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

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Chapter sixteen. Under arrest, as Carthoris, exodarm Tars, Tarkas and I
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stood gazing at the magnificent vessel, which meant so much to all of us.
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We saw second and then a third topped the summit of the hills and
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glide gracefully after their sister ny. A score of one man air scouts were
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launching from the upper decks of the nearer vessel, and in a moment more
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were speeding in long swift dives to the ground about us. In another instant,
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we were surrounded by armed sailors, and an officer had stepped forward to
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address us, when his eyes fell upon Carthoris. With an exclamation of surprised
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pleasure, he sprang forward, and, placing his hands upon the boy's shoulder,
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called him by name, Carthoris, my prince. He cried, kawor
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kaowor hor vastus greets, the son of dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium,
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and of her husband John Carter. Where have you been, o, my
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prince? All Helium has plunged in sorrow. Terrible have been the calamities that
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have befallen your great Grandsire's mighty nation since the fatal day that saw you leave
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our midst grieve not my good, hor Vastus, cried Carthoris, since I
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bring not back myself alone to cheer my mother's heart and the hearts of my
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beloved people, but also one whom all Barsoom loved best, her greatest warrior
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and her savior, John Carter, Prince of Helium. Hor Vastus turned in
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the direction indicated by Carthoris, and as his eyes fell upon me, he
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was like to have collapsed from sheer surprise, John Carter, he exclaimed,
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and then a sudden, troubled look came into his eyes. My prince,
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he started, where hast thou? And then he stopped. But I knew
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the question that his lips dared not frame. The loyal fellow would not be
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the one to force from mine a confession of the terrible truth that I had
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returned from the bosom of the Ish, the river of Mystery, back from
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the shore of the lost Sea of Chorus and the valley door. Ah,
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My Prince, he continued, as though no thought had interrupted his greeting,
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that you are back as sufficient, and let hor Vastus sword have the high
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honor of being first at thy feet. With these words, the noble fellow
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unbuckled his scabbard and flung his sword upon the ground before me. Could you
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know the customs and the character of red Martians, you would appreciate the depth
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of meaning that that simple act conveyed to me and to all about us who
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witnessed it. The thing was equivalent to saying, my sword, my body,
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my life, my soul, are yours to do with as you wish
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until death and after death. I looked you alone for authority for my every
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act. Be you right or wrong, your words shall be my only truth.
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Whoso raises his hand against you must answer to my sword. It is
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the oath of fealty that men occasionally pay to a Jeddak, whose high character
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and chivalrous acts have inspired the enthusiastic love of his followers. Never had I
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known this high tribute paid to a lesser mortal. There was but one response
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possible. I stooped and lifted the sword from the ground, raised the hilt
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to my lips, and then, stepping to whor's vastest, I buckled the
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weapon upon him with my own hands. Hor Vastus, I said, placing
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my hand upon his shoulder. You know best the promptings of your own heart,
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that I shall need your sword. I have little doubt but except from
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John Carter, upon his sacred honor, the assurance that he will never call
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upon you to draw the sword other than in the cause of truth, justice
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and righteousness. That I knew, my prince, he replied, erever,
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I threw my beloved blade at thy feet. As we spoke, other fliers
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came and went between the ground and the battleship, and presently a larger boat
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was launched from above, one capable of carrying a dozen persons perhaps, and
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dropped lightly near us. As she touched, an officer sprang from her deck
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to the ground, and, advancing to hor Vastis, saluted, kantos Kan
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desires that this party whom we have rescued, be brought immediately to the deck
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of the Exavarian, he said. As we approached the little craft, I
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looked about for the members of my party, and for the first time noticed
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that Thuvia was not among them. Questioning elicited the fact that none had seen
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her since Arthoris had sent her thoat galloping madly toward the hills in the hope
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of carrying her out of Harm's way. Immediately, hor Vassis despatched a dozen
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air scouts in as many directions to search for her. It could not be
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possible that she had gone far since we had last seen her. We others
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stepped to the deck of the craft that had been sent to fetch us,
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and a moment later we were upon the Exevarian. The first man to greet
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me was kantos Kan himself. My old friend had won to the highest place
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in the navy of Helium, but he was still to me the same brave
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comrade who had shared with me the privations of a warhoon Dungeon, the terrible
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atrocities of the Great Games, and later the dangers of our search for dejah
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Thoris within the hostile city of Zodanga. Then I had been an unknown wanderer
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upon a strange planet, and he a simple padwar in the navy of Helium.
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To day he commanded all Helium's great terrors of the skies, and I
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was a prince of the house of Tardos Mors Jeddak of Helium. He did
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not ask where I had been. Like hor Vastus, he too dreaded the
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truth and would not be the one to wrest a statement from me that it
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must come some time he well knew, But until it came, he seemed
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satisfied to but know that I was with him once more. He greeted Carthoris
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and tars Tarkas with the keenest delight, But he asked neither where he had
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been. He could scarcely keep his hands off the boy. You do not
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know, John Carter, He said to me, how we of Helium love
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this son of yours. It is as though all the great love we bore
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his noble father and his poor mother had been centered in him. When it
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became known that he was lost, ten million people wept, What mean you,
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kantos Kan, I whispered by his poor mother, for the words had
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seemed to carry a sinister meaning which I could not fathom. He drew me
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to one side for a year, he said, ever since Carthoris disappeared,
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dejah Thoris has grieved and mourned for her lost boy. The blow of years
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ago, when you did not return from the atmosphere plant was lessened to some
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extent the duties of motherhood, for your son broke his white shell that very
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night that she suffered terribly. Then all Helium knew, for did not all
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Helium suffer with her the loss of her lord. But with the boy gone,
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there was nothing left, and after expedition upon expedition returned with the same
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hopeless tale of no clue as to his whereabouts. Our beloved princess drooped lower
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and lower, until all who saw her felt that it could be but a
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matter of days. Ere she went to join her loved ones within the precincts
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of the valley door as a last resort. Moore's Kajak, her father,
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and tardos More's her grandfather, took command of two mighty expeditions, and a
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month ago sailed away to explore every inch of ground in the northern hemisphere of
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Barsoom. For two weeks no word has come back from them, but rumors
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were rifted that they had met with a terrible disaster and that all were dead.
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About this time, zat Arras renewed his importunities for her hand in marriage.
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He has been forever after her since you disappeared. She hated him and
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feared him, But with both her father and grandfather gone, Zadarras was very
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powerful, for he is still jed of Zodanga to which position you will remember,
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Tardos Mors appointed him after you had refused the honor. He had a
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secret audience with her six days ago. What took place none knows. But
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the next day dejah Thoris had disappeared, and with her had gone a dozen
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of her household guard and body servants, including Sola, the green woman,
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tars Tarkas's daughter. You recall no word left they of their intentions. But
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it is always thus with those who go upon the voluntary pilgrimage, from which
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none returns. We cannot think aught than that dejah Thoris has sought the icy
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bosom of Issh, and that her devoted servants have chosen to accompany her.
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Zadarras was at Helium when she disappeared. He commands this fleet which has been
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searching for her since. No trace of her have we found, and I
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fear that it be a feudal quest. While we talked, hor Vastus's fliers
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were returning to the ex Severian. Not one, however, had discovered a
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trace of Thuvia. I was much depressed over the news of dejah Thoris's disappearance,
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and now there was added the further burden of apprehension concerning the fate of
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this girl, whom I believed to be the daughter of some proud Barsoomium house,
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and it had been my intention to make every effort to return her to
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her people. I was about to ask kantos Kan to prosecute a further search
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for her, when a flier from the flagship of the fleet arrived at the
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Exeverian with an officer bearing a message to kantos Kan from Ras. My friend
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read the despatch and then turned to me. Zadarras commands me to bring our
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prisoners before him. There is naught else to do. He is supreme in
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Helium. Yet it would be far more in keeping with chivalry and good taste
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were he to come hither and greet the Savior of Barsoom with the honors that
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are his due. You know full well, my friend, I said,
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smiling, that Zadarras has good cause to hate me. Nothing would please him
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better than to humiliate me and then to kill me. Now that he has
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so excellent an excuse, let us go and see if he has the courage
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to take advantage of it. Summoning Carthoris, tars Tarkas, and Exodar,
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we entered the small flier with kantos Kan and zat Arras's officer, and in
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a moment we were stepping to the deck of Zadarras's flagship. As we approached
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the Jed of Zodanga, no sign of greeting or recognition crossed his face.
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Not even to Carthoris did he vouchsafe a friendly word. His attitude was cold,
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haughty and uncompromising. Kaor's at Arras, I said in greeting, but
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he did not respond. Why were these prisoners not disarmed, he asked to
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kantos Kan. They are not prisoners, zadars replied the officer. Two of
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them are of Helium's noblest family. Tars Tarkas Jeddak of thark Is Tartos Moore's
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best beloved ally. The other is a friend and companion of the Prince of
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Helium. That is enough for me to know. It is not enough for
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me, however, retorted Zadars. More must I hear from those who have
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taken the pilgrimage, then their names? Where have you been, John Carter,
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I have just come from the valley door and the land of the first
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born, zadars I replied, Ah, he exclaimed in evident pleasure. You
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do not deny it, then you have returned from the bosom of issh.
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I have come back from a land of false hope, from a valley of
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torture and death. With my companions, I have escaped from the hideous clutches
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of lying fiends. I have come back to the barsoom that I saved from
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a painless death, to again save her, but this time from death in
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its most frightful form. Cease blasphemer, cried Zatars, hope not to say
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thy cowardly carcass by inventing horrid lies to But he got no further. One
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does not call John Carter coward and liar thus lightly, and Zatars should have
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known it. Before a hand could be raised to stop me, I was
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at his side, and one hand grasped his throat. Come I from heaven
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or hell, zat oars, you will find me still the same John Carter
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that I have always been. Nor did ever man call me such names and
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live without apologizing. And with that I commenced to bend him back across my
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knee and tighten my grip upon his throat. Seize him. Cried Stars and
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a dozen officers sprang forward to assist him. Kantos Kan came close and whispered
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to me, desist, I beg of you. It will but involve us
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all, for I cannot see these men lay hands upon you without aiding you.
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My officers and men will join me, and we shall have a mutiny
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then that may lead to the revolution for the sake of Tardos Mors and Helium.
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Desist. At his words, I released Zadarras, and, turning my
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back upon him, walked toward the ship's rail. Come kantos Kan, I
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said, the Prince of Helium would return to the Exevarian. None interfered.
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Zadar stood white and trembling amidst his officers. Some there were who looked upon
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him with scorn and drew toward me, while one, a man long in
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the service and confidence of Tartos Mors, spoke to me in a low tone
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as I passed him. You may count my metal among your fighting men,
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John Carter, he said. I thanked him and passed on in silence.
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We embarked, and shortly after stepped once more upon the deck of the Exevarium.
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Fifteen minutes later we received orders from the flagship to proceed toward Helium.
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Our journey thither was uneventful. Carthoris and I were wrapped in the gloomiest of
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thoughts. Kantos Kan was somber and contemplation of the further calamity that might fall
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upon Helium should Zatars attempt to follow the agiled precedent that allotted a terrible death
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to fugitives from the valley door Tars Tarkas grieved for the loss of his daughter.
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Exodar alone was carefree, a fugitive and outlaw, he could be no
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worse off in Helium than elsewhere. Let us hope that we may at least
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go out with good red blood upon our blades. He said. It was
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a simple wish, and one most likely to be gratified among the officers of
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a Exavarian. I thought I could discern di vision into fractions where we had
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reached Helium. There were those who gathered about Carthoris and myself whenever the opportunity
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presented, while about an equal number held aloof from us. They offered us
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only the most courteous treatment, but were evidently bound by their superstitious belief in
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the doctrine of door and ish and chorus. I could not blame them,
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for I knew how strong a holy creed, however ridiculous it may be,
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may gain upon an otherwise intelligent people. By returning from Dor, we had
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committed a sacrilege. By recounting our adventures there and stating the facts as they
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existed, we had outraged the religion of their fathers. We were blasphemers,
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lying heretics. Even those who still clung to us from personal love and loyalty,
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I think, did so in the face of the fact that at heart
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they questioned our veracity. It is very hard to accept a new religion for
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an old, no matter how our luring the promises of the new may be.
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But to reject the old as a tissue of falsehoods without being offered anything
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in its steed is indeed a most difficult thing to ask of any people.
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Kantos Kan would not talk of our experiences among the Thurns and the first Born.
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It is enough, he said, that I jeopardized my life here and
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hereafter by countenancing you all. Do not ask me to add still further to
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my sins by listening to what I have always been taught. Was the rankest
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heresy. I knew that sooner or later the time must come when our friends
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and enemies would be forced to declare themselves openly. When we reached Helium,
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there must be an accounting, And if Tardos Mors had not returned, I
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feared that the enmity of Zadars might weigh heavily against us, for he represented
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the government of Helium. To take sides against him were equivalent to treason.
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The majority of the troops would doubtless follow the lead of their officers, and
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I knew that many of the highest and most powerful men of both land and
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air forces would cleave to John Carter in the face of God, man or
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devil. On the other hand, the majority of the populace unquestionably would demand
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that we pay the penalty of our sacrilege. The outlook seemed dark from whatever
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angle I viewed it, but my mind was so torn with anguish at the
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thought of dejah Thoris that I realized now that I gave the terrible question of
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Helium's plight, but scant attention at that time. There was always before me
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day and night, a horrible nightmare of the frightful scenes through which I knew
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my princess might even then be passing the horrid plant men, the ferocious white
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apes. At times I would cover my face with my hands in a vain
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effort to shut out the fearful thing from my mind. It was in the
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forenoon that we arrived above the mild high scarlet tower, which marks Greater Helium
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from her twin city. As we descended in great circles toward the navy docks,
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a mighty multitude could be seen surging in the streets beneath Helium had been
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notified by radio aerogram of our approach. From the deck of the ex Savarian.
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We four Carthoris, Tars Tarkas, Exodar, and I were transferred to
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a lesser flower to be transported to quarters within the Temple of Reward. It
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is here that Martian justice as needed to benefactor or malefactor. Here the hero
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is decorated, here the felon is condemned. We were taken into the temple
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from the landing stage upon the roof, so that we did not pass among
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the people at all, as is customary. Always before I had seen prisoners
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of note or returned wanderers of eminence paraded from the gate of Jeddaks to the
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Temple of Reward, up the broad Avenue of Ancestors, through dense crowds of
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jeering or cheering citizens. I knew that zat Daris dared not trust the people
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near to us, for he feared that their love for Carthoris and myself might
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break into a demonstration which would wipe out their superstitious horror of the crime we
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were to be charged with. What his plans were I could only guess,
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but that they were sinister was evidenced by the fact that only his most trusted
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servitors accompanied us upon the flier to the Temple of Reward. We were lodged
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in a room upon the south side of the temple, overlooking the Avenue of
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Ancestors, down which we could see the full length to the gate of Jeddaks,
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five miles away. The people in the temple plaza and in the streets
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for a distance of a full mile were standing as close packed as it was
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possible for them to get. They were very orderly. There were neither scoffs
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nor plaudits, and when they saw us at the window above them, there
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were many who buried their faces in their arms and wept. Late in the
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afternoon, a messenger arrived from zat Arras to inform us that we would be
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tried by an impartial body of nobles in the Great Hall of the Temple at
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the verse Zode asterisk on the following day, or at about eight forty a
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m Earth time asterisk. Wherever Captain Carter has used Martian measurements of time,
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distance, weight, and the like, I have translated them into as nearly
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their equivalent in earthly values as is possible. His notes contained many Martian tables
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and a great volume of scientific data. But since the International Astronomic Society is
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at present engaged in classifying, investigating, and verifying this vast fun of remarkable
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and valuable information, I have felt that it will add nothing to the interest
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of Captain Carter's story or to the sum total of human knowledge. To maintain
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a strict adherence to the original manuscript in these matters, while it might readily
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confuse the reader and detract from the interest of the history. For those who
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may be interested, however, I will explain that the Martian day is a
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trifle over twenty four hours thirty seven minutes duration Earth time. This the Martians
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divide into ten equal parts, commencing the day at about six a m.
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Earth time. The zodes are divided into fifty shorter periods, each of which
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in turn is composed of two hundred brief periods of time about equivalent to the
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earthly second. The Barsoomian table of time as here given is but a part
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of the full table appearing in Captain Carter's notes, Table two hundred towels one
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x fifty x one zode, ten zodes, one revolution of Mars upon its
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axis, end of Chapter sixteen