursuit was a red Martian wearing the
metal of the scout squadron to which I was attached. A short distance away lay his
tiny flier, surrounded by the tools with which he had evidently been occupied in
repairing some damage when surprised by the green warriors.

They were now almost upon him; their flying mounts charging down on the
relatively puny figure at terrific speed, while the warriors leaned low to the right, with
their great metal-shod spears. Each seemed striving to be the first to impale the poor
Zodangan and in another moment his fate would have been sealed had it not been for
my timely arrival.

Driving my fleet air craft at high speed directly behind the warriors I soon
overtook them and without diminishing my speed I rammed the prow of my little flier
between the shoulders of the nearest. The impact sufficient to have torn through
inches of solid steel, hurled the fellow's headless body into the air over the head of his
thoat, where it fell sprawling upon the moss. The mounts of the other two warriors
turned squealing in terror, and bolted in opposite directions.

Reducing my speed I circled and came to the ground at the feet of the astonished
Zodangan. He was warm in his thanks for my timely aid and promised that my day's
work would bring the reward it merited, for it was none other than a cousin of the
jeddak of Zodanga whose life I had saved.

We wasted no time in talk as we knew that the warriors would surely return as
soon as they had gained control of their mounts. Hastening to his damaged machine
we were bending every effort to finish the needed repairs and had almost completed
them when we saw the two green monsters returning at top speed from opposite sides
of us. When they had approached within a hundred yards their thoats again became
unmanageable and absolutely refused to advance further toward the air craft which
had frightened them.

The warriors finally dismounted and hobbling their animals advanced toward us
on foot with drawn long-swords.

I advanced to meet the larger, telling the Zodangan to do the best he could with
the other. Finishing my man with almost no effort, as had now from much practice
become habitual with me, I hastened to return to my new acquaintance whom I found
indeed in desperate straits.

He was wounded and down with the huge foot of his antagonist upon his throat
and the great long-sword raised to deal the final thrust. With a bound I cleared the
fifty feet intervening between us, and with outstretched point drove my sword
completely through the body of the green warrior. His sword fell, harmless, to the
ground and he sank limply upon the prostrate form of the Zodangan.

A cursory examination of the latter revealed no mortal injuries and after a brief
rest he asserted that he felt fit to attempt the return voyage. He would have to pilot his
own craft, however, as these frail vessels are not intended to convey but a single
person.
 Quickly completing the repairs we rose together into the still, cloudless Martian
sky, and at great speed and without further mishap returned to Zodanga.

As we neared the city we discovered a mighty concourse of civilians and troops

assembled upon the plain before the city. The sky was black with naval vessels and
private and public pleasure craft, flying long streamers of gay-colored silks, and
banners and flags of odd and picturesque design.

My companion signaled that I slow down, and running his machine close beside
mine suggested that we approach and watch the ceremony, which, he said, was for the
purpose of conferring honors on individual officers and men for bravery and other
distinguished service. He then unfurled a little ensign which denoted that his craft
bore a member of the royal family of Zodanga, and together we made our way
through the maze of low-lying air vessels until we hung directly over the jeddak of
Zodanga and his staff. All were mounted upon the small domestic bull thoats of the
red Martians, and their trappings and ornamentation bore such a quantity of
gorgeously colored feathers that I could not but be struck with the startling
resemblance the concourse bore to a band of the red Indians of my own Earth.

One of the staff called the attention of Than Kosis to the presence of my
companion above them and the ruler motioned for him to descend. As they waited for
the troops to move into position facing the jeddak the two talked earnestly together,
the jeddak and his staff occasionally glancing up at me. I could not hear their
conversation and presently it ceased and all dismounted, as the last body of troops had
wheeled into position before their emperor. A member of the staff advanced toward
the troops, and calling the name of a soldier commanded him to advance. The officer
then recited the nature of the heroic act which had won the approval of the jeddak, and
the latter advanced and placed a metal ornament upon the left arm of the lucky man.

Ten men had been so decorated when the aide called out,

"John Carter, air scout!"

Never in my life had I been so surprised, but the habit of military discipline is
strong within me, and I dropped my little machine lightly to the ground and advanced
on foot as I had seen the others do. As I halted before the officer, he addressed me in a
voice audible to the entire assemblage of troops and spectators.

"In recognition, John Carter," he said, "of your remarkable courage and skill in
defending the person of the cousin of the jeddak Than Kosis and, singlehanded,
vanquishing three green warriors, it is the pleasure of our jeddak to confer on you the
mark of his esteem."
 Than Kosis then advanced toward me and placing an ornament upon me, said:

"My cousin has narrated the details of your wonderful achievement, which seems
little short of miraculous, and if you can so well defend a cousin of the jeddak how
much better could you defend the person of the jeddak himself. You are therefore
appointed a padwar of The Guards and will be quartered in my palace hereafter."

I thanked him, and at his direction joined the members of his staff. After the
ceremony I returned my machine to its quarters on the roof of the barracks of the air-
scout squadron, and with an orderly from the palace to guide me I reported to the
officer in charge of the palace.

CHAPTER XXII

I FIND DEJAH

The major-domo to whom I reported had been given instructions to station me

near the person of the jeddak, who, in time of war, is always in great danger of
assassination, as the rule that all is fair in war seems to constitute the entire ethics of
Martian conflict.

He therefore escorted me immediately to the apartment in which Than Kosis then

was. The ruler was engaged in conversation with his son, Sab Than, and several
courtiers of his household, and did not perceive my entrance.

The walls of the apartment were completely hung with splendid tapestries which
hid any windows or doors which may have pierced them. The room was lighted by
imprisoned rays of sunshine held between the ceiling proper and what appeared to be
a ground-glass false ceiling a few inches below.

My guide drew aside one of the tapestries, disclosing a passage which encircled
the room, between the hangings and the walls of the chamber. Within this passage I
was to remain, he said, so long as Than Kosis was in the apartment. When he left I
was to follow. My only duty was to guard the ruler and keep out of sight as much as
possible. I would be relieved after a period of four hours. The major-domo then left
me.
 The tapestries were of a strange weaving which gave the appearance of heavy
solidity from one side, but from my hiding place I could perceive all that took place
within the room as readily as though there had been no curtain intervening.

Scarcely had I gained my post than the tapestry at the opposite end of the
chamber separated and four soldiers of The Guard entered, surrounding a female
figure. As they approached Than Kosis the soldiers fell to either side and there
standing before the jeddak and not ten feet from me, her beautiful face radiant with
smiles, was Dejah Thoris.

Sab Than, Prince of Zodanga, advanced to meet her, and hand in hand they
approached close to the jeddak. Than Kosis looked up in surprise, and, rising, saluted
her.

"To what strange freak do I owe this visit from the Princess of Helium, who, two
days ago, with rare consideration for my pride, assured me that she would prefer Tal
Hajus, the green Thark, to my son?"

Dejah Thoris only smiled the more and with the roguish dimples playing at the
corners of her mouth she made answer:

"From the beginning of time upon Barsoom it has been the prerogative of woman
to change her mind as she listed and to dissemble in matters concerning her heart.
That you will forgive, Than Kosis, as has your son. Two days ago I was not sure of
his love for me, but now I am, and I have come to beg of you to forget my rash words
and to accept the assurance of the Princess of Helium that when the time comes she
will wed Sab Than, Prince of Zodanga."

"I am glad that you have so decided," replied Than Kosis. "It is far from my
desire to push war further against the people of Helium, and, your promise shall be
recorded and a proclamation to my people issued forthwith."

"It were better, Than Kosis," interrupted Dejah Thoris, "that the proclamation
wait the ending of this war. It would look strange indeed to my people and to yours
were the Princess of Helium to give herself to her country's enemy in the midst of
hostilities."

"Cannot the war be ended at once?" spoke Sab Than. "It requires but the word of
Than Kosis to bring peace. Say it, my father, say the word that will hasten my
happiness, and end this unpopular strife."
 "We shall see," replied Than Kosis, "how the people of Helium take to peace. I
shall at least offer it to them."

Dejah Thoris, after a few words, turned and left the apartment, still followed by
her guards.

Thus was the edifice of my brief dream of happiness dashed, broken, to the
ground of reality. The woman for whom I had offered my life, and from whose lips I
had so recently heard a declaration of love for me, had lightly forgotten my very
existence and smilingly given herself to the son of her people's most hated enemy.

Although I had heard it with my own ears I could not believe it. I must search out
her apartments and force her to repeat the cruel truth to me alone before I would be
convinced, and so I deserted my post and hastened through the passage behind the
tapestries toward the door by which she had left the chamber. Slipping quietly through
this opening I discovered a maze of winding corridors, branching and turning in every
direction.

Running rapidly down first one and then another of them I soon became
hopelessly lost and was standing panting against a side wall when I heard voices near
me. Apparently they were coming from the opposite side of the partition against
which I leaned and presently I made out the tones of Dejah Thoris. I could not hear
the words but I knew that I could not possibly be mistaken in the voice.

Moving on a few steps I discovered another passageway at the end of which lay a
door. Walking boldly forward I pushed into the room only to find myself in a small
antechamber in which were the four guards who had accompanied her. One of them
instantly arose and accosted me, asking the nature of my business.

"I am from Than Kosis," I replied, "and wish to speak privately with Dejah
Thoris, Princess of Helium."

"And your order?" asked the fellow.

I did not know what he meant, but replied that I was a member of The Guard, and
without waiting for a reply from him I strode toward the opposite door of the
antechamber, behind which I could hear Dejah Thoris conversing.

But my entrance was not to be so easily accomplished. The guardsman stepped

before me, saying,
 "No one comes from Than Kosis without carrying an order or the password. You
must give me one or the other before you may pass."

"The only order I require, my friend, to enter where I will, hangs at my side," I
answered, tapping my long-sword; "will you let me pass in peace or no?"

For reply he whipped out his own sword, calling to the others to join him, and
thus the four stood, with drawn weapons, barring my further progress.

"You are not here by the order of Than Kosis," cried the one who had first
addressed me, "and not only shall you not enter the apartments of the Princess of
Helium but you shall go back to Than Kosis under guard to explain this unwarranted
temerity. Throw down your sword; you cannot hope to overcome four of us," he
added with a grim smile.

My reply was a quick thrust which left me but three antagonists and I can assure
you that they were worthy of my metal. They had me backed against the wall in no
time, fighting for my life. Slowly I worked my way to a corner of the room where I
could force them to come at me only one at a time, and thus we fought upward of
twenty minutes; the clanging of steel on steel producing a veritable bedlam in the little
room.

The noise had brought Dejah Thoris to the door of her apartment, and there she
stood throughout the conflict with Sola at her back peering over her shoulder. Her
face was set and emotionless and I knew that she did not recognize me, nor did Sola.

Finally a lucky cut brought down a second guardsman and then, with only two
opposing me, I changed my tactics and rushed them down after the fashion of my
fighting that had won me many a victory. The third fell within ten seconds after the
second, and the last lay dead upon the bloody floor a few moments later. They were
brave men and noble fighters, and it grieved me that I had been forced to kill them,
but I would have willingly depopulated all Barsoom could I have reached the side of
my Dejah Thoris in no other way.

Sheathing my bloody blade I advanced toward my Martian Princess, who still

stood mutely gazing at me without sign of recognition.

"Who are you, Zodangan?" she whispered. "Another enemy to harass me in my

misery?"

"I am a friend," I answered, "a once cherished friend."

 "No friend of Helium's princess wears that metal," she replied, "and yet the voice!
I have heard it before; it is not—it cannot be—no, for he is dead."

"It is, though, my Princess, none other than John Carter," I said. "Do you not
recognize, even through paint and strange metal, the heart of your chieftain?"

As I came close to her she swayed toward me with outstretched hands, but as I
reached to take her in my arms she drew back with a shudder and a little moan of
misery.

"Too late, too late," she grieved. "O my chieftain that was, and whom I thought
dead, had you but returned one little hour before—but now it is too late, too late."

"What do you mean, Dejah Thoris?" I cried. "That you would not have promised
yourself to the Zodangan prince had you known that I lived?"

"Think you, John Carter, that I would give my heart to you yesterday and today to
another? I thought that it lay buried with your ashes in the pits of Warhoon, and so
today I have promised my body to another to save my people from the curse of a
victorious Zodangan army."

"But I am not dead, my princess. I have come to claim you, and all Zodanga
cannot prevent it."

"It is too late, John Carter, my promise is given, and on Barsoom that is final. The
ceremonies which follow later are but meaningless formalities. They make the fact of
marriage no more certain than does the funeral cortege of a jeddak again place the seal
of death upon him. I am as good as married, John Carter. No longer may you call me
your princess. No longer are you my chieftain."

"I know but little of your customs here upon Barsoom, Dejah Thoris, but I do
know that I love you, and if you meant the last words you spoke to me that day as the
hordes of Warhoon were charging down upon us, no other man shall ever claim you
as his bride. You meant them then, my princess, and you mean them still! Say that it is
true."

"I meant them, John Carter," she whispered. "I cannot repeat them now for I have
given myself to another. Ah, if you had only known our ways, my friend," she
continued, half to herself, "the promise would have been yours long months ago, and
you could have claimed me before all others. It might have meant the fall of Helium,
but I would have given my empire for my Tharkian chief."
 Then aloud she said: "Do you remember the night when you offended me? You
called me your princess without having asked my hand of me, and then you boasted
that you had fought for me. You did not know, and I should not have been offended; I
see that now. But there was no one to tell you what I could not, that upon Barsoom
there are two kinds of women in the cities of the red men. The one they fight for that
they may ask them in marriage; the other kind they fight for also, but never ask their
hands. When a man has won a woman he may address her as his princess, or in any of
the several terms which signify possession. You had fought for me, but had never
asked me in marriage, and so when you called me your princess, you see," she
faltered, "I was hurt, but even then, John Carter, I did not repulse you, as I should
have done, until you made it doubly worse by taunting me with having won me
through combat."

"I do not need ask your forgiveness now, Dejah Thoris," I cried. "You must know
that my fault was of ignorance of your Barsoomian customs. What I failed to do,
through implicit belief that my petition would be presumptuous and unwelcome, I do
now, Dejah Thoris; I ask you to be my wife, and by all the Virginian fighting blood
that flows in my veins you shall be."

"No, John Carter, it is useless," she cried, hopelessly, "I may never be yours
while Sab Than lives."

"You have sealed his death warrant, my princess—Sab Than dies."

"Nor that either," she hastened to explain. "I may not wed the man who slays my
husband, even in self-defense. It is custom. We are ruled by custom upon Barsoom. It
is useless, my friend. You must bear the sorrow with me. That at least we may share
in common. That, and the memory of the brief days among the Tharks. You must go
now, nor ever see me again. Good-bye, my chieftain that was."

Disheartened and dejected, I withdrew from the room, but I was not entirely
discouraged, nor would I admit that Dejah Thoris was lost to me until the ceremony
had actually been performed.

As I wandered along the corridors, I was as absolutely lost in the mazes of

winding passageways as I had been before I discovered Dejah Thoris' apartments.

I knew that my only hope lay in escape from the city of Zodanga, for the matter
of the four dead guardsmen would have to be explained, and as I could never reach
my original post without a guide, suspicion would surely rest on me so soon as I was
discovered wandering aimlessly through the palace.
 Presently I came upon a spiral runway leading to a lower floor, and this I
followed downward for several stories until I reached the doorway of a large
apartment in which were a number of guardsmen. The walls of this room were hung
with transparent tapestries behind which I secreted myself without being apprehended.

The conversation of the guardsmen was general, and awakened no interest in me

until an officer entered the room and ordered four of the men to relieve the detail who
were guarding the Princess of Helium. Now, I knew, my troubles would commence in
earnest and indeed they were upon me all too soon, for it seemed that the squad had
scarcely left the guardroom before one of their number burst in again breathlessly,
crying that they had found their four comrades butchered in the antechamber.

In a moment the entire palace was alive with people. Guardsmen, officers,
courtiers, servants, and slaves ran helter-skelter through the corridors and apartments
carrying messages and orders, and searching for signs of the assassin.

This was my opportunity and slim as it appeared I grasped it, for as a number of
soldiers came hurrying past my hiding place I fell in behind them and followed
through the mazes of the palace until, in passing through a great hall, I saw the blessed
light of day coming in through a series of larger windows.

Here I left my guides, and, slipping to the nearest window, sought for an avenue
of escape. The windows opened upon a great balcony which overlooked one of the
broad avenues of Zodanga. The ground was about thirty feet below, and at a like
distance from the building was a wall fully twenty feet high, constructed of polished
glass about a foot in thickness. To a red Martian escape by this path would have
appeared impossible, but to me, with my earthly strength and agility, it seemed
already accomplished. My only fear was in being detected before darkness fell, for I
could not make the leap in broad daylight while the court below and the avenue
beyond were crowded with Zodangans.

Accordingly I searched for a hiding place and finally found one by accident,
inside a huge hanging ornament which swung from the ceiling of the hall, and about
ten feet from the floor. Into the capacious bowl-like vase I sprang with ease, and
scarcely had I settled down within it than I heard a number of people enter the
apartment. The group stopped beneath my hiding place and I could plainly overhear
their every word.

"It is the work of Heliumites," said one of the men.

"Yes, O Jeddak, but how had they access to the palace? I could believe that even
with the diligent care of your guardsmen a single enemy might reach the inner
chambers, but how a force of six or eight fighting men could have done so unobserved
is beyond me. We shall soon know, however, for here comes the royal psychologist."

Another man now joined the group, and, after making his formal greetings to his
ruler, said:

"O mighty Jeddak, it is a strange tale I read in the dead minds of your faithful
guardsmen. They were felled not by a number of fighting men, but by a single
opponent."

He paused to let the full weight of this announcement impress his hearers, and
that his statement was scarcely credited was evidenced by the impatient exclamation
of incredulity which escaped the lips of Than Kosis.

"What manner of weird tale are you bringing me, Notan?" he cried.

"It is the truth, my Jeddak," replied the psychologist. "In fact the impressions
were strongly marked on the brain of each of the four guardsmen. Their antagonist
was a very tall man, wearing the metal of one of your own guardsmen, and his
fighting ability was little short of marvelous for he fought fair against the entire four
and vanquished them by his surpassing skill and superhuman strength and endurance.
Though he wore the metal of Zodanga, my Jeddak, such a man was never seen before
in this or any other country upon Barsoom.

"The mind of the Princess of Helium whom I have examined and questioned was
a blank to me, she has perfect control, and I could not read one iota of it. She said that
she witnessed a portion of the encounter, and that when she looked there was but one
man engaged with the guardsmen; a man whom she did not recognize as ever having
seen."

"Where is my erstwhile savior?" spoke another of the party, and I recognized the
voice of the cousin of Than Kosis, whom I had rescued from the green warriors. "By
the metal of my first ancestor," he went on, "but the description fits him to perfection,
especially as to his fighting ability."

"Where is this man?" cried Than Kosis. "Have him brought to me at once. What
know you of him, cousin? It seemed strange to me now that I think upon it that there
should have been such a fighting man in Zodanga, of whose name, even, we were
ignorant before today. And his name too, John Carter, who ever heard of such a name
upon Barsoom!"
 Word was soon brought that I was nowhere to be found, either in the palace or at
my former quarters in the barracks of the air-scout squadron. Kantos Kan, they had
found and questioned, but he knew nothing of my whereabouts, and as to my past, he
had told them he knew as little, since he had but recently met me during our captivity
among the Warhoons.

"Keep your eyes on this other one," commanded Than Kosis. "He also is a
stranger and likely as not they both hail from Helium, and where one is we shall
sooner or later find the other. Quadruple the air patrol, and let every man who leaves
the city by air or ground be subjected to the closest scrutiny."

Another messenger now entered with word that I was still within the palace walls.

"The likeness of every person who has entered or left the palace grounds today
has been carefully examined," concluded the fellow, "and not one approaches the
likeness of this new padwar of the guards, other than that which was recorded of him
at the time he entered."

"Then we will have him shortly," commented Than Kosis contentedly, "and in the
meanwhile we will repair to the apartments of the Princess of Helium and question her
in regard to the affair. She may know more than she cared to divulge to you, Notan.
Come."

They left the hall, and, as darkness had fallen without, I slipped lightly from my
hiding place and hastened to the balcony. Few were in sight, and choosing a moment
when none seemed near I sprang quickly to the top of the glass wall and from there to
the avenue beyond the palace grounds.

CHAPTER XXIII

LOST IN THE SKY

Without effort at concealment I hastened to the vicinity of our quarters, where I

felt sure I should find Kantos Kan. As I neared the building I became more careful, as
I judged, and rightly, that the place would be guarded. Several men in civilian metal
loitered near the front entrance and in the rear were others. My only means of
reaching, unseen, the upper story where our apartments were situated was through an
adjoining building, and after considerable maneuvering I managed to attain the roof of
a shop several doors away.
 Leaping from roof to roof, I soon reached an open window in the building where
I hoped to find the Heliumite, and in another moment I stood in the room before him.
He was alone and showed no surprise at my coming, saying he had expected me much
earlier, as my tour of duty must have ended some time since.

I saw that he knew nothing of the events of the day at the palace, and when I had
enlightened him he was all excitement. The news that Dejah Thoris had promised her
hand to Sab Than filled him with dismay.

"It cannot be," he exclaimed. "It is impossible! Why no man in all Helium but
would prefer death to the selling of our loved princess to the ruling house of Zodanga.
She must have lost her mind to have assented to such an atrocious bargain. You, who
do not know how we of Helium love the members of our ruling house, cannot
appreciate the horror with which I contemplate such an unholy alliance."

"What can be done, John Carter?" he continued. "You are a resourceful man. Can
you not think of some way to save Helium from this disgrace?"

"If I can come within sword's reach of Sab Than," I answered, "I can solve the
difficulty in so far as Helium is concerned, but for personal reasons I would prefer that
another struck the blow that frees Dejah Thoris."

Kantos Kan eyed me narrowly before he spoke.

"You love her!" he said. "Does she know it?"

"She knows it, Kantos Kan, and repulses me only because she is promised to Sab
Than."

The splendid fellow sprang to his feet, and grasping me by the shoulder raised his
sword on high, exclaiming:

"And had the choice been left to me I could not have chosen a more fitting mate
for the first princess of Barsoom. Here is my hand upon your shoulder, John Carter,
and my word that Sab Than shall go out at the point of my sword for the sake of my
love for Helium, for Dejah Thoris, and for you. This very night I shall try to reach his
quarters in the palace."

"How?" I asked. "You are strongly guarded and a quadruple force patrols the
sky."

He bent his head in thought a moment, then raised it with an air of confidence.
 "I only need to pass these guards and I can do it," he said at last. "I know a secret
entrance to the palace through the pinnacle of the highest tower. I fell upon it by
chance one day as I was passing above the palace on patrol duty. In this work it is
required that we investigate any unusual occurrence we may witness, and a face
peering from the pinnacle of the high tower of the palace was, to me, most unusual. I
therefore drew near and discovered that the possessor of the peering face was none
other than Sab Than. He was slightly put out at being detected and commanded me to
keep the matter to myself, explaining that the passage from the tower led directly to
his apartments, and was known only to him. If I can reach the roof of the barracks and
get my machine I can be in Sab Than's quarters in five minutes; but how am I to
escape from this building, guarded as you say it is?"

"How well are the machine sheds at the barracks guarded?" I asked.

"There is usually but one man on duty there at night upon the roof."

"Go to the roof of this building, Kantos Kan, and wait me there."

Without stopping to explain my plans I retraced my way to the street and

hastened to the barracks. I did not dare to enter the building, filled as it was with
members of the air-scout squadron, who, in common with all Zodanga, were on the
lookout for me.

The building was an enormous one, rearing its lofty head fully a thousand feet
into the air. But few buildings in Zodanga were higher than these barracks, though
several topped it by a few hundred feet; the docks of the great battleships of the line
standing some fifteen hundred feet from the ground, while the freight and passenger
stations of the merchant squadrons rose nearly as high.

It was a long climb up the face of the building, and one fraught with much
danger, but there was no other way, and so I essayed the task. The fact that
Barsoomian architecture is extremely ornate made the feat much simpler than I had
anticipated, since I found ornamental ledges and projections which fairly formed a
perfect ladder for me all the way to the eaves of the building. Here I met my first real
obstacle. The eaves projected nearly twenty feet from the wall to which I clung, and
though I encircled the great building I could find no opening through them.

The top floor was alight, and filled with soldiers engaged in the pastimes of their
kind; I could not, therefore, reach the roof through the building.
 There was one slight, desperate chance, and that I decided I must take—it was for
Dejah Thoris, and no man has lived who would not risk a thousand deaths for such as
she.

Clinging to the wall with my feet and one hand, I unloosened one of the long
leather straps of my trappings at the end of which dangled a great hook by which air
sailors are hung to the sides and bottoms of their craft for various purposes of repair,
and by means of which landing parties are lowered to the ground from the battleships.

I swung this hook cautiously to the roof several times before it finally found
lodgment; gently I pulled on it to strengthen its hold, but whether it would bear the
weight of my body I did not know. It might be barely caught upon the very outer
verge of the roof, so that as my body swung out at the end of the strap it would slip off
and launch me to the pavement a thousand feet below.

An instant I hesitated, and then, releasing my grasp upon the supporting

ornament, I swung out into space at the end of the strap. Far below me lay the
brilliantly lighted streets, the hard pavements, and death. There was a little jerk at the
top of the supporting eaves, and a nasty slipping, grating sound which turned me cold
with apprehension; then the hook caught and I was safe.

Clambering quickly aloft I grasped the edge of the eaves and drew myself to the
surface of the roof above. As I gained my feet I was confronted by the sentry on duty,
into the muzzle of whose revolver I found myself looking.

"Who are you and whence came you?" he cried.

"I am an air scout, friend, and very near a dead one, for just by the merest chance
I escaped falling to the avenue below," I replied.

"But how came you upon the roof, man? No one has landed or come up from the
building for the past hour. Quick, explain yourself, or I call the guard."

"Look you here, sentry, and you shall see how I came and how close a shave I
had to not coming at all," I answered, turning toward the edge of the roof, where,
twenty feet below, at the end of my strap, hung all my weapons.

The fellow, acting on impulse of curiosity, stepped to my side and to his undoing,
for as he leaned to peer over the eaves I grasped him by his throat and his pistol arm
and threw him heavily to the roof. The weapon dropped from his grasp, and my
fingers choked off his attempted cry for assistance. I gagged and bound him and then
hung him over the edge of the roof as I myself had hung a few moments before. I
knew it would be morning before he would be discovered, and I needed all the time
that I could gain.

Donning my trappings and weapons I hastened to the sheds, and soon had out
both my machine and Kantos Kan's. Making his fast behind mine I started my engine,
and skimming over the edge of the roof I dove down into the streets of the city far
below the plane usually occupied by the air patrol. In less than a minute I was settling
safely upon the roof of our apartment beside the astonished Kantos Kan.

I lost no time in explanation, but plunged immediately into a discussion of our

plans for the immediate future. It was decided that I was to try to make Helium while
Kantos Kan was to enter the palace and dispatch Sab Than. If successful he was then
to follow me. He set my compass for me, a clever little device which will remain
steadfastly fixed upon any given point on the surface of Barsoom, and bidding each
other farewell we rose together and sped in the direction of the palace which lay in the
route which I must take to reach Helium.

As we neared the high tower a patrol shot down from above, throwing its piercing
searchlight full upon my craft, and a voice roared out a command to halt, following
with a shot as I paid no attention to his hail. Kantos Kan dropped quickly into the
darkness, while I rose steadily and at terrific speed raced through the Martian sky
followed by a dozen of the air-scout craft which had joined the pursuit, and later by a
swift cruiser carrying a hundred men and a battery of rapid-fire guns. By twisting and
turning my little machine, now rising and now falling, I managed to elude their
search-lights most of the time, but I was also losing ground by these tactics, and so I
decided to hazard everything on a straight-away course and leave the result to fate and
the speed of my machine.

Kantos Kan had shown me a trick of gearing, which is known only to the navy of
Helium, that greatly increased the speed of our machines, so that I felt sure I could
distance my pursuers if I could dodge their projectiles for a few moments.

As I sped through the air the screeching of the bullets around me convinced me
that only by a miracle could I escape, but the die was cast, and throwing on full speed
I raced a straight course toward Helium. Gradually I left my pursuers further and
further behind, and I was just congratulating myself on my lucky escape, when a well-
directed shot from the cruiser exploded at the prow of my little craft. The concussion
nearly capsized her, and with a sickening plunge she hurtled downward through the
dark night.

How far I fell before I regained control of the plane I do not know, but I must
have been very close to the ground when I started to rise again, as I plainly heard the
squealing of animals below me. Rising again I scanned the heavens for my pursuers,
and finally making out their lights far behind me, saw that they were landing,
evidently in search of me.

Not until their lights were no longer discernible did I venture to flash my little
lamp upon my compass, and then I found to my consternation that a fragment of the
projectile had utterly destroyed my only guide, as well as my speedometer. It was true
I could follow the stars in the general direction of Helium, but without knowing the
exact location of the city or the speed at which I was traveling my chances for finding
it were slim.

Helium lies a thousand miles southwest of Zodanga, and with my compass intact
I should have made the trip, barring accidents, in between four and five hours. As it
turned out, however, morning found me speeding over a vast expanse of dead sea
bottom after nearly six hours of continuous flight at high speed. Presently a great city
showed below me, but it was not Helium, as that alone of all Barsoomian metropolises
consists in two immense circular walled cities about seventy-five miles apart and
would have been easily distinguishable from the altitude at which I was flying.

Believing that I had come too far to the north and west, I turned back in a
southeasterly direction, passing during the forenoon several other large cities, but
none resembling the description which Kantos Kan had given me of Helium. In
addition to the twin-city formation of Helium, another distinguishing feature is the
two immense towers, one of vivid scarlet rising nearly a mile into the air from the
center of one of the cities, while the other, of bright yellow and of the same height,
marks her sister.

CHAPTER XXIV

TARS TARKAS FINDS A FRIEND

About noon I passed low over a great dead city of ancient Mars, and as I
skimmed out across the plain beyond I came full upon several thousand green
warriors engaged in a terrific battle. Scarcely had I seen them than a volley of shots
was directed at me, and with the almost unfailing accuracy of their aim my little craft
was instantly a ruined wreck, sinking erratically to the ground.

I fell almost directly in the center of the fierce combat, among warriors who had
not seen my approach so busily were they engaged in life and death struggles. The
men were fighting on foot with long-swords, while an occasional shot from a
sharpshooter on the outskirts of the conflict would bring down a warrior who might
for an instant separate himself from the entangled mass.

As my machine sank among them I realized that it was fight or die, with good
chances of dying in any event, and so I struck the ground with drawn long-sword
ready to defend myself as I could.

I fell beside a huge monster who was engaged with three antagonists, and as I
glanced at his fierce face, filled with the light of battle, I recognized Tars Tarkas the
Thark. He did not see me, as I was a trifle behind him, and just then the three warriors
opposing him, and whom I recognized as Warhoons, charged simultaneously. The
mighty fellow made quick work of one of them, but in stepping back for another
thrust he fell over a dead body behind him and was down and at the mercy of his foes
in an instant. Quick as lightning they were upon him, and Tars Tarkas would have
been gathered to his fathers in short order had I not sprung before his prostrate form
and engaged his adversaries. I had accounted for one of them when the mighty Thark
regained his feet and quickly settled the other.

He gave me one look, and a slight smile touched his grim lip as, touching my
shoulder, he said,

"I would scarcely recognize you, John Carter, but there is no other mortal upon
Barsoom who would have done what you have for me. I think I have learned that
there is such a thing as friendship, my friend."

He said no more, nor was there opportunity, for the Warhoons were closing in
about us, and together we fought, shoulder to shoulder, during all that long, hot
afternoon, until the tide of battle turned and the remnant of the fierce Warhoon horde
fell back upon their thoats, and fled into the gathering darkness.

Ten thousand men had been engaged in that titanic struggle, and upon the field of
battle lay three thousand dead. Neither side asked or gave quarter, nor did they
attempt to take prisoners.

On our return to the city after the battle we had gone directly to Tars Tarkas'
quarters, where I was left alone while the chieftain attended the customary council
which immediately follows an engagement.

As I sat awaiting the return of the green warrior I heard something move in an
adjoining apartment, and as I glanced up there rushed suddenly upon me a huge and
hideous creature which bore me backward upon the pile of silks and furs upon which I
had been reclining. It was Woola—faithful, loving Woola. He had found his way back
to Thark and, as Tars Tarkas later told me, had gone immediately to my former
quarters where he had taken up his pathetic and seemingly hopeless watch for my
return.

"Tal Hajus knows that you are here, John Carter," said Tars Tarkas, on his return
from the jeddak's quarters; "Sarkoja saw and recognized you as we were returning.
Tal Hajus has ordered me to bring you before him tonight. I have ten thoats, John
Carter; you may take your choice from among them, and I will accompany you to the
nearest waterway that leads to Helium. Tars Tarkas may be a cruel green warrior, but
he can be a friend as well. Come, we must start."

"And when you return, Tars Tarkas?" I asked.

"The wild calots, possibly, or worse," he replied. "Unless I should chance to have
the opportunity I have so long waited of battling with Tal Hajus."

"We will stay, Tars Tarkas, and see Tal Hajus tonight. You shall not sacrifice
yourself, and it may be that tonight you can have the chance you wait."

He objected strenuously, saying that Tal Hajus often flew into wild fits of passion
at the mere thought of the blow I had dealt him, and that if ever he laid his hands upon
me I would be subjected to the most horrible tortures.

While we were eating I repeated to Tars Tarkas the story which Sola had told me
that night upon the sea bottom during the march to Thark.

He said but little, but the great muscles of his face worked in passion and in
agony at recollection of the horrors which had been heaped upon the only thing he had
ever loved in all his cold, cruel, terrible existence.

He no longer demurred when I suggested that we go before Tal Hajus, only

saying that he would like to speak to Sarkoja first. At his request I accompanied him
to her quarters, and the look of venomous hatred she cast upon me was almost
adequate recompense for any future misfortunes this accidental return to Thark might
bring me.

"Sarkoja," said Tars Tarkas, "forty years ago you were instrumental in bringing
about the torture and death of a woman named Gozava. I have just discovered that the
warrior who loved that woman has learned of your part in the transaction. He may not
kill you, Sarkoja, it is not our custom, but there is nothing to prevent him tying one
end of a strap about your neck and the other end to a wild thoat, merely to test your
fitness to survive and help perpetuate our race. Having heard that he would do this on
the morrow, I thought it only right to warn you, for I am a just man. The river Iss is
but a short pilgrimage, Sarkoja. Come, John Carter."

The next morning Sarkoja was gone, nor was she ever seen after.

In silence we hastened to the jeddak's palace, where we were immediately

admitted to his presence; in fact, he could scarcely wait to see me and was standing
erect upon his platform glowering at the entrance as I came in.

"Strap him to that pillar," he shrieked. "We shall see who it is dares strike the
mighty Tal Hajus. Heat the irons; with my own hands I shall burn the eyes from his
head that he may not pollute my person with his vile gaze."

"Chieftains of Thark," I cried, turning to the assembled council and ignoring Tal
Hajus, "I have been a chief among you, and today I have fought for Thark shoulder to
shoulder with her greatest warrior. You owe me, at least, a hearing. I have won that
much today. You claim to be just people—"

"Silence," roared Tal Hajus. "Gag the creature and bind him as I command."

"Justice, Tal Hajus," exclaimed Lorquas Ptomel. "Who are you to set aside the
customs of ages among the Tharks."

"Yes, justice!" echoed a dozen voices, and so, while Tal Hajus fumed and
frothed, I continued.

"You are a brave people and you love bravery, but where was your mighty jeddak
during the fighting today? I did not see him in the thick of battle; he was not there. He
rends defenseless women and little children in his lair, but how recently has one of
you seen him fight with men? Why, even I, a midget beside him, felled him with a
single blow of my fist. Is it of such that the Tharks fashion their jeddaks? There stands
beside me now a great Thark, a mighty warrior and a noble man. Chieftains, how
sounds, Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark?"

A roar of deep-toned applause greeted this suggestion.

"It but remains for this council to command, and Tal Hajus must prove his fitness
to rule. Were he a brave man he would invite Tars Tarkas to combat, for he does not
love him, but Tal Hajus is afraid; Tal Hajus, your jeddak, is a coward. With my bare
hands I could kill him, and he knows it."
 After I ceased there was tense silence, as all eyes were riveted upon Tal Hajus.
He did not speak or move, but the blotchy green of his countenance turned livid, and
the froth froze upon his lips.

"Tal Hajus," said Lorquas Ptomel in a cold, hard voice, "never in my long life
have I seen a jeddak of the Tharks so humiliated. There could be but one answer to
this arraignment. We wait it." And still Tal Hajus stood as though petrified.

"Chieftains," continued Lorquas Ptomel, "shall the jeddak, Tal Hajus, prove his
fitness to rule over Tars Tarkas?"

There were twenty chieftains about the rostrum, and twenty swords flashed high
in assent.

There was no alternative. That decree was final, and so Tal Hajus drew his long-
sword and advanced to meet Tars Tarkas.

The combat was soon over, and, with his foot upon the neck of the dead monster,
Tars Tarkas became jeddak among the Tharks.

His first act was to make me a full-fledged chieftain with the rank I had won by
my combats the first few weeks of my captivity among them.

Seeing the favorable disposition of the warriors toward Tars Tarkas, as well as
toward me, I grasped the opportunity to enlist them in my cause against Zodanga. I
told Tars Tarkas the story of my adventures, and in a few words had explained to him
the thought I had in mind.

"John Carter has made a proposal," he said, addressing the council, "which meets
with my sanction. I shall put it to you briefly. Dejah Thoris, the Princess of Helium,
who was our prisoner, is now held by the jeddak of Zodanga, whose son she must wed
to save her country from devastation at the hands of the Zodangan forces.

"John Carter suggests that we rescue her and return her to Helium. The loot of
Zodanga would be magnificent, and I have often thought that had we an alliance with
the people of Helium we could obtain sufficient assurance of sustenance to permit us
to increase the size and frequency of our hatchings, and thus become unquestionably
supreme among the green men of all Barsoom. What say you?"

It was a chance to fight, an opportunity to loot, and they rose to the bait as a
speckled trout to a fly.
 For Tharks they were wildly enthusiastic, and before another half hour had passed
twenty mounted messengers were speeding across dead sea bottoms to call the hordes
together for the expedition.

In three days we were on the march toward Zodanga, one hundred thousand
strong, as Tars Tarkas had been able to enlist the services of three smaller hordes on
the promise of the great loot of Zodanga.

At the head of the column I rode beside the great Thark while at the heels of my
mount trotted my beloved Woola.

We traveled entirely by night, timing our marches so that we camped during the
day at deserted cities where, even to the beasts, we were all kept indoors during the
daylight hours. On the march Tars Tarkas, through his remarkable ability and
statesmanship, enlisted fifty thousand more warriors from various hordes, so that, ten
days after we set out we halted at midnight outside the great walled city of Zodanga,
one hundred and fifty thousand strong.

The fighting strength and efficiency of this horde of ferocious green monsters
was equivalent to ten times their number of red men. Never in the history of Barsoom,
Tars Tarkas told me, had such a force of green warriors marched to battle together. It
was a monstrous task to keep even a semblance of harmony among them, and it was a
marvel to me that he got them to the city without a mighty battle among themselves.

But as we neared Zodanga their personal quarrels were submerged by their

greater hatred for the red men, and especially for the Zodangans, who had for years
waged a ruthless campaign of extermination against the green men, directing special
attention toward despoiling their incubators.

Now that we were before Zodanga the task of obtaining entry to the city devolved
upon me, and directing Tars Tarkas to hold his forces in two divisions out of earshot
of the city, with each division opposite a large gateway, I took twenty dismounted
warriors and approached one of the small gates that pierced the walls at short
intervals. These gates have no regular guard, but are covered by sentries, who patrol
the avenue that encircles the city just within the walls as our metropolitan police
patrol their beats.

The walls of Zodanga are seventy-five feet in height and fifty feet thick. They are
built of enormous blocks of carborundum, and the task of entering the city seemed, to
my escort of green warriors, an impossibility. The fellows who had been detailed to
accompany me were of one of the smaller hordes, and therefore did not know me.
 Placing three of them with their faces to the wall and arms locked, I commanded
two more to mount to their shoulders, and a sixth I ordered to climb upon the
shoulders of the upper two. The head of the topmost warrior towered over forty feet
from the ground.

In this way, with ten warriors, I built a series of three steps from the ground to the
shoulders of the topmost man. Then starting from a short distance behind them I ran
swiftly up from one tier to the next, and with a final bound from the broad shoulders
of the highest I clutched the top of the great wall and quietly drew myself to its broad
expanse. After me I dragged six lengths of leather from an equal number of my
warriors. These lengths we had previously fastened together, and passing one end to
the topmost warrior I lowered the other end cautiously over the opposite side of the
wall toward the avenue below. No one was in sight, so, lowering myself to the end of
my leather strap, I dropped the remaining thirty feet to the pavement below.

I had learned from Kantos Kan the secret of opening these gates, and in another
moment my twenty great fighting men stood within the doomed city of Zodanga.

I found to my delight that I had entered at the lower boundary of the enormous
palace grounds. The building itself showed in the distance a blaze of glorious light,
and on the instant I determined to lead a detachment of warriors directly within the
palace itself, while the balance of the great horde was attacking the barracks of the
soldiery.

Dispatching one of my men to Tars Tarkas for a detail of fifty Tharks, with word
of my intentions, I ordered ten warriors to capture and open one of the great gates
while with the nine remaining I took the other. We were to do our work quietly, no
shots were to be fired and no general advance made until I had reached the palace
with my fifty Tharks. Our plans worked to perfection. The two sentries we met were
dispatched to their fathers upon the banks of the lost sea of Korus, and the guards at
both gates followed them in silence.

CHAPTER XXV

THE LOOTING OF ZODANGA

As the great gate where I stood swung open my fifty Tharks, headed by Tars
Tarkas himself, rode in upon their mighty thoats. I led them to the palace walls, which
I negotiated easily without assistance. Once inside, however, the gate gave me
considerable trouble, but I finally was rewarded by seeing it swing upon its huge
hinges, and soon my fierce escort was riding across the gardens of the jeddak of
Zodanga.

As we approached the palace I could see through the great windows of the first
floor into the brilliantly illuminated audience chamber of Than Kosis. The immense
hall was crowded with nobles and their women, as though some important function
was in progress. There was not a guard in sight without the palace, due, I presume, to
the fact that the city and palace walls were considered impregnable, and so I came
close and peered within.

At one end of the chamber, upon massive golden thrones encrusted with
diamonds, sat Than Kosis and his consort, surrounded by officers and dignitaries of
state. Before them stretched a broad aisle lined on either side with soldiery, and as I
looked there entered this aisle at the far end of the hall, the head of a procession which
advanced to the foot of the throne.

First there marched four officers of the jeddak's Guard bearing a huge salver on
which reposed, upon a cushion of scarlet silk, a great golden chain with a collar and
padlock at each end. Directly behind these officers came four others carrying a similar
salver which supported the magnificent ornaments of a prince and princess of the
reigning house of Zodanga.

At the foot of the throne these two parties separated and halted, facing each other
at opposite sides of the aisle. Then came more dignitaries, and the officers of the
palace and of the army, and finally two figures entirely muffled in scarlet silk, so that
not a feature of either was discernible. These two stopped at the foot of the throne,
facing Than Kosis. When the balance of the procession had entered and assumed their
stations Than Kosis addressed the couple standing before him. I could not hear his
words, but presently two officers advanced and removed the scarlet robe from one of
the figures, and I saw that Kantos Kan had failed in his mission, for it was Sab Than,
Prince of Zodanga, who stood revealed before me.

Than Kosis now took a set of the ornaments from one of the salvers and placed
one of the collars of gold about his son's neck, springing the padlock fast. After a few
more words addressed to Sab Than he turned to the other figure, from which the
officers now removed the enshrouding silks, disclosing to my now comprehending
view Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium.

The object of the ceremony was clear to me; in another moment Dejah Thoris
would be joined forever to the Prince of Zodanga. It was an impressive and beautiful
ceremony, I presume, but to me it seemed the most fiendish sight I had ever
witnessed, and as the ornaments were adjusted upon her beautiful figure and her collar
of gold swung open in the hands of Than Kosis I raised my long-sword above my
head, and, with the heavy hilt, I shattered the glass of the great window and sprang
into the midst of the astonished assemblage. With a bound I was on the steps of the
platform beside Than Kosis, and as he stood riveted with surprise I brought my long-
sword down upon the golden chain that would have bound Dejah Thoris to another.

In an instant all was confusion; a thousand drawn swords menaced me from every
quarter, and Sab Than sprang upon me with a jeweled dagger he had drawn from his
nuptial ornaments. I could have killed him as easily as I might a fly, but the age-old
custom of Barsoom stayed my hand, and grasping his wrist as the dagger flew toward
my heart I held him as though in a vise and with my long-sword pointed to the far end
of the hall.

"Zodanga has fallen," I cried. "Look!"

All eyes turned in the direction I had indicated, and there, forging through the
portals of the entranceway rode Tars Tarkas and his fifty warriors on their great
thoats.

A cry of alarm and amazement broke from the assemblage, but no word of fear,
and in a moment the soldiers and nobles of Zodanga were hurling themselves upon the
advancing Tharks.

Thrusting Sab Than headlong from the platform, I drew Dejah Thoris to my side.
Behind the throne was a narrow doorway and in this Than Kosis now stood facing me,
with drawn long-sword. In an instant we were engaged, and I found no mean
antagonist.

As we circled upon the broad platform I saw Sab Than rushing up the steps to aid
his father, but, as he raised his hand to strike, Dejah Thoris sprang before him and
then my sword found the spot that made Sab Than jeddak of Zodanga. As his father
rolled dead upon the floor the new jeddak tore himself free from Dejah Thoris' grasp,
and again we faced each other. He was soon joined by a quartet of officers, and, with
my back against a golden throne, I fought once again for Dejah Thoris. I was hard
pressed to defend myself and yet not strike down Sab Than and, with him, my last
chance to win the woman I loved. My blade was swinging with the rapidity of
lightning as I sought to parry the thrusts and cuts of my opponents. Two I had
disarmed, and one was down, when several more rushed to the aid of their new ruler,
and to avenge the death of the old.
 As they advanced there were cries of "The woman! The woman! Strike her down;
it is her plot. Kill her! Kill her!"

Calling to Dejah Thoris to get behind me I worked my way toward the little
doorway back of the throne, but the officers realized my intentions, and three of them
sprang in behind me and blocked my chances for gaining a position where I could
have defended Dejah Thoris against an army of swordsmen.

The Tharks were having their hands full in the center of the room, and I began to
realize that nothing short of a miracle could save Dejah Thoris and myself, when I
saw Tars Tarkas surging through the crowd of pygmies that swarmed about him. With
one swing of his mighty longsword he laid a dozen corpses at his feet, and so he
hewed a pathway before him until in another moment he stood upon the platform
beside me, dealing death and destruction right and left.

The bravery of the Zodangans was awe-inspiring, not one attempted to escape,
and when the fighting ceased it was because only Tharks remained alive in the great
hall, other than Dejah Thoris and myself.

Sab Than lay dead beside his father, and the corpses of the flower of Zodangan
nobility and chivalry covered the floor of the bloody shambles.

My first thought when the battle was over was for Kantos Kan, and leaving Dejah
Thoris in charge of Tars Tarkas I took a dozen warriors and hastened to the dungeons
beneath the palace. The jailers had all left to join the fighters in the throne room, so
we searched the labyrinthine prison without opposition.

I called Kantos Kan's name aloud in each new corridor and compartment, and
finally I was rewarded by hearing a faint response. Guided by the sound, we soon
found him helpless in a dark recess.

He was overjoyed at seeing me, and to know the meaning of the fight, faint
echoes of which had reached his prison cell. He told me that the air patrol had
captured him before he reached the high tower of the palace, so that he had not even
seen Sab Than.

We discovered that it would be futile to attempt to cut away the bars and chains
which held him prisoner, so, at his suggestion I returned to search the bodies on the
floor above for keys to open the padlocks of his cell and of his chains.

Fortunately among the first I examined I found his jailer, and soon we had Kantos
Kan with us in the throne room.
 The sounds of heavy firing, mingled with shouts and cries, came to us from the
city's streets, and Tars Tarkas hastened away to direct the fighting without. Kantos
Kan accompanied him to act as guide, the green warriors commencing a thorough
search of the palace for other Zodangans and for loot, and Dejah Thoris and I were
left alone.

She had sunk into one of the golden thrones, and as I turned to her she greeted me
with a wan smile.

"Was there ever such a man!" she exclaimed. "I know that Barsoom has never
before seen your like. Can it be that all Earth men are as you? Alone, a stranger,
hunted, threatened, persecuted, you have done in a few short months what in all the
past ages of Barsoom no man has ever done: joined together the wild hordes of the sea
bottoms and brought them to fight as allies of a red Martian people."

"The answer is easy, Dejah Thoris," I replied smiling. "It was not I who did it, it
was love, love for Dejah Thoris, a power that would work greater miracles than this
you have seen."

A pretty flush overspread her face and she answered,

"You may say that now, John Carter, and I may listen, for I am free."

"And more still I have to say, ere it is again too late," I returned. "I have done
many strange things in my life, many things that wiser men would not have dared, but
never in my wildest fancies have I dreamed of winning a Dejah Thoris for myself—
for never had I dreamed that in all the universe dwelt such a woman as the Princess of
Helium. That you are a princess does not abash me, but that you are you is enough to
make me doubt my sanity as I ask you, my princess, to be mine."

"He does not need to be abashed who so well knew the answer to his plea before
the plea were made," she replied, rising and placing her dear hands upon my
shoulders, and so I took her in my arms and kissed her.

And thus in the midst of a city of wild conflict, filled with the alarms of war; with
death and destruction reaping their terrible harvest around her, did Dejah Thoris,
Princess of Helium, true daughter of Mars, the God of War, promise herself in
marriage to John Carter, Gentleman of Virginia.
 CHAPTER XXVI

THROUGH CARNAGE TO JOY

Sometime later Tars Tarkas and Kantos Kan returned to report that Zodanga had
been completely reduced. Her forces were entirely destroyed or captured, and no
further resistance was to be expected from within. Several battleships had escaped, but
there were thousands of war and merchant vessels under guard of Thark warriors.

The lesser hordes had commenced looting and quarreling among themselves, so it
was decided that we collect what warriors we could, man as many vessels as possible
with Zodangan prisoners and make for Helium without further loss of time.

Five hours later we sailed from the roofs of the dock buildings with a fleet of two
hundred and fifty battleships, carrying nearly one hundred thousand green warriors,
followed by a fleet of transports with our thoats.

Behind us we left the stricken city in the fierce and brutal clutches of some forty
thousand green warriors of the lesser hordes. They were looting, murdering, and
fighting amongst themselves. In a hundred places they had applied the torch, and
columns of dense smoke were rising above the city as though to blot out from the eye
of heaven the horrid sights beneath.

In the middle of the afternoon we sighted the scarlet and yellow towers of
Helium, and a short time later a great fleet of Zodangan battleships rose from the
camps of the besiegers without the city, and advanced to meet us.

The banners of Helium had been strung from stem to stern of each of our mighty
craft, but the Zodangans did not need this sign to realize that we were enemies, for our
green Martian warriors had opened fire upon them almost as they left the ground.
With their uncanny marksmanship they raked the on-coming fleet with volley after
volley.

The twin cities of Helium, perceiving that we were friends, sent out hundreds of
vessels to aid us, and then began the first real air battle I had ever witnessed.

The vessels carrying our green warriors were kept circling above the contending
fleets of Helium and Zodanga, since their batteries were useless in the hands of the
Tharks who, having no navy, have no skill in naval gunnery. Their small-arm fire,
however, was most effective, and the final outcome of the engagement was strongly
influenced, if not wholly determined, by their presence.
 At first the two forces circled at the same altitude, pouring broadside after
broadside into each other. Presently a great hole was torn in the hull of one of the
immense battle craft from the Zodangan camp; with a lurch she turned completely
over, the little figures of her crew plunging, turning and twisting toward the ground a
thousand feet below; then with sickening velocity she tore after them, almost
completely burying herself in the soft loam of the ancient sea bottom.

A wild cry of exultation arose from the Heliumite squadron, and with redoubled
ferocity they fell upon the Zodangan fleet. By a pretty maneuver two of the vessels of
Helium gained a position above their adversaries, from which they poured upon them
from their keel bomb batteries a perfect torrent of exploding bombs.

Then, one by one, the battleships of Helium succeeded in rising above the
Zodangans, and in a short time a number of the beleaguering battleships were drifting
hopeless wrecks toward the high scarlet tower of greater Helium. Several others
attempted to escape, but they were soon surrounded by thousands of tiny individual
fliers, and above each hung a monster battleship of Helium ready to drop boarding
parties upon their decks.

Within but little more than an hour from the moment the victorious Zodangan
squadron had risen to meet us from the camp of the besiegers the battle was over, and
the remaining vessels of the conquered Zodangans were headed toward the cities of
Helium under prize crews.

There was an extremely pathetic side to the surrender of these mighty fliers, the
result of an age-old custom which demanded that surrender should be signalized by
the voluntary plunging to earth of the commander of the vanquished vessel. One after
another the brave fellows, holding their colors high above their heads, leaped from the
towering bows of their mighty craft to an awful death.

Not until the commander of the entire fleet took the fearful plunge, thus
indicating the surrender of the remaining vessels, did the fighting cease, and the
useless sacrifice of brave men come to an end.

We now signaled the flagship of Helium's navy to approach, and when she was
within hailing distance I called out that we had the Princess Dejah Thoris on board,
and that we wished to transfer her to the flagship that she might be taken immediately
to the city.

As the full import of my announcement bore in upon them a great cry arose from
the decks of the flagship, and a moment later the colors of the Princess of Helium
broke from a hundred points upon her upper works. When the other vessels of the
squadron caught the meaning of the signals flashed them they took up the wild
acclaim and unfurled her colors in the gleaming sunlight.

The flagship bore down upon us, and as she swung gracefully to and touched our
side a dozen officers sprang upon our decks. As their astonished gaze fell upon the
hundreds of green warriors, who now came forth from the fighting shelters, they
stopped aghast, but at sight of Kantos Kan, who advanced to meet them, they came
forward, crowding about him.

Dejah Thoris and I then advanced, and they had no eyes for other than her. She
received them gracefully, calling each by name, for they were men high in the esteem
and service of her grandfather, and she knew them well.

"Lay your hands upon the shoulder of John Carter," she said to them, turning
toward me, "the man to whom Helium owes her princess as well as her victory today."

They were very courteous to me and said many kind and complimentary things,
but what seemed to impress them most was that I had won the aid of the fierce Tharks
in my campaign for the liberation of Dejah Thoris, and the relief of Helium.

"You owe your thanks more to another man than to me," I said, "and here he is;
meet one of Barsoom's greatest soldiers and statesmen, Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark."

With the same polished courtesy that had marked their manner toward me they
extended their greetings to the great Thark, nor, to my surprise, was he much behind
them in ease of bearing or in courtly speech. Though not a garrulous race, the Tharks
are extremely formal, and their ways lend themselves amazingly to dignified and
courtly manners.

Dejah Thoris went aboard the flagship, and was much put out that I would not
follow, but, as I explained to her, the battle was but partly won; we still had the land
forces of the besieging Zodangans to account for, and I would not leave Tars Tarkas
until that had been accomplished.

The commander of the naval forces of Helium promised to arrange to have the
armies of Helium attack from the city in conjunction with our land attack, and so the
vessels separated and Dejah Thoris was borne in triumph back to the court of her
grandfather, Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium.

In the distance lay our fleet of transports, with the thoats of the green warriors,
where they had remained during the battle. Without landing stages it was to be a
difficult matter to unload these beasts upon the open plain, but there was nothing else
for it, and so we put out for a point about ten miles from the city and began the task.

It was necessary to lower the animals to the ground in slings and this work
occupied the remainder of the day and half the night. Twice we were attacked by
parties of Zodangan cavalry, but with little loss, however, and after darkness shut
down they withdrew.

As soon as the last thoat was unloaded Tars Tarkas gave the command to
advance, and in three parties we crept upon the Zodangan camp from the north, the
south and the east.

About a mile from the main camp we encountered their outposts and, as had been
prearranged, accepted this as the signal to charge. With wild, ferocious cries and
amidst the nasty squealing of battle-enraged thoats we bore down upon the
Zodangans.

We did not catch them napping, but found a well-entrenched battle line
confronting us. Time after time we were repulsed until, toward noon, I began to fear
for the result of the battle.

The Zodangans numbered nearly a million fighting men, gathered from pole to
pole, wherever stretched their ribbon-like waterways, while pitted against them were
less than a hundred thousand green warriors. The forces from Helium had not arrived,
nor could we receive any word from them.

Just at noon we heard heavy firing all along the line between the Zodangans and
the cities, and we knew then that our much-needed reinforcements had come.

Again Tars Tarkas ordered the charge, and once more the mighty thoats bore their
terrible riders against the ramparts of the enemy. At the same moment the battle line
of Helium surged over the opposite breastworks of the Zodangans and in another
moment they were being crushed as between two millstones. Nobly they fought, but
in vain.

The plain before the city became a veritable shambles ere the last Zodangan
surrendered, but finally the carnage ceased, the prisoners were marched back to
Helium, and we entered the greater city's gates, a huge triumphal procession of
conquering heroes.

The broad avenues were lined with women and children, among which were the
few men whose duties necessitated that they remain within the city during the battle.
We were greeted with an endless round of applause and showered with ornaments of
gold, platinum, silver, and precious jewels. The city had gone mad with joy.

My fierce Tharks caused the wildest excitement and enthusiasm. Never before
had an armed body of green warriors entered the gates of Helium, and that they came
now as friends and allies filled the red men with rejoicing.

That my poor services to Dejah Thoris had become known to the Heliumites was
evidenced by the loud crying of my name, and by the loads of ornaments that were
fastened upon me and my huge thoat as we passed up the avenues to the palace, for
even in the face of the ferocious appearance of Woola the populace pressed close
about me.

As we approached this magnificent pile we were met by a party of officers who

greeted us warmly and requested that Tars Tarkas and his jeds with the jeddaks and
jeds of his wild allies, together with myself, dismount and accompany them to receive
from Tardos Mors an expression of his gratitude for our services.

At the top of the great steps leading up to the main portals of the palace stood the
royal party, and as we reached the lower steps one of their number descended to meet
us.

He was an almost perfect specimen of manhood; tall, straight as an arrow,

superbly muscled and with the carriage and bearing of a ruler of men. I did not need to
be told that he was Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium.

The first member of our party he met was Tars Tarkas and his first words sealed
forever the new friendship between the races.

"That Tardos Mors," he said, earnestly, "may meet the greatest living warrior of
Barsoom is a priceless honor, but that he may lay his hand on the shoulder of a friend
and ally is a far greater boon."

"Jeddak of Helium," returned Tars Tarkas, "it has remained for a man of another
world to teach the green warriors of Barsoom the meaning of friendship; to him we
owe the fact that the hordes of Thark can understand you; that they can appreciate and
reciprocate the sentiments so graciously expressed."

Tardos Mors then greeted each of the green jeddaks and jeds, and to each spoke
words of friendship and appreciation.

As he approached me he laid both hands upon my shoulders.

 "Welcome, my son," he said; "that you are granted, gladly, and without one word
of opposition, the most precious jewel in all Helium, yes, on all Barsoom, is sufficient
earnest of my esteem."

We were then presented to Mors Kajak, Jed of lesser Helium, and father of Dejah
Thoris. He had followed close behind Tardos Mors and seemed even more affected by
the meeting than had his father.

He tried a dozen times to express his gratitude to me, but his voice choked with
emotion and he could not speak, and yet he had, as I was to later learn, a reputation
for ferocity and fearlessness as a fighter that was remarkable even upon warlike
Barsoom. In common with all Helium he worshiped his daughter, nor could he think
of what she had escaped without deep emotion.

CHAPTER XXVII

FROM JOY TO DEATH

For ten days the hordes of Thark and their wild allies were feasted and
entertained, and, then, loaded with costly presents and escorted by ten thousand
soldiers of Helium commanded by Mors Kajak, they started on the return journey to
their own lands. The jed of lesser Helium with a small party of nobles accompanied
them all the way to Thark to cement more closely the new bonds of peace and
friendship.

Sola also accompanied Tars Tarkas, her father, who before all his chieftains had
acknowledged her as his daughter.

Three weeks later, Mors Kajak and his officers, accompanied by Tars Tarkas and
Sola, returned upon a battleship that had been dispatched to Thark to fetch them in
time for the ceremony which made Dejah Thoris and John Carter one.

For nine years I served in the councils and fought in the armies of Helium as a
prince of the house of Tardos Mors. The people seemed never to tire of heaping
honors upon me, and no day passed that did not bring some new proof of their love for
my princess, the incomparable Dejah Thoris.

In a golden incubator upon the roof of our palace lay a snow-white egg. For
nearly five years ten soldiers of the jeddak's Guard had constantly stood over it, and
not a day passed when I was in the city that Dejah Thoris and I did not stand hand in
hand before our little shrine planning for the future, when the delicate shell should
break.

Vivid in my memory is the picture of the last night as we sat there talking in low
tones of the strange romance which had woven our lives together and of this wonder
which was coming to augment our happiness and fulfill our hopes.

In the distance we saw the bright-white light of an approaching airship, but we

attached no special significance to so common a sight. Like a bolt of lightning it raced
toward Helium until its very speed bespoke the unusual.

Flashing the signals which proclaimed it a dispatch bearer for the jeddak, it
circled impatiently awaiting the tardy patrol boat which must convoy it to the palace
docks.

Ten minutes after it touched at the palace a message called me to the council
chamber, which I found filling with the members of that body.

On the raised platform of the throne was Tardos Mors, pacing back and forth with
tense-drawn face. When all were in their seats he turned toward us.

"This morning," he said, "word reached the several governments of Barsoom that
the keeper of the atmosphere plant had made no wireless report for two days, nor had
almost ceaseless calls upon him from a score of capitals elicited a sign of response.

"The ambassadors of the other nations asked us to take the matter in hand and
hasten the assistant keeper to the plant. All day a thousand cruisers have been
searching for him until just now one of them returns bearing his dead body, which was
found in the pits beneath his house horribly mutilated by some assassin.

"I do not need to tell you what this means to Barsoom. It would take months to
penetrate those mighty walls, in fact the work has already commenced, and there
would be little to fear were the engine of the pumping plant to run as it should and as
they all have for hundreds of years; but the worst, we fear, has happened. The
instruments show a rapidly decreasing air pressure on all parts of Barsoom—the
engine has stopped."

"My gentlemen," he concluded, "we have at best three days to live."

There was absolute silence for several minutes, and then a young noble arose, and
with his drawn sword held high above his head addressed Tardos Mors.
 "The men of Helium have prided themselves that they have ever shown Barsoom
how a nation of red men should live, now is our opportunity to show them how they
should die. Let us go about our duties as though a thousand useful years still lay
before us."

The chamber rang with applause and as there was nothing better to do than to
allay the fears of the people by our example we went our ways with smiles upon our
faces and sorrow gnawing at our hearts.

When I returned to my palace I found that the rumor already had reached Dejah
Thoris, so I told her all that I had heard.

"We have been very happy, John Carter," she said, "and I thank whatever fate
overtakes us that it permits us to die together."

The next two days brought no noticeable change in the supply of air, but on the
morning of the third day breathing became difficult at the higher altitudes of the
rooftops. The avenues and plazas of Helium were filled with people. All business had
ceased. For the most part the people looked bravely into the face of their unalterable
doom. Here and there, however, men and women gave way to quiet grief.

Toward the middle of the day many of the weaker commenced to succumb and
within an hour the people of Barsoom were sinking by thousands into the
unconsciousness which precedes death by asphyxiation.

Dejah Thoris and I with the other members of the royal family had collected in a
sunken garden within an inner courtyard of the palace. We conversed in low tones,
when we conversed at all, as the awe of the grim shadow of death crept over us. Even
Woola seemed to feel the weight of the impending calamity, for he pressed close to
Dejah Thoris and to me, whining pitifully.

The little incubator had been brought from the roof of our palace at request of
Dejah Thoris and she sat gazing longingly upon the unknown little life that now she
would never know.

As it was becoming perceptibly difficult to breathe Tardos Mors arose, saying,

"Let us bid each other farewell. The days of the greatness of Barsoom are over.
Tomorrow's sun will look down upon a dead world which through all eternity must go
swinging through the heavens peopled not even by memories. It is the end."
 He stooped and kissed the women of his family, and laid his strong hand upon the
shoulders of the men.

As I turned sadly from him my eyes fell upon Dejah Thoris. Her head was
drooping upon her breast, to all appearances she was lifeless. With a cry I sprang to
her and raised her in my arms.

Her eyes opened and looked into mine.

"Kiss me, John Carter," she murmured. "I love you! I love you! It is cruel that we
must be torn apart who were just starting upon a life of love and happiness."

As I pressed her dear lips to mine the old feeling of unconquerable power and
authority rose in me. The fighting blood of Virginia sprang to life in my veins.

"It shall not be, my princess," I cried. "There is, there must be some way, and
John Carter, who has fought his way through a strange world for love of you, will find
it."

And with my words there crept above the threshold of my conscious mind a
series of nine long forgotten sounds. Like a flash of lightning in the darkness their full
purport dawned upon me—the key to the three great doors of the atmosphere plant!

Turning suddenly toward Tardos Mors as I still clasped my dying love to my

breast I cried.

"A flier, Jeddak! Quick! Order your swiftest flier to the palace top. I can save
Barsoom yet."

He did not wait to question, but in an instant a guard was racing to the nearest
dock and though the air was thin and almost gone at the rooftop they managed to
launch the fastest one-man, air-scout machine that the skill of Barsoom had ever
produced.

Kissing Dejah Thoris a dozen times and commanding Woola, who would have
followed me, to remain and guard her, I bounded with my old agility and strength to
the high ramparts of the palace, and in another moment I was headed toward the goal
of the hopes of all Barsoom.

I had to fly low to get sufficient air to breathe, but I took a straight course across
an old sea bottom and so had to rise only a few feet above the ground.
 I traveled with awful velocity for my errand was a race against time with death.
The face of Dejah Thoris hung always before me. As I turned for a last look as I left
the palace garden I had seen her stagger and sink upon the ground beside the little
incubator. That she had dropped into the last coma which would end in death, if the
air supply remained unreplenished, I well knew, and so, throwing caution to the
winds, I flung overboard everything but the engine and compass, even to my
ornaments, and lying on my belly along the deck with one hand on the steering wheel
and the other pushing the speed lever to its last notch I split the thin air of dying Mars
with the speed of a meteor.

An hour before dark the great walls of the atmosphere plant loomed suddenly
before me, and with a sickening thud I plunged to the ground before the small door
which was withholding the spark of life from the inhabitants of an entire planet.

Beside the door a great crew of men had been laboring to pierce the wall, but they
had scarcely scratched the flint-like surface, and now most of them lay in the last
sleep from which not even air would awaken them.

Conditions seemed much worse here than at Helium, and it was with difficulty
that I breathed at all. There were a few men still conscious, and to one of these I
spoke.

"If I can open these doors is there a man who can start the engines?" I asked.

"I can," he replied, "if you open quickly. I can last but a few moments more. But
it is useless, they are both dead and no one else upon Barsoom knew the secret of
these awful locks. For three days men crazed with fear have surged about this portal in
vain attempts to solve its mystery."

I had no time to talk, I was becoming very weak and it was with difficulty that I
controlled my mind at all.

But, with a final effort, as I sank weakly to my knees I hurled the nine thought
waves at that awful thing before me. The Martian had crawled to my side and with
staring eyes fixed on the single panel before us we waited in the silence of death.

Slowly the mighty door receded before us. I attempted to rise and follow it but I
was too weak.

"After it," I cried to my companion, "and if you reach the pump room turn loose
all the pumps. It is the only chance Barsoom has to exist tomorrow!"
 From where I lay I opened the second door, and then the third, and as I saw the
hope of Barsoom crawling weakly on hands and knees through the last doorway I
sank unconscious upon the ground.

CHAPTER XXVIII

AT THE ARIZONA CAVE

It was dark when I opened my eyes again. Strange, stiff garments were upon my
body; garments that cracked and powdered away from me as I rose to a sitting
posture.

I felt myself over from head to foot and from head to foot I was clothed, though
when I fell unconscious at the little doorway I had been naked. Before me was a small
patch of moonlit sky which showed through a ragged aperture.

As my hands passed over my body they came in contact with pockets and in one
of these a small parcel of matches wrapped in oiled paper. One of these matches I
struck, and its dim flame lighted up what appeared to be a huge cave, toward the back
of which I discovered a strange, still figure huddled over a tiny bench. As I
approached it I saw that it was the dead and mummified remains of a little old woman
with long black hair, and the thing it leaned over was a small charcoal burner upon
which rested a round copper vessel containing a small quantity of greenish powder.

Behind her, depending from the roof upon rawhide thongs, and stretching entirely
across the cave, was a row of human skeletons. From the thong which held them
stretched another to the dead hand of the little old woman; as I touched the cord the
skeletons swung to the motion with a noise as of the rustling of dry leaves.

It was a most grotesque and horrid tableau and I hastened out into the fresh air;
glad to escape from so gruesome a place.

The sight that met my eyes as I stepped out upon a small ledge which ran before
the entrance of the cave filled me with consternation.

A new heaven and a new landscape met my gaze. The silvered mountains in the
distance, the almost stationary moon hanging in the sky, the cacti-studded valley
below me were not of Mars. I could scarce believe my eyes, but the truth slowly
forced itself upon me—I was looking upon Arizona from the same ledge from which
ten years before I had gazed with longing upon Mars.

Burying my head in my arms I turned, broken, and sorrowful, down the trail from
the cave.

Above me shone the red eye of Mars holding her awful secret, forty-eight million
miles away.

Did the Martian reach the pump room? Did the vitalizing air reach the people of
that distant planet in time to save them? Was my Dejah Thoris alive, or did her
beautiful body lie cold in death beside the tiny golden incubator in the sunken garden
of the inner courtyard of the palace of Tardos Mors, the jeddak of Helium?

For ten years I have waited and prayed for an answer to my questions. For ten
years I have waited and prayed to be taken back to the world of my lost love. I would
rather lie dead beside her there than live on Earth all those millions of terrible miles
from her.

The old mine, which I found untouched, has made me fabulously wealthy; but
what care I for wealth!

As I sit here tonight in my little study overlooking the Hudson, just twenty years
have elapsed since I first opened my eyes upon Mars.

I can see her shining in the sky through the little window by my desk, and tonight
she seems calling to me again as she has not called before since that long dead night,
and I think I can see, across that awful abyss of space, a beautiful black-haired woman
standing in the garden of a palace, and at her side is a little boy who puts his arm
around her as she points into the sky toward the planet Earth, while at their feet is a
huge and hideous creature with a heart of gold.

I believe that they are waiting there for me, and something tells me that I shall
soon know.
End of Project Gutenberg's A Princess of Mars, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

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