Latest / Classic Science Fiction Books / 12 - Thuvia, Maid of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs

Transcript

12 - Thuvia, Maid of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs · Classic Science Fiction Books

0:00
Chapter twelve to save Dusar. Thuvia of Ptarth, battling for more than life
0:10
against the lust of Jav, cast a quick glance over her shoulder toward the
0:14
forest from which had rumbled the fierce growl. Jav looked too. What they
0:21
saw filled each with apprehension. It was Komal, the Banth god, rushing
0:26
wide jawed upon them. Which had he chosen for his prey or was it
0:32
to be both? They had not long to wait for. Though the Lotharian
0:37
attempted to hold the girl between himself and the terrible fangs, the great beast
0:42
found him at last. Then shrieking, he attempted to fly toward Lothar,
0:48
after pushing Thuvia bodily into the face of the man eater, but his fight
0:53
was of short duration. In a moment, Komale was upon him, rending
0:58
his throat and chest with demoniah fury. The girl reached their side a moment
1:03
later, but it was with difficulty that she tore the mad beast from its
1:07
prey. Still growling and casting hungry glances back upon Jav, the Banth at
1:12
last permitted itself to be led away into the wood with her giant protector by
1:19
her side, Thuvius set forth to find the passage through the cliffs that she
1:23
might attempt the seemingly impossible feat of reaching far distant Ptarth across the more than
1:29
seventeen thousand haads of savage Barsoom. She could not believe that Carthoris had deliberately
1:36
deserted her, and so she kept a constant watch for him. But as
1:41
she bore too far to the north in her search for the tunnel, she
1:44
passed the heliumte as he was returning to Lothar in search of her. Thuvia
1:49
of Ptarth was having difficulty in determining the exact status of the Prince of Helium
1:55
in her heart. She could not admit even to herself that she loved him,
2:00
and yet she had permitted him to apply to her that term of endearment
2:04
and possession to which a Barsoomian maid should turn deaf ears when voiced by other
2:09
lips than those of her husband or fiancee. My Princess Culan tiff Jeddak of
2:19
Cowl, to whom she was affianced, commanded her respect and admiration. Had
2:24
it been that she had surrendered to her father's wishes because of pique that the
2:29
handsome Heliumite had not taken advantage of his visits to her father's court to push
2:34
the suit for her hand, that she had been quite sure he had contemplated
2:38
since that distant day the two had sat together upon the carved seat within the
2:44
gorgeous garden of the Jeddaks that graced the inner courtyard of the Palace of salensus
2:49
Oll at Cadabra. Did she love Culan tiff bravely? She tried to believe
2:55
that she did, But all the while her eyes wandered through the coming darkness
3:00
for the figure of a clean limbed fighting man, black haired and gray eyed.
3:07
Black was the hair of Kulan Tith, but his eyes were brown.
3:13
It was almost dark when she found the entrance to the tunnel Safely, she
3:17
passed through to the hills beyond, and here, under the bright light of
3:21
Mars's two moons, she halted to play in her future action. Should she
3:27
wait here in the hope that Carthoris would return in search of her, or
3:30
should she continue her way northeast toward Ptarth, where first would Carthoris have gone
3:38
after leaving the valley of Lothar. Her parched throat and dry tongue gave her
3:43
the answer toward Anthor and water well, She too would go first to Anthor,
3:51
where she might find more than the water she needed. With Comal by
3:55
her side, she felt little fear, for he would protect her from all
4:00
other savage beasts. Even the great white apes would flee the mighty banth in
4:04
terror. Men only need she fear. But she must take this and many
4:10
other chances before she could hope to reach her father's court again. When at
4:15
last Carthoris found her only to be struck down by the long sword of a
4:19
green man, Thuvia prayed that the same fate might overtake her. The sight
4:26
of the Red warriors leaping from their fliers had, for a moment filled her
4:30
with renewed hope, hope that Carthoris of Helium might be only stunned, and
4:35
that they would rescue him. But when she saw the Dusarian metal upon their
4:41
harness, and that they sought only to escape with her alone from the charging
4:44
Torquasians, she gave up. Comal too was dead, dead across the body
4:51
of the Heliumite. She was indeed alone. Now there was none to pret
5:01
the Dusarian warriors dragged her to the deck of the nearest flier. All about
5:06
them the Green warriors surged in an attempt to arrest her from the red.
5:12
At last, those who had not died in the conflict gained the decks of
5:15
the two craft. The engines throbbed and purred, the propeller's whirred Quickly the
5:21
swift boats shot heavenward. Thuvia of Ptarth glanced about her. A man stood
5:29
near, smiling down into her face. With a gasp of recognition, she
5:34
looked full into his eyes, and then, with a little moan of terror
5:38
and understanding, she buried her face in her hands and sank to the polished
5:43
skeel wood deck. It was Astok, Prince of Dusar, who bent above
5:48
her. Swift were the fliers of Astok of Dusar, and great the need
5:55
for reaching his father's court as quickly as possible. For the fleets of war
6:00
of Helium and Ptarth and Cowol were scattered far and wide above Barsoom. Nor
6:05
would it go well with Astok or Dusar should any of them discover Thuvia of
6:11
Ptarth, a prisoner upon his own vessel. Anthor lies in fifty south latitude
6:18
and forty east of Whores, the deserted seat of ancient Barsoomian culture and learning,
6:25
while Dusar lies fifteen degrees north of the equator and twenty degrees east of
6:30
Whores. Great though the distance is, the fliers covered it without a stop.
6:38
Long before they had reached their destination, Thuvia of Ptarth had learned several
6:42
things that cleared up the doubts that had assailed her mind for many days.
6:46
Scarce had they risen above Anthor than she recognized one of the crew as a
6:51
member of the crew of that other flier that had borne her from her father's
6:56
gardens to Anthor. The presence of asten Stock upon the craft settled the whole
7:01
question. She had been stolen by emissaries of the Dustarian Prince Carthoris of Helium
7:08
had had nothing to do with it, nor did Astok deny the charge.
7:13
When she accused him, he only smiled and pleaded his love for her.
7:18
I would sooner mate with a white ape, she cried, when he would
7:23
have urged his suit, Astok glowered sullenly upon her. You shall mate with
7:30
me, Thuvia of Ptarth, he growled. Or by your first ancestor,
7:33
you shall have your preference and mate with a white ape. The girl made
7:39
no reply, nor could he draw her into conversation during the balance of the
7:43
journey. As a matter of fact, Astok was a trifle awed by the
7:48
proportions of the conflict which his abduction of the Parthian princess had induced, nor
7:55
was he over comfortable with the weight of responsibility which the possession of such a
7:59
prisoner in entailed. His one thought was to get her to Dusar, and
8:05
there let his father assume the responsibility. In the meantime, he would be
8:09
as careful as possible to do nothing to affront her, lest they all might
8:13
be captured and have to account for his treatment of the girl to one of
8:18
the great Jeddaks whose interests centered on her. And so at last they came
8:22
to Dusar, where Astok hid his prisoner in a secret room high in the
8:28
east tower of his own palace. He had sworn his men to silence in
8:33
the matter of the true identity of the girl, for until he had seen
8:35
his father, Nudas, Jeddak of Dusar, he dared not let any one
8:41
know whom he had brought with him from the south. But when he appeared
8:46
in the Great audience chamber before the cruel lipped man who was his sire,
8:50
he found his courage oozing, and he dared not speak of the princess hid
8:56
within his palace. It occurred to him to test his father's sentiments upon the
9:01
subject, and so he told a tale of capturing one who claimed to know
9:05
the whereabouts of Thuvia of Ptarth. And if you command it, sire,
9:11
he said, I will go and capture her. Fetching her here to Dusar.
9:16
Nudus frowned and shook his head. You have done enough already to set
9:22
Ptarth in Cowl and Helium all three upon us at once should they learn your
9:28
part in the theft of the Ptarth princess. That you succeeded in shifting the
9:33
guilt upon the Prince of Helium was fortunate and a masterly move of strategy.
9:39
But were the girl to know the truth and ever return to her father's court,
9:45
all Dusar would have to pay the penalty, and to have her here
9:48
a prisoner amongst us would be an admission of guilt for the consequences of which
9:52
naught could save us. It would cost me my throne, asked Oc,
9:58
and that I have no mind to lose. If we had her here,
10:07
the elder man suddenly commenced to muse, repeating the phrase again and again.
10:13
If we had her here, Askedoc. He exclaimed fiercely, Ah, if
10:18
but we had her here, and none knew that she was here, Can
10:22
you not guess, man, the guilt of Dusar might be forever buried with
10:28
her bones? He concluded in a low, savage whisper. Astoc, Prince
10:35
of Dusar, shuddered weak. He was, yes, and wicked too,
10:41
but the suggestion that his father's words implied turned him cold with horror. Cruel
10:48
to their enemies are the men of Mars. But the word enemies is commonly
10:54
interpreted to mean men only Assassination runs riot in the great Barsoomian city. Yet
11:01
to murder a woman is a crime so unthinkable that even the most hardened of
11:05
the paid assassins would shrink from you in horror. Should you suggest such a
11:09
thing to him? Nudus was apparently oblivious to his son's all too patent terror
11:16
at his suggestion. Presently, he continued, you say that you know where
11:20
the girl lies hid? Since she was stolen from your people at anthor should
11:26
she be found by any one of the three powers, her unsupported story would
11:31
be sufficient to turn them all against us. There is but one way,
11:37
Astoc cried the older man. You must return at once to her hiding place
11:43
and fetch her hither in all secrecy, and look you here, return not
11:48
to Dusar without her upon pain of death, asked Oc, Prince of Dusar.
11:56
Well knew his royal father's temper. He knew that in the tyrant's heart
12:01
there pulsed no single throb of love for any creature. Astok's mother had been
12:07
a slave woman. Nudus had never loved her. He had never loved another.
12:15
In youth, he had tried to find a bride at the courts of
12:18
several of his powerful neighbors, but their women would have none of him.
12:22
After a dozen daughters of his own nobility had sought self destruction rather than wed
12:26
him, he had given up. And then it had been that he had
12:31
legally wed one of his slaves, that he might have a son to stand
12:35
among the Jeds. When Nudus died and a new Jeddak was chosen slowly,
12:41
Astok withdrew from the presence of his father. With white face and shaking limbs,
12:46
he made his way to his own palace. As he crossed the courtyard,
12:50
his glance chanced to wander to the great East Tower, looming high against
12:54
the azure of the sky. At sight of it, beades of so wet
13:00
broke out upon his brow. Isis no other hand than his could be trusted
13:07
to do the horrid thing with his own fingers. He must crush the life
13:11
from that perfect throat, or plunge the silent blade into the red, red
13:16
heart, her heart, the heart that he had hoped would brim with love
13:22
for him. But had it done so, he recalled the haughty contempt with
13:28
which his protestations of love had been received. He went cold, and then
13:33
hot to the memory of it. His compunctions cooled as the self satisfaction of
13:39
a near revenge crowded out the finer instincts that had for a moment asserted themselves.
13:46
The good that he had inherited from the slave woman was once again submerged
13:50
in the bad blood that had come down to him from his royal sire.
13:54
As in the end, it always was a cold smile supplanted the terror that
14:03
had dilated his eyes. He turned his steps toward the tower. He would
14:07
see her before he set out upon the journey that was to blind his father
14:11
to the fact that the girl was already in Dusar. Quietly he passed in
14:18
through the secret way, ascending a spiral runway to the apartment in which the
14:22
Princess of Ptarth was immured. As he entered the room, he saw the
14:26
girl leaning upon the sill of the east casement, gazing out across the roofs
14:31
of Dusar toward distant Ptarth. He hated Ptarth. The thought of it filled
14:39
him with rage. Why not finish her now and have done with it?
14:43
At the sound of his steps, she turned quickly toward him. Ah,
14:48
how beautiful she was. His sudden determination faded beneath the glorious light of her
14:54
wondrous beauty. He would wait until he had returned from his little journey of
14:58
deception. Maybe there might be some other way, then, some other hand,
15:03
to strike the blow with that face, with those eyes before him.
15:09
He could never do it. Of that, he was positive he had always
15:15
gloried in the cruelty of his nature. But isis he was not that cruel.
15:20
No, another must be found, one whom he could trust. He
15:26
was still looking at her as she stood there before him, meeting his gaze
15:30
steadily and unafraid. He felt the hot passion of his love mounting higher and
15:35
higher. Why not sue once more? If she would relent, all might
15:41
yet be well. Even if his father could not be persuaded, They could
15:46
fly to Ptarth, laying all the blame of the knavery and intrigue that had
15:50
thrown four great nations into war upon the shoulders of Nudus. And who was
15:56
there that would doubt the justice of the charge Thuvia, He said, I
16:03
come once again for the last time, to lay my heart at your feet.
16:08
Ptarth, and Cowul and Dusar are battling with helium because of you,
16:15
wed me Thuvia, and all may yet be as it should be. The
16:21
girl shook her head. Wait, he commanded, before she could speak,
16:26
Know the truth. Before you speak words that may seal not only your own
16:30
fate, but that of thousands of warriors who battle because of you. Refuse
16:37
to wed me willingly, and Dusar would be laid waste should ever the truth
16:42
be known to Ptarth and cowl and helium. They would raise our cities,
16:48
leaving not one stone upon another. They would scatter our peoples across the face
16:55
of Barsoom, from the frozen north to the frozen south, hunting them down
17:00
and slaying them, until this great nation remained only as a hated memory in
17:04
the minds of men. But while they are exterminating the Dusarians, countless thousands
17:11
of their own warriors must perish, and all because of the stubbornness of a
17:17
single woman who would not wed the prince who loves her. Refuse Thuvia of
17:23
Ptarth, and there remains but a single alternative. No man must ever know
17:30
your fate. Only a handful of loyal servitors beside my royal father and myself
17:37
know that you were stolen from the gardens of thuvan Din by Astok, Prince
17:41
of Dusar, or that to day you be imprisoned in my palace. Refuse
17:48
Thuvia of Ptarth, and you must die to save Dusar. There is no
17:53
other way, nudas the Jeddak has so decreed, I have spoken for a
18:03
long moment. The girl at her level gaze rest full upon the face of
18:07
Astok of Dussar. Then she spoke, and though the words were few,
18:14
the unimpassioned tone carried unfathomable depths of cold contempt. Better all that you have
18:22
threatened, she said, then you. Then she turned her back upon him
18:29
and went to stand once more before the east window, gazing with sad eyes
18:33
toward distant Ptarth. Astok wheeled and left the room, returning after a short
18:40
interval of time with food and drink. Here, he said, is sustenance
18:45
until I return again. The next to enter this apartment will be your executioner.
18:52
Commend yourself to your ancestors Thuvia of Ptarth, for within a few days
18:57
you shall be with them. Then he was gone. Half an hour later
19:04
he was interviewing an officer high in the navy of Dusar. Whither went Vaskor?
19:11
He asked, He is not at his palace south to the great waterway
19:15
that skirts Torcass replied the other, His son hal Vas is dwar of the
19:22
road there, and thither has Vaskor gone to enlist recruits among the workers on
19:26
the farms, Good, said Astok, and a half hour more found him
19:33
rising above Dusar in his swiftest flier. End of Chapter twelve,