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02 - The God's of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs · Daily Sci-Fi Books

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Chapter two, a forest battle. Tars Tarkas and I found no time for
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an exchange of experiences as we stood there before the great boulder, surrounded by
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the corpses of our grotesque assailants, For from all directions down the broad valley
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was streaming a perfect torrent of terrifying creatures. In response to the weird call
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of the strange figure far above us, come cried Tars Tarkas. We must
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make for the cliffs. There lies our only hope for even temporary escape.
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There we may find a cave or a narrow ledge, which two may defend
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forever against this motley unarmed horde. Together we raced across the scarlet sward,
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I timing my speed that I might not outdistance my slower companion. We had
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perhaps three hundred yards to cover between our boulder and the cliffs, and then
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to search out a suitable shelter for our stand against the terrifying things that were
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pursuing us. They were rapidly overhauling us when Tars Tarkas cried to me to
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haste ahead and discover, if possible, the sanctuary we sought. The suggestion
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was a good one, for thus many valuable minutes might be saved to us,
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and throwing every ounce of my earthly muscles into the effort, I cleared
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the remaining distance between myself and the cliffs in great leaps and bounds that put
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me at their base in a moment. The cliffs rose perpendicular directly from the
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almost level sword of the valley. There was no accumulation of fallen debris,
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forming a more or less rough ascent to them, as is the case with
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nearly all other cliffs I have ever seen. The scattered boulders that had fallen
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from above and lay upon or partly buried in the turf were the only indication
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that any disintegration of the massive, towering pile of rocks ever had taken place.
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My first cursory inspection of the face of the cliffs filled my heart with
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forebodings, since nowhere could I discern except where the weird herald stood still,
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shrieking his shrill summons, the faintest indiation of even a bare foothold upon the
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loftiest escarpment to my right. The bottom of the cliff was lost in dense
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foliage of the forest, which terminated at its very foot, rearing its gorgeous
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foliage, fully a thousand feet against its stern and forbidding neighbour to the left.
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The cliff ran apparently unbroken across the head of the broad valley, to
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be lost in the outlines of what appeared to be a range of mighty mountains
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that skirted and confined the valley in every direction. Perhaps a thousand feet from
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me. The river broke, as it seemed, directly from the base of
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the cliffs, and as there seemed not the remotest chance for escape in that
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direction, I turned my attention again toward the forest. The cliffs towered above
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me a good five thousand feet. The sun was not quite upon them,
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and they loomed a dull yellow in their own shade. Here and there they
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were broken with streaks and patches of dusky red green, and occasional areas of
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white courts. Altogether, they were very beautiful, but I feared that I
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did not regard them with a particularly appreciative eye. On this my first inspection
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of them. Just then I was absorbed in them only as a medium of
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escape, And so as my gaze ran quickly time and again over their vast
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expanse, in search of some crane or crevice. I came suddenly to loathe
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them, as the prisoner must loathe the cruel and impegnetrable walls of his dungeon.
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Tars Tarkas was approaching me rapidly, and still more rapidly came the awful
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horde at his heels. It seemed the forest now or nothing, and I
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was just on the point of motioning tars Tarkas to follow me in that direction
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when the sun passed the cliffs zenith, and as the bright rays touched the
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dull surface, it burst out into a million scintillent lights of burnished gold,
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a flaming red of soft greens and gleaming whites, A more gorgeous and in
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aspiring spectacle human eye has never rested upon the face of the entire cliff was,
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as later inspection conclusively proved, so shot with veins and patches of solid
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gold as to quite present the appearance of a solid wall of that precious metal,
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except where it was broken by outcroppings of ruby, emerald and diamond bowlders,
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a faint and alluring indication of the vast and unguessable riches which lay deeply
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buried behind the magnificent surface. But what caught my most interested attention at the
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moment that the sun's rays set the cliff's face a shimmer, was the several
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black spots which now appeared quite plainly in evidence, high across the gorgeous wall,
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close to the forest top, and extending apparently below and behind the branches.
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Almost immediately I recognized them for what they were, the dark openings of
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caves entering the solid walls, possible avenues of escape or temporary shelter. Could
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we but reach them? There was but a single way, and that led
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through the mighty towering trees upon our right. That I could scale them,
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I knew full well. But tars Tarkas, with his mighty bulk and enormous
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weight, would find it a task, possibly quite beyond his prowess or his
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skill, For Martians are at best but poor climbers. Upon the entire surface
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of that ancient planet, I never before had seen a hill or mountain that
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exceeded four thousand feet in height above the dead sea bottoms, And as the
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ascent was usually gradual nearly to their summits, they presented but few opportunities for
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the practice of climbing, nor would the Martians have embraced even such opportunities as
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might present themselves, For they could always find a circuitous route about the base
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of any eminence, and these roads they preferred and followed in preference to the
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shorter but more arduous ways. However, there was nothing else to consider than
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an attempt to scale the trees contiguous to the cliff in an effort to reach
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the caves above the Tharks the possibilities and the difficulties of the plan at once,
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but there was no alternative, and so we set out rapidly for the
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trees nearest the cliff. Our relentless pursuers were now close to us, so
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close that it seemed that it would be an utter impossibility for the Jeddak of
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Thark to reach the forest in advance of them. Nor was there any considerable
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will in the efforts that tars Tarkas made, for the green men of Barsoom
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do not relish flight, Nor ever before had I seen one fleeing from death
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in whatsoever form It might have confronted him. But that Tars Tarkas was the
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bravest of the brave He had proven thousands of times, yes, tens of
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thousands, in countless mortal combats with men and beasts, And so I knew
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that there was another reason than fear of death behind his flight, as he
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knew that a greater power than pride or honor spurred me to escape these fierce
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destroyers. In my case, it was love, love of the divine dejah
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Thoris, and the cause of Thark's great and sudden love of life I could
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not fathom, for it is oftener that they seek death in life, these
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strange, cruel, loveless, unhappy people. At length, however, we
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reached the shadow of the forest, while right behind us sprang the swiftest of
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our pursuers, a giant plant man with claws outreaching to fasten his blood sucking
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mouths upon us. He was, I should say, a hundred yards in
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advance of his closest companion, And so I called to tars Tarkas to ascend
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a great tree that brushed the cliff's face, while I despatched the fellow,
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thus giving the less agile Thark an opportunity to reach the higher branches before the
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entire horde should be upon us, and every vestige of escape cut off.
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But I had reckoned without a just appreciation, either of the cunning of my
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immediate antagonists or the swiftness with which his fellows were covering the distance which had
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separated them from me. As I raised my long sword to deal the creature
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its death thrust, it halted in its charge, and as my sword cut
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harmlessly through the empty air, the great tail of the thing swept, with
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the power of a grizzly's arm, across the sward and carried me bodily from
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my feet to the ground. In an instant the brute was upon me,
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but ere it could fasten its hideous mouths into my breast and throat, I
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grasped a rithing tentacle in either hand. The plant man was well muscled,
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heavy and powerful, but my earthly sinews and greater agility, in conjunction with
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the deathly stranglehold I had upon him, would have given me, I think,
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an eventual victory, had we had time to discuss the merits of our
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relative prowess uninterrupted. But as we strained and struggled about the trees into which
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tars Tarkas was clambering with infinite difficulty, I suddenly caught a glimpse over the
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shoulder of my antagonist of the great swarm of pursuers that now were fairly upon
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me. Now at last I saw the nature of the other monsters who had
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come with the plant men in response to the weird calling of the man upon
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the cliff's face. They were that most dreaded of Martian creatures, great white
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apes of Barsoom. My former experiences upon Mars have familiarized me thoroughly with them
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and their methods. And I may say that of all the fearsome and terrible,
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weird and grotesque inhabitants of that strange world, it is the white apes
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that come nearest to familiarizing me with the sensation of fear. I think that
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the cause of this feeling which these apes engender within me is due to their
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remarkable resemblance in form to our earthmen, which gives them a human appearance that
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is most uncanny when coupled with their enormous size. They stand fifteen feet in
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height and walk erect upon their hind feet. Like the green Martians, they
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have an intermediary set of arms midway between their upper and lower limbs. Their
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eyes are very close set, but do not protrude as do those of the
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green men. Of Mars. Their ears are high set, but more laterally
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located than are the green men's, while their snouts and teeth are much like
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those of our African gorilla. Upon their heads grows an enormous shock of bristly
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hair. It was into the eyes of such as these and the terrible plant
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men, that I gazed above the shoulder of my foe, And then in
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a mighty wave of snarling, snapping, screaming, purring rage, they swept
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over me. And of all the sounds that assailed my ears as I went
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down beneath them, to me, the most hideous was the horrid purring of
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the plant men. Instantly a score of cruel fangs and keen talons were sunk
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into my flesh. Cold sucking lips fastened themselves upon my arteries. I struggled
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to free myself, and even though weighed down by these immense bodies, I
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succeeded in struggling to my feet, where still grasping my long sword and shortening
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my grip upon it until I could use it as a dagger. I wrought
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such havoc among them that at one time I stood for an instant free.
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What it has taken minutes to write occurred in but a few seconds. But
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during that time Tars Tarkas had seen my plight and had dropped from the lower
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branches which he had reached with such infinite labor. And as I flung the
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last of my immediate antagonists from me, the great thark leaped to my side.
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And again we fought back to back, as we had done a hundred
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times before. Time and again the ferocious apes sprang in too close with us,
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and time and again we beat them back with our swords. The great
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tales of the plant men lashed with tremendous power about us as they charged from
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various directions, or sprang with the agility of greyhounds above our heads. But
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every attack met a gleaming blade in sword hands that had been reputed for twenty
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years the best that Mars ever had known. For Tars Tarkas and John Carter
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were names that the fighting men of the world of Warriors loved best to speak.
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But even the two best swords in the world of fighters could avail not
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for ever against overwhelming numbers of fierce and savage brutes that know not what defeat
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means until cold steel teaches their hearts no longer to beat, and so step
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by step we were forced back. At length we stood against the giant tree
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that we had chosen for ascent, and then, as charge after charge hurled
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its weight upon us, we gave back again and again, until we had
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been forced half way around the huge base of the colossal trunk. Tars Tarkas
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was in the lead, and suddenly I heard a little cry of exultations from
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him. Here is shelter for one at least, John Carter, he said,
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And glancing down, I saw an opening in the base of the tree,
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about three feet in diameter. In with you, Tars Tarkas, I
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cried, But he would not go, saying that his bulk was too great
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for the little aperture. While I might slip in easily. We shall both
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die if we remain without John Carter. Here is a slight chance for one
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of us. Take it, and you may live to avenge me. It
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is useless for me to attempt to warm my way into so small an opening,
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with this horde of demons besetting us on all sides. Then we shall
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die together. Tars Tarkas, I replied, for I shall not go first.
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Let me defend the opening while you get in. Then my smaller stature
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will permit me to slip in with you before they can prevent. We were
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still fighting ferociously as we talked in broken sentences punctuated with vicious cuts and thrusts
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at our swarming enemy. At length, he yielded, for it seemed the
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only way in which either of us might be saved from the ever increasing numbers
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of our assailants, who were still swarming upon us from all directions across the
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broad valley. It was ever your way, John Carter, to think last
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of your own life, he said, but still more your way to command
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the lives and actions of others, even to the greatest of Jeddaks who rule
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upon barsoom. There was a grim smile upon his cruel, hard face as
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he, the greatest Jeddak of them all, turned to obey the dictates of
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a creature of another world, of a man whose stature was less than half
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his own. If you fail, John Carter, he said, know that
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the cruel and heartless thark to whom you taught the meaning of friendship will come
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out to die beside you as you will, my friend, I replied,
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but quickly now head first, while I cover your retreat. He hesitated a
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little at that word, for never before in his whole life of continual strife
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had he turned his back upon aught than a dead or defeated enemy. Haste
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tars tarkas, I urged, or we shall both go down to profitless defeat.
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I cannot hold them forever alone. As he dropped to the ground to
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force his way into the tree, the whole howling pack of hideous devils hurled
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themselves upon me. To right and left flew my shimmering blade, now green
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with the sticky juice of a plantman, now red with the crimson blood of
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a great white ape, but always flying from one opponent to another, hesitating
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but the barest fraction of a second to drink the life blood in the center
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of some savage heart. And thus I fought, as I never had fought
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before, against such frightful odds that I cannot realize even now that human muscles
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could have withstood that awful onslaught that terrific weight of hurtling tons of ferocious,
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battling flesh. With the fear that we would escape them, the creatures redoubled
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their efforts to pull me down, And though the ground about me was piled
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high with their dead and dying comrades. They succeeded at last in overwhelming me,
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and I went down beneath them for the second time that day, and
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once again felt those awful sucking lips against my flesh. But scarce had I
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fallen air. I felt the powerful hands grip my ankles, and in another
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second I was being drawn within the shelter of the tree's interior. For a
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moment it was a tug of war between tars Tarkas and a great plant man,
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who clung tenuously to my breast. But presently I got the point of
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my long sword beneath him, and with a mighty thrust, pierced his vitals.
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Torn and bleeding from my cruel wounds, I lay panting upon the ground
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within the hollow of the tree, while tars Tarkas defended the opening from the
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ferocious mob without For an hour they howled about the tree, but after a
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few attempts to reach us, they confined their efforts to terrorizing shrieks and screams,
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to hoard growling on the part of the great white apes, and the
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fearsome and indescribable purring by the plant men at length. All but a score
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who had apparently been left to prevent our escape, had left us, and
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our adventures seemed destined to result in a siege, the only outcome of which
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could be our death by starvation. For even should we be able to slip
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out after dark, whither in this unknown and hostile valley could we hope to
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turn our steps toward possible escape. As the attacks of our enemies ceased and
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our eyes became accustomed to the semi darkness of the interior of our strange retreat,
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I took the opportunity to explore our shelter. The tree was hollow to
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an extent of about fifty feet in diameter, and from its flat, hard
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floor, I judged that it had often been used to dominile others before our
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occupancy. As I raised my eyes towards its roof to note the height,
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I saw far above me a faint glow of light. There was an opening
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above. If we could but reach it, we might still hope to make
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the shelter of the cliff caves. My eyes had not become quite used to
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the subdued light of the interior, and as I pursued my investigation, I
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presently came upon a rough ladder at the far side of the cave. Quickly
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I mounted it, only to find that it connected at the top with the
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lower of a series of horizontal wooden bars that spanned the now narrow and shaft
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like interior of the tree's stem. These bars were set one above another,
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about three feet apart, and formed a perfect ladder as far above me as
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I could see. Dropping to the floor once more, I detailed my discovery
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to tars Tarkas, who suggested that I explore aloft as far as I could
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go in safety, while he guarded the entrance against a possible attack. As
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I hastened above to explore the strange shaft, I found that the ladder of
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horizontal bars mounted always as far above me as my eyes could reach, and
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as I ascended, the light from above grew brighter and brighter. For fully
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five hundred feet. I continued to climb until at length I reached the opening
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in the stem which admitted the light. It was of about the same diameter
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as the entrance at the foot of the tree, and opened directly upon a
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large flat limb, the well worn surface of which testified to its long continued
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use as an avenue for some creature to and from this remarkable shaft. I
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did not venture out upon the limb for fear that I might be discovered and
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our retreat in this direction cut off, but instead hurried to retrace my steps
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to Tars Tarkas. I soon reached him, and presently we were both ascending
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the long ladder toward the opening above. Tars Tarkas went in advance, and
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as I reached the first of the horizontal bars, I drew the ladder up
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after me, and handing it to him, he carried it a hundred feet
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farther aloft, where he wedged it safely between one of the bars and the
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side of the shaft. In like manner, I dislodged the lower bars as
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I passed them, so that we soon had the interior of the tree denuded
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of all possible means of ascent for a distance of a hundred feet from the
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base, thus precluding possible pursuit and attack from the rear. As we were
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to learn later, this precaution saved us from dire predicament and was eventually the
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means of our salvation. When we reached the opening at the top tars Tarkas
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drew to one side that I might pass out and investigate, as owing to
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my lesser weight and greater agility, I was better fitted for the perilous threading
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of this dizzy hanging pathway. The limb upon which I found myself ascended at
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a slight angle toward the cliff, and as I followed it, I found
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that it terminated a few feet above a narrow ledge which protruded from the cliff's
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face at the entrance to a narrow cave. As I approached the slightly more
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slender extremity of the branch, it bent beneath my weight, until as I
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balanced perilously upon its outer tip, it swayed gently on a level with the
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ledge. At a distance of a couple feet. Five hundred feet below me
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lay the vivid scarlet carpet of the valley. Nearly five thousand feet above towered
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the mighty, gleaming face of the gorgeous cliffs. The cave that I faced
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was not one of those that I had seen from the ground, and which
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lay much higher, possibly a thousand feet, But so far as I might
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know, it was as good for our purpose as another, and saw I
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returned to the tree for tars Tarkas. Together we wormed our way along the
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waving pathway, but when we reached the end of the branch, we found
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that our combined weight so depressed the limb that the cave's mouth was now too
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far above us to be reached. We finally agreed that tars Tarkas should return
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along the branch, leaving his longest leather harnessed strap with me, and that
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when the limb had risen to a height that would permit me to enter the
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cave, I was to do so, and on tars Tarkas's return, I
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could then lower the strap and haul him up to the safety of the ledge.
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This we did without mishap, and soon found ourselves together upon the verge
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of a dizzy little balcony, with a magnificent view of the valley spreading out
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below us as far as the eye could reach. Gorgeous force and crimson swords
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skirted a silent sea, and about all towered the brilliant monster Guardian cliffs.
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Once we thought, we discerned a gilded minaret glimming in the sun amidst the
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waving top of far distant trees. But we soon abandoned the idea, in
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the belief that it was but a hallucination born of our great desire to discover
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the haunts of civilized men in this beautiful, yet forbidding spot. Below us,
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upon the river's bank, the great white apes were devouring the last remnants
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of tars tarkas former companions, while great herds of plant men grazed in ever
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widening circles about the sward, which they kept as close clipped as the smoothest
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of lawns. Knowing that attack from the tree was now improbable, we determined
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to explore the cave, which we had ever reason to believe was but a
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continuation of the path we had already traversed, leading the gods alone new where,
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but quite evidently away from this valley of grim veracity. As we advanced,
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we found a well proportioned tunnel cut from the solid cliff. Its walls
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rose some twenty feet above the floor, which was about five feet in in
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width. The roof was arched. We had no means of making a light,
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and so groped our way slowly into the ever increasing darkness, tars Tarkas
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keeping in touch with one wall while I felt along the other, while to
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prevent our wandering into diverging branches and becoming separated or lost in some intricate and
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lamberthine maze, we clasped hands. How far we traversed the tunnel in this
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manner I do not know, but presently we came to an obstruction which blocked
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our further progress. It seemed more like a partition than a sudden ending of
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the cave, for it was constructed not of the material of the cliff,
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but of something which felt like very hard wood. Silently I groped over its
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surface with my hands, and presently was rewarded by the feel of the button,
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which as commonly denotes a door on Mars as does a door knob on
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Earth. Gently pressing it, I had the satisfaction of feeling the door slowly
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give before me, and in another instant we were looking into a dimly lighted
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apartment, which, so far as we could see, was unoccupied. Without
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more ado, I swung the door wide open, and, followed by the
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huge thark, stepped into the chamber. As we stood for a moment in
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the silence gazing about the room, a slight noise behind caused me to turn
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quickly, when, to my astonishment I saw the door close with a sharp
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click, as though by an unseen hand. Instantly I sprang toward it to
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wrench it open again. For something in the uncanny movement of the thing and
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the tense and almost palpable silence of the chamber seemed to pretend a lurking evil
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lying hidden in this rock bound chamber within the bowels of the Golden cliffs.
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My fingers clawed futilely at the unyielding portal, while my eyes sought in vain
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for a duplicate of the button which had given us ingress. And then from
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unseen lips, a cruel and mocking peal of laughter rang through the desolate place.
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End of Chapter two