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

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Chapter ten, car Komak the Bowman. As Carthoris moved through the forest toward
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the distant cliffs, with Thuvia's hand still pressed tight in his, he wondered
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a little at the girl's continued silence. Yet the contact of her cool palm
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against his was so pleasant that he feared to break the spell of her new
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found reliance in him by speaking onward. Through the dim wood they passed until
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the shadows of the quick coming Martian night commenced to close down upon them.
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Then it was that Carthoris turned to speak to the girl at his side.
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They must plan together for the future. It was his idea to pass through
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the cliffs at once if they could locate the passage, and he was quite
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positive that they were now close to it, but he wanted her assent to
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the proposition. As his eyes rested upon her, he was struck by her
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strangely ethereal appearance. She seemed suddenly to have dissolved into the tenuous substance of
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a dream, and as he continued to gaze upon her, she faded slowly
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from his sight. For an instant he was dumbfounded, and then the whole
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truth flashed suddenly upon him. Jave had caused him to believe that Thuvia was
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accompanying him through the wood, while as a matter of fact, he had
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detained the girl for himself. Carthoris was horrified. He cursed himself for his
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stupidity. And yet he knew that the fiendish power which the Lotharian had invoked
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to confuse him might have deceived any scarce had he realized the truth, than
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he had started to retrace his steps toward Lothar. But now he moved at
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a trot, the earthly fuse that he had inherited from his father, carrying
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him swiftly over the soft carpet of fallen leaves and rank grass. Thuria's brilliant
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light flooded the plain before the walled city of Lothar. As Carthoris broke from
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the wood, opposite the great gate that had given the fugitives egress from the
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city earlier in the day. At first he saw no indication that there was
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another than himself anywhere about. The plain was deserted, No myriad bowman camped
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now beneath the overhanging verdure of the giant trees, no gory heaps of torture,
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dead, defaced the beauty of the scarlet sward. All was silence,
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all was peace. The Heliumite, scarce, pausing at the forest's verge,
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pushed on across the plain toward the city, when presently he descried a huddled
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form in the grass at his feet. It was the body of a man,
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lying prone. Carthoris turned the figure over upon its back. It was
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Jav, but torn and mangled, almost beyond recognition. The prince bent low
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to note if any spark of life remained, and as he did so,
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the lids raised and dull, suffering eyes looked up into his. The Princess
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of Ptarth, cried, Carthoris, where is she? Answer me? Man
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or I complete the work that another has so well begun? Comal, muttered
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Jav. He sprang upon me and would have devoured me but for the girl.
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Then they went away together into the wood, the girl in the great
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banth her fingers twined in his tawny mane. Which way went, they asked,
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Carthoris, there, replied Jav faintly, toward the passage through the cliffs.
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The Prince of Helium waited to hear no more, but, springing to
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his feet, raced back again into the forest. It was dawn when he
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reached the mouth of the dark tunnel that would lead him to the other world.
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Beyond this valley of ghostly memories and strange hypnotic influences and menaces. Within
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the long, dark passages, he met with no accident or obstacle, coming
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at last into the light of day beyond the mountains, and no great distance
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from the southern verge of the domains of the Torcasians, not more than one
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hundred fifty hid at most from the boundary of Torcas to the city of Anthor
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is, a distance of some two hundred hides, so that the Heliumite had
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before him a journey of more than one hundred and fifty earth miles between him
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and Anthor. He could at best but hazard a chance guess that toward Anthor,
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Thuvia would take her flight. There lay the nearest water, and there
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might be expected some day a rescuing party from her father's empire. For Carthoris
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knew thuvon Din well enough to know that he would leave no stone unturned until
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he had tracked down the truth as to his daughter's abduction and learned all that
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there might be to learn of her whereabouts. He realized, of course,
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that the trick which had laid suspicion upon him would greatly delay the discovery of
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the truth. But little did he guess to what vast proportions had the results
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of the villainy of Astok of Dusar already grown. Even as he emerged from
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the mouth of the passage to look across the foothills in the direction of Anthor,
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a Ptarth battle fleet was winging its majestic way slowly toward the twin cities
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of Helium, while from far distant Cowl raced another mighty armada to join forces
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with its ally. He did not know that, in the face of the
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circumstantial evidence against him, even his own people had commenced to entertain suspicions that
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he might have stolen the princess of Ptarth. He did not know of the
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lengths to which the Dusarians had gone to disrupt the friendship and alliance which existed
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between the three great powers of the Eastern Hemisphere, Helium, Ptarth, and
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Cowl. How Dusarian emissaries had found employment in important posts in the foreign offices
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of the three great nations, and how through these men messages from one Jeddak
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to another were altered and garbled, until the patience and pride of the three
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rulers and former friends could no longer endure the humiliations and insults contained in these
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falsified papers. Not any of this he knew, nor did he know how.
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Even to the last John Carter, Warlord of Mars, had refered fused
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to permit the Jeddak of Helium to declare war against either Ptarth or Cowl,
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because of his implicit belief in his son, and that eventually all would be
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satisfactorily explained. And now two great fleets were moving upon Helium, while the
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Dusarian spies at the court of Tardos Moors saw to that the Twin Cities remained
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in ignorance of their danger. War had been declared by thuvan Din, but
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the messenger who had been dispatched with the proclamation had been a Dusarian, who
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had seen to it that no word of warning reached the Twin Cities of the
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approach of a hostile fleet. For several days, diplomatic relations had been severed
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between Helium and her two most powerful neighbors, and with the departure of the
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ministers had come a total cessation of wireless communication between the disputants, as is
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usual upon Barsoom. But of all this Carthoris was ignorant. All that interested
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him at present was the finding of Thuvia of ptarth. Her trail beside that
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of the huge banth had been well marked to the tunnel and was once more
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visible leading southward into the foothills. As he followed rapidly downward toward the dead
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sea bottom, where he knew he must lose the spoor in the resilient ochre
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vegetation, he was suddenly surprised to see a naked man approaching him from northeast.
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As the fellow drew closer, Carthoris halted to await his coming. He
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knew that the man was unarmed, and that he was apparently a Lotharian,
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for his skin was white and his hair auburn. He approached the heliumite without
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sign of fear, and when quite close, called out the cheery Barsoomian cowor
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of greeting. Who are you, asked Carthoris, I am car komak Odwar
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of the bowmen, replied the other, A strange thing has happened to me,
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For ages, Tario has been bringing me into existence as he has needed
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the service of the army of his mind. Of all the bowmen, it
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has been car Komak who has been the oftenest materialized. For a long time,
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Tario has been concentrating his mind upon my permanent materialization. It has been
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an obsession with him that some day this thing could be accomplished and the future
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of Lothar assured. He asserted that matter was nonexistent except in the imagination of
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man, that all was mental, and so he believed that by persisting in
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his suggestion, he could eventually make of me a permanent suggestion in the minds
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of all creatures. Yesterday he succeeded. But at such a time it must
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have come all unknown to him, as it came to me without my mind
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knowledge, as with my horde of yelling bowmen. I pursued the fleeing Torquasians
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back to their Ochre plains. As darkness settled and the time came for us
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to fade once more into thin air, I suddenly found myself alone upon the
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edge of the great plain which lies yonder at the foot of the low hills.
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My men were gone back to the nothingness from which they had sprung,
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But I remained naked and unarmed. At first I could not understand, but
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at last came a realization of what had occurred. Tario's long suggestion had at
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last prevailed, and kar Komak had become a reality in the world of men.
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But my harness and my weapons had faded away from my fellows, leaving
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me naked and unarmed in a hostile country far from Lothar. You wish to
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return to Lothar, asked Carthoris. No, replied kar Komak quickly. I
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have no love for Tario, being a creature of his mind. I know
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him too well. He is cruel and tyrannical, a master I have no
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desire to serve. Now that he has succeeded in accomplishing my permanent materialization,
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he will be unbearable, and he will go on until he has filled Lothar
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with his creatures. I wonder if he has succeeded as well with the Maid
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of Lothar. I thought there were no women there, said Carthoris. In
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a hidden apartment in the palace of Tario, replied kar Komak. The Jeddak
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has maintained the suggestion of a beautiful girl, hoping that some day she would
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become permanent. I have seen her there. She is wonderful. But for
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her sake I hope that Tario succeeds not so well with her as he has
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with me. Now, red Man, I have told you of myself,
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what of you? Carthoris liked the face and manner of the bowman. There
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had been no sign of doubt or fear in his expression as he had approached
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the heavily armed Heliumite, and he had spoken directly and to the point.
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So the Prince of Helium told the bowmen of Lothar who he was and what
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adventure had brought him to this far country, good, exclaimed the other.
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When he had done, kar Komak will accompany you. Together we shall find
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the Princess of Ptarth, and with you kar Komak will return to the world
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of men, such a world as he knew in the long gone past,
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when the ships of mighty Lothar plowed angry throx Us, and the roaring surf
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beat against the barrier of these parched and dreary hills. What mean, you,
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asked, Carthoris, Had you really a former actual existence? Most assuredly
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replied, kar Komak. In my day I commanded the fleets of Lothar,
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mightiest of all the fleets that sailed the five salt seas. Wherever men lived
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upon Barsoom, there was the name of Karkomac, known and respected. Peaceful
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were the land races in those distant days. Only the seafarers were warriors.
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But now has the glory of the past faded. Nor did I think until
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I met you that there remained upon Barsoom a single person of your own mold,
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who lived and loved and fought as did the ancient seafarers of my time.
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Ah, But it will seem good to see men once again real men.
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Never had I much respect for the landsmen of my day. They remained
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in their walled cities, wasting their time and play, depending for their protection
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entirely upon the sea race, and the poor creatures who remained the Tarios and
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Javs of Lothar are even worse than their ancient forebears. Carthoris was a trifle
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skeptical as to the wisdom of permitting the stranger to attach himself to him.
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There was always the chance that he was, but the essence of some hypnotic
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treachery which Tario or Jav was attempting to exert upon the heliumite. And yet
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so sincere had been the manner and the words of the bowmen, so much
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the fighting man did he seem, but Carthoris could not find it in his
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heart to doubt him. The outcome of the matter was that he gave the
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naked odwar leave to accompany him, and together they set out upon the spoor
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of Thuvia and comal down to the Ochre Sea bottom. The trail led there
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it disappeared, as Carthoris had known that it would, But where it entered
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the plane, its direction had been toward Anthor, and so toward Anthor the
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two turned their faces. It was a long and tedious journey, fraught with
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many dangers. The bowmen could not travel at the pace set by Carthoris,
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whose muscles carried him with great rapidity over the face of the small planet,
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the force of gravity of which exerts so much less retarding power than that of
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the Earth. Fifty miles a day is a fair average for a Barsoomian,
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but the son of John Carter might easily have covered a hundred or more miles
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had he cared to desert his new found comrade. All the way, they
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were in constant danger of discovery by roving bands of Torquasians, and especially was
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this true before they reached the boundary of Torcas. Good fortune was with them,
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however, and although they sighted two detachments of the Savage Green Men,
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they were not themselves seen. And so they came, upon the morning of
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the third day, within sight of the glistening domes of distant Anthor. Throughout
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the journey, Carthoris had ever strained his eyes ahead in search of Thuvia and
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the Great Banth, but not till now had he seen aught to give him
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hope. This morning, far ahead, half way between themselves and Anthor,
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the men saw two tiny figures moving toward the city. For a moment they
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watched them intently. Then Carthoris, convinced, leaped forward at a rapid run,
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kar Komak, following as swiftly as he could. The Heliumite shouted to
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attract the girl's attention, and presently he was rewarded by seeing her turn and
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stand looking toward him. At her side, the Great Banth stood with up
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pricked ears, watching the approaching man. Not yet could Thuvia of Ptarth have
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recognized Carthoris, though that it was he, She must have been convinced,
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for she waited there for him without sign of fear. Presently he saw her
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point toward the northeast beyond him. Without slackening his pace, he turned his
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eyes in the directions she indicated, racing silently over the thick vegetation. Not
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half a mile behind came a score of fierce green warriors, charging him upon
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their mighty thoats. To their right was kar Komak, naked and unarmed,
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yet running valiantly toward Carthoris and shouting warning, as though he too had but
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just discovered the silent menacing company that moved so swiftly forward with couched spears and
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ready long swords. Carthoris shouted to the Lotharian, warning him back, for
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he knew that he could but uselessly sacrifice his life by placing himself, all
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unarmed, in the path of the cruel and relentless savages. But Krkomak never
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hesitated. With shouts of encouragement to his new friend, he hurried onward toward
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the Prince of Helium. The red Man's heart leaped in response to this exhibition
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of courage and self sacrifice. He regretted now that he had not thought to
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give kar Komac one of his swords, but it was too late to attempt
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it, for should he wait for the Lotharian to overtake him or return to
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meet him, the Torcasians would reach Thuvia of Ptarth before he could do so.
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Even as it was, it would be nip and tuck as to who
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came first to her side. Again, he turned his face in her direction,
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and now from Anthor Way, he saw a new force hastening toward them,
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two medium sized war craft, and even at the distance they still were
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from him, he discerned the device of Dusar upon their boughs. Now,
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indeed seemed little hope for Thuvia of Ptarth, with savage warriors of the Hordes
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of Torcas charging toward her from one direction, and no less implacable enemies in
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the form of the creatures of Astok, Prince of Dusar, bearing down upon
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her from another. While only a banth, a red warrior, and an
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unarmed bowman were near to defend her. Her plight was quite hopeless, and
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her cause already lost ere ever, it was contested. As Thuvia saw Carthoris
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approaching, she felt again that unaccountable sensation of entire relief from responsibility and fear
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that she had experienced upon a former occasion. Nor could she account for it.
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While her mind still tried to convince her heart that the Prince of Helium
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had been instrumental in her abduction from her father's court, she only knew that
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she was glad when he was by her side, and that with him there
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all things seemed possible, even such impossible things as escape from her present predicament.
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Now he had stopped panting before her, A brave smile of encouragement lit
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his face. Courage, my princess, he whispered to the Girl's memory flashed
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the occasion upon which he had used those same words in the throne room of
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Tario of Lothar, as they had commenced to slip down the sinking marble floor
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toward an unknown fate. Then she had not chiden him for the use of
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that familiar salutation, nor did she chide him now, though she was promised
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to another. She wondered at herself, flushing at her own turpitude, for
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upon barsoom. It is a shameful thing for a woman to listen to those
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two words from another than her husband or her betrothed. Carthoris saw her flush
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of mortification, and in an instant regretted his words. There was but a
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moment before the Green warriors would be upon them. Forgive me, said the
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man in a low voice. Let my great love be my excuse that and
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the belief that I have but a moment more of life. And with the
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words he turned to meet the foremost of the Green warriors. The fellow was
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charging with couched spear, but Carthoris leaped to one side, and as the
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great foat and its rider hurtled harmlessly past him, he swung his long sword
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in a mighty cut that clove the green carcass in twain. At the same
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moment, kar Komac leaped with bare hands, clawing at the leg of another
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of the huge riders. The balance of the horde raced into close quarters,
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dismounting the better to wield their favorite long swords. The Dusarian fliers touched the
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soft carpet of the ochre clad sea bottom, disgorging fifty fighting men from their
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bowels and into the swirling sea of cutting slag, lashing swords, sprang comal
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the Great banth end of chapter ten