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15 - Moon Maid by Edgar Rice Burroughs · Moon Maid

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Fourteen the bar zoom. The city was already in flames
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: in many places, and though the people fought valiantly to
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: extinguish them, it seemed to me that they but spread
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the more rapidly with each succeeding minute. And then as
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: suddenly as it had commenced, the bombardment ceased. Nigh Lie
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: and I crossed over to the outer edge of the
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: terrace to see if we could note any new movement
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: by the enemy. Nor did we have long to wait.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: We saw one hundred ladders raised, as if by magic,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: toward the lowest terrace, which rose but a bare two
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: hundred feet above the base of the city. The men
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: who carried the ladders were not visible to us when
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: they came close to the base of the wall. But
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: I guessed from the distant glimpses that I caught of
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: the ladders as they were rushed forward by running men,
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: that here again orthus, earthly knowledge and experience had come
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: to the assistance of the cob cars. For I was
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: sure that only some form of extension ladder could be
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: successfully used to reach even the lowest terrace. When I
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: saw their intention, I ran quickly down into the palace
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: and out upon the terrace before the gates, where the
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: remainder of the guard was stationed, and there I told
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: them what was happening, and urged them to hasten the
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: people to the lowest terrace to repulse the enemy before
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: they had secured a foothold upon the city. Then I
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: returned to Nailah, and together we watched the outcome of
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: the struggle. But almost from the first I realized that
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Lathe was doomed, for before any of her defenders could
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: reach the spot fully a thousand Colcrs had clamored to
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: the terrace, and there they held their own while other
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: thousands ascended in safety to the city. We saw the
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: defenders rush forth to attack them, and for a moment,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: so impetuous was their charge, I thought that I had
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: been wrong, and that the Calcars might yet be driven
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: from Lathe. Fighting upon the lower outer terrace. Far beneath
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: us was a surging mass of shouting warriors. The colcars
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: were falling back before the impetuous onslaught of the Lathians.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: They have not the blood in their veins, whispered Nailah,
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: clinging tightly to my arm. One noble is worth ten
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: of them. Watch them already they are fleeing. And so
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: it seemed, and the route of the calcars appeared almost assured.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: A score upon score of them were hurled over the
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: edge of the terrace, to fall mangled and bleeding upon
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: the ground hundreds of feet below. But suddenly a new
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: force seemed to be injected into the strife. I saw
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: a stream of calcars emerging above the edge of the
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: lower terrace, new men clambering up the ladders from the
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: plateau below. And as they came they shouted something which
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: I could not understand. But the other calcars seemed to
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: take heart and made once more the semblance of a
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: stand against the noble Athians. And I saw one, the
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: leader of the newcomers, force his way into the battling throng.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: And then I saw him raise his hand above his
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: head and hurl something into the midst of the compact
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: ranks of the Ladians. Instantly there was a terrific explosion,
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: and a great bloody gap lay upon the terrace, where
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: an instant before a hundred of the flower of the
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: fighting men of Lathe had been so gloriously defending their
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: city and their honor. Grenades, I exclaimed hand grenades. What
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: is it, Julian, What is it that they are doing
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: down there? Cried Nailah. They are murdering my people. Yes, Naillah,
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: they are murdering your people. And well, may Vana curse
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: the day that earth men set foot upon your world.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: I do not understand, Julia, she said, this is the
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: work of Orthis, I said, who has brought from earth
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: the knowledge of diabolical engines of destruction. He first shelled
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: the city with what must have been nothing more than
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: crude mortars, for it is impossible that he has had
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: the time to construct the machinery to build any of
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: the simplest of guns. Now his troops are hurling hand
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: grenades among our men. There is no chance, Nailah, for
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: the Lathians to successfully bit their primitive weapons against the
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: modern agents of destruction which Orthos has brought to bear
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: against them. Lathe must surrender or be destroyed. Nailah laid
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: her head upon my shoulder and wept softly. Julian, she said,
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: at last, this is the end. Then take me to
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: the Jemadov, my mother, please, and then you must go
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: and make your peace with your fellow earth man. It
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: is not right that you, a stranger who have done
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: so much for me, should fall with me and lathe.
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: The only peace I can make with Orthus Nailah, I replied,
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: is the peace of death. Orthos and I may not
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: live together again in the same world. She was crying
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: very softly, sobbing upon my shoulder, and I put my
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: arm about her in an effort to quiet her. I
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: have brought you only suffering in danger and now death, Julian,
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: she said, when you deserve not but happiness of peace.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: I suddenly felt very strange, and my heart behaved wretchedly,
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: so that when I attempted to speak, it pounded, so
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: that I could say nothing, and my knees shook beneath me.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: What had come over me? Could it be possible that
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: already Orthus had loosed his poison gas? Then at last
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: I managed to gather myself together. Niineae said, I do
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: not fear death if you must die, and I do
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: not seek happiness except with you. She looked up suddenly,
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: her great tear dimmed, eyes wide and gazing deep into mine.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: You mean, Julian, You mean I mean Naihlah that I
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: love you, I replied, though I must have stumbled through
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: the words in a most ridiculous manner.
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: So frightened was I, Ah, Julian, She sighed and put
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: her arms about my neck. And you, Nillah, I exclaimed increadulously,
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: as I crushed into me. Can it be that you
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: return my love? I have loved you always, she replied,
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: from the very first, almost way back when we were
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: prisoners together in the Nauvan's village. You earth men must
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: be very blind, my Julian. A Lathian would have known
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: it at once, for it seemed to me that upon
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: a dozen occasions I almost avowed my love openly to you.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Alas Nailah, I must have been very blind, for I
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: had not guessed until this minute that you loved me. Now,
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: she said, I do not care what happens. We have
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: one another, and if we die together, doubtless we shall
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: live together in a new incarnation. I hope, so I
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: said that I should much rather be sure of it
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: and live together in this and I too, Julian, but
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: that is impossible. We were walking now through the corridors
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: of the palace toward the chamber occupied by her mother,
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: but we did not find her there, and nih Lah
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: became apprehensive as to his safety. Hurriedly we searched through
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: other chambers of the palace, until at last we came
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: to the little audience chamber in which Sagrath had been slain,
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: And as we threw open the door, I saw a
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: sight that I tried to hide from nih Lah's eyes
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: as I drew her around in an effort to force
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: her back into the corridor. Possibly she guessed what impelled
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: my action, for she shook her head and murmured, now, Julia,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: whatever it is, I must see it. And then she
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: pushed her way gently past me, and we stood together
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: upon the threshold, looking at the harrowing sight which the
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: interior of the room displayed. There were the bodies of
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: the assassin Sagrath that I had slain, and the dead Jemadar, too,
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: precisely as he had fallen. While across his breast lay
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: the body of Naila's mother, a dagger self thrust through
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: her heart. For just a moment, Nilas stood there, looking
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: at them in silence, as though in prayer, and then
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: she turned wearily away and left the chamber, closing the
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: door behind her. We walked on in silence for some time,
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: ascending the stairway back to the upper terrace. Upon the
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: inner side, the flames were spreading throughout the city, roaring
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: like a mighty furnace, and vomiting up great clouds of smoke.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: For though the Lathian terraces are supported by tremendous arches
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: of masonry, yet there is much wood used in the
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: interior construction of the buildings, while the hangings of the
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: furniture are all inflammable. We had no chance to save
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: the city, said Nilah with a sigh. Our people called
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: from their normal duties by the false koti were leaderless.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: The fire fighters, instead of being at their posts, were
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: seeking the life of their Jemadah. Unhappy day, unhappy day.
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: You think they could have stopped the fire, I asked.
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: The little ponds, the rivulets, the waterfalls, the great public baths,
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: and the tiny lakes that you see upon every terrace
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: were all built with fire protection in mind. It is
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: easy to divert their waters and flood any tier of buildings.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Had my people been at their posts, this at least
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: could not have happened. As we stood watching the flames,
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: we suddenly saw people emerging in great numbers upon several
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: of the lower terraces. They were evidently in terrified flight.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: And then others appeared upon terraces above them, cow cars
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: who hurled hand grenades amongst the ladians. Beneath them, men,
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: women and children ran hither and thither, shrieking and crying
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: and seeking for shelter. But from the buildings behind them,
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: rushing them outward upon the terraces, came other cow carts
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: with hand grenade. The fires hemmed the people of Lathe
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: upon either side, and the calcars attacked them from the
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: rear from above. The weaker fell and were trodden to death,
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: and I saw scores fall upon their own lances or
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: drive daggers into the hearts of their loved ones. The
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: massacre spread rapidly around the circumference of the city, and
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: the calcars drove the people from the upper terraces downward
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: between the raging fires, which were increasing, until the mouth
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: of the great crater was filled with roaring flames and smoke.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: In the occasional gaps, we could catch glimpses of the
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: holocaust beneath us. A sudden current of air rising from
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: the crater lifted the smoke pall high for a moment,
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: revealing the entire circumference of the crater, the edge of
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: which was crowded with Lathians. And then I saw a
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: warrior from the opposite side leap upon the surrounding wall
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: that bordered the lower terrace at the edge of the
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: yawning crater. He turned and called, allowed some message to
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: his fellows, and then, wheeling, threw his arms above his
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: head and leaped outward into the yawning, bottomless abyss. Instantly
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: the others seemed to be inoculated with the infection of
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: his mad act. A dozen men leaped to the wall
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: and dove head foremost into the crater. The thing spread
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: slowly at first, and then with the rapidity of a
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: prairie fire. It ran around the entire circle of the city.
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: Women hurled their children in and then leaped after them.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: The multitude fought one with another for a place upon
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: the wall from which they might cast themselves to death.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: It was a terrible, an awe inspiring sight. Nailah covered
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: her eyes with her hands, My poor people, she cried,
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: my poor people. And far below her, by the thousands
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: now they were hurling themselves into eternity, while above them,
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: the screaming coalcars hurled head and grenades among them, and
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: drove the remaining inhabitants of Lathe terrace by terrace down
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: toward the crater's rim. Nilah turned away, come Julian. She said,
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: I cannot look, I cannot look, And together we walked
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: across the terrace to the outer side of the city.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: Almost directly beneath us. Upon the next terrace was a
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: palace gate, and as we reached a point where we
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: could see it, I was horrified to see that the
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: Kalkars had made their way up the outer terraces to
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: the very palace walls. The Jemadar's guard was standing there,
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: ready to defend the palace against the invaders. The great
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: stone gates would have held indefinitely against spears and swords,
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: but even the guardsmen must have guessed that their doom
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: was already sealed, and that these gates that had stood
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: for ages and ample protection to the Jemadars of Lathe,
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: were about to fall. As the Kalcars halted fifty yards
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: away and from their ranks, a single individual stepped forth
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: a few paces. As my eyes alighted upon him, I
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: seized Naylah's on orthos. I cried it is orthus. At
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: the same instant, the man's eyes rose above the gates
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: and fell upon us. A nasty leer curled his lips
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: as he recognized us. I come to claim my bride,
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: he cried, in a voice that reached us easily, and
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: to balance my account with you at last, And he
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: pointed a finger at me. In his right hand he
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: held a large cylindrical object, and as he ceased speaking,
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: he hurled it at the gates, precisely as a baseball
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: pitcher pitches a swift ball. The missile struck squarely at
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: the bottom of the gates. There was a terrific explosion,
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: and the great stone portals crumbled, shattered into a thousand fragments.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: The last defense of the Empress of Lay had fallen,
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: and with it there went down in bloody death at
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: least half the remaining members of her loyal guard. Instantly,
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: the colcars rushed forward, hurling hand grenades among the survivors
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: of the guard. Nailah turned toward me and put her
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: arms about my neck. Kiss me once more, Julian, she said,
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: and then the dagger never never Nailai, I cried, I
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: cannot do it, but I can. She exclaimed, and drew
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: her own from its sheath. At her him, I seized
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: her wrist. Not that Nailai, I cried, there must be
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: some other way. And then there came to me a
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: mad inspiration, the wings, I cried, where are they kept?
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: The last of your people have been destroyed. Duty no
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: longer holds you here. Let us escape, even if it
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: is only to frustrate all this plans and deny him
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: the satisfaction of witnessing our death. But where can we go,
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: she ad asked, we may at least choose our own
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: manner of death. I replied, far from lathe, and far
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: from the eyes of an enemy who would gloat over
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: our undoing. You are right, Julian, we still have a
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: little time for I doubt if Orthus or his calcars
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: can quickly find the stairway leading to this terrace. And
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: then she led me quickly to one of the many
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: towers that rise above the palace. Entering it, we ascended
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: a spiral staircase to a large chamber at the summit
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: of the tower. Here were kept the imperial wings. I
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: fastened nigh lahs to her, and she helped me with mine,
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: and then from the pinnacle of the tower. We arose
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: above the burning city of Lathe and flew rapidly toward
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: the distant lowlands and the sea. It was in my
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: mind to search out, if possible, the location of the Barsoom,
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: for I still entertained the mad hope that my companions
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: yet lived. If I did, why not they. The heat
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: above the city was almost unendurable, and the smoke suffocating,
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: Yet we passed through it, so that almost immediately we
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: were hidden from the view of that portion of the
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: palace from which we had arisen, with the result that
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: when orthasnes'skalcars finally found their way to the upper terrace,
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: as I have no doubt they did, we had disappeared
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: whither they could not know. We flew and drifted with
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: the wind across the mountainous country toward the plains and
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: the sea, it being my intention, upon reaching the latter,
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: to follow the coast line until I came to a
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: river marked by an island at his mouth. From that
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: point I knew that I could reach the spot where
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: the Varsumid landed. Our long flight must have covered a
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: considerable period of time, since it was necessary for us
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: to alight and rest many times, and to search for food.
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: We met fortunately with no mishaps, and upon the several
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: occasions when we were discovered by rowing bands of vagas,
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: we were able to soar far aloft and escape them easily.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: We came at length, however, to the sea, the coast
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: of which I followed to the left. But though we
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: passed the mouths of many rivers, I discovered none that
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: precisely answered the description of that which I sought. It
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: was borne in upon me at last that our quest
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: was futile. But where we were to find a haven
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: of safety, neither of us could guess. The gas in
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: our bags was losing its buoyancy, and we had no
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: means wherewith to replenish it. It would still maintain us
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: for a short time, but how long neither of us knew,
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: other than that it had not nearly the buoyancy that
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: it originally possessed. Off the coast, we had seen islands
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: almost continuously, and I suggested to ni Law that we
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: tried to discover one upon which grew the fruits and
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: nuts and vegetables necessary for our subsistence, and where we
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: might also have a constant supply of fresh water. I
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: discovered that nigh lah knew little about these islands, practically nothing,
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: in fact, not even as to whether they were inhabited.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: But we determined to explore one, and to this end
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: we selected an island of considerable extent that lay about
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: ten miles off shore. We reached it without difficulty and
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: circled slowly above it, scrutinizing its entire area carefully. About
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: half of it was quite hilly, but the balance was
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: rolling and comparatively level. We discovered three streams and two
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: small lakes upon it, and an almost riotous profusion of
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: vegetable growth. But nowhere did we discern the slightest indication
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: that it was inhabited, And so, at last, feeling secure,
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: we made our landing upon the plain close to the beach.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: It was a beautiful spot, a veritable garden of Eden,
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: where we two might have passed the remainder of our
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: lives in peace and security. For though we later explored
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: it carefully, we found not the slightest evidence that it
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: had ever known the foot of Man. Together, we built
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: a snug shelter against the storms. Together we hunted for food,
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: and during our long periods of idleness, we lay upon
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: the soft sward beside the beach, and to pass the
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: time away, I taught nih Lah my own language. It
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: was a lazy, indolent, happy life that we spent upon
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: this enchanted isle. And yet though we were happy in
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: our love, each of us felt the futility of our existence,
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: where our lives must be spent in useless idleness. We had, however,
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: given up definitely hoped for any other form of existence.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: And thus we were lying one time, as was our
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: wont after eating, stretched in luxurious ease upon our backs
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: on the soft lunar grasses. I with my eyes closed,
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: when nigh Llah suddenly grasped me by the arm. Julian
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: she cried, what is it? Look I into my eyes
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: to find her sitting up and gazing into the sky
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: toward the mainland, a slim forefinger indicating the direction of
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: the object that had attracted her attention and aroused her
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: surprised interest. As my eyes rested upon the thing her
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: pointing finger indicated, I leaped to my feet with an
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: exclamation of incredulity, for there, sailing parallel with the coast,
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: at an altitude of not more than a thousand feet,
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: was a ship. The lines of which I knew as
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: I had known my mother's face. It was the barsoom.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: Grasping Nihilah by the arm, I dragged her to her feet,
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: Come quick, Naillah, I cried, and urged her rapidly toward
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: our hut, where we had stored the wings and the
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: gas bags, which we had never thought to use again
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: yet protected carefully, though why we knew not. There was
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: still gas in the bags enough to support us in
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: the air. With the existence of our wings, to fly
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: thus for long distances would have been most fatiguing, and
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: there was even a question as to whether we could
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: cross the ten miles of sea that lay between us
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: and the mainland. Yet I was determined to attempt it. Hastily.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: We donned the wings and bags, and, rising together, flapped
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: slowly in the direction of the mainland. The barsoom was
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: cruising slowly along a line that would cross hours before
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: we could reach the shore, but I hoped that they
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: would sight us and investigate. We flew as rapidly as
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: I dared, for I could take no chances. Upon exhausting
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: nyh Llah, knowing that it would be absolutely impossible for
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: me to support her weight and my own with our
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: depleted gas bags, there was no way in which I
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: could signal to the Barsoom. We must simply fly toward her.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: That was the best that we could do. And finally try,
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: though we would, I realized that we should be too
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: late to intercept her, and that unless they saw us
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: and changed their course, we should not come close enough
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: to hail them. To see my friends passing so near
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: and yet to be unable to apprize them of my
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: presence filled me with melancholy. Not one of the many
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: vicissitues and dangers through which I had passed since I
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: left Earth depressed me more than the sight of the
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: Barsoom forging slowly past us without speaking. I saw our
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: change of course then and move inland, still further from us,
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: and I could not but dwell upon our unhappy condition,
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: since now we might never again be able to reach
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: the safety of our island, there being even a question
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: as to whether the gas bags would support us to
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: the mainland. They did, however, and there we alighted and rested,
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: while the Barsooms sailed out of sight toward the mountains.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: I shall not give it up, Nailah, I cried, I
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: am going to follow the barsoom until we find it,
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: or until we die in the attempt. I doubt if
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: we can reach the island again, but we can make
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: short flights here on land, and by so doing we
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: may overtake my ship and my companions. After resting for
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: a short time, we arose again, and when we were
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: above the trees, I saw the barsoom far in the distance,
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: and again it was circling, this time toward the left.
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: So we altered our course and flew after it. But
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: presently we realized that it was making a great circle,
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: and hope renewed within our breasts, giving us the strength
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: to fly on and on, though we were forced to
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: come down often for brief rests. As we neared the ship,
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: we saw that the circles were growing smaller. But it
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: was not until we were within about three miles of
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: her that I realized that she was circling the mouth
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: of a great crater, the walls of which rose several
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: hundred feet above the surrounding country. We had been forced
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: to land again to rest, when there flashed upon my
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: mind a sudden realization of the purpose of the maneuvers
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: of the barzoom. She was investigating the crater, preparatory to
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: an attempt to pass through it into outer space and
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: seek to return to Earth again. As this thought impinged
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: upon my brain, a wave of almost hopeless horror overwhelmed me,
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: as I thought of being definitely left for ever by
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: my companions, and that by but a few brief minutes
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: ni Lah was to be robbed of life and happiness
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: and peace. For at that instant, the hull of the
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: Barsoom dropped beneath the rim of the crater and disappeared
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: from our view. Rising quickly with Naillah, I flew as
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: rapidly as my tired muscles and exhausted gas bag would
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: permit toward the rim of the crater. In my heart
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: of hearts, I knew that I should be too late,
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: for once they had decided to make the attempt, the
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: ship would drop like a plummet into the depths, and
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: by the time I reached the mouth of the Abyss,
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: it would be lost to my view forever. And yet
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: I struggled on my lung, almost bursting from the exertion
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: of my mad efforts towards speed. Naillah trailed far behind,
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: For if either of us could reach the Barsoom. In time,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: we should both be saved and I could fly fast
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: to the Nilah. Otherwise I should never have separated myself
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: from her by so much as a hundred yards. Though
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: my lungs were pumping like bellows, I ventured to say
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: that my heart stood still for several seconds before I
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: topped the crater's rim. At the same instant that I
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: expected the last vestige of my hopes to be dashed
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: to pieces, irrevocably and forever, I crossed the rim and
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: beheld the Barsoom not twenty feet below me, just over
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: the edge of the Abyss, and upon her deck stood
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: West and Jay and Norton. As I came into view
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: directly above them, West whipped out his revolver and leveled
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: it at me. But the instant that his finger pressed
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: the trigger, Norton sprang forward and struck his hand aside.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: My God, Sir, I heard the poor it is the captain,
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: and then they all recognized me, and an instant later
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: I almost collapsed. As I fell to the deck of
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: my beloved ship. My first thought was of Naillah, and
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: at my direction, the Barsoom rose swiftly and moved to
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: meet her. Great Scott, cried, my guest, leaping to his
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: feet and looking out of the stateroom window. I had
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: no idea that I had kept you up all night.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: Here we are in Paris already. But the rest of
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: your story, I cried. You have not finished it. I know.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: Last night, as you were watching them celebrating in the
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: blue room, you made a remark which led me to
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: believe that some terrible calamity threatened the world. It does,
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: he said, And that was what I meant to tell
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: you about. But the story of the third Incarnation, of
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: which I am conscious, was necessary to an understanding of
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: how the great catastrophe overwhelmed the people of the Earth.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: What did you reach Earth again, I demanded, Yes, he said,
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: in the year twenty thirty six. I had been ten
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: years within Vana, but did not know whether it was
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: ten months or a century until he landed upon Earth.
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: He smiled. Then you noticed that, I still say, I
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: it is sometimes difficult for me to recall which incarnation
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: I am in. Perhaps it will be clearer to you
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: if I say Julian fifth returned to Earth in twenty
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: thirty six, and in the same year, his son, Julian
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: the sixth, was born to his wife Nailah. The moon made,
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: but how could he return to Earth in the disabled
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: barsoom Ah? He said, that raises a point that was
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: of great interest to Julian the fifth. After he regained
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: the barsoom Naturally, one of the first questions he asked
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: was as to the condition of the ship and their intentions,
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: And when he learned that they had in reality been
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: intending to pass the crater toward the Earth, he questioned
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: them further and discovered that it was the young Ensign
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: Norton who had repaired the engine, having been able to
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: do it by information that he had gleaned from Orphis
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: after winning the latter's friendship. Thus was explained the intimacy
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: between the two, which Julian the fifth that so deplored,
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: but which he now saw the young Norton had encouraged
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: for a patriotic purpose. We are dark now and I
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: must be going. Thank you for your hospitality and for
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: your generous interest. And he held out his hand toward me.
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: But the story of Julian the ninth, I insisted, am
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: I never to hear that? If we meet again? Yes,
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: he promised, with a smile, I shall hold you to it,
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: I told him, if we meet again, he repeated, and departed,
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: closing the stateroom door after him. End of Chapter fourteen.
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: End of The Moonmaid by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Recording by
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: Thomas Copland