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12 - The God's of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs · Classic Science Fiction Books

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twelve. Doomed to die for an instant, I stood
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  Speaker 1: there before they fell upon me, But the first rush
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  Speaker 1: of them forced me back a step or two. My
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  Speaker 1: foot felt for the floor, but found only empty space.
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  Speaker 1: I had backed into the pit which had received Issus.
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  Speaker 1: For a second. I toppled there upon the brink. Then I, too,
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  Speaker 1: with the boy still tightly clutched in my arms, pitched
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  Speaker 1: backward into the black abyss. We struck a polished chute.
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  Speaker 1: The opening above us closed as magically as it had opened,
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  Speaker 1: and we shot down, unharmed, into a dimly lighted apartment
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  Speaker 1: far below the arena. As I rose to my feet,
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  Speaker 1: the first thing I saw was the malignant countenance of
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  Speaker 1: Issus glaring at me through the heavy bars of a
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  Speaker 1: grated door at one side of the chamber. Rash mortal,
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  Speaker 1: she shrilled, You shall pay the awful penalty for your
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  Speaker 1: blasphemy in this secret cell. Here you shall lie alone
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  Speaker 1: and in darkness, with the carcass of your accomplice festering
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  Speaker 1: in its rottenness by your side, until crazed by loneliness
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  Speaker 1: and hunger, you feed upon the crawling maggots that were
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  Speaker 1: once a man, that was all in another instant, she
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  Speaker 1: was gone, and the dim light which had filled the
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  Speaker 1: cell faded into simmering blackness. Pleasant, old lady, said a
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  Speaker 1: voice at my side? Who speaks? I asked, Tis I
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  Speaker 1: your companion, who has had the honor this day of
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  Speaker 1: fighting shoulder to shoulder with the greatest warrior that ever
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  Speaker 1: wore metal upon barsoom. I thank God that you are
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  Speaker 1: not dead, I said, I feared for that nasty cut
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  Speaker 1: upon your head. It but stunned me. He replied, a
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  Speaker 1: mere scratch. Maybe it were as well had it been final,
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  Speaker 1: I said. We seemed to be in a pretty fix here,
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  Speaker 1: with a splendid chance of dying of starvation and thirst.
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  Speaker 1: Where are we beneath the arena? I replied, we tumbled
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  Speaker 1: down the shaft that swallowed Issus as she was almost
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  Speaker 1: at our mercy. He laughed a low laugh of pleasure
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  Speaker 1: and relief, and then, reaching out through the inky blackness,
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  Speaker 1: he sought my shoulder and pulled my ear close to
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  Speaker 1: his mouth. Nothing could be better, he whispered. There are
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  Speaker 1: secrets within the secrets of Issus, of which Issus herself
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  Speaker 1: does not dream. What do you mean, I labored with
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  Speaker 1: the other slaves a year since in the remodeling of
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  Speaker 1: these subterranean galleries, And at that time we found below
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  Speaker 1: these an ancient system of corridors and chambers that had
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  Speaker 1: been sealed up for ages. The Blacks in charge of
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  Speaker 1: the work explored them, taking several of us along to
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  Speaker 1: do whatever work there might be occasion, For I know
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  Speaker 1: the entire system perfectly. There are miles of corridors honeycombing
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  Speaker 1: the ground beneath the gardens and the temple itself. And
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  Speaker 1: there is one passage that leads down to and connects
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  Speaker 1: with the lower regions that open on the water shaft
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  Speaker 1: that gives passage to Omean. If we can reach the
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  Speaker 1: submarine undetected, we may yet make the sea, in which
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  Speaker 1: there are many islands where the Blacks never go. There
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  Speaker 1: we may live for a time, and who knows what
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  Speaker 1: may transpire to aid us to escape. He had spoken
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  Speaker 1: all in a low whisper, evidently fearing spying ears even here.
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  Speaker 1: And so I answered him in the same subdued tone.
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  Speaker 1: Lead back to Shador, my friend, I whispered, Exoter, the
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  Speaker 1: black is there. We were to attempt our escape together.
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  Speaker 1: So I cannot desert him, No, said the boy. One
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  Speaker 1: cannot desert a friend, it were better to be recaptured
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  Speaker 1: ourselves than that. Then he commenced groping his way about
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  Speaker 1: the floor of the dark chamber, searching for the trap
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  Speaker 1: that led to the corridors beneath. At length, he summoned
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  Speaker 1: me by a low s. I crept toward the sound
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  Speaker 1: of his voice to find him kneeling on the brink
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  Speaker 1: of an opening in the floor. There is a drop
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  Speaker 1: here of about ten feet. He whispered, Hang by your hands,
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  Speaker 1: and you will alight safely on a level floor of
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  Speaker 1: soft sand. Very quietly I lowered myself from the inky
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  Speaker 1: set above into the inky pit below. So utterly dark
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  Speaker 1: was it that we could not see our hands at
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  Speaker 1: an inch from our noses. Never, I think, have I
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  Speaker 1: known such complete absence of light as existed in the
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  Speaker 1: pits of Issus. For an instant I hung in mid air.
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  Speaker 1: There is a strange sensation connected with an experience of
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  Speaker 1: that nature, which is quite difficult to describe. When the
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  Speaker 1: feet tread empty air and the distance below is shrouded
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  Speaker 1: in darkness, there is a feeling akin to panic at
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  Speaker 1: the thought of releasing the hold and taking the plunge
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  Speaker 1: into unknown depths. Although the boy had told me that
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  Speaker 1: it was but ten feet to the floor below. I
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  Speaker 1: experienced the same thrills as though I were hanging above
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  Speaker 1: a bottomless pit. Then I released my hold and dropped
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  Speaker 1: four feet to a soft cushion of sand. The boy
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  Speaker 1: followed me. Raise me to your shoulders, he said, and
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  Speaker 1: I will replace the trap. This done, he took me
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  Speaker 1: by the hand, leading me very slowly, with much feeling
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  Speaker 1: about and frequent halts to assure himself that he did
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  Speaker 1: not stray into wrong passageways. Presently we commenced the descent
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  Speaker 1: of a very steep incline. It will not be long,
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  Speaker 1: he said, before we shall have light. At the lower levels,
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  Speaker 1: we meet the same strata of phosphorescent rock that illuminates Omean.
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  Speaker 1: Never shall I forget that trip through the pits of Issus.
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  Speaker 1: While it was devoid of important incidents, yet it was
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  Speaker 1: filled for me with a strange charm of excitement and adventure,
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  Speaker 1: which I think I must have hinged principally on the
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  Speaker 1: unguessable antiquity of these long forgotten corridors. The things which
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  Speaker 1: the Stygian darkness hid from my objective eye could not
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  Speaker 1: have been half so wonderful as the pictures which my
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  Speaker 1: imagination wrought as it conjured to life again the ancient
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  Speaker 1: peoples of this dying world, and set them once more
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  Speaker 1: to the labors, the intrigues, the mysteries, and the cruelties
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  Speaker 1: which they had practiced to make their last stand against
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  Speaker 1: the swarming hordes of the dead sea bottoms that had
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  Speaker 1: driven them step by step to the uttermost pinnacle of
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  Speaker 1: the world, where they were now entrenched behind an impenetrable
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  Speaker 1: barrier of superstition. In addition to the green men, there
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  Speaker 1: had been three principal races upon barsoom, the Blacks, the Whites,
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  Speaker 1: and a race of yellow men. As the waters of
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  Speaker 1: the planet dried and the seas receded, all other resources dwindled,
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  Speaker 1: until life upon the planet became a constant battle for survival.
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  Speaker 1: The various races had made war upon one another for ages,
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  Speaker 1: and the three higher types had easily bested the green
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  Speaker 1: savages of the water places of the world. But now
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  Speaker 1: that the receding seas necessitated constant abandonment of their fortified
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  Speaker 1: cities and forced upon them a more or less nomadic
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  Speaker 1: life in which they became separated into smaller communities, they
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  Speaker 1: soon fell prey to the fierce hordes of green men.
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  Speaker 1: The result was a partial amalgamation of the blacks, whites,
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  Speaker 1: and yellows, the result of which is shown in the
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  Speaker 1: present splendid race of red men. I had always supposed
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  Speaker 1: that all traces of the original races had disappeared from
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  Speaker 1: the face of Mars. Yet within the past four days
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  Speaker 1: I had found both whites and blacks in great multitudes.
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  Speaker 1: Could it be possible that in some far off corner
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  Speaker 1: of the planet there still existed a remnant of the
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  Speaker 1: ancient race of yellow men. My reveries were broken in
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  Speaker 1: upon by a low exclamation from the boy. At last
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  Speaker 1: the lighted way, he cried, and looking up, I beheld
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  Speaker 1: at a long distance before us a dim radiance. As
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  Speaker 1: we advanced, the light increased, until presently we emerged into
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  Speaker 1: well lighted passageways. From then on our progress was rapid,
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  Speaker 1: until we came suddenly to the end of a corridor
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  Speaker 1: that let directly upon the ledge surrounding the pool of
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  Speaker 1: the submarine. The craft lay at her moorings, with uncovered hatch,
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  Speaker 1: raising his finger to his lips and then tapping his
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  Speaker 1: sword in his significant manner. The youth crept noiselessly toward
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  Speaker 1: the vessel. I was close at his heels. Silently we
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  Speaker 1: dropped to the deserted deck, and on hands and knees,
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  Speaker 1: crawled toward the hatchway. A stealthy glance below revealed no
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  Speaker 1: guard in sight, and so with the quickness and the
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  Speaker 1: soundlessness of cats, we dropped together into the main cabin
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  Speaker 1: of the submarine. Even here was no sign of life.
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  Speaker 1: Quickly we covered and secured the hatch. Then the boy
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  Speaker 1: stepped into the pilot house, touched a button, and the
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  Speaker 1: boat sank amid swirling waters toward the bottom of the shaft.
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  Speaker 1: Even then there was no scurrying of feet as we
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  Speaker 1: had expected, and while the boy remained to direct the boat,
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  Speaker 1: I slid from cabin to cabin in futile search for
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  Speaker 1: some member of the crew. The craft was entirely deserted.
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  Speaker 1: Such good fortune seemed almost unbelievable. When I returned to
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  Speaker 1: the pilot house to report the good news to my companion,
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  Speaker 1: he handed me a paper. This may explain the absence
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  Speaker 1: of the crew, he said. It was a radio aerial
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  Speaker 1: message to the commander of the submarine. The slaves have risen.
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  Speaker 1: Come with what men you have and those that you
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  Speaker 1: can gather on the way too late to get aid
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  Speaker 1: from Omean. They are massacring all within the amphitheater. Issus
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  Speaker 1: is threatened. Haste Zithad Zithad is a detour of the
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  Speaker 1: guards of Issus, explained the youth. We gave them a
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  Speaker 1: bad scare, one that they will not soon forget. Let
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  Speaker 1: us hope that it is but the beginning of the
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  Speaker 1: end of Issus, I said, only our first ancestor knows,
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  Speaker 1: he replied. We reached the submarine pool in Omean without incident.
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  Speaker 1: Here we debated the wisdom of sinking the craft before
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  Speaker 1: leaving her, but finally decided that it would add nothing
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  Speaker 1: to our chances for escape. There were plenty of blacks
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  Speaker 1: on Omean to thwart Us were we apprehended. However, many
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  Speaker 1: more might come from the temples and gardens of Issus,
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  Speaker 1: would not in any way decrease our chances. We were
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  Speaker 1: now in a quandary as to how to pass the
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  Speaker 1: guards who patrolled the island about the pool. At last
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  Speaker 1: I hit upon a plan. What is the name or
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  Speaker 1: the title of the officer in charge of these guards,
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  Speaker 1: I asked boy A fellow named Torith was on duty
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  Speaker 1: when we entered this morning, he replied, good, and what
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  Speaker 1: is the name of the commander of the submarine? Yerstead?
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  Speaker 1: I found a despatch blank in the cabin and wrote
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  Speaker 1: the following order, detwarth Torith, return these two slaves at
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  Speaker 1: once to Shador Yersted. That will be the simpler way
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  Speaker 1: to return, I said, smiling, as I handed the forged
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  Speaker 1: order to the boy. Come, we shall see now how
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  Speaker 1: well it works. But our swords, he exclaimed, What shall
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  Speaker 1: we say to explain them? Since we cannot explain them,
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  Speaker 1: we shall have to leave them behind us. I replied,
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  Speaker 1: is it not the extreme of rashness to thus put
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  Speaker 1: ourselves again unarmed in the power of the first born?
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  Speaker 1: It is the only way, I answered. You may trust
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  Speaker 1: me to find a way out of the prison of Shador,
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  Speaker 1: and I think once out that we shall find no
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  Speaker 1: great difficulty in arming ourselves once more in a country
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  Speaker 1: which abounds so plentifully in armed men. As you say,
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  Speaker 1: he replied, with a smile on a shrug, I could
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  Speaker 1: not follow another leader who inspired greater confidence than you. Come,
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  Speaker 1: let us put your ruse to the test. Boldly. We
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  Speaker 1: emerged from the hatchway of the craft, leaving our swords
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  Speaker 1: behind us, and strode to the main exit, which led
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  Speaker 1: to the sentry's post and the office of the detour
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  Speaker 1: of the Guard. At sight of us, the members of
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  Speaker 1: the guards sprang forward in surprise, and with leveled rifles,
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  Speaker 1: halted us. I held out the message to one of them.
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  Speaker 1: He took it, and, seeing to whom it was addressed,
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  Speaker 1: turned and handed it to Torith, who was emerging from
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  Speaker 1: his office to learn the cause of the commotion. The
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  Speaker 1: Black read the order, and for a moment eyed us
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  Speaker 1: with evident suspicion. Where's de tor Yurstead? He asked, and
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  Speaker 1: my heart sank within me as I cursed myself for
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  Speaker 1: a stupid fool in not having sunk the submarine to
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  Speaker 1: make good the lie that I must tell his orders
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  Speaker 1: were to return immediately to the temple landing, I replied.
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  Speaker 1: Torreth took a half step toward the entrance to the pool,
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  Speaker 1: as though to corroborate my story. For that instant everything
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  Speaker 1: hung in the balance, For had he done so and
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  Speaker 1: found the empty submarine still lying at our wharf, the
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  Speaker 1: whole weak fabric of my concoction would have tumbled about
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  Speaker 1: our heads. But evidently he decided the message must be genuine,
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  Speaker 1: nor indeed, was there any good reason to doubt it,
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  Speaker 1: since it would scarce have seemed credible to him that
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  Speaker 1: two slaves would voluntarily have given themselves into custody in
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  Speaker 1: any such manner as this. It was the very boldness
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  Speaker 1: of the plan which rendered it successful. Were you connected
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  Speaker 1: with the rising of the slaves? Asked Torith. We have
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  Speaker 1: just had meager reports of some such event. All were involved,
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  Speaker 1: I replied, but it amounted to little. The guards quickly
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  Speaker 1: overcame and killed the majority of us. He seemed satisfied
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  Speaker 1: with this reply. Take them to Shador, he ordered, turning
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  Speaker 1: to one of his subordinates. We entered a small boat
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  Speaker 1: lying beside the island, and in a few minutes were
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  Speaker 1: disembarking upon Shador. Here we were returned to our respective cells,
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  Speaker 1: I with Exedar, the boy by himself, and behind locked
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  Speaker 1: doors we were again prisoners of the first born. End
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  Speaker 1: of Chapter twelve.