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The Gods of Mars · The Gods of Mars

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  The Gods of Mars, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs Forward. Twelve years had
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  passed since I had laid the body of my great uncle, Captain John Carter
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  of Virginia away from the sight of men, in that strange mausoleum in the
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  old Cemetery at Richmond. Often I had pondered on the odd instructions he had
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  left me governing the construction of his mighty tomb, and especially those parts which
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  directed that he be laid in an open casket, and the ponderous mechanism which
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  controlled the bolts of the vault's huge door be accessible only from the inside.
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  Twelve years had passed since I read the remarkable manuscript of this remarkable man,
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  This man who remembered no childhood, and who could not even offer a vague
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  guess as to his age, who was always young, and yet who had
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  dandled my grandfather's great grandfather upon his knee, This man who had spent ten
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  years upon the planet Mars, who had fought for the green men of Barsoom
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  and fought against them, who had fought for and against the Red men,
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  and who had won the ever beautiful dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium for his
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  wife, and for nearly ten years had been a prince of the House of
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  Tardos Mors Jeddak of Helium. Twelve years had passed since his body had been
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  found upon the bluff before his cottage overlooking the Hudson, and oftentimes during these
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  long years, I had wondered if John Carter were really dead, or if
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  he again roamed the dead sea bottoms of that dying planet, if he had
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  returned to Barsoom to find that he had opened the frowning portals of the Mighty
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  Atmosphere plant in time to save the countless millions who were dying of asphyxiation.
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  On that far gone day that had seen him hurled ruthlessly through the forty eight
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  million miles of space back to Earth. Once more, I had wondered if
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  he had found his black haired princess and the slender son he had dreamed was
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  with her in the royal gardens of Tardos Morse awaiting his return, Or had
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  he found that he had been too late and thus gone back to living death
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  upon a dead world. Or was he really dead after all, never to
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  return either to his mother Earth or his beloved Mars. Thus, I was
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  lost in a useless speculation one sultry August evening when old Ben, my body
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  servant, handed me a telegram, tearing it open, I read, meet
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  me tomorrow, Hotel Riley, Richmond, John Carter. Early the next morning,
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  I took the first train for Richmond, and within two hours was being
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  ushered into the room occupied by John Carter. As I entered, he rose
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  to greet me his old time cordial smile of welcome lightning his handsome face.
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  Apparently he had not aged a minute, but was still the straight, clean,
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  limbed fighting man of thirty. His keen gray eyes were undimmed, and
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  the only lines upon his face were the lines of an iron character and determination
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  that always had been there. Sent first, I remembered him nearly thirty five
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  years before, Well, nephew, He greeted me. Do you feel as
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  though you were seeing a ghost or suffering from the effects of too many of
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  your uncle Ben julops julips I reckon, I replied, for I certainly feel
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  mighty good, but maybe it's just the sight of you again that affects me.
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  You have been back to Mars. Tell me and dejah Thoris you found
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  her well in awaiting you. Yes, I have been to Barsoom again,
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  and but it's a long story, too long to tell in the limited time
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  I have before I must return. I have learned the secret, nephew,
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  and I may traverse the trackless void at my will, coming and going between
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  the countless planets as I list. But my heart is always in Barsoom.
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  And while it is there, in the keeping of my martian Princess, I
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  doubt that I shall ever again leave the dying world that is my life.
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  I have come now because my affection for you prompted me to see you once
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  more before you pass over forever into that other life that I shall never know,
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  and which, though I have died thrice and shall die again to night,
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  as you know death, I am as unable to fathom as you are.
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  Even the wise and mysterious thorns of Barsoom, that ancient cult which for
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  countless ages has been credited with holding the secret of life and death in their
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  impregnable fastness upon the hither slopes of the mountains of Oughts, are as as
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  ignorant as we are. I have proved it, though I near lost my
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  life in the doing of it. But you shall read it all in the
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  notes I have been making during the last three months that I have been back
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  upon earth. He padded a swelling portfolio that lay on the table at his
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  elbow. I know that you are interested, and that you believe. And
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  I know that the world too is interested, though they will not believe for
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  many years, yes, for many ages, since they cannot understand earthmen have
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  not yet progressed to a point where they can comprehend the things that I have
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  written in those notes. Give the them what you wish of it, what
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  you think will not harm them. But do not feel aggrieved if they laugh
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  at you. That night, I walked down to the cemetery with him.
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  At the door of his vault, he turned and pressed my hand. Good
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  Bye, nephew, he said, I may never see you again, for
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  I doubt that I can ever bring myself to leave my wife and boy while
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  they live, and the span of life upon Barsoom is often more than a
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  thousand years. He entered the vault. The great door swung slowly to the
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  ponderous bolts grated into place. The lock clicked. I have never seen Captain
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  John Carter of Virginia since. But here is the story of his return to
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  Mars on that other occasion, as I have gleaned it from that great mass
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  of notes which he left for me upon the table of his room in the
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  hotel at Richmond. There is much which I have left out, much which
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  I have not dared to tell. But you will find the story of his
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  second search for dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, even more remarkable than was
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  his first manuscript, which I gave to an unbelieving world a short time since,
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  and through which we followed the fighting Virginian across dead sea bottoms under the
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  moons of Mars. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Chapter one, The Planet Men.
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  As I stood upon the bluff before my cottage on that clear cold night in
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  the early part of March eighteen eighty six, the noble Hudson flowing like the
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  gray and silent spectacle of dead River below me, I felt again the strange,
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  compelling influence of the mighty God of War, my beloved Mars, which
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  for ten long and lonesome years I have implored with outstretched arms to carry me
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  back to my lost love. Not since that other March night in eighteen sixty
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  six, when I had stood without that Arizona Cave, in which my still
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  lifeless body lay wrapped in the similitude of earthly death, had I felt the
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  irresistible attraction of the God of my profession. With arms out the stretched toward
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  the red eye of the great Star, I stood praying for return of that
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  strange power which twice had drawn me through the immensity of space, praying as
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  I had prayed on a thousand nights before, during the long ten years that
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  I had waited in hope. Suddenly a qualm of nausea swept over me.
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  My senses swam, my knees gave beneath me, and I pitched headlong to
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  the ground upon the very verge of the dizzy bluff. Instantly my brain cleared,
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  and there swept back across the threshold of my memory the vivid picture of
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  the horrors of that ghostly Arizona Cave. Again, as on that far gone
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  night, my muscles refused to respond to my will, and again, as
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  though even here upon the banks of the placid Husson, I could hear the
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  awful moans and rustling of the fearsome thing which had lurked and threatened me from
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  the dark recesses of the cave. I made the same mighty and superhuman effort
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  to break the bonds of the strange anastagia which held me, and again came
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  the sharp click as of the sudden parting of a taut wire, and I
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  stood naked and free beside the staring, lifeless thing that had so recently pulsed
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  with the warm red life blood of John Carter. With scarcely a parting glance,
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  I turned my eyes again toward Mars, lifted my hands towards this lurid
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  rays, and waited. Nor did I have long to wait for scarce had
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  I turned air, I shot, with the rapidity of thought into the awful
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  void before me. There was the same instant of unthinkable cold and utter darkness
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  that I experienced twenty years before. And then I opened my eyes in another
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  world, beneath the burning rays of a hot sun which beat through a tiny
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  opening in the dome of a mighty forest in which I lay. The scene
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  that met my eyes was so unmartian that my heart sprang to my throat as
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  the sudden fear swept through me that I had been aimlessly tossed upon some strange
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  planet by a cruel fate. Why not? What guide had I through the
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  trackless waste of interplanetary space, What assurance that I might not as well be
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  hurtled to some far distant star of another solar system as to Mars. I
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  lay upon a close cropped swath of red grass like vegetation, and about me
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  stretched a grove of strange and beautiful trees, covered with huge and gorgeous blossoms,
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  and filled with brilliant, voiceless birds. I called them birds, since
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  they were winged, But mortal eye ne'er rested on such odd, unearthly shapes.
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  The vegetation was similar to that which covers the lawns of the red Martians
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  of the Great Waterways, but the trees and birds were unlike anything that I
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  had ever seen upon Mars. And then through the further trees, I could
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  see that most Unmartian of all sights, an open sea, its blue water
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  shimmering beneath the brazen sun. As I rose to investigate further, I experienced
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  the same ridiculous catastrophe that had met my first attempt to walk under my Martian
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  conditions, the lesser attraction of this smaller planet and the reduced air pressure of
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  its greatly rarefied atmosphere afforded so little resistance to my earthly muscles that the ordinary
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  exertion of the mere act of rising sent me several feet into the air and
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  precipitated me upon my face in the soft and brilliant grass of this strange world.
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  This experience, however, gave me some slightly increased assurance that, after
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  all, I might indeed be in some to me unknown corner of Mars.
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  And this was very possible, since during my ten years residence upon the planet
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  I had explored but a comparatively tiny area of its vast expanse. I rose
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  again, laughing at my forgetfulness, and soon had mastered once more the art
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  of attuning my earthly sinews to these changed conditions. As I walked slowly down
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  the imperceptible slope toward the sea, I could not help but note the parklike
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  appearance of the sword of trees. The grass was as close cropped and carpet
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  like as some old English lawn, and the trees them shelves showed evidence of
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  careful pruning to a uniform height of about fifteen feet from the ground, so
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  that as one turned his glance in any direction. The forest had the appearance
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  at a little distance of a vast, high, sealed chamber. All these
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  evidence of careful and systematic cultivation convinced me that I had been fortunate enough to
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  make my entrying to Mars on this second occasion, through the domain of a
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  civilized people, and that when I should find them, I would be accorded
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  the courtesy and protection that my rank, as a prince of the House of
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  Tortoise Moors entitled me to. The trees of the forest attracted my deep admiration
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  as I proceeded toward the sea. Their great stems, some of them fully
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  a hundred feet in diameter, attested to the prodigious height which I could only
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  guess at, since at no point could I penetrate their dense foliage above me
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  to more than sixty or eighty feet. As far aloft as I could see,
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  the stems and branches and twigs were as smooth and as highly polished as
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  the newest of American made pianos. The wood of some of the trees was
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  as black as ebony, while their nearest neighbors might perhaps gleam in the subdued
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  light of the forest, as clear and white as the finest china, or
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  again they were a source scarlet yellow or deepest purple. And in the same
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  way was the foliage as gay and variegated as the stems, while the blooms
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  that clustered thick upon them may not be described in any earthly tongue, and
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  indeed might challenge the language of the gods. As I neared the confines of
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  the forest, I beheld before me, and between the grove and the open
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  sea, a broad expanse of meadow land. And as I was about to
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  emerge from the shadows of the trees, a sight met my eyes that banished
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  all romantic and poetic reflection upon the beauties of the strange landscape. To my
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  left, the sea extended as far as the eye could reach. Before me,
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  only a vague dim line indicated its further shore, while at my right
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  a mighty river, broad and placid and majestic, flowed between scarlet banks to
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  empty into the quiet sea. Before me, At a little distance up the
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  river rose mighty perpendicular bluffs, from the very base of which the river seemed
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  to rise. But it was not these inspiring and magnificent evidence of nature's grandeur
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  that took my immediate attention from the beauties of the forest. It was the
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  sight of a score of figures moving slowly about the meadow near the bank of
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  the Mighty River. Odd grotesque shapes. They were unlike anything that I had
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  ever seen upon Mars, and yet at a distance most manlike in appearance.
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  The large specimens seemed to be about ten or fifteen feet in height when they
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  stood erect, and to be proportioned as to torso and lower extremities precisely as
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  is earthly man. Their arms, however, were very short, and from
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  where I stood, seemed as though fashioned much after the manner of an elephant's
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  trunk, in that they moved insinuous in snakelike undulation, as though entirely without
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  bony structure, or if there were bones, it seemed that they must be
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  vitual in nature. As I watched them from behind the stem of a huge
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  tree, one of the creatures moved slowly in my direction, engaged in the
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  occupation that seemed to be the principal business of each of them, and which
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  consisted in running their oddly shaped hands over the surface of the sword. For
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  what purpose I could not determine, As he approached quite close to me,
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  I obtained an excellent view of him, and though I was later to become
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  better acquainted with his kind, I may say that single cursory examination of this
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  awful travesy on nature would have proved quite sufficient to my desires. Had I
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  been a free agent. The fastest flier of the Helimic navy could not quickly
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  enough have carried me far from this hideous creature. Its hairless body was a
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  strange and ghoulish blue, except for a broad band of white which encircled its
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  protruding single eye, and an eye that was all dead white, pupil iris
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  and ball Its nose was a ragged inflamed circular hole in the center of its
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  blank face, a hole that resembled more closely nothing that I could think of,
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  other than a fresh bullet wound which has not yet commenced to bleed below
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  the repulsive orifice. The face was quite blank to the chin, for the
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  thing had no mouth that I could discover. The head, with the exception
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  of the face, was covered by a tangled mass of jet black hair,
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  some eight or ten inches in length. Each hair was about the bigness of
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  a large angleworm, and as the thing moved, the muscles of its skulp,
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  its awful head covering seemed to rith and wiggle and crawl about the fearsome
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  face, as though indeed each separate hair was endowed with independent life. The
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  body and the legs were asymmetrically human as nature could have fashioned them, and
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  the feet, too were human in shape, but of monstrous proportions. From
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  heel to toe. They were fully three feet long, and very flat and
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  very broad. As it came quite close to me, I discovered that its
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  strange movements running its odd hands over the surface of the turf were the result
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  of its peculiar method of heating, which consists in cropping off the tender vegetation
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  with its razor like talons and sucking it up from its two mouths, which
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  lie one in the palm of each hand, through its arm like throats.
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  In addition to the features which I had already described, the beast was equipped
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  with a massive tail about six feet in length, quite round where it joined
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  the body, but tapered in capering to a flat, thin blade toward the
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  end, which trailed at right angles to the ground. By far, the
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  most remarkable feature of this most remarkable creature. However, were the two tiny
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  replicas of it, each about six inches in length, which dangled one on
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  either side from its armpits. They were suspended by a small stem which seemed
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  to grow from the exact tops of their heads to where it connected them with
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  the body of the adult. Whether they were the young or merely proportions of
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  a composite creature, I did not know. As I had been scrutinizing this
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  weird monstrosity, the balance of the herd had fed quite close to me,
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  and I now saw that while many had the smaller specimens dangling from them,
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  not all were thus equipped. And I further noted that the little ones varied
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  in size from what appeared to be but tiny unopened buds an inch in diameter,
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  through various stages of development, to the full fledged and perfectly formed creature
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  of ten to twelve inches in length. Feeding with the herd were many of
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  the little fellows, not much larger than those which remained attached to the parents,
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  and from the young of that size the herd grated up to the immense
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  adults. Fearsome looking as they were, I did not know whether to fear
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  them or not. For they did not seem to be particularly well equipped for
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  fighting, and I was on the point of stepping from my hiding place and
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  revealing myself to them, to note the effect upon them of the sight of
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  a man, when my rash resolve was fortunately for me nipped in the bud
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  by a strange shrieking wail which seemed to come from the direction of the bluffs
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  at my right. Naked and unarmed as I was, my end would have
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  been both speedily and horrible at the hands of these cruel creatures, had I
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  had time to put my resolve into execution. But at the moment of the
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  shriek, each member of the herd turned in the direction from which the sound
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  seemed to come, and at the same instant, every particular snakelike hair upon
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  their heads rose stiffly perpendicular, as if each had been a sentient organism looking
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  or listening for the source or meaning of the whale. And indeed the latter
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  proved to be the truth, for this strange growth upon the craniums of the
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  plant men of Barsoom represents the thousand ears of these hideous creatures, the last
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  remnant of the strange race which sprang from the original tree of life. Instantly,
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  every eye turned toward one member of the herd, a large fellow who
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  evidently was the leader. A strange purring sound issued from the mouth in the
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  palm of one of his hands, and at the same time he started rapidly
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  toward the bluff, followed by the entire herd. Their speed and method of
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  locomotion were both remarkable, springing as they did in great leaps of twenty or
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  thirty feet, much after the manner of a kangaroo. They were rapidly disappearing
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  when occurred to me to follow them, and so, hurling caution to the
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  winds, I sprang across the meadow in their wake, with leaps and bounds
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  even more prodigious than their own, For the muscles of an athletic earthmen produced
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  remarkable results when pitted against the lesser gravity and air pressure of Mars. Their
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  way led directly towards the apparent source of the river at the base of the
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  cliffs, and as I neared this point, I found the meadow dotted with
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  huge boulders that the ravages of time had evidently dislodged from the towering crags above.
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  For this reason, I came quite close to the cause of the disturbance
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  before the seam broke. Upon my horrified gaze, as I topped a great
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  boulder, I saw the herd of plant men surrounding a little group of perhaps
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  five or six green men and women of barsoom that I was indeed upon Mars.
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  I now had no doubt, for here were members of the wild hordes
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  that people the dead sea bottoms and deserted cities of that dying planet. Here
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  were the great males, towering in all their majesty of their imposing height.
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  Here were the gleaming white tusks protruding from their massive lower jaws to a point
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  near the center of their foreheads, the laterally placed protruding eyes with which they
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  could look forward or backward, or to either side without turning their heads.
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  Here the strange antennae like ears rising from the tops of their foreheads, and
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  the additional pair of arms extending from midway between the shoulders and the hips.
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  Even without the glossy green hide and the metal ornaments which denoted the tribes to
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  which they belonged, I would have known them on the instant for what they
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  were. For where else in all the universe is their light duplicated. There
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  were two men and four females in the party, and their ornaments denoted them
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  as members of different hordes, a fact which tended to puzzle me infinitely,
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  since the various hordes of green men of Barsoom are eternally at deadly war with
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  one another, and never except on that single historic instant, when the great
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  Tars Tarkas of thark gathered one hundred and fifty thousand green warriors from several hordes
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  to march upon the doomed city of Zodanga to rescue dejah Thoris, Princess of
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  Helium, from the clutches of than Khors. Had I seen great green martians
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  of different hordes associated in other than mortal combat. But now they stood back
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  to back, facing in wide eyed amazement the very evidently hostile demonstrations of a
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  common enemy. Both men and women were armed with long swords and daggers,
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  but no firearms were in evidence. Else it had been short shrift for the
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  gruesome plant Men of Barsoom. Presently, the leader of the plant men charged
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  the little party, and his method of attack was as remarkable as it was
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  effective, and by its very strangeness was the more potent, since in the
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  science of the Green Warriors there was no defense for the singular manner of attack,
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  the like of which it soon was evident to me they were as unfamiliar
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  with as they were with the monstrosities which confronted them. The plant men charged
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  to within a dozen feet of the party, and then with a bound rose
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  as though to pass directly above their heads. His powerful tail was raised high
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  to one side, and as he passed close above them, he brought it
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  down in one terrific sweep that crushed a Green warrior's skull as though it had
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  been an eggshell. The balance of the frightful herd was now circling rapidly and
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  with bewildering speed about the little knot of victims. Their prodigious bounds and the
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  shrill, shrieking purr of their uncanny mouths were well calculated to confuse and terrorize
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  their prayer, as that as two of them leaped simultaneously from each side,
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  the mighty sweep of those awful tales met with no resistance stance, and two
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  more Green martians went down to an ignoble death. There were now but one
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  warrior and two females left, and it seemed that it could be but a
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  matter of seconds ere these also lay dead upon the scarlet's sword. But as
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  two more of the plant men charged, the warrior, who was now prepared
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  by the experiences of the past few minutes, swung his mighty long sword aloft
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  and met the hurtling bulk with a clean cut that clove one of the plant
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  men from chin to groan. The other, however, dealt a single blow
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  with his cruel tail that laid both of the females crushed corpses upon the ground.
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  As the green warriors saw the last of his companions go down, and
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  at the same time perceived that the entire herd was charging him in a body,
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  he rushed boldly to meet them, swinging his long sword in the terrific
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  manner that I had so often seen the men of his kind wielded in their
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  ferocious and almost continual warfare among their own race. Cutting and hewing to right
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  and left, he laid an open path straight through the advancing plant men,
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  and then commenced a mad race for the forest, in the shelter of which
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  he evidently hoped that he might find a haven of refuge. He had turned
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  for that portion of the force which abutted on the cliffs, and thus the
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  mad race was taking the entire party farther and farther from the boulder where I
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  lay concealed. As I watched the noble fight which the great warrior had put
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  up against such enormous odds, my heart had swelled in admiration for him,
• 25:34
  and, acting as I am, wont to do more upon impulse than after
• 25:40
  mature deliberation, I instantly sprang from my sheltering rock and bounded quickly toward the
• 25:45
  bodies of the dead Green Martians. A well defined plan of action already formed.
• 25:51
  Half a dozen great leaps brought me to the spot, and another instant
• 25:55
  saw me again in my stride, in quick pursuit of the hideous monsters that
• 25:59
  were rapidly gaining on the fleeing warrior. But this time I grasped a mighty
• 26:03
  long sword in my hand, and in my heart was the old blood lust
• 26:07
  of the fighting man, and a red mist swam before my eyes, and
• 26:11
  I felt my lips respond to my heart in the old smile that has ever
• 26:15
  marked me, in the midst of the joy of battle, swift as I
• 26:18
  was. I was none too soon, for the green Warrior had been overtaken
• 26:23
  ere he had made half the distance to the forest, and now he stood
• 26:27
  with his back to a boulder, while the herd temporarily balked, hissed,
• 26:32
  and screeched about him, with their single eyes in the center of their heads,
• 26:37
  and every eye turned upon their prey. They did not note my soundless
• 26:41
  approach, so that I was upon them with my great long sword, and
• 26:45
  four of them lay dead ere they knew that I was among them for an
• 26:49
  instant they recoiled before my terrific onslaught, And in the instant the Green Warrior
• 26:56
  rose to the occasion, and, springing to my side, laid to the
• 27:00
  right and left of him, as I had never seen but one other warrior
• 27:03
  do, with great circling strokes that formed a figure eight about him, and
• 27:08
  that never stopped until none stood living to oppose him, his keen blade passing
• 27:14
  through flesh and bone and metal, as though each had been alike thin air.
• 27:19
  As we bent to the slaughter, far above us rose the shrill,
• 27:22
  weird cry which I had heard once before, and which had called the herd
• 27:27
  to the attack upon their victims again, and again it rose, but we
• 27:32
  were too much engaged with the fierce and powerful creatures about us to attempt to
• 27:37
  search out even with our eyes. The author of the horrid notes great tales
• 27:41
  lashed in frenzied anger about us. Razorlike talons cut our limbs and bodies,
• 27:48
  and a green, sticky syrup, such as oozes from crushed caterpillar smeared us
• 27:52
  from head to foot. For every cut and thrust of our long swords brought
• 27:56
  spurts of this stuff upon us from the severn arteries of the plant men,
• 28:02
  through which it cursed courses in its sluggish vicidity in lieu of blood. Once
• 28:07
  I felt the great weight of one of the monsters upon my back, and
• 28:11
  as keen talons sank into my flesh, I experienced the frightful sensation of moist
• 28:18
  lips sucking the life blood from the wounds to which the claws still clung.
• 28:22
  I was very much engaged with a ferocious fellow who was endeavoring to reach my
• 28:26
  throat from in front, while two more, one on either side, were
• 28:30
  lashing viciously at me with their tails. The green warrior was much put to
• 28:36
  it to hold his own, and I felt that the unequal struggle could last
• 28:40
  but a moment longer, when the huge fellow discovered my plight, and tearing
• 28:45
  himself from those that surrounded him, he raked the assailant from my back with
• 28:49
  a single sweep of his blade, and thus relieved, I had little difficulty
• 28:53
  with the others. Once together we stood almost back to back against the great
• 28:57
  boulder, and thus the creatures were prevented from soaring above us to deliver their
• 29:03
  deadly blows. And as we were easily their match while they remained upon the
• 29:07
  ground, we were making great headway in despatching what remained of them, when
• 29:11
  our attention was again attracted by the shrill wail of the color above our heads.
• 29:18
  This time I glanced up, and far above us, upon a little
• 29:21
  natural balcony on the face of the cliff, stood a strange figure of a
• 29:26
  man, shrieking out his shrill signal, the while he waved one hand in
• 29:30
  the direction of the river's mouth, as though beckoning to someone there, and
• 29:34
  with the other pointed and gesticulated toward us. A glance in the direction toward
• 29:41
  which he was looking was sufficient to apprise me of his aims, and at
• 29:45
  the same time to fill me with the dread of dire apprehension, For streaming
• 29:49
  in from all directions across the meadow, from out of the forest, and
• 29:53
  from the far distance of the flat land across the river, I could see
• 29:57
  converging upon us a hundred different lines of wildly leaping creatures, such as we
• 30:03
  were now engaged with, and with them some strange new monsters which ran with
• 30:07
  great swiftness, now erect, and now upon all fours. It will be
• 30:11
  a great death, I said to my companion. Look. As he shot
• 30:17
  a quick glance in the direction I indicated, He smiled, we may at
• 30:21
  least die fighting, as great warriors should John Carter, He replied, we
• 30:26
  had just finished the last of our immediate antagonists. As he spoke, and
• 30:30
  I turned in surprised wonderment at the sound of my name, And there before
• 30:34
  my astonished eyes I beheld the greatest of the green men of Barsoom, their
• 30:38
  shrewdest statesmen, their mightiest general, my great and good friend, Tars Tarkas
• 30:45
  Jeddak of Thark. End of chapter one, Chapter two, a forest battle.
• 30:53
  Tars Tarkas and I found no time for an exchange of experiences as we
• 30:59
  stood there before the great boulders, surrounded by the corpses of our grotesque assailants.
• 31:03
  For from all directions down the broad valley was streaming a perfect torrent of
• 31:08
  terrifying creatures. In response to the weird call of the strange figure far above
• 31:12
  us, come cried Tars Tarkas. We must make for the cliffs. There
• 31:18
  lies our only hope for even temporary escape. There we may find a cave
• 31:22
  or a narrow ledge, which two may defend forever against this motley unarmed horde.
• 31:27
  Together we raced across the scarlet sward, I timing my speed that I
• 31:32
  might not outdistance my slower companion. We had perhaps three hundred yards to cover
• 31:37
  between our boulder and the cliffs, and then to search out a suitable shelter
• 31:41
  for our stand against the terrifying things that were pursuing us. They were rapidly
• 31:47
  overhauling us, when Tars Tarkas cried to me to hasten ahead and discover,
• 31:52
  if possible, the sanctuary we sought. The suggestion was a good one,
• 31:56
  for thus many valuable minutes might be saved to us. And throwing every ounce
• 32:01
  of my earthly muscles into the effort, I cleared the remaining distance between myself
• 32:06
  and the cliffs, in great leaps and bounds that put me at their base
• 32:09
  in a moment. The cliffs rose perpendicular directly from the almost level sword of
• 32:15
  the valley. There was no accumulation of fallen debris forming a more or less
• 32:20
  rough ascent to them, as is the case with nearly all other cliffs I
• 32:23
  have ever seen. The scattered boulders that had fallen from above and lay upon
• 32:29
  or partly buried in the turf were the only indication that any disintegration of the
• 32:34
  massive, towering pile of rocks ever had taken place. My first cursory inspection
• 32:39
  of the face of the cliffs filled my heart with forebodings, since nowhere could
• 32:44
  I discern except where the weird heralds stood still, shrieking his shrill summons,
• 32:50
  the faintest indication of even a bare foothold upon the loftiest escarpment to my right.
• 32:57
  The bottom of the cliff was lost in dense fold of the forest,
• 33:00
  which terminated at its very foot, rearing its gorgeous foliage fully a thousand feet
• 33:06
  against its stern and forbidding neighbor to the left. The cliff ran apparently unbroken
• 33:10
  across the head of the broad valley, to be lost in the outlines of
• 33:15
  what appeared to be a range of mighty mountains that skirted and confined the valley
• 33:19
  in every direction. Perhaps a thousand feet from me. The river broke,
• 33:22
  as it seemed directly from the base of the cliffs, and as there seemed
• 33:28
  not the remotest chance for escape in that direction, I turned my attention again
• 33:32
  toward the forest. The cliffs towered above me a good five thousand feet.
• 33:37
  The sun was not quite upon them, and they loomed a dull yellow in
• 33:42
  their own shade. Here and there they were broken with streaks and patches of
• 33:46
  dusky red green, and occasional areas of white quartz. Altogether they were very
• 33:52
  beautiful, but I feared that I did not regard them with a particularly appreciative
• 33:57
  eye. On this my first inspection of them. Just then I was absorbed
• 34:01
  in them only as a medium of escape. And so as my gaze ran
• 34:07
  quickly time and again over their vast expanse in search of some cranneer crevice,
• 34:12
  I came suddenly to loathe them, as the prisoner must loathe the cruel and
• 34:16
  impegnetrable walls of his dungeon. Tars Tarkas was approaching me rapidly, and still
• 34:22
  more rapidly came the awful horde at his heels. It seemed the forest now
• 34:29
  or nothing, and I was just on the point of motioning tars Tarkas to
• 34:34
  follow me in that direction. When the sun passed the cliffs zenith, and
• 34:37
  as the bright rays touched the dull surface, it burst out into a million
• 34:42
  scintillent lights of burnished gold, a flaming red of soft greens and gleaming whites.
• 34:49
  A more gorgeous and inspiring spectacle human eye has never rested upon the face
• 34:54
  of the entire cliff was, as later inspection conclusively proved, so shot with
• 35:00
  veins and patches of solid gold as to quite present the appearance of a solid
• 35:05
  wall of that precious metal, except where it was broken by outcroppings of ruby,
• 35:09
  emerald and diamond bowlders, a faint and alluring indication of the vast and
• 35:15
  unguessable riches which lay deeply buried behind the magnificent surface. But what caught my
• 35:22
  most interested attention at the moment that the sun's rays set the cliff's face.
• 35:25
  A shimmer was the several black spots which now appeared quite plainly in evidence,
• 35:30
  high across the gorgeous wall, close to the forest top, and extending apparently
• 35:36
  below and behind the branches. Almost immediately I recognized them for what they were,
• 35:42
  the dark openings of caves entering the solid walls, possible avenues of escape
• 35:46
  or temporary shelter. Could we but reach them? There was but a single
• 35:52
  way, and that led through the mighty towering trees upon our right. That
• 35:54
  I could scale them, I knew full well. But tars Tarkas, with
• 35:59
  his mighty bulk an enormous weight, would find it a task possibly quite beyond
• 36:04
  his prowess or his skill. For Martians are at best but poor climbers.
• 36:08
  Upon the entire surface of that ancient planet, I never before had seen a
• 36:13
  hill or mountain that exceeded four thousand feet in height above the dead sea bottoms,
• 36:17
  And as the ascent was usually gradual nearly to their summits, they presented
• 36:22
  but few opportunities for the practice of climbing. Nor would the Martians have embraced
• 36:28
  even such opportunities as might present themselves, for they could always find a circuitous
• 36:32
  route about the base of any eminence, and these roads they preferred and followed
• 36:37
  in preference to the shorter but more arduous ways. However, there was nothing
• 36:42
  else to consider than an attempt to scale the trees contiguous to the cliff in
• 36:46
  an effort to reach the caves above the Thark grasped the possibilities and the difficulties
• 36:52
  of the plan at once, but there was no alternative, and so we
• 36:57
  set out rapidly for the trees nearest the cliff. Our relentless pursuers were now
• 37:01
  close to us, so close that it seemed that it would be an utter
• 37:05
  impossibility for the Jeddak of Thark to reach the forest in advance of them.
• 37:09
  Nor was there any considerable will in the efforts that Tars Tarkas made for the
• 37:15
  green men of Barsoom do not relish flight, nor ever before had I seen
• 37:19
  one fleeing from death in whatsoever form. It might have confronted him. But
• 37:23
  that Tars Tarkas was the bravest of the brave. He had proven thousands of
• 37:28
  times, yes tens of thousands, in countless mortal combats with men and beasts,
• 37:32
  And so I knew that there was another reason than fear of death behind
• 37:37
  his flight, as he knew that a greater power than pride or honor spurred
• 37:42
  me to escape these fierce destroyers. In my case, it was love,
• 37:46
  love of the divine dejah Thoris, and the cause of Thark's great and sudden
• 37:51
  love of life I could not fathom, for it is oftener that they seek
• 37:55
  death in life, these strange, cruel, loveless, unhappy people. At
• 38:00
  length, however, we reached the shadow of the forest, while right behind
• 38:05
  us sprang the swiftest of our pursuers, a giant plant man with claws outreaching
• 38:08
  to fasten his blood sucking mouths upon us. He was, i should say,
• 38:14
  a hundred yards in advance of his closest companion, and so I called
• 38:17
  to tars Tarkas to ascend a great tree that brushed the cliff's face while I
• 38:22
  despatched the fellow, thus giving the less agile Thark an opportunity to reach the
• 38:28
  higher branches before the entire horde should be upon us, and every vestige of
• 38:32
  escape cut off. But I had reckoned without a just appreciation either of the
• 38:37
  cunning of my immediate antagonists or the swiftness with which his fellows were covering the
• 38:43
  distance which had separated them from me. As I raised my long sword to
• 38:47
  deal the creature its death thrust, it halted in its charge, And as
• 38:52
  my sword cut harmlessly through the empty air, the great tail of the thing
• 38:55
  swept with the power of a grizzly's arm, across thew and carried me bodily
• 39:00
  from my feet to the ground. In an instant the brute was upon me,
• 39:06
  but ere it could fasten its hideous mouths into my breast and throat,
• 39:09
  I grasped a rithing tentacle in either hand. The plant man was well muscled,
• 39:15
  heavy and powerful, But my earthly sinews and greater agility, in conjunction
• 39:20
  with the deathly stranglehold I had upon him, would have given me, I
• 39:23
  think, an eventual victory, had we had time to discuss the merits of
• 39:28
  our relative prowess uninterrupted. But as we strained and struggled about the trees into
• 39:35
  which tars Tarkas was clambering with infinite difficulty, I suddenly caught a glimpse over
• 39:39
  the shoulder of my antagonists, of the great swarm of pursuers that now were
• 39:44
  fairly upon me. Now, at last, I saw the nature of the
• 39:47
  other monsters who had come with the plant men in response to the weird calling
• 39:52
  of the man upon the cliff's face. They were that most dreaded of Martian
• 39:57
  creatures, great white apes of Barsoom. My former experiences upon Mars have familiarized
• 40:02
  me thoroughly with them and their methods, And I may say that of all
• 40:07
  the fearsome and terrible, weird and grotesque inhabitants of that strange world, it
• 40:13
  is the white apes that come nearest to familiarizing me with the sensation of fear.
• 40:17
  I think that the cause of this feeling which these apes engender within me
• 40:22
  is due to their remarkable resemblance in form to our earthmen, which gives them
• 40:27
  a human appearance that is most uncanny when coupled with their enormous size. They
• 40:31
  stand fifteen feet in height and walk erect upon their hind feet. Like the
• 40:37
  green Martians, they have an intermediary set of arms midway between their upper and
• 40:42
  lower limbs. Their eyes are very close set, but do not protrude as
• 40:46
  do those of the green men of Mars. Their ears are high set but
• 40:51
  more laterally located than are the green men's, while their snouts and teeth are
• 40:55
  much like those of our African gorilla. Upon their heads grows an enormous shock
• 41:00
  of bristly hair. It was into the eyes of such as these and the
• 41:05
  terrible plant men, that I gazed above the shoulder of my foe. And
• 41:08
  then in a mighty wave of snarling, snapping, screaming, purring rage,
• 41:13
  they swept over me. And of all the sounds that assailed my ears as
• 41:16
  I went down beneath them, to me, the most hideous was the horrid
• 41:21
  purring of the plant men. Instantly a score of cruel fangs and keen talons
• 41:25
  were sunk into my flesh. Cold sucking lips fastened themselves upon my arteries.
• 41:31
  I struggled to free myself, and even though weighed down by these immense bodies,
• 41:37
  I succeeded in struggling to my feet, where still grasping my long sword
• 41:42
  and shortening my grip upon it until I could use it as a dagger.
• 41:45
  I wrought such havoc among them that at one time I stood for an instant
• 41:50
  free. What it has taken minutes to write occurred in but a few seconds.
• 41:55
  But during that time tars Tarkas had seen my plight, and had dropped
• 42:00
  from the lower branches which he had reached with such infinite labor. And as
• 42:04
  I flung the last of my immediate antagonists from me, the great thark leaped
• 42:08
  to my side, and again we fought back to back, as we had
• 42:13
  done a hundred times before. Time and again the ferocious apes sprang in too
• 42:17
  close with us, and time and again we beat them back with our swords.
• 42:22
  The great tales of the plant men lashed with tremendous power about us as
• 42:25
  they charged from various directions, or sprang with the agility of greyhounds above our
• 42:31
  heads. But every attack met a gleaming blade in sword hands that had been
• 42:36
  reputed for twenty years the best that Mars ever had known. For Tars Tarkas
• 42:40
  and John Carter were names that the fighting men of the world of Warriors loved
• 42:45
  best to speak. But even the two best swords in the world of fighters
• 42:49
  could avail not for ever against overwhelming numbers of fierce and savage brutes that know
• 42:54
  not what defeat means until cold steel teaches their hearts no longer to beat.
• 43:00
  And so step by step we were forced back. At length we stood against
• 43:05
  the giant tree that we had chosen for ascent, and then as charge after
• 43:08
  charge hurled its weight upon us, we gave back again and again, until
• 43:14
  we had been forced half way round the huge base of the colossal trunk.
• 43:17
  Tars Tarkas was in the lead, and suddenly I heard a little cry of
• 43:22
  exultations from him. Here is shelter for one at least, John Carter,
• 43:25
  he said, And glancing down, I saw an opening in the base of
• 43:30
  the tree, about three feet in diameter. In with you, Tars Tarkas,
• 43:34
  I cried. But he would not go, saying that his bulk was
• 43:37
  too great for the little aperture. While I might slip in easily, we
• 43:42
  shall both die if we remain without John Carter. Here is a slight chance
• 43:46
  for one of us. Take it, and you may live to avenge me.
• 43:51
  It is useless for me to attempt to worm my way into so small
• 43:53
  an opening, with this horde of demons besetting us on all sides. Then
• 43:59
  we shall die together. Tars Tarkas, I replied, for I shall not
• 44:02
  go first. Let me defend the opening while you get in. Then my
• 44:07
  smaller stature will permit me to slip in with you before they can prevent We
• 44:10
  were still fighting ferociously as we talked in broken sentences punctuated with vicious cuts and
• 44:16
  thrusts at our swarming enemy. At length, he yielded, for it seemed
• 44:21
  the only way in which either of us might be saved from the ever increasing
• 44:24
  numbers of our assailants, who were still swarming upon us from all directions across
• 44:30
  the broad valley. It was ever your way, John Carter, to think
• 44:34
  last of your own life, he said, but still more your way to
• 44:37
  command the lives and actions of others, even to the greatest of Jeddaks who
• 44:40
  rule upon Barsoom. There was a grim smile upon his cruel, hard face
• 44:47
  as he, the greatest Jeddak of them all, turned to obey the dictates
• 44:52
  of a creature of another world, of a man whose stature was less than
• 44:55
  half his own. If you fail, John Carter, he said, know
• 45:00
  that the cruel and heartless Thark to whom you taught the meaning of friendship will
• 45:05
  come out to die beside you. As you will, my friend, I
• 45:07
  replied, but quickly now head first while I cover your retreat. He hesitated
• 45:13
  a little at that word, for never before in his whole life of continual
• 45:16
  strife. Had he turned his back upon aught than a dead or defeated enemy,
• 45:22
  Haste tars tarkas, I urged, or we shall both go down to
• 45:25
  profitless defeat. I cannot hold them forever alone. As he dropped to the
• 45:30
  ground to force his way into the tree, the whole howling pack of hideous
• 45:36
  devils hurled themselves upon me. To right and left flew my shimmering blade,
• 45:40
  now green with the sticky juice of a plantman, now red with the crimson
• 45:45
  blood of a great white ape, but always flying from one opponent to another,
• 45:50
  hesitating but the barest fraction of a second to drink the life blood in
• 45:53
  the center of some savage heart. And thus I fought, as I never
• 45:58
  had fought before, against such frightful odds that I cannot realize even now that
• 46:04
  human muscles could have withstood that awful onslaught that terrific weight of hurtling tons of
• 46:08
  ferocious, battling flesh. With the fear that we would escape them, the
• 46:14
  creatures redoubled their efforts to pull me down, and though the ground about me
• 46:17
  was piled high with their dead and dying comrades, they succeeded at last in
• 46:22
  overwhelming me, and I went down beneath them for the second time that day,
• 46:28
  and once again felt those awful sucking lips against my flesh. But scarce
• 46:32
  had I fallen air. I felt the powerful hands grip my ankles, and
• 46:37
  in another second I was being drawn within the shelter of the tree's interior.
• 46:42
  For a moment it was a tug of war between tars Tarkas and a great
• 46:45
  plant man, who clung tenuously to my breast. But presently I got the
• 46:50
  point of my long sword beneath him, and with a mighty thrust, pierced
• 46:53
  his vitals. Torn and bleeding from my cruel wounds, I lay panting upon
• 46:59
  the ground within the hollow of the tree, while tars Tarkas defended the opening
• 47:04
  from the ferocious mob without For an hour they howled about the tree, but
• 47:09
  after a few attempts to reach us, they confined their efforts to terrorizing shrieks
• 47:14
  and screams, to hoard growling on the part of the great white apes,
• 47:17
  and the fearsome and indescribable purring by the plant men. At length, all
• 47:22
  but a score, who had apparently been left to prevent our escape, had
• 47:25
  left us and our adventures seemed destined to result in a siege, the only
• 47:30
  outcome of which could be our death by starvation. For even should we be
• 47:34
  able to slip out after dark, whither in this unknown and hostile valley could
• 47:37
  we hope to turn our steps toward possible escape. As the attacks of our
• 47:43
  enemies ceased and our eyes became accustomed to the semi darkness of the interior of
• 47:47
  our strange retreat, I took the opportunity to explore our shelter. The tree
• 47:52
  was hollow to an extent of about fifty feet in diameter, and from its
• 47:58
  flat, hard floor I judge that it had often been used to dominile others
• 48:02
  before our occupancy. As I raised my eyes towards its roof to note the
• 48:07
  height, I saw far above me a faint glow of light. There was
• 48:12
  an opening above. If we could but reach it, we might still hope
• 48:15
  to make the shelter of the cliff caves. My eyes had not become quite
• 48:21
  used to the subdued light of the interior, and as I pursued my investigation,
• 48:25
  I presently came upon a rough ladder at the far side of the cave.
• 48:30
  Quickly I mounted it, only to find that it connected at the top
• 48:35
  with the lower of a series of horizontal wooden bars that spanned the now narrow
• 48:39
  and shaft like interior of the tree's stem. These bars were set one above
• 48:45
  another, about three feet apart, and formed a perfect ladder as far above
• 48:50
  me as I could see. Dropping to the floor once more, I detailed
• 48:54
  my discovery to tars Tarkas, who suggested that I explore aloft as far as
• 49:00
  I could go in safety, while he guarded the entrance against a possible attack.
• 49:06
  As I hastened above to explore the strange shaft, I found that the
• 49:09
  ladder of horizontal bars mounted always as far above me as my eyes could reach,
• 49:15
  and as I ascended, the light from above grew brighter and brighter.
• 49:19
  For fully five hundred feet. I continued to climb until at length I reached
• 49:23
  the opening in the stem which admitted the light. It was of about the
• 49:28
  same diameter as the entrance at the foot of the tree, and opened directly
• 49:31
  upon a large flat limb, the well worn surface of which testified to its
• 49:37
  long continued use as an avenue for some creature. To and from this remarkable
• 49:42
  shaft. I did not venture out upon the limb for fear that I might
• 49:46
  be discovered and our retreat in this direction cut off, but instead hurried to
• 49:52
  retrace my steps to Tars Tarkas. I soon reached him, and presently we
• 49:57
  were both ascending the long ladder toward the opening above. Tars Tarkas went in
• 50:01
  advance, and as I reached the first of the horizontal bars, I drew
• 50:05
  the ladder up after me, and handing it to him, he carried it
• 50:08
  a hundred feet farther aloft, where he wedged it safely between one of the
• 50:13
  bars and the side of the shaft. In like manner, I dislodged the
• 50:17
  lower bars as I passed them, so that we soon had the interior of
• 50:22
  the tree denuded of all possible means of ascent for a distance of a hundred
• 50:25
  feet from the base, thus precluding possible pursuit and attack from the rear.
• 50:30
  As we were to learn later, this precaution saved us from dire predicament and
• 50:37
  was eventually the means of our salvation. When we reached the opening at the
• 50:40
  top, Tars Tarkas drew to one side that I might pass out and investigate,
• 50:46
  as owing to my lesser weight and greater agility, I was better fitted
• 50:51
  for the perilous threading of this dizzy hanging pathway. The limb upon which I
• 50:57
  found myself ascended at a slight angle toward the cliff, and as I followed
• 51:00
  it, I found that it terminated a few feet above a narrow ledge which
• 51:04
  protruded from the cliff's face at the entrance to a narrow cave. As I
• 51:08
  approached the slightly more slender extremity of the branch, it bent beneath my weight,
• 51:14
  until as I balanced perilously upon its outer tip, it swayed gently on
• 51:20
  a level with the ledge. At a distance of a couple feet. Five
• 51:23
  hundred feet below me lay the vivid scarlet carpet of the valley. Nearly five
• 51:29
  thousand feet above towered the mighty, gleaming face of the gorgeous cliffs. The
• 51:34
  cave that I faced was not one of those that I had seen from the
• 51:37
  ground, and which lay much higher, possibly a thousand feet, But so
• 51:42
  far as I might know, it was as good for our purpose as another.
• 51:45
  And saw our return to the tree for tars Tarkas. Together we wormed
• 51:50
  our way along the waving pathway, but When we reached the end of the
• 51:53
  branch, we found that our combined weight so depressed the limb that the cave's
• 51:59
  mouth was now too far above us to be reached. We finally agreed that
• 52:04
  tars Tarkas should return along the branch, leaving his longest leather harnessed strap with
• 52:09
  me, and that when the limb had risen to a height that would permit
• 52:14
  me to enter the cave, I was to do so, and on tars
• 52:16
  Tarkas's return, I could then lower the strap and haul him up to the
• 52:22
  safety of the ledge. This we did without mishap, and soon found ourselves
• 52:27
  together upon the verge of a dizzy little balcony, with a magnificent view of
• 52:31
  the valley spreading out below us as far as the eye could reach. Gorgeous
• 52:37
  forests and crimson swords skirted a silent sea, and about all towered the brilliant
• 52:42
  monster Guardian Cliffs. Once we thought we discerned a gilded minaret glimming in the
• 52:47
  sun amidst the waving tops of far distant trees, but we soon abandoned the
• 52:53
  idea, in the belief that it was but a hallucination born of our great
• 52:58
  desire to discover the haunts of civilized men in this beautiful yet forbidding spot.
• 53:05
  Below us, upon the river's bank, the great white apes were devouring the
• 53:08
  last remnants of tars tarkas former companions, while great herds of plant men grazed
• 53:15
  in ever widening circles about the sward, which they kept as close clipped as
• 53:21
  the smoothest of lawns. Knowing that attack from the tree was now improbable,
• 53:27
  we determined to explore the cave, which we had ever reason to believe was
• 53:30
  but a continuation of the path we had already traversed, leading the gods alone
• 53:36
  new where, but quite evidently away from this valley of grim veracity. As
• 53:40
  we advanced, we found a well proportioned tunnel cut from the solid cliff.
• 53:45
  Its walls rose some twenty feet above the floor, which was about five feet
• 53:51
  in width. The roof was arched. We had no means of making a
• 53:54
  light, and so groped our way slowly into the ever increasing darkness, tars
• 54:00
  Tarkas keeping in touch with one wall while I felt along the other while to
• 54:05
  prevent our wandering into diverging branches and becoming separated or lost. In some intricate
• 54:09
  and lamberthine maze. We clasped hands. How far we traversed the tunnel in
• 54:15
  this manner I do not know, but presently we came to an obstruction which
• 54:20
  blocked our further progress. It seemed more like a partition than a sudden ending
• 54:24
  of the cave, for it was constructed not of the material of the cliff,
• 54:29
  but of something which felt like very hard wood. Silently I groped over
• 54:34
  its surface with my hands, and presently was rewarded by the feel of the
• 54:37
  button, which as commonly denotes a door on Mars as does a door knob
• 54:42
  on Earth. Gently pressing it, I had the satisfaction of feeling the door
• 54:46
  slowly give before me, and in another instant we were looking into a dimly
• 54:51
  lighted apartment, which, so far as we could see, was unoccupied.
• 54:55
  Without more ado, I swung the door wide open, and fire, followed
• 55:00
  by the huge thark, stepped into the chamber. As we stood for a
• 55:04
  moment in the silence gazing about the room, a slight noise behind caused me
• 55:08
  to turn quickly, when, to my astonishment I saw the door close with
• 55:13
  a sharp click, as though by an unseen hand. Instantly I sprang toward
• 55:19
  it to wrench it open again, for something in the uncanny movement of the
• 55:22
  thing and the tense and almost palpable silence of the chamber seemed to pretend a
• 55:29
  lurking evil lying hidden in this rock bound chamber within the bowels of the golden
• 55:34
  cliffs. My fingers clawed futilely at the unyielding portal, while my eyes sought
• 55:39
  in vain for a duplicate of the button which had given us ingress. And
• 55:45
  then from unseen lips, a cruel and mocking peal of laughter rang through the
• 55:50
  desolate place end of chapter two, Chapter three, the chamber of mystery.
• 55:58
  For moments after that awful laugh had ceased reverberating through the rocky room, Tars
• 56:02
  Tarkas and eyes stood in tense and expectant silent. But no further sound broke
• 56:08
  the stillness, nor within the range of our vision did aught move at length.
• 56:14
  Tars Tarkas laughed softly, after the manner of his strange kind, when
• 56:17
  in the presence of the horrible or terrifying. It is not an hysterical laugh,
• 56:22
  but rather the genuine expression of the pleasure they derived from the things that
• 56:28
  move earth men to loathing or to tears. Often and again have I seen
• 56:32
  them roll upon the ground in mad fits of uncontrollable mirth. When witnessing the
• 56:37
  death agonies of women and little children beneath the torture of that hellish green Martian
• 56:44
  fete the Great Games, I looked up at Thark a smile upon my own
• 56:50
  lips, for here, in truth was greater need for a smiling face than
• 56:53
  a trembling chin. What do you make of it all? I asked?
• 56:58
  Wherein the deuce are we? He looked at me in surprise. Where are
• 57:02
  we? He repeated? Do you tell me, John Carter, that you
• 57:06
  know not where you be? That I am upon Barsoom is all that I
• 57:10
  can guess, And but for you and the great White Apes, I should
• 57:14
  not even guess that, for the sights I have seen this day are as
• 57:17
  unlike the things of my beloved Barsoom, as I knew it ten long years
• 57:22
  ago, as they are unlike the world of my birth. No, Tars
• 57:25
  Tarkas, I know not where we be. Where have you been since you
• 57:30
  opened the mighty portals of the atmosphere plant years ago? After the keeper had
• 57:35
  died and the engines stopped, and all barsoom was dying that had not already
• 57:39
  died of his phyxiation. Your body even was never found, though the men
• 57:45
  of a whole world sought after it for years, though the Jeddak of Helium
• 57:49
  and his granddaughter your princess, offered such fabulous rewards that even princes of royal
• 57:54
  blood joined in the search. There was but one conclusion to reach, when
• 57:59
  all efforts to locate you had failed, and that that you had taken the
• 58:02
  long last pilgrimage down the mysterious river Ish to await in the valley door upon
• 58:08
  the shores of the lost Sea of Chorus, the beautiful dejah Thoris, your
• 58:13
  princess. Why you had gone none could guess, for your princess still lived.
• 58:19
  Thank God, I interrupted him. I did not dare to ask you,
• 58:22
  for I feared I might have been too late to save her. She
• 58:25
  was very low when I left her in the royal gardens of Tardos Moor's that
• 58:30
  long gone night, so very low that I scarcely hoped even then to reach
• 58:35
  the atmosphere plant Ere. Her dear spirit had fled from me forever, and
• 58:39
  she lives. Yet she lives. John Carter. You have not told me
• 58:44
  where we are. I reminded him, we are where I expected to find
• 58:49
  you, John Carter, and another many years ago you heard the story of
• 58:52
  the woman who taught me that the thing that Green Martians are reared to hate.
• 58:58
  The woman who taught me to love. You know the cruel tortures and
• 59:00
  the awful death her love won for her at the hands of the beast Talhajash.
• 59:07
  She a thought awaited me by the lost sea of Chorus. You know
• 59:12
  that it was left for a man from another world, for yourself, John
• 59:15
  Carter, to teach this cruel thark what friendship is. And you, I
• 59:20
  thought, also roamed the care free valley door. Thus were the two I
• 59:24
  most longed for At the end of the long pilgrimage I must take some day.
• 59:30
  And so as the time had elapsed which dejah Thoris had hoped might bring
• 59:34
  you once more to her side, for she has always tried to believe that
• 59:37
  you had but temporarily returned to your own planet, I at last gave way
• 59:43
  to my great yearning. And a month since I started upon the journey,
• 59:46
  the end of which you have this day witnessed, do you understand now where
• 59:51
  you be, John Carter, and that was the river ish emptying into the
• 59:54
  lost sea of Corus in the valley door, I asked, This is the
• 1:00:00
  valley of love and peace and rest to which every Barsomium since time immorial has
• 1:00:05
  longed to pilgrimage at the end of a life of hate and strife and bloodshed.
• 1:00:09
  He replied, this, John Carter, is heaven. His tone was
• 1:00:14
  cold and ironic, its bitterness but reflecting the terrible disappointment he had suffered.
• 1:00:19
  Such a fearful disillusionment, such a blasting of life long hopes and aspirations,
• 1:00:25
  such an uprooting of age old tradition, might have excused a vastly greater demonstration
• 1:00:30
  on the part of the thark. I laid my hand upon his shoulder.
• 1:00:35
  I am sorry, I said, Nor did there seem aught else to say,
• 1:00:38
  Think John Carter, of the countless billions of Barsoomiums who have taken the
• 1:00:43
  voluntary pilgrimage down this cruel river since the beginning of time, only to fall
• 1:00:49
  into the ferocious clutches of the terrible creatures that today assailed us. There is
• 1:00:53
  an ancient legend that once a red man returned from the banks of the lost
• 1:00:58
  Sea of Chorus, returned and from the valley door back through the mysterious river
• 1:01:02
  ish. And the legend has it that he narrated a fearful blasphemy of horrid
• 1:01:08
  brutes that inhabited a valley of wondrous loveliness, brutes that pounced upon each barsoomium
• 1:01:15
  as he terminated his pilgrimage, and devoured him upon the banks of the lost
• 1:01:19
  Sea, where he had looked to find love and peace and happiness. But
• 1:01:22
  the ancients killed the blasphemer, as tradition has ordained that any should shall be
• 1:01:28
  killed who returned from the bosom of the river of Mystery. But now we
• 1:01:32
  know that it was no blasphemy, that the legend is a true one,
• 1:01:37
  and that the man told only of what he saw. But what does it
• 1:01:40
  profit us, John Carter, Since even should we escape, we also would
• 1:01:45
  be treated as blasphemer's. We are between the wild throat of certainty and the
• 1:01:50
  mads it that are of fact. We can escape neither, as earthmen say,
• 1:01:54
  we are between the devil and the deep sea tars Tarkas, I replied,
• 1:01:59
  nor could I help but smile at our dilemma. There is naught that
• 1:02:02
  we can do but take things as they come, and at least have the
• 1:02:07
  satisfaction of knowing that whoever slays us eventually will have far greater numbers of their
• 1:02:13
  own dead to count than they will get in return. White ape or plant
• 1:02:17
  men, green barsoomium or red man, whosoever it shall be that takes the
• 1:02:22
  last toll from us, will know that it is costly in lives to wipe
• 1:02:25
  out John Carter, Prince of the House of Tardos Mors and Tars Tarkas Jeddak
• 1:02:30
  of thark At the same time, I could not help but laugh at him
• 1:02:35
  grim humor, and he joined in with me in one of those rare laughs
• 1:02:38
  of real enjoyment, which was one of the attributes of this fierce Tharkian chief,
• 1:02:44
  which marked him from the others of his kind. But about yourself,
• 1:02:47
  John Carter, he cried at last, if you have not been here all
• 1:02:51
  these years, where indeed have you been? And how is it that I
• 1:02:54
  find you here? To day? I have been back to Earth, I
• 1:02:58
  replied, for ten long years. I have been praying and hoping for the
• 1:03:02
  day that would carry me once more to this grim old planet of yours.
• 1:03:07
  For which, with all its cruel and terrible customs, I feel a bond
• 1:03:12
  of sympathy and love even greater than for the world that gave me birth.
• 1:03:15
  For ten years have I been enduring a living death of uncertainty and doubt as
• 1:03:21
  to whether dejah Thoris lived. And now that for the first time in all
• 1:03:24
  these years my prayers have been answered and my doubt relieved, I find myself
• 1:03:30
  through a cruel, cruel whim of fate, hurled into the one tiny spot
• 1:03:34
  of all of Barsoom, from which there is apparently no escape, and if
• 1:03:37
  there were, at a price which would put out forever the last flickering hope
• 1:03:43
  which I may cling to of seeing my princess again in this life. And
• 1:03:46
  you have seen to day with what pitiful futility man yearns towards a material hereafter
• 1:03:53
  only a bare half hour before I saw you battling with the plant men,
• 1:03:58
  I was standing in the moonlight night, upon the banks of a broad river
• 1:04:02
  that taps the eastern shore of Earth's most blessed land. I have answered you,
• 1:04:08
  my friend, do you believe? I believe, replied tars Tarkas,
• 1:04:12
  though I cannot understand. As we talked, I had been searching the interior
• 1:04:16
  of the chamber with my eyes. It was perhaps two hundred feet in length
• 1:04:21
  and half as broad, with what appeared to be a doorway in the center
• 1:04:25
  of the wall directly opposite that through which we had entered. The apartment was
• 1:04:30
  hewn from the material of the cliff, showing mostly dull gold in the dim
• 1:04:34
  light which a single minute radium illuminator in the center of the roof diffused throughout
• 1:04:40
  its great dimensions. Here and there polished surfaces of ruby, admiral and diamond
• 1:04:45
  patched the golden walls and ceilings. The flour was of another material, very
• 1:04:50
  hard and worn by much hues to the smoothness of glass. Aside from the
• 1:04:56
  two doors, I could discern no sign of other aperture, and as one
• 1:05:00
  we knew to be locked against us, I approached the other. As I
• 1:05:03
  extended my hand to search for the controlling button, that cruel and mocking laugh
• 1:05:09
  rang out once more, so close to me, this time that I involuntarily
• 1:05:13
  shrank back, tightening my grip upon the hilt of my great sword. And
• 1:05:17
  then from the far corner of the great chamber, a hollow voice chanted,
• 1:05:20
  there is no hope there is no hope the dead returned. Not the dead
• 1:05:26
  returned not, nor is there any resurrection hope not, for there is no
• 1:05:30
  hope. Though our eyes instantly turned toward the spot from which the voice seemed
• 1:05:34
  to emanate, there was no one in sight. And it must admit that
• 1:05:39
  cold shivers played along my spine, and the short hairs at the base of
• 1:05:43
  my head stiffened and rose up, as do those upon a hound's neck when
• 1:05:47
  in the night his eyes see those uncanny things which are hidden from the sight
• 1:05:51
  of man. Quickly I walked toward the mournful voice, but it had ceased
• 1:05:57
  ere I reached the further wall, and then from the other end of the
• 1:06:00
  chamber came another voice, shrill and piercing. Fools, fools, it shrieked,
• 1:06:04
  thinkest thou to defeat the eternal laws of life and death? Wouldst cheat
• 1:06:10
  the mysterious Issus, goddess of death of her just dues? Did not her
• 1:06:15
  mighty messenger, the ancient ish bear, you upon her laden bosom at your
• 1:06:19
  own behest to the valley door. Thinkest thou, o fools, that Issus
• 1:06:25
  wilt give up her own thinkest thou to escape from whence in all the countless
• 1:06:29
  ages, but a single soul has fled. Go back the way, thou
• 1:06:32
  camest, to the merciful maws of the children of the Tree of Life,
• 1:06:38
  or the gleaming fangs of the great white apes, for there lies speedy,
• 1:06:42
  surceased from suffering. But insist in your rash purpose to thread the mazes of
• 1:06:46
  the golden cliffs of the mountains of Ortz, past the ramparts of the impregnable
• 1:06:51
  fortresses of the Holy Therns, and upon your way, death in its most
• 1:06:56
  frightful form, will overtake you, a death so horrible that even the holy
• 1:07:00
  Thorns themselves, who conceive both life and death, avert their eyes from its
• 1:07:04
  fiendishness and close their ears against the hideous shrieks of its victims. Go back,
• 1:07:11
  o fools, the way thou camest. And then the awful laugh broke
• 1:07:15
  out from another part of the chamber. Most uncanny, I remarked, turning
• 1:07:18
  to tars Tarkas, What shall we do? He asked, We cannot fight
• 1:07:23
  empty air. I would almost sooner return and face foes into whose flesh I
• 1:07:28
  may feel my blade bite and know that I am selling my carcass dearly before
• 1:07:32
  I go down to that eternal oblivion, which is evidently the fairest and most
• 1:07:38
  desirable eternity that mortal men has the right to hope for. If, as
• 1:07:42
  you say, we cannot fight empty air, tars Tarkas, I replied,
• 1:07:45
  neither, on the other hand, can empty air fight us. I,
• 1:07:49
  who have faced and conquered in my time thousands of sinewy warriors and tempered blades,
• 1:07:55
  shall not be turned back by wind, nor no more shall you thark.
• 1:08:00
  But unseen voices may emanate from unseen and unseeable creatures who wield invisible blades,
• 1:08:05
  answered the green warrior rot tars Tarkas, I cried, those voices come
• 1:08:11
  from beings as real as you or I, in their vain floes, life
• 1:08:15
  blood that may be a let as easily as ours. And the fact that
• 1:08:18
  they remain invisible to us is the best proof to my mind that they are
• 1:08:23
  mortal, nor overly courageous mortals. At that think you, tars Tarkas,
• 1:08:28
  that John Carter will fly at the first shriek of a cowardly foe who dare
• 1:08:32
  not come out into the open and face a good blade. I had spoken
• 1:08:36
  in a loud voice that there might be no question that our would be terrorizers,
• 1:08:42
  should hear me? For I was tiring of this nerve racking fiasco.
• 1:08:45
  It had occurred to me too, that the whole business was but a plan
• 1:08:49
  to frighten us back into the valley of death from which we had escaped,
• 1:08:54
  that we might be quickly disposed of by the savage creatures there. For a
• 1:08:59
  long period there was silence. Then of a sudden, a soft, stealthy
• 1:09:02
  sound behind me caused me to turn suddenly to behold a great, many legged
• 1:09:06
  banth creeping sinuously upon me. The banth is a fierce beast of prey that
• 1:09:13
  roams the low hills surrounding the dead seas of ancient Mars. Like nearly all
• 1:09:17
  Martian animals, it is almost hairless, having only a great bristly mane about
• 1:09:23
  its thick neck. Its long, lithe body is supported by ten powerful legs.
• 1:09:28
  Its enormous jaws are equipped like those of a callet or Martian hound,
• 1:09:32
  with several rolls of long, needlelike fangs. Its mouth reaches to the point
• 1:09:38
  far back of its tiny ears, while its enormous protruding eyes of green add
• 1:09:43
  the last touch of terror to its awful aspect. As it crept toward me.
• 1:09:46
  It lashed its powerful tail against its yellow sides, and when it saw
• 1:09:51
  that it was discovered, it emitted the terrifying roar which often freezes its prey
• 1:09:56
  into momentary paralysis in the instant that it makes its spring. And so it
• 1:10:01
  launched its great bulk towards me. But its mighty voice had held no paralyzing
• 1:10:06
  terrors for me, and it met cold steel instead of the tender flesh.
• 1:10:11
  Its cruel jaws gaped so widely to engulf an instant. Later, I drew
• 1:10:16
  my blade from the still heart of this great Barsoomian lion, and turning toward
• 1:10:20
  tars Tarkas, was surprised to see him facing a similar monster. No sooner
• 1:10:27
  had he despatched his than I, turning, as though drawn by the instinct
• 1:10:31
  of my guardian's subconscious mind, beheld another of the savage denizens of the Martian
• 1:10:38
  wilds, leaping across the chamber toward me. From then on, for the
• 1:10:42
  better part of an hour, one hideous creature after another was launched upon us,
• 1:10:46
  springing apparently from the empty air about us. Tars Tarkas was satisfied here
• 1:10:51
  was something tangible that he could cut and slash with his great blade. While
• 1:10:57
  I, for my part, may say that the diverse visions was a marked
• 1:11:00
  improvement over the uncanny voices from unseen lips. That there was nothing supernatural about
• 1:11:05
  our new foes was well evidenced by their howls of rage and pain as they
• 1:11:11
  felt the sharp steel at their vitals, and the very real blood which flowed
• 1:11:15
  from their severed arteries as they died the real death. I noticed during the
• 1:11:19
  period of this new persecution that the beast appeared only when our backs were turned.
• 1:11:25
  We never saw one really materialize from thin air, nor did I for
• 1:11:30
  an instant sufficiently lose my excellent reasoning faculties to be once deluded into the belief
• 1:11:35
  that the beasts came into the room other than through some concealed and well contrived
• 1:11:40
  doorway. Among the ornaments of tars Tarkas's leather harness, which is the only
• 1:11:45
  manner of clothing worn by martians other than silk capes and robes of silk and
• 1:11:49
  fur for protection from the cold after dark, was a small mirror about the
• 1:11:56
  bigness of a lady's hand glass, which hung midway between his shoulders and his
• 1:12:00
  waist against his broad back once as he stood looking down at a newly fallen
• 1:12:05
  antagonist. My eyes happened to fall upon this mirror, and in its shiny
• 1:12:10
  surface I saw pictured a sight that caused me to whisper, Move, not
• 1:12:15
  tars Tarkas, Move, not a muscle. He did not ask why,
• 1:12:18
  but stood like a graven image, while my eyes watched the strange thing that
• 1:12:23
  meant so much to us. What I saw was the quick movement of a
• 1:12:27
  section of the wall behind me. It was turning upon pivots, and with
• 1:12:31
  it a section of the floor directly in front of it was turning. It
• 1:12:35
  was as though you placed a visiting card upon end on a silver dollar that
• 1:12:41
  you had laid flat upon a table, so that the edge of the card
• 1:12:44
  perfectly bisected the surface of the coin. The card might represent the section of
• 1:12:49
  the wall that turned, and the silver dollar the section of the floor.
• 1:12:54
  Both were so nicely fitted into the adjacent portions of the floor and wall that
• 1:12:59
  no crack had been noticeable in the dim light of the chamber. As the
• 1:13:02
  turn was half completed, a great beast was revealed, sitting upon its haunches
• 1:13:08
  upon that part of the revolving floor that had been on the opposite side before
• 1:13:12
  the wall commenced to move. When the section stopped, the beast was facing
• 1:13:16
  toward me on the other side of that partition. It was very simple,
• 1:13:21
  But what had interested me most was the sight that the half turned section had
• 1:13:26
  presented through the opening. That it had made a great chamber, well lited,
• 1:13:31
  in which were several men and women chained to the wall, and in
• 1:13:34
  front of them, evidently directing and operating the movement of the secret doorway,
• 1:13:40
  a wicked faced man, neither red as are the red men of Mars,
• 1:13:44
  nor green as are the green men, but white like myself, with a
• 1:13:47
  great mass of flowing yellow hair. The prisoners behind him were red martians.
• 1:13:54
  Chained with them were a number of fierce beasts, such as been turned upon
• 1:13:59
  us, and others others equally as ferocious. As I turned to meet my
• 1:14:02
  new foe, it was with a heart considerably lightened watched the wall at your
• 1:14:08
  end of the chamber, tars Tarkas, I cautioned, it is through secret
• 1:14:11
  doorways in the wall that the brutes are loosed upon us. I was very
• 1:14:16
  close to him, and spoke in a low whisper that my knowledge of their
• 1:14:19
  secret might not be disclosed to our tormentors. As long as we remained each
• 1:14:25
  facing an opposite end of the apartment, no further attacks were made upon us,
• 1:14:30
  so it was quite clear to me that the partitions were in some way
• 1:14:32
  pierced that our actions might be observed from without. At length, a plan
• 1:14:38
  of action occurred to me, and, backing quite close to tars Tarkas,
• 1:14:42
  I unfolded my scheme in a low whisper, keeping my eyes still glued upon
• 1:14:46
  my end of the room. The great thark grunted his assent to my proposition.
• 1:14:51
  When I had done, and in accordance with my plan, commenced backing
• 1:14:56
  toward the wall, which I faced, while I advanced slowly ahead of him.
• 1:15:00
  When we had reached a point some ten feet from the secret doorway,
• 1:15:03
  I halted my companion, and cautioning him to remain absolutely motionless until I gave
• 1:15:10
  the prearranged signal. I quickly turned my back to the door, through which
• 1:15:14
  I could almost feel the burning and baleful eyes of our would be executioner.
• 1:15:18
  Instantly my own eyes sought the mirror upon tars Tarkas's back, and in another
• 1:15:24
  second I was closely watching the section of the wall, which had been disgorging
• 1:15:29
  its savage terrors upon us. I had not long to wait, for presently
• 1:15:32
  the golden surface commenced to move rapidly. Scarcely had it started than I gave
• 1:15:39
  the signal to tars Tarkas, and simultaneously, springing from the receding half of
• 1:15:43
  the pivoting door, in like manner, the thark wheeled and leaked from the
• 1:15:46
  opening being made by the inswinging section. A single bound carried me completely through
• 1:15:53
  into the adjoining room, and brought me face to face with the fellow whose
• 1:15:57
  cruel face I had seen before. He was about my own height, and
• 1:16:00
  well muscled, and in every outward detail molded precisely as our earthmen. At
• 1:16:06
  his side hung a long sword, a short sword, and a dagger,
• 1:16:12
  and one of the destructive ranium revolvers that are common upon Mars. The fact
• 1:16:17
  that I was armed only with a long sword, and so, according to
• 1:16:20
  the laws and ethics of battle everywhere upon barsoom, should only have been met
• 1:16:26
  with a similar or lesser weapon, seemed to have no effect upon the moral
• 1:16:30
  sense of my enemy, for he whipped out his revolver ere I scarce had
• 1:16:33
  touched the floor by his side, but an upper cup from my long sword
• 1:16:38
  sent it flying from his grasp before he could discharge it. Instantly he drew
• 1:16:43
  his long sword, and thus evenly armed, we set to in earnest for
• 1:16:46
  one of the closest battles I ever have fought. The fellow was a marvelous
• 1:16:51
  swordsman, and evidently in practice, while I had not gripped the hilt of
• 1:16:56
  a sword for ten long years before that morning, But he did not take
• 1:17:00
  me long to fall easily into my fighting stride, so that in a few
• 1:17:03
  minutes the man began to realize that he had at last met his match.
• 1:17:09
  His face became livid with rage as he found my guard impregnable, while blood
• 1:17:15
  flowed from a dozen minor wounds upon his face and body. Who are you,
• 1:17:19
  white man? He hissed, that you are no Barsoomium from the outer
• 1:17:24
  world is evident from your color, and you are not of us. His
• 1:17:29
  last statement was almost a question, What if I were from the temple of
• 1:17:32
  Issus, I hazard on a wild guest fate forfend, he exclaimed, his
• 1:17:39
  face going white under the blood that now nearly covered it. I did not
• 1:17:43
  know how to follow up my lead, but I carefully laid the idea away
• 1:17:46
  for future use, should circumstances require it. His answer indicated that for all
• 1:17:51
  he knew, I might be from the Temple of Issus, and in it
• 1:17:56
  were men like unto myself, And either this man the inmates of the temple,
• 1:18:00
  or else he held their persons or their power in such reverence that he
• 1:18:05
  trembled to think of the harm and indignities he had heaped upon one of them.
• 1:18:12
  But my present business with him was of a different nature than that which
• 1:18:15
  requires any considerable abstract reasoning. It was to get my sword between his ribs,
• 1:18:20
  and this I succeeded in doing within the next few seconds. Nor was
• 1:18:26
  I an instant too soon. The chained prisoners had been watching the combat in
• 1:18:30
  tense silence. Not a sound had fallen in the room, other than the
• 1:18:33
  clashing of our contending blades, the soft shuffling of our naked feet, and
• 1:18:39
  the few whispered words we had hissed at each other through clenched teeth the while
• 1:18:43
  we continued our mortal duel. But as the body of my antagonist sank in
• 1:18:47
  an inert mass to the floor, a cry of warning broke from one of
• 1:18:51
  the female prisoners. Turn turn behind you, she shrieked, and as I
• 1:18:57
  wheeled at the first note of her shrill cry, I myself facing a second
• 1:19:00
  man of the same race as he who lay at my feet. The fellow
• 1:19:05
  had crept stealthily from the dark corridor and was almost upon me with raised sword.
• 1:19:11
  Ere I saw him. Tars Tarkas was nowhere in sight, and the
• 1:19:15
  secret panel in the wall through which I had come was closed. How I
• 1:19:19
  wished that he were by my side. Now I had fought almost continuously for
• 1:19:25
  many hours. I had passed through such experiences and adventures as must sap the
• 1:19:30
  vitality of man. And with all this I had not eaten for nearly twenty
• 1:19:33
  four hours, nor slept. I was fagged out, and for the first
• 1:19:39
  time in years, felt a question as to my ability to cope with an
• 1:19:43
  antagonist. But there was naught else for it than to engage my man,
• 1:19:47
  and that as quickly and ferociously as lay in me. For my only salvation
• 1:19:53
  was to rush him off his feet. By the impetuosity of my attack,
• 1:19:57
  I could not hope to win a long drawn out but the fellow was evidently
• 1:20:01
  of another mine. For He backed and parried, and parried and side stepped
• 1:20:05
  until I was almost completely fagged from the exertion of attempting to finish him.
• 1:20:12
  He was a more adroit swordsman, if possible, than my previous foe,
• 1:20:15
  and I must admit that he led me a pretty chase, and in the
• 1:20:19
  end came near to making a sorry fool of me and a dead one into
• 1:20:25
  the bargain. I could feel myself growing weaker and weaker, until at length
• 1:20:30
  objects commenced to blur before my eyes, and I staggered and blundered about,
• 1:20:33
  more asleep than awake. And then it was that he worked his pretty little
• 1:20:39
  coup that came near to losing me my life. He had backed me around
• 1:20:44
  so that I stood in front of the corpse of his fellow, and then
• 1:20:47
  he rushed me suddenly, so that I was forced back upon it, and
• 1:20:51
  as my heel struck it, the impetus of my body flung me backward across
• 1:20:57
  the dead man. My head struck the hard payment with a resounding quack,
• 1:21:01
  and to that alone I owe my life, for it cleared my brain and
• 1:21:05
  the pain roused my temper so that I was equal for the moment to tearing
• 1:21:10
  my enemy to pieces with my bare hands, and I verily believed that I
• 1:21:15
  should have attempted it, had not my right hand, in the act of
• 1:21:17
  raising my body from the ground, came in contact with a bit of cold
• 1:21:21
  metal. As the eyes of the layman, so is the hand of the
• 1:21:26
  fighting man when it comes in contact with an implement of his vocation. And
• 1:21:30
  thus I did not need to look or reason to know that the dead man's
• 1:21:34
  revolver, laying where it had fallen when I struck it with my grasp,
• 1:21:40
  was at my disposal. The fellow whose ruse had put me down was springing
• 1:21:44
  toward me, the point of his gleaming blade directed straight at my heart.
• 1:21:48
  And as he came there rang from his lips the cruel and mocking peal of
• 1:21:54
  laughter that I had heard within the chamber of mystery. And so he died,
• 1:22:00
  his thin lips curled in the snarl of his hateful laugh, and a
• 1:22:02
  bullet from the revolver of his dead companion bursting into his heart. His body,
• 1:22:08
  borne by the impetus of his headlong rush plunged upon me. The hilt
• 1:22:13
  of his sword must have struck my head, for with the impact of the
• 1:22:15
  corpse, I lost consciousness end of Chapter three, Chapter four Thuvia. It
• 1:22:25
  was the sound of conflict that aroused me once more to the realities of life.
• 1:22:30
  For a moment I could neither place my surroundings nor locate the sounds which
• 1:22:33
  had aroused me. And then from beyond the blank wall beside which I lay,
• 1:22:38
  I heard the shuffling of feet, the snarling of grim beasts, the
• 1:22:42
  clank of metal accouterment, and the heaving breathing of a man. As I
• 1:22:46
  rose to my feet, I glanced hurriedly about the chamber in which I had
• 1:22:50
  just encountered such a warm reception. The prisoners and the savage brutes rested in
• 1:22:56
  their chains by the opposite wall, eyeing me with their varying expressions of curiosity,
• 1:23:01
  sullen, rage, surprise, and hope. The latter emotion seemed plainly
• 1:23:06
  evident upon the handsome and intelligent face of the young red Martian woman whose cry
• 1:23:12
  of warning had been instrumental in saving my life. She was the perfect type
• 1:23:16
  of that remarkably beautiful race whose outward appearance is identical with the more godlike races
• 1:23:23
  of earthmen, except that this higher race of Martians is of a light reddish
• 1:23:29
  copper color. As she was entirely unadorned, I could not even guess her
• 1:23:32
  station in life, though it was evident that she was either a prisoner or
• 1:23:36
  slave in her present environment. It was several seconds before the sounds upon the
• 1:23:43
  opposite side of the partition jolted my slowly returning faculties into a realization of their
• 1:23:49
  probable import and then of a sudden I grasped the fact that they were caused
• 1:23:55
  by tars tarkas in what was evidently a desperate struggle with wild beasts or savage
• 1:24:00
  men. With a cry of encouragement, I threw my weight against the secret
• 1:24:04
  door, but as well have essayed the down hurling of the cliffs themselves.
• 1:24:10
  Then I sought furviously for the secret of the revolving panel. But my search
• 1:24:15
  was fruitless, and I was about to raise my long sword against the sullen
• 1:24:18
  gold, when the young woman prisoner called out to me, save thy sword,
• 1:24:23
  o mighty warrior, for thou shalt need it more where it will avail
• 1:24:27
  to some purpose. Shatter it, not against the senseless metal, which yields
• 1:24:30
  better to the lightest finger touch of one who knows its secret. Know you
• 1:24:35
  the secret of it. Then I asked, yes, release me, and
• 1:24:40
  I will give you entrance to the other horror chamber if you wish. The
• 1:24:44
  keys to my fetters are upon the first dead of thy foemen. But why
• 1:24:47
  would you return to face again the fierce banth or whatever other form of destruction
• 1:24:54
  they have loosed within that awful trap, Because my friend fights there alone,
• 1:24:59
  I answered, as I hastily sought and found the keys upon the carcass of
• 1:25:02
  the dead custodian of this grim chamber of horrors. There were many keys upon
• 1:25:08
  the oval ring, but the fair martian made quickly selected that which sprung the
• 1:25:12
  great lock at her waist, and freed She hurried toward the secret panel.
• 1:25:16
  Again, she sought out a key upon the ring, this time a slender
• 1:25:20
  needlelike affair, which she inserted in an almost invisible hole in the wall.
• 1:25:26
  Instantly, the door swung upon its pivot, and the contiguous section of the
• 1:25:30
  floor upon which I was standing carried me with it into the chamber where tars
• 1:25:34
  Tarkas fought. The great Thark stood with his back against an angle of the
• 1:25:39
  walls. While facing him in a semicircle, a half dozen huge monsters crouched
• 1:25:44
  waiting for an opening. Their blood streaked heads and shoulders testified to the cause
• 1:25:48
  of their wariness, as well as to the swordmanship of the green warrior,
• 1:25:53
  whose glossy hide bore the same mute but eloquent witness to the ferocity of the
• 1:25:58
  attacks. That he had so far withstood, sharp talons and cruel fangs had
• 1:26:03
  torn leg, arm, and breast literally to ribbons. So weak was he
• 1:26:09
  from continued exertion and loss of blood, that but for the supporting wall,
• 1:26:13
  I doubt that he even could have stood erect. But with the tenacity and
• 1:26:17
  indomitable courage of his kind, he still faced his cruel and relentless foes,
• 1:26:23
  the personification of that ancient proverb of his tribe. Leave to a thark his
• 1:26:29
  head and one hand, and he may yet conquer. As he saw me
• 1:26:33
  enter, a grim smile touched those grim lips of his. But whether the
• 1:26:36
  smile signified relief or merely amusement at the sight of my own bloody and decevaled
• 1:26:43
  condition, I do not know. As I was about to spring into the
• 1:26:46
  conflict with my sharp long sword, I felt a gentle hand upon my shoulder,
• 1:26:50
  and turning, found to my surprise that the young woman had followed me
• 1:26:55
  into the chamber. Wait, she whispered, leave them to me, and,
• 1:27:00
  pushing me, advanced, all defenseless and unarmed, upon the snarling bands.
• 1:27:04
  When quite close to them, she spoke a single Martian word in low
• 1:27:09
  but peremptory tones like lightning. The great beast wheeled upon her, and I
• 1:27:14
  looked to see her torn to pieces before I could reach her side, but
• 1:27:17
  instead the creatures slunk to her feet like puppies that expect a merited whipping.
• 1:27:23
  Again, she spoke to them, but in tones so low I could not
• 1:27:27
  catch the words, and then she started toward the opposite side of the chamber,
• 1:27:30
  with the six mighty monsters trailing at heel, One by one, she
• 1:27:34
  sent them through the secret panel into the room beyond, And when the last
• 1:27:39
  had passed from the chamber, where we stood in wide eyed amazement, she
• 1:27:42
  turned and smiled at us, and then herself passed through, leaving us alone
• 1:27:46
  for a moment. Neither of us spoke. Then tars Tarkas said, I
• 1:27:50
  heard the fighting beyond the partition through which you passed, but I did not
• 1:27:55
  fear for you, John Carter, until I heard the report of a revolver
• 1:27:59
  shot. I I knew that there lived no man upon all barsoom who could
• 1:28:01
  face you with naked steel and live. But the shots stripped that last vestige
• 1:28:06
  of hope from me. Since you, I knew, to be without firearms,
• 1:28:11
  tell me of it. I did as ebayed, And then together we
• 1:28:15
  sought the secret panel through which I had just entered the apartment, the one
• 1:28:18
  at the opposite end of the room from that through which the girl had led
• 1:28:23
  her savage companions. To our disappointment, the panel eluded our every effort to
• 1:28:27
  negotiate its secret lock. We felt that once beyond it we might look with
• 1:28:31
  some little hope of success for a passage to the outside world. The fact
• 1:28:36
  that the prisoners within were securely chained led us to believe that surely there must
• 1:28:42
  be an avenue of escape from the terrible creatures which inhabited this unspeakable place.
• 1:28:47
  Again and again we turned from one door to another, from the baffling golden
• 1:28:51
  panel at one end of the chamber to its mate at the other, equally
• 1:28:56
  baffling. When we had about given up all hope, one of the panels
• 1:29:00
  turned silently toward us and the young woman who had led away, The bands
• 1:29:04
  stood once more beside us. Who are you, she asked, And what
• 1:29:09
  your mission? That you have the temerity to attempt to escape from the valley
• 1:29:13
  door and the death you have chosen. I have chosen no death, maiden,
• 1:29:16
  I replied. I am not of Barsoom, nor have I taken yet
• 1:29:20
  the voluntary pilgrimage upon the river? Ishe my friend? Here is Jeddak of
• 1:29:26
  all the Tharks, And though he has not yet expressed a desire to return
• 1:29:30
  to the living world, I am taking him with me from the living lie
• 1:29:33
  that hath lured him in this frightful place. I am of another world.
• 1:29:39
  I am John Carter, Prince of the House of Tardos Moor's Jeddak of Helium.
• 1:29:44
  Perchance some faint rumor of me may have leaked within the confines of your
• 1:29:47
  hellish abode. She smiled. Yes, she replied, not that passes in
• 1:29:53
  the world we have left is unknown. Here I have heard of you many
• 1:29:57
  years ago. The Thurns have oft times wondered whether you had flown, since
• 1:30:01
  you had neither taken the pilgrimage nor could be found upon the face of Barsoom.
• 1:30:06
  Tell me, I said, And who be you, And why a
• 1:30:10
  prisoner, yet with power over the ferocious beasts of the place that denotes familiarity
• 1:30:15
  and authority far beyond that which might be expected of a prisoner or a slave.
• 1:30:20
  Slave. I am, she answered, for fifteen years a slave in
• 1:30:25
  this terrible place. And now that they have tired of me and become fearful
• 1:30:29
  of the power which my knowledge of their ways has given me, I am,
• 1:30:32
  but recently condemned to die the death. She shuddered. What death,
• 1:30:38
  I asked, The Holy Therns eat human flesh, she answered me, but
• 1:30:42
  only that which has died beneath the sucking lips of a plant man, flesh
• 1:30:46
  from which the defiling blood of life has been drawn. And to this cruel
• 1:30:50
  end I have been condemned. It was to be within a few hours,
• 1:30:55
  had your advent not caused an interruption of their plans. Was it then,
• 1:31:00
  the Holy Therns who felt the weight of John Carter's hand, I asked,
• 1:31:02
  Oh, no, those whom you laid low are lesser thorns, but of
• 1:31:08
  the same cruel and hateful race. The Holy Therns abide upon the outer slopes
• 1:31:12
  of these grim hills, facing the broad world from which they harvest their victims
• 1:31:16
  and their spoils. Labyrinthine passages connect these caves with the luxurious palaces of the
• 1:31:23
  Holy Therns, and through them pass upon their many duties, the lesser Therns,
• 1:31:28
  and hordes of slaves and prisoners, and fierce beasts. The grim inhabitants
• 1:31:32
  of this sunless world. There be within this vast network of winding passages and
• 1:31:38
  countless chambers, men, women, and beasts who born within its dim and
• 1:31:43
  gruesome underworld have never seen the light of day, Nor ever shall they are
• 1:31:47
  kept to do the bidding of the Race of Thorns, to furnish at once
• 1:31:51
  their sport and their sustenance. Now and again, some hapless pilgrim drifting out
• 1:31:57
  upon the silent seas from the cold ish escapes the plant man and the great
• 1:32:00
  white apes that guard the Temple of Issus, and falls into the remorseless clutches
• 1:32:05
  of the Thens. Where as was my misfortune, is coveted by the holy
• 1:32:11
  Thens, who chances to be upon watch in the balcony above the river,
• 1:32:15
  where it issues from the bows of the mountains through the cliffs of Gold to
• 1:32:17
  empty into the lost Sea. Of course, all who reach the valley door
• 1:32:23
  are by custom the rightful prey of the plant man and the apes, while
• 1:32:28
  their arms and ornaments become the portions of the Thens. But if one escapes
• 1:32:31
  the terrible denizens of the valley for even a few hours, the Therns may
• 1:32:35
  claim such a one as their own, And again the holy Therns on watch
• 1:32:40
  should he see a victim he covets, often tramples upon the rights of the
• 1:32:45
  unreasoning brutes of the valley, and takes his prize by foul means if he
• 1:32:48
  cannot gain it by fare. It is said that occasionally some deluded victim of
• 1:32:54
  Barsomium's superstition will so far escape the clutches of the countless enemies that beset his
• 1:33:00
  path from the moment that he emerges from the subterranean passage through which the ish
• 1:33:04
  flows for a thousand miles before it enters the valley door as to reach the
• 1:33:10
  very walls of the temple Issus. But what fate awaits one there, not
• 1:33:14
  even the holy Theurns may guess, for who has passed within those gilded walls
• 1:33:18
  never has returned to unfold the mysteries they have held since the beginning of time.
• 1:33:24
  The Temple of Issus is to the thurns what the valley door is imagined
• 1:33:28
  by the peoples of the outer world to be. To them, it is
• 1:33:30
  the ultimate haven of peace, refuge, and happiness to which they pass after
• 1:33:35
  this life, and wherein an eternity of eternities is spent amidst the delights of
• 1:33:42
  the flesh, which appeal most strongly to this race of mental giants and moral
• 1:33:47
  pigmies. The temple of Issus is. I take it a heaven within a
• 1:33:51
  heaven, I said, Let us hope that there it will be meted to
• 1:33:55
  the Thens, as they have meeted it here unto others. Who knows?
• 1:34:00
  The girl murmured, The theurns, I judge from what you have said,
• 1:34:03
  are no less mortal than we. And yet have I always heard them spoken
• 1:34:08
  of with the utmost awe and reverence by the people of Barsoom, as one
• 1:34:13
  might speak of the gods themselves. The theurns are mortal, she replied.
• 1:34:17
  They die from the same causes as you or I might those who do not
• 1:34:21
  live their allotted span of life one thousand years, when by the authority of
• 1:34:26
  custom they may take their way in happiness through the long tunnel that leads to
• 1:34:30
  Issus. Those who die before are supposed to spend the balance of their allotted
• 1:34:35
  time in the image of a plant man. And it is for this reason
• 1:34:39
  that the plant men are held sacred by the theurns, since they believe that
• 1:34:43
  each of these hideous creatures was formerly a Then and should a plant man die,
• 1:34:47
  I asked, Should he die before the expiration of the thousand years from
• 1:34:51
  the birth of the thurn, whose immortality abides within him, then the soul
• 1:34:57
  passes into a great white ape. But should the ape died short of the
• 1:35:00
  exact hour that terminates the thousand years, the soul is forever lost, and
• 1:35:04
  passes for all eternity into the carcass of the slimy, fearsome Scilian, whose
• 1:35:10
  wriggling thousands seeth the silent sea beneath the hurtling moons. When the sun has
• 1:35:15
  gone and strange shapes walked through the valley door, we sent several holy therns
• 1:35:20
  to the Scilians to day, then, said tars Tarkas, laughing. And
• 1:35:25
  so will your death be the more terrible when it comes, said the maiden,
• 1:35:28
  And come it will. You cannot escape. One has escaped centuries ago,
• 1:35:32
  I reminded her, And what has been done, may be done again.
• 1:35:36
  It is useless even to try, she answered hopelessly. But try we
• 1:35:41
  shall, I cried, and you shall go with us if you wish to
• 1:35:45
  be put to death by my own people and render my memory a disgrace to
• 1:35:48
  my family and my nation. A prince of the house of Tardos Mors should
• 1:35:54
  no better than to suggest such a thing. Tars Tarkas listened in silence,
• 1:36:00
  but I could feel his eyes riveted upon me, and I knew that he
• 1:36:02
  awaited my answer as one might listen to the reading of a sentence by the
• 1:36:06
  foreman of a jury. What I advised the girl to do would seal our
• 1:36:11
  fate as well, since if I bowed to the inevitable decree of age old
• 1:36:15
  superstition, we must all remain and meet our fate in some horrible form within
• 1:36:20
  this awful abode of horror and cruelty. We have the right to escape if
• 1:36:26
  we can, I answered. Our own moral senses will not be offended if
• 1:36:30
  we succeed, for we know that the fabled life of love and peace in
• 1:36:33
  the blessed Valley of Dor is a rank and wicked deception. We know that
• 1:36:39
  the valley is not sacred we know that the holy Therns are not holy,
• 1:36:43
  that they are a race of cruel and heartless mortals, knowing no more of
• 1:36:45
  the real life to come than we do. Not only is it our right
• 1:36:50
  to bend every effort to escape, it is the solemn duty from which we
• 1:36:55
  should not shrink, even though we know that we should be reviled and tortured
• 1:36:59
  by own peace peoples when we return to them. Only thus may we carry
• 1:37:03
  the truth to those without. And though the likelihood of our narrative being given
• 1:37:08
  credence is I grant you remote. So wedded our mortals to their stupid infatuation
• 1:37:14
  for impossible superstitions, we should be craven cowards. Indeed, were we to
• 1:37:18
  shirk the plain duty which confronts us again, there is a chance that,
• 1:37:23
  with the weight of the testimony of the several of us, the truth of
• 1:37:27
  our statements may be accepted and at least a compromise affected, which will result
• 1:37:32
  in the despatching of an expedition of investigation to this hideous mockery of heaven.
• 1:37:39
  Both the Girl and the Green Warriors stood silent in thought for some moments.
• 1:37:43
  The former it was who eventually broke the silence. Never had I considered the
• 1:37:47
  matter in that light before. She said, indeed, would I give my
• 1:37:51
  life a thousand times if I could but save a single soul from the awful
• 1:37:56
  life that I have led in this cruel place. Yes, you are,
• 1:38:00
  and I will go with you as far as we can go, But I
• 1:38:02
  doubt that we ever shall escape. I turned an inquiring glance toward the thark
• 1:38:08
  to the gates of Issus, or to the bottom of Korus, spoke the
• 1:38:12
  Green warrior, to the snows to the north, or to the snows to
• 1:38:15
  the south Tars Tarkas follows where John Carter leeds I have spoken. Come,
• 1:38:20
  then, I cried, We must make the start, for we could not
• 1:38:25
  be further from escape than we now are in the heart of this mountain and
• 1:38:28
  within the four walls of this chamber of death. Come, then, said
• 1:38:31
  the girl. But do not flatter yourselves that you can find no worse place
• 1:38:35
  than this within the territory of the Thurns. So saying, she swung the
• 1:38:40
  secret panel that separated us from the apartment in which I found her, and
• 1:38:44
  we stepped through once more into the presence of other prisoners. There were in
• 1:38:48
  all ten red martians, men and women, and when we had briefly explained
• 1:38:53
  our plan, they decided to join forces with us, though it was evident
• 1:38:58
  that it was with some considerable miss givings that they thus tempted fate by opposing
• 1:39:02
  an ancient superstition, even though each knew through cruel experience the fallacy of its
• 1:39:09
  entire fabric. Thuvia, the girl whom I had first freed, soon had
• 1:39:14
  the others at liberty. Tars Tarkas and I stripped the bodies of the two
• 1:39:17
  Thorns of their weapons, which included swords, daggers, and two revolvers of
• 1:39:21
  the curious and deadly type manufactured by the Red Martians. We distributed the weapons
• 1:39:28
  as far as they would go among our followers, giving the firearms to two
• 1:39:31
  of the women, Thuvia being one so armed with the latter. As our
• 1:39:36
  guide, we set off rapidly but cautiously through a maze of passages, crossing
• 1:39:42
  great chambers hewn from the solid metal of the cliff, following the winding corridors,
• 1:39:46
  ascending steep inclines, and now and again concealing ourselves in dark recesses at
• 1:39:51
  the sound of approaching footsteps. Our destination, Thuvia said, was a distant
• 1:39:57
  store room where arms and ammunition in plenty might be found. From there she
• 1:40:01
  was to lead us to the summit of the cliffs, from where it would
• 1:40:04
  require both wondrous wit and mighty fighting to win our way through the very heart
• 1:40:10
  of the stronghold of the Holy Therns to the world without. And even then,
• 1:40:15
  O Prince, she cried, the arm of the Holy Thern is long.
• 1:40:18
  It reaches to every nation of Barsoom. His secret temples are hidden in
• 1:40:23
  the heart of every community wherever we go. Should we escape, we shall
• 1:40:27
  find that word of our coming has preceded us, and death awaits us before
• 1:40:30
  we may pollute the air with our blasphemies. We have proceeded for possibly an
• 1:40:35
  hour without serious interruption, and Thuvia had just whispered to me that we were
• 1:40:41
  approaching our first destination, when on entering a great chamber, we came upon
• 1:40:45
  a man, evidently a thern. He wore, in addition to his leathern
• 1:40:49
  trappings and jeweled ornaments, a great circlet of gold about his brow, in
• 1:40:55
  the exact center of which was set an immense stone, the exact counterpart of
• 1:41:00
  that which I had seen upon the breast of the little old Man at the
• 1:41:03
  atmosphere Plant nearly twenty years before. It is the one priceless jewel of Barsoom.
• 1:41:10
  Only two are known to exist, and these were worn as the insignia
• 1:41:14
  of their rank and position by the two old men in whose charge was placed
• 1:41:17
  the operation of the great engines, which pumped the artificial atmosphere to all parts
• 1:41:23
  of Mars from the huge atmosphere Plant, the secret to whose mighty portals placed
• 1:41:28
  in my possession the ability to save from immediate extinction the life of the whole
• 1:41:32
  world. The stone worn by the thorns who confronted us was of about the
• 1:41:38
  same size as that which I had seen before, an inch in diameter,
• 1:41:42
  I should say. It scintillated nine different and distinct rays, the seven primary
• 1:41:47
  colors of our earthly prism, and the two rays which are unknown upon Earth,
• 1:41:51
  but whose wondrous beauty is indescribable. As the thern saw us, his
• 1:41:57
  eyes narrowed to two nasty slits. Stop. He cried, what means this?
• 1:42:00
  Thuvia For answer, the girl raised her revolver and fired point blank at
• 1:42:05
  him. Without a sound. He sank to the earth dead beast. She
• 1:42:10
  hissed after all these years, I am at last revenged. Then, as
• 1:42:15
  she turned toward me, evidently with a word of explanation on her lips,
• 1:42:19
  her eyes suddenly widened as they rest upon me, and with a little exclamation
• 1:42:25
  she started toward me, O Prince, she cried, fate is indeed kind
• 1:42:30
  to us. The way is still difficult, but through this vile thing upon
• 1:42:33
  the floor we may yet win to the outer world. Notice thou not the
• 1:42:38
  remarkable resemblance between the Holy Thorn and thyself. The man was indeed of my
• 1:42:43
  precise stature, nor were his eyes and features unlike mine. But his hair
• 1:42:47
  was a mass of flowing yellow locks, like those of the two I had
• 1:42:51
  killed, while mine is black and close cropped. What of the resemblance?
• 1:42:57
  I asked the girl, Thuvia, do you wish me, with my black
• 1:43:00
  short hair, to pose as a yellow haired priest of this infernal colt?
• 1:43:04
  She smiled, and for answer, approached the body of the man she had
• 1:43:08
  slain, and, kneeling beside it, removed the circlet of gold from the
• 1:43:12
  forehead, and then, to my utter amazement, lifted the entire scalp bodily
• 1:43:16
  from the corpse's head. Rising, she advanced to my side, and,
• 1:43:20
  placing the yellow wig over my black hair, crowned me with the golden circlets
• 1:43:25
  set with the magnificent gem. Now down his harness, Prince, she said,
• 1:43:30
  and you may pass where you will in the realms of the thorns.
• 1:43:32
  For Sotre Throg was a holy thrn of the tenth cycle, and mighty among
• 1:43:39
  his kind. As I stooped to the dead men to do her bidding,
• 1:43:42
  I noted that not a hare grew upon his head, which was quite as
• 1:43:46
  bald as an egg. They are all thus from birth, explained Thuvia,
• 1:43:50
  noting my surprise. The race from which they sprang were crowned with a luxuriant
• 1:43:56
  growth of golden hair. But for many years the present race has been entirely
• 1:44:00
  bald. The whig, however, has come to be a part of their
• 1:44:03
  apparel, and so important a part do they consider it that it is cause
• 1:44:08
  for the deepest disgrace were a thern to appear in public without it. In
• 1:44:12
  another moment, I stood garbed in the habiliments of a holy thern. At
• 1:44:16
  Thuvia's suggestion, two of the released prisoners bore the body of the dead thern
• 1:44:20
  upon their shoulders, with us as we continued our journey towards the storm,
• 1:44:26
  which we reached without further mishap here. The keys which Thuvia bore from the
• 1:44:30
  dead thern of the prison vault were the means of giving us immediate entrance to
• 1:44:35
  the chamber, and very quickly we were thoroughly outfitted with arms and ammunition.
• 1:44:41
  By this time I was so thoroughly fagged out that I could go no further.
• 1:44:45
  So I threw myself upon the floor, bidding tars Tarkas to do likewise,
• 1:44:49
  and cautioning two of the released prisoners to keep careful watch. In an
• 1:44:54
  instant I was asleep. End of Chapter four, Chapter five, Corridors of
• 1:45:02
  Peril. How long I slept upon the floor of the store room, I
• 1:45:05
  do not know, but it must have been many hours. I was awakened
• 1:45:10
  with a start by cries of alarm and scarce were my eyes opened, nor
• 1:45:14
  had I yet sufficiently collected my wits to quite realize where I was, when
• 1:45:18
  a fusilade of shots rang out, reverberating through subterranean corridors in a series of
• 1:45:25
  deafening echoes. In an instant I was upon my feet A dozen lesser therns
• 1:45:30
  confronted us from a large doorway at the opposite end of the store room from
• 1:45:33
  which we had entered. About me lay the bodies of my companions, with
• 1:45:38
  the exception of Thuvia and tars Tarkas, who like myself, had been asleep
• 1:45:43
  upon the floor, and thus escaped the first raking fire. As I gained
• 1:45:46
  my feet, the thorns lowered their wicked rifles, their faces distorted and mingled
• 1:45:51
  chagrin, consternation, and alarm. Instantly I rose to the occasion. What
• 1:45:58
  means this, I cried, in tones of fear. Anger is Sator Throg
• 1:46:01
  to be murdered by his own vassals? Have mercy, o master of the
• 1:46:06
  ten cycle, cried one of the fellows, while the others edged toward the
• 1:46:10
  doorway, as though to attempt a sir repetitious escape from the presence of the
• 1:46:14
  mighty one. Ask them their mission here, whispered Thuvia at my elbow.
• 1:46:19
  What do you hear, fellows? I cried? Two from the outer world
• 1:46:24
  are at large within the dominions of the Thurns. We sought them at the
• 1:46:28
  command of the Father of Thorns. One was white with black hair, the
• 1:46:30
  other a huge green warrior. And here the fellow cast a suspicious glance toward
• 1:46:35
  tars Tarkas here then is one of them, spoke Thuvia, indicating the Thark.
• 1:46:42
  And if you will look upon this dead man by the door, perhaps
• 1:46:44
  you will recognize the other. It was left for stor Throg and his poor
• 1:46:48
  slaves accomplished what the lesser therns of the guard were unable to do. We
• 1:46:54
  have killed one and captured the other. For this, had Sir tor Throg
• 1:46:58
  given us our liberty? And now, in your stupidity, have you come
• 1:47:01
  and killed all but myself, and liked to have killed the mighty sator Throg
• 1:47:05
  himself. The men looked very sheepish and very scared. Had they not better
• 1:47:11
  throw these bodies to the plant men and then returned to their quarters. O
• 1:47:14
  mighty one, asked Thuvia of me. Yes, do as Thuvia bids you,
• 1:47:17
  I said, As the men picked up the bodies, I noticed that
• 1:47:21
  the one who stooped to gather up the late setor Throg started as his closer.
• 1:47:27
  Scrutiny fell upon the upturned face. And then the fellow stole a furtive,
• 1:47:30
  sneaking glance in my direction from the corner of his eye, that he
• 1:47:34
  suspicion something of the truth I could have sworn, but that it was only
• 1:47:39
  a suspicion which he did not dare. Voice was evidenced by his silence again.
• 1:47:44
  As he bore the body from the room, he shot a quick but
• 1:47:46
  searching glance toward me, and then his eyes fell once more upon the bald
• 1:47:50
  and shiny dome of the dead man in his arms. The last fleeting glimpse
• 1:47:56
  that I obtained of his profile as he passed from my sight without the chamber,
• 1:48:00
  revealed a cunning smile of triumph upon his lips. Only tars Tarkas Thuvia
• 1:48:05
  and I were left. The fatal marksmanship of the Thorns had snatched from our
• 1:48:10
  companions whatever slender chance they had of gaining their perilous freedom of the world without.
• 1:48:15
  So soon as the last of the gruesome procession had disappeared, the girl
• 1:48:20
  urged us to take up our flight once more. She too had noted the
• 1:48:25
  questioning attitude of the Thurn, who had borne so tore throg away. It
• 1:48:29
  bodes no good for us, o Prince, she said, for even though
• 1:48:32
  this fellow dared not chance accusing you in air, there be those above with
• 1:48:36
  power sufficient to demand a closer scrutiny, and that Prince would indeed prove fatal.
• 1:48:44
  I shrugged my shoulders. It seemed that in any event, the outcome
• 1:48:47
  of our plight must end in death. I was refreshed from my sleep,
• 1:48:51
  but still weak from loss of blood. My wounds were painful. No medicinal
• 1:48:57
  aid seemed possible. How I longed for the almost most miraculous healing power of
• 1:49:01
  the strange salves and lotions of the green Martian women. In an hour they
• 1:49:05
  would have had be as new. I was discouraged. Never had a feeling
• 1:49:11
  of such utter hopelessness come over me in the face of danger. Then the
• 1:49:15
  long flowing yellow locks of the Holy Thern, caught by some vagrant draft,
• 1:49:19
  blew about my face. Might they not still open the way of freedom?
• 1:49:24
  If we acted in time? Might we not even yet escape before the general
• 1:49:28
  alarm was sounded? We could at least try What will the fellow do?
• 1:49:32
  First? Thuvia I asked, how long will it be before they may return
• 1:49:36
  for us? He will go directly to the father of Therns, Old Matai
• 1:49:42
  Shang. He may have to wait for an audience, But since he is
• 1:49:45
  very high among the lesser Therns, in fact, as a Thorian among them.
• 1:49:50
  It will not be long that Matai Shang will keep him waiting. Then,
• 1:49:56
  if the father of Therns puts credence in his story, another hour will
• 1:50:00
  see the galleries and chambers, the courts and gardens filled with searchers. What
• 1:50:04
  we do, then must be done within an hour. What is the best
• 1:50:09
  way, thuvia the shortest way out of this celestial hades, straight to the
• 1:50:13
  top of the cliffs, Prince, she replied, and then through the gardens
• 1:50:16
  to the inner courts. From there our way will lie within the temples of
• 1:50:20
  the Theerns, and across them to the outer court. Then the ramparts,
• 1:50:24
  o Prince, it is hopeless. Ten thousand warriors could not hew a way
• 1:50:29
  to liberty from out this awful place. Since the beginning of time, little
• 1:50:33
  by little, stone by stone have the Theerns been ever adding to the defenses
• 1:50:39
  of their stronghold. A continuous line of impregnable fortification circles the outer slopes of
• 1:50:45
  the mountains of Ords. Within the temples that lie behind the ramparts, a
• 1:50:48
  million fighting men are ever ready. The courts and gardens are filled with slaves,
• 1:50:54
  with women, and with children. None could go as stones throw without
• 1:50:58
  detection. If there is no other way, Thuvia, Why dwell upon the
• 1:51:02
  difficulties of this? We must face them. Can we not better make the
• 1:51:06
  attempt after dark? Asked tars Tarkas. There would seem to be no chance
• 1:51:12
  by day. There would be a little better chance by night. But even
• 1:51:15
  then the ramparts are well guarded, possibly better than by day. There are
• 1:51:20
  fewer abroad in the courts and gardens, though, said Thuvia. What is
• 1:51:25
  the hour, i asked? It was midnight when you released me from my
• 1:51:29
  chains, said Thubia. Two hours later we reached the store room. There
• 1:51:32
  you slept for fourteen hours. It must now be nearly sundown again. Come,
• 1:51:38
  we will go to some near by window in the cliff and make sure,
• 1:51:42
  so saying, she led the way through the winding corridors until a sudden
• 1:51:45
  turn, we came upon an opening which overlooked the valley door. At our
• 1:51:49
  right. The sun was setting a huge red orb below the western range of
• 1:51:55
  orts. A little below us stood the Holy Thurn on watch upon his balk.
• 1:52:00
  His scarlet robe of office was pulled tightly about him in anticipation of the
• 1:52:05
  cold that comes so suddenly with the darkness as the sun sets. So rare
• 1:52:10
  is the atmosphere of Mars, that absorb very little heat from the sun.
• 1:52:15
  During the daylight hours, it is always extremely hot. At night, it
• 1:52:18
  is intensely cold. Nor does the thin atmosphere refract the Sun's rays or diffuse
• 1:52:24
  its light as upon Earth. There is no twilight on Mars. When the
• 1:52:28
  great orb of day disappears beneath the horizon, the effect as precisely as that
• 1:52:32
  of the extinguishing of a single lamp within a chamber. From brilliant light,
• 1:52:38
  you are plunged without warning into utter darkness. Then the moons come, the
• 1:52:43
  mysterious magic moons of Mars, hurtling like monster meteors low across the face of
• 1:52:48
  the planet. The declining sun lighted brilliantly the eastern banks, of course,
• 1:52:55
  the crimson sword the gorgeous forest. Beneath the trees we saw feeding many,
• 1:53:00
  many herds of plant men. The adults stood aloft upon their toes and their
• 1:53:03
  mighty tails, their talons pruning every available leaf and twig. It was then
• 1:53:09
  that I understood the careful trimming of the trees which had led me to form
• 1:53:13
  the mistaken idea when first I opened my eyes upon the grove, that it
• 1:53:16
  was the playground of a civilized people. As we watched, our eyes wandered
• 1:53:21
  to the rolling ish which issued from the base of the cliffs beneath us.
• 1:53:28
  Presently there emerged from the mountain a canoe laden with lost souls from the outer
• 1:53:31
  world. There were a dozen of them. All were of the highly civilized
• 1:53:36
  and cultured race of red men, who are dominant on Mars. The eyes
• 1:53:41
  of the herald upon the balcony beneath us fell upon the doomed party as soon
• 1:53:45
  as did ours. He raised his head, and, leaning far out over
• 1:53:48
  the low rail that rimmed his dizzy perch, voiced the shrill, weird wail
• 1:53:54
  that called the demons of this hellish place to the attack. For an instant
• 1:53:59
  the brutes stood with stiffly erect ears. Then they poured from the grove toward
• 1:54:02
  the river's bank, covering the distance with great, ungainly leaps. The party
• 1:54:08
  had landed and was standing on the sward as the awful horde came in sight.
• 1:54:13
  There was a brief and futile effort of defense, then silence, as
• 1:54:16
  the huge repulsive shapes covered the bodies of their victims, and scores of sucking
• 1:54:21
  mouths fastened themselves to the flesh of their prey. I turned away in discuss
• 1:54:28
  Their part is soon over, said Thuvia. The great white apes get the
• 1:54:31
  flesh when the plant men have drained the arteries. Look they are coming now.
• 1:54:35
  As I turned my eyes in the direction the girl indicated, I saw
• 1:54:40
  a dozen of the great white monsters running across the valley toward the river bank.
• 1:54:44
  Then the sun went down, and darkness that could almost be felt engulfed
• 1:54:47
  us. Thuvia lost no time in leading us toward the corridor, which winds
• 1:54:51
  back and forth up through the cliffs towards the surface, thousands of feet above
• 1:54:56
  the level on which we had been. Twice, great banths wandering loose through
• 1:55:00
  the galleries blocked our progress, but in each instance Thuvius spoke a low word
• 1:55:05
  of command, and the starling beasts slunk sullenly away. If you can dissolve
• 1:55:12
  all our obstacles as easily as you master these fierce brutes, I can see
• 1:55:15
  no difficulties in our way, I said to the girl, smiling, How
• 1:55:19
  do you do it? She laughed, and then shuddered. I do not
• 1:55:24
  quite know, she said. When first I came here, I angered sator
• 1:55:28
  Throg. Because I repulsed him, he ordered me to be thrown into one
• 1:55:31
  of the great pits in the inner gardens. It was filled with banths.
• 1:55:36
  In my own country, I had been accustomed to command. Something in my
• 1:55:41
  voice. I do not know what cowed the beasts as they sprang to attack
• 1:55:45
  me. Instead of tearing me to pieces, as the tore Throg had desired,
• 1:55:49
  they fawned at my feet. So greatly was the tore Throg and his
• 1:55:54
  friends amused by the sight that they kept me to train and handle the terrible
• 1:55:58
  creatures. I know them all by name. There are many of them wandering
• 1:56:01
  through these lower regions. They are the scavengers. Many prisoners die here in
• 1:56:06
  their chains. The bands solve the problem of sanitation, at least in this
• 1:56:12
  respect. In the gardens and temples above, they are kept in pits.
• 1:56:16
  The thurns fear them. It is because of the bands that they seldom venture
• 1:56:20
  below ground, except as their duty call them. An idea occurred to me,
• 1:56:25
  suggested by what Thuvie had just said. Why not take a number of
• 1:56:29
  bands and set them loof before us above ground, I asked. Thuvia laughed,
• 1:56:33
  it would distract attention from us. I am sure, she said.
• 1:56:38
  She commenced, calling in a low, sing song voice that was half per
• 1:56:43
  She continued this as we wound our tedious way through the maze of subterranean passages
• 1:56:47
  and chambers. Presently, soft padded feet sounded close behind us, and as
• 1:56:53
  I turned, I saw a pair of great green eyes shining in the dark
• 1:56:57
  shadows. At our rear. From a diverting tunnel, a sinuous, tawny
• 1:57:00
  form crept stealthily toward us. Low growls and angry snarls assailed our ears on
• 1:57:06
  every side. As we hastened on, and one by one, the ferocious
• 1:57:11
  creatures answered the call of their mistress. She spoke a word to each as
• 1:57:15
  it joined us. Like well schooled terriers, they paced the corridors with us,
• 1:57:20
  But I could not help but note the lathering jowls, nor the hungry
• 1:57:25
  expressions with which they eyed Tars Tarkas and myself. Soon we were entirely surrounded
• 1:57:30
  by some fifty of the brutes. Two walked close on either side of Thuvia,
• 1:57:35
  as guards might walk the sleek sides of others now, and then touched
• 1:57:40
  my own naked limbs. It was a strange experience, the almost noiseless passage
• 1:57:45
  of naked human feet and padded paws, the golden walls splashed with precious stones,
• 1:57:50
  the dim light cast by the tiny radium bulbs set at considerable distances along
• 1:57:56
  the roof, the huge manned beasts of prey crowding with low growls about us,
• 1:58:01
  the mighty green warrior towering high above us, all myself crowned with the
• 1:58:06
  priceless diadem of a holy thern, and leading the procession, the beautiful girl
• 1:58:12
  Thuvia. I shall not soon forget it. Presently we approached a great chamber,
• 1:58:17
  more brightly lighted than the corridors. Thuvia halted us quietly. She stole
• 1:58:23
  toward the entrance and glanced within. Then she motioned us to follow her.
• 1:58:28
  The room was filled with specimens of the strange beings that inhabit this underworld.
• 1:58:31
  A heterogeneous collection of high Breds, the offspring of the prisoners from the outside
• 1:58:38
  world, red and green Martians, and the white race of Thurns. Constant
• 1:58:43
  confinement below ground had wrought odd freaks upon their skins. They more resembled corpses
• 1:58:48
  than living beings. Many are deformed, others maimed, while the majority,
• 1:58:54
  Thuvia explained, are sightless as they lay sprawled about the floor, sometimes overlapping
• 1:59:00
  one another again in heaps of several bodies. They suggested instantly to me the
• 1:59:04
  grotesque illustrations that I had seen in copies of Dante's Inferno. And what more
• 1:59:11
  fitting comparison was this not indeed a variable hell peopled by lost souls, dead
• 1:59:16
  and damned beyond all hope. Picking our way carefully, we threaded a winding
• 1:59:20
  path across the chamber, the great bants sniffing hungrily at the tempting prey spread
• 1:59:27
  before them. In such tantalizing and defenseless profusion, Several times we passed the
• 1:59:32
  entrances to other chambers similarly peopled, and twice again we were compelled to cross
• 1:59:38
  directly through them. In others were chained prisoners and beasts. Why is it
• 1:59:44
  that we see no urns, i asked Ephthuvia. They seldom traversed the underworld
• 1:59:47
  at night, for then it is that the great bands prowl the dim corridor,
• 1:59:51
  seeking their prey. The thurns fear the awful denizens of this cruel and
• 1:59:56
  hopeless world that they have fostered and allowed to grow beneath their feet. The
• 2:00:00
  prisoners even sometimes turn upon them and rent them. The thurn can never tell
• 2:00:05
  from what dark shadow and assassin may spring upon his back. By day it
• 2:00:11
  is different. Then. The corridors and chambers are filled with guards passing to
• 2:00:15
  and fro. Slaves from the temples above come by hundreds to the granaries and
• 2:00:18
  store rooms. All is life. Then, you did not see it,
• 2:00:23
  because I led you not in the beaten tracks, but through roundabout passages seldom
• 2:00:28
  used. Yet it is possible that we might meet a thern. Even yet,
• 2:00:31
  they do occasionally find it necessary to come here after the sun has set.
• 2:00:35
  Because of this, I have moved with such great caution. But we
• 2:00:40
  reached the upper galleries without detection, and presently Thuvia halted us at the foot
• 2:00:45
  of a short steep ascent. Above us, she said, is a doorway
• 2:00:48
  which opens on to the inner gardens. I have brought you thus far from
• 2:00:54
  here on for four miles to the outer ramparts. Our way will be beset
• 2:00:58
  by countless dangers. Guards patrol the courts, the temples, the gardens.
• 2:01:02
  Every inch of the ramparts themselves is beneath the eye of a sentry. I
• 2:01:09
  cannot understand the necessity for such an enormous force of armed men about a spot
• 2:01:14
  so surrounded by mystery and superstition, that not a soul upon Barsoom would have
• 2:01:18
  dared to approach it, even had they known its exact location. I questioned
• 2:01:24
  Thuvia, asking her what enemies the Therns could fear in their impregnable fortress.
• 2:01:29
  We had reached the doorway now, and Thuvia was opening it. They feared
• 2:01:33
  the black pirates of Barsoom, O Prince, she said, from whom may
• 2:01:38
  our first ancestors preserve us. The door swung open. The smell of growing
• 2:01:43
  things greeted my nostrils. The cool night air blew against my cheek. The
• 2:01:47
  great banths sniffed the unfamiliar odors, and then with a rush, they broke
• 2:01:51
  past us, with low growls, swarming across the gardens beneath the lurid light
• 2:01:57
  of the nearer moon. Suddenly a great cry arose from the roofs of the
• 2:02:01
  temples, a cry of alarm and warning that taken up from point to point,
• 2:02:06
  ran off to the east and to the west from Temple Court and rampart,
• 2:02:11
  until it sounded as a dim echo in the distance. The great Thorpe's
• 2:02:15
  long sword leaped from its scabbard. Thuvius shrank, shuddering to my side.
• 2:02:20
  End of Chapter five, Chapter six, The Black Pirates of Barsoom, What
• 2:02:29
  is it? I asked of the girl. For answer, she pointed to
• 2:02:31
  the sky. I looked, and there above us, I saw shadowy bodies
• 2:02:35
  flitting hither and thither, high over Temple Court and garden. Almost immediately flashes
• 2:02:42
  of light broke from these strange objects. There was a roar of musketry,
• 2:02:45
  then answering flashes and roars from temple and rampart. The Black Pirates of Barsoom,
• 2:02:50
  O Prince, said Thuvia. In great circles. The aircraft of the
• 2:02:56
  marauders swept lower and lower toward the defending forces of the Thirds. Volley after
• 2:03:00
  volley, they vomited upon the temple guards. Volley on volley crashed through the
• 2:03:04
  thin air toward the fleeting and elusive fliers. As the pirates stooped closer toward
• 2:03:10
  the ground, thern soldiery poured from the temples into the gardens and courts.
• 2:03:15
  The sight of them in the open brought a score of fliers darting towards us
• 2:03:18
  from all directions. The Theurns fired upon them through shields affixed to their rifles,
• 2:03:24
  but on, steadily on came the grim black craft. They were small
• 2:03:29
  fliers, for the most part, built for two to three men. A
• 2:03:32
  few larger ones there were, but these kept high aloft, dropping bombs upon
• 2:03:36
  the temples from their keel batteries at length, with a concerted rush, evidently
• 2:03:43
  in response to a signal of command, The pirates in our immediate vicinity dashed
• 2:03:46
  recklessly to the ground in the very midst of the thern soldiery, scarcely waiting
• 2:03:53
  for their craft to touch. The creatures manning them, leaped among the thens
• 2:03:57
  with the fury of demons. Such fighting never had I witnessed its light before.
• 2:04:02
  I had thought the Green Martians the most ferocious warriors in the universe.
• 2:04:06
  But the awful abandon with which the Black Pirates threw themselves upon their foes transcended
• 2:04:12
  everything I ever before had seen. Beneath the brilliant light of Mars's two glorious
• 2:04:17
  moons, the whole scene presented itself in vivid distinctness. The golden haired,
• 2:04:23
  white skinned thorns battling with desperate courage in hand to hand conflict with their ebony
• 2:04:28
  skinned foemen. Here a little knot of struggling warriors trampled a bed of gorgeous
• 2:04:32
  pomalia. There the curved sword of a black man found the heart of a
• 2:04:36
  thern, and left its dead foemen at the foot of a wondrous statue carved
• 2:04:42
  from a living ruby. Yonder, a dozen thorns pressed a single pirate back
• 2:04:45
  upon a bench of emerald, upon whose iridescent surface a strangely beautiful barsomium design
• 2:04:51
  was traced out in inlaid diamonds. A little to one side stood Thuvia the
• 2:04:57
  thark and eye. The tide of bat had not reached us, but the
• 2:05:00
  fighters, from time to time swung close enough that we might distinctly note them.
• 2:05:05
  The Black pirates interest me immensely. I had heard vague rumors, little
• 2:05:11
  more than legends they were, during my former life on Mars, but never
• 2:05:15
  had I seen them, nor talked with one who had. They were popularly
• 2:05:19
  supposed to inhabit the Lesser Moon, from which they descended upon Barsoom at long
• 2:05:25
  intervals, where they visited, they wrought the most horrible atrocities, and when
• 2:05:29
  they left, carried away with them firearms and ammunition, and young girls as
• 2:05:33
  prisoners. These later, the rumor had it, they sacrificed to some terrible
• 2:05:38
  God in an orgy which ended in the eating of their victims. I had
• 2:05:43
  an excellent opportunity to examine them, as the strife occasionally brought now one and
• 2:05:47
  now another close to where I stood. They were large men, possibly six
• 2:05:53
  feet and over in height. Their features were clear cut and handsome in the
• 2:05:57
  extreme. Their eyes were well set, large, though a slight narrowness lent
• 2:06:01
  them a crafty appearance. The iris, as well as I could determine by
• 2:06:05
  moonlight, was of extreme blackness, while the eyeball itself was quite white and
• 2:06:11
  clear. The physical structure of their bodies seemed identical with those of the Therns,
• 2:06:15
  the red Men, and my own. Only in the color of their
• 2:06:18
  skin did they differ materially from us. That is, of the appearance of
• 2:06:23
  polished ebony and odd. As it may seem for a Southerner to say,
• 2:06:27
  it adds to, rather than detracts from, their marvelous beauty. But if
• 2:06:31
  their bodies are divine, their hearts apparently are quite the reverse. Never did
• 2:06:36
  I witness such maligned lust for blood as these demons of the outer air evinced
• 2:06:42
  in their mad battle with the Therns. All about us in the garden lay
• 2:06:46
  their sinister craft, which the Therns, for some reason then unaccountable to me,
• 2:06:50
  made no effort to injure. Now and again, a Black warrior would
• 2:06:55
  rush from a nearby temple, bearing a young woman in his arms, straight
• 2:07:00
  for his flier, he would leap, while those of his comrades who fought
• 2:07:02
  near by would rush to cover his escape. The Theurns on their side would
• 2:07:08
  hasten to rescue the girl, and in an instant the two would be swallowed
• 2:07:12
  in the vortex of a maelstrom of yelling devils, hacking and hewing at one
• 2:07:16
  another, like fiends incarnate. But always, it seemed, were the Black
• 2:07:21
  pirates of Barsoom victorious, and the girl brought miraculously unharmed through the conflict,
• 2:07:28
  borne away into the outer darkness upon the deck of a swift flier. Fighting
• 2:07:31
  similar to that which surrounded us could be heard in both directions as far as
• 2:07:35
  sound carried, and Thuvia told me that the attacks of the Black pirates were
• 2:07:41
  usually made simultaneously along the entire ribbon like domain of the Thurns, which circles
• 2:07:46
  the valley door on the outer slopes of the mountains of Ortz. As the
• 2:07:50
  fighting receded from our position for a moment, Thuvia turned toward me with a
• 2:07:55
  question. Do you understand now, o prince? She said, why a
• 2:07:58
  million warriors guard the doors of the Holy Thurns by day and by night.
• 2:08:01
  The scene you are witnessing now is but a repetition of what I have seen
• 2:08:05
  enacted a score of times during the fifteen years I have been prisoner here.
• 2:08:11
  From time immemorial, the Black pirates of Barsoom have preyed upon the Holy Theurns.
• 2:08:16
  Yet they never carry their expeditions to a point, as one might readily
• 2:08:20
  believe it was in their power to do, where the extermination of the Race
• 2:08:24
  of Thorns is threatened. It is as though they but utilized the race as
• 2:08:28
  playthings with which they satisfy their ferocious lust for fighting, and from whom they
• 2:08:33
  collect toll in arms and ammunition and imprisoners. Why don't they jump in and
• 2:08:39
  destroy these flyers? I asked, that would soon put a stop to the
• 2:08:43
  attacks, or at least the Blacks would scarce be so bold. Why see
• 2:08:46
  how perfectly unguarded they leave their craft, as though they were lying safe in
• 2:08:50
  their own hangars at home. The Theurns do not dare. They tried it
• 2:08:56
  once ages ago, But the next night, and for a whole moon they
• 2:09:00
  thereafter a thousand great black battleships circled the mountains of Ortz, pouring tons of
• 2:09:05
  projectiles upon the temples, the gardens, and the courts, until every Thurn
• 2:09:09
  who was not killed was driven for safety into the subterranean galleries. The Thens
• 2:09:15
  know that they live at all only by the sufferance of the black men.
• 2:09:18
  They were near to extermination that once, and they will not venture risking it
• 2:09:24
  again. As she ceased talking, a new element was instilled into the conflict.
• 2:09:28
  It came from a source equally unlooked for by either then or pirate.
• 2:09:33
  The great Bants, which we had liberated in the garden, had evidently been
• 2:09:39
  awed at first by the sound of the battle, the yelling of the warriors,
• 2:09:43
  and the loud report of rifle and bomb. But now they must have
• 2:09:46
  become angered by the continuous noise, and excited by the smell of new blood,
• 2:09:50
  For all of a sudden, a great form shot from a clump of
• 2:09:54
  low shrubbery into the midst of a struggling mass of humanity. A horrid scream
• 2:09:58
  of bestial rage broke from the band as he felt warm flesh beneath his powerful
• 2:10:03
  talons. As though his cry was but a signal to the others, the
• 2:10:07
  entire great pack hurled themselves among the fighters. Panic reigned in an instant thurn,
• 2:10:13
  and black man turned alike against the common enemy, For the bands showed
• 2:10:18
  no partiality toward either. The awful beasts bore down a hundred men by the
• 2:10:22
  mere weight of their great bodies as they hurled themselves into the thick of the
• 2:10:26
  fight. Leaping and clawing, they mowed down the warriors with their powerful paws,
• 2:10:31
  turning for an instant to rend their victims with frightful fangs. The scene
• 2:10:35
  was fascinating in its terribleness. But suddenly it came to me that we were
• 2:10:41
  wasting valuable time watching this conflict, which in itself might prove a means of
• 2:10:46
  our escape. The theterns were so engaged with their terrible assailants that now,
• 2:10:50
  if ever, escape should be comparatively easy I turned to search for an opening
• 2:10:56
  through the contending hordes. If we could but reach the ramparts, we might
• 2:11:00
  find that the pirates somewhere had thinned the guarding forces and left a way open
• 2:11:03
  to us to the world without. As my eyes wandered about the garden,
• 2:11:07
  the sight of the hundreds of aircraft lying unguarded around us suggested the simplest avenue
• 2:11:13
  to freedom. Why it had not occurred to me before I was thoroughly familiar
• 2:11:18
  with the mechanism of every known make of flier on Barsoom. For nine years,
• 2:11:22
  I had sailed and fought with the Navy of Helium. I had raced
• 2:11:26
  through space on the tiny one man air scout, and I had commanded the
• 2:11:30
  greatest battleship that ever had floated in the thin air of dying Mars. To
• 2:11:35
  think with me is to act. Grasping thuvia by the arm, I whispered
• 2:11:39
  to Tars Tarkas to follow me. Quickly. We glided toward a small flier
• 2:11:43
  which lay furthest from the battling warriors. Another instant found us huddled on the
• 2:11:48
  tiny deck. My hand was on the starting lever. I pressed my thumb
• 2:11:54
  upon the button which controls the ray of repulsion that splendid discovery of the Martians,
• 2:11:58
  which permit them to navigate the thin atmosphere of their planet in huge ships
• 2:12:03
  that dwarfed the dreadnoughts of our earthly navies into pitiful significance. The craft swayed
• 2:12:09
  slightly, but she did not move. Then a new cry of warning broke
• 2:12:13
  upon our ears. Turning, I saw a dozen Black pirates dashing toward us
• 2:12:16
  from the melee we had been discovered. With shrieks of rage. The demon
• 2:12:22
  sprang for us with frenzied insistence. I continued to press the little button,
• 2:12:26
  which should have sent us racing out into space, But still the vessel refused
• 2:12:31
  to budge. Then it came to me the reason that she would not rise.
• 2:12:35
  We had stumbled upon a two man flier. Its ray tanks were charged
• 2:12:39
  only with sufficient repulsive energy to lift two ordinary men. The Thark's great weight
• 2:12:46
  was anchoring us to our doom. The Blacks were nearly upon us. There
• 2:12:50
  was not an instant to be lost in hesitation or doubt. I pressed the
• 2:12:54
  button far in and locked it. Then I set the lever at high speed,
• 2:12:58
  and as the Blacks came yelling upon us. I slipped from the craft's
• 2:13:01
  deck and withdrawn long sword, met the attack. At the same moment,
• 2:13:05
  a girl's shriek rang out behind me, and an instant later, as the
• 2:13:09
  blacks fell upon me, I heard far above my head and faintly in Thuvia's
• 2:13:13
  voice, my Prince, O, my Prince, I would rather remain and
• 2:13:16
  die with. But the rest was lost in the noise of my assailants.
• 2:13:22
  I knew, though, that my ruse had worked, and that temporarily at
• 2:13:26
  least Thuvia and Tars Tarkas were safe, and the means of escape was theirs.
• 2:13:31
  For a moment it seemed that I could not withstand the weight of numbers
• 2:13:33
  that confronted me. But again, as on so many other occasions when I
• 2:13:37
  had been called upon to face fearful odds upon this planet of warriors and fierce
• 2:13:43
  beasts, I found that my earthly strength so far transcended that of my opponents,
• 2:13:48
  that the odds were not so greatly against me as they appeared. My
• 2:13:52
  seething blade wove a net of death about me. For an instant the Blacks
• 2:13:56
  pressed close to reach me with their shorter swords, but they gave back,
• 2:14:01
  and the esteem in which they suddenly had learned to hold my sword arm was
• 2:14:05
  writ large upon each countenance. I knew, though, that it was but
• 2:14:09
  a question of minutes before their greater numbers would wear me down or get around
• 2:14:13
  my guard. I must go down eventually to certain death before them. I
• 2:14:18
  shuddered at the thought of it, dying thus in this terrible place, where
• 2:14:22
  no word of my end ever could reach my dejah Thoris, dying at the
• 2:14:26
  hands of nameless black men, in the gardens of the cruel thurns. Then
• 2:14:30
  my old time spirit reasserted itself. The fighting blood of my Virginian sires coursed
• 2:14:35
  hot through my veins. The fierce blood lust and the joy of battle surged
• 2:14:39
  over me. The fighting smile that has brought consternation to a thousand foemen touched
• 2:14:45
  my lips. I put the thought of death out of my mind and fell
• 2:14:48
  upon my antagonists with fury. That those who escaped were remember to their dying
• 2:14:52
  day, that others would press to the support of those who faced me.
• 2:14:56
  I knew so. Even as I fought, I kept my wits at work,
• 2:15:01
  searching for an avenue of escape. It came from an unexpected quarter,
• 2:15:05
  out of the black night behind me. I had just disarmed a huge fellow
• 2:15:09
  who had given me a desperate struggle, and for a moment the black stood
• 2:15:13
  back for a breathing spell. They eyed me with malignant fury, yet withal
• 2:15:18
  there was a touch of respect in their demeanor. Thurne said, one,
• 2:15:22
  you fight like a detour, but for your detestable yellow hair and your white
• 2:15:26
  skin, you would be an honor to the first born of Barsoom. I
• 2:15:31
  am no thern, I said, and was about to explain that I was
• 2:15:35
  from another world, thinking that by patching a truce with these fellows and fighting
• 2:15:39
  with them against the Thens, I might enlist their aid in regaining my liberty.
• 2:15:43
  But just at that moment, a heavy object smote me, a resounding
• 2:15:46
  whack between my shoulders that nearly felled me to the ground. As I turned
• 2:15:52
  to meet this new enemy, an object passed over my shoulder, striking one
• 2:15:56
  of my assailants squarely in the face and knocking him senseless to sward. At
• 2:16:01
  the same instant, I saw that the thing that had struck us was the
• 2:16:03
  trailing anchor of a rather fair sized air vessel, possibly a ten man cruiser.
• 2:16:11
  The ship was floating slowly above us, not more than fifty feet over
• 2:16:15
  our heads. Instantly, the one chance for escape that it offered presented itself
• 2:16:20
  to me. The vessel was slowly rising, and now the anchor was beyond
• 2:16:22
  the Blacks who faced me, and several feet above their heads. With a
• 2:16:26
  bound that left them gaping in wide eyed astonishment, I sprang completely over them.
• 2:16:31
  A second leap carried me just high enough to grasp the now rapidly receding
• 2:16:37
  anchor. But I was successful, and there I hung by one hand,
• 2:16:41
  dragging through the branches of the higher vegetation of the gardens, while my late
• 2:16:45
  Foemen shrieked and howled beneath me. Presently the vessel veered toward the west,
• 2:16:50
  and then swung gracefully to the south. In another instant I was carried beyond
• 2:16:54
  the crest of the golden cliffs, out over the valley door, where six
• 2:16:58
  thous feet below me the lossy, of course, lay shimmering in the moonlight.
• 2:17:03
  Carefully I climbed to a sitting posture across the anchor's arms. I wondered,
• 2:17:07
  if, by chance the vessel might be deserted, I hoped so,
• 2:17:11
  or possibly it might belong to a friendly people, and have wandered by accident
• 2:17:16
  almost within the clutches of the pirates and the theurns. The fact that it
• 2:17:20
  was retreating from the scene of battle lent color to this hypothesis. But I
• 2:17:26
  decided to know positively and at once. So with the greatest caution, I
• 2:17:31
  commenced to climb slowly up the anchor chain towards the deck above me. One
• 2:17:35
  hand had just reached for the vessel's rail and found it when a fierce black
• 2:17:39
  face was thrust over the side, and eyes filled with triumphant hate, looked
• 2:17:45
  into mine. End of chapter six, Chapter seven, A fair goddess.
• 2:17:54
  For an instant, the black pirate and I remained motionless, glaring into each
• 2:17:58
  other's eyes. A grim smile curled the handsome lips above me, as an
• 2:18:03
  ebony hand came slowly in sight from above the edge of the deck, and
• 2:18:07
  the cold, hollow eye of a revolver sought the center of my forehead.
• 2:18:11
  Simultaneously, my free hand shot out for the black throat just within reach,
• 2:18:16
  and the ebony finger tightened on the trigger. The pirate's hissing die curse thorn
• 2:18:20
  was half choked in his windpipe by my clutching fingers, the hammer fell with
• 2:18:26
  a futile click upon an empty chamber. Before he could fire again, I
• 2:18:31
  had pulled him so far over the edge of the deck that he was forced
• 2:18:33
  to drop his firearm and clutch the rail with both hands. My grasp upon
• 2:18:39
  his throat effectually prevented any outcry, and so we struggled in grim silence.
• 2:18:43
  He to tear away from my hold, I to drag him over to his
• 2:18:48
  death. His face was taking on a livid hue, his eyes were bulging
• 2:18:52
  from their sockets. It was evident to him that he soon must die unless
• 2:18:56
  he tore loose from the steel fingers that were choking the life from him.
• 2:19:01
  With a final effort, he threw himself further back upon the deck at the
• 2:19:05
  same instant, releasing his hold upon the rail, to tear frantically with both
• 2:19:09
  hands at my fingers in an effort to drag them from his throat. That
• 2:19:13
  little second was all that I awaited. With one mighty downward surge, I
• 2:19:18
  swept him clear of the deck. His falling body came near to tearing me
• 2:19:22
  from the frail hold that my single free hand had upon the anchor chain,
• 2:19:26
  and plunging me with him to the waters of the sea below. I did
• 2:19:31
  not relinquish my grasp upon him, however, for I knew that a single
• 2:19:35
  shriek from those lips, as he hurtled to his death in the silent waters
• 2:19:39
  of the sea, would bring his comrades from above to avenge him. Instead,
• 2:19:43
  I held grimly to him, choking, ever choking, while his frantic
• 2:19:48
  struggles dragged me lower and lower toward the end of the chain. Gradually his
• 2:19:52
  contortions became spasmodic, lessening by degrees until they ceased entirely. Then I released
• 2:19:58
  my hold upon on him, and in an instant he was swallowed by the
• 2:20:01
  black shadows far below. Again, I climbed to the ship's rail. This
• 2:20:07
  time I succeeded in raising my eyes to the level of the deck, where
• 2:20:11
  I could take a careful survey of the conditions immediately confronting me. The nearer
• 2:20:16
  moon had passed below the horizon, but the clear effulgence of the further satellite
• 2:20:20
  bathed the deck of the cruiser, bringing into sharp relief the bodies of six
• 2:20:24
  or eight black men sprawled about in sleep. Huddled close to the base of
• 2:20:28
  a rapid fire gun, was a young white girl securely bound. Her eyes
• 2:20:33
  were wide spread in an expression of horrified anticipation, and fixed directly upon me.
• 2:20:39
  As I came in sight above the edge of the deck, unutterable relief
• 2:20:45
  instantly filled them as they fell upon the mystic jewel, which sparkled in the
• 2:20:48
  center of my stolen head piece. She did not speak. Instead, her
• 2:20:54
  eyes warned me to beware the sleeping figures that surrounded her. Noiselessly I gained
• 2:20:58
  them. The girl nodded to me to approach her. As I bent low,
• 2:21:03
  she whispered to me to release her. I can aid you, she
• 2:21:07
  said, and you will need all the aid available when they awaken. Some
• 2:21:11
  of them will awake in chorus, I replied, smiling. She caught the
• 2:21:16
  meaning of my words, and the cruelty of her answering smile horrified me.
• 2:21:20
  One is not astonished by cruelty in a hideous face, but when it touches
• 2:21:24
  the features of a goddess whose fine chiseled lineaments might more fittingly portray love and
• 2:21:30
  beauty, the contrast is appalling. Quickly I released her. Give me a
• 2:21:35
  revolver, she whispered, I can use that upon those Your sword does not
• 2:21:39
  silence in time. I did as she bid. Then I turned toward the
• 2:21:43
  distasteful work that lay before me. This was no time for fine compunctions,
• 2:21:48
  nor for a chivalry that these cruel demons would neither appreciate nor reciprocate. Stealthily,
• 2:21:54
  I approached the nearest sleeper. When he awoke, he was well on
• 2:21:58
  his journey to the bosom. Of course, his piercing shriek as consciousness returned
• 2:22:03
  to him, came faintly up to us from the black depths beneath. The
• 2:22:07
  second awoke as I touched him, and though I succeeded in hurling him from
• 2:22:11
  the cruiser's deck, his wild cry of alarm brought the remaining pirates to their
• 2:22:16
  feet. There were five of them. As they arose, the girl's revolvers
• 2:22:20
  spoke in sharp staccato, and one sank back to the deck again to rise
• 2:22:24
  no more. The others rushed madly upon me with drawn swords. The girl
• 2:22:30
  evidently dared not fire for fear of wounding me, but I saw her sneak
• 2:22:33
  stealthily and catlike toward the flank of the attackers. Then they were on me
• 2:22:39
  for a few minutes. I experienced some of the hottest fighting I had ever
• 2:22:43
  passed through. The quarters were too small for footwork. It was stand your
• 2:22:46
  ground and give and take. At first I took considerably more than I gave,
• 2:22:52
  But presently I got beneath one fellow's guard and had the satisfaction of seeing
• 2:22:56
  him collapse upon the deck. The others redoubled their effat efforts. The crashing
• 2:23:01
  of their blades upon mine raised a terrific din that might have been heard for
• 2:23:05
  miles through the silent night. Sparks flew as steel smote steel, and then
• 2:23:09
  there was the dull and sickening sound of his shoulder bone parting beneath the keen
• 2:23:13
  edge of my martian's sword. Three now faced me, but the girl was
• 2:23:18
  working her way to a point that would soon permit her to reduce the number
• 2:23:22
  by one at least. Then things happened with such amazing rapidity that I can
• 2:23:28
  scarce comprehend even now all that took place in that brief instant. The three
• 2:23:33
  rushed me, with the evident purpose of forcing me back the few steps that
• 2:23:37
  would carry my body over the rail into the void below. At the same
• 2:23:41
  instant, the girl fired, and my sword arm made two moves. One
• 2:23:45
  man dropped with a bullet in his brain. A sword flew clattering across the
• 2:23:48
  deck and dropped over the edge beyond as I disarmed one of my opponents,
• 2:23:52
  and the third went down with my blade buried to the hilt in his breast
• 2:23:56
  and three feet of it protruding from his back, and falling wrenched the sword
• 2:24:01
  from my grasp, disarmed myself. I now faced my remaining foemen, whose
• 2:24:07
  own sword lay somewhere thousands of feet below us, lost in the lost sea.
• 2:24:11
  The new conditions seemed to please my adversary, for a smile of satisfaction
• 2:24:16
  bared his gleaming teeth as he rushed at me bare handed. The great muscles
• 2:24:20
  which rolled beneath his glossy black hide evidently assured him that here was easy prey,
• 2:24:26
  not worth the trouble of drawing the dagger from his harness. I let
• 2:24:31
  him come almost upon me. Then I ducked beneath his outstretched arms. At
• 2:24:35
  the same time, side stepping to the right, pivoting on my left toe,
• 2:24:39
  I swung a terrific right to his jaw, and like a felled ox,
• 2:24:43
  he dropped in his tracks. A low, silvery laugh rang out behind
• 2:24:48
  me. Hew or no thurne said the sweet voice of my companion, For
• 2:24:54
  all your golden locks or the harness of Sotre throg never lived there upon all
• 2:24:58
  barsoom before one who could fight as you have fought this night. Who are
• 2:25:03
  you? I am, John Carter, Prince of the House of Tardos More's
• 2:25:07
  Jeddak of Helium, I replied, And whom, I added, has the
• 2:25:11
  honor of serving been accorded me? She hesitated a moment before speaking. Then
• 2:25:16
  she asked, you are no Thurn? Are you an enemy of the Theurns.
• 2:25:22
  I have been in the territory of the Theterns for a day and a
• 2:25:24
  half. During that entire time, my life has been in constant danger.
• 2:25:28
  I have been harassed and persecuted. Armed men and fierce beasts have been set
• 2:25:33
  upon me. I had no quarrel with the Thens before. But can you
• 2:25:37
  wonder that I feel no great love for them? Now I have spoken.
• 2:25:41
  She looked at me intently for several minutes before she replied. It was as
• 2:25:46
  though she were attempting to read my inmost soul, to judge my character and
• 2:25:50
  my standards of chivalry. In that long, drawn, searching gaze, apparently
• 2:25:56
  the inventory satisfied her. I am Fador, daughter of MATAI shang, holy
• 2:26:03
  Hekkador of the Holy Therns, father of Thorns, master of life and death
• 2:26:07
  upon Barsoom, brother of Issus, Prince of life eternal. At that moment,
• 2:26:13
  I noticed that the black I had dropped with my fist was commencing to
• 2:26:18
  show signs of returning consciousness. I sprang to his side, stripping his harness
• 2:26:22
  from him. I securely bound his hands behind his back, and, after
• 2:26:26
  similarly fastening his feet, tied him to a heavy gun carriage. Why not
• 2:26:31
  the simpler way, asked Fador. I do not understand what simpler way?
• 2:26:35
  I replied, with a slight shrug of her lovely shoulders. She made a
• 2:26:39
  gesture with her hands, personating the casting of something over the craft's side.
• 2:26:46
  I am no murderer, I said, I kill in self defense. Only
• 2:26:50
  she looked at me narrowly. Then she puckered those divine brows of hers and
• 2:26:54
  shook her head. She could not comprehend well. Neither had my days jah
• 2:27:00
  Thoris been able to understand what to her had seemed a foolish and dangerous policy
• 2:27:05
  toward enemies. Upon Barsoom, quarter is neither asked nor given, and each
• 2:27:09
  dead man means so much more of the waning resources of this dying planet to
• 2:27:13
  be divided amongst those who survive. But there seemed a subtle difference here between
• 2:27:20
  the manner in which this girl contemplated the despatching of an enemy, and the
• 2:27:24
  tender hearted regret of my own princess for the stern necessity which demanded it.
• 2:27:31
  I think that Fador regretted the thrill that the spectacle would have afforded her,
• 2:27:35
  rather than the fact that my decision left another enemy alive to threaten us.
• 2:27:39
  The man had now regained full possession of his faculties, and was regarding us
• 2:27:45
  intently from where he lay bound upon the deck. He was a handsome fellow,
• 2:27:48
  clean limbed and powerful, with an intelligent face and features of such exquisite
• 2:27:54
  chiseling that Adanus himself might have envied him. The vessel unguided had been moving
• 2:28:01
  slowly across the valley, but now I thought it time to take the helm
• 2:28:05
  and direct her course. Only in a very general way could I guess the
• 2:28:09
  location of the valley. Door That it was far south of the equator was
• 2:28:13
  evident from the constellations but I was not sufficiently a Martian astronomer to come much
• 2:28:18
  closer than a rough guess, without the splendid charts and delicate instruments with which,
• 2:28:24
  as an officer in the Heliumite Navy, I had formerly reckoned the positions
• 2:28:28
  of the vessels on which I sailed that a northerly course would quickest lead me
• 2:28:33
  toward the more settled portions of the planet. Immediately decided the direction that I
• 2:28:37
  should steer. Beneath my hand, the cruiser swung gracefully about. Then the
• 2:28:43
  button which controlled the repulsive rays sent us soaring far out into space. With
• 2:28:48
  speed lever pulled to the last notch, we raced toward the north. As
• 2:28:52
  we rose ever farther and farther above that terrible Valley of death. As we
• 2:28:56
  passed, at a dizzy height, over the narrow demas raines of the Thurns,
• 2:29:01
  the flash of powder far below bore mute witness to the ferocity of the
• 2:29:05
  battle that still raged along that cruel frontier. No sound of conflict reached our
• 2:29:11
  ears, for in the rarefied atmosphere of our great altitude, no sound weight
• 2:29:16
  could penetrate. They were dissipated in thin air far below us, it became
• 2:29:22
  intensely cold. Breathing was difficult. The girl fedor and the Black pirate kept
• 2:29:26
  their eyes glued upon me. At length, the girl spoke, Unconsciousness comes
• 2:29:31
  quickly at this altitude, she said quietly, unless you are inviting death for
• 2:29:37
  us, all you had best drop, and that quickly. There was no
• 2:29:41
  fear in her voice. It was as one might say, you had better
• 2:29:45
  carry an umbrella, it is going to rain. I dropped the vessel quickly
• 2:29:48
  to a lower level. Nor was I a moment too soon. The girl
• 2:29:52
  had swooned. The black too, was unconscious, while I myself retained my
• 2:29:58
  senses. I think on only by sheer will, the one on whom all
• 2:30:01
  responsibility to dress is apt to endure the most. We were swinging along low
• 2:30:07
  above the foothills of the orts. It was comparatively warm, and there was
• 2:30:13
  plenty of air for our starved lungs. So I was not surprised to see
• 2:30:16
  the Black open his eyes, and a moment later the girl also it was
• 2:30:22
  a close call. She said. It has taught me two things, though
• 2:30:24
  I replied, what that? Even Fador, daughter of Master of Life and
• 2:30:30
  Death, is mortal, I said, smiling. There is immortality only in
• 2:30:33
  Issus, she replied, and Issus is for the race of thorns alone.
• 2:30:39
  Thus am I immortal. I caught a fleeting grin passing across the features of
• 2:30:43
  the black as he heard her words. I did not then understand why he
• 2:30:48
  smiled. Later, I was to learn, and she too in a most
• 2:30:52
  horrible manner. If the other thing you have just learned, she continued,
• 2:30:56
  has led to as erroneous deductions as the first, you are little richer in
• 2:31:01
  knowledge than you were before. The other, I replied, is that our
• 2:31:05
  dusky friend here does not hail from the nearer moon. He was like to
• 2:31:09
  have died at a few thousand feet above Barsoom. Had we continued the five
• 2:31:15
  thousand miles that lie between Thuria and the planet, he would have been but
• 2:31:20
  the frozen memory of a man. Fador looked at the Black in evident astonishment.
• 2:31:26
  If you are not of Thuria, then where she asked. He shrugged
• 2:31:30
  his shoulders and turned his eyes elsewhere, but did not reply. The girl
• 2:31:33
  stamped her little foot in peremptory manner. The daughter of Matai Shang is not
• 2:31:39
  accustomed to having her queries remain unanswered. She said, one of the lesser
• 2:31:43
  breeds should feel honored that a member of the holy race that was born to
• 2:31:48
  inherit life eternal should deign even to notice him. Again, the Black smiled
• 2:31:54
  that wicked knowing smile. Exidore DeTar, the first born of Barsoom, is
• 2:32:00
  accustomed to give commands, not to receive them, replied the Black pirate,
• 2:32:05
  then, turning to me, what are your intentions concerning me? I intend
• 2:32:09
  taking you both back to Helium, I said, No harm will come to
• 2:32:13
  you. You will find the red men of Helium a kindly and magnanimous race.
• 2:32:18
  But if they listen to me, there will be no more voluntary pilgrimages
• 2:32:22
  down the river Ish, and the impossible belief that they have cherished for ages
• 2:32:26
  will be shattered into a thousand pieces. Are you of Helium, he asked,
• 2:32:31
  I am a prince of the house of Tardos mors Jeddak of Helium,
• 2:32:35
  I replied, But I am not of Barsoom. I am of another world.
• 2:32:39
  Exodar looked at me intently for a few moments. I can well believe
• 2:32:45
  that you are not of Barsoom, he said, at length. None of
• 2:32:48
  this world could have bested eight of the first born single handed. But how
• 2:32:52
  is it that you wear the golden hair and the jeweled circlet of a holy
• 2:32:56
  thern? He emphasized the word wholly with a touch of irony. I had
• 2:33:01
  forgotten them, I said, they are the spoils of conquest, And with
• 2:33:05
  a sweep of my hand, I removed the disguise from my head. When
• 2:33:09
  the black's eyes fell on my close crop black hair, they opened in astonishment.
• 2:33:13
  Evidently he had looked for the bald pate of a thern. You are
• 2:33:18
  indeed of another world, he said, a touch of awe in his voice,
• 2:33:22
  With the skin of a thern, the black hair of a first born,
• 2:33:26
  and the muscles of a dozen detors. It was no disgrace even for
• 2:33:30
  Exodar to acknowledge your supremacy, a thing he could never do. Were you
• 2:33:35
  a Barsoomium, he added, You are traveling several laps ahead of me,
• 2:33:39
  My friend, I interrupted, I glean that your name is Exodar. But
• 2:33:43
  whom pray are the first born? And what a detour? And why if
• 2:33:48
  you were conquered by a Barsomium, could you not acknowledge it? The first
• 2:33:52
  born of barsoom, he explained, are the race of black men, of
• 2:33:56
  which I am a detour, or, as the lesser Barsomiums would say,
• 2:34:00
  Prince, my race is the oldest on the planet. We trace our lineage,
• 2:34:03
  unbroken, direct to the tree of life, which flourished in the center
• 2:34:07
  of the valley door twenty three million years ago. For countless ages, the
• 2:34:11
  fruit of this tree underwent the gradual changes of evolution, passing by degrees from
• 2:34:18
  true plant life to a combination of plant and animal. In the first stages,
• 2:34:22
  the fruit of the tree possessed only the power of independent muscular action,
• 2:34:28
  while the stem remained attached to the parent plant. Later, a brain developed
• 2:34:31
  in the fruit, so that, hanging there by their long stems, they
• 2:34:35
  thought and moved as individuals. Then, with the development of perceptions came a
• 2:34:39
  comparison of them. Judgments were reached and compared, and thus reasoned, and
• 2:34:45
  the power to reason were borne upon barsoom ages passed. Many forms of life
• 2:34:50
  came and went upon the Tree of life, but still all were attached to
• 2:34:54
  the parent plant by stems of varying lengths. At length, the fruit tree
• 2:35:00
  consisted in tiny plant. Men such as we now see reproduced in such huge
• 2:35:03
  dimensions in the valley door, but still hanging to the limbs and branches of
• 2:35:09
  the tree by the stems which grew from the tops of their heads. The
• 2:35:13
  buds from which the plant men blossomed resemble large nuts about a foot in diameter,
• 2:35:18
  divided by double partition walls into four sections. In one section grew the
• 2:35:24
  plant men, in another a sixteen legged worm, in the third the progenitor
• 2:35:28
  of white ape, and in the fourth the primeval black man of Barsoom.
• 2:35:33
  When the bud burst, the plant man remained dangling at the end of his
• 2:35:37
  stem, but the three other sections fell to the ground, where the efforts
• 2:35:41
  of their imprisoned occupants to escape sent them hopping about in all directions. Thus,
• 2:35:46
  as time went on, all Barsoom was covered with these imprisoned creatures.
• 2:35:50
  For countless ages. They lived their long lives within their hard shells, hopping
• 2:35:56
  and skipping about the broad planet, falling into rivers, lakes, and seas
• 2:36:00
  ease to be still further spread about the surface of the new world. Countless
• 2:36:03
  billions died before the first black man broke through his prison walls into the light
• 2:36:09
  of day. Prompted by curiosity, he broke open other shells, and the
• 2:36:13
  peopling of Barsoom commenced. The pure strain of the blood of this first black
• 2:36:18
  man has remained untainted by admixture with other creatures in the race of which I
• 2:36:24
  am a member. But from the sixteen legged worm, the first ape and
• 2:36:28
  the renegade black Man has sprung every other form of animal life upon Barsoom.
• 2:36:33
  The thens, and he smiled maliciously as he spoke, are but the result
• 2:36:37
  of ages of evolution from the pure white ape of antiquity. They are a
• 2:36:41
  lower order. Still, there is but one race of true and immortal humans
• 2:36:46
  on Barsoom. It is the race of black men. The tree of life
• 2:36:50
  is dead, But before it died, the plant men learned to detach themselves
• 2:36:54
  from it and roam the face of Barsoom with the other children of the first.
• 2:37:00
  Now their bisexuality permits them to reproduce themselves after the manner of true plants.
• 2:37:05
  But otherwise they have progressed but little in all the ages of their existence.
• 2:37:11
  Their actions and movements are largely matters of instinct, and not guided to
• 2:37:15
  any great extent by reason. Since the brain of a plant man is but
• 2:37:18
  a trifle larger than the end of your smallest finger. They live upon vegetation
• 2:37:24
  and the blood of animals, and their brain is just large enough to direct
• 2:37:28
  their movements in the direction of food, and to translate the food sensations which
• 2:37:31
  are carried to it from their eyes and ears. They have no sense of
• 2:37:35
  self preservation, and so are entirely without fear in the face of danger.
• 2:37:41
  That is why they are such terrible antagonists in combat. I wondered why the
• 2:37:46
  black man took such pains to discourse thus at length to enemies upon the genesis
• 2:37:52
  of life barsoomium. It seemed a strangely inopportune moment for a proud member of
• 2:37:58
  a proud race to unbend in casual conversation with a captor, especially in view
• 2:38:03
  of the fact that the black still lay securely bound upon the deck. It
• 2:38:09
  was the faintest straying of his eye beyond me, for the bear's fraction of
• 2:38:13
  a second, that explained his motive for thus dragging out my interest in his
• 2:38:18
  truly absorbing story. He lay a little forward of where I stood at the
• 2:38:22
  levers, and thus he faced the stern of the vessel as he addressed me.
• 2:38:26
  It was at the end of his description of the plant men that I
• 2:38:30
  caught his eye fixed momentarily upon something behind me. Nor could I be mistaken
• 2:38:35
  in the swift gleam of triumph that brightened those dark orbs for an instant.
• 2:38:39
  Some time before I had reduced our speed, for we had left the valley
• 2:38:43
  door many miles astern, and I felt comparatively safe. I turned an apprehensive
• 2:38:50
  glance behind me, and the sight that I saw froze the new born hope
• 2:38:54
  of freedom that had been springing up within me. A great battleship, forging,
• 2:38:58
  silent and unlighted through the dark night, loomed close astern end of chapter
• 2:39:05
  seven, Chapter eight, The Depths of Omean. Now I realized why the
• 2:39:11
  Black Pirate had kept me engrossed with this strange tail. For miles he had
• 2:39:16
  sensed the approach of succor, and but for that single telltale glance, the
• 2:39:20
  battleship would have been directly above us in another moment, and the boarding party,
• 2:39:24
  which was doubtless even now swinging in their harness from the ship's keel,
• 2:39:28
  would have swarmed our deck, placing my rising hope of escape in sudden and
• 2:39:33
  total eclipse. I was too old a hand in aerial warfare to be at
• 2:39:37
  a loss now for the right maneuver. Simultaneously, I reversed the engines and
• 2:39:43
  dropped the little vessel a sheer hundred feet above my head. I could see
• 2:39:46
  the dangling forms of the boarding party as the battleship raced over us. Then
• 2:39:52
  I rose at a sharp angle, throwing my speed lever to its last notch.
• 2:39:56
  Like a bolt from a crossbow. My splendid craft shot its steel prow
• 2:40:00
  straight at the whirling propellers of the giant above us. If I could but
• 2:40:03
  touch them, the huge bulk would be disabled for hours, and escape once
• 2:40:09
  more possible. At the same instant, the sun shot above the horizon,
• 2:40:13
  disclosing a hundred grim black faces peering over the stern of the battleship upon us.
• 2:40:18
  At sight of us, a shout of rage went up from a hundred
• 2:40:22
  throats. Orders were shouted, but it was too late to save the giant
• 2:40:26
  propellers, and with a crash, we rammed them instantly. With the shock
• 2:40:30
  of impact, I reversed my engine, but my prow was wedged in the
• 2:40:33
  hole it had made in the battleship's stern. Only a second I hung there
• 2:40:37
  before tearing away, But that second was amply long to swarm my deck with
• 2:40:43
  black devils. There was no fight. In the first place, there was
• 2:40:46
  no room to fight. We were simply submerged by numbers. Then, as
• 2:40:50
  swords menaced me, a command from Exodour stayed the hands of his fellows.
• 2:40:54
  Secure them, he said, but do not injure them. Several of the
• 2:40:58
  pirate it already had released Exodar. He now personally attended to my disarming and
• 2:41:03
  saw that I was properly bound. At least he thought that the binding was
• 2:41:07
  secure. It would have been had I been a martian. But I had
• 2:41:11
  to smile at the puny strands that confined my wrists. When the time came,
• 2:41:16
  I could snap them as they had been cotton string the girl they bound
• 2:41:20
  also, and then they fastened us together. In the meantime, they had
• 2:41:24
  brought our craft alongside the disabled battleship, and soon we were transported to the
• 2:41:28
  latter's deck. Fully a thousand black men manned the great engine of destruction.
• 2:41:33
  Her decks were crowded with them as they passed forward as far as discipline would
• 2:41:37
  permit, to get a glimpse of their captives. The girl's beauty elicited many
• 2:41:41
  brutal comments and vulgar jests. It was evident that these self thought supermen were
• 2:41:46
  far inferior to the red men of Barsoom in refinement and in chivalry. My
• 2:41:52
  close crop, black hair and thorn complexion were the subjects of much comment.
• 2:41:56
  When Exodar told his fellow nobles of my fighting nobility and strange origin, they
• 2:42:01
  crowded about me with numerous questions. The fact that I wore the harness and
• 2:42:05
  metal of a thurn who had been killed by a member of my party convinced
• 2:42:09
  them that I was an enemy of their hereditary foes, and placed me on
• 2:42:13
  better footing in their estimation. Without exception, the Blacks were handsome men and
• 2:42:18
  well built. The officers were conspicuous through the wondrous magnificent of their resplendent trappings.
• 2:42:24
  Many harnesses were so encrusted with gold, platinum, silver, and precious
• 2:42:28
  stones as to entirely hide the leather beneath. The harness of the commanding officer
• 2:42:33
  was a solid mass of diamonds. Against the ebony background of his skin.
• 2:42:37
  They blazed out with a peculiarly accentuated effulgence. The whole scene was enchanting.
• 2:42:43
  The handsome men, the barbaric splendor of the accouterments, the polished skeel wood
• 2:42:48
  of the deck, the gloriously grained suppores of the cabins, inlaid with priceless
• 2:42:52
  jewels and precious metals in intricate and beautiful design, the burnished gold of hand
• 2:42:58
  rails, the shining metal of the guns. For Dora and I were taken
• 2:43:03
  below decks, where, still fast bound, we were thrown into a small
• 2:43:07
  compartment which contained a single porthole. As our escort left us, they barred
• 2:43:11
  the door behind them. We could hear the men working on the broken propellers,
• 2:43:15
  and from the porthole we could see that the vessel was drifting lazily toward
• 2:43:18
  the south. For some time, neither of us spoke, Each was occupied
• 2:43:22
  with his own thoughts. For my part, I was wondering as to the
• 2:43:26
  fate of Tars Tarkas and the girl Thuvia. Even if they succeeded in eluding
• 2:43:31
  pursuit, they must eventually fall into the hands of either red men or green
• 2:43:35
  and as fugitives from the valley door, they could look for but little else
• 2:43:39
  than a swift and terrible death. How I wished that I might have accompanied
• 2:43:43
  them. It seemed to me that I could not fail to impress upon the
• 2:43:46
  intelligent red men of Barsoom the wicked deception that a cruel and senseless superstition had
• 2:43:52
  foisted upon them. Tardos Mors would believe me of that I was positive,
• 2:43:58
  and that he would have the courage of his convictions. My knowledge of his
• 2:44:01
  character assured me dejah Thoris would believe me. Not a doubt as to that
• 2:44:05
  entered my head. Then there were a thousand of my red and green warrior
• 2:44:09
  friends whom I knew would face eternal damnation gladly for my sake. Like Tars
• 2:44:15
  Tarkas, where I led, they would follow. My only danger, lying
• 2:44:18
  that should I ever escape the Black pirates, it might be to fall into
• 2:44:22
  the hands of unfriendly Red or Green men. Then it would mean short shrift
• 2:44:26
  for me. Well, there seemed little to worry about on that score,
• 2:44:30
  for the likelihood of my ever escaping the Blacks was extremely remote. The girl
• 2:44:35
  and I were linked together by a rope, which permitted us to move only
• 2:44:37
  about three or four feet from each other. When we had entered the compartment,
• 2:44:41
  we had seated ourselves upon a low bench beneath the portal. The bench
• 2:44:46
  was the only furniture of the room. It was of supports wood. The
• 2:44:50
  floor, ceiling and walls were of carborundum aluminum, a light, impenetrable composition
• 2:44:56
  extensively utilized in the construction of Martian fighting ships. As I had sat meditating
• 2:45:01
  upon the future, my eyes had been riveted upon the porthole, which was
• 2:45:05
  just level with them. As I sat, suddenly I looked toward Fedor.
• 2:45:09
  She was regarding me with a strange expression I had not before seen upon her
• 2:45:13
  face. She was very beautiful. Then instantly her white lids veiled her eyes,
• 2:45:18
  and I thought I discovered a delicate flush tinging her cheek. Evidently she
• 2:45:24
  was embarrassed at having been detected in the act of staring at a lesser creature.
• 2:45:28
  I thought, do you find the study of lower orders interesting? I
• 2:45:31
  asked, laughing. She looked up again with a nervous but relieved little laugh.
• 2:45:37
  Oh, very, she said, especially when they have such excellent profiles.
• 2:45:41
  It was my turn to flush, but I did not. I felt
• 2:45:45
  that she was poking fun at me, and I admired a brave heart that
• 2:45:48
  could look for humor on the road to death, and so I laughed with
• 2:45:50
  her. Do you know where we are going, she said, to solve
• 2:45:54
  the mystery of the eternal hereafter, I imagine, I replied, I'm going
• 2:45:58
  to a worse fate than that. She said, with a little shudder,
• 2:46:03
  What do you mean? I can only guess, she replied, since no
• 2:46:05
  thern damsel of all the millions that have been stolen away by black pirates during
• 2:46:09
  the ages they have raided our domains has ever returned to narrate her experiences among
• 2:46:15
  them. That they never take a man prisoner lends strength to the belief that
• 2:46:18
  the fate of the girls they steal is worse than death. Is it not
• 2:46:24
  a just retribution? I could not help but ask, what do you mean?
• 2:46:28
  Do not the thorns themselves do likewise with the poor creatures who take the
• 2:46:31
  voluntary pilgrimage down the river of mystery? Was not Thuvia for fifteen years a
• 2:46:37
  plaything and a slave? Is it less than just that you should suffer as
• 2:46:41
  you have caused others to suffer? You do not understand, she replied.
• 2:46:46
  We Thurns are a holy race. It is an honor to a lesser creature
• 2:46:50
  to be a slave among us. Did we not occasionally save a few of
• 2:46:52
  the lower orders that stupidly float down an unknown river to an unknown end,
• 2:46:58
  all would become the prey of the plant and the apes. But do you,
• 2:47:01
  not, by every means, encourage the superstition among those of the outside
• 2:47:05
  world? I argued, That is the wickedness of your deeds. Can you
• 2:47:09
  tell me why you foster the cruel deception? All life on Barsoom, she
• 2:47:13
  said, is created solely for the support of the race of Therns. How
• 2:47:18
  else could we live? Did the outer world not furnish our labor and our
• 2:47:20
  food? Think you that a Thern would demean himself by labor? It is
• 2:47:26
  true, then, that you eat human flesh, I asked in horror.
• 2:47:28
  She looked at me in pitying commiseration of my ignorance. Truly, we eat
• 2:47:33
  the flesh of the lower orders. Do not you also the flesh of beasts?
• 2:47:37
  Yes, I replied, but not the flesh of man. As man
• 2:47:41
  may eat the flesh of beasts, so may gods eat the flesh of man.
• 2:47:46
  The Holy Thens are the gods of Barsoom. I was disgusted, and
• 2:47:50
  I imagined that I showed it. You are an unbeliever, now, she
• 2:47:52
  continued gently, But should we be fortunate enough to escape the clutches of the
• 2:47:58
  black pirates and come out again to the court of Matai Shang, I think
• 2:48:01
  that we shall find an argument to convince you of the airs of your ways,
• 2:48:05
  And she hesitated, perhaps we shall find a way to keep you as
• 2:48:11
  as one of us. Again, her eyes dropped to the floor, and
• 2:48:15
  a faint color suffused her cheek. I could not understand her meeting, nor
• 2:48:20
  did I for a long time. Dejah Thoris was wont to say that in
• 2:48:24
  some things I was a veritable simpleton, And I guess that she was right.
• 2:48:28
  I feared that I would ill requite your father's hospitality, I answered,
• 2:48:33
  since the first thing that I should do were I thern would be to set
• 2:48:37
  an armed guard at the mouth of the river Ish to escort the poor,
• 2:48:41
  deluded voyagers back to the outer world. Also, should I devote my life
• 2:48:46
  to the extermination of the hideous plant men and their horrible companions, the great
• 2:48:50
  white apes. She looked at me really horror struck. No, no,
• 2:48:54
  she cried, you must not say such terrible, sacrilegious things. You must
• 2:49:00
  not even think them. Should they ever guess that you entertain such frightful thoughts.
• 2:49:03
  Should we chance to regain the temples of the Thurns, they would meet
• 2:49:07
  out a frightful death to you. Not even my min again, she flushed
• 2:49:13
  and started over. Not even I could save you, I said, no
• 2:49:16
  more. Evidently it was useless. She was even more steeped in superstition than
• 2:49:20
  the Martians of the outer world. They only worshiped a beautiful hope for a
• 2:49:24
  life of love and peace and happiness in the hereafter. The Thurns worshiped the
• 2:49:28
  hideous plant men and the apes, or at least they reverenced them as the
• 2:49:33
  abodes of their departed spirits, of their own dead. At this point the
• 2:49:37
  door of our prison opened to admit Exeter. He smiled pleasantly at me,
• 2:49:41
  and when he smiled, his expression was kindly, anything but cruel or vindictive.
• 2:49:46
  Since you cannot escape under any circumstances, he said, I cannot see
• 2:49:50
  the necessity for keeping you confined below. I will cut your bonds and you
• 2:49:56
  may come on deck. You will witness something very interesting, and as you
• 2:50:00
  I never shall return to the outer world, it will do no harm to
• 2:50:03
  permit you to see it. You will see what no other than the first
• 2:50:05
  born and their slaves know the existence of the subterranean entrance to the Holy Land,
• 2:50:11
  to the real heaven of Barsoom. It will be an excellent lesson for
• 2:50:15
  this daughter of the Therns, he added, for she shall see the temple
• 2:50:18
  of Issus, and Issus perchance shall embrace her. Fador's head went high.
• 2:50:24
  What blasphemy is this dog of a pirate, she cried, Issus would wipe
• 2:50:28
  out your entire breed, And you ever came within sight of her temple,
• 2:50:33
  you have much to learn, Thurne replied Exodar with an ugly smile. Nor
• 2:50:39
  do I envy you the manner in which you will learn it. As we
• 2:50:43
  came on deck, I saw to my surprise that the vessel was passing over
• 2:50:46
  a great field of snow and ice. As far as the eye could reach
• 2:50:50
  in any direction, nought else was visible. There could be but one solution
• 2:50:54
  to the mystery. We were above the south polar ice cap. Only at
• 2:50:58
  the poles of Mars is their ice or snow upon the planet. No sign
• 2:51:01
  of life appeared below us. Evidently we were too far south even for the
• 2:51:07
  great fur bearing animals which the Martians so delight in hunting. Exodar was at
• 2:51:11
  my side as I stood looking out over the ship's rail. What course,
• 2:51:16
  I asked him, A little west of south, he replied, you will
• 2:51:18
  see the Orts Valley directly. We shall skirt it for a few hundred miles.
• 2:51:24
  The Orts Valley, I exclaimed, But man is not there? Where
• 2:51:26
  lie the domains of the Therns from which I but just escaped. Yes,
• 2:51:31
  answered Exodar, you crossed the ice field last night in the long chase that
• 2:51:35
  you led us. The Orts Valley lies in a mighty depression. At the
• 2:51:39
  south pole. It is sunk thousands of feet below the level of the surrounding
• 2:51:43
  country, like a great round bowl. A hundred miles from its northern boundary
• 2:51:46
  rise the Ortz Mountains, which circle the inner Valley of dor in the exact
• 2:51:50
  center of which lies the Lost Sea. Of course, on the shore of
• 2:51:54
  the sea stands the golden Temple of Issus, in the land of the first
• 2:51:58
  Born. It is there that we are bound. As I looked, I
• 2:52:01
  commenced to realize why it was that in all the ages only one had escaped
• 2:52:05
  from the valley door. My only wonder was that even the one had been
• 2:52:11
  successful to cross this frozen, windswept waste of bleak ice alone and on foot
• 2:52:16
  would be impossible. Only by air boat could the journey be made. I
• 2:52:20
  finished aloud. It was thus that one did escape the thorns in bygone times,
• 2:52:26
  but none has ever escaped the first born, said Exodar, with a
• 2:52:28
  touch of pride in his voice. We had now reached the southernmost extremity of
• 2:52:33
  the great ice barrier. It ended abruptly in a sheer wall thousands of feet
• 2:52:39
  high, at the base of which stretched a level valley, broken here and
• 2:52:43
  there by low rolling hills and little clumps of forest, and with tiny rivers
• 2:52:46
  formed by the melting of the ice barrier at its base. Once we passed
• 2:52:52
  far above what seemed to be a deep canyon like rift, stretching from the
• 2:52:54
  ice wall on the north across the valley as far as the eye could reach.
• 2:53:00
  That is the bed of the river, ish, said Exodar. It
• 2:53:03
  runs far beneath the ice field and below the level of the valley orts,
• 2:53:07
  but its canyon is open. Here presently, I descried what I took to
• 2:53:11
  be a village, and, pointing it out to Exodar, asked him what
• 2:53:15
  it might be. It is a village of Lost Souls, he answered,
• 2:53:18
  laughing. This strip between the ice barrier and the mountains is considered neutral ground.
• 2:53:24
  Some turn off from their voluntary pilgrimage down their is ish and scaling the
• 2:53:28
  awful walls of its canyon below us, stop in the valley also a slave
• 2:53:33
  now, and then escape from the thens and makes his way hither. They
• 2:53:37
  do not attempt to recapture such since there is no escape from this outer valley,
• 2:53:41
  and as a matter of fact, they fear the patrolling cruisers of the
• 2:53:45
  First Born too much to venture from their own domains. The poor creatures of
• 2:53:50
  this outer valley are not molested by us, since they have nothing that we
• 2:53:54
  desire, nor are they numerically strong enough to give us an interesting fight,
• 2:53:58
  so we too leave them alone. There are several villages of them, but
• 2:54:01
  they have increased in numbers, but little in many years, since they are
• 2:54:05
  always warring amongst themselves. Now we swung a little north of west, leaving
• 2:54:09
  the Valley of Lost Souls, and shortly I discerned over our starboard bow what
• 2:54:13
  appeared to be a black mountain rising from the desolate waste of ice. It
• 2:54:18
  was not high and seemed to have a flat top. Exodar had left us
• 2:54:22
  to attend to some duty on the vessel, and Fedor and I stood alone
• 2:54:26
  beside the rail. The girl had not once spoken since we had been brought
• 2:54:30
  to the deck. Is what he has been telling me true? I asked
• 2:54:33
  her? In part, Yes, she answered that about the outer valley is
• 2:54:39
  true. But what he says of the location of the temple Issus in the
• 2:54:41
  center of his country is false. If it is not false, she hesitated,
• 2:54:46
  or it cannot be true. It cannot be true. For if it
• 2:54:50
  were true, then, for countless ages have my people gone to torture and
• 2:54:56
  ignanimous death at the hands of their cruel enemies, instead of to the beautiful
• 2:55:00
  life eternal that we have been taught to believe Issus holds for us. As
• 2:55:05
  the lesser barsoomiums of the outer world have been lured by Yu to the terrible
• 2:55:09
  valley door, so may it be that the thorns themselves had been lured by
• 2:55:13
  the first born to an equally horrid fate. I suggested. It would be
• 2:55:18
  a stern and awful retribution, Fedor, but a just one. I cannot
• 2:55:22
  believe it, she said, We shall see. I answered, and then
• 2:55:28
  we fell silent again, for we were rapidly approaching the Black mountains, which,
• 2:55:31
  in some indefinable way seemed blinked with the answer to our problem. As
• 2:55:35
  we neared the dark, truncated cone, the vessel's speed was diminished until we
• 2:55:41
  barely moved. Then we topped the crest of the mountain, and below us
• 2:55:43
  I saw yawning the mouth of a huge circular well, the bottom of which
• 2:55:48
  was lost in inky blackness. The diameter of this enormous pit was fully a
• 2:55:52
  thousand feet. The walls were smooth and appeared to be composed of black basaltic
• 2:55:58
  rock. For a moment, the ussel hovered motionless directly above the center of
• 2:56:01
  the gaping void. Then slowly she began to settle into the black chasm.
• 2:56:07
  Lower and lower she sank, until as darkness enveloped us, her lights were
• 2:56:09
  thrown on, and in the dim halo of her own radiance, the monster
• 2:56:13
  battleship dropped on and on down into what seemed to me must be the very
• 2:56:18
  bowels of Barsoom. For quite half an hour we descended, and then the
• 2:56:22
  shaft terminated abruptly in the dome of a mighty subterranean world below us rose and
• 2:56:28
  fell the billows of a buried sea. A phosphorescent radiance illuminated the scene.
• 2:56:33
  Thousands of ships dotted the bosom of the ocean. Little islands rose here and
• 2:56:37
  there to support the strange and colorless vegetation of this strange world. Slowly and
• 2:56:43
  with majestic grace, the battleship dropped until she rested on the water. Her
• 2:56:46
  great propellers had been drawn and housed during our descent of the shaft, and
• 2:56:52
  in their place had been run out the smaller, but more powerful water propellers.
• 2:56:56
  As these commenced to revolve, the ship took up its journey once more,
• 2:57:00
  riding the new element as buoyantly and as safely as she had the air
• 2:57:03
  Fedor and I were dumbfounded. Neither had either heard or dreamed that such a
• 2:57:09
  world existed beneath the surface of Barsoom. Nearly all the vessels we saw were
• 2:57:13
  war craft. There were a few lighters and barges, but none of the
• 2:57:16
  great merchantmen such as ply the upper air between the cities of the outer world,
• 2:57:22
  Here is the harbor of the navy of the first Born, said a
• 2:57:24
  voice behind us, and turning, we saw Exodar watching us with an amused
• 2:57:30
  smile on his lips. This sea, he continued, is larger than Chorus.
• 2:57:35
  It receives the waters of the lesser sea above it to keep it from
• 2:57:37
  filling above a certain level. We have four great pumping stations that force the
• 2:57:43
  oversupply back into the reservoirs far north, from which the Red Men draw the
• 2:57:48
  water which irrigates their farm lands. A new light burst on me with this
• 2:57:52
  explanation. The Red Men had always considered it a miracle that caused great columns
• 2:57:56
  of water to spurt from solid rock of their ress of were sides, to
• 2:58:01
  increase the supply of the precious liquid which is so scarce in the outer world
• 2:58:05
  of Mars. Never had there learned been been able to fathom the secret of
• 2:58:09
  the source of this enormous volume of water. As ages passed, they had
• 2:58:13
  simply come to accept it as a matter of course, and ceased to question
• 2:58:18
  its origin. We passed several islands on which were strangely shaped circular buildings,
• 2:58:22
  apparently roofless and pierced midway between the ground and their tops, with small,
• 2:58:28
  heavily barred windows. They bore the ear marks of prisons, which were further
• 2:58:31
  accentuated by armed guards who squatted on low benches without or patrolled the short beach
• 2:58:37
  line. Few of these islets contained over an acre of ground, but presently
• 2:58:41
  we sighted a much larger one directly ahead. This proved to be our destination,
• 2:58:46
  and the great ship was soon made fast against the steep shore. Exodar
• 2:58:52
  signaled us to follow him, and with a half dozen officers and men,
• 2:58:54
  we left the battleship and approached a large oval structure a couple of hundred year
• 2:59:00
  yards from the shore. You shall soon see Issus, said Exodar to Fador.
• 2:59:03
  The few prisoners we take are presented to her. Occasionally she selects slaves
• 2:59:09
  from among them to replenish the ranks of her handmaidens. None serves Issus above
• 2:59:13
  a single year. And there was a grim smile on the black's lips that
• 2:59:18
  lent a cruel and sinister meaning to his simple statement. Fador, though loath
• 2:59:22
  to believe that Issus was allied to such as these, had commenced to entertain
• 2:59:28
  doubts and fears. She clung very closely to me, no longer the proud
• 2:59:31
  daughter of the master of life and death. Upon barsoom, but a young,
• 2:59:35
  frightened girl in the power of relentless enemies. The building which we now
• 2:59:41
  entered was entirely roofless. In its center was a long tank of water,
• 2:59:45
  set below the level of the floor, like the swimming pool of Natadorum.
• 2:59:48
  Near one side of the pool floated an odd looking black object. Whether it
• 2:59:54
  were some strange monster of these buried waters or a queer raft, I could
• 2:59:58
  not at once perceive. We We were soon to know, however, for
• 3:00:01
  as we reached the edge of the pool directly above the thing, Exodar cried
• 3:00:05
  out a few words in a strange tongue. Immediately a hatch cover was raised
• 3:00:09
  from the surface of the object, and a black seaman sprang from the bowels
• 3:00:13
  of the strange craft. Exodar addressed the seamen. Transmit to your officer,
• 3:00:20
  he said, the commands of Detor Exodar, say to him that Detor Exodar,
• 3:00:24
  with officers and men escorting two prisoners, would be transported to the gardens
• 3:00:28
  of Issus beside the golden temple. Blessed be the shell of thy first ancestor,
• 3:00:33
  most noble. D'attar replied the man. It shall be done, even
• 3:00:37
  as thou sayest, and raising both hands palms backward above his head, after
• 3:00:41
  the manner of slough which is common to all races of Barsoom, he disappeared
• 3:00:46
  once more into the entrails of his ship. A moment later, an officer,
• 3:00:50
  resplendent in the gorgeous trappings of his rank, appeared on deck and welcomed
• 3:00:54
  Exodar to the vessel. And in the latter's wake we filed the board and
• 3:00:58
  below the cabin in which we found ourselves extended entirely across the ship, having
• 3:01:05
  port holes on either side below the water line. No sooner were all below
• 3:01:09
  than a number of commands were given in accordance with which the hatch was closed
• 3:01:13
  and secured, and the vessel commenced to vibrate to the rhythmic purr of its
• 3:01:18
  machinery. Where can we be going in such a tiny pool of water,
• 3:01:22
  asked Fodor, not up, I replied, for I noticed particularly that while
• 3:01:26
  the wilding is roofless, it is covered with a strong metal grating. Then,
• 3:01:31
  where she asked again, from the appearance of the craft, I judge
• 3:01:35
  we are going down, I replied. Fador shuddered, For such long ages
• 3:01:39
  have the waters of Barsoom's seas been a thing of tradition, only that even
• 3:01:43
  this daughter of the thurns, borne as she had been within the sight of
• 3:01:48
  Mars's only remaining sea, had the same tear of deep water, as is
• 3:01:52
  a common attribute of all Martians. Presently, the sensation of sinking became very
• 3:01:58
  apparent. We were going down swiftly. Now we could hear the water rushing
• 3:02:01
  past the portals, and in the dim light that filtered through them to the
• 3:02:05
  water beyond, the swirling eddies were plainly visible. Fador grasped my arm.
• 3:02:11
  Save me, she whispered, save me, and your every wish shall be
• 3:02:15
  granted. Anything within the power of the Holy Therns to give will be yours.
• 3:02:20
  Fador. She stumbled a little here, and then, in a very
• 3:02:22
  low voice, Fador, already is yours. I felt very sorry for the
• 3:02:28
  poor child, and placed my hand over hers, where it rested on my
• 3:02:31
  arm. I presume my motive was misunderstood, for with a swift glance about
• 3:02:37
  the apartment to assure herself that we were alone, she threw both her arms
• 3:02:41
  about my neck and dragged my face down to hers. End of Chapter eight,
• 3:02:48
  Chapter ten, The prison Isle of Shador. In the outer gardens,
• 3:02:52
  to which the guard now escorted me, I found exod surrounded by a crowd
• 3:02:56
  of noble blacks. They were reviling and cursing him. The men slapped his
• 3:03:01
  face, the woman spat upon him. When I appeared, they turned their
• 3:03:05
  attentions toward me. Ah, cried one, So this is the creature who
• 3:03:09
  overcame the great Exodar bare handed. Let us see how it was done.
• 3:03:13
  Let him bind, Third, suggested, a beautiful woman laughing. Third is
• 3:03:18
  a noble detour. Let third show the dog what it means to face a
• 3:03:22
  real man. Yes, third, Third cried A dozen voices. Here he
• 3:03:26
  is now, exclaimed another, and turning in the direction, indicated, I
• 3:03:31
  saw a huge black, weighed down with resplendent ornaments and arms, advancing with
• 3:03:35
  noble and gallant bearing toward us. What now, he cried? What would
• 3:03:41
  you have? Thward? Quickly a dozen voices explain. Thward turned toward Exodar,
• 3:03:46
  his eyes narrowing to two nasty slits calot, he hissed, Ever,
• 3:03:52
  did I think you carried the heart of a psoric in your putrid breast?
• 3:03:56
  Often have you bested me in the secret counsels of issues. But now in
• 3:04:01
  the field of war, where men are truly gaged, your scabby heart hath
• 3:04:05
  revealed its sores to all the world. Calot, I spurn you with my
• 3:04:09
  foot, and with the words he turned to kick Exodar. My blood was
• 3:04:13
  up for minutes. It had been boiling at the cowardly treatment that had been
• 3:04:16
  according this once powerful comrade because he had fallen from the favor of Issus.
• 3:04:22
  I had no love for Exodar, but I cannot stand the sight of cowardly
• 3:04:26
  injustice and persecution without seeing red as through a haze of bloody mist, and
• 3:04:31
  doing things on the impulse of the moment that I presume I never should do.
• 3:04:35
  After mature deliberation, I was standing close beside Exodar as throwards swung his
• 3:04:41
  foot for the cowardly kick. The degraded detor stood erect and motionless as a
• 3:04:46
  carven image. He was prepared to take whatever his former comrades had to offer
• 3:04:50
  in the way of insults and reproaches, and take them in manly silence and
• 3:04:56
  stoism. But his third's foot swung, so did mine, and I caught
• 3:05:00
  him a painful blow upon the shin bone that saved Exodar. From this added
• 3:05:03
  ignomy. For a moment there was tense silence. Then Thurid, with a
• 3:05:09
  roar of rage, sprang for my throat, just as Exodar had done upon
• 3:05:13
  the deck of the cruiser. The results were identical. I ducked beneath his
• 3:05:18
  outstretched arms, and as he lunched past me, planted a terrific right on
• 3:05:22
  the side of his jaw. The big fellow spun around like a top,
• 3:05:26
  his knees gave beneath him, and he crumpled to the ground at my feet.
• 3:05:30
  The Blacks gazed in astonishment, first at the still form of the proud
• 3:05:33
  detour lying there in the ruby dust of the pathway, then at me,
• 3:05:37
  as though they could not believe that such a thing could be. You asked
• 3:05:41
  me to bind Thurid. I cried, behold, and then I stooped beside
• 3:05:46
  the prostrate form, tore the harness from it, and bound the fellow's arms
• 3:05:50
  and legs securely, as you have done to Exodar. Now, do you,
• 3:05:54
  likewise to Thurid, take him before Issus, bound in his own harness,
• 3:05:58
  that she may see with her own eyes that there be one among you
• 3:06:01
  now who is greater than the first born. Who are you, whispered the
• 3:06:05
  woman who had first suggested that I attempt to bind Thurid. I am a
• 3:06:11
  citizen of two worlds. Captain John Carter of Virginia, Prince of the House
• 3:06:16
  of Tardos Mors Jeddak of Helium. Take this man to your Goddess, as
• 3:06:20
  I have said, and tell her too that as I have done to Exidar
• 3:06:24
  and Thurid, so also can I do to the mightiest of her detours with
• 3:06:28
  naked hands, with long sword or with short sword. I challenged the flower
• 3:06:31
  of her fighting men to combat. Come, said the officer who was guarding
• 3:06:35
  me back to Shador. My orders are imperative. There is to be no
• 3:06:39
  delay. Exidar, come you also. There was little of disrespect in the
• 3:06:46
  tone that the man used in addressing either Exodar or myself. It was evident
• 3:06:50
  that he felt less content for the former detour, since he had witnessed the
• 3:06:54
  ease with which I disposed of the powerful Thurid. That his respect for me
• 3:06:58
  was greater than it should bind for a slave was quite apparent from the fact
• 3:07:01
  that during the balance of the return journey he walked or stood always behind me,
• 3:07:07
  a drawn short sword in his hand. The return to the Sea of
• 3:07:11
  Omen was uneventful. We dropped down to the awful shaft in the same car
• 3:07:16
  that had brought us to the surface. There we entered the submarine, taking
• 3:07:20
  the long dive to the tunnel far beneath the upper world, then through the
• 3:07:22
  tunnel and up again to the pool from which we had had our first introduction
• 3:07:26
  to the wonderful passageway from Omean to the Temple of Issus. From the aisle
• 3:07:31
  of the submarine, we were transported on a small cruiser to the distant isle
• 3:07:35
  of Shador. Here we found a small stone prison and a guard of a
• 3:07:39
  half a dozen blacks. There was no ceremony wasted in completing our incarceration.
• 3:07:45
  One of the blacks opened the door of the prison with a huge key.
• 3:07:48
  We walked in. The door closed behind us, The lock grated, and
• 3:07:52
  with the sound there swept over me again that terrible feeling of hopelessness that I
• 3:07:56
  had felt in the chamber of mystery in the golden cliff beneath the gardens of
• 3:08:01
  the Holy Thurns. Then tars Tarkas had been with me, but now I
• 3:08:05
  was utterly alone, in so far as friendly companionship was concerned, I fell
• 3:08:09
  to wondering about the fate of the great Thark and of his beautiful companion,
• 3:08:13
  the girl Thuvia. Even should they, by some miracle have escaped and been
• 3:08:18
  received and spared by a friendly nation. What hope had I of the succor
• 3:08:22
  which I knew they would gladly extend if it lay in their power. They
• 3:08:26
  could not guess my whereabouts or my fate, for none on all Barsoom even
• 3:08:31
  dreamed of such a place as this, Nor would it have advantaged me any
• 3:08:35
  had they known the exact location of my prison, For who could hope to
• 3:08:39
  penetrate to this buried sea in the face of the mighty navy of the first
• 3:08:43
  born. No, my case was hopeless. Well, I would make the
• 3:08:48
  best of it, And rising, I swept aside the brooding despair that had
• 3:08:52
  been endeavoring to claim me with the idea of exploring my prison, I started
• 3:08:56
  to look around. Exodars sat with bowed head upon a low stone bench near
• 3:09:03
  the center of the room in which we were. He had not spoken since
• 3:09:07
  Issus had degraded him. The building was roofless, the walls rising to a
• 3:09:11
  height of about thirty feet. Half way up were a couple of small,
• 3:09:15
  heavily barred windows. The prison was divided into several rooms by partitions twenty feet
• 3:09:20
  high. There was no one in the room which we occupied, but two
• 3:09:24
  doors which led to other rooms were opened. I entered one of these rooms,
• 3:09:28
  but found it vacant. Thus I continued through several of the chambers,
• 3:09:31
  until in the last one I found a young red Martian boy sleeping upon the
• 3:09:35
  stone bench, which constituted the only furniture of any of the prison cells.
• 3:09:39
  Evidently he was the only other prisoner. As he slept, I leaned over
• 3:09:43
  and looked at him. There was something strangely familiar about his face, and
• 3:09:48
  yet I could not place him. His features were very regular, and like
• 3:09:52
  the proportions of his graceful limbs and body, beautiful in the extreme. He
• 3:09:56
  was very light in color for a red man, but in an in other
• 3:10:00
  respects he seemed a typical specimen of this handsome race. I did not awaken
• 3:10:03
  him, for sleep in prison is such a priceless boon that I have seen
• 3:10:07
  men transformed into raging brutes when robbed by one of their fellow prisoners of a
• 3:10:13
  few precious moments of it. Returning to my own cell. I found Exodar
• 3:10:16
  still sitting in the same position in which I had left him. Man,
• 3:10:20
  I cried, it will profit you nothing to mope. Thus it were no
• 3:10:26
  disgrace to be bested by John Carter. You have seen that in the ease
• 3:10:30
  with which I accounted for thurid You knew it before, when on the cruiser's
• 3:10:33
  deck you saw me slay three of your comrades. I would that you had
• 3:10:37
  despatched me at the same time. He said, Come, come, I
• 3:10:41
  cried, there is hope yet neither of us is dead. We are great
• 3:10:46
  fighters. Why not win to freedom? He looked at me in amazement.
• 3:10:50
  You know not of what you speak, he replied. Issus is omnipotent.
• 3:10:54
  Issus is omniscient. She hears now the words you speak. She knows the
• 3:11:00
  thoughts you think. It is sacrilege even to dream of breaking her commands.
• 3:11:05
  Rot Exodar I ejaculated impatiently. He sprang to his feet in horror. The
• 3:11:11
  curse of Issus will fall upon you, he cried, in another instant.
• 3:11:15
  You will be smitten down, rithing to your death in horrible agony. Do
• 3:11:20
  you believe that, Exodar, I asked, of course, who would dare
• 3:11:24
  doubt. I doubt yes, And further I deny, I said, why
• 3:11:30
  exodar, you tell me that she even knows my thoughts. The Red men
• 3:11:33
  have all had that power for ages, and another wonderful power. They can
• 3:11:37
  shut their minds so that none may read their thoughts. I learned the first
• 3:11:41
  secret years ago. The other I never had to learn, since upon all
• 3:11:46
  Barsoom is none who can read what passes in the secret chambers of my brain.
• 3:11:50
  Your goddess cannot read my thoughts, nor can she read yours when you
• 3:11:54
  are out of sight, unless you will it. Had she been able to
• 3:11:58
  read mine, I am afraid that her pride would have suffered a rather severe
• 3:12:01
  shock when I turned, at her command to gaze upon the holy vision of
• 3:12:05
  her radiant face. What do you mean, he whispered, in an affrighted
• 3:12:09
  voice, so low that I could scarcely hear him. I mean that I
• 3:12:13
  thought her the most repulsive and vilely hideous creature my eyes ever had rested upon.
• 3:12:18
  For a moment he eyed me in horror, stricken amazement, and then
• 3:12:22
  with a cry of blasphemer, he sprang upon me. I did not wish
• 3:12:26
  to strike him again, nor was it necessary, since he was unarmed and
• 3:12:31
  therefore quite harmless to me. As he came, I grasped his left wrist
• 3:12:35
  with my left hand, and, swinging my right arm about his left shoulder,
• 3:12:39
  caught him beneath the chin with my elbow and bore him backward across my
• 3:12:43
  thigh. There he hung helpless for a moment, glaring up at me in
• 3:12:46
  impotent rage. Exodar, I said, let us be friends for a year.
• 3:12:52
  Possibly we may be forced to live together in the narrow confines of this
• 3:12:56
  tiny room. I am sorry to have offended you, but I could not
• 3:13:00
  dream that one who had suffered from cruel injustice of Issus still could believe her
• 3:13:05
  divine. I will say a few more words, Exodar, with no intent
• 3:13:09
  to wound your feelings further, but rather that you may give thought to the
• 3:13:13
  fact that while we live, we are still more the arbiters of our own
• 3:13:16
  fate than is any god. Issus you see, has not struck me dead,
• 3:13:22
  nor is she rescuing her faithful Exodar from the clutches of the unbeliever who
• 3:13:26
  defamed her fair beauty. No, Exodar, your Issus is a mortal old
• 3:13:31
  woman. Once out of her clutches, and she cannot harm you. With
• 3:13:35
  your knowledge of this strange land and my knowledge of the outer world, two
• 3:13:39
  such fighting men as you and I should be able to win our way to
• 3:13:41
  freedom, even though we died in the attempt. Would not our memories be
• 3:13:46
  fairer than as though we remained in servile fear to be butchered by a cruel
• 3:13:50
  and unjust tyrant. Call her goddess or mortal as you will. As I
• 3:13:56
  finished, I raised Exodar to his feet and released him. He did not
• 3:14:00
  renew the attack upon me, nor did he speak. Instead, he walked
• 3:14:03
  toward the bench, and, sinking down upon it, remained lost in deep
• 3:14:07
  thought for hours. A long time afterward, I heard a soft sound at
• 3:14:11
  the doorway leading to one of the other apartments, and looking up, beheld
• 3:14:16
  the red Martian youth gazing intently at us Koor. I cried, after the
• 3:14:20
  Red Martian manner of greeting Kowor. He replied, what do you hear?
• 3:14:26
  I await my death, I presume, I replied, with a weary smile.
• 3:14:28
  He too smiled, a brave and winning smile. I also, he
• 3:14:33
  said, mine will come soon. I looked upon the radiant beauty of Issus
• 3:14:37
  nearly a year since. It has always been a source of keen wonder to
• 3:14:41
  me that I did not drop dead at the first sight of that hideous countenance
• 3:14:46
  and her belly by my first ancestor. But never was there so grotesque a
• 3:14:50
  figure in all the universe that they should call such a one Goddess of life,
• 3:14:54
  eternal Goddess of Death, mother of the Nearer Moon, and fifty other
• 3:15:00
  equally impossible titles. Is quite beyond me. How came you here, i
• 3:15:05
  asked, It is very simple. I was flying a one man air scout
• 3:15:11
  far to the south when the brilliant idea occurred to me that I should like
• 3:15:13
  to search for the lost Sea of Chorus, which tradition places near to the
• 3:15:18
  South Pole. I must have inherited from my father a wild lust for adventure,
• 3:15:22
  as well as a hollow where my bump of reverence should be. I
• 3:15:26
  had reached the area of eternal ice when my prop propeller jammed, and I
• 3:15:31
  dropped to the ground to make repairs. Before I knew it, the air
• 3:15:35
  was black with fliers, and a hundred of those first born devils were leaping
• 3:15:37
  to the ground all about me. With drawn swords they made for me.
• 3:15:41
  But before I went down beneath them, they had tasted of the steel my
• 3:15:46
  father's sword, and I had given such an account of myself as I know
• 3:15:48
  would have pleased my sire had he lived to witness it. Your father is
• 3:15:52
  dead, I asked. He died before the shell broke. To let me
• 3:15:56
  step out into a world that has been very good to me. But for
• 3:16:00
  the sorrow that I have never the honor to know my father, I have
• 3:16:03
  been very happy. My only sorrow now is that my mother must mourn me
• 3:16:07
  as she has for ten long years mourned my father. Who was your father?
• 3:16:11
  I asked. He was about to reply when the outer door of our
• 3:16:15
  prison opened, and a burly guard entered and ordered him to his own quarters
• 3:16:18
  for the night, locking the door after him as he passed through into the
• 3:16:22
  further chamber. It is Ishus's wish that you two be confined in the same
• 3:16:28
  room, said the guard, when he had returned to oursells. This cowardly
• 3:16:33
  slave of a slave is to serve you well, he said to me,
• 3:16:35
  indicating Exodar with a wave of his hand. If he does not, you
• 3:16:39
  are to beat him into submission. It is Ishus's wish that you heap upon
• 3:16:43
  him every indignity and degradation of which you can conceive. With these words,
• 3:16:50
  he left us. Exodar still sat with his face buried in his hands.
• 3:16:54
  I walked aside and placed my hand upon his shoulder. Exodar, I said,
• 3:16:58
  you have heard the command of Issus, but you need not fear that
• 3:17:01
  I should attempt to put them into execution. You are a brave man,
• 3:17:05
  Exodar. It is your own affair if you wish to be persecuted and humiliated.
• 3:17:11
  But were I you, I should assert my manhood and defy my enemies.
• 3:17:16
  I have been thinking very hard, John Carter, he said, of
• 3:17:20
  all the new ideas you gave me a few hours since, little by little,
• 3:17:24
  I have been piecing together the things that you said, which sounded blasphemous
• 3:17:28
  to me, then with the things that I have seen in my past life,
• 3:17:31
  and dare not even think about for fear of bringing down upon me the
• 3:17:35
  wrath of Issus. I believe now that she is a fraud, no more
• 3:17:39
  divine than you or I more. I am willing to concede that the first
• 3:17:45
  born are no holier than the holy theurns nor the holy Therns more holy than
• 3:17:48
  the red men. The whole fabric of our religion is based on superstitious belief
• 3:17:54
  in lies that have been foisted upon us for ages by those directly above us,
• 3:17:58
  to whose personal profit and aggrandizement it was to have us continue to believe
• 3:18:03
  as they wished us to believe. I am ready to cast off the ties
• 3:18:05
  that have bound me. I am ready to defy Issus herself. But what
• 3:18:11
  will it avail us be the first born gods or mortals. They are a
• 3:18:15
  powerful race, and we are as fast in their clutches as though we were
• 3:18:18
  already dead. There is no escape. I have escaped from bad plights in
• 3:18:24
  the past, my friend, I replied, Nor while life is in me,
• 3:18:28
  shall I despair of escaping from the Isle of Shador and the Sea of
• 3:18:31
  Omean. But we cannot escape even from the four walls of our prison.
• 3:18:37
  Urged Exodar. Test this flint like surface, he cried, smiting the solid
• 3:18:41
  rock that confined us, And look upon this polished surface. None could cling
• 3:18:46
  to it to reach the top. I smiled. That is the least of
• 3:18:50
  our troubles. Exodar, I replied, I will guarantee to scale the wall
• 3:18:54
  and take you with me, if you will help with your knowledge of the
• 3:18:58
  customs here till point the best time for the attempt, and guide me to
• 3:19:01
  the shaft that lets from the dome of this abysmal sea to the light of
• 3:19:05
  God's pure air above. Night time is the best and offers the only slender
• 3:19:11
  chance we have. For then men sleep, and only a dozing watch nods
• 3:19:16
  in the tops of the battleship. No watch is kept upon the cruisers in
• 3:19:20
  the smaller craft. The watchers upon the larger vessels see to all about them.
• 3:19:24
  It is night now, But I exclaimed, it is not dark.
• 3:19:28
  How can it be night? Then he smiled, you forget, He said
• 3:19:33
  that we are far below ground. The light of the sun never penetrates here.
• 3:19:37
  There are no moons and no stars reflected in the bosom of Omean.
• 3:19:41
  The phosphorate light you now see pervading this great subtraining vault emanates from the rocks
• 3:19:48
  that form its dome. It is always thus upon Omean, just as the
• 3:19:52
  billows are always as you see them, rolling, ever rolling over a windless
• 3:19:56
  sea at the appointed hour of night, upon the world above. The men
• 3:20:01
  whose duties hold them here sleep, But the light is ever the same,
• 3:20:05
  it will make escape more difficult, I said, And then I shrugged my
• 3:20:09
  shoulders. For what pray is the pleasure of doing any easy thing. Let
• 3:20:13
  us sleep on it tonight, said Exodar. A plan may come with our
• 3:20:18
  awakening. So we threw ourselves upon the hard stone floor of our prison and
• 3:20:22
  slept the sleep of tired men. End of Chapter ten. Chapter ten,
• 3:20:28
  the prison isle of Shador. In the outer gardens to which the guard now
• 3:20:33
  escorted me, I found Exodar surrounded by a crowd of noble blacks. They
• 3:20:37
  were reviling and cursing him. The men slapped his face, the woman spat
• 3:20:43
  upon him. When I appeared, they turned their attentions toward me. Ah,
• 3:20:46
  cried one, So this is the creature who overcame the great Exodar bare
• 3:20:50
  handed. Let us see how it was done. Let him bind, Third,
• 3:20:54
  suggested a beautiful woman laughing. Third is a noble detour. But third,
• 3:21:00
  show the dog what it means to face a real man. Yes,
• 3:21:03
  third, Third cried a dozen voices. Here he is now, exclaimed another,
• 3:21:09
  and turning in the direction, indicated, I saw a huge black weighed
• 3:21:13
  down with resplendent ornaments. And arms, advancing with noble and gallant bearing toward
• 3:21:18
  us. What now, he cried, What would you have? Thward?
• 3:21:22
  Quickly a dozen voices explain. Thward turned toward Exodar, his eyes narrowing to
• 3:21:28
  two nasty slitskylot, he hissed, Ever, did I think you carried the
• 3:21:33
  heart of a psoric in your putrid breast? Often have you bested me in
• 3:21:37
  the secret councils of Issus, But now in the field of war, where
• 3:21:41
  men are truly gaged, your scabby heart hath revealed its sores to all the
• 3:21:46
  world. Calot, I spurn you with my foot and with the words he
• 3:21:50
  turned to kick Exodar. My blood was up for minutes. It had been
• 3:21:54
  boiling at the cowardly treatment that had been according this once powerful comrade because he
• 3:22:00
  had fallen from the favor of Issus. I had no love for Exodar,
• 3:22:03
  but I cannot stand the sight of cowardly injustice and persecution without seeing red as
• 3:22:09
  through a haze of bloody mist, and doing things on the impulse of the
• 3:22:13
  moment that I presume I never should do. After mature deliberation, I was
• 3:22:18
  standing close beside Exodar as throward swung his foot for the cowardly kick. The
• 3:22:22
  degraded detor stood erect and motionless as a carven image. He was prepared to
• 3:22:28
  take whatever his former comrades had to offer in the way of insults and reproaches,
• 3:22:33
  and take them in manly silence and stoism. But his third's foot swung,
• 3:22:37
  so did mine, and I caught him a painful blow upon the shin
• 3:22:41
  bone that saved Exodar from this added ignomy. For a moment there was tense
• 3:22:46
  silence. Then Third, with a roar of rage, sprang for my throat,
• 3:22:52
  just as Exodar had done upon the deck of the cruiser. The results
• 3:22:54
  were identical. I ducked beneath his outstretched arms, and as he pass me,
• 3:23:00
  planted a terrific right on the side of his jaw. The big fellow
• 3:23:03
  spun around like a top, his knees gave beneath him, and he crumpled
• 3:23:07
  to the ground at my feet. The Blacks gazed in astonishment, first at
• 3:23:11
  the still form of the proud Detour lying there in the ruby dust of the
• 3:23:16
  pathway, then at me, as though they could not believe that such a
• 3:23:20
  thing could be. You ask me to bind Thurid, I cried, behold,
• 3:23:24
  and then I stooped beside the prostrate form, tore the harness from it,
• 3:23:28
  and bound the fellow's arms and legs securely, as you have done to
• 3:23:33
  Exodar. Now do you likewise to Thurid? Take him before Issus, bound
• 3:23:37
  in his own harness, that she may see with her own eyes that there
• 3:23:41
  be one among you now who is greater than the first born? Who are
• 3:23:45
  you, whispered the woman who had first suggested that I attempt to bind Thurid.
• 3:23:50
  I am a citizen of two worlds. Captain John Carter of Virginia,
• 3:23:54
  Prince of the House of Tardos Mors Jeddak of Helium. Take this man to
• 3:23:58
  your godd as I have said, and tell her too that as I have
• 3:24:03
  done to Exidar and Thurid, so also can I do to the mightiest of
• 3:24:05
  her detours with naked hands, with long sword or with short sword. I
• 3:24:11
  challenged the flower of her fighting men to combat. Come, said the officer
• 3:24:16
  who was guarding me back to Shador. My orders are imperative. There is
• 3:24:20
  to be no delay. Exidar, come you also. There was little of
• 3:24:24
  disrespect in the tone that the man used in addressing either Exidar or myself.
• 3:24:28
  It was evident that he felt less content for the former detour, since he
• 3:24:33
  had witnessed the ease with which I disposed of the powerful Thurid. That his
• 3:24:37
  respect for me was greater than it should have been for a slave was quite
• 3:24:41
  apparent from the fact that during the balance of the return journey he walked or
• 3:24:45
  stood always behind me, a drawn short sword in his hand. The return
• 3:24:50
  to the Sea of Omean was uneventful. We dropped down to the awful shaft
• 3:24:54
  in the same car that had brought us to the surface. There we entered
• 3:24:58
  the submarine, taking the a long dive to the tunnel far beneath the upper
• 3:25:01
  world, then through the tunnel and up again to the pool from which we
• 3:25:05
  had had our first introduction to the wonderful passageway from Omean to the Temple of
• 3:25:09
  Issus. From the aisle of the submarine, we were transported on a small
• 3:25:13
  cruiser to the distant isle of Shador. Here we found a small stone prison
• 3:25:18
  and a guard of a half a dozen blacks. There was no ceremony wasted
• 3:25:22
  in completing our incarceration. One of the blacks opened the door of the prison
• 3:25:26
  with a huge key. We walked in. The door closed behind us.
• 3:25:31
  The lock grated, and with the sound there swept over me again that terrible
• 3:25:35
  feeling of hopelessness that I had felt in the chamber of Mystery, in the
• 3:25:39
  golden cliff beneath the gardens of the Holy Thurns. Then tars Tarkas had been
• 3:25:43
  with me, But now I was utterly alone in so far as friendly companionship
• 3:25:48
  was concerned. I fell to wondering about the fate of the great thark and
• 3:25:52
  of his beautiful companion, the girl Thuvia. Even should they, by some
• 3:25:56
  miracle have escaped and been received and spared by a friendly nation. What hope
• 3:26:01
  had I of the succor which I knew they would gladly extend if it lay
• 3:26:05
  in their power. They could not guess my whereabouts or my fate, for
• 3:26:09
  none on all Barsoom even dreamed of such a place as this, Nor would
• 3:26:13
  it have advantaged me any had they known the exact location of my prison,
• 3:26:18
  For who could hope to penetrate to this buried sea in the face of the
• 3:26:22
  mighty navy of the first Born. No, my case was hopeless. Well
• 3:26:28
  I would make the best of it, and rising I swept aside the brooding
• 3:26:31
  despair that had been endeavoring to claim me. With the idea of exploring my
• 3:26:35
  prison, I started to look around. Exodar sat with bowed head upon a
• 3:26:41
  low stone bench near the center of the room in which we were. He
• 3:26:45
  had not spoken since Issus had degraded him. The building was roofless, the
• 3:26:50
  walls rising to a height of about thirty feet. Half Way up were a
• 3:26:54
  couple of small, heavily barred windows. The prison was divided into several rooms
• 3:26:58
  by partitions twenty five feet high. There was no one in the room which
• 3:27:01
  we occupied, but two doors which led to other rooms were opened. I
• 3:27:05
  entered one of these rooms, but found it vacant. Thus I continued through
• 3:27:09
  several of the chambers, until in the last one I found a young red
• 3:27:13
  Martian boy sleeping upon the stone bench, which constituted the only furniture of any
• 3:27:18
  of the prison cells. Evidently he was the only other prisoner. As he
• 3:27:22
  slept, I leaned over and looked at him. There was something strangely familiar
• 3:27:26
  about his face, and yet I could not place him. His features were
• 3:27:31
  very regular, and like the proportions of his graceful limbs and body beautiful.
• 3:27:35
  In the extreme. He was very light in color for a red man,
• 3:27:39
  but in other respects he seemed a typical specimen of this handsome race. I
• 3:27:43
  did not awaken him, for sleep in prison is such a priceless boon that
• 3:27:48
  I have seen men transformed into raging brutes when robbed by one of their fellow
• 3:27:52
  prisoners of a few precious moments of it. Returning to my own cell,
• 3:27:56
  I found Exodar still sitting in the same position in which I left him.
• 3:28:01
  Man, I cried, it will profit you nothing to mope. Thus it
• 3:28:05
  were no disgrace to be bested by John Carter. You have seen that in
• 3:28:09
  the ease with which I accounted for Thurid. You knew it before, when
• 3:28:13
  on the cruiser's deck you saw me slay three of your comrades. I would
• 3:28:18
  that you had despatched me at the same time. He said, come,
• 3:28:20
  come, I cried, there is hope. Yet neither of us is dead.
• 3:28:24
  We are great fighters. Why not win to freedom? He looked at
• 3:28:28
  me in amazement. You know not of what you speak, he replied,
• 3:28:33
  Issus is omnipotent, Issus is omniscient. She hears now the words you speak.
• 3:28:39
  She knows the thoughts you think it is sacrilege even to dream of breaking
• 3:28:43
  her commands. Rot Exedaar, I ejaculated impatiently. He sprang to his feet
• 3:28:50
  in horror. The curse of Issus will fall upon you, he cried,
• 3:28:54
  in another instant. You will be smitten down, rithing to your death in
• 3:28:58
  horrible agony. Do you believe that, Exodar, I asked, of course,
• 3:29:03
  who would dare doubt? I doubt, yes, And further I deny,
• 3:29:07
  I said, why, Exodar, you tell me that she even knows
• 3:29:11
  my thoughts. The red men have all had that power for ages, and
• 3:29:16
  another wonderful power. They can shut their minds so that none may read their
• 3:29:20
  thoughts. I learned the first secret years ago. The other I never had
• 3:29:24
  to learn, since upon all Barsoom is none who can read what passes in
• 3:29:28
  the secret chambers of my brain. Your Goddess cannot read my thoughts, nor
• 3:29:33
  can she read yours when you are out of sight, unless you will it.
• 3:29:37
  Had she been able to read mine, I am afraid that her pride
• 3:29:39
  would have suffered a rather severe shock when I turned, at her command to
• 3:29:43
  gaze upon the holy vision of her radiant face. What do you mean,
• 3:29:48
  he whispered, in an affrighted voice, so low that I could scarcely hear
• 3:29:52
  him. I mean that I thought her the most repulsive and vilely hideous creature
• 3:29:56
  my eyes ever had rested upon. For a moment he eyed me in horror,
• 3:30:01
  stricken amazement, and then with a cry of blasphemer, he sprang upon
• 3:30:05
  me. I did not wish to strike him again, nor was it necessary,
• 3:30:09
  since he was unarmed and therefore quite harmless to me. As he came,
• 3:30:13
  I grasped his left wrist with my left hand, and, swinging my
• 3:30:16
  right arm about his left shoulder, caught him beneath the chin with my elbow
• 3:30:22
  and bore him backward across my thigh. There he hung, helpless for a
• 3:30:26
  moment, glaring up at me in impotent rage. Exodar, I said,
• 3:30:30
  let us be friends for a year. Possibly we may be forced to live
• 3:30:33
  together in the narrow confines of this tiny room. I am sorry to have
• 3:30:37
  offended you, but I could not dream that one who had suffered from cruel
• 3:30:41
  injustice of Issus still could believe her divine. I will say a few more
• 3:30:46
  words, Exodar, with no intent to wound your feelings, further, but
• 3:30:50
  rather that you may give thought to the fact that, while we live,
• 3:30:54
  we are still more the arbiters of our own fate than is any god.
• 3:30:58
  Issus you see has not struck me dead, nor is she rescuing her faithful
• 3:31:03
  Exodar from the clutches of the unbeliever who defamed her fair beauty. No,
• 3:31:09
  Exodar, your Issus is a mortal old woman once out of her clutches,
• 3:31:13
  and she cannot harm you. With your knowledge of this strange land and my
• 3:31:16
  knowledge of the outer world, two such fighting men as you and I should
• 3:31:20
  be able to win our way to freedom, even though we died in the
• 3:31:24
  attempt. Would not our memories be fairer than as though we remained in servile
• 3:31:28
  fear to be butchered by a cruel and unjust tyrant. Call her goddess or
• 3:31:33
  mortal as you will. As I finished, I raised Exodar to his feet
• 3:31:37
  and released him. He did not renew the attack upon me, nor did
• 3:31:41
  he speak. Instead, he walked toward the bench, and, sinking down
• 3:31:46
  upon it, remained lost in deep thought for hours. A long time afterward,
• 3:31:50
  I heard a soft sound at the doorway leading to one of the other
• 3:31:54
  apartments, and looking up, beheld the red Martian youth gazing intently at us.
• 3:32:00
  I cried, after the red Martian manner of greeting cow'or. He replied,
• 3:32:03
  what do you hear? I await my death, I presume, I
• 3:32:07
  replied, with a weary smile. He too smiled, a brave and winning
• 3:32:11
  smile. I also, he said, mine will come soon. I looked
• 3:32:16
  upon the radiant beauty of Issus nearly a year since. It has always been
• 3:32:20
  a source of keen. Wonder to me that I did not drop dead at
• 3:32:24
  the first sight of that hideous countenance and her belly by my first ancestor.
• 3:32:28
  But never was there so grotesque a figure in all the universe that they should
• 3:32:33
  call such a one Goddess of life, eternal goddess of death, mother of
• 3:32:37
  the Nearer Moon, and fifty other equally impossible titles. Is quite beyond me.
• 3:32:43
  How came you here, I asked, It is very simple. I
• 3:32:48
  was flying a one man air scout far to the south when the brilliant idea
• 3:32:52
  occurred to me that I should like to search for the lost Sea of Chorus,
• 3:32:56
  which tradition places near to the South Pole. I must have inherited from
• 3:33:01
  my father a wild lust for adventure, as well as a hollow where my
• 3:33:05
  bump of reverence should be. I had reached the area of eternal ice when
• 3:33:09
  my prop propeller jammed and I dropped to the ground to make repairs. Before
• 3:33:13
  I knew it, the air was black with fliers, and a hundred of
• 3:33:16
  those first born devils were leaping to the ground all about me. With drawn
• 3:33:20
  swords. They made for me. But before I went down beneath them,
• 3:33:24
  they had tasted of the steel my father's sword, and I had given such
• 3:33:28
  an account of myself as I know would have pleased my sire had he lived
• 3:33:31
  to witness it. Your father is dead, I asked. He died before
• 3:33:35
  the shell broke. To let me step out into a world that has been
• 3:33:37
  very good to me. But for the sorrow that I have never the honor
• 3:33:41
  to know my father, I have been very happy. My only sorrow now
• 3:33:46
  is that my mother must mourn me as she has for ten long years mourned
• 3:33:48
  my father. Who was your father? I asked. He was about to
• 3:33:52
  reply when the outer door of our prison opened, and a burly guard entered
• 3:33:56
  and ordered him to his own quarters for the locking the door after him as
• 3:34:01
  he passed through into the further chamber. It is Ishus's wish that you two
• 3:34:07
  be confined in the same room, said the guard, when he had returned
• 3:34:09
  to oursells. This cowardly slave of a slave is to serve you well,
• 3:34:15
  he said to me, indicating Exodar with a wave of his hand. If
• 3:34:18
  he does not, you are to beat him into submission. It is Ishus's
• 3:34:22
  wish that you heap upon him every indignity and degradation of which you can conceive.
• 3:34:28
  With these words, he left us. Exodar still sat with his face
• 3:34:31
  buried in his hands. I walked aside and placed my hand upon his shoulder.
• 3:34:37
  Exodar, I said, you have heard the commands of Issus, but
• 3:34:41
  you need not fear that I should attempt to put them into execution. You
• 3:34:45
  are a brave man, Exodar. It is your own affair if you wish
• 3:34:48
  to be persecuted and humiliated. But were I you, I should assert my
• 3:34:54
  manhood and defy my enemies. I have been thinking very hard, John Carter,
• 3:34:58
  he said, of all the new ideas you gave me a few hours
• 3:35:01
  since, little by little, I have been piecing together the things that you
• 3:35:05
  said which sounded blasphemous to me. Then with the things that I have seen
• 3:35:09
  in my past life, and dare not even think about for fear of bringing
• 3:35:13
  down upon me the wrath of Issus. I believe now that she is a
• 3:35:18
  fraud, no more divine than you or I more. I am willing to
• 3:35:22
  concede that the first born are no holier than the holy Theurns, nor the
• 3:35:26
  holy Therns, more holy than the red men. The whole fabric of our
• 3:35:31
  religion is based on superstitious belief in lies that have been foisted upon us for
• 3:35:35
  ages by those directly above us, to whose personal prophet and aggrandizement it was
• 3:35:41
  to have us continue to believe as they wished us to believe. I am
• 3:35:45
  ready to cast off the ties that have bound me. I am ready to
• 3:35:48
  defy Issus herself. But what will it avail us be the first born gods
• 3:35:54
  or mortals. They are a powerful race, and we are as fast in
• 3:35:56
  their clutches as though we were already dead. There is no escape. I
• 3:36:01
  have escaped from bad plights in the past, my friend, I replied,
• 3:36:05
  Nor while life is in me, shall I despair of escaping from the Isle
• 3:36:09
  of Shador and the sea of Omean. But we cannot escape even from the
• 3:36:15
  four walls of our prison, urged Exodar. Test this flint like surface,
• 3:36:18
  he cried, smiting the solid rock that confined us, And look upon this
• 3:36:24
  polished surface. None could cling to it to reach the top. I smiled,
• 3:36:28
  that is the least of our troubles. Exodar, I replied, I
• 3:36:33
  will guarantee to scale the wall and take you with me, if you will
• 3:36:37
  help, with your knowledge of the customs here to appoint the best time for
• 3:36:39
  the attempt, and guide me to the shaft that lets from the dome of
• 3:36:45
  this abysmal sea to the light of God's pure air above. Night Time is
• 3:36:48
  the best and offers the only slender chance we have. For then men sleep,
• 3:36:54
  and only a dozing watch nods in the tops of the battleship. No
• 3:36:58
  watch is kept upon the cruise in the smaller craft. The watchers upon the
• 3:37:01
  larger vessels see to all about them. It is night now, But I
• 3:37:07
  exclaimed, it is not dark. How can it be night? Then,
• 3:37:11
  he smiled, you forget, he said, that we are far below ground.
• 3:37:15
  The light of the sun never penetrates here. There are no moons and
• 3:37:18
  no stars reflected in the bosom of Omean. The phosphorate light you now see
• 3:37:24
  pervading this great subtraining vault emanates from the rocks that form its dome. It
• 3:37:30
  is always thus upon Omean, just as the billows are always as you see
• 3:37:33
  them, rolling, ever rolling over a windless sea at the appointed hour of
• 3:37:39
  night, upon the world above. The men whose duties hold them here sleep,
• 3:37:43
  But the light is ever the same. It will make escape more difficult,
• 3:37:46
  I said, And then I shrugged my shoulders. For what pray is
• 3:37:50
  the pleasure of doing any easy thing? Let us sleep on it tonight,
• 3:37:54
  said Exodar. A plan may come with our awakening. So we threw oursels
• 3:38:00
  else upon the hard stone floor of our prison and slept the sleep of tired
• 3:38:03
  men. End of Chapter ten, Chapter eleven. When hell broke loose early
• 3:38:11
  the next morning, Exodar and I commenced work upon our plans for escape.
• 3:38:16
  First, I had him sketch upon the stone floor of our cell as accurate
• 3:38:20
  a map of the south polar regions as was possible with the crude instruments at
• 3:38:24
  our disposal. A buckle from my harness and the sharp edge of the wondrous
• 3:38:28
  gem I had taken from sator Throg. From this I computed the general direction
• 3:38:33
  of Helium and the distance at which it lie from the opening which led to
• 3:38:37
  Omin. Then I had him draw a map of Omean, indicating plainly the
• 3:38:43
  position of Shador and of the opening in the dome which led to the outer
• 3:38:46
  world. These I studied until they were indeligibly imprinted in my memory. From
• 3:38:52
  Exodar, I learned the duties and customs of the guards who patrolled Shador.
• 3:38:56
  It seemed that during the hour set aside for sleep, only one man was
• 3:39:00
  on duty at a time. He paced a beat that passed around the prison
• 3:39:03
  at a distance of about a hundred feet from the building. The pace of
• 3:39:07
  the sentries, Exodar said, was very slow, requiring nearly ten minutes to
• 3:39:11
  make a single round. This meant that for practically five minutes at a time,
• 3:39:16
  each side of the prison was unguarded as the sentry pursued his snail like
• 3:39:20
  pace upon the opposite side. This information, you asked, said Exodar,
• 3:39:26
  will be all very valuable after we get out. But nothing that you have
• 3:39:30
  asked has any bearing on the first and most important consideration. We will get
• 3:39:35
  out, all right, I replied, laughing, leave that to me.
• 3:39:39
  When shall we make the attempt? He asked the first night, that finds
• 3:39:43
  a small craft moored near the shore of Shador, I replied, but how
• 3:39:46
  will you know that any craft is moored near Shador? The windows are far
• 3:39:50
  beyond our reach. Not so, friend, exodar look with a bound.
• 3:39:56
  I sprang to the bars of the window opposite us, and took a quick
• 3:39:58
  survey of the scene. Without several small craft and two large battleships lay within
• 3:40:03
  a hundred yards of Shador to night, I thought, and was just about
• 3:40:07
  to voice my decision to Exodar, when without warning, the door of our
• 3:40:11
  prison opened and a guard stepped in. If the fellow saw me there,
• 3:40:16
  our chances of escape might quickly go glimmering, For I knew that they would
• 3:40:20
  put me in irons if they had the slightest conception of the wonderful agility which
• 3:40:24
  my earthly muscles gave me. Upon Mars. The man had entered and was
• 3:40:28
  standing facing the center of the room, so that his back was toward me.
• 3:40:33
  Five feet above me was the top of a partition wall separating our cell
• 3:40:37
  from the necks. There was my only chance to escape detection. If the
• 3:40:41
  fellow turned, I was lost. Nor could I have dropped to the floor
• 3:40:45
  undetected, since he was so nearly below me that I would have struck him
• 3:40:48
  had I done so. Where's the white man, cried the guard of exodar
• 3:40:54
  Issus commands his presence. He started to turn to see if I were in
• 3:40:58
  another part of the cell. Scrambled up the iron grating of the window until
• 3:41:01
  I could catch a good footing on the sill with one foot. Then I
• 3:41:05
  let go my hold and sprang for the partition top. What was that?
• 3:41:09
  I heard the deep voice of the black bellow as my metal grated against the
• 3:41:13
  stone wall as I slipped over. Then I dropped lightly to the floor of
• 3:41:16
  the cell beyond. Where is the white slave, again, cried the guard.
• 3:41:22
  I know not, replied Exodar. He was here even as you entered.
• 3:41:26
  I am not his keeper. Go find him. The black grumbled something
• 3:41:30
  that I could not understand, and then I heard him unlocking the door into
• 3:41:33
  one of the other cells on the further side. Listening intently, I caught
• 3:41:37
  the sound as the door closed behind him. Then I sprang once more to
• 3:41:41
  the top of the partition and dropped into my own cell beside the astonished Exodar.
• 3:41:46
  Do you see now how we will escape? I asked him in a
• 3:41:50
  whisper. I see how you may, he replied, But I am no
• 3:41:54
  wiser than before as to how I am to pass these walls. Certain it
• 3:41:58
  is that I can cannot bounce over them as you do. We heard the
• 3:42:03
  guard moving about from cell to cell, and finally his rounds completed, he
• 3:42:07
  again entered ours. When his eyes fell upon me, they fairly bulged from
• 3:42:11
  his head by the shell of my first ancestor. He roared, where have
• 3:42:16
  you been? I have been in prison since you put me here yesterday.
• 3:42:20
  I answered, I was in this room when you entered. You had better
• 3:42:22
  look to your eyesight. He glared at me in mingled rage and relief.
• 3:42:26
  Come, he said, Issus commands your presence. He conducted me outside the
• 3:42:31
  prison, leaving exod behind. There we found several other guards, and with
• 3:42:37
  them the red Martian youth, who occupied another cell. Upon Shador, the
• 3:42:41
  journey I had taken to the temple of Issus on the preceding day was repeated.
• 3:42:46
  The guards kept the red boy and myself separated, so that we had
• 3:42:50
  no opportunity to continue the conversation that had been interrupted the previous night. The
• 3:42:54
  youth's face had haunted me. Where had I seen him before? There was
• 3:43:00
  something strangely familiar in every line of him, in his carriage, his manner
• 3:43:03
  of speaking, his gestures. I could have sworn that I knew him,
• 3:43:07
  and yet I knew too that I had never seen him before. When we
• 3:43:11
  reached the gardens of Issus, we were led away from the temple instead of
• 3:43:15
  toward it. The way wound through enchanted parks to a mighty wall that towered
• 3:43:20
  a hundred feet in air. Massive gates gave egress upon a small plain surrounded
• 3:43:26
  by the same gorgeous forest that I had seen at the foot of the Golden
• 3:43:30
  Cliffs. Crowds of blacks were strolling in the same direction that our guards were
• 3:43:33
  leading us, and with them mingled my old friends, the plant men,
• 3:43:37
  and great white apes. The brutal beasts moved among the crowd as pet dogs
• 3:43:43
  might if they were in the way. The blacks pushed them roughly to one
• 3:43:46
  side, or whacked them with the flat of a sword, and the animals
• 3:43:50
  slunk away as in great fear. Presently we came upon our destination, a
• 3:43:54
  great amphitheater situated at the further edge of the plain and about a half a
• 3:43:58
  mile beyond the garden walls. Through a massive arched gateway, the blacks poured
• 3:44:03
  in to take their seats, while our guards led us to a smaller entrance
• 3:44:07
  near one end of the structure. Through this we passed into an enclosure beneath
• 3:44:11
  the seats, where we found a number of other prisoners herded together under guard.
• 3:44:16
  Some of them were in irons, but for the most part they seemed
• 3:44:20
  sufficiently awed by the presence of their guards to preclude any possibility of attempt to
• 3:44:24
  escape. During the trip from Shador, I had had no opportunity to talk
• 3:44:30
  with my fellow prisoner. But now that we were safely within the barred paddock,
• 3:44:35
  our guards abated their watchfulness, with the result that I found myself able
• 3:44:39
  to approach the red Martian youth for whom I had felt such a strange attraction.
• 3:44:43
  What is the object of this assembly, i asked him. Are we
• 3:44:46
  to fight for the edification of the first born? Or is it something worse
• 3:44:50
  than that? It is a part of the monthly rites of Issus, he
• 3:44:54
  replied, in which black men washed the sins from their souls in the blood
• 3:44:58
  of men from the outer world. If perchance the black is killed, it
• 3:45:03
  is evidence of his disloyalty to Issus, the unpardonable sin. If he lives
• 3:45:09
  through the contest, he is held acquitted of the charge that forced the sentence
• 3:45:13
  of the rights as it is called upon him. The forms of combat vary.
• 3:45:18
  A number of us may be pitted together against the equal number or twice
• 3:45:22
  the number of blacks or Singly, we may be sent forth to face wild
• 3:45:26
  beasts or some famous black warrior. And if we are victorious, I asked,
• 3:45:31
  what then, freedom? He laughed, Freedom forsooth? The only freedom
• 3:45:37
  for us death. None who enters the domains of the first born ever leave.
• 3:45:41
  If we prove able fighters, we are permitted to fight often. If
• 3:45:46
  we are not mighty fighters, he shrugged his shoulders. Sooner or later we
• 3:45:50
  die in the arena. And you have fought often, I asked, very
• 3:45:54
  often, he replied. It is my only pleasure. Some hundred black devils
• 3:45:58
  have I accounted for during my nearly a year of the rites of Issus.
• 3:46:01
  My mother would be very proud, could she only know how well I have
• 3:46:05
  maintained the traditions of my father's prowess. Your father must have been a mighty
• 3:46:11
  warrior, I said, I have known most of the warriors of Barsoom in
• 3:46:13
  my time. Doubtless I knew him. Who was he? My father was?
• 3:46:18
  Come kaelats cried the rough voice of a guard to the slaughter with you,
• 3:46:24
  And roughly we were hustled to the steep incline that led to the chambers
• 3:46:26
  far below, which led us out upon the arena. The Amphitheater, like
• 3:46:31
  all I had ever seen upon Barsoom, was built in a large excavation.
• 3:46:37
  Only the highest seats, which formed the low walls surrounding the pit, were
• 3:46:41
  above the level of the ground. The arena itself was far below the surface.
• 3:46:46
  Just beneath the lowest tier of seats was a series of barred gates on
• 3:46:50
  a level with the surface of the arena. Into these we were hearded.
• 3:46:54
  But unfortunately, my youthful friend was not of those who occupied a cage with
• 3:46:58
  merely opposite my cage was the throne of Issus. Here the horrid creature squatted
• 3:47:05
  surrounded by a hundred slave maidens, sparkling in jeweled trappings, brilliant clothes of
• 3:47:09
  many hues and strange patterns formed the soft cushion covering of the dace upon which
• 3:47:15
  they reclined about her. On four sides of the throne, and several feet
• 3:47:18
  below it, stood three solid ranks of heavily armed soldiery elbow to elbow.
• 3:47:24
  In front of these were the high dignitaries of this mock heaven, gleaming blacks,
• 3:47:28
  bedecked with precious stones upon their foreheads, the insignia of their ranks,
• 3:47:33
  set in circles of gold. On both sides of the throne, stretched a
• 3:47:37
  solid mass of humanity from top to bottom of the amphitheater. There were as
• 3:47:41
  many women as men, and each was clothed in the wondrously wrought harness of
• 3:47:46
  his station and his house. With each black was from one to three slaves,
• 3:47:50
  drawn from the domains of the thorns and from the outer world. The
• 3:47:54
  blacks are all noble. There is no peasantry among the first born, even
• 3:48:00
  when the lowest soldier is a god and has his slaves to wait upon him.
• 3:48:03
  The first born do not work. The men fight. That is a
• 3:48:07
  sacred privilege and duty to fight and die for issus. The women do nothing,
• 3:48:13
  absolutely nothing. Slaves wash them, slaves, dress them, slaves feed
• 3:48:18
  them. There are some even who have slaves that talk for them. And
• 3:48:22
  I saw one who sat during the rites with closed eyes, while a slave
• 3:48:26
  narrated to her the events that were transpiring within the arena. The first event
• 3:48:31
  of the day was the tribute to Issus. It marked the end of those
• 3:48:35
  poor unfortunates who had looked upon the divine glory of the goddess a full year
• 3:48:39
  before. There were ten of them, splendid beauties from the proud courts of
• 3:48:43
  mighty Jeddaks and from the temples of the holy theurns. For a year they
• 3:48:48
  had served in the retinue of Issus. To day they were to pay the
• 3:48:50
  price of this divine preferment with their lives. Tomorrow they would graze the tables
• 3:48:56
  of the court functionaries. A huge black entered the arena with the young women.
• 3:49:01
  Carefully, he inspected them, felt of their limbs, and poked them
• 3:49:05
  in the ribs. Presently, he selected one of their number, whom he
• 3:49:09
  led before the throne of Asius. He addressed some words to the goddess which
• 3:49:13
  I could not hear. Issius nodded her head. The black raised his hands
• 3:49:18
  above his head in token of salute, grasped the girl by the wrist and
• 3:49:22
  dragged her from the arena through a small doorway below the throne. Issius will
• 3:49:26
  dine well to night, said a prisoner beside me. What do you mean,
• 3:49:30
  I asked, that was her dinner? That old Thabis is taking to
• 3:49:33
  the kitchens? Did his not note how carefully he selected the plumpest and tenderest
• 3:49:39
  of the lot. I growled out, my curses on the monster sitting opposite
• 3:49:43
  us on the gorgeous throne. Fume not admonished, my companion. You will
• 3:49:48
  see far worse than that if you live even a month among the first born.
• 3:49:52
  I turned again, in time to see the gate of a nearby cage
• 3:49:54
  thrown open, and three monstrous white apes spring into the arena. The girl
• 3:50:00
  shrank in a frightened group in the center of the enclosure. One was on
• 3:50:03
  her knees with imploring hands outstretched toward Issus, but the hideous deity only leaned
• 3:50:09
  further forward, in keener anticipation of the entertainment to come. At length,
• 3:50:13
  the apes spied the huddled knot of terror stricken maidens, and with demonocal shrieks
• 3:50:18
  of bestial frenzy charged upon them. A wave of mad fury surged over me.
• 3:50:24
  The cruel cowardliness of the power drunk creature, whose malignant mind conceived such
• 3:50:28
  frightful forms of torture, stirred to their uttermost depths my resentment and my manhood.
• 3:50:35
  The blood red haze that presaged death to my foes swam before my eyes.
• 3:50:41
  The guard lolled before the unbarred gait of the cage, which confined me.
• 3:50:45
  What need of bars, indeed, to keep those poor victims from rushing
• 3:50:48
  into the arena which the edict of the gods had appointed as their death place.
• 3:50:54
  A single blow sent the black unconscious to the ground. Snatching up his
• 3:50:58
  long sword, I sprang into the arena. The apes were almost upon the
• 3:51:01
  maidens, but a couple of mighty bounds, where all my earthly muscles required
• 3:51:05
  to carry me to the center of the sands strewn floor. For an instant
• 3:51:09
  silence reigned in the great amphitheater. Then a wild shout arose from the cages
• 3:51:15
  of the doomed. My long sword circled whirling through the air, and a
• 3:51:18
  great ape sprawled headless at the feet of the feigning girls. The other apes
• 3:51:22
  turned now upon me, and as I stood facing them, a sullen roar
• 3:51:26
  from the audience answered the wild cheers from the cages. From the tail of
• 3:51:31
  my eye, I saw a score of guards rushing across the glistening sand toward
• 3:51:35
  me. Then a figure broke from one of the cages behind them. It
• 3:51:39
  was the youth whose personalities so fascinated me. He paused a moment before the
• 3:51:43
  cages with upraised sword, Come, men of the outer world. He shouted,
• 3:51:48
  let us make our deaths worth while, and at the back of this
• 3:51:50
  unknown warrior, turn this day's tribute to Issus into an orgy of revenge that
• 3:51:56
  will echo through the ages and cause black skins to blant at each repetition of
• 3:52:01
  the rights of Issus. Come the racks without your cages are filled with blades.
• 3:52:07
  Without waiting to note the outcome of his plea, he turned and bounded
• 3:52:11
  toward me. From every cage that harbored red men, A thunderous shout went
• 3:52:15
  up in answer to his exhortation. The inner guards went down beneath howling mobs,
• 3:52:20
  and the cages vomited forth, their inmates hot with the lust to kill.
• 3:52:24
  The racks that stood without were stripped of the swords with which the prisoners
• 3:52:28
  were to have been armed to enter their allotted combats, and a swarm of
• 3:52:31
  determined warriors sped to our support. The great apes, towering in all their
• 3:52:37
  fifteen feet of height, had gone down before my sword, while the charging
• 3:52:41
  guards were still some distance away. Close behind them pursued the youth. At
• 3:52:45
  my back were the young girls, And as it was in their service that
• 3:52:48
  I fought, I remained standing there to meet my inevitable death, but with
• 3:52:52
  the determination to give such an account of myself as would long be remembered in
• 3:52:56
  the land of the first born. I noted the marvelous speed of the young
• 3:53:01
  red man as he raced after the guards. Never had I seen such speed
• 3:53:05
  in any Martian. His leaps and bounds were little short of those which my
• 3:53:09
  earthly muscles had produced, to create such awe and respect on the part of
• 3:53:13
  the green Martians into whose hands I had fallen on that long gone day that
• 3:53:18
  had seen my first advent upon Mars. The guards had not reached me when
• 3:53:22
  he fell upon them from the rear, and as they turned, thinking from
• 3:53:26
  the fierceness of his onslaught that a dozen were attacking them, I rushed them
• 3:53:30
  from my side. In the rapid fighting that followed, I had little chance
• 3:53:33
  to note aught else than the movements of my immediate adversaries. But now and
• 3:53:39
  again I caught a fleeting glimpse of a purring sword and a lightly springing figure
• 3:53:43
  of sinewy steel that filled my heart with a strange yearning and a mighty but
• 3:53:48
  unaccountable pride. On the handsome face of the boy, a grim smile played,
• 3:53:54
  and ever and anon he threw a taunting challenge to the foes that faced
• 3:53:58
  him. In this and other ways, his manner fighting was similar to that
• 3:54:03
  which had always marked me on the field of combat. Perhaps it was this
• 3:54:07
  vague likeness which made me love the boy, while the awful havoc that his
• 3:54:11
  sword played amongst the blacks filled my soul with a tremendous respect for him.
• 3:54:16
  For my part, I was fighting as I had fought a thousand times before,
• 3:54:20
  now side stepping a wicked thrust, now stepping quickly in to let my
• 3:54:24
  sword's point drink deep in a foeman's heart, before it buried itself in the
• 3:54:28
  throat of his companion. We were having a merry time of it. We
• 3:54:31
  two, when a great body of Issus's own guards were ordered into the arena.
• 3:54:37
  On they came with fierce cries, while from every side the armed prisoners
• 3:54:41
  swarmed upon them. For half an hour, it was as though all hell
• 3:54:45
  had broken loose in the walled confines of the arena. We fought in inextricable
• 3:54:50
  mass, howling, cursing, blood streaked demons, and ever the sword of
• 3:54:54
  the young red Man flashed beside me. Slowly, and by repeated commands,
• 3:54:58
  I I had succeeded in drawing the prisoners into a rough formation about us,
• 3:55:03
  so that at last we fought formed into a rude circle, in the center
• 3:55:07
  of which were the doomed maids. Many had gone down on both sides,
• 3:55:11
  but by far the greater havoc had been wrought in the ranks of the guards
• 3:55:16
  of Issus. I could see messengers running swiftly through the audience, and as
• 3:55:20
  they passed the nobles, they unsheathed their swords and sprang into the arena.
• 3:55:24
  They were going to annihil at Us by force of numbers. That was quite
• 3:55:28
  evidently their plan. I caught a glimpse of Issus leaning far forward upon her
• 3:55:33
  throne, her hideous countenance distorted in a horrid grimace of hate and rage,
• 3:55:37
  in which I thought I could distinguish an expression of fear. It was that
• 3:55:41
  face that inspired me to the thing that followed. Quickly, I ordered fifty
• 3:55:46
  of the prisoners to drop back behind us and form a new circle about the
• 3:55:50
  maidens. Remain and protect them until I return, I commanded. Then,
• 3:55:54
  turning to those who formed the outer line, I cried, down with Issus,
• 3:55:58
  follow me to the throne. We will reap vengeance where vengeance is deserved.
• 3:56:03
  The youth at my side was the first to take up the cry of
• 3:56:07
  down with Issus, and then at my back, and from all sides rose
• 3:56:11
  a hoarse shout to the throne, to the throne. As one man,
• 3:56:15
  we moved an irresistible fighting mass, over the bodies of dead and dying foes,
• 3:56:20
  toward the gorgeous throne of the martian deity. Hordes of the daughtiest fighting
• 3:56:24
  men of firstborn poured from the audience to check our progress. We mowed them
• 3:56:30
  down before us, as they had been paper men to the seat. Some
• 3:56:33
  of you, I cried, as we approached the arena's barrier wall. Ten
• 3:56:37
  of us can take the throne. For I had seen that Issus's guards had
• 3:56:41
  for the most part, entered the fray within the arena. On both sides
• 3:56:45
  of me. The prisoners broke to the left and right for the seats,
• 3:56:48
  vaulting the low wall with dripping swords, lusting for the crowded victims who awaited
• 3:56:52
  them. In another moment, the entire amphitheater was filled with the shrieks of
• 3:56:56
  the dying and the wounded, mingled with the flash of arms and triumphant shouts
• 3:57:01
  of the victors. Side by side, the young red Man and I,
• 3:57:05
  with perhaps a dozen others, fought our way to the foot of the throne.
• 3:57:09
  The remaining guards, reinforced by the high dignitaries and nobles of the first
• 3:57:13
  born, closed in between us and Issus, who sat leaning far forward upon
• 3:57:18
  her carved sauropus bench, now screaming high pitched commands to her, following now
• 3:57:24
  hurling blighting curses upon those who sought to desecrate her godhood. The frightened slaves
• 3:57:28
  about her trembled in wide eyed expectancy, knowing not whether to pray for our
• 3:57:33
  victory or our defeat. Several among them proud daughters, no doubt of some
• 3:57:39
  of the Barsoomium's noblest warriors snatched swords from the hands of the fallen and fell
• 3:57:43
  upon the guards of Issus, But they were soon cut down, glorious martyrs
• 3:57:48
  to a hopeless cause. The men with us fought well. But never since
• 3:57:52
  Tars Tarkas and I fought out that long hot afternoon shoulders shoulder against the hordes
• 3:57:56
  of Warhoon in the dead sea bottom before Thark had I seen two men fight
• 3:58:01
  to such good purpose and with such unconquerable ferocity as the young red men and
• 3:58:05
  I fought that day before the throne of Issus, Goddess of death and of
• 3:58:11
  life eternal. Man by man, those who stood between us and the carven
• 3:58:15
  Sorpus wood bench went down before our blades. Others swarmed in to fill the
• 3:58:20
  breach, but inch by inch, foot by foot, we won nearer and
• 3:58:24
  nearer to our goal. Presently a cry went up from a section of the
• 3:58:28
  stands near by, rye slaves, Rise, slaves. It rose and fell,
• 3:58:33
  until it swelled to a mighty volume of sound that swept in great billows
• 3:58:37
  around the entire amphitheater. For an instant, as though by common assent,
• 3:58:41
  we ceased our fighting to look for the meaning of this new note, nor
• 3:58:45
  did it take but a moment to translate its significance. In all parts of
• 3:58:48
  the structure, the female slaves were falling upon their masters with whatever weapon came
• 3:58:54
  first to hand. A dagger snatched from the harness of her mistress, was
• 3:58:58
  waved aloft by some fair its shimmering blade crimson with the life blood of its
• 3:59:03
  owner. Swords plucked from the bodies of the dead about them, heavy ornaments
• 3:59:07
  which could be turned into bludgeons. Such were the implements with which these fair
• 3:59:11
  women wreaked the long pent vengeance, which at best could but partially recompense them
• 3:59:16
  for the unspeakable cruelties and indignities which their black masters had heaped upon them.
• 3:59:22
  And those who could find no other weapons, used their strong fingers and their
• 3:59:26
  gleaming teeth. It was at once a sight to make one shudder and to
• 3:59:31
  cheer. But in a brief second we were engaged once more in our own
• 3:59:35
  battle, with only the unquenchable battle cry of the women to remind us that
• 3:59:39
  they still fought, Rise slaves, Rise slaves. Only a single thin rank
• 3:59:45
  of men now stood between us and issus her face was blue with terror.
• 3:59:50
  Foam flecked her lips. She seemed too paralyzed with fear to move. Only
• 3:59:54
  the youth and I fought. Now. The others all had fallen, and
• 3:59:58
  I was like to have gone down two from a nasty long sword cut,
• 4:00:01
  had not a hand reached out from behind my adversary and clutched his elbow as
• 4:00:05
  the blade was falling upon me. The youth sprang to my side and ran
• 4:00:09
  his sword through the fellow. Before he could recover to deliver another blow.
• 4:00:13
  I should have died even then, but for that, as my sword was
• 4:00:18
  tight wedged in the breastbone of a detour of the first born. As the
• 4:00:22
  fellow went down, I snatched his sword from him, and over his prostrate
• 4:00:26
  body, looked into the eyes of the one whose quick hand had saved me
• 4:00:28
  from the first cut of his sword. It was Fador, daughter of Matai
• 4:00:33
  Shang fly, my prince, She cried, It is useless to fight them
• 4:00:37
  longer. All within the arena are dead, All who charged the throne are
• 4:00:41
  dead, but you and this youth. Only among the seats are there left
• 4:00:45
  any of your fighting men, And they and the slave women are fast being
• 4:00:48
  cut down. Listen, you can scarce hear the battle cry of the women
• 4:00:52
  now, for nearly all are dead. For each one of you there are
• 4:00:56
  ten thousand blacks within the domains of the First Born. Break for the open
• 4:01:00
  and the sea of Chorus. With your mighty sword arm you may yet win.
• 4:01:03
  To the golden cliffs and the temple gardens of the Holy Thorns. There.
• 4:01:09
  Tell your story to Matai Shang, my father. He will keep you,
• 4:01:11
  and together you may find a way to rescue me. Fly while there
• 4:01:16
  is yet a bare chance for flight. But that was not my mission,
• 4:01:20
  nor could I see much to be preferred in the cruel hospitality of the Holy
• 4:01:22
  Theerns to that of the First Born. Down with Issus, I shouted,
• 4:01:28
  and together the boy and I took up the fight. Once more. Two
• 4:01:31
  blacks went down with our swords and their vitals, and we stood face to
• 4:01:35
  face with Issus. As my sword went up to end her horrid career.
• 4:01:39
  Her paralysis left her, and with an ear piercing shriek, she turned to
• 4:01:43
  flee. Directly behind her, a black gulf suddenly yawned in the flooring of
• 4:01:46
  the dace. She sprang for the opening with the youth and I closed at
• 4:01:50
  her heels. Her scattered guard rallied at her cry, and rushed for us.
• 4:01:54
  A blow fell upon the head of the youth. He staggered and would
• 4:01:58
  have fallen, but I caught him in my left arm and turned to face
• 4:02:01
  an infuriated mob of religious fanatics, crazed by the affront I had put upon
• 4:02:07
  their goddess, just as Issus disappeared into the black depths beneath me end of
• 4:02:13
  chapter eleven, Chapter twelve. Doomed to die for an instant, I stood
• 4:02:20
  there before they fell upon me, but the first rush of them forced me
• 4:02:24
  back a step or two. My foot felt for the floor, but found
• 4:02:26
  only empty space. I had backed into the pit which had received Issus for
• 4:02:31
  a second. I toppled there upon the brink. Then I, too,
• 4:02:35
  with the boy still tightly clutched in my arms, pitched backward into the black
• 4:02:39
  abyss. We struck a polished chute. The opening above us closed as magically
• 4:02:45
  as it had opened, and we shot down, unharmed, into a dimly
• 4:02:48
  lighted apartment far below the arena. As I rose to my feet, the
• 4:02:52
  first thing I saw was the malignant countenance of Issus glaring at me through the
• 4:02:58
  heavy bars of a grated door at one side of the chamber. Rash mortal,
• 4:03:03
  she shrilled, You shall pay the awful penalty for your blasphemy in this
• 4:03:07
  secret cell. Here you shall lie alone and in darkness, with the carcass
• 4:03:11
  of your accomplice festering in its rottenness by your side, until crazed by loneliness
• 4:03:18
  and hunger, you feed upon the crawling maggots that were once a man,
• 4:03:22
  that was all. In another instant, she was gone, and the dim
• 4:03:26
  light which had filled the cell faded into simmering blackness. Pleasant, old lady,
• 4:03:31
  said a voice at my side? Who speaks? I asked, Tis
• 4:03:35
  I your companion, who has had the honor this day of fighting shoulder to
• 4:03:39
  shoulder with the greatest warrior that ever wore metal upon barsoom. I thank God
• 4:03:46
  that you are not dead, I said, I feared for that nasty cut
• 4:03:48
  upon your head. It but stunned me. He replied, a mere scratch.
• 4:03:54
  Maybe it were as well had it been final, I said. We
• 4:03:56
  seem to be in a pretty fix here, with a blend a chance of
• 4:04:00
  dying of starvation and thirst. Where are we beneath the arena? I replied,
• 4:04:05
  we tumbled down the shaft that swallowed Issus. As she was almost at
• 4:04:09
  our mercy, he laughed a low laugh of pleasure and relief, and then,
• 4:04:15
  reaching out through the inky blackness, he sought my shoulder and pulled my
• 4:04:18
  ear close to his mouth. Nothing could be better, he whispered. There
• 4:04:22
  are secrets within the secrets of Issus, of which Issus herself does not dream.
• 4:04:28
  What do you mean. I labored with the other slaves a year since
• 4:04:31
  in the remodeling of these subterranean galleries, and at that time we found below
• 4:04:37
  these an ancient system of corridors and chambers that had been sealed up for ages.
• 4:04:43
  The blacks in charge of the work explored them, taking several of us
• 4:04:46
  along to do whatever work there might be occasion, For I know the entire
• 4:04:50
  system perfectly. There are miles of corridors honeycombing the ground beneath the gardens and
• 4:04:58
  the temple itself. There is one passage that leads down to and connects with
• 4:05:03
  the lower regions that open on the water shaft that gives passage to Omean.
• 4:05:07
  If we can reach the submarine undetected, we may yet make the sea in
• 4:05:13
  which there are many islands where the blacks never go. There we may live
• 4:05:16
  for a time, and who knows what may transpire to aid us to escape.
• 4:05:22
  He had spoken all in a low whisper, evidently fearing spying ears even
• 4:05:26
  here. And so I answered him in the same subdued tone. Lead back
• 4:05:31
  to Shador, my friend, I whispered, Exoter, the black is there.
• 4:05:35
  We were to attempt our escape together, So I cannot desert him,
• 4:05:41
  No, said the boy. One cannot desert a friend. It were better
• 4:05:45
  to be recaptured ourselves than that. Then he commenced groping his way about the
• 4:05:48
  floor of the dark chamber, searching for the trap that led to the corridors
• 4:05:52
  beneath. At length, he summoned me by a low I crept toward the
• 4:05:58
  sound of his voice to find him kneeling on the brink of an opening in
• 4:06:01
  the floor. There is a drop here of about ten feet, he whispered,
• 4:06:07
  Hang by your hands, and you will alight safely on a level floor
• 4:06:11
  of soft sand. Very quietly, I lowered myself from the inky cell above
• 4:06:16
  into the inky pit below. So utterly dark was it that we could not
• 4:06:20
  see our hands at an inch from our noses. Never, I think have
• 4:06:24
  I known such complete absence of light as existed in the pits of Issus.
• 4:06:30
  For an instant I hung in mid air. There is a strange sensation connected
• 4:06:35
  with an experience of that nature, which is quite difficult to describe. When
• 4:06:39
  the feet tread empty air and the distance below is shrouded in darkness, there
• 4:06:43
  is a feeling akin to panic at the thought of releasing the hold and taking
• 4:06:48
  the plunge into unknown depths. Although the boy had told me that it was
• 4:06:52
  but ten feet to the floor below, I experienced the same thrills as though
• 4:06:56
  I were hanging above a bottomless pit. Then I least my hold and dropped
• 4:07:01
  four feet to a soft cushion of sand. The boy followed me. Raise
• 4:07:05
  me to your shoulders, he said, and I will replace the trap.
• 4:07:09
  This done, he took me by the hand, leading me very slowly,
• 4:07:13
  with much feeling about and frequent halts to assure himself that he did not stray
• 4:07:18
  into wrong passageways. Presently we commenced the descent of a very steep incline.
• 4:07:24
  It will not be long, he said, before we shall have light.
• 4:07:28
  At the lower levels. We meet the same strata of phosphorescent rock that illuminates
• 4:07:33
  omean Never shall I forget that trip through the pits of Issus. While it
• 4:07:37
  was devoid of important incidents, yet it was filled for me with a strange
• 4:07:41
  charm of excitement and adventure, which I think I must have hinged principally on
• 4:07:46
  the unguessable antiquity of these long forgotten corridors. The things which the stygian darkness
• 4:07:52
  hid from my objective eye could not have been half so wonderful as the pictures
• 4:07:58
  which my imagination wrought as it conjured to life again the ancient peoples of this
• 4:08:03
  dying world and set them once more to the labors, the intrigues, the
• 4:08:07
  mysteries, and the cruelties which they had practiced to make their last stand against
• 4:08:11
  the swarming hordes of the dead sea bottoms that had driven them step by step
• 4:08:16
  to the uttermost pinnacle of the world, where they were now entrenched behind an
• 4:08:20
  impenetrable barrier of superstition. In addition to the green men, there had been
• 4:08:26
  three principal races upon barsoom, the Blacks, the whites, and a race
• 4:08:31
  of yellow men. As the waters of the planet dried and the seas receded,
• 4:08:35
  all other resources dwindled until life upon the planet became a constant battle for
• 4:08:39
  survival. The various races had made war upon one another for ages, and
• 4:08:46
  the three higher types had easily bested the green savages of the water places of
• 4:08:50
  the world. But now that the receding seas necessitated constant abandonment of their fortified
• 4:08:56
  cities and forced upon them a more or less nomad life, in which they
• 4:09:01
  became separated into smaller communities, they soon fell prey to the fierce hordes of
• 4:09:07
  green men. The result was a partial amalgamation of the blacks, whites,
• 4:09:11
  and yellows, the result of which is shown in the present splendid race of
• 4:09:15
  red men. I had always supposed that all traces of the original races had
• 4:09:20
  disappeared from the face of Mars. Yet within the past four days I had
• 4:09:24
  found both whites and blacks in great multitudes. Could it be possible that in
• 4:09:28
  some far off corner of the planet there still existed a remnant of the ancient
• 4:09:33
  race of yellow men. My reveries were broken in upon by a low exclamation
• 4:09:37
  from the boy. At last the lighted way, he cried, and looking
• 4:09:43
  up, I beheld at a long distance before us a dim radiance. As
• 4:09:46
  we advanced, the light increased until presently we emerged into well lighted passageways.
• 4:09:52
  From then on our progress was rapid, until we came suddenly to the end
• 4:09:56
  of a corridor that let directly upon the ledge surrounding the pool of the submarine.
• 4:10:01
  The craft lay at her moorings with uncovered hatch, raising his finger to
• 4:10:05
  his lips and then tapping his sword in his significant manner. The youth crept
• 4:10:11
  noiselessly toward the vessel. I was close at his heels. Silently, we
• 4:10:15
  dropped to the deserted deck, and on hands and knees, crawled toward the
• 4:10:18
  hatchway. A stealthy glance below revealed no guard in sight, and so with
• 4:10:22
  the quickness and the soundlessness of cats, we dropped together into the main cabin
• 4:10:28
  of the submarine. Even here was no sign of life. Quickly we covered
• 4:10:31
  and secured the hatch. Then the boy stepped into the pilot house, touched
• 4:10:37
  a button, and the boat sank amid swirling waters toward the bottom of the
• 4:10:41
  shaft. Even then there was no scurrying of feet as we had expected,
• 4:10:45
  and while the boy remained to direct the boat, I slid from cabin to
• 4:10:48
  cabin in futile search for some member of the crew. The craft was entirely
• 4:10:54
  deserted. Such good fortune seemed almost unbelievable. When I returned to the pilot
• 4:11:00
  house to report the good news to my companion, he handed me a paper.
• 4:11:03
  This may explain the absence of the crew, he said. It was
• 4:11:07
  a radio aerial message to the commander of the submarine. The slaves have risen.
• 4:11:13
  Come with what men you have and those that you can gather on the
• 4:11:16
  way. Too late to get aid from Omeen. They are massacring all within
• 4:11:20
  the amphitheater. Issus is threatened. Haste Zythad Zithad is a detour of the
• 4:11:26
  guards of Issus, explained the youth. We gave them a bad scare,
• 4:11:31
  one that they will not soon forget. Let us hope that it is but
• 4:11:35
  the beginning of the end of Issus, I said, only our first ancestor
• 4:11:39
  knows. He replied. We reached the submarine pool in Omean without incident.
• 4:11:45
  Here we debated the wisdom of sinking the craft before leaving her, but finally
• 4:11:48
  decided that it would add nothing to our chances for escape. There were plenty
• 4:11:54
  of blacks on Omean to thwart us were we apprehended. However, many more
• 4:11:58
  might come from the temples in guards of Issius would not in any way decrease
• 4:12:01
  our chances. We were now in a quandary as to how to pass the
• 4:12:05
  guards who patrolled the island about the pool. At last I hit upon a
• 4:12:11
  plan. What is the name or the title of the officer in charge of
• 4:12:13
  these guards, I asked the boy. A fellow named Torith was on duty
• 4:12:18
  when we entered this morning. He replied, good, and what is the
• 4:12:22
  name of the commander of the submarine Yerstead. I found a despatch blank in
• 4:12:26
  the cabin and wrote the following order, Detwar Torith, return these two slaves
• 4:12:33
  at once to Shador Yersted. That will be the simpler way to return,
• 4:12:37
  I said, smiling, as I handed the forged order to the boy.
• 4:12:41
  Come, we shall see now how well it works. But our swords,
• 4:12:46
  he exclaimed, What shall we say to explain them? Since we cannot explain
• 4:12:50
  them, we shall have to leave them behind us. I replied, is
• 4:12:54
  it not the extreme of rashness to thus put ourselves again unarmed in the power
• 4:12:58
  of the first born. It is the only way, I answered, You
• 4:13:03
  may trust me to find a way out of the prison of Shador, and
• 4:13:05
  I think once out that we shall find no great difficulty in arming ourselves once
• 4:13:11
  more in a country which abounds so plentifully in armed men. As you say,
• 4:13:16
  he replied with a smile on a shrug, I could not follow another
• 4:13:20
  leader who inspired greater confidence than you. Come. Let us put your ruse
• 4:13:24
  to the test. Boldly we emerged from the hatchway of the craft, leaving
• 4:13:28
  our swords behind us, and strode to the main exit, which led to
• 4:13:33
  the sentry's post and the office of the detour of the Guard. At sight
• 4:13:37
  of us, the members of the Guard sprang forward in surprise, and with
• 4:13:41
  leveled rifles, halted us. I held out the message to one of them.
• 4:13:46
  He took it, and, seeing to whom it was addressed, turned
• 4:13:48
  and handed it to Torith, who was emerging from his office to learn the
• 4:13:52
  cause of the commotion. The black read the order, and for a moment
• 4:13:56
  eyed us with evident suspicion. Where's de tor yurstead? He ad ake,
• 4:14:00
  and my heart sank within me as I cursed myself for a stupid fool in
• 4:14:03
  not having sunk the submarine to make good the lie that I must tell His
• 4:14:09
  orders were to return immediately to the temple landing, I replied. Torres took
• 4:14:13
  a half step toward the entrance to the pool, as though to corroborate my
• 4:14:16
  story. For that instant everything hung in the balance, For had he done
• 4:14:22
  so and found the empty submarine still lying at her wharf, the whole weak
• 4:14:24
  fabric of my concoction would have tumbled about our heads. But evidently he decided
• 4:14:31
  the message must be genuine. Nor indeed, was there any good reason to
• 4:14:33
  doubt it, since it would scarce have seemed credible to him that two slaves
• 4:14:37
  would voluntarily have given themselves into custody in any such manner as this. It
• 4:14:43
  was the very boldness of the plan which rendered it successful. Were you connected
• 4:14:48
  with the rising of the slaves? Asked Torith. We have just had meager
• 4:14:50
  reports of some such event. All were involved, I replied, but it
• 4:14:56
  amounted to little. The guards quickly overcame and killed the majority of us.
• 4:15:01
  He seemed satisfied with this reply. Take them to the Shador, he ordered,
• 4:15:05
  turning to one of his subordinates. We entered a small boat lying beside
• 4:15:09
  the island, and in a few minutes were disembarking upon Shador. Here we
• 4:15:13
  were returned to our respective cells, I with Exodar, the boy by himself,
• 4:15:18
  and behind locked doors, we were again prisoners of the first born.
• 4:15:24
  End of chapter twelve. Chapter thirteen, a break for liberty. Exodar listened
• 4:15:31
  in incredulous astonishment to my narration of the events which had transpired within the arena
• 4:15:37
  at the rights of Issus. He could scarce conceive, even though he had
• 4:15:39
  already professed a doubt as to the deity of Issus, that one could threaten
• 4:15:45
  her with a sword in hand and not be blasted into a thousand fragments by
• 4:15:48
  the mere fury of her divine wrath. It is the final proof, he
• 4:15:52
  said, at last, no more is needed to completely shatter the last remnant
• 4:15:56
  of my superstitious belief in the divinity Issus. She is only a wicked old
• 4:16:02
  woman wielding a mighty power for evil through mechanation that have kept her own people
• 4:16:07
  in all barsoom, in religious ignorance for ages. She is still all powerful
• 4:16:11
  here, however, I replied, so it behooves us to leave at the
• 4:16:15
  first moment that appears at all propitious. I hope that you may find a
• 4:16:19
  propitious moment, he said, with a laugh, For it is certain that
• 4:16:23
  in all my life, I have never seen one in which a prisoner of
• 4:16:26
  the first born might escape to night will do as well as any, I
• 4:16:30
  replied, It will soon be night, said Exodar, How may I aid
• 4:16:34
  in the adventure? Can you swim? I asked him. No, slimy
• 4:16:38
  Sillion that haunts the depths of Corus is more at home in water than is
• 4:16:42
  Exodar. He replied. Good, the Red One, in all probability,
• 4:16:47
  cannot swim, I said, since there is scarce enough water in all their
• 4:16:51
  domains to float the tiniest craft. One of us therefore will have to support
• 4:16:56
  him through the sea to the craft we select. I had hoped that we
• 4:16:59
  might make the entire distance below the surface, but I fear that the Red
• 4:17:03
  youth could not thus perform the trip. Even the bravest of the brave among
• 4:17:07
  them are terrorized at the mere thought of deep water, for it has been
• 4:17:11
  ages since their forebear saw a lake, a river, or a sea.
• 4:17:15
  The Red One is to accompany us, asked Exodar. Yes, it is
• 4:17:19
  well. Three swords are better than two, especially when the third is as
• 4:17:23
  mighty as this fellows. I have seen him battle in the arena at the
• 4:17:27
  rights of Issus many times. Never until I saw you fight, had I
• 4:17:32
  seen one who seemed unconquerable, even in the face of great odds. One
• 4:17:36
  might think you too, Master and pupil, or father and son. Come
• 4:17:41
  to recall his face, there is a resemblance between you. It is very
• 4:17:44
  marked. When you fight. There is the same grim smile, the same
• 4:17:48
  maddening contempt for your adversary, apparent in every movement of your bodies and in
• 4:17:52
  every changing expression of your faces. Be that as it may, Exodar,
• 4:17:57
  he is a great fighter. I think that we will make a trio difficult
• 4:18:02
  to overcome. And if my friend Tars Tarkas Jeddak of Thark were but one
• 4:18:07
  of us, we could fight our way from one end of Barsoom to the
• 4:18:10
  other, even though the whole world were pitted against us. It will be
• 4:18:14
  said, Exodar, when they find from whence you have come. That is
• 4:18:18
  but one of the superstitions which Issus has foisted upon a credulous humanity. She
• 4:18:22
  works through the holy Thens, who are as ignorant of her real self as
• 4:18:26
  are the Barsomians. Of the outer world. Her decrees are born to the
• 4:18:30
  Terns, written in blood upon a strange parchment. The poor, deluded fools
• 4:18:33
  think that they are receiving the revelations of a goddess through some supernatural agency,
• 4:18:38
  since they find these messages upon their guarded altars, to which none could have
• 4:18:44
  access without detection. I myself have borne these messages for Issus for many years.
• 4:18:49
  There is a long tunnel from the temple of Issus to the principal temple
• 4:18:53
  of Matai Shang. It was dug ages ago by the slaves of the First
• 4:18:57
  Born in such utter secrecy that no thern ever guessed its existence. The Terns,
• 4:19:03
  for their part, have temples dotted about the entire civilized world. Here,
• 4:19:07
  priests whom the people never see, communicate the doctrine of the mysterious river
• 4:19:11
  Ish, the Valley Door, and the Lost Sea. Of course, to
• 4:19:15
  persuade the poor deluded creatures to take the voluntary pilgrimage that swells the wealth of
• 4:19:19
  the Holy thens and adds to the number of their slaves. Thus, the
• 4:19:23
  urns are used as the principal means for collecting the wealth and labor that the
• 4:19:27
  first Born wrest from them as they need it. Occasionally, the first born
• 4:19:32
  themselves make raids upon the outer world. It is then that they capture many
• 4:19:36
  females of the royal houses of the red Men, and take the newest in
• 4:19:40
  battleships and the trained artisans who build them, that they may copy what they
• 4:19:44
  cannot create. We are a non productive race, priding ourselves upon our non
• 4:19:48
  productiveness. It is criminal for a first born to labor or invent. That
• 4:19:52
  is the work of the law orders, who live merely that the first born
• 4:19:56
  may enjoy long lives of luxury and idleness. With us, fighting is all
• 4:20:00
  that counts. Were it not for that, there would be more of the
• 4:20:03
  first born than all the creatures of Barsoom could support. For in so far
• 4:20:07
  as I know, none of us ever dies in natural death. Our females
• 4:20:11
  would live forever but for the fact that we tire of them and remove them
• 4:20:15
  to make place for others. Issus alone of all is protected against death.
• 4:20:19
  She has lived for countless ages. Would not the other Barsoomians live forever but
• 4:20:26
  for the doctrine of the voluntary pilgrimage, which drags them to the bosom of
• 4:20:30
  ish at Or before their thousandth year, I asked him. I feel now
• 4:20:34
  that there is no doubt but that they are precisely the same species of creature
• 4:20:38
  as the first born, and I hope that I shall live to fight for
• 4:20:42
  them in atonement of the sins I have committed against them through the ignorance born
• 4:20:47
  of generations of false teaching. As he ceased speaking, a weird call rang
• 4:20:52
  out across the waters of Omean. I had heard it at the same time
• 4:20:55
  the previous evening, and knew that it marked the ending of the day,
• 4:20:59
  when the men of Omeans spread their silks upon the deck of battleship and cruiser
• 4:21:03
  and fall into the dreamless sleep of Mars. Our guard entered to inspect us
• 4:21:07
  for the last time before the new day broke upon the world above. His
• 4:21:11
  duty was soon performed, and the heavy door of our prison clothes behind him,
• 4:21:15
  we were alone for the night. I gave him time to return to
• 4:21:18
  his quarters, as Exoter said he probably would do. Then I sprang to
• 4:21:22
  the grated window and surveyed the nearby waters. At a little distance from the
• 4:21:26
  island, a quarter of mile perhaps lay a monster battleship, while between her
• 4:21:32
  and the shore were a number of smaller cruisers and one man scouts. Upon
• 4:21:36
  the battleship alone was there a watch. I could see him plainly in the
• 4:21:38
  upper works of the ship, and as I watched, I saw him spread
• 4:21:42
  his sleeping silks upon the tiny platform in which he was stationed. Soon he
• 4:21:47
  threw himself at full length upon his couch. The discipline on Omean was lax,
• 4:21:52
  indeed, but it is not to be wondered at. Since no enemy
• 4:21:55
  guessed the existence upon Barsoom of such a fleet, or even of the first
• 4:21:59
  Boy, or the sea of Omean, why indeed should they maintain a watch.
• 4:22:04
  Presently I dropped to the floor again and talked with Exodar, describing the
• 4:22:08
  various craft I had seen. There is one there, he said, my
• 4:22:11
  personal property, built to carry five men. That is the swiftest of the
• 4:22:17
  swift. If we can board her, we can at least make a memorable
• 4:22:19
  run for liberty. And then he went on to describe to me the equipment
• 4:22:23
  of the boat, her engines, and all that went to make her the
• 4:22:26
  flier that she was. In his explanation I recognized a trick of gearing that
• 4:22:32
  Kantos Khan had taught me that time we sailed under false names in the navy
• 4:22:36
  of Zodanga beneath sad than the Prince. And I knew then that the firstborn
• 4:22:40
  had stolen it from the ships of Helium, for only they are thus geared.
• 4:22:44
  And I knew too that Exodar spoke the truth when he louted the speed
• 4:22:48
  of his little craft, for nothing that cleaves the thin air of Mars can
• 4:22:51
  approximate the speed of the ships of Helium. We decided to wait for an
• 4:22:56
  hour at least until all the stragglers had sought their silks. In the meantime,
• 4:23:00
  I was to fetch the red Youth to our cell, so that we
• 4:23:03
  would be in readiness to make our rash break for freedom. Together, I
• 4:23:07
  sprang to the top of our partition wall and pulled myself up on to it.
• 4:23:11
  There I found a flat surface about a foot in width, and along
• 4:23:14
  this I walked until I came to the cell in which I saw the boy
• 4:23:17
  sitting upon his bench. He had been leaning back against the wall, looking
• 4:23:21
  up at the glowing dome above Omean, and when he spied me balancing upon
• 4:23:25
  the partition wall above him, his eyes opened wide in astonishment, then a
• 4:23:30
  wide grin of appreciative understanding spread across his countenance. As I stooped to drop
• 4:23:34
  to the floor beside him, he motioned me to wait, and, coming
• 4:23:38
  close below me, whispered, catch my hand. I can almost leap to
• 4:23:42
  the top of that wall myself. I have tried it many times, and
• 4:23:45
  each day I come a little closer. Some day I should have been able
• 4:23:49
  to make it. I lay upon my belly across the wall and reached my
• 4:23:52
  hand far down toward him. With a little run from the center of the
• 4:23:56
  cell. He sprang up until I grasped his outstretched hand, and thus I
• 4:24:00
  pulled him to the wall's top beside me. You are the first jumper I
• 4:24:03
  ever saw among the red men of Barsoom, I said, He smiled.
• 4:24:07
  It is not strange. I will tell you why when we have more time
• 4:24:11
  together. We returned to the cell in which exit Aar sat, descending to
• 4:24:15
  talk with him until the hour had passed. There we made our plans for
• 4:24:18
  the immediate future, binding ourselves by a solemn oath to fight to the death
• 4:24:23
  for one another against whatsoever enemies should confront us. For we knew that even
• 4:24:29
  should we succeed in escaping the first born, we might still have a whole
• 4:24:33
  world against us. The power of religious superstition is mighty. It was agreed
• 4:24:37
  that I should navigate the craft after we had reached her, and that if
• 4:24:41
  we made the outer world in safety, we should attempt to reach Helium without
• 4:24:45
  a stop. Why Helium, asked the red youth. I am a prince
• 4:24:48
  of Helium, I replied. He gave me a peculiar look, but said
• 4:24:53
  nothing further on the subject. I wondered at the time what the significance of
• 4:24:57
  his expression might be, But an in the press of other matters, it
• 4:25:00
  soon left my mind, nor did I have occasion to think of it again
• 4:25:03
  until later come, I said, at length, Now is as good a
• 4:25:07
  time as any. Let us go. Another moment found me at the top
• 4:25:11
  of the partition wall, again, with the boy beside me. Unbuckling my
• 4:25:15
  harness, I snapped it together with a single long strap, which I lowered
• 4:25:19
  to the waiting exodar below. He grasped the end and was soon sitting beside
• 4:25:23
  us. How simple, he laughed. The balance should be even simpler,
• 4:25:27
  I replied. Then I raised myself to the top of the outer wall the
• 4:25:32
  prison, just so that I could peer over and locate the passing sentry for
• 4:25:36
  a matter of five minutes, I waited, and then he came in sight
• 4:25:38
  on his slow and snail like beat about the structure. I watched him until
• 4:25:44
  he made the turn at the end of the building, which carried him out
• 4:25:47
  of sight of the side of the prison that was to witness our dash for
• 4:25:49
  freedom. The moment his form disappeared, I grasped Exodar and drew him to
• 4:25:53
  the top of the wall. Placing one end of my harness strap in his
• 4:25:57
  hands, I lowered him quickly to the ground by low Then the boy grasped
• 4:26:00
  the strap and slid down to Exodar's side. In accordance with our arrangement,
• 4:26:06
  they did not wait for me, but walked slowly toward the water, a
• 4:26:10
  matter of a hundred yards, directly past the guard house filled with sleeping soldiers.
• 4:26:15
  They had taken scarce a dozen steps when I too, dropped to the
• 4:26:18
  ground and followed them leisurely toward the shore. As I passed the guard house,
• 4:26:22
  the thought of all the good blades lying there gave me pause, For
• 4:26:26
  if ever men were to have need of swords, it was my companions and
• 4:26:29
  I on the perilous trip upon which we were about to embark. I glanced
• 4:26:33
  towards Exodar and the youth and saw that they had slipped over the edge of
• 4:26:37
  the dock into the water. In accordance with our plan, they were to
• 4:26:41
  remain there, clinging to the metal rings which studded the concrete like substance of
• 4:26:45
  the dock at the water's level, with only their mouths and noses above the
• 4:26:48
  surface of the sea, until I should join them. The lure of the
• 4:26:52
  swords within the guard house was strong upon me, and I hesitated a moment,
• 4:26:56
  half inclined to risk the attempt to take the few we needed. That
• 4:27:00
  he who hesitates is lost proved itself a true aphorism in this instant, For
• 4:27:06
  another moment saw me creeping stealthily toward the door of the guard house. Gently,
• 4:27:11
  I pressed it open a crack enough to discover a dozen blacks stretched upon
• 4:27:15
  their silks in profound slumber. At the far side of the room, a
• 4:27:18
  rack held the swords and firearms of the men. Wearily, I pushed the
• 4:27:22
  door a trifle wider to admit my body. A hinge gave out a resentful
• 4:27:26
  groan. One of the men stirred, and my heart stood still, I
• 4:27:30
  cursed myself for a fool to have thus jeopardized our chances for escape. But
• 4:27:34
  there was nothing for it now but to see the adventure through with the spring
• 4:27:38
  as swift and as noiseless as a tiger's. I lit beside the guardsman who
• 4:27:42
  had moved My hands, hovered about his throat, awaiting the moment that his
• 4:27:45
  eyes should open. For what seemed an eternity to my overwrought nerves, I
• 4:27:49
  remained poised. Thus, Then the fellow turned again upon his side and resumed
• 4:27:55
  the even respiration of deep slumber. Carefully, I picked my way between it
• 4:28:00
  over the soldiers until I had gained the rack at the far side of the
• 4:28:03
  room. Here I turned to survey the sleeping men. All were quiet.
• 4:28:07
  Their regular breathing rose and fell in a soothing rhythm that seemed to me the
• 4:28:11
  sweetest music I ever had heard. Gingerly, I drew a long sword from
• 4:28:15
  the rack. The scraping of the scabbard against its holder as I withdrew it
• 4:28:19
  sounded like the filing of a cast iron with a great rasp, And I
• 4:28:23
  looked to see the room immediately filled with alarmed and attacking guardsmen, But none
• 4:28:29
  stirred. The second sword I withdrew noiselessly, but the third clanked in its
• 4:28:33
  scabbard with a frightful din. I knew that it must awaken some of the
• 4:28:37
  men at least, and was on the point of forestalling their attack by a
• 4:28:41
  rapid charge for the doorway, when again, to my intense surprise, not
• 4:28:45
  a black moved. Either they were wondrous heavy sleepers or else the noises that
• 4:28:51
  I made were really much less than they seemed to me. I was about
• 4:28:55
  to leave the rack when my attention was attracted by the revolvers. I knew
• 4:28:59
  that I could not care more than one away with me, for I was
• 4:29:02
  already too heavily laden to move quietly with any degree of safety or speed.
• 4:29:06
  As I took one of them from its pin, my eye fell for the
• 4:29:08
  first time on an open window beside the rack. Ah, here was a
• 4:29:12
  splendid means of escape, for it let directly upon the dock, not twenty
• 4:29:18
  feet from the water's edge. And as I congratulated myself, I heard the
• 4:29:22
  door opposite me open, and there, looking me full in the face,
• 4:29:25
  stood the officer of the guard. He evidently took in the situation at a
• 4:29:29
  glance and appreciated the gravity of it as quickly as I, for our revolvers
• 4:29:33
  came up simultaneously, and the sounds of the two reports were as one.
• 4:29:37
  As we touched the buttons on the grips that exploded the cartridges, I felt
• 4:29:42
  the wind of his bullet as it whizzed passed my ear, and at the
• 4:29:45
  same instant I saw him crumple to the ground where I hit him. I
• 4:29:48
  do not know nor if I killed him, for scarce had he started to
• 4:29:52
  collapse when I was through the window at my rear. In another second,
• 4:29:56
  the waters of Omean closed above my head, and the three of us us
• 4:30:00
  were making for the little flier a hundred yards away. Exodar was burdened with
• 4:30:03
  the boy, and I with the three long swords the revolver I had dropped,
• 4:30:08
  so that while we were both strong swimmers, it seemed to me that
• 4:30:11
  we moved at a snail's pace through the water. I was swimming entirely beneath
• 4:30:15
  the surface, but Exodar was compelled to rise often to let the youth breathe.
• 4:30:19
  So it was a wonder that we were not discovered long before we were.
• 4:30:23
  In fact, we reached the boat's side, and were all aboard before
• 4:30:27
  the watch upon the battleship, aroused by the shots, detected us. Then
• 4:30:32
  an alarm gun bellowed from a ship's bow, its deep boom reverberating in deafening
• 4:30:37
  tones beneath the rocky dome of Omean. Instantly the sleeping thousands were awake,
• 4:30:41
  the decks of a thousand monster craft teemed with fighting men. For an alarm
• 4:30:47
  on Omean was a thing of rare occurrence. We cast away before the sound
• 4:30:51
  of the first gun had died, and another second sauce rising swiftly from the
• 4:30:55
  surface of the sea. I lay at full length along the deck with the
• 4:30:59
  levers in the bus buttons of control before me. Exodar and the boy were
• 4:31:03
  stretched directly behind me. Prone also that we might offer as little resistance to
• 4:31:07
  the air as possible. Rise high, whispered Exodar. They dare not fire
• 4:31:11
  their heavy guns toward the dome. The fragments of the shells would drop back
• 4:31:15
  among their own craft. If we are high enough, our keel plates will
• 4:31:19
  protect us from rifle fire. I did as he bade. Below us,
• 4:31:23
  we could see the men leaping into the water by hundreds and striking out for
• 4:31:27
  the small cruisers and the one man fliers that lay moored about the big ships.
• 4:31:33
  The larger craft were getting under way, following us rapidly, but not
• 4:31:37
  rising from the water. A little to your right, cried Exodar, for
• 4:31:41
  there are no points of compass upon Omean, where every direction is due north.
• 4:31:45
  The pandemonium that had broken out below us was deafening. Rifles cracked,
• 4:31:49
  Officers shouted orders, men yelled directions to one another from the water and from
• 4:31:53
  the decks of the myriad boats, while through all ran the purr of countless
• 4:31:57
  propellers, cutting water and air. I had not dared pull my speed lever
• 4:32:03
  to the highest for fear of overrunning the mouth of the shaft that passed from
• 4:32:07
  Omean's dome to the world above. But even so we were hitting a clip
• 4:32:11
  that I doubt has ever been equalled on the windless sea. The smaller fliers
• 4:32:15
  were commencing to rise toward us when Exodter shouted the shaft. The shaft dead
• 4:32:21
  ahead, and I saw the opening black and yawning in the glowing dome of
• 4:32:25
  this underworld. A ten man cruiser was rising directly in front to cut off
• 4:32:29
  our escape. It was the only vessel that stood in our way, but
• 4:32:33
  at the rate that it was traveling, it would come between us and the
• 4:32:36
  shaft in plenty of time to thwart our plans. It was rising at an
• 4:32:40
  angle of about forty five degrees dead ahead of us, with the evident intention
• 4:32:44
  of combing us with grappling hooks from above. As it skimmed low over our
• 4:32:48
  deck, there was but one forlorn hope for us, and I took it.
• 4:32:52
  It was useless to try to pass over her, for that would have
• 4:32:56
  allowed her to force us against the rocky dome above, and we were all
• 4:32:59
  ready too near that as it was. To have attempted to dive below her
• 4:33:03
  would have put us entirely at her mercy, and precisely where she wanted us.
• 4:33:07
  On either side, a hundred other menacing craft were hastening toward us.
• 4:33:11
  The alternative was filled with risk. In fact, it was all risk,
• 4:33:17
  with but a slender chance of success. As we neared the cruiser, I
• 4:33:21
  rose as though to pass above her, so that she would do just what
• 4:33:25
  she did do rise at a steeper angle to force me still higher. Then,
• 4:33:29
  as we were almost upon her, I yelled to my companions to hold
• 4:33:33
  tight and throwing the little vessel into her highest speed. I deflected her bows
• 4:33:37
  at the same instant, until we were running horizontally and at a terrific velocity,
• 4:33:41
  straight for the cruiser's keel. Her commander may have seen my intentions then,
• 4:33:47
  but it was too late. Almost at the instant of impact, I
• 4:33:51
  turned my bows upward, and then with a shattering jolt, we were in
• 4:33:53
  collision. What I had hoped for happened. The cruiser, already tilted at
• 4:33:59
  a perilous angle, was carried completely over backward by the impact of my smaller
• 4:34:03
  vessel. Her crew fell twisting and screaming through the air to the water far
• 4:34:07
  below, while the cruiser, her propellers, still madly churning, dived swiftly
• 4:34:12
  head foremost after them to the bottom of the Sea of Omean. The collision
• 4:34:17
  crushed our steel boughs, and, notwithstanding every effort on our part, came
• 4:34:21
  near to hurtling us from the deck. As it was, we landed in
• 4:34:25
  a wildly clutching heap at the very extremity of the flier, where Exodar and
• 4:34:30
  I succeeded in grasping the hand rail, but the boy would have plunged overboard,
• 4:34:34
  had I not fortunately grasped his ankle, as he was already partially over
• 4:34:40
  unguided, our vessel careened wildly in its mad flight, rising ever nearer the
• 4:34:44
  rocks above. It took but an instant, however, for me to regain
• 4:34:48
  the levers, and with the roof barely fifty feet above, I turned her
• 4:34:52
  nose once more into the horizontal plane and headed her again for the black mouth
• 4:34:56
  of the shaft. The collision had retarded our progress, and now a hundred
• 4:35:00
  swift scouts were close upon us. Exodar had told me that ascending the shaft
• 4:35:04
  by virtue of our repulsive rays alone would give our enemies their best chance to
• 4:35:08
  overtake us, since our propellers would be idle, and in rising we would
• 4:35:12
  be outclassed by many of our pursuers. The swifter craft are seldom equipped with
• 4:35:18
  large buoyancy tanks, since the added bulk of them tends to reduce a vessel's
• 4:35:22
  speed. As many boats were now quite close to us, it was inevitable
• 4:35:26
  that we would be quickly overhauled in the shaft and captured or killed in short
• 4:35:32
  order. To me, there always seems a way to gain the opposite side
• 4:35:36
  of an obstacle. If one cannot pass over it, or below it,
• 4:35:38
  or around it, why then there is but a single alternative left, and
• 4:35:42
  that is to pass through it. I could not get around the fact that
• 4:35:45
  many of these other boats could rise faster than ours by the fact of their
• 4:35:49
  greater buoyancy. But I was none the less determined to reach the outer world
• 4:35:53
  far in advanced of them, or die death of my own choosing in event
• 4:35:57
  of failure, Verse screamed, Exodar, behind me, for the love of
• 4:36:02
  your first ancestor reverse. We are at the shaft. Hold tight, I
• 4:36:07
  screamed in reply. Grasp the boy and hold tight. We are going straight
• 4:36:11
  up the shaft. The words were scarce out of my mouth as we swept
• 4:36:15
  beneath the pitch black opening. I threw the bow hard up, dragged the
• 4:36:18
  speed lever to its last notch, and, clutching a stanchion with one hand
• 4:36:22
  and the steering wheel with the other, hung on like grim death, and
• 4:36:26
  consigned my soul to its author. I heard a little exclamation of surprise from
• 4:36:30
  Exodar, followed by a grim laugh. The boy laughed too, and said
• 4:36:36
  something which I could not catch. For the whistling of the wind of our
• 4:36:38
  awful speed. I looked above my head, hoping to catch the gleam of
• 4:36:42
  stars by which I could direct our course and hold the hurtling thing that bore
• 4:36:47
  us true to the center of the shaft. To have touched the side at
• 4:36:49
  the speed we were making would doubtless have resulted in instant death for us.
• 4:36:53
  All but not a star showed above, only utter and impenetrable darkness. When
• 4:37:00
  I glanced below me, and there I saw a rapidly diminishing circle of light
• 4:37:03
  the mouth of the opening, above the phosphorescent radiance of Omean. By this
• 4:37:07
  I steered, endeavoring to keep the circle of light below me. Ever perfect
• 4:37:12
  at best, it was but a slender cord that held us from destruction.
• 4:37:15
  And I think that I steered that night more by intuition and blind faith than
• 4:37:19
  by skill or reason. We were not long in the shaft, and possibly
• 4:37:25
  the very fact of our enormous speed saved us, For evidently we started in
• 4:37:29
  the right direction, and so quickly were we out again that we had no
• 4:37:33
  time to alter our course. Omean lies perhaps two miles below the surface crust
• 4:37:37
  of Mars. Our speed must have approximated two hundred miles an hour, For
• 4:37:42
  Martian flyers are swift, so that at most we were in the shaft not
• 4:37:45
  over forty seconds. We must have been out of it for some seconds before
• 4:37:49
  I realized that we had accomplished the impossible. Black darkness enshrouded all about us.
• 4:37:56
  There were neither moons nor stars. Never before had I seen so such
• 4:38:00
  a thing upon Mars, and for the moment I was nonplussed. Then the
• 4:38:03
  explanation came to me. It was summer at the south pole, the ice
• 4:38:07
  cap was melting, and those meteoric phenomena clouds unknown upon the greater part of
• 4:38:12
  Barsoom were shutting out the light of Heaven from this portion of the planet.
• 4:38:17
  Fortunate, indeed it was for us, Nor did it take me long to
• 4:38:21
  grasp the opportunity for escape which this happy condition offered us. Keeping the boat's
• 4:38:26
  nose at a stiff angle, I raised her for the impenetrable curtain which nature
• 4:38:30
  had hung above this dying world to shut us out from the sight of our
• 4:38:33
  pursuing enemies. We plunged through the cold camp fog without diminishing our speed,
• 4:38:38
  and in a moment emerged into the glorious light of the two moons and the
• 4:38:41
  million stars. I dropped into a horizontal course and headed due north. Our
• 4:38:47
  enemies were a good half hour behind us, with no conception of our direction.
• 4:38:51
  We had performed the miraculous and come through a thousand dangers unscathed. We
• 4:38:56
  had escaped from the land of the first Born. No other prisoners in all
• 4:39:00
  the ages of Barsoom had done this thing. And now as I looked back
• 4:39:03
  upon it, it did not seem to have been so difficult. After all,
• 4:39:07
  I said as much to Exod over my shoulder. It is very wonderful.
• 4:39:11
  Nevertheless, he replied, no one else could have accomplished it, but
• 4:39:15
  John Carter. At the sound of that name, the boy jumped to his
• 4:39:18
  feet. John Carter, he cried, John Carter, Why man, John
• 4:39:22
  Carter, Prince of Helium, has been dead for years? I am his
• 4:39:26
  son. End of Chapter thirteen, Chapter fourteen, The Eyes and the Dark,
• 4:39:33
  My son. I could not believe my ears. Slowly I rose and
• 4:39:37
  faced the handsome youth. Now that I looked at him closely, I commenced
• 4:39:41
  to see why his face and personality had attracted me so strongly. There was
• 4:39:45
  much of his mother's incomparable beauty in his clear cut features, but it was
• 4:39:49
  strongly masculine beauty, and his gray eyes, in the expression of them,
• 4:39:53
  were mine. The boy stood facing me, half hope and half uncertainty in
• 4:39:59
  his look. Tell me of your mother, I said, Tell me all
• 4:40:02
  you can of the years that I have been robbed by a relentless fate of
• 4:40:06
  her dear companionship. With a cry of pleasure, he sprang toward me and
• 4:40:10
  threw his arms about my neck. And for a brief moment, as I
• 4:40:12
  held my boy close to me, the tears welled to my eyes, and
• 4:40:15
  I was like to have choked after the manner of some mad'lin fool. But
• 4:40:19
  I do not regret it, nor am I ashamed. A long life has
• 4:40:23
  taught me that a man may seem weak where women and children are concerned,
• 4:40:27
  and yet be anything but a weakling in the sterner avenues of life. Your
• 4:40:32
  stature, your manner, the terrible ferocity of your swordmanship, said the boy,
• 4:40:37
  are as my mother has described them to me a thousand times. But
• 4:40:41
  even with such evidence, I could scarce credit the truth of what seemed so
• 4:40:45
  improbable to me, however much I desired it to be true. Do you
• 4:40:48
  know what thing it was that convinced me more than all the others, what,
• 4:40:52
  my boy, I asked your first words to me? They were of
• 4:40:56
  my mother. None else but the man who loved her, as she has
• 4:41:00
  told me my father did, would have thought first of her. For long
• 4:41:03
  years, My son, I can scarce recall a moment that the radiant vision
• 4:41:07
  of your mother's face has not been ever before me. Tell me of her.
• 4:41:12
  Those who have known her longest say that she has not changed, unless
• 4:41:15
  it be to grow more beautiful. Were that possible? Only when she thinks
• 4:41:19
  I am not about to see her, her face grows very sad and oh
• 4:41:25
  so wistful. She thinks ever of you, my father, and all Helium
• 4:41:29
  mourns with her and for her. Her grandfather's people love her. They loved
• 4:41:33
  you also, and fairly worship your memory as the savior of Barsoom. Each
• 4:41:37
  year that brings its anniversary of the day that saw you racing across a near
• 4:41:41
  dead world to unlock the secret of that awful portal behind which lay the mighty
• 4:41:47
  power of life. For countless millions, a great festivals held in your honor.
• 4:41:52
  But there are tears mingled with thanksgiving tears of real regret that the author
• 4:41:56
  of the happiness is not with them to share the joy of living. He
• 4:42:00
  died to give them upon all barsoom. There is no greater name than John
• 4:42:03
  Carter. And by what name has your mother called you? My boy?
• 4:42:07
  I asked the people of Helium, asked that I be named with my father's
• 4:42:11
  name. But my mother said no, that you and she had chosen a
• 4:42:15
  name for me together, and that your wish must be honored before all others.
• 4:42:19
  So the name that she called me is the one that you desired,
• 4:42:22
  a combination of hers and yours. Carthoris Exodar had been at the wheel as
• 4:42:27
  I talked with my son, and now he called me. She is dropping
• 4:42:32
  badly by the head, John Carter, he said. So long as we
• 4:42:34
  were rising at a stiff angle, it was not noticeable. But now that
• 4:42:37
  I am trying to keep a horizontal course, it is different. The wound
• 4:42:41
  in her bow has opened one of her forward ray tanks. It was true,
• 4:42:45
  and after I had examined the damage, I found it a much graver
• 4:42:49
  matter than I had anticipated. Not only was the forced angle at which we
• 4:42:53
  were compelled to maintain the bow in order to keep a horizontal course, greatly
• 4:42:57
  impeding our speed. But at the rate that we were losing our repulsive rays
• 4:43:02
  from the forward tanks, it was but a question of an hour or more
• 4:43:06
  when we would be floating, stern up and helpless. We had slightly reduced
• 4:43:10
  our speed with the dawning of a sense of security. But now I took
• 4:43:14
  the helm once more and pulled the noble little engine wide open, so that
• 4:43:18
  again we raced north at terrific velocity. In the meantime, Cathars and Exodar,
• 4:43:22
  with tools in hand, were puttering with the great rent in the bow
• 4:43:26
  in a hopeless endeavor to stem the tide of escaping rays. It was still
• 4:43:30
  dark when we passed the northern boundary of the ice cap, and the area
• 4:43:33
  of clouds below us lay a typical Martian landscape, rolling oak or sea,
• 4:43:38
  bottom of long dead seas, low surrounding hills, with here and there the
• 4:43:42
  grim and silent cities of the dead past, great piles of mighty architecture,
• 4:43:48
  tenanted only by age old memories of a once powerful race, and by the
• 4:43:52
  great white apes of barsoom. It was becoming more and more difficult to maintain
• 4:43:56
  our little vessel in a horizontal position, low moor and lower sagged the bow
• 4:44:00
  until it became necessary to stop the engine to prevent our flight, terminating in
• 4:44:04
  a swift dive to the ground. As the sun rose and the light of
• 4:44:08
  a new day swept away the darkness of night, our craft gave a final
• 4:44:12
  spasmodic plunge, turned half upon her side, and then, with deck tilting
• 4:44:18
  at a sickening angle, swung in a slow circle, her bow dropping further
• 4:44:22
  below her stern each moment to hand rail and stanchion we clung, and finally,
• 4:44:26
  as we saw the end approaching, snapped the buckles of our harness to
• 4:44:30
  the rings at her sides. In another moment, the deck reared at an
• 4:44:33
  angle of ninety degrees, and we hung in our leather with feet dangling a
• 4:44:37
  thousand yards above the ground. I was swinging quite close to the controlling devices,
• 4:44:42
  so I reached out to the lever that directed the rays of repulsion.
• 4:44:47
  The boat responded to the touch, and very gently we began to sink toward
• 4:44:51
  the ground. It was fully half an hour before we touched. Directly north
• 4:44:56
  of us rose a rather lofty range of hills towards which we decided to make
• 4:45:00
  our way, since they afforded greater opportunity for concealment from the pursuers we were
• 4:45:04
  confident might stumble in this direction. An hour later found us in the time
• 4:45:10
  rounded gullies of the hills, amid the beautiful flowering plants that abound in the
• 4:45:14
  arid waste places of Barsoom. There we found numbers of huge milk giving shrubs,
• 4:45:18
  that strange plant which serves in great part as food and drink for the
• 4:45:22
  wild hordes of green men. It was indeed a boon to us, for
• 4:45:26
  we all were nearly famished. Beneath a cluster of these, which afforded perfect
• 4:45:30
  concealment from wandering air scouts. We lay down to sleep, for me the
• 4:45:36
  first time in many hours. This was the beginning of my fifth day upon
• 4:45:40
  Barsoom, since I had found myself suddenly translated from my cottage on the Hudson
• 4:45:44
  to door, the valley beautiful, the valley hideous. In all this time
• 4:45:48
  I had slept but twice, though once the clock round within the storehouse of
• 4:45:52
  the Thurns. It was mid afternoon when I was awakened by some one seizing
• 4:45:56
  my hand and covering it with kisses. With a start, I opened my
• 4:46:00
  eyes to look into the beautiful face of Thuvia, my prince, My prince,
• 4:46:04
  she cried, and in ecstasy of happiness, tis you whom I had
• 4:46:08
  mourned as dead. My ancestors have been good to me. I have not
• 4:46:11
  lived in vain. The girl's voice awoke exeteron Carthoris. The boy gazed upon
• 4:46:17
  the woman in surprise. But she did not seem to realize the presence of
• 4:46:21
  another than I. She would have thrown her arms about my neck and smothered
• 4:46:25
  me with caresses, had I not gently but firmly disengaged myself. Come,
• 4:46:30
  Come, Thuvia, I said, soothingly. You are overwrought by the danger
• 4:46:33
  and hardships you have passed through. You forget yourself, as you forget that
• 4:46:37
  I am the husband of the Princess of Helium. I forget nothing, my
• 4:46:41
  prince, she replied. You have spoken no word of love to me,
• 4:46:45
  nor do I expect that you ever shall. But nothing can prevent me loving
• 4:46:48
  you. I would not take the place of dejah Thoris. My greatest ambition
• 4:46:52
  is to serve you, my prince, for ever is your slave. No
• 4:46:56
  greater boon could I ask, no greater honor could I crave, No greater
• 4:47:00
  happiness could I hope? As I have before said, I am no lady's
• 4:47:03
  man, and I must admit that I seldom have felt so uncomfortable and embarrassed
• 4:47:07
  as I did that moment. While I was quite familiar with the Martian custom
• 4:47:11
  which allows female slaves to Martian men, whose high and chivalrous honor is always
• 4:47:17
  ample protection for every woman in his household, yet I had never myself chosen
• 4:47:22
  other than men as my body servants, and I ever returned to Helium,
• 4:47:26
  Thuvia, I said, you shall go with me, but as an honored
• 4:47:30
  equal, and not as a slave. There you shall find plenty of handsome
• 4:47:33
  young nobles who would face issus herself to win a smile from you, and
• 4:47:37
  we shall have you married in short order to one of the best of them.
• 4:47:41
  Forget your foolish gratitude, begot an infatuation which your innocence has mistaken for
• 4:47:45
  love. I like your friendship better, Thuvia, you are my master.
• 4:47:51
  It shall be as you say, she replied simply, but there was a
• 4:47:55
  note of sadness in her voice. How came you here, Thuvia, I
• 4:47:57
  asked, and where is Tarzan Arcas, the great Thark I fear is dead?
• 4:48:03
  She replied sadly. He was a mighty fighter, but a multitude of
• 4:48:07
  green warriors of another horde than his overwhelmed him. The last that I saw
• 4:48:11
  of him, they were bearing him wounded and bleeding, to the deserted city
• 4:48:15
  from which they had sallied to attack us. You are not sure that he
• 4:48:19
  is dead, then I asked, And where is the city of which you
• 4:48:23
  speak? It is just beyond this range of hills. The vessel on which
• 4:48:27
  you so nobly resigned a place that we might find escape defied our small skill
• 4:48:32
  in navigation, with the result that we drifted aimlessly about for two days.
• 4:48:37
  Then we decided to abandon the craft and attempt to make our way on foot
• 4:48:41
  to the nearest waterway. Yesterday we crossed these hills and came upon the dead
• 4:48:45
  city beyond. We had passed within its streets and were walking towards the central
• 4:48:48
  portion, when at an intersecting avenue we saw a body of Green warriors approaching
• 4:48:53
  tars Tarkas was in advance, and they saw him, but me. They
• 4:48:57
  did not see the Thark spring back to my side and forced me into an
• 4:49:02
  adjacent doorway, where he told me to remain in hiding until I could escape,
• 4:49:06
  making my way to Helium if possible. There will be no escape for
• 4:49:10
  me now, he said, for these be the Warhoon of the south.
• 4:49:12
  When they have seen my meddle, it will be to the death. Then
• 4:49:17
  he stepped out to meet them, Ah, my prince. Such fighting for
• 4:49:21
  an hour, they had swarmed about him until the warhoon dead formed a hill
• 4:49:25
  where he had stood. But at last they overwhelmed him, those behind,
• 4:49:29
  pushing the foremost upon him until there remained no space to swing his great sword.
• 4:49:33
  Then he stumbled and went down, and they rolled over him like a
• 4:49:37
  huge wave. When they carried him away toward the heart of the city,
• 4:49:40
  he was dead, I think, for I did not see him move.
• 4:49:44
  Before we go farther, we must be sure, I said, I cannot
• 4:49:47
  leave tars Tarkas alive among the Warhoons. To night. I shall enter the
• 4:49:51
  city and make sure, and I shall go with you, spoke Carthoris,
• 4:49:55
  and I said, Exodar, neither one of you shall go. I replied.
• 4:49:59
  It is work that requires stealth and strategy, not force. One man
• 4:50:03
  alone may succeed where more would invite disaster. I shall go alone. If
• 4:50:07
  I need your help, I will return for you. They did not like
• 4:50:11
  it, but both were good soldiers, and it had been agreed that I
• 4:50:15
  should command. The sun already was low, so that I did not have
• 4:50:18
  long to wait before the sudden darkness of Barsoom engulfed us. With a parting
• 4:50:22
  word of instructions to Carthoris and Exodar in case I should not return. I
• 4:50:26
  bade them all farewell, and set forth at a rapid dog trot toward the
• 4:50:30
  city. As I emerged from the hills, the nearer moon was winging its
• 4:50:34
  wild flight through the heavens, its bright beams turning to burnished silver, the
• 4:50:37
  barbaric splendor of the ancient metropolis. The city had been built upon the gently
• 4:50:42
  rolling foothills that in the dim and distant past had sloped down to meet the
• 4:50:47
  sea. It was due to this fact that I had no difficulty in entering
• 4:50:51
  the streets unobserved. The green hordes that used these deserted cities seldom occupy more
• 4:50:56
  than a few squares about the central plaza, and as they come and go,
• 4:51:00
  always across the dead sea bottoms that the city's face. It is usually
• 4:51:04
  a matter of comparative ease to enter from the hillside. Once within the streets,
• 4:51:08
  I kept close in the dense shadows of the walls. At intersections,
• 4:51:12
  I halted a moment to make sure that none was in sight, before I
• 4:51:15
  sprang quickly to the shadows of the opposite side. Thus I made the journey
• 4:51:19
  to the vicinity of the plaza without detection. As I approached the purluce of
• 4:51:23
  the inhabited portion of the city, I was made aware of the proximity of
• 4:51:27
  the warrior's quarters by the squealing and grunting of the thorts and the zitidars corralled
• 4:51:33
  within the hollow courtyards formed by the buildings surrounding each square. These old,
• 4:51:37
  familiar sounds that are so distinctive of green Martian life, sent a thrill of
• 4:51:41
  pleasure surging through me. It was as one might feel on coming home after
• 4:51:47
  a long absence. It was amid such sounds that I had first quartered the
• 4:51:51
  incomparable dejah Thoris in the age old marble halls of the dead city of Korad.
• 4:51:56
  As I stood in the shadows at the far corner of the first square,
• 4:51:57
  which housed members of the I saw warriors emerging from several of the buildings.
• 4:52:03
  They all went in the same direction toward a great building which stood in
• 4:52:07
  the center of the plaza. My knowledge of Green Martian customs convinced me that
• 4:52:11
  this was either the quarters of the principal chieftain or contain the audience chamber,
• 4:52:15
  wherein the Jeddak met his jeds in lesser chieftains. In either event, it
• 4:52:19
  was evident that something was afoot, which might have a bearing on the recent
• 4:52:22
  capture of tars Tarkas. To reach this building, which I now felt an
• 4:52:27
  imperative that I do, I must needs traverse the entire length of one square
• 4:52:32
  and cross a broad avenue and a portion of the plaza. From the noises
• 4:52:36
  of the animals which came from every courtyard about me, I knew that there
• 4:52:40
  were many people in the surrounding buildings, probably several communities of the Great Hoard
• 4:52:44
  of the Warhoons of the South. To pass undetected among all these people was
• 4:52:48
  in itself a difficult task, But if I was to find and rescue the
• 4:52:52
  great Thark, I must expect even more formidable obstacles before success could be mine.
• 4:52:57
  I had entered the city from the south, and now stood on the
• 4:53:00
  corner of the avenue through which I had passed, and the first intersecting avenue
• 4:53:04
  south of the plaza. The buildings upon the south side of this square did
• 4:53:08
  not appear to be inhabited, as I could see no lights, and so
• 4:53:11
  I decided to gain the inner courtyard through one of them. Nothing occurred to
• 4:53:15
  interrupt my progress to the deserted pile I chose, and I came into the
• 4:53:19
  inner court close to the rear walls of the east buildings without detection. Within
• 4:53:23
  the court, a great herd of thwarts and zitidars moved restlessly about cropping the
• 4:53:29
  mosslike ochre vegetation which overgrows practically the entire uncultivated area of Mars. What breeze
• 4:53:34
  there was came from the northwest, so there was little danger that the beasts
• 4:53:38
  would scent me had they, their squealing and grunting would have grown to such
• 4:53:42
  a volume as to track the attention of the warriors within the buildings. Close
• 4:53:47
  to the east wall, beneath the overhanging balconies of the second floors, I
• 4:53:51
  crept in dense shadows the full length of the courtyard until I came to the
• 4:53:55
  buildings on the north end. These were lighted for about three floors up,
• 4:54:00
  but above the third floor all was dark. To pass through the lighted rooms
• 4:54:03
  was, of course out of the question, since they swarmed with green Martian
• 4:54:07
  men and women. My only path lay through the upper floors, and to
• 4:54:11
  gain these it was necessary to scale the face of the wall. The reaching
• 4:54:15
  of the balcony of the second floor was a matter of easy accomplishment, and
• 4:54:19
  agile leap gave my hands a grasp upon the stone hand rail above. In
• 4:54:23
  another instant, I had drawn myself upon the balcony. Here, through the
• 4:54:26
  open windows, I saw the green folks squatting upon their sleeping silks and furs,
• 4:54:32
  grunting an occasional monosyllable, which, in connection with their wondrous telepathic powers,
• 4:54:37
  is ample for their conversational requirements. As I drew closer to listen to
• 4:54:41
  their words, a warrior entered the room from the hall beyond. Come Tangama,
• 4:54:45
  He cried, we are to take the thark before cab Kadja. Bring
• 4:54:49
  another with you. The warrior, dressed a rose and beckoning a fellow squatting
• 4:54:53
  near the three, turned and left the apartment. If I could but follow
• 4:54:57
  them, the chance might come to free tar Tarkas at once. At least
• 4:55:00
  I would learn the location of his prison. At my right was a door
• 4:55:04
  leading from the balcony into the building. It was at the end of an
• 4:55:07
  unlighted hall, and on the impulse of the moment I stepped within. The
• 4:55:12
  hall was broad and led straight through to the front of the building. On
• 4:55:15
  either side were the doorways of the various apartments which lined it. I had
• 4:55:19
  no more than entered the corridor than I saw the three warriors at the other
• 4:55:23
  end, those whom I had just seen leaving the apartment. Then he turned
• 4:55:27
  to the right took them from my sight again. Quickly I hastened along the
• 4:55:30
  hallway in pursuit. My gait was reckless, but I felt that fate had
• 4:55:36
  been kind indeed, to throw such an opportunity within my grasp, and I
• 4:55:38
  could not afford to allow it to elude me. Now, at the far
• 4:55:42
  end of the corridor, I found a spiral stairway leading to the floors above
• 4:55:45
  and below. The three had evidently left the floor by this avenue. That
• 4:55:51
  they had gone down and not up, I was sure, for my knowledge
• 4:55:53
  of these ancient buildings and the methods of the Warhoons. I myself had once
• 4:55:57
  been a prisoner of the cruel hordes of Northern Warhoon, and the memory of
• 4:56:02
  the underground dungeon in which I lay still as vivid in my memory. And
• 4:56:06
  so I felt certain that tars Tarkas lay in the dark pits beneath some nearby
• 4:56:08
  building, and that in that direction I should find the trail of the three
• 4:56:12
  warriors leading to his cell. Nor was I wrong. At the bottom of
• 4:56:17
  the runway, or rather at the landing on the floor below, I saw
• 4:56:21
  that the shaft ascended into the pits beneath, and as I glanced down,
• 4:56:25
  the flickering light of a torch revealed the presence of the three I was trailing
• 4:56:29
  down. They went toward the pits beneath the structure, and at a safe
• 4:56:33
  distance behind, I followed the flicker of their torch. The way led through
• 4:56:36
  a maze of tortuous corridors, unlighted save for the wavering light they carried.
• 4:56:41
  We had gone perhaps a hundred yards when the party turned abruptly through a doorway
• 4:56:45
  at their right. I hastened on as rapidly as I dared through the darkness,
• 4:56:48
  until I reached the point at which they had left the corridor. There,
• 4:56:52
  through an open door, I saw them removing the chains that secured the
• 4:56:56
  great thark tars Tarkas to the wall, hustling him roughly between them. They
• 4:57:00
  came immediately from the chamber, so quickly, in fact, that I was
• 4:57:03
  near to being apprehended. But I managed to run along the corridor in the
• 4:57:07
  direction I had been going in my pursuit of them, far enough to be
• 4:57:11
  without the radius of their meager light. As they emerged from the cell,
• 4:57:15
  I had naturally assumed that they would return with tars Tarkas the same way that
• 4:57:18
  they had come, which would have carried them away from me. But to
• 4:57:22
  my chagrin, they wheeled directly in my direction as they left the room.
• 4:57:26
  There was nothing for me but to hasten on in advance and keep out of
• 4:57:30
  the light of their torch. I dared not attempt to halt in the darkness
• 4:57:33
  of any of the many intersecting corridors, for I knew nothing of the direction
• 4:57:37
  they might take. Chance was as likely as not to carry me into the
• 4:57:41
  very corridor they might choose to enter. The sensation of moving rapidly through these
• 4:57:47
  dark passages was far from reassuring. I knew not at what moment I might
• 4:57:51
  plunge headlong into some terrible pit, or meet with some of the ghoulish creatures
• 4:57:55
  that inhabit these lower worlds beneath the dead cities of Dying Mars. There filtered
• 4:58:00
  to me a faint radiance from the torch of the men behind, just enough
• 4:58:03
  to permit me to trace the direction of the winding passageways directly before me,
• 4:58:07
  and so keep me from dashing myself against the walls at the turns. Presently
• 4:58:12
  I came to a place where five corridors diverged from a common point. I
• 4:58:17
  had hastened along one of them for some little distance, when suddenly the faint
• 4:58:21
  light of the torch disappeared from behind me. I paused to listen for sounds
• 4:58:25
  of the party behind me, but the silence was as utter as the silence
• 4:58:29
  of the tomb. Quickly I realized that the warriors had taken one of the
• 4:58:32
  other corridors with their prisoner, and so I hastened back, with a feeling
• 4:58:36
  of considerable relief, to take up a much safer and more desirable position behind
• 4:58:41
  them. It was much slower work returning, however, than it had been
• 4:58:44
  coming. For now the darkness was as utter as the silence. It was
• 4:58:48
  necessary to feel every foot of the way back with my hand against the side
• 4:58:52
  wall, that I might not pass the spot where the five roads radiated.
• 4:58:56
  After what seemed an eternity to me, I reached the place and wreckedgnized it
• 4:59:00
  by groping across the entrances to the several corridors, until I had counted five
• 4:59:03
  of them in Not one, however, showed the faintest sign of light.
• 4:59:08
  I listened intently, but the naked feet of the green men sent back no
• 4:59:12
  guiding echoes, though presently I thought I detected the clank of side arms in
• 4:59:17
  the far distance of the middle corridor. Up this then I hastened, searching
• 4:59:21
  for the light and stopping to listen occasionally for a repetition of the sound.
• 4:59:25
  But soon I was forced to admit that I must have been following a blind
• 4:59:29
  lead, as only darkness and silence rewarded my efforts. Again, I retraced
• 4:59:33
  my steps toward the parting of the ways, when to my surprise I came
• 4:59:37
  upon the entrance to three diverging corridors, any one of which I might have
• 4:59:41
  traversed in my hasty dash after the false clue I had been following. Here
• 4:59:47
  was a pretty fix. Indeed, once back at the point where the five
• 4:59:49
  passageways met, I might wait with some assurance for the return of the warriors
• 4:59:53
  with Tars Tarkas. My knowledge of their customs lent color to the belief that
• 4:59:59
  he was but being escorted to the audience chamber to have sentence passed upon him.
• 5:00:03
  I had not the slightest doubt but that they would preserve so doughty a
• 5:00:07
  warrior as the great Thark, for the rare sport he would furnish at the
• 5:00:11
  great Games. But unless I could find my way back to that point,
• 5:00:14
  the chances were most excellent that I would wander for days through the awful blackness,
• 5:00:18
  until overcome by thirst and hunger, I lay down to die. Or
• 5:00:22
  what was that? A faint shuffling sounded behind me, and as I cast
• 5:00:27
  a hasty glance over my shoulder, my blood froze in my veins. For
• 5:00:30
  the thing I saw there. It was not so much fear of the present
• 5:00:34
  danger as it was the horrifying memories it recalled of that time I near went
• 5:00:38
  mad over the corpse of the man I had killed in the dungeons of the
• 5:00:41
  Warhoons, when blazing eyes came out of the dark recesses and dragged the thing
• 5:00:45
  that had been a man from my clutches, and I heard it scraping over
• 5:00:49
  the stone of my prison as they bored away to their terrible feast. And
• 5:00:53
  now in these black pits of the other Warhoons, I looked into those same
• 5:00:57
  fiery eyes blazing me through the terrible darkness, revealing no sign of the beast
• 5:01:03
  behind them. I think that the most fearsome attribute of these awesome creatures is
• 5:01:07
  their silence, and the fact that one never sees them nothing but those baleful
• 5:01:11
  eyes glaring unblinkingly out of the dark void behind. Grasping my long sword tightly
• 5:01:17
  in my hand, I backed slowly along the corridor away from the thing that
• 5:01:21
  watched me. But ever as I retreated, the eyes advanced. Nor was
• 5:01:25
  there any sound, not even the sound of breathing, except the occasional shuffling
• 5:01:29
  sound as of the dragging of a dead limb that had first attracted my attention.
• 5:01:33
  On and on I went, but I could not escape my sinister pursuer.
• 5:01:37
  Suddenly I heard the shuffling noise at my right, and looking saw another
• 5:01:41
  pair of eyes, evidently approaching from an intersecting corridor. As I started to
• 5:01:47
  renew my slow retreat, I heard the noise repeated behind me, and then
• 5:01:51
  before I could turn, I heard it again at my left. The things
• 5:01:53
  were all about me. They had me surrounded at the intersection of two corridors.
• 5:01:59
  Retreat was off in all directions unless I chose to charge one of the
• 5:02:02
  beasts. Even then, I had no doubt but that the others would hurl
• 5:02:06
  themselves upon my back. I could not even guess the size or nature the
• 5:02:08
  weird creatures. That they were of goodly proportions. I guess from the fact
• 5:02:14
  that the eyes were on a level with my own. Why is it that
• 5:02:17
  darkness so magnifies our dangers? By day? I would have charged the great
• 5:02:21
  banth itself, had I thought it necessary. But hemmed in by darkness of
• 5:02:25
  these silent pits, I hesitated before a pair of eyes. Soon I saw
• 5:02:29
  that the matter shortly would be taken entirely from my hands, for the eyes
• 5:02:33
  at my right were moving slowly nearer me, as were those at my left,
• 5:02:36
  and those behind and before me. Gradually they were closing in upon me,
• 5:02:41
  but still that awful, stealthy silence. For what seemed hours, the
• 5:02:45
  eyes approached gradually closer and closer, until I felt that I should go mad
• 5:02:48
  for the horror of it. I had been constantly turning this way and that
• 5:02:52
  to prevent any sudden rush from behind, until I was fairly worn out at
• 5:02:57
  length. I could endure it no longer, and taking a fresh grasp upon
• 5:03:00
  my long sword, I turned suddenly and charged down upon one of my tormentors.
• 5:03:06
  As I was almost upon it, the thing retreated before me, but
• 5:03:08
  a sound from behind caused me to wheel in time to see three pairs of
• 5:03:11
  eyes rushing at me from the rear. With a cry of rage, I
• 5:03:15
  turned to meet the cowardly beasts, but as I advanced, they retreated,
• 5:03:18
  as had their fellow. Another glance over my shoulder discovered the first eye sneaking
• 5:03:22
  on me again, and again I charged, only to see the eyes retreat
• 5:03:26
  before me and hear the muffled rush of the three at my back. Thus
• 5:03:30
  we continued, the eyes always a little closer in the end than they had
• 5:03:33
  been before, until I thought that I should go mad with the terrible strain
• 5:03:37
  of The ordeal that they were waiting to spring upon my back seemed evident,
• 5:03:41
  and that it would not be long before they succeeded was equally apparent, for
• 5:03:47
  I could not endure the wear of this repeated charge and counter charge indefinitely.
• 5:03:51
  In fact, I could feel myself weakening from the mental and physical strain I
• 5:03:55
  had been undergoing. At that moment, I caught another glimpse from the corner
• 5:03:59
  of my eye of the single pair of eyes at my back, making a
• 5:04:02
  sudden rush upon me. I turned to meet the charge. There was a
• 5:04:06
  quick rush of the three from the other direction, but I determined to pursue
• 5:04:10
  the single pair until I should at least settle my account with one of the
• 5:04:12
  beasts and thus be relieved of the strain of meeting attacks from both directions.
• 5:04:18
  There was no sound in the corridor, only that of my own breathing.
• 5:04:22
  Yet I knew that those three uncanny creatures were almost upon me. The eyes
• 5:04:26
  in front were not retreating so rapidly. Now I was almost within sword reach
• 5:04:30
  of them. I raised my sword arm to deal the blow that should free
• 5:04:33
  me, and then I felt a heavy body upon my back, A cold,
• 5:04:37
  moist, slimy something fastened itself upon my throat. I stumbled and went
• 5:04:41
  down end of Chapter fourteen, Chapter fifteen, Flight and Pursuit. I could
• 5:04:48
  not have been unconscious more than a few seconds, and yet I know that
• 5:04:52
  I was unconscious. For the next thing I realized was that a growing radiance
• 5:04:56
  was illuminating the corridor about me, and the eyes were gone. I was
• 5:05:00
  unharmed, except for a slight bruise upon my forehead where it had struck the
• 5:05:06
  stone flagging as I fell, I sprang to my feet to ascertain the cause
• 5:05:10
  of the light. It came from a torch in the hand of one of
• 5:05:12
  a party of four Green warriors who were coming rapidly down the corridor toward me.
• 5:05:18
  They had not yet seen me, and so I lost no time in
• 5:05:21
  slipping into the first intersecting corridor that I could find. This time, however,
• 5:05:26
  I did not advance so far away from the main corridor as on the
• 5:05:29
  other occasion that had resulted in my losing tars Tarkas and his guards. The
• 5:05:33
  party came rapidly toward the opening of the passageway in which I crouched against the
• 5:05:37
  wall. As they passed by, I breathed a sigh of relief I had
• 5:05:41
  not been discovered. And best of all, the party was the same that
• 5:05:45
  I had followed into the pits. It consisted of Tars Tarkas and his three
• 5:05:49
  guards. I fell in behind them, and soon we were at the cell
• 5:05:52
  in which the great Thark had been chained. Two of the warriors remained without,
• 5:05:56
  while the man with the keys entered with the Thark to fasten his irons
• 5:06:00
  upon him once more. The two outside started to stroll slowly in the direction
• 5:06:04
  of the spiral runway which led to the floors above, and in a moment
• 5:06:08
  were lost to view beyond a turn in the corridor. The torch had been
• 5:06:12
  stuck in a socket beside the door, so that its rays illuminated both the
• 5:06:17
  corridor and the cell. At the same time as I saw the two warriors
• 5:06:21
  disappear, I approached the entrance to the cell with a well defined plan already
• 5:06:25
  formulated. While I disliked the thought of carrying out the thing that I had
• 5:06:29
  decided upon, there seemed no alternative if Tars Tarkas and I were to go
• 5:06:33
  back together to my little camp in the hills. Keeping near the wall,
• 5:06:37
  I came quite close to the door to Tars Tarkas's cell, and there I
• 5:06:41
  stood with my long sword above my head, grasped with both hands, that
• 5:06:45
  I might bring it down in one quick cut upon the skull of the jailer,
• 5:06:48
  as he had merged. I disliked to dwell upon what followed after I
• 5:06:52
  heard the footsteps of the man as he approached the doorway. It is enough
• 5:06:56
  that within another minute or two, Tars Tarkas, where aring the metal of
• 5:07:00
  a warhoon chief was hurrying down the corridor toward the spiral runway, bearing the
• 5:07:04
  warhoon's torch to light his way. A dozen paces behind him followed John Carter,
• 5:07:10
  Prince of Helium. The two companions of the man who lay now beside
• 5:07:14
  the door of the cell that had been Tars Tarkas's had just started to ascend
• 5:07:18
  the runway as the Thark came in view. Why so long, Tangama cried
• 5:07:22
  one of the men I had trouble with a lock, replied Tars Tarkas.
• 5:07:26
  And now I find that I have left my short sword in the Thark's cell.
• 5:07:30
  Go you on, I'll return and fetch it as you will. Tangama
• 5:07:33
  replied he who had before spoken, we shall see you above directly, Yes,
• 5:07:40
  replied tars Tarkas, and turned as though to retrace his steps to the
• 5:07:44
  cell. But he only waited until the two had disappeared at the floor above.
• 5:07:48
  Then I joined him. We extinguished the torch, and together we crept
• 5:07:51
  toward the spiral incline that led to the upper floors of the building. At
• 5:07:56
  the first floor, we found that the hallway ran but half way through,
• 5:07:59
  necessitating the crossing of a rear room full of green folk. Ere we could
• 5:08:03
  reach the inner courtyard. So there was but one thing left for us to
• 5:08:07
  do, and that was to gain the second floor and the hallway through which
• 5:08:11
  I had traversed the length of the building. Cautiously we ascended. We could
• 5:08:15
  hear the sounds of conversation coming from the room above, but the hall still
• 5:08:18
  was unlited, nor was any one in sight. As we gained the top
• 5:08:22
  of the runway, together we threaded the long hall and reached the balcony overlooking
• 5:08:26
  the courtyard without being detected. At our right was the window letting into the
• 5:08:32
  room in which I had seen Tangama and the other warriors as they started to
• 5:08:36
  tars Tarkas's cell earlier in the evening. His companions had returned here, and
• 5:08:41
  we now overheard a portion of their conversation. What can be detaining? Tan
• 5:08:45
  Gama asked one. He certainly could not be all this time, Fetching his
• 5:08:48
  short sword from the thark's cell, spoke another his short sword, asked a
• 5:08:53
  woman, what mean you? Tan Gama left his short sword in the thark
• 5:08:57
  cell, explained the first speaker, and left us at the runway to return
• 5:09:02
  and get it. Tiang Gama wore no short sword this night, said the
• 5:09:06
  woman. It was broken in to day's battle with the Thark, and tian
• 5:09:10
  Gam gave it to me to repair. See, I have it here,
• 5:09:14
  And as she spoke, she drew tangama short sword from beneath her sleeping silks
• 5:09:18
  and furs. The warriors sprang to their feet. There's something amiss here,
• 5:09:22
  cried one. Tis even what I myself thought when Tangama left us at the
• 5:09:27
  runway, said another. Methought then that his voice sounded strangely. Come let
• 5:09:33
  us hasten to the pits. We waited to hear no more. Slinging my
• 5:09:37
  harness into a long single strap, I lowered tars Tarkas to the courtyard beneath
• 5:09:41
  and an instant later dropped to his side. We had spoken scarcely a dozen
• 5:09:45
  words since I had felled Tangama at the cell door and seen in the torch's
• 5:09:49
  light the expression of utter bewilderment upon the great Thark's face. By this time
• 5:09:55
  he had said, I should have learned to wonder at nothing, which John
• 5:09:57
  Carter accomplishes. That was all. He did not need to tell me that
• 5:10:02
  he appreciated the friendship which had prompted me to risk my life to rescue him,
• 5:10:06
  Nor did he need to say that he was glad to see me.
• 5:10:10
  This fierce green warrior had been the first to greet me that day, now
• 5:10:12
  twenty years gone, which had witnessed my first advent upon Mars. He had
• 5:10:18
  met me with leveled spear and cruel hatred in his heart as he charged down
• 5:10:22
  upon me, bending low at the side of his mighty thort. As I
• 5:10:25
  stood beside the incubator of his hoard upon the dead sea bottom beyond Korab,
• 5:10:30
  and now among the inhabitants of two worlds, I counted none a better friend
• 5:10:33
  than tars Tarkas Jeddak of Tharks. As we reached the courtyard, we stood
• 5:10:38
  in the shadows beneath the balcony for a moment to discuss our plans. There
• 5:10:42
  be five now in the party, tars Tarkas, I said, thuvia exodar
• 5:10:48
  Carthoris and ourselves. We shall need five thwarts to bear us. Carthoris,
• 5:10:52
  he cried, your son, Yes, I found him in the prison of
• 5:10:56
  Shador, on the sea of Omean, in the land of the Firstborn.
• 5:11:00
  I know not any of these places, John Carter. Be they upon Barsoom
• 5:11:04
  upon and below, my friend, But wait until we shall have made good
• 5:11:07
  our escape, and you shall hear the strangest narrative that ever a Barsoomium of
• 5:11:12
  the outer world gave ear to. Now we must steal our thwarts and be
• 5:11:15
  well away to the north, before these fellows discover how we have tricked them.
• 5:11:21
  In safety, we reached the great gates at the far end of the
• 5:11:22
  courtyard, through which it was necessary to take our thoughts to the avenue beyond.
• 5:11:27
  It is no easy matter to handle five of these great, fierce beasts,
• 5:11:32
  which by nature are as wild and ferocious as their masters, and held
• 5:11:36
  in subjection by cruelty and brute force alone. As we approached them, they
• 5:11:41
  sniffed our unfamiliar scent, and with squeals of rage, circled about us,
• 5:11:45
  their long, massive necks upreared, raised their great gaping mouse high above our
• 5:11:48
  heads. They are fearsome, appearing brutes at best, but when they are
• 5:11:52
  aroused, they are fully as dangerous as they look. The thoat stands a
• 5:11:56
  good ten feet at the shoulder, his high, his sleek and hairless,
• 5:12:00
  and of a dark slate color on back and sides, shading down his eight
• 5:12:04
  legs to a vivid yellow at the huge padded nailss feet. The belly is
• 5:12:10
  pure white. A broad flat tail, larger at the tip than at the
• 5:12:14
  root, completes the picture of this ferocious green martian mount, a fit war
• 5:12:18
  steed for these warlike people. As the thwarts are guided by telepathic means alone,
• 5:12:23
  there is no need for rein or bridle, and so our object now
• 5:12:26
  was to find two that would obey our unspoken commands as they charged about us.
• 5:12:32
  We succeeded in mastering them sufficiently to prevent any concerted attack upon us,
• 5:12:37
  but the din of their squeaming was certain to bring investigating warriors into the courtyard
• 5:12:41
  were it to continue much longer. At length, I was successful in reaching
• 5:12:45
  the side of one great brute, and ere he knew what I was about.
• 5:12:48
  I was firmly seated astride his glossy back. A moment later tars Tarkas
• 5:12:53
  had caught and mounted another than Between us, we herded three or four more
• 5:12:57
  toward the great gates. Tars Tarkas rode ahead, and leaning down to the
• 5:13:02
  latch through the barriers open, while I held the loose thoats from breaking back
• 5:13:06
  to the herd. Then together we rode through the avenues with our stolen mounts,
• 5:13:11
  and without waiting to close the gates, hurried off toward the southern boundary
• 5:13:14
  of the city. Thus far our escape had been little short of marvelous.
• 5:13:18
  Nor did our good fortune desert us, for we passed the outer purlus of
• 5:13:22
  the Dead City and came to our camp without hearing even the faintest sound of
• 5:13:26
  pursuit. Here a low whistle the prearranged signal appraised the balance of our party
• 5:13:32
  that I was returning, and we were met by the three with every manifestation
• 5:13:36
  of enthusiastic rejoicing. But little time was wasted in narration of our adventure.
• 5:13:41
  Tars Tarkas and Carthoris exchanged the dignified and formal greetings common upon barsoom, but
• 5:13:47
  I could tell intuitively that Thark loved my boy, and that Carthoris reciprocated his
• 5:13:52
  affection. Exodar and the green Jeddak were formally presented to each other. Then
• 5:13:57
  Thuvia was lifted to the the least fracturous thorpe. Exodar and Carthoris mounted two
• 5:14:03
  others, and we set out at a rapid pace toward the east. At
• 5:14:07
  the far extremity of the city, we circled toward the north, and under
• 5:14:10
  the glorious rays of the two moons, we sped noiselessly across the dead sea
• 5:14:14
  bottom, away from the morehoons and the first born. But to what new
• 5:14:18
  dangers and adventures we knew not Toward noon of the following day we halted to
• 5:14:22
  rest our mounts and ourselves. The beasts were hobbled that they might move slowly
• 5:14:26
  about cropping the orchre mosslike vegetation, which constitutes both food and drink for them.
• 5:14:32
  On the march, Thuvia volunteered to remain on watch while the balance of
• 5:14:36
  the party slept. For an hour. It seemed to me that I had
• 5:14:38
  but closed my eyes when I felt her hand upon my shoulder and heard her
• 5:14:42
  soft voice warning me of a new danger. Horise, our prince, she
• 5:14:47
  whispered, there be that behind us, which has the appearance of a great
• 5:14:51
  body of pursuers. The girl stood pointing in the direction from whence we had
• 5:14:55
  come, And as I arose and looked, I too thought that I could
• 5:14:59
  detect a thin dark line on the far horizon. I awoke the others.
• 5:15:03
  Tars Tarkas, whose giant stature towered high above the rest of us, could
• 5:15:07
  see the farthest It is a great body of mounted men, he said,
• 5:15:11
  and they are traveling at high speed. There was no time to be lost.
• 5:15:15
  We sprang to our hobbled thoats, freed them, and mounted. Then
• 5:15:18
  we turned our faces once more toward the north and took our flight again at
• 5:15:22
  the highest speed of our slowest beast. For the balance of the day and
• 5:15:26
  all the following night, we raced across the Ochreh wilderness, with the pursuers
• 5:15:30
  at our back, ever gaining upon us. Slowly, but surely, they
• 5:15:33
  were lessening the distance between us. Just before dark, they had been close
• 5:15:37
  enough for us to plainly distinguish that They were green Martians, and all during
• 5:15:41
  the long night we distinctly heard the clanking of their accouterments behind us. As
• 5:15:45
  the sun rose on the second day of our flight, it disclosed the pursuing
• 5:15:49
  horde not a half mile in our rear. As they saw us, a
• 5:15:53
  fiendish shout of triumph rose from their ranks. Several miles in advance lay a
• 5:15:57
  range of hills, the further shore of the dead Sea we had been crossing.
• 5:16:02
  Could we but reach these hills, our chances of escape would be greatly
• 5:16:06
  enhanced. But Thuvia's mount, although carrying the lightest burden, already was showing
• 5:16:11
  signs of exhaustion. I was riding beside her when suddenly her animals staggered and
• 5:16:15
  lurched against mine. I saw that he was going down, but ere he
• 5:16:19
  fell. I snatched the girl from his back and swung her to a place
• 5:16:22
  upon my own thoat behind me, where she clung with her arms about me.
• 5:16:26
  This double burden soon proved too much for my already overtaxed beasts, and
• 5:16:32
  thus our speed was terribly diminished, For the others would proceed no faster than
• 5:16:36
  the slowest of us could go. In that little party, there was not
• 5:16:40
  one who would desert another. Yet we were of different countries, different colors,
• 5:16:44
  different races, different religions, and one of us was of a different
• 5:16:48
  world. We were quite close to the hills, but the warhounds were gaining
• 5:16:52
  so rapidly that we had given up all hope of reaching them in time.
• 5:16:56
  Thuvia and I were in the rear, for our beast was lagging more and
• 5:17:00
  more. Suddenly I felt the girl's warm lips press a kiss upon my shoulder.
• 5:17:04
  For thy sake, O, my prince, she murmured. Then her
• 5:17:07
  arms slipped from about my waist, and she was gone. I turned and
• 5:17:11
  saw that she had deliberately slipped to the ground in the very path of the
• 5:17:15
  cruel demons who pursued us, thinking that by lightning the burden of my mount
• 5:17:18
  it might thus be enabled to bear me to the safety of the hills.
• 5:17:22
  Poor child, she should have known John Carter better than that. Turning my
• 5:17:26
  thoat, I urged him after her, hoping to reach her side and bear
• 5:17:30
  her on again in our hopeless flight. Carthoris must have glanced behind him at
• 5:17:36
  about the same time and taken in the situation, for by the time I
• 5:17:40
  had reached Thuvia's side, he was there also, and springing from his mount,
• 5:17:44
  he threw her upon its back, and, turning the animal's head towards
• 5:17:47
  the hills, gave the beast a sharp crack across the rump with the flat
• 5:17:51
  of his sword. Then he attempted to do the same with mine. The
• 5:17:55
  brave boy's act of chivalrous self sacrifice filled me with pride, Nor did I
• 5:17:59
  care that it had wrested from us our last frail chance for escape. The
• 5:18:03
  warhoons were now close upon us. Tars, Tarkas, and Exodar had discovered
• 5:18:07
  our absence and were charging rapidly to our support. Everything pointed toward a splendid
• 5:18:14
  ending of my second journey to Barsoom. I hated to go out without having
• 5:18:18
  seen my divine princess, and held her in my arms once again. But
• 5:18:22
  if it were not writ upon the Book of Fate that such was to be,
• 5:18:26
  then would I take the most that was coming to me? And in
• 5:18:29
  these last few moments that were to be vouchsaved me. Before I passed over
• 5:18:32
  into that unguessed future, I could at least give such an account of myself
• 5:18:37
  in my chosen vocation as would leave the warhoons of the South food for discourse
• 5:18:41
  for the next twenty generations. As Carthoris was not mounted, I slipped from
• 5:18:45
  the back of my own mount and took my place at his side to meet
• 5:18:48
  the charge of the howling devils bearing down upon us. A moment later,
• 5:18:52
  Tars, Tarkas, and Exodar ranged themselves on either hand, turning their thoats
• 5:18:56
  loose, that we might all be on equal footing. The war hoons were
• 5:19:00
  perhaps a hundred yards from us when a loud explosion sounded from above and behind
• 5:19:04
  us, and almost at the same instant, a shell burst in their advancing
• 5:19:08
  ranks. At once all was confusion. A hundred warriors toppled to the ground,
• 5:19:14
  riderless thoats plunged hither and thither among the dead and dying. Dismounted warriors
• 5:19:18
  were trampled under foot in the stampede which followed. All semblance of order had
• 5:19:23
  left the ranks of the green Men, and as they looked far above our
• 5:19:26
  heads to trace the origin of this unexpected attack, disorder turned to retreat,
• 5:19:32
  and retreat to a wild panic. In another moment, they were racing as
• 5:19:36
  madly away from us as they had before been charging down upon us. We
• 5:19:41
  turned to look in the direction from whence the first report had come, and
• 5:19:44
  there we saw, just clearing the tops of the nearer hills, a great
• 5:19:48
  battleship swinging majestically through the air. Her bow gun spoke again even as we
• 5:19:52
  looked, and another shell burst among the fleeing warhoons. As she drew nearer,
• 5:19:56
  I could not repress a wild cry of e for upon her bows I
• 5:20:00
  saw the device of helium. End of Chapter fifteen, Chapter sixteen. Under
• 5:20:08
  arrest, as Carthoris exodarm Tars, Tarkas and I stood gazing at the magnificent
• 5:20:15
  vessel which meant so much to all of us. We saw second, and
• 5:20:18
  then a third topped the summit of the hills and glide gracefully after their sister.
• 5:20:22
  Now a score of one man air scouts were launching from the upper decks
• 5:20:26
  of the nearer vessel, and in a moment more were speeding in long swift
• 5:20:30
  dives to the ground about us. In another instant, we were surrounded by
• 5:20:33
  armed sailors, and an officer had stepped forward to address us when his eyes
• 5:20:37
  fell upon Carthoris, with an exclamation of surprised pleasure. He sprang forward,
• 5:20:44
  and, placing his hands upon the boy's shoulder, called him by name,
• 5:20:48
  Carthoris, My prince, he cried, kawor kaowor hor Vastus greets, the
• 5:20:52
  son of dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, and of her husband John Carter.
• 5:20:56
  Where have you been, o, my prince? All Helium has plunged
• 5:21:00
  in sorrow? Terrible have been the calamities that have befallen your great Grandsire's mighty
• 5:21:06
  nation since the fatal day that saw you leave our midst Grieve not, my
• 5:21:10
  good hor Vastus, cried Carthoris, since I bring not back myself alone to
• 5:21:15
  cheer my mother's heart and the hearts of my beloved people, but also one
• 5:21:18
  whom all Barsoom loved best, her greatest warrior and her savior, John Carter,
• 5:21:23
  Prince of Helium. Hor Vastus turned in the direction indicated by Carthoris,
• 5:21:29
  and as his eyes fell upon me, he was like to have collapsed from
• 5:21:32
  sheer surprise, John Carter, he exclaimed, And then a sudden, troubled
• 5:21:36
  look came into his eyes. My prince, he started, where hast thou?
• 5:21:40
  And then he stopped? But I knew the question that his lips dared
• 5:21:42
  not frame. The loyal fellow would not be the one to force from mine
• 5:21:47
  a confession of the terrible truth that I had returned from the bosom of the
• 5:21:51
  Ish, the river of Mystery, back from the shore of the lost Sea
• 5:21:53
  of Chorus and the valley door. Ah, my prince, he continued,
• 5:21:59
  as though no thought had interrupted his greeting, that you are back as sufficient,
• 5:22:03
  and let hor vastus sword have the high honor of being first at thy
• 5:22:07
  feet. With these words, the noble fellow unbuckled his scabbard and flung his
• 5:22:11
  sword upon the ground before me. Could you know the customs and the character
• 5:22:15
  of red Martians, you would appreciate the depth of meaning that that simple act
• 5:22:18
  conveyed to me and to all about us who witnessed it. The thing was
• 5:22:22
  equivalent to saying, my sword, my body, my life, my soul,
• 5:22:27
  are yours to do with as you wish until death and after death.
• 5:22:30
  I look to you alone for authority for my every act. Be you right
• 5:22:34
  or wrong, your words shall be my only truth. Whoso raises his hand
• 5:22:38
  against you must answer to my sword. It is the oath of fealty that
• 5:22:44
  men occasionally pay to a Jeddak whose high character and chivalrous acts have inspired the
• 5:22:48
  enthusiastic love of his followers. Never had I known this high tribute paid to
• 5:22:52
  a lesser mortal. There was but one response possible. I stooped and lifted
• 5:22:57
  the sword from the ground, raised the hilt to my lips, and then,
• 5:23:02
  stepping to whrce Vastus, I buckled the weapon upon him with my own
• 5:23:06
  hands. Hor Vastus, I said, placing my hand upon his shoulder.
• 5:23:10
  You know best the promptings of your own heart that I shall need your sword.
• 5:23:14
  I have little doubt, but except from John Carter, upon his sacred
• 5:23:18
  honor, the assurance that he will never call upon you to draw the sword
• 5:23:22
  other than in the cause of truth, justice and righteousness. That I knew,
• 5:23:26
  my prince, he replied, erever, I threw my beloved blade at
• 5:23:30
  thy feet. As we spoke, other fliers came and went between the ground
• 5:23:33
  and the battleship, And presently a larger boat was launched from above, one
• 5:23:38
  capable of carrying a dozen persons perhaps, and dropped lightly near us. As
• 5:23:44
  she touched. An officer sprang from her deck to the ground, and advancing
• 5:23:48
  to hor Vastis saluted. Kantos Kan desires that this party whom we have rescued
• 5:23:52
  be brought immediately to the deck of the Exavarian, he said. As we
• 5:23:56
  approached the little craft, I looked about for the members of my and for
• 5:24:00
  the first time noticed that Thuvia was not among them. Questioning elicited the fact
• 5:24:04
  that none had seen her since Carthoris had sent her thoat galloping madly toward the
• 5:24:10
  hills in the hope of carrying her out of harm's way. Immediately, hor
• 5:24:14
  Vassis dispatched a dozen air scouts in as many directions to search for her.
• 5:24:18
  It could not be possible that she had gone far since we had last seen
• 5:24:22
  her. We others stepped to the deck of the craft that had been sent
• 5:24:26
  to fetch us, and a moment later we were upon the Exavarian. The
• 5:24:30
  first man to greet me was kantos Kan himself. My old friend had won
• 5:24:34
  to the highest place in the navy of Helium, but he was still to
• 5:24:37
  me the same brave comrade who had shared with me the privations of a Warhoon
• 5:24:41
  Dungeon, the terrible atrocities of the Great Games, and later the dangers of
• 5:24:47
  our search for dejah Thoris within the hostile city of Zodanga. Then I had
• 5:24:52
  been an unknown wanderer upon a strange planet, and he a simple padwar in
• 5:24:56
  the navy of Helium. To day he commanded all Helium's great terrors of the
• 5:25:00
  skies, and I was a prince of the house of Tardos Mors Jeddak of
• 5:25:04
  Helium. He did not ask me where I had been. Like hor Vastus,
• 5:25:08
  he too dreaded the truth and would not be the one to rest a
• 5:25:11
  statement from me. That it must come some time he well knew. But
• 5:25:15
  until it came, he seemed satisfied to but know that I was with him
• 5:25:19
  once more. He greeted Carthoris and tars Tarkas with the keenest delight, But
• 5:25:25
  he asked neither where he had been. He could scarcely keep his hands off
• 5:25:27
  the boy. You do not know, John Carter, He said to me,
• 5:25:32
  how we of Helium love this son of yours. It is as though
• 5:25:34
  all the great love we bore his noble father and his poor mother had been
• 5:25:38
  centered in him. When it became known that he was lost, ten million
• 5:25:42
  people wept, What mean you, kantos kan I whispered by his poor mother,
• 5:25:48
  for the words had seemed to carry a sinister meaning which I could not
• 5:25:52
  fathom. He drew me to one side for a year, he said,
• 5:25:56
  Ever since Carthoris disappeared, dejah Thoris has grieved and mourned for her lost boy.
• 5:26:00
  The blow of years ago when you did not return from the atmosphere,
• 5:26:04
  plant was lessened to some extent by the duties of motherhood. For your son
• 5:26:08
  broke his white shell that very night. That she suffered terribly. Then all
• 5:26:12
  Helium knew, for did not all Helium suffer with her the loss of her
• 5:26:17
  lord? But with the boy gone, there was nothing left, And after
• 5:26:21
  expedition upon expedition returned with the same hopeless tale of no clue as to his
• 5:26:26
  whereabouts. Our beloved princess drooped lower and lower, until all who saw her
• 5:26:30
  felt that it could be but a matter of days ere she went to join
• 5:26:34
  her loved ones within the precincts of the valley door as a last resort.
• 5:26:38
  Moore's Kajak, her father, and Tardos More's her grandfather, took command of
• 5:26:42
  two mighty expeditions, and a month ago sailed away to explore every inch of
• 5:26:48
  ground in the northern hemisphere or Barsoom. For two weeks no word has come
• 5:26:52
  back from them, but rumors were rifted that they had met with a terrible
• 5:26:56
  disaster, and that all were dead. About this time that Taaras renewed his
• 5:27:00
  importunities for her hand in marriage. He has been forever after her since you
• 5:27:04
  disappeared. She hated him and feared him. But with both her father and
• 5:27:08
  grandfather gone, Zadarras was very powerful, for he is still jed of Zodanga,
• 5:27:15
  to which position you will remember, Tardos Mors appointed him after you had
• 5:27:18
  refused the honor. He had a secret audience with her six days ago.
• 5:27:23
  What took place none knows. But the next day dejah Thoris had disappeared,
• 5:27:27
  and with her had gone a dozen of her household guard and body servants,
• 5:27:32
  including Sola, the Green woman, tars Tarkas's daughter. You recall no word
• 5:27:37
  left they of their intentions. But it is always thus with those who go
• 5:27:41
  upon the voluntary pilgrimage, from which none returns. We cannot think aught than
• 5:27:45
  that dejah Thoris has sought the icy bosom of Issh, and that her devoted
• 5:27:49
  servants have chosen to accompany her. Zadarras was at Helium when she disappeared.
• 5:27:56
  He commands this fleet which has been searching for her since. No trace of
• 5:28:00
  her have we found, and I fear that it be a feudal quest.
• 5:28:03
  While we talked, hor Vastus's fliers were returning to the Exeverian. Not one,
• 5:28:08
  however, had discovered a trace of Thuvia. I was much depressed over
• 5:28:12
  the news of dejah Thoris's disappearance, and now there was added the further burden
• 5:28:18
  of apprehension concerning the fate of this girl, whom I believed to be the
• 5:28:22
  daughter of some proud Barsoomium house, and it had been my intention to make
• 5:28:26
  every effort to return her to her people. I was about to ask kantos
• 5:28:30
  Kan to prosecute a further search for her, when a flier from the flagship
• 5:28:33
  of the fleet arrived at the Exeverian with an officer bearing a message to kantos
• 5:28:37
  Kan from Ras. My friend read the despatch and then turned to me.
• 5:28:42
  Zatarras commands me to bring our prisoners before him. There is naught else to
• 5:28:47
  do. He is supreme in Helium. Yet it would be far more in
• 5:28:51
  keeping with chivalry and good taste. Were he to come hither and greet the
• 5:28:55
  savior of Barsoom with the honors that are his due. You know full well,
• 5:28:59
  my friend, I said, smiling, that Zadarras has good cause to
• 5:29:03
  hate me. Nothing would please him better than to humiliate me and then to
• 5:29:07
  kill me. Now that he has so excellent an excuse, let us go
• 5:29:11
  and see if he has the courage to take advantage of it. Summoning Carthoris,
• 5:29:15
  Tars, Tarkas, and Exodar, we entered the small flier with kantos
• 5:29:18
  Kan and zat Arras's officer, and in a moment we were stepping to the
• 5:29:22
  deck of Zadarras's flagship. As we approached the jed of Zodanga, no sign
• 5:29:27
  of greeting or recognition crossed his face. Not even to Carthoris did he vouchsafe
• 5:29:33
  a friendly word. His attitude was cold, haughty and uncompromising. Kaor zat
• 5:29:38
  Arras, I said in greeting, but he did not respond. Why were
• 5:29:41
  these prisoners not disarmed, he asked to kantos Kan. They are not prisoners,
• 5:29:45
  Zadars replied the officer. Two of them are of Helium's noblest family.
• 5:29:51
  Tars Tarkas Jeddak of thark is Tartos Moore's best beloved ally. The other is
• 5:29:56
  a friend and companion of the Prince of Helium. That is enough for me
• 5:30:00
  to know. It is not enough for me, however, retorted Zadars.
• 5:30:04
  More must I hear from those who have taken the pilgrimage than their names.
• 5:30:08
  Where have you been, John Carter, I have just come from the valley
• 5:30:12
  door and the land of the firstborn, zadars I replied, Ah, he
• 5:30:17
  exclaimed, in evident pleasure. You do not deny it, then you have
• 5:30:19
  returned from the bosom of Issh. I have come back from a land of
• 5:30:23
  false hope, from a valley of torture and death. With my companions,
• 5:30:29
  I have escaped from the hideous clutches of lying fiends. I have come back
• 5:30:33
  to the barsoom that I saved from a painless death, to again save her,
• 5:30:37
  but this time from death in its most frightful form. Cease blasphemer,
• 5:30:41
  cried zatars Hope, not to save thy cowardly carcass by inventing horrid lies to
• 5:30:47
  But he got no further One does not call John Carter coward and liar.
• 5:30:51
  Thus lightly, and Zatarras should have known it. Before a hand could be
• 5:30:56
  raised to stop me, I was at his side, and one hand grasped
• 5:30:59
  his Come I from heaven or hell, Zadars, you will find me still
• 5:31:03
  the same John Carter that I have always been. Nor did ever man call
• 5:31:07
  me such names and live without apologizing. And with that I commenced to bend
• 5:31:12
  him back across my knee and tighten my grip upon his throat. Seize him.
• 5:31:17
  Cried Stars, and a dozen offerers sprang forward to assist him. Kantos
• 5:31:22
  Kan came close and whispered to me, Desist, I beg of you.
• 5:31:26
  It will but involve us all, for I cannot see these men lay hands
• 5:31:30
  upon you without aiding you. My officers and men will join me, and
• 5:31:34
  we shall have a mutiny then that may lead to the revolution for the sake
• 5:31:38
  of Tardos, Mors and Helium. Desist. At his words, I released
• 5:31:42
  Zadarras, and, turning my back upon him, walked toward the ship's rail.
• 5:31:48
  Come kantos Kan, I said, the Prince of Helium would return to
• 5:31:52
  the Exalarian None interfered. Zadars stood white and trembling amidst his officers. Some
• 5:31:59
  there were who looked up upon him with scorn and drew toward me, while
• 5:32:02
  one, a man long in the service and confidence of Tardos Mors, spoke
• 5:32:06
  to me in a low tone as I passed him. You may count my
• 5:32:10
  metal among your fighting men, John Carter, he said. I thanked him
• 5:32:14
  and passed on in silence. We embarked, and shortly after stepped once more
• 5:32:18
  upon the deck of the Exavarian. Fifteen minutes later we received orders from the
• 5:32:22
  flagship to proceed toward Helium. Our journey thither was uneventful. Carthoris and I
• 5:32:29
  were wrapped in the gloomiest of thoughts. Kantos Kan was somber and contemplation of
• 5:32:33
  the further calamity that might fall upon Helium should Zatars attempt to follow the agiled
• 5:32:38
  precedent that allotted a terrible death to fugitives from the valley door Tars Tarkas grieved
• 5:32:45
  for the loss of his daughter. Exodur alone was carefree, a fugitive and
• 5:32:49
  outlaw. He could be no worse off in Helium than elsewhere. Let us
• 5:32:53
  hope that we may at least go out with good red blood upon our blades,
• 5:32:56
  he said, it was a simple wish and one most likely to be
• 5:33:00
  gratified. Among the officers of Exevarian, I thought I could discern division into
• 5:33:06
  fractions. Ere we had reached Helium, there were those who gathered about Carthoris
• 5:33:11
  and myself whenever the opportunity presented, while about an equal number held aloof from
• 5:33:15
  us. They offered us only the most courteous treatment, but were evidently bound
• 5:33:19
  by their superstitious belief in the doctrine of door and ish and chorus. I
• 5:33:25
  could not blame them, for I knew how strong a holy creed, however
• 5:33:29
  ridiculous it may be, may gain upon an otherwise intelligent people. By returning
• 5:33:33
  from Dor, we had committed a sacrilege. By recounting our adventures there and
• 5:33:37
  stating the facts as they existed, we had outraged the religion of their fathers.
• 5:33:42
  We were blasphemers, lying heretics. Even those who still clung to us
• 5:33:47
  from personal love and loyalty, I think did so in the face of the
• 5:33:51
  fact that at heart they questioned our veracity. It is very hard to accept
• 5:33:56
  a new religion for an old, no matter how our luring the promise of
• 5:34:00
  the new may be. But to reject the old as a tissue of falsehoods
• 5:34:03
  without being offered anything in its steed, is indeed a most difficult thing to
• 5:34:08
  ask of any people. Kantos Kan would not talk of our experiences among the
• 5:34:12
  theurns and the first born. It is enough, he said, that I
• 5:34:17
  jeopardized my life here and hereafter by countenancing you all. Do not ask me
• 5:34:22
  to add still further to my sins. By listening to what I have always
• 5:34:25
  been taught was the rankest heresy. I knew that sooner or later the time
• 5:34:29
  must come when our friends and enemies would be forced to declare themselves openly.
• 5:34:33
  When we reached Helium, there must be an accounting. And if Tardos Mors
• 5:34:37
  had not returned, I feared that the enmity of Zadars might weigh heavily against
• 5:34:41
  us, for he represented the government of Helium. To take sides against him
• 5:34:47
  were equivalent to treason. The majority of the troops would doubtless follow the lead
• 5:34:51
  of their officers, and I knew that many of the highest and most powerful
• 5:34:55
  men of both land and air forces would cleave to John Carter in the face
• 5:34:57
  of God, man or devil. On the other hand, the majority of
• 5:35:02
  the populace unquestionably would demand that we pay the penalty of our sacrilege. The
• 5:35:07
  outlook seemed dark from whatever angle I viewed it, but my mind was so
• 5:35:11
  torn with anguish at the thought of dejah Thoris that I realized now that I
• 5:35:15
  gave the terrible question of Helium's plight, but scant attention at that time.
• 5:35:21
  There was always before me, day and night, a horrible nightmare of the
• 5:35:23
  frightful scenes through which I knew my princess might even then be passing the horrid
• 5:35:29
  plantmen, the ferocious white apes. At times I would cover my face with
• 5:35:33
  my hands in a vain effort to shut out the fearful thing from my mind.
• 5:35:37
  It was in the forenoon that we arrived above the mild high scarlet tower,
• 5:35:41
  which marks Greater Helium from her twin city. As we descended in great
• 5:35:45
  circles toward the navy docks, a mighty multitude could be seen surging in the
• 5:35:48
  streets beneath Helium had been notified by radio aerogram of our approach. From the
• 5:35:55
  deck of the ex Savarian, we four Carthoris, Tars Tarkas, Exodar,
• 5:35:59
  and I were transferred to a lesser flier to be transported to quarters within the
• 5:36:03
  Temple of Reward. It is here that Martian justice is meted to benefactor or
• 5:36:08
  malefactor. Here the hero is decorated, Here the felon is condemned. We
• 5:36:14
  were taken into the temple from the landing stage upon the roof, so that
• 5:36:18
  we did not pass among the people at all, as is customary. Always
• 5:36:22
  before, I had seen prisoners of note or returned wanders of eminence paraded from
• 5:36:26
  the gate of Jeddaks to the Temple of Reward, up the broad avenue of
• 5:36:30
  Ancestors, through dense crowds of jeering or cheering citizens. I knew that zat
• 5:36:36
  Daris dared not trust the people near to us, for he feared that their
• 5:36:40
  love for Carthoris and myself might break into a demonstration which would wipe out their
• 5:36:45
  superstitious horror of the crime we were to be charged with. What his plans
• 5:36:49
  were I could only guess, but that they were sinister was evidenced by the
• 5:36:53
  fact that only his most trusted servitors accompanied us upon the flier to the Temple
• 5:36:59
  of Reward. We were lodged in a room upon the south side of the
• 5:37:02
  temple overlooking the Avenue of Ancestors, down which we could see the full length
• 5:37:07
  of the gate of Jeddaks, five miles away. The people in the temple
• 5:37:11
  plaza and in the streets, for a distance of a full mile, were
• 5:37:14
  standing as close packed as it was possible for them to get. They were
• 5:37:18
  very orderly. There were neither scoffs nor plaudits, and when they saw us
• 5:37:22
  at the window above them, there were many who buried their faces in their
• 5:37:25
  arms and wept. Late in the afternoon a messenger arrived from zat Arras to
• 5:37:30
  inform us that we would be tried by an impartial body of nobles in the
• 5:37:33
  Great Hall of the Temple at the verse Zode asterisk on the following day,
• 5:37:38
  or at about eight forty a m earth time asterisk. Wherever Captain Carter has
• 5:37:45
  used Martian measurements of time, distance, weight, and the like, I
• 5:37:48
  have translated them into as nearly their equivalent in earthly values as is possible.
• 5:37:53
  His notes contained many Martian tables and a great volume of scientific data. But
• 5:37:59
  since the International Astronomic Society is at present engaged in classifying, investigating, and
• 5:38:04
  verifying this vast fund of remarkable and valuable information. I have felt that it
• 5:38:10
  will add nothing to the interest of Captain Carter's story or to the sum total
• 5:38:14
  of human knowledge to maintain a strict adherence to the original manuscript in these matters,
• 5:38:19
  while it might readily confuse the reader and detract from the interest of the
• 5:38:23
  history. For those who may be interested, however, I will explain that
• 5:38:27
  the Martian day is a trifle over twenty four hours thirty seven minutes duration Earth
• 5:38:32
  time. This, the Martians divide into ten equal parts, commencing the day
• 5:38:37
  at about six a m. Earth time. The zodes are divided into fifty
• 5:38:41
  shorter periods, each of which in turn is composed of two hundred brief periods
• 5:38:45
  of time about equivalent to the earthly second. The Barsoomian table of time,
• 5:38:51
  as here given is but a part of the full table appearing in Captain Carter's
• 5:38:55
  notes, Table two hundred towels one x fifty x one zode, ten zodes
• 5:39:03
  one revolution of Mars upon its axis end of Chapter sixteen, Chapter seventeen,
• 5:39:10
  the death sentence. A few moments before the appointed time. On the following
• 5:39:15
  morning, a strong guard of Zadarras's officers appeared at our quarters to conduct us
• 5:39:19
  to the Great Hall of the Temple in twos. We entered the chamber,
• 5:39:22
  marched down the broad Aisle of Hope as it is called, to the platform
• 5:39:26
  in the center of the hall. Before and behind us marched armed guards,
• 5:39:30
  while three solid ranks of Zodangan's soldiery lined either side of the aisle from the
• 5:39:34
  entrance to the rostrum. As we reached the Rai's enclosure, I saw our
• 5:39:38
  judges, as is the custom upon barsoom, there were thirty one, supposedly
• 5:39:44
  selected by lot from men of the noble class, for nobles were on trial,
• 5:39:48
  But to my amazement, I saw no single friendly face among them.
• 5:39:52
  Practically all were Zodangans, and it was I to whom Zodanga owed her defeat
• 5:39:56
  at the hands of the Green Hordes, and her subsequent vassilage he helium.
• 5:40:00
  There could be little justice here for John Carter or his son, or for
• 5:40:03
  the great Thark who had commanded the savage tribesmen who overran Zodanga's broad avenues,
• 5:40:08
  looting, burning and murdering about us. The vast circular colosseum was packed to
• 5:40:14
  its full capacity. All classes were represented, all ages in both sexes,
• 5:40:18
  as we entered the hall, the hum of subdued conversation ceased, until as
• 5:40:22
  we halted upon the platform or throne of righteousness, the silence of death enveloped
• 5:40:27
  the ten thousand spectators. The judges were seated in a great circle about the
• 5:40:33
  periphery of the circular platform. We were assigned seats with our backs toward a
• 5:40:37
  small platform in the exact center of the larger one. This placed us facing
• 5:40:41
  the judges and the audience. Upon the smaller platform. Each would take his
• 5:40:45
  place while his case was being heard. Zadarres himself sat in the golden chair
• 5:40:51
  of the presiding magistrate. As we were seated and our guards retired to the
• 5:40:55
  foot of the stairway leading to the platform, he arose and called my name,
• 5:41:00
  John Carter. He cried, take your place upon the pedestal of truth,
• 5:41:03
  to be judged impartially according to your acts, and here to know the
• 5:41:07
  reward you have earned. Thereby, Then, turning to and fro toward the
• 5:41:11
  audience, he narrated the acts upon the value of which my reward was to
• 5:41:15
  be determined. Know you, o, judges and people of helium. He
• 5:41:19
  said that John Carter, one time Prince of Helium has returned, by his
• 5:41:23
  own statement from the valley door, and even from the temple of Issus itself,
• 5:41:29
  that in the presence of many men of Helium he has blasphemed against the
• 5:41:33
  sacred iss and against the valley door, and the lossy of Chorus and the
• 5:41:37
  holy theirns themselves, and even against Issus, Goddess of death and of life
• 5:41:41
  eternal. And know you further by witness of thine own eyes that see him
• 5:41:47
  here now upon the pedestal of truth, that he has indeed returned from these
• 5:41:51
  sacred precincts, in the face of our ancient customs, and in violation of
• 5:41:56
  the sanctity of our ancient religion. He who be once dead may not live
• 5:42:00
  again. He who attempts it must be made dead forever, judges. Your
• 5:42:04
  duty lies plain before you. Here can be no testimony in contravention of truth.
• 5:42:10
  What reward shall be meeted to John Carter in accordance with the acts he
• 5:42:14
  has committed? Death, shouted one of the judges, And then a man
• 5:42:18
  sprang to his feet in the audience, and raising his hand on high,
• 5:42:21
  cried justice, Justice, Justice. It was kantos Kan, And as all
• 5:42:26
  eyes turned toward him. He leaped past the Zodangan soldiery and sprang upon the
• 5:42:30
  platform. What manner of justice be this, he cried to Zadarras. The
• 5:42:34
  defendant has not been heard, nor has he had an opportunity to call others
• 5:42:40
  in his behalf. In the name of the people of Helium, I demand
• 5:42:44
  fair and impartial treatment for the Prince of Helium. A great cry arose from
• 5:42:48
  the audience. Then justice, justice, Justice, and Zadarras dared not deny
• 5:42:53
  them. Speak. Then he snarled, turning to me, But blasphemy,
• 5:42:59
  not against the things that are sacred upon barsoom men of Helium, I cried,
• 5:43:03
  turning to the spectators and speaking over the heads of my judges. How
• 5:43:07
  can John Carter expect justice from the men of Zodanga. He cannot, nor
• 5:43:12
  does he ask it. It is to the men of Helium that he states
• 5:43:15
  his case, nor does he appeal for mercy to any It is not in
• 5:43:19
  his own cause that he speaks. Now. It is in thine, in
• 5:43:23
  the cause of your wives and daughters, and of wives and daughters yet unborn.
• 5:43:29
  It is to save them from the unthinkably atrocious indignities that I have seen
• 5:43:33
  heaped upon the fair women of Barsoom in the place men call the Temple of
• 5:43:37
  Issus. It is to save them from the sucking embrace of the plant men,
• 5:43:41
  from the fangs of the great white apes of Dor, from the cruel
• 5:43:45
  lust of the holy thurns, from all that the cold, dead ish carries
• 5:43:48
  them to, from homes of love and life and happiness sits. There no
• 5:43:53
  man here who does not know the history of John Carter, how he came
• 5:43:59
  among you from another world, and rose from a prisoner among the green men,
• 5:44:03
  through torture and persecution, to a high place among the highest of Barsoom.
• 5:44:07
  Nor ever did you know John Carter to lie in his own behalf,
• 5:44:11
  or to say aught that might harm the people of Barsoom, or to speak
• 5:44:15
  lightly of the strange religion which he respected without understanding. There be no man
• 5:44:19
  here or elsewhere upon Barsoom to day who does not owe his life directly to
• 5:44:25
  a single act of mine, in which I sacrificed myself and the happiness of
• 5:44:29
  my princess, that you might live. And so, men of Helium,
• 5:44:33
  I think that I have the right to demand that I be heard, that
• 5:44:37
  I be believed, and that you let me serve you and save you from
• 5:44:40
  the false hereafter of Dora and Issus, as I saved you from the real
• 5:44:44
  death that other day. It is to you of Helium that I speak.
• 5:44:48
  Now, when I am done, let the men of Zodanga have their will
• 5:44:52
  with me. Zadars has taken my sword from me, so the men of
• 5:44:55
  Zodanga no longer fear me. Will you listen, speak John Carter, Prince
• 5:45:00
  of Helium, cried a great noble from the audience, and the multitude echoed
• 5:45:03
  his permission until the building rocked with the noise of their demonstration. Zadiras knew
• 5:45:10
  better than to interfere with such a sentiment as was expressed that day in the
• 5:45:12
  Temple of Reward, and so for two hours I talked with the people of
• 5:45:17
  Helium. But when I had finished, Zadiras arose, and, turning to
• 5:45:21
  the judges, said, in a low tone, my nobles, you have
• 5:45:23
  heard John Carter's plea. Every opportunity has been given him to prove his innocence
• 5:45:29
  if he be not guilty, But instead he has but utilized the time in
• 5:45:33
  further blasphemy. What gentlemen, is your verdict? Death to the blasphemer,
• 5:45:38
  cried one springing to his feet, and in an instant the entire thirty one
• 5:45:41
  judges were on their feet with upraised swords in token of their unanimity of their
• 5:45:47
  verdict. If the people did not hear Zadius's charge, they certainly did hear
• 5:45:52
  the verdict of the tribunal. A sullen murmur rose louder and louder about the
• 5:45:56
  packed colosseum. And then kantos Kan, who had not left the platform since
• 5:46:00
  first he had taken his place near me, raised his hand for silence.
• 5:46:04
  When he could be heard, he spoke to the people in a cool and
• 5:46:07
  level voice. You have heard the fate that the men of Zodanga would meet
• 5:46:11
  to Helium's noblest hero. It may be the duty of the men of Helium
• 5:46:17
  to accept the verdict as final. Let each man act according to his own
• 5:46:19
  heart. Here is the answer of kantos Kan, head of the navy of
• 5:46:25
  Helium, to Zadars and his judges. And with that he unbuckled his scabbard
• 5:46:29
  and threw his sword at my feet. In an instant, soldiers and citizens,
• 5:46:33
  officers and nobles were crowding past the soldiers of Zodanga and forcing their way
• 5:46:38
  to the throne of Righteousness. A hundred men surged upon the platform, and
• 5:46:42
  a hundred blades rattled and clanked to the floor at my feet. Zadis and
• 5:46:47
  his officers were furious, but they were helpless. One by one, I
• 5:46:51
  raised the swords to my lips and buckled them again upon their owners. Come,
• 5:46:56
  said kantos Kan. We will escort John Carter and his party to his
• 5:46:59
  own. And they formed about us and started toward the stairs leading to the
• 5:47:03
  Isle of Hope. Stop, cried Zadars, Soldiers of Helium, let no
• 5:47:07
  prisoner leave the throne of Righteousness. The soldiery from Zodanga were the only organized
• 5:47:12
  body of Heliumetic troops within the temple. So Zadarras was confident that his orders
• 5:47:18
  would be obeyed, But I do not think that he looked for the opposition
• 5:47:22
  that was raised. The moment the soldiers advanced towards the throne, from every
• 5:47:26
  quarter of the colosseum, swords flashed and men rushed, threatening upon the Zodangans.
• 5:47:32
  Some one raised a cry, Tardos mors is dead a thousand years to
• 5:47:36
  John Carter. Jeddak of Helium. As I heard that, and saw the
• 5:47:40
  ugly attitude of the men of Helium towards the soldiers of Zadarras. I knew
• 5:47:44
  that only a miracle could avert a clash that would end in civil war.
• 5:47:48
  Hold, I cried, leaping to the pedestal of truth once more. Let
• 5:47:52
  no man move till I am done. A single sword thrust here to day
• 5:47:56
  may plunge Helium into a bitter and bloody war, the results of which none
• 5:48:00
  can foresee. It will turn brother against brother and father against son. No
• 5:48:04
  man's life is worth that sacrifice. Rather would I submit to the biased judgment
• 5:48:10
  of Zadarras than be the cause of civil strife in Helium. Let us each
• 5:48:15
  give in a point to the other, and let this entire matter rest until
• 5:48:18
  Tardos Mors returns or Moores Kajak his son. If neither be back at the
• 5:48:23
  end of a year, a second trial may be held. The thing has
• 5:48:27
  a precedent. And then, turning to Zadarras, I said, in a
• 5:48:30
  low voice, unless you be a bigger fool than I take you to be,
• 5:48:34
  you will grasp the chance I am offering you. Ere it is too
• 5:48:37
  late. Once that multitude of swords below is drawn against your soldiery. No
• 5:48:42
  man upon Barsoom. Not even Tartos Morse himself can avert the consequences. What
• 5:48:48
  say you speak quickly? The Jed of Zodangan Helium raised his voice to the
• 5:48:55
  angry sea beneath us, stay your hands, men of Helium, he shouted,
• 5:48:59
  his voice trembling with rage. The sentence of the court has passed,
• 5:49:03
  but the day of retribution has not been set. Ay Zadarras, Jed of
• 5:49:07
  Zodanga, appreciating the royal connections of the prisoner and his past services to Helium
• 5:49:11
  and Barsoom, grant a respite of one year, or until the return of
• 5:49:15
  Moore's Kajak or Tardos Mors to Helium. Disperse quietly to your houses. Go.
• 5:49:22
  No one moved. Instead, they stood in tense silence, with their
• 5:49:26
  eyes fastened upon me, as though waiting for a signal to attack. Clear
• 5:49:30
  the temple commanded Zadarras in a low tone to one of his officers. Fearing
• 5:49:34
  the result of an attempt to carry out this order by force, I stepped
• 5:49:38
  to the edge of the platform, and, pointing toward the main entrance,
• 5:49:41
  bid them pass out as one man. They turned at my request and filed,
• 5:49:47
  silent and threatening past the soldiers of Zadarras Jed of Zodanga, who stood
• 5:49:52
  scowling in impotent rage. Kantos Kan, with the others who had sworn allegiance
• 5:49:56
  to me, still stood upon the throne of righteousness. With me. Come,
• 5:50:00
  said kantos Can to me, We will escort you to your palace.
• 5:50:03
  My prince, Come Carthoris and Exodar, come Tars Tarkas. And with a
• 5:50:07
  haughty sneer for zat Arras upon his handsome lips, he turned and strode to
• 5:50:12
  the throne steps and up the isle of Hope. We four and the hundred
• 5:50:17
  loyal ones followed behind him. Nor was a hand raised to stay us.
• 5:50:21
  Though glowering eyes followed our triumphant march through the temple. In the avenues,
• 5:50:26
  we found a pressive people, but they opened a pathway for us. And
• 5:50:30
  many were the swords that were flung at my feet as I passed through the
• 5:50:33
  city of Helium toward my palace. Upon the outskirts. Here my old slaves
• 5:50:37
  fell upon their knees and kissed my hands as I greeted them. They cared
• 5:50:41
  not where I had been. It was enough that I had returned to them.
• 5:50:45
  Ah Master cried one. If our divine princess were but here, this
• 5:50:48
  would be a day. Indeed, tears came to my eyes, so that
• 5:50:52
  I was forced to turn away that I might hide my emotions. Carthoris wept
• 5:50:56
  openly as the slaves pressed about him with the expressions of affection and words of
• 5:51:02
  sorrow for our common loss. It was now that tars Tarkas for the first
• 5:51:06
  time learned that his daughter Sola had accompanied dejah Thoris upon the last long pilgrimage.
• 5:51:11
  I had not had the heart to tell him what kantos Kan had told
• 5:51:15
  me. With the stoicism of the green Martian, he showed no sign of
• 5:51:18
  suffering. Yet I knew that his grief was as poignant as mine. In
• 5:51:22
  marked contrast, was kind He had in well developed form the kindlier human characteristics
• 5:51:29
  of love, friendship, and charity. It was a sad and somber party
• 5:51:33
  that sat at the feast of Welcome in the great dining Hall of the Palace
• 5:51:37
  of the Prince of Helium. That day. We were over a hundred strong,
• 5:51:41
  not counting the members of my little court. For dejah Thoris and I
• 5:51:45
  had maintained a household consistent with our royal rank. The board, according to
• 5:51:48
  red Martian custom, was triangular, for there were three in our family.
• 5:51:52
  Carthoris and I presided in the center of our sides of the table. Midway
• 5:51:56
  of the third side, dejah Thoris's high back fact carbon chair stood vacant,
• 5:52:00
  except for her gorgeous wedding trappings and jewels which were draped upon it. Behind
• 5:52:06
  stood a slave, as in the days when his mistress had occupied her place
• 5:52:10
  at the board, ready to do her bidding. It was the way upon
• 5:52:14
  barsoom so I endured the anguish of it, though it wrung my heart to
• 5:52:18
  see that silent chair where it should have been my laughing and vivacious princess keeping
• 5:52:22
  the great hall ringing with her merry gaiety. At my right sat kantos Kan,
• 5:52:26
  while to the right of dejah Thoris's empty place, tars Tarkas sat in
• 5:52:30
  a huge chair before a raised section of the board, which years ago I
• 5:52:34
  had had constructed to meet the requirements of his mighty bulk. The place of
• 5:52:38
  honor and a Martian horde is always at the hostess's right, and this place
• 5:52:44
  was ever reserved by dejah Thoris for the great Thark upon the occasions that he
• 5:52:48
  was in Helium. Hor Vastus sat in the seat of honor upon Carthoris's side
• 5:52:52
  of the table. There was little general conversation. It was a quiet and
• 5:52:57
  saddened party. The law of dejah Thoris was still fresh in the minds of
• 5:53:02
  all, and to this was added fear for the safety of Tardos, Mors
• 5:53:06
  and mors Kajak, as well as doubt and uncertainty as to the fate of
• 5:53:10
  Helium, should it prove true that she was permanently deprived of her great jeddak.
• 5:53:15
  Suddenly our attention was attracted by the sound of distant shouting, as of
• 5:53:18
  many people raising their voices at once, but whether in anger or rejoicing,
• 5:53:22
  we could not tell. Nearer and nearer came the tumult. A slave rushed
• 5:53:26
  into the dining hall to cry that a great concourse of people was swarming through
• 5:53:30
  the palace gates. A second burst upon the heels of the first, alternately
• 5:53:34
  laughing and shrieking as a madman dejah Thoris has found he cried a messenger from
• 5:53:41
  dejah Thoris. I waited to hear no more. The great windows of the
• 5:53:45
  dining hall overlooked the avenue leading to the main gates. They were upon the
• 5:53:48
  opposite side of the hall from me. With the table intervening, I did
• 5:53:52
  not waste time. Encircling the great board with a single leap, I cleared
• 5:53:56
  table and diners, and sprang upon the balcony. Beyond thirty feet below lay
• 5:54:00
  the scarlet Sword of the Lawn, and beyond were many people crowding about a
• 5:54:03
  great thoat, which bore a rider headed toward the palace. I vaulted to
• 5:54:08
  the ground below and ran swiftly toward the advancing party. As I came near
• 5:54:12
  to them, I saw that the figure on the thoat was Sola. Where's
• 5:54:17
  the Princess of Helium, I cried. The green girl slid from her mighty
• 5:54:21
  mount and ran toward me. Oh, my prince, my prince, she
• 5:54:23
  cried, She's gone forever. Even now she may be a captive upon the
• 5:54:27
  lesser Moon. The black pirates of Barsoom have stolen her. End of Chapter
• 5:54:33
  seventeen. Chapter eighteen Sola's story. Once within the palace, I drew Sola
• 5:54:40
  to the dining hall, and when she had greeted her father after the formal
• 5:54:42
  manner of the green men, she told the story of the pilgrimage and capture
• 5:54:47
  of dejah Thoris. Seven days ago after her audience was that Ars dejah Thoris
• 5:54:52
  attempted to slip from the palace in the dead of night. Although I had
• 5:54:55
  not heard the outcome of her interview as at Ours, I knew that something
• 5:54:59
  had occurred there to cause her the keenest mental agony, And when I discovered
• 5:55:03
  her creeping from the palace, I did not need to be told her destination.
• 5:55:07
  Hastily arousing a dozen of her most faithful guards, I explained my fears
• 5:55:11
  to them, and as one they enlisted with me to follow our beloved princess
• 5:55:15
  in her wanderings, even to the sacred iss and the valley door. We
• 5:55:19
  came upon her but a short distance from the palace. With her was faithful
• 5:55:22
  Woola the hound, but none other. When we overtook her, she feigned
• 5:55:26
  anger and ordered us back to the palace, But for once we disobeyed her,
• 5:55:30
  and when she found that we would not let her go upon the last
• 5:55:33
  long pilgrimage alone, she wept and embraced us, and together we went out
• 5:55:37
  into the night toward the south. The following day we came upon a herd
• 5:55:41
  of small thoats and thereafter we were mounted and made good time. We traveled
• 5:55:47
  very fast and very far due south, until the morning of the fifth day
• 5:55:49
  we sighted a great fleet of battleships sailing north. They saw us before we
• 5:55:55
  could seek shelter, and soon we were surrounded by a horde of black men.
• 5:55:59
  The price Princess guard fought nobly to the end, but they were soon
• 5:56:03
  overcome and slain. Only dejah Thoris and I were spared. When she realized
• 5:56:07
  that she was in the clutches of the black pirates, she attempted to take
• 5:56:11
  her own life, but one of the blacks tore her dagger from her,
• 5:56:15
  and then they bound us both so that we could not use our hands.
• 5:56:18
  The fleet continued north after capturing us. There were about twenty large battleships in
• 5:56:22
  all, besides a number of small swift cruisers. That evening, one of
• 5:56:26
  the smaller cruises that had been far in advance of the fleet returned with a
• 5:56:30
  prisoner, a young red woman, whom they had picked up in a range
• 5:56:33
  of hills under the very noses. They said of a fleet of three red
• 5:56:37
  Martian battleships. From scraps of conversation which we overheard, it was evident that
• 5:56:42
  the Black pirates were searching for a party of fugitives that had escaped them several
• 5:56:47
  days prior that they considered the capture of the young woman important was evident from
• 5:56:52
  the long and earnest interview the commander of the fleet held with her when she
• 5:56:56
  was brought to him. Later, she was bound and placed in the compartment
• 5:56:59
  with dejah Thoris and myself. The new captive was a very beautiful girl.
• 5:57:03
  She told dejah Thoris that many years ago she had taken the voluntary pilgrimage from
• 5:57:07
  the court of her father, the Jeddak of Ptarth. She was Thuvia,
• 5:57:11
  the Princess of Ptarth. And then she asked dejah Thoris who she might be,
• 5:57:15
  And when she heard, she fell upon her knees and kissed dejah Thoris's
• 5:57:18
  fettered hands and told her that that very morning she had been with John Carter,
• 5:57:22
  Prince of Helium, and Carthoris, her son. Dejah Thoris could not
• 5:57:26
  believe her at first, but finally when the girl had narrated all the strange
• 5:57:30
  adventures that had befallen her since she had met John Carter, and told her
• 5:57:34
  of the things John Carter and Carthoris and Exodar had narrated of their adventures in
• 5:57:40
  the Land of the First Born. Dejah Thoris knew that it could be none
• 5:57:42
  other than the Prince of Helium, for who, she said, upon all
• 5:57:47
  barsoom other than John Carter could have done the deeds you tell of. And
• 5:57:51
  when Thuvia told dejah Thoris of her love for John Carter and his loyalty and
• 5:57:55
  devotion to the princess of his choice, dejah Thoris broke down and wept,
• 5:58:00
  cursing Zatars and the cruel fate that had driven her from Helium but a few
• 5:58:03
  brief days before the return of her beloved lord. I do not blame you
• 5:58:07
  for loving him, Thuvia, she said, and that your affection for him
• 5:58:11
  is pure and sincere I can well believe from the candor of your avowal of
• 5:58:15
  it to me. The fleet continued north, nearly to Helium, but last
• 5:58:18
  night they evidently realized that John Carter had indeed escaped them, and so they
• 5:58:23
  turned toward the south once more. Shortly thereafter, a guard entered our compartment
• 5:58:27
  and dragged me to the deck. There is no place in the Land of
• 5:58:30
  the First Born for a green one. He said, and with that he
• 5:58:34
  gave me a terrific shove that carried me toppling from the deck of the battleship.
• 5:58:38
  Evidently this seemed to him the easiest way of ridding the vessel of my
• 5:58:41
  presence and killing me at the same time. But a kind fate intervened,
• 5:58:47
  and by a miracle I escaped with but slight bruises. The ship was moving
• 5:58:51
  slowly at the time, and as I lunged overboard into the darkness beneath,
• 5:58:55
  I shuddered at the awful plunge I thought awaited me for all day. The
• 5:58:59
  fleet had sailed thousands of feet above the ground, But to my utter surprise,
• 5:59:03
  I struck upon a soft mass of vegetation not twenty feet from the deck
• 5:59:06
  of the ship. In fact, the keel of the vessel must have been
• 5:59:10
  grazing the surface of the ground at the time. I lay all night where
• 5:59:14
  I had fallen, and the next morning brought an explanation of the fortunate coincidence
• 5:59:18
  that had saved me from a terrible death. As the sun rose, I
• 5:59:22
  saw a vast panorama of sea bottom and distant hills lying far below me.
• 5:59:26
  I was upon the highest peak of a lofty range. The fleet, in
• 5:59:30
  the darkness of the preceding night, had barely grazed the crest of the hills,
• 5:59:33
  and in the brief span that they hovered close to the surface, the
• 5:59:37
  black Guard had pitched me as he supposed to my death. A few miles
• 5:59:41
  west of me was a great waterway. When I reached it, I found
• 5:59:45
  to my delight that it belonged to Helium. Here a thoat was procured for
• 5:59:48
  me. The rest you know. For many minutes none spoke dejah Thoris in
• 5:59:52
  the clutches of the firstborn. I shuddered at the thought. But of a
• 5:59:56
  sudden the old fire of unconquerable self confort evidence surged through me. I sprang
• 6:00:02
  to my feet, and, with back thrown shoulders and upraised sword, took
• 6:00:04
  a solemn vow to reach, rescue and revenge my princess. A hundred swords
• 6:00:10
  leap from a hundred scabbards, and a hundred fighting men sprang to the table
• 6:00:14
  top and pledged me their lives and fortunes to the expedition. Already my plans
• 6:00:18
  were formulated. I thanked each loyal friend, and, leaving Carthoris to entertain
• 6:00:22
  them withdrew to my own audience chamber with kantos Can, tars Tarkas, Exodar,
• 6:00:29
  and Horastis. Here we discussed the details of our expedition until long after
• 6:00:33
  dark. Exodar was positive that Issus would choose both Dejah Thoris and Thuvia to
• 6:00:38
  serve her for a year. For that length of time, at least they
• 6:00:41
  will be comparatively safe, he said, and we will at least know where
• 6:00:45
  to look for them. In the matter of equipping a fleet to enter Omean,
• 6:00:49
  the details were left to kantos Can and Exodar. The former agreed to
• 6:00:53
  take such vessels as we required into doc as rapidly as possible, where Exodar
• 6:00:59
  would direct their equipment with water propellers. For many years, the Black had
• 6:01:03
  been in charge of the refitting of captured battleships that they might navigate Omean,
• 6:01:08
  and so was familiar with the construction of the propellers, housings and the auxiliary
• 6:01:12
  gearing required. It was estimated that it would require six months to complete our
• 6:01:18
  preparations. In view of the fact that the utmost secrecy must be maintained to
• 6:01:22
  keep the project from the ears of Zatarras, kantos Kan was confident now that
• 6:01:26
  the man's ambitions were fully aroused, and that nothing short of the title of
• 6:01:30
  Jeddak of Helium would satisfy him. I doubt, he said, if he
• 6:01:34
  would even welcome dejah Thoris's return, for it would mean another nearer the throne
• 6:01:40
  than he. With you and Carthoris out of the way, there would be
• 6:01:42
  little to prevent him from assuming the title of Jeddak. And you may rest
• 6:01:47
  assured that so long as he is supreme here there is no safety for either
• 6:01:51
  of you. There is a way, cried hor Vastus, to thwart him
• 6:01:53
  effectually and forever. What I asked, he smiled. I shall whisper here,
• 6:02:00
  but some day I shall stand upon the dome of the Temple of Reward
• 6:02:03
  and shout it to cheering multitudes below. What do you mean, asked kantos
• 6:02:07
  Kan John Carter, Jeddak of Helium, said hor Vastus in a low voice.
• 6:02:14
  The eyes of my companions lighted, and grim smiles of pleasure and anticipation
• 6:02:18
  overspread their faces, as each eye turned toward me questioningly. But I shook
• 6:02:23
  my head. No, my friends, I said, smiling, thank you,
• 6:02:26
  But it cannot be, not yet, at least when we know that
• 6:02:30
  Tardos Mors and mors Kajak are gone to return no more. If I be
• 6:02:34
  here, then I shall join you all to see that the people of Helium
• 6:02:38
  are permitted to choose fairly their next Jeddak. Whom they choose may count upon
• 6:02:42
  the loyalty of my sword. Nor shall I seek the honor for myself until
• 6:02:47
  then. Tardos Mors is Jeddak of Helium, and zadarras his representative, as
• 6:02:52
  you will, John Carter, said hor Vastus. But what was that?
• 6:02:56
  He whispered, pointing toward the window overlooking the gardens. The words were scarce
• 6:03:00
  out of his mouth. Ere he had sprung to the balcony. Without there
• 6:03:03
  he goes, he cried excitedly. The guards below. There the guards,
• 6:03:07
  We were close behind him, and all saw the figure of a man run
• 6:03:11
  quickly across a little piece of sword and disappear in the shrubbery beyond. He
• 6:03:15
  was on the balcony when I first saw him, cried hor Vastus. Quick
• 6:03:18
  let us follow him. Together we ran to the gardens. But even though
• 6:03:22
  we scoured the grounds with the entire guard for hours, no trace could we
• 6:03:26
  find of the night marauder. What do you make of it, kantos Kan
• 6:03:29
  asked tars Tarkas a spy sent by Zadars. He replied it was ever his
• 6:03:33
  way. He will have something interesting to report to his masters. Then laughed
• 6:03:37
  hor Vastus. I hope he heard only our references to a new Jeddak,
• 6:03:42
  I said. If he overheard our plans to rescue dejah Thoris, it will
• 6:03:47
  mean civil war, for he will attempt to thwart us, and in that
• 6:03:49
  I will not be thwarted. There would I turn against Tardos Mors himself were
• 6:03:55
  it necessary, if it throws all Helium into a bloody conflict. I shall
• 6:03:59
  go on with these plans to save my princess. Nothing shall stay me now
• 6:04:03
  short of death. And should I die, my friends, will you take
• 6:04:06
  oath to prosecute the search for her and bring her back in safety to her
• 6:04:10
  grandfather's court Upon the hilt of his sword. Each of them swore to do
• 6:04:14
  as I had asked. It was agreed that the battleships that were to be
• 6:04:18
  remodeled should be ordered to hast her. Another Heliumetic city far to the southwest.
• 6:04:23
  Kantos Kan thought that the docks there in addition to their regular work,
• 6:04:27
  would accommodate at least six battleships at a time. As he was commander in
• 6:04:32
  chief of the Navy, it would be a simple matter for him to order
• 6:04:36
  the vessels there as they could be handled, and thereafter keep the remodeled fleet
• 6:04:40
  in remote parts of the empire until we should be ready to assemble it for
• 6:04:44
  the dash upon Omean. It was late that night before our conference broke up,
• 6:04:48
  but each man there had his particular duties outlined, and the details of
• 6:04:52
  the entire plan had been mapped out. Kantos Kan and Exodar were to attend
• 6:04:56
  to the remodeling of the ships. Tars Tarki was to get into communication with
• 6:05:00
  Thark and learn the sentiments of his people toward his return from Dor. If
• 6:05:06
  favorable, he was to return immediately to Thark and devote his time to the
• 6:05:10
  assembling of a great horde of green warriors, whom it was our plan to
• 6:05:12
  send in transports directly to the Valley Door and the Temple of Issus while the
• 6:05:18
  fleet entered Omean and destroyed the vessels of the First Born upon hor Vastus devolved
• 6:05:22
  the delicate mission of organizing a secret force of fighting men sworn to follow John
• 6:05:27
  Carter wherever he might lead, as we estimated that it would require over a
• 6:05:33
  million men to man the thousand great battleships we intended to use on Omean,
• 6:05:37
  and the transports for the green Men, as well as the ships that were
• 6:05:41
  to convoy the transports. It was no trifling job that hor Vastus had before
• 6:05:45
  him. After they had left, I bid Carthoris good night, for I
• 6:05:49
  was very tired, and going to my own apartments, bathed and lay down
• 6:05:53
  upon my sleeping silks and furs for the first good night's sleep. I had
• 6:05:57
  had an opportunity to look forwar or two since I had returned to Barsoom,
• 6:06:02
  But even now I was to be disappointed. How long I slept, I
• 6:06:04
  do not know. When I awoke suddenly, it was to find a half
• 6:06:08
  dozen powerful men upon me, a gag already in my mouth, and a
• 6:06:11
  moment later my arms and legs securely bound. So quickly had they worked,
• 6:06:17
  and to such good purpose, that I was utterly beyond the power to resist
• 6:06:21
  them. By the time I was fully awake, never a word spoke they
• 6:06:23
  and the gag effectually prevented me speaking. Silently they lifted me and bore me
• 6:06:29
  toward the door of my chamber. As they passed the window through which the
• 6:06:33
  farther moon was casting its brilliant beams, I saw that each of the party
• 6:06:37
  had his face swathed in layers of silk. I could not recognize one of
• 6:06:41
  them. When they had come into the corridor with me, they turned toward
• 6:06:45
  a secret panel in the wall, which led to the passage that terminated in
• 6:06:48
  the pits beneath the palace. That any knew of this panel outside my own
• 6:06:52
  household, I was doubtful. Yet the leader of the band did not hesitate
• 6:06:56
  a moment. He stepped directly to the panel, touched the concealed button,
• 6:07:00
  and as the door swung open, he stood aside while his companions entered with
• 6:07:04
  me. Then he closed the panel behind him and followed us down through the
• 6:07:07
  passageways to the pits. We went, The leader wrapped upon it with the
• 6:07:11
  hilt of his sword. Three quick sharp blows, a pause, then three
• 6:07:15
  more, another pause, and then two. A second later, the wall
• 6:07:19
  swung in and I was pushed within a brilliantly lighted chamber in which sat three
• 6:07:25
  richly trapped men. One of them turned towards me, with a sodonic smile
• 6:07:29
  upon his thin, cruel lips. It was sat Arras, end of Chapter
• 6:07:33
  eighteen, Chapter nineteen, Black Despair. Ah said Zadarras, to what kindly
• 6:07:40
  circumstance am I indebted for the pleasure of this unexpected visit from the Prince of
• 6:07:44
  Helium. While he was speaking, one of my guards had removed the gag
• 6:07:48
  from my mouth. But I made no reply to zat Arras, simply standing
• 6:07:52
  there in silence, with level gaze fixed upon the jed of Zodanga. And
• 6:07:56
  I doubt not that my expression was colored by the contempt I felt for the
• 6:08:00
  man. The eyes of those within the chamber were fixed first upon me,
• 6:08:04
  and then upon Zadaris, until finally a flush of anger crept slowly over his
• 6:08:08
  face. You may go, he said to those who had brought me,
• 6:08:12
  And when only his two companions and ourselves were left in the chamber, he
• 6:08:17
  spoke to me again, in a voice of ice, very slowly and deliberately,
• 6:08:21
  with many pauses, as though he would choose his words cautiously. John
• 6:08:26
  Carter, he said, by the edict of custom, by the law of
• 6:08:32
  our religion, and by the verdict of an impartial court. You are condemned
• 6:08:37
  to die. The people cannot save you. I alone may accomplish that.
• 6:08:45
  You are absolutely in my power to do with as I wish. I may
• 6:08:52
  kill you, or I may free you. And should I elect to kill
• 6:08:56
  you, none would be the wiser. Should you go free in Helium for
• 6:09:03
  a year in accordance with the conditions of your reprieve, there is little fear
• 6:09:08
  that the people would ever insist upon execution of the sentence imposed upon you.
• 6:09:17
  You may go free within two minutes. Upon one condition. Tardos Morse will
• 6:09:22
  never return to Helium, neither will mors Kajak nor dejah Thoris. Helium must
• 6:09:30
  select a new Jeddak within the year. Zadarras would be Jeddak of Helium.
• 6:09:38
  Say that you will espouse my cause. This is the price of your freedom.
• 6:09:45
  I am done. I knew it was within the scope of Zadarras's cruel
• 6:09:49
  heart to destroy me, and if I were dead, I could see little
• 6:09:52
  reason to doubt that he might easily become Jeddak of Helium. Free, I
• 6:09:56
  could prosecute the search for dejah Thoris. Were I dead, my brave comrades
• 6:10:00
  might not be able to carry out our plans. So by refusing to accede
• 6:10:07
  to his request, it was quite probable that not only would I not prevent
• 6:10:11
  him from becoming Jeddak of Helium, but that I would be the means of
• 6:10:15
  sealing dejah Thoris's fate, of consigning her through my refusal to the horrors of
• 6:10:21
  the Arena of Issius. For a moment I was perplexed. But for a
• 6:10:25
  moment, only the proud daughter of the thousand Jeddaks would choose death to a
• 6:10:29
  dishonorable alliance such as this. Nor could John Carter do less for Helium than
• 6:10:33
  his princess would do. Then I turned to Zadarras there can be no alliance
• 6:10:38
  I said, between a traitor to Helium and a prince of the house of
• 6:10:41
  Tardos Mors. I do not believe, Zadars that the great Jeddak is dead.
• 6:10:48
  Zadars shrugged his shoulders. It will not be long, John Carter,
• 6:10:52
  He said that your opinions will be of interest even to yourself, So make
• 6:10:56
  the best of them while you can. Zadars will permit you, in due
• 6:11:00
  time to reflect further upon the magnanimous offer he has made you into the silence
• 6:11:06
  and darkness of the pits, you will enter upon your reflection this night with
• 6:11:10
  the knowledge that should you fail with any reasonable time to agree to the alternative
• 6:11:14
  which has been offered you, never shall you emerge from the darkness and the
• 6:11:18
  silence again, nor shall you know at what minute the hand will reach out
• 6:11:22
  through the darkness and the silence with the keen dagger that shall rob you of
• 6:11:26
  your last chance to win again the warmth and the freedom and the joyousness of
• 6:11:30
  the outer world. Zadars clapped his hands as he ceased speaking. The guards
• 6:11:36
  returned. Zadarras waved his hand in my direction to the pits. He said,
• 6:11:41
  that was all four men accompany me from the chamber, and with a
• 6:11:45
  radium hand light to illum the way, escorted me through seemingly interminable tunnels,
• 6:11:49
  down ever down beneath the city of Helium. At length they halted within a
• 6:11:55
  fair sized chamber. There were rings set in the rocky walls. To them,
• 6:12:00
  chains were fastened, and at the ends of many of the chains were
• 6:12:03
  human skeletons. One of these they kicked aside, and unlocking the huge padlock
• 6:12:08
  that had held a chain about what had once been a human ankle. They
• 6:12:12
  snapped the iron band about my own leg. Then they left me, taking
• 6:12:17
  the light with them. Utter darkness prevailed for a few minutes. I could
• 6:12:21
  hear the clanking of accouterments, but even this grew fainter and fainter, until
• 6:12:25
  at last the silence was as complete as the darkness. I was alone with
• 6:12:30
  my gruesome companions, with the bones of dead men whose fate was likely,
• 6:12:33
  but the index of my own. How long I stood listening in the darkness,
• 6:12:37
  I do not know, but the silence was unbroken, and at last
• 6:12:41
  I sunk to the hard floor of my prison, where, leaning my head
• 6:12:44
  against the stony wall, I slept. It must have been several hours later
• 6:12:48
  that I awakened to find a young man standing before me. In one hand
• 6:12:52
  he bore a light, in the other a receptacle containing a gruel like mixture,
• 6:12:57
  the common prison fare of Barsoom Zadar sends you greetings, said the young
• 6:13:02
  man, and commands me to inform you that though he is fully advised of
• 6:13:06
  the plot to make you Jeddak of Heeden, he is, however not inclined
• 6:13:10
  to withdraw the offer which he has made you. To gain your freedom.
• 6:13:14
  You have but to request me to advise ad Ars that you accept the terms
• 6:13:18
  of his proposition. I but shook my head. The youth said no more,
• 6:13:22
  and after placing the food upon the floor at my side, returned up
• 6:13:26
  the corridor, taking the light with him. Twice a day. For many
• 6:13:29
  days, this youth came to my cell with food and ever the same greetings
• 6:13:33
  from zat Arras. For a long time I tried to engage him in conversation
• 6:13:37
  upon other matters, but he would not talk, and so at length I
• 6:13:41
  desisted. For months, I sought to devise methods to inform Cathars of my
• 6:13:45
  whereabouts. For months I scraped and scraped upon a single link of the massive
• 6:13:49
  chain which held me, hoping eventually to wear it through that I might follow
• 6:13:55
  the youth back through the winding tunnels to a point where I could make a
• 6:13:57
  break for liberty. I was beside myself with anxiety for knowledge of the progress
• 6:14:03
  of the expedition which was to rescue dejah Thoris. I felt that Carthoris would
• 6:14:07
  not let the matter drop were he free to act, But in so far
• 6:14:11
  as I knew he also might be a prisoner in Zadarus's pits. That Zadarus's
• 6:14:17
  spy had overheard our conversation relative to the selection of a new Jeddak. I
• 6:14:21
  knew and scarcely a half dozen minutes prior we had discussed the details of the
• 6:14:26
  plan to rescue dejah Thoris. The chances were that that matter, too,
• 6:14:30
  was well known to him. Carthoris, Kantos, kan Tars, Tarkas,
• 6:14:34
  or Vastus, and Exodar might even now be the victims of Zadarus's assassins or
• 6:14:40
  else as prisoners. I determined to make at least one more effort to learn
• 6:14:44
  something, and to this end I adopted strategy. When next the youth came
• 6:14:48
  to my cell. I had noticed that he was a handsome fellow about the
• 6:14:52
  size and age of Carthoris, and I had also noticed that his shabby trappings
• 6:14:56
  but illy comported with his dignified and no bearing. It was with these observation
• 6:15:02
  as a basis that I opened my negotiations with him upon his next subsequent visit.
• 6:15:07
  You have been very kind to me during my imprisonment here, I said
• 6:15:11
  to him, And as I feel that I have at best but a very
• 6:15:14
  short time to live, I wish ere it is too late to furnish substantial
• 6:15:18
  testimony of my appreciation of all that you have done to render my imprisonment bearable.
• 6:15:23
  Promptly you have brought my food each day, seeing that it was pure
• 6:15:27
  and of sufficient quantity. Never, by word or deed have you attempted to
• 6:15:32
  take advantage of my defenseless condition to insult or torture me. You have been
• 6:15:37
  uniformly courteous and considerate. It is this, more than any other thing,
• 6:15:41
  which prompts my feeling of gratitude, and my desire to give you some slight
• 6:15:45
  token of it. In the guard room of my palace are many fine trappings.
• 6:15:49
  Go thou there and select the harness which most pleases you. It shall
• 6:15:53
  be yours. All I ask is that you wear it, that I may
• 6:15:56
  know that my wish has been realized. Tell me that you will do it.
• 6:16:00
  The boy's eyes had lighted with pleasure as I spoke, and I saw
• 6:16:04
  him glance from his rusty trappings to the magnificence of my own. For a
• 6:16:10
  moment he stood in thought before he spoke, and for that moment my heart
• 6:16:14
  fairly ceased beating. So much for me there was which hung upon the substance
• 6:16:18
  of his answer. And I went to the palace of the Prince of Helium
• 6:16:22
  with any such demand, they would laugh at me and into the bargain would
• 6:16:26
  more than likely throw me head foremost into the avenue. No, it cannot
• 6:16:30
  be, though I thank you for the offer. Why if zat Arras even
• 6:16:34
  dreamed that I contemplated such a thing, he would have my heart cut out
• 6:16:38
  of me. There could be no harm in it, my boy, I
• 6:16:41
  urged. By night, you may go to my palace with a note from
• 6:16:45
  me to Cathoris, my son. You may read the note before you deliver
• 6:16:48
  it, that you may know that it contains nothing harmful to zat Arras,
• 6:16:53
  my son will be discreet, and so none but us three need know.
• 6:16:57
  It is very simple and such a harm us act that it could be condemned
• 6:17:02
  by no one. Again, he stood silently in deep thought. And there
• 6:17:06
  is a jeweled short sword, which I took from the body of a northern
• 6:17:08
  Jeddak. When you get the harness see that Carthoris gives you that also with
• 6:17:14
  it and the harness which you may select, there will be no more handsomely
• 6:17:18
  accoutred warrior in all Zodanga. Bring writing materials when you come next to my
• 6:17:22
  cell, and within a few hours we shall see you garb in a style
• 6:17:26
  befitting your birth and carriage. Still in thought and without speaking, he turned
• 6:17:30
  and left me. I could not guess what his decision might be, and
• 6:17:33
  for hours I sat fretting over the outcome of the matter. If he accepted
• 6:17:37
  a message to Carthoris, it would mean to me that Carthoris still lived and
• 6:17:41
  was free. If the youth returned wearing the harness and the sword, I
• 6:17:45
  would know that Carthoris had received my note, and that he knew that I
• 6:17:48
  still lived. That the bearer of the note was as Zodangan would be sufficient
• 6:17:53
  to explain to Carthoris that I was a prisoner of zat Arras it was with
• 6:17:57
  feelings of excited expectancy which I could scarce hide that I heard the youth's approach
• 6:18:03
  upon the occasion of his next regular visit. I did not speak beyond my
• 6:18:07
  accustomed greeting of him. As he placed the food upon the floor by my
• 6:18:11
  side, he also deposited writing materials. At the same time, my heart
• 6:18:15
  fairly bounded for joy. I had won my point. For a moment,
• 6:18:19
  I looked at the materials in feign surprise, but soon I permitted an expression
• 6:18:23
  of dawning comprehension to come into my face, and then picking them up,
• 6:18:27
  I penned a brief order to Carthoris to deliver to Parthak a harness of his
• 6:18:32
  selection and the short sword, which I described. That was all, but
• 6:18:36
  it meant everything to me and to Carthoris. I laid the note open upon
• 6:18:40
  the floor. Parthac picked it up and without a word left me. As
• 6:18:45
  nearly as I could estimate, I had at this time been in the pits
• 6:18:48
  for three hundred days. If anything was to be done to save dejah Thoris,
• 6:18:52
  it must be done quickly, for were she not already dead, her
• 6:18:56
  end must soon come. Since those whom Issus chose lived but a single year.
• 6:19:00
  The next time I heard approaching footsteps, I could scarce await to see
• 6:19:03
  if Parthak wore the harness and the sword, but judge if he can.
• 6:19:07
  My chagrin and disappointment when I saw that he who bore my food was not
• 6:19:11
  Parthak. What has become of Parthak? I asked, But the fellow would
• 6:19:17
  not answer, and as soon as he had deposited my food, turned and
• 6:19:21
  retraced his steps to the world above. Days came and went, and still
• 6:19:25
  my new jailer continued his duties. Nor would he ever speak a word to
• 6:19:29
  me, either in reply to the simplest question or of his own initiative.
• 6:19:33
  I could only speculate on the cause of Parthak's removal, but that it was
• 6:19:37
  connected in some way directly with the note I had given him was most apparent
• 6:19:41
  to me. After all my rejoicing, I was no better off than before.
• 6:19:45
  For now I did not even know that Carthoris lived. For if Parthak
• 6:19:48
  had wished to raise himself in the estimation of Zadar's, he would have permitted
• 6:19:52
  me to go on precisely as I did, so that he could carry my
• 6:19:56
  note to his master in proof of his own loyalty and devotion. Thirty days
• 6:20:02
  had passed since I had given the youth the note. Three hundred and thirty
• 6:20:04
  days had passed since my incarceration. As closely as I could figure, there
• 6:20:10
  remained a bare thirty days ere dejah Thoris would be ordered to the Arena for
• 6:20:14
  the rites of Issus. As the terrible picture forced itself vividly across my imagination,
• 6:20:19
  I buried my face in my arms. And only with the greatest difficulty
• 6:20:23
  was it that I repressed the tears that welled to my eyes, despite my
• 6:20:26
  every effort to think of that beautiful creature torn and rendered by the cruel fangs
• 6:20:32
  of the hideous white apes. It was unthinkable such a horrid fact could not
• 6:20:37
  be. And yet my reason told me that within thirty days my incomparable princess
• 6:20:41
  would be fought over in the arena of the Firstborn by those very wild beasts,
• 6:20:45
  that her bleeding corpse would be dragged through the dirt and the dust,
• 6:20:49
  until at last a part of it would be rescued to be served as food
• 6:20:52
  upon the tables of the black nobles. I think that I should have gone
• 6:20:56
  crazy, but for the sound of my approaching jailer. It distracted my attention
• 6:21:00
  from the terrible thoughts that had been occupying my entire mind. Now a new
• 6:21:06
  and grim determination came to me. I would make one superhuman effort to escape,
• 6:21:11
  kill my jailer by a ruse, and trust to Fate to lead me
• 6:21:14
  to the outer world in safety. With the thought came instant action. I
• 6:21:18
  threw myself upon the floor my cell, close by the wall, in a
• 6:21:22
  strained and distorted posture, as though I were dead after a struggle or convulsions.
• 6:21:27
  When he should stoop over me, I had but to grasp his throat
• 6:21:30
  with one hand and strike him a terrific blow with the slack of my chain,
• 6:21:34
  which I gripped firmly on my right hand for the purpose. Nearer and
• 6:21:37
  nearer came the doomed man. Now I heard him halt before me. There
• 6:21:41
  was a muttered exclamation, and then a step. As he came to my
• 6:21:45
  side, I felt him kneel beside me. My grip tightened upon the chain.
• 6:21:49
  He leaned close to me. I must open my eyes to find his
• 6:21:52
  throat, grasp it, and strike one mighty final blow, all at the
• 6:21:56
  same instant. The thing worked just as I had planned. So brief was
• 6:22:02
  the interval between the opening of my eyes and the fall of the chain that
• 6:22:04
  I could not check it, though in that minute interval I recognized the face
• 6:22:08
  so close to mine as that of my son Carthoris. God, what cruel
• 6:22:14
  and malign fate had worked to such a frightful end. What devious chain of
• 6:22:18
  circumstances had led my boy to my side at this one particular minute of our
• 6:22:22
  lives? When I could strike him down and kill him in ignorance of his
• 6:22:26
  identity. A benign, though tardy providence blurred my vision and my mind as
• 6:22:30
  I sank into unconsciousness across the lifeless body of my only son. When I
• 6:22:36
  regained consciousness, it was to feel a cool, firm hand pressed upon my
• 6:22:40
  forehead. For an instant I did not open my eyes. I was endeavoring
• 6:22:44
  to gather the loose ends of many thoughts and memories which flitted elusively through my
• 6:22:48
  tired and overwrought brain. At length came the cruel recollection of the thing that
• 6:22:53
  I had done in my last conscious act. And then I dared not to
• 6:22:56
  open my eyes for fear of what I should see lying beside me. I
• 6:23:00
  wondered who it could be who ministered to me. Carthoris must have had a
• 6:23:04
  companion whom I had not seen. Well, I must face the inevitable sum
• 6:23:08
  time, so why not now? And with a sigh, I opened my
• 6:23:12
  eyes. Leaning over me was Carthoris, a great bruise upon his forehead where
• 6:23:18
  the chain had struck, but alive, thank god, alive, there was
• 6:23:22
  no one with him. Reaching out my arms, I took my boy within
• 6:23:25
  them, and if ever there arose from any planet a fervent prayer of gratitude,
• 6:23:30
  it was there beneath the crust of dying Mars, as I thanked the
• 6:23:33
  eternal mystery for my son's life. The brief instant in which I had seen
• 6:23:37
  and recognized Carthoris before the chain fell must have been ample to check the force
• 6:23:42
  of the blow. He told me that he had lain unconscious for a time.
• 6:23:47
  How long he did not know? How came you here at all?
• 6:23:49
  I asked, mystified that he had found me without a guide. It was
• 6:23:53
  by your wit in appraising me of your existence and imprisonment through the youth Parthak
• 6:23:59
  until he came aim for his harness and his sword. We had thought you
• 6:24:02
  dead when I had read your note. I did as you had bid,
• 6:24:04
  giving Parthak his choice of the harness in the guard room, and later bringing
• 6:24:08
  the jeweled short sword to him. But the minute that I had fulfilled the
• 6:24:11
  promise you evidently had made him, my obligation to him ceased. Then I
• 6:24:17
  commenced to question him, but he would give me no information as to your
• 6:24:19
  whereabouts. He was intensely loyal to Zadars. Finally I gave him a fair
• 6:24:25
  choice between freedom and the pits beneath the palace. The price of freedom to
• 6:24:30
  be full information as to where you were imprisoned and directions which would lead us
• 6:24:33
  to you. But still he maintained his stubborn partisanship. Despairing, I had
• 6:24:38
  him removed to the pits, where he still is. No threats of torture
• 6:24:42
  or death, no bribes, however fabulous, would move him. His only
• 6:24:47
  reply to all our importunities was that whenever Parthak died, were it tomorrow or
• 6:24:52
  a thousand years. Hence no man could truly say a traitor is gone to
• 6:24:57
  his deserts. Mainly Exodar, who is a fiend of subtle craftiness, evolved
• 6:25:03
  a plan whereby we might worm the information from him, and so I caused
• 6:25:07
  hor Vastus to be harnessed in the middle of a Zodangan soldier and chained in
• 6:25:11
  Parthak's cell beside him for fifteen days. The noble hor Vastus has languished in
• 6:25:17
  the darkness of the pits, but not in vain. Little by little he
• 6:25:21
  won the confidence and friendship of the Zodangan, until only to day Parthak,
• 6:25:26
  thinking that he was speaking not only to a countryman, but to a dear
• 6:25:29
  friend revealed to hor Vastus the exact cell in which you lay. It took
• 6:25:34
  me but a short time to locate the plans of the pits of Helium among
• 6:25:37
  thy official papers. To come to you, though, was a trifle more
• 6:25:41
  difficult matter. As you know, while all the pits beneath the city are
• 6:25:45
  connected, there are but single entrances from those beneath each section and its neighbor,
• 6:25:49
  and that at the upper level just underneath the ground. Of course,
• 6:25:53
  these openings, which lead from contiguous pits to those beneath government buildings, are
• 6:25:59
  always guarded. And so while I easily came to the entrance to the pits
• 6:26:03
  beneath the palace which Zadarras is occupying, I found there as though Dangon's soldier
• 6:26:07
  on guard there. I left him when I had gone by, but his
• 6:26:11
  soul was no longer with him. Here I am just in time to be
• 6:26:17
  nearly killed by you. He ended, laughing as he talked. Carthoris had
• 6:26:22
  been working at the lot which held my fetters, And now, with an
• 6:26:25
  exclamation of pleasure, he dropped the end of the chain to the floor,
• 6:26:29
  and I stood up once more, freed from the galling irons I had chafed
• 6:26:33
  in for almost a year. He had brought a long sword and a dagger
• 6:26:37
  from me, and thus armed, we set out upon the return journey to
• 6:26:41
  my palace. At the point where we left the pits of Zadars, we
• 6:26:44
  found the body of the guard Cathoris had slain. It had not yet been
• 6:26:48
  discovered, and in orders to still further delay search and mystify the Jed's people,
• 6:26:53
  we carried the body with us for a short distance, hiding it in
• 6:26:56
  a tiny cell off the main corridor of the pits beneath it adjoining estate.
• 6:27:00
  Some half hour later we came to the pits beneath our own palace, and
• 6:27:04
  soon thereafter emerged in the audience chamber itself, where we found kantos Can,
• 6:27:10
  Tars, Tarkas, hor Vastus, and Exod awaiting us most impatiently. No
• 6:27:15
  time was lost and fruitless recounting of my imprisonment. What I desired to know
• 6:27:19
  was how well the plans we had laid nearly a year ago had been carried
• 6:27:23
  out. It has taken much longer than we had expected, replied kantos Kan.
• 6:27:29
  The fact that we were compelled to maintain utter secrecy, has handicapped us
• 6:27:32
  terribly. Zatarras's spies are everywhere, yet to the best of my knowledge,
• 6:27:37
  no word of our real plans has reached the villain's ear. To night,
• 6:27:41
  there lies about the great docks at Hast a fleet of a thousand of the
• 6:27:45
  mightiest battleships that ever sailed above Barsoom, and each equipped to navigate the air
• 6:27:49
  of Omin and the waters of Omen itself. Upon each battleship there are five
• 6:27:55
  ten man cruisers and ten five man scouts, and a hundred one man scouts.
• 6:28:00
  In all, one hundred and sixteen thousand craft fitted with both air and
• 6:28:04
  water propellers. At Thark lie the transport for the Green warriors of Tars Tarkas,
• 6:28:10
  nine hundred large troop ships, and with them their convoys. Seven days
• 6:28:15
  ago all was in readiness, but we waited in the hope that by so
• 6:28:18
  doing, your rescue might be encompassed in time for you to command the expedition.
• 6:28:22
  It is well we waited, my prince, how is it tars Tarkas.
• 6:28:26
  I asked that the men of Thark take not the accustomed action against one
• 6:28:30
  who returns from the bosom of Ish. They sent a council fifty chieftains to
• 6:28:36
  talk with me. Here, replied the Thark. We are a just people,
• 6:28:40
  and when I had told them the entire story, they were as one
• 6:28:41
  man in agreeing that their action toward me would be guided by the action of
• 6:28:45
  Helium toward John Carter in the meantime. At their request, I was to
• 6:28:49
  resume my throne as Jeddak of Tharp, that I might negotiate with neighboring hordes
• 6:28:55
  of warriors to compose the land forces of the expedition. I have done them
• 6:29:00
  which I agreed. Two hundred and fifty thousand fighting men, gathered from the
• 6:29:03
  ice cap at the north to the ice cap at the south, and representing
• 6:29:07
  a thousand different communities from a hundred wild and warlike hordes, fill the great
• 6:29:12
  city of Thark to night. They are ready to sail for the land of
• 6:29:15
  the first Born when I give the word, and fight there until I bid
• 6:29:19
  them stop. All they ask is the loot they take and transportation to their
• 6:29:25
  own territories. When the fighting and the looting are over, I am done,
• 6:29:29
  and thou hor vastus, I asked, what has been thy success?
• 6:29:33
  A million veteran fighting men from Helium's thin waterways, manned the battleships, the
• 6:29:37
  transports, and the convoys. He replied, Each has sworn to loyalty and
• 6:29:41
  secrecy. Nor were enough recruited from a single district to cause suspicion. Good,
• 6:29:47
  I cried, Each has done his duty, and now Kantos can may
• 6:29:51
  we not repair at once to Hastor and get under way before tomorrow's sun.
• 6:29:55
  We should lose no time, Prince replied kantos Kan. Already the people of
• 6:30:00
  Astor are questioning the purpose of so great a fleet, fully manned with fighting
• 6:30:03
  men. I wonder much that word of it has not before reached zat Arras
• 6:30:07
  a cruiser waits above at your own dock. Let us leave it a fusilade
• 6:30:12
  of shots from the palace gardens, just without cut short his further words.
• 6:30:17
  Together we rushed to the balcony in time to see a dozen members of my
• 6:30:19
  palace guard disappear in the shadows of some distant shrubbery, as in pursuit of
• 6:30:25
  one who fled directly beneath us. Upon the scarlet sward. A handful of
• 6:30:29
  guardsmen were stooping above a still and prostrate form. While we watched, they
• 6:30:33
  lifted the figure in their arms, and at my command, bore to the
• 6:30:37
  audience chamber, where we had been in council. When they stretched the body
• 6:30:41
  at our feet, we saw that it was that of a red man in
• 6:30:44
  the prime of life. His metal was plain, such as common soldiers wear,
• 6:30:49
  or those who wished to conceal their identity. Another of zat Arras's spies,
• 6:30:53
  said hor Vastus, so it would seem, I replied. And then
• 6:30:57
  to the guard, you may remove the body, wait, said Exodar.
• 6:31:02
  If you will, Prince, ask that a cloth and a little thoat oil
• 6:31:06
  be brought. I nodded to one of the soldiers who left the chamber,
• 6:31:10
  returning presently with the things that Exodar had requested. The black kneeled beside the
• 6:31:15
  body, and, dipping a corner of the cloth in the thoat oil,
• 6:31:17
  rubbed for a moment on the dead face before him. Then he turned to
• 6:31:21
  me with a smile, pointing to his work. I looked and saw that
• 6:31:25
  where Exodar had applied the thoat oil, the face was white, as white
• 6:31:29
  as mine. And then Exodar seized the black hair of the corpse, and
• 6:31:32
  with a sudden wrench tore it all away, revealing a hairless pate beneath.
• 6:31:37
  Guardsmen and nobles pressed close about the silent witness upon the marble floor. Many
• 6:31:41
  were the exclamations of astonishment and questioning wonder as Exodar's axe confirmed the suspicions which
• 6:31:48
  he had held a thorn, whispered tars Tarkas worse than that, I fear,
• 6:31:53
  replied Exodar. But let us see with that. He drew his dagger
• 6:31:59
  and cut open a lot pouch which had dangled from the thurn's harness, and
• 6:32:03
  from it he brought forth a circlet of gold set with a large gem.
• 6:32:07
  It was the mate to that which I had taken from Sator Throg. He
• 6:32:11
  was a holy Thern, said Exodar. Fortunate, indeed, it is for
• 6:32:15
  us that he did not escape. The officer of the guard entered the chamber
• 6:32:18
  at this juncture, My Prince, he said, I have to report that
• 6:32:22
  this fellow's companion escaped us. I think that it was with the connivance of
• 6:32:27
  one or more of the men at the gate. I have ordered them all
• 6:32:30
  under arrest. Exodar handed him the thoat oil in cloth. With this you
• 6:32:36
  may discover the spy among you, he said, I at once ordered a
• 6:32:38
  secret search within this city, for every martian noble maintains a secret service of
• 6:32:44
  his own. A half hour later, the officer of the guard came again
• 6:32:48
  to report. This time it was to confirm our worst fears. Half the
• 6:32:52
  guards at the gate that night had been thorns disguised as red men. Come.
• 6:32:56
  I cried, we must lose no time on to Hastar at once.
• 6:33:00
  Should the Therns attempt to check us at the southern verge of the ice cap,
• 6:33:04
  it may result in the wrecking of all our plans and the total destruction
• 6:33:08
  of the expedition. Ten minutes later we were speeding through the night toward hast
• 6:33:14
  prepared to strike the first blow for the preservation of dejah Thoris end of Chapter
• 6:33:18
  nineteen, Chapter twenty one. Through flood and flame Yurstead's information convinced me that
• 6:33:26
  there was no time to be lost. I must reach the Temple of Issus
• 6:33:30
  secretly before the forces under Tars Tarkas assaulted at dawn. Once within its hated
• 6:33:36
  walls, I was positive that I could overcome the guards of Issus and bear
• 6:33:40
  away my princess, for at my back I would have a force ample for
• 6:33:42
  the occasion. No sooner had Carthoris and the others joined me than we commenced
• 6:33:48
  the transportation of our men through the submerged passage to the mouth of the gangways
• 6:33:52
  which lead from the submarine pool at the temple end of the watery tunnel to
• 6:33:56
  the pits of Issus. Many trips were reed, but at last all stood
• 6:34:00
  safely together again. At the beginning of the end of our quest, five
• 6:34:04
  thousand strong. We were all seasoned fighting men of the most warlike race of
• 6:34:10
  the red men of Barsoom. As Carthoris alone knew the hidden ways of the
• 6:34:14
  tunnels, we could not divide the party and attack the temple at several points
• 6:34:18
  at once, as would have been most desirable, and so it was decided
• 6:34:22
  that he would lead us all as quickly as possible to a point near the
• 6:34:25
  temples center. As we were about to leave the pool and enter the corridor,
• 6:34:29
  an officer called my attention to the waters upon which the submarine floated.
• 6:34:33
  At first, they seemed to be merely agitated, as from the movement of
• 6:34:37
  some great body beneath the surface, and I at once conjectured that another submarine
• 6:34:41
  was rising to the surface in pursuit of us. But presently it became apparent
• 6:34:45
  that the level of the waters was rising, not with extreme rapidity, but
• 6:34:51
  very surely, and that soon they would overflow the sides of the pool and
• 6:34:53
  submerge the floor of the chamber. For a moment I did not fully grasp
• 6:34:57
  the terrible import of the slowly rising water. It was Carthoris who realized the
• 6:35:03
  full meaning of the thing, its cause, and the reason for it haste.
• 6:35:07
  He cried, If we delay, we all are lost. The pumps
• 6:35:11
  of Omean have been stopped. They would drown us like rats in a trap.
• 6:35:15
  We must reach the upper levels of the pits in advance of the flood,
• 6:35:18
  or we shall never reach them. Come lead the way, Carthoris,
• 6:35:22
  I cried, we will follow at my command. The youth leaped into one
• 6:35:26
  of the corridors, and in column of twos the soldiers followed him in good
• 6:35:30
  order, each company entering the corridor only at the command of its door or
• 6:35:34
  captain. Before the last company filed from the chamber, the water was ankle
• 6:35:38
  deep, and that the men were nervous was quite evident. Entirely unaccustomed to
• 6:35:42
  water, except in quantities sufficient for drinking and bathing purposes. The Red Martians
• 6:35:48
  instinctively shrank from it. In such formidable depths and menacing activity that they were
• 6:35:52
  undaunted while it swirled and nettied about Their ankles spoke well for their bravery and
• 6:35:57
  their discipline. I was the last to leave the chamber of the submarine,
• 6:36:02
  and as I followed the rear of the column toward the corridor, I moved
• 6:36:04
  through water to my knees. The corridor, too was flooded to the same
• 6:36:08
  depth, for its floor was on a level with the floor of the chamber
• 6:36:11
  from which it led. Nor was there any perceptible rise for many yards.
• 6:36:17
  The march of the troops through the corridor was as rapid as was consistent with
• 6:36:19
  the number of men that moved through so narrow a passage, but it was
• 6:36:23
  not ample to permit us to gain appreciably on the pursuing tide. As the
• 6:36:27
  level of the passage rose, so too did the waters rise, until it
• 6:36:32
  soon became apparent to me, who brought up the rear, that they were
• 6:36:34
  gaining rapidly upon us. I could understand the reason for this, as with
• 6:36:38
  the narrowing expanse of Omean, as the waters rode towards the apex of its
• 6:36:42
  dome, the rapidity of its rise would increase in inverse ratio to the ever
• 6:36:48
  lessening space to be filled long air. The last of the column could hope
• 6:36:52
  to reach the upper pits which lie above the danger point. I was convinced
• 6:36:56
  that the waters would surge after us in overwhelming volume, and that fully half
• 6:37:00
  the expedition would be snuffed out. As I cast about for some means of
• 6:37:03
  saving as many as possible of the doomed men, I saw a diverging corridor
• 6:37:08
  which seemed to rise at a steep angle at my right. The waters were
• 6:37:11
  now swirling about my waist. The men directly before me were quickly becoming panic
• 6:37:17
  stricken. Something must be done at once, or they would rush forward upon
• 6:37:21
  their fellows in a mad stampede that would result in trampling down hundreds beneath the
• 6:37:26
  flood and eventually clogging the passage beyond any hope of retreat for those in advance.
• 6:37:32
  Raising my voice to its utmost, I shouted my command to the dwarfs
• 6:37:34
  ahead of me. Call back the last twenty five U tens. I shouted,
• 6:37:38
  Here seems a way of escape. Turn back and follow me. My
• 6:37:42
  orders were obeyed by nearer thirty u tens, so that some three thousand men
• 6:37:47
  came about and hastened into the teeth of the flood to reach the corridor up
• 6:37:51
  which I directed them. As the first dwarf passed in with his utan,
• 6:37:56
  I cautioned him to listen closely for my commands, and under no circumstances to
• 6:38:00
  venture into the open or leave the pits for the temple proper until I should
• 6:38:04
  have come up with him, or you know that I died before I could
• 6:38:07
  reach you. The officers saluted and left me. The men filed rapidly past
• 6:38:11
  me and entered the diverging corridor, which I hoped would lead to safety.
• 6:38:15
  The water rose breast high. Men stumbled, floundered, and went down.
• 6:38:21
  Many I grasped and set upon their feet again. But alone the work was
• 6:38:25
  greater than I could cope with. Soldiers were being swept beneath the boiling torrent,
• 6:38:29
  never to rise. At length, the dwar of the tenth u ten
• 6:38:32
  took a stand beside me. He was a valorous soldier, Gertus by name,
• 6:38:37
  and together we kept the now thoroughly frightened troops in the semblance of order,
• 6:38:41
  and rescued many that would have drowned otherwise. Dajor Cantos, son of
• 6:38:45
  kantos Kan, and a padwar of the fifth Utan joined us when as Utan
• 6:38:49
  reached the opening through which the men were fleeing. Thereafter, not a man
• 6:38:53
  was lost of all the hundreds that remained to pass from the main corridor to
• 6:38:56
  the branch. As the last U ten was filing past us, the waters
• 6:39:00
  had risen until they surged about our necks, but we clasped hands and stood
• 6:39:04
  our ground until the last men had passed to the comparative safety of the new
• 6:39:08
  passageway. Here we found an immediate and steep ascent, so that within a
• 6:39:14
  hundred yards we had reached a point above the waters. For a few minutes,
• 6:39:17
  we continued rapidly up the steep grade, which I hoped would soon bring
• 6:39:21
  us quickly to the upper pits that let into the Temple of Issus. But
• 6:39:25
  I was to meet with a cruel disappointment. Suddenly I heard a cry of
• 6:39:29
  fire far ahead, followed almost at once by cries of terror and the loud
• 6:39:33
  commands of dwarfs and padwars, who were evidently attempting to direct their men away
• 6:39:37
  from some grave danger. At last the report came back to us. They
• 6:39:41
  have fired the pits ahead. We are hemmed in by flames in front and
• 6:39:45
  flood behind. Help John Carter. We are suffocating. And then there swept
• 6:39:51
  back upon us at the rear, a wave of dense smoke that sent us
• 6:39:53
  stumbling and blinded into a choking retreat. There was naught to do other than
• 6:39:59
  seek a new avenue of escape. The fire and smoke were to be feared
• 6:40:02
  a thousand times over the water, and so I seized upon the first gallery,
• 6:40:06
  which led out of and up from the suffocating smoke that was engulfing us.
• 6:40:11
  Again. I stood to one side while the soldiers hastened through on the
• 6:40:14
  new way. Some two thousand must have passed at a rapid run when the
• 6:40:18
  stream ceased, But I was not sure that all had been rescued who had
• 6:40:22
  not passed the point of origin of the flames, And so to assure myself
• 6:40:26
  that no poor devil was left behind to die a horrible death unsuccored, I
• 6:40:30
  ran quickly up the gallery in the direction of the flames, which I could
• 6:40:33
  now see burning with a dull glow far ahead. It was hot and stifling
• 6:40:37
  work. But at last I reached a point where the fire lit up the
• 6:40:41
  corridor sufficiently for me to see that no soldier of helium lay between me and
• 6:40:45
  the conflagration. What was in it or upon the far side, I could
• 6:40:49
  not know, nor could any man have passed through that seething hell of chemicals
• 6:40:53
  and lived to learn. Having satisfied my sense of duty, I turned and
• 6:40:57
  ran rapidly back to the corridor through which my men had passed. To my
• 6:41:02
  horror, however, I found that my retreat in this direction had been blocked.
• 6:41:07
  Across the mouth of the corridor stood a massive steel grating that had evidently
• 6:41:11
  been lowered from its resting place above for the purpose of effectually cutting off my
• 6:41:15
  escape. That our principal movements were known to the first born I could not
• 6:41:18
  have doubted, in view of the attack of the fleet upon us the day
• 6:41:22
  before. Nor could the stopping of the pumps of Omean at the psychological moment
• 6:41:26
  have been due to chance, nor the starting of a chemical combustion within the
• 6:41:30
  one corridor through which we were advancing upon the Temple of Issus been due to
• 6:41:34
  aught than well calculated design. And now the dropping of the steel gate to
• 6:41:40
  pen me effectually between fire and flood seemed indicate that invisible eyes were upon us
• 6:41:45
  at every moment. What chance had I then to rescue dejah Thoris? Were
• 6:41:48
  I to be compelled to fight foes who never showed themselves A thousand times I
• 6:41:53
  berated myself for being drawn into such a trap, as I might have known
• 6:41:56
  these pits easily could be. Now I saw that it would have been much
• 6:42:00
  better to have kept our force intact and made a concerted attack upon the temple
• 6:42:06
  from the valley side, trusting to chance in our great fighting ability to have
• 6:42:10
  overwhelmed the first born and compelled the safe delivery of dejah Thoris to me.
• 6:42:15
  The smoke from the fire was forcing me further and further back down the corridor,
• 6:42:18
  toward the waters, which I could hear surging through the darkness with my
• 6:42:22
  men had gone the last torch. Nor was this corridor lighted by the radiance
• 6:42:26
  of phosphorescent rock, as were those of the lower levels. It was this
• 6:42:30
  fact that assured me that I was not far from the upper pits, which
• 6:42:33
  lied directly beneath the temple. Finally I felt the lapping waters about my feet.
• 6:42:38
  The smoke was thick behind me. My suffering was intense. There seemed
• 6:42:42
  but one thing to do, and that to choose the easier death which confronted
• 6:42:47
  me. And so I moved on down the corridor until the cold waters of
• 6:42:49
  Omean closed about me, and I swam on through utter blackness toward what The
• 6:42:55
  instinct of self preservation is strong, even when one unafraid and in the possess
• 6:43:00
  of his highest reasoning faculties, knows that death, positive and unalterable, lies
• 6:43:04
  just ahead. And so I swam slowly on, waiting for my head to
• 6:43:08
  touch the top of the corridor, which would mean that I had reached the
• 6:43:11
  limit of my flight and the point where I must sink forever to an unmarked
• 6:43:15
  grave. But to my surprise, I ran against a blank wall before I
• 6:43:19
  reached a point where the waters came to the roof of the corridor. Could
• 6:43:23
  I be mistaken? I felt around. No, I had come to the
• 6:43:26
  main corridor, and still there was breathing space between the surface of the water
• 6:43:30
  and the rocky ceiling above. And then I turned up the main corridor in
• 6:43:34
  the direction that Carthoris and the head of the column had passed a half hour
• 6:43:38
  before. On and on I swam, my heart growing lighter at every stroke,
• 6:43:44
  for I knew that I was approaching closer and closer to the point where
• 6:43:47
  there would be no chance that the waters ahead could be deeper than they were
• 6:43:51
  about me. I was positive that I must soon feel the solid floor beneath
• 6:43:55
  my feet again, and that once more my chance would come to reach the
• 6:43:57
  temple of Issus and the sun the fair prisoner who languished there. But even
• 6:44:03
  as hope was at its highest, I felt the sudden shock of contact as
• 6:44:06
  my head struck the rocks above. The worst then had come to me.
• 6:44:10
  I had reached one of those rare places where a Martian tunnel dipped suddenly to
• 6:44:14
  a lower level somewhere beyond. I knew that it rose again, But of
• 6:44:18
  what value was that to me, since I did not know how great the
• 6:44:22
  distance that it maintained a level entirely beneath the surface of the water. There
• 6:44:26
  was but a single forlorn hope, and I took it. Filling my lungs
• 6:44:30
  with air, I dived beneath the surface and swam through the inky, icy
• 6:44:33
  blackness, on and on along the submerged gallery. Time and time again,
• 6:44:38
  I rose with upstretched hand, only to feel the disappointing rocks close above me.
• 6:44:44
  Not for much longer would my lungs withstand the strain upon them. I
• 6:44:48
  felt that I must soon succumb. Nor was there any retreating Now that I
• 6:44:52
  had gone this far, I knew positively that I could never endure to retrace
• 6:44:56
  my path now to the point from which I had felt the waters close above
• 6:45:00
  my head. Death stared me in the face. Nor ever can I recall
• 6:45:04
  a time that I so distinctly felt the icy breath from his dead lips upon
• 6:45:07
  my brow. One more frantic effort I made, with my fast ebbing strength.
• 6:45:12
  Weakly I rose for the last time. My tortured lungs gasped for the
• 6:45:17
  breath that would fill them with a strange and numbing element. But instead I
• 6:45:21
  felt the revivifying breath of life giving air surge through my starving nostrils into my
• 6:45:26
  dying lungs. I was saved. A few more strokes brought me to a
• 6:45:30
  point where my feet touched the floor, and soon thereafter I was above the
• 6:45:34
  water level entirely, and racing like mad along the corridor, searching for the
• 6:45:38
  first doorway that would lead me to Issus if I could not have dejah Thoris
• 6:45:44
  again, I was at least determined to a venture death, Nor would any
• 6:45:47
  life satisfy me other than that of the fiend incarnate, who was the cause
• 6:45:51
  of such immeasurable suffering upon barsoom. Sooner than I had expected, I came
• 6:45:56
  to what appeared to me to be a sudden exit into the temple above.
• 6:46:00
  It was at the right side of the corridor, which ran on, probably
• 6:46:03
  to other entrances to the pile above. To me, one point was as
• 6:46:07
  good as another. What knew I where any of them led, And so,
• 6:46:11
  without waiting to be again discovered and thwarted, I ran quickly up the
• 6:46:15
  short steep incline and pushed open the doorway at its end. The portal swung
• 6:46:19
  slowly in, and before it could be slammed against me, I sprang into
• 6:46:23
  the chamber beyond. Although not yet dawned. The room was brilliantly lighted.
• 6:46:27
  Its sole occupant lay prone upon a low couch at the further side, apparently
• 6:46:33
  in sleep. From the hangings and sumptuous furniture of the room, I judged
• 6:46:37
  it to be a living room of some priestess, possibly a vicious herself,
• 6:46:41
  at the thought the blood tingled through my veins. What Indeed, if fortune
• 6:46:45
  had been kind enough to place the hideous creature alone and unguarded in my hands,
• 6:46:51
  with her as hostage, I could force the acquiescence to my every demand.
• 6:46:55
  Cautiously, I approached the recumbent figure on noiseless feet. Closer and clo
• 6:47:00
  I came to it. But I had crossed but little more than half the
• 6:47:03
  chamber when the figure stirred, and as I sprang, rose and faced me.
• 6:47:07
  At first, an expression of terror overspread the features of the woman who
• 6:47:11
  confronted me, then startled incredulally hope thanksgiving My heart pounded within my breast.
• 6:47:18
  As I advanced toward her. Tears came to my eyes, and the words
• 6:47:22
  that would have poured forth in a perfect torrent choked in my throat. As
• 6:47:26
  I opened my arms and took into them once more the woman I loved,
• 6:47:30
  dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium. End of Chapter twenty one. Chapter twenty
• 6:47:36
  one. Through flood and flame, Yurstead's information convinced me that there was no
• 6:47:41
  time to be lost. I must reach the temple of Issus secretly before the
• 6:47:45
  forces under tars Tarkas assaulted at dawn. Once within its hated walls, I
• 6:47:49
  was positive that I could overcome the guards of Issus and bear away my princess,
• 6:47:55
  for at my back I would have a force ample for the occasion.
• 6:47:59
  No sooner had Arthoris and the others joined me, then we commenced the transportation
• 6:48:03
  of our men through the submerged passage to the mouth of the gangways, which
• 6:48:07
  lead from the submarine pool at the temple end of the watery tunnel to the
• 6:48:11
  pits of Issus. Many trips were required, but at last all stood safely
• 6:48:15
  together again at the beginning of the end of our quest, five thousand strong.
• 6:48:19
  We were all seasoned fighting men of the most warlike race of the red
• 6:48:23
  men of Barsoom. As Carthoris alone knew the hidden ways of the tunnels,
• 6:48:29
  we could not divide the party and attack the temple at several points at once,
• 6:48:33
  as would have been most desirable, and so it was decided that he
• 6:48:36
  would lead us all as quickly as possible to a point near the temple center.
• 6:48:40
  As we were about to leave the pool and enter the corridor, an
• 6:48:42
  officer called my attention to the waters upon which the submarine floated. At first,
• 6:48:48
  they seemed to be merely agitated, as from the movement of some great
• 6:48:51
  body beneath the surface, and I at once conjectured that another submarine was rising
• 6:48:56
  to the surface in pursuit of us. But presently came apparent that the level
• 6:49:00
  of the waters was rising, not with extreme rapidity, but very surely,
• 6:49:06
  and that soon they would overflow the sides of the pool and submerge the floor
• 6:49:08
  of the chamber. For a moment I did not fully grasp the terrible import
• 6:49:12
  of the slowly rising water. It was Carthoris who realized the full meaning of
• 6:49:18
  the thing, its cause, and the reason for it haste. He cried,
• 6:49:22
  If we delay, we all are lost. The pumps of Omean have
• 6:49:26
  been stopped. They would drown us like rats in a trap. We must
• 6:49:30
  reach the upper levels of the pits in advance of the flood, or we
• 6:49:33
  shall never reach them. Come lead the way, Carthoris, I cried,
• 6:49:37
  we will follow at my command. The youth leaped into one of the corridors,
• 6:49:41
  and in column of twos the soldiers followed him in good order, each
• 6:49:45
  company entering the corridor only at the command of its door or captain. Before
• 6:49:49
  the last company filed from the chamber. The water was ankle deep, and
• 6:49:53
  that the men were nervous was quite evident. Entirely unaccustomed to water, except
• 6:49:57
  in quantities sufficient for drinking and bathing purposes, the Red Martians instinctively shrank from
• 6:50:03
  it. In such formidable depths and menacing activity, that they were undaunted while
• 6:50:07
  it swirled and nettied about their ankles. Spoke well for their bravery and their
• 6:50:11
  discipline. I was the last to leave the chamber of the submarine, and
• 6:50:15
  as I followed the rear of the column toward the corridor, I moved through
• 6:50:18
  water to my knees. The corridor, too was flooded to the same depth,
• 6:50:22
  for its floor was on a level with the floor of the chamber from
• 6:50:26
  which it led. Nor was there any perceptible rise for many yards. The
• 6:50:30
  march of the troops through the corridor was as rapid as was consistent with the
• 6:50:33
  number of men that moved through so narrow a passage, but it was not
• 6:50:37
  ample to permit us to gain appreciably on the pursuing tide. As the level
• 6:50:41
  of the passage rose, so too did the waters rise, until it soon
• 6:50:45
  became apparent to me who brought up the rear that they were gaining rapidly upon
• 6:50:49
  us. I could understand the reason for this, as with the narrowing expanse
• 6:50:55
  of Omean. As the waters rode towards the apex of its dome, the
• 6:50:57
  rapidity of its rise would increase in inverse ratio to the ever lessening space to
• 6:51:03
  be filled. Long ere the last of the column could hope to reach the
• 6:51:06
  upper pits which lie above the danger point. I was convinced that the waters
• 6:51:10
  would surge after us in overwhelming volume, and that fully half the expedition would
• 6:51:15
  be snuffed out. As I cast about for some means of saving as many
• 6:51:18
  as possible of the doomed men, I saw a diverging corridor which seemed to
• 6:51:22
  rise at a steep angle. At my right. The waters were now swirling
• 6:51:26
  about my waist. The men directly before me were quickly becoming panic stricken.
• 6:51:32
  Something must be done at once, or they would rush forward upon their fellows
• 6:51:36
  in a mad stampede that would result in trampling down hundreds beneath the flood and
• 6:51:41
  eventually clogging the passage beyond any hope of retreat for those in advance. Raising
• 6:51:45
  my voice to its utmost. I shouted my command to the dwarfs ahead of
• 6:51:49
  me, call back the last twenty five U tens. I shouted, here
• 6:51:52
  seems a way of escape, turn back and follow me. My orders were
• 6:51:56
  obeyed by nearer thirty U tens, so that some three thousand men came about
• 6:52:02
  and hastened into the teeth of the flood to reach the corridor up which I
• 6:52:06
  directed them. As the first dwarf passed in with his utan, I cautioned
• 6:52:11
  him to listen closely for my commands, and under no circumstances to venture into
• 6:52:15
  the open or leave the pits for the temple proper until I should have come
• 6:52:18
  up with him, or you know that I died before I could reach you.
• 6:52:22
  The officers saluted and left me. The men filed rapidly past me and
• 6:52:26
  entered the diverging corridor, which I hoped would lead to safety. The water
• 6:52:30
  rose breast high. Men stumbled, floundered, and went down. Many I
• 6:52:36
  grasped and set upon their feet again. But alone the work was greater than
• 6:52:38
  I could cope with. Soldiers were being swept beneath the boiling torrent, never
• 6:52:42
  to rise. At length. The dwarf of the tenth eu Ten took a
• 6:52:45
  stand beside me. He was a valorous soldier, Gertus by name, and
• 6:52:51
  together we kept the now thoroughly frightened troops in the semblance of order, and
• 6:52:55
  rescued many that would have drowned otherwise. Djor Kantos, son of Kantos Kan,
• 6:53:00
  and a Padwar of the fifth Utan joined us when as Utan reached the
• 6:53:03
  opening through which the men were fleeing. Thereafter, not a man was lost
• 6:53:07
  of all the hundreds that remained to pass from the main corridor to the branch.
• 6:53:11
  As the last U ten was filing past us, the waters had risen
• 6:53:15
  until they surged about our necks, but we clasped hands and stood our ground
• 6:53:19
  until the last men had passed to the comparative safety of the new passageway.
• 6:53:23
  Here we found an immediate and steep ascent, so that within a hundred yards
• 6:53:27
  we had reached a point above the waters. For a few minutes, we
• 6:53:32
  continued rapidly up the steep grade, which I hoped would soon bring us quickly
• 6:53:36
  to the upper pits that let into the temple of Issus. But I was
• 6:53:38
  to meet with a cruel disappointment. Suddenly I heard a cry of fire far
• 6:53:44
  ahead, followed almost at once by cries of terror and the loud commands of
• 6:53:48
  dwarfs and padwars, who were evidently attempting to direct their men away from some
• 6:53:52
  grave danger. At last the report came back to us. They have fired
• 6:53:56
  the pits ahead. We are hemmed in by flames and front and flood behind,
• 6:54:00
  helped John Carter. We are suffocating. And then there swept back upon
• 6:54:04
  us at the rear, a wave of dense smoke that sent us stumbling and
• 6:54:07
  blinded into a choking retreat. There was naught to do other than seek a
• 6:54:12
  new avenue of escape. The fire and smoke were to be feared a thousand
• 6:54:17
  times over the water, and so I seized upon the first gallery, which
• 6:54:21
  led out of and up from the suffocating smoke that was engulfing us. Again.
• 6:54:25
  I stood to one side while the soldiers hastened through on the new way.
• 6:54:29
  Some two thousand must have passed at a rapid run when the stream ceased,
• 6:54:33
  But I was not sure that all had been rescued who had not passed
• 6:54:37
  the point of origin of the flames. And so to assure myself that no
• 6:54:41
  poor devil was left behind to die, a horrible death. Unsuccored, I
• 6:54:44
  ran quickly up the gallery in the direction of the flames, which I could
• 6:54:48
  now see burning with a dull glow far ahead. It was hot and stifling
• 6:54:52
  work, but at last I reached a point where the fire lit up the
• 6:54:55
  corridor sufficiently for me to see that no soldier of Helium lay between me and
• 6:55:00
  the conflagration. What was in it or upon the far side, I could
• 6:55:03
  not know, nor could any man have passed through that seething hell of chemicals
• 6:55:07
  and lived to learn. Having satisfied my sense of duty, I turned and
• 6:55:11
  ran rapidly back to the corridor through which my men had passed. To my
• 6:55:15
  horror, however, I found that my retreat in this direction had been blocked.
• 6:55:21
  Across the mouth of the corridor stood a massive steel grating that had evidently
• 6:55:25
  been lowered from its resting place above for the purpose of effectually cutting off my
• 6:55:29
  escape. That our principal movements were known to the first born I could not
• 6:55:33
  have doubted, in view of the attack of the fleet upon us the day
• 6:55:36
  before. Nor could the stopping of the pumps of Omean at the psychological moment
• 6:55:41
  have been due to chance, nor the starting of a chemical combustion within the
• 6:55:45
  one corridor through which we were advancing upon the Temple of Issus been due to
• 6:55:48
  aught than well calculated design. And now the dropping of the steel gate to
• 6:55:53
  pen me effectually between fire and flood seemed indicate that invisible eyes were upon us
• 6:55:59
  at every moment. What chance had I then to rescue dejah Thoris? Were
• 6:56:03
  I to be compelled to fight foes who never showed themselves A thousand times I
• 6:56:07
  berated myself for being drawn into such a trap, as I might have known
• 6:56:11
  these pits easily could be. Now I saw that it would have been much
• 6:56:15
  better to have kept our force intact and made a concerted attack upon the temple
• 6:56:19
  from the valley side, trusting to chance in our great fighting ability, to
• 6:56:23
  have overwhelmed the first Born and compelled the safe delivery of dejah Thoris to me.
• 6:56:29
  The smoke from the fire was forcing me further and further back down the
• 6:56:32
  corridor, toward the waters, which I could hear surging through the darkness with
• 6:56:36
  my men had gone the last torch. Nor was this corridor lighted by the
• 6:56:40
  radiance of phosphorescent rock, as were those of the lower levels. It was
• 6:56:45
  this fact that assured me that I was not far from the upper pits,
• 6:56:48
  which lied directly beneath the temple. Finally I felt the lapping waters about my
• 6:56:52
  feet. The smoke was thick behind me. My suffering was intense. There
• 6:56:56
  seemed but one thing to do, and that to choose the easy death which
• 6:57:00
  confronted me. And so I moved on down the corridor until the cold waters
• 6:57:03
  of Omean closed about me, and I swam on through utter blackness toward what
• 6:57:08
  The instinct of self preservation is strong, even when one unafraid and in the
• 6:57:12
  possession of his highest reasoning faculties, knows that death, positive and unalterable,
• 6:57:18
  lies just ahead. And so I swam slowly on, waiting for my head
• 6:57:22
  to touch the top of the corridor, which would mean that I had reached
• 6:57:26
  the limit of my flight and the point where I must sink forever to an
• 6:57:30
  unmarked grave. But to my surprise, I ran against a blank wall before
• 6:57:33
  I reached a point where the waters came to the roof of the corridor.
• 6:57:37
  Could I be mistaken? I felt around. No, I had come to
• 6:57:41
  the main corridor, and still there was breathing space between the surface of the
• 6:57:45
  water and the rocky ceiling above. And then I turned up the main corridor
• 6:57:48
  in the direction that Carthoris and the head of the column had passed a half
• 6:57:52
  hour before. On and on I swam, my heart growing lighter at every
• 6:57:56
  stroke, for I knew that I was approaching closer and closer to the point
• 6:58:00
  where there would be no chance that the waters ahead could be deeper than they
• 6:58:03
  were about me. I was positive that I must soon feel the solid floor
• 6:58:07
  beneath my feet again, and that once more my chance would come to reach
• 6:58:11
  the temple of Issus and the side of the fair prisoner who languished there.
• 6:58:15
  But even as hope was at its highest, I felt the sudden shock of
• 6:58:19
  contact as my head struck the rocks above. The worst then had come to
• 6:58:23
  me. I had reached one of those rare places where a Martian tunnel dipped
• 6:58:27
  suddenly to a lower level somewhere beyond. I knew that it rose again.
• 6:58:32
  But of what value was that to me, since I did not know how
• 6:58:34
  great the distance that it maintained a level entirely beneath the surface of the water.
• 6:58:40
  There was but a single forlorn hope, and I took it, filling
• 6:58:44
  my lungs with air, I dived beneath the surface and swam through the inky,
• 6:58:48
  icy blackness, on and on along the submerged gallery. Time and time
• 6:58:52
  again, I rose with upstretched hand, only to feel the disappointing rocks close
• 6:58:56
  above me. Not for much longer would my lungs would stand the strain upon
• 6:59:00
  them. I felt that I must soon succumb. Nor was there any retreating
• 6:59:04
  now that I had gone this far. I knew positively that I could never
• 6:59:10
  endure to retrace my path now to the point from which I had felt the
• 6:59:14
  waters close above my head. Death stared me in the face. Nor ever
• 6:59:18
  can I recall a time that I so distinctly felt the icy breath from his
• 6:59:22
  dead lips upon my brow. One more frantic effort I made, with my
• 6:59:26
  fast ebbing strength. Weakly I rose for the last time. My tortured lungs
• 6:59:30
  gasped for the breath that would fill them with a strange and numbing element.
• 6:59:34
  But instead I felt the revivifying breath of life giving air surge through my starving
• 6:59:40
  nostrils into my dying lungs. I was saved. A few more strokes brought
• 6:59:45
  me to a point where my feet touched the floor, and soon thereafter I
• 6:59:48
  was above the water level entirely, and racing like mad along the corridor,
• 6:59:52
  searching for the first doorway that would lead me to Issus. If I could
• 6:59:56
  not have dejah Thoris again, I was at least determined to have her death.
• 7:00:00
  Nor would any life satisfy me other than that of the fiend incarnate,
• 7:00:03
  who was the cause of such immeasurable suffering upon barsoom. Sooner than I had
• 7:00:08
  expected, I came to what appeared to me to be a sudden exit into
• 7:00:12
  the temple above. It was at the right side of the corridor, which
• 7:00:17
  ran on, probably to other entrances to the pile above. To me,
• 7:00:21
  one point was as good as another. What knew I where any of them
• 7:00:23
  led, And so, without waiting to be again discovered and thwarted, I
• 7:00:27
  ran quickly up the short steep incline and pushed open the doorway at its end.
• 7:00:33
  The portal swung slowly in, and before it could be slammed against me,
• 7:00:37
  I sprang into the chamber beyond. Although not yet dawned, the room
• 7:00:41
  was brilliantly lighted. Its sole occupant lay prone upon a low couch at the
• 7:00:45
  further side, apparently in sleep. From the hangings and sumptuous furniture of the
• 7:00:49
  room, I judged it to be a living room of some priestess, possibly
• 7:00:53
  a vicious herself. At the thought, the blood tingled through my veins.
• 7:00:57
  What indeed, if for had been kind enough to place the hideous creature alone
• 7:01:03
  and unguarded in my hands, with her as hostage, I could force the
• 7:01:07
  acquiescence to my every demand. Cautiously I approached the recumbent figure on noiseless feet.
• 7:01:12
  Closer and closer I came to it. But I had crossed but little
• 7:01:15
  more than half the chamber when the figure stirred, and as I sprang,
• 7:01:21
  rose and faced me. At first, an expression of terror overspread the features
• 7:01:25
  of the woman who confronted me, then startled incredulally. Hope, thanksgiving my
• 7:01:30
  heart pounded within my breast. As I advanced toward her. Tears came to
• 7:01:34
  my eyes, and the words that would have poured forth in a perfect torrent
• 7:01:38
  choked in my throat. As I opened my arms and took into them once
• 7:01:41
  more, the woman I loved dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium. End of
• 7:01:47
  Chapter twenty one, Chapter twenty two victory and defeat John Carter, John Carter,
• 7:01:56
  She sobbed with her dear head upon my shoulder. Even now I can
• 7:02:00
  scarce believe the witness of my own eyes. When the girl Thuvia told me
• 7:02:04
  that you had returned to Barsoom, I listened, but I could not understand,
• 7:02:08
  for it seemed that such happiness would be impossible for one who had suffered
• 7:02:14
  so in silent loneliness for all these long years. At last, when I
• 7:02:18
  realized that it was truth, and then came to know the awful place in
• 7:02:22
  which I was held prisoner, I learned to doubt that even you could reach
• 7:02:26
  me here. As the days passed, and moon after moon went by without
• 7:02:32
  bringing even the faintest rumor of you, I resigned myself to my fate.
• 7:02:37
  And now that you have come, scarce can I believe it? For an
• 7:02:40
  hour I have heard the sounds of conflict within the palace. I knew not
• 7:02:44
  what they meant, but I have hoped, against hope, that it might
• 7:02:47
  be the men of Helium, headed by my prince. And tell me what
• 7:02:52
  of Carthoris, our sun? He was with me less than an hour since
• 7:02:56
  dejah Thoris, I replied, it must have been he whose men you have
• 7:03:00
  heard battling within the precincts of the temple. Where's issus? I asked?
• 7:03:03
  Suddenly, dejah Thoris shrugged her shoulders. She sent me under guard to this
• 7:03:07
  room just before the fighting began within the temple halls. She said that she
• 7:03:12
  would send for me later. She seemed very angry and somewhat fearful. Never
• 7:03:18
  have I seen her act in so uncertain and almost terrified a manner. Now
• 7:03:22
  I know that it must have been because she had learned that John Carter,
• 7:03:26
  Prince of Helium, was approaching to demand an accounting of her for the imprisonment
• 7:03:30
  of his princess. The sounds of conflict, the clash of arms, the
• 7:03:34
  shouting, and the hurrying of many feet came to us from various parts of
• 7:03:37
  the temple. I knew that I was needed there, but I dare not
• 7:03:41
  leave dejah Thoris, nor dared I take her with me into the turmoil and
• 7:03:45
  danger of battle. At last, I bethought me of the pits from which
• 7:03:49
  I had just emerged, Why not secrete her there until I could return and
• 7:03:55
  fetch her away in safety and forever from this awful place. I explained my
• 7:03:59
  plan to her for a moment. She clung more closely to me. I
• 7:04:03
  cannot bear to be parted from you now, even for a moment, John
• 7:04:07
  Carter, she said, I shudder at the thought of being alone again,
• 7:04:10
  where that terrible creature might discover me. You do not know her, None
• 7:04:15
  can imagine her ferocious cruelty, who has not witnessed her daily axe for over
• 7:04:18
  half a year. It has taken me nearly all this time to realize even
• 7:04:22
  the things that I had seen with my own eyes. I shall not leave
• 7:04:26
  you, then, my Princess, I replied. She was silent for a
• 7:04:30
  moment. Then she drew my face to hers and kissed me. Go John
• 7:04:34
  Carter, she said, our son is there, and the soldiers of Helium
• 7:04:38
  fighting for the Princess of Helium. Where they are, you should be.
• 7:04:42
  I must not think of myself now, but of them and of my husband's
• 7:04:47
  duty. I may not stand in the way of that. Hide me in
• 7:04:49
  the pits and go. I led her to the door through which I had
• 7:04:53
  entered the chamber from below. There I pressed her dear form to me,
• 7:04:57
  and then, though it tore my heart to do it, and filled me
• 7:05:00
  only with the blackest shadows of terrible foreboding. I guided her across the threshold,
• 7:05:06
  kissed her once again, and closed the door upon her. Without hesitating
• 7:05:11
  longer, I heard from the chamber in the direction of the greatest tumult scarce.
• 7:05:15
  Half a dozen chambers had I traversed before I came upon the theater of
• 7:05:18
  a fierce struggle. The Blacks were massed at the entrance to a great chamber,
• 7:05:22
  where they were attempting to block the further progress of a body of red
• 7:05:26
  men toward the inner sacred precincts of the temple coming from within. As I
• 7:05:30
  did, I found myself behind the Blacks, and without waiting to even calculate
• 7:05:36
  their numbers or the full heartiness of my venture, I charged swiftly across the
• 7:05:40
  chamber and fell upon them from the rear with my keen long sword. As
• 7:05:44
  I struck the first blow, I cried aloud for helium, and then I
• 7:05:48
  rained cut after cut upon the surprised warriors, while the reds without took heart
• 7:05:52
  at the sound of my voice, and with shouts of John Carter. John
• 7:05:56
  Carter redoubled their efforts so effectually that before or the Blacks could recover from their
• 7:06:00
  temporary demoralization. Their ranks were broken, and the Red men had burst into
• 7:06:06
  the chamber. The fight within that room, had it had but a competent
• 7:06:10
  chronicler, would go down in the annals of Barsoom as a historic memorial to
• 7:06:15
  the grim ferocity of her warlike people. Five hundred men fought there that day,
• 7:06:19
  the black men against the Red. No man asked quarter or gave it,
• 7:06:23
  as though by common assent. They fought as though to determine once and
• 7:06:27
  for all their right to live in accordance with the law of the survival of
• 7:06:32
  the fittest. I think we all knew that upon the outcome of this battle
• 7:06:36
  would hinge forever the relative positions of these two races upon Barsoom. It was
• 7:06:41
  a battle between the old and the new. But not for once did I
• 7:06:45
  question the outcome of it. With Carthoris at my side, I fought for
• 7:06:48
  the Red men of Barsoom and for their total emancipation from the throttling bondage of
• 7:06:53
  a hideous superstition. Back and forth across the room we surged until the floor
• 7:06:59
  was ankle deep in, and dead men lay so thickly there that half the
• 7:07:03
  time we stood upon their bodies as we fought. As we swung toward the
• 7:07:07
  great windows which overlooked the gardens of Issus, a sight met my gaze which
• 7:07:11
  sent a wave of exultation over me. Look, I cried, men of
• 7:07:15
  the firstborn, look. For an instant the fighting ceased, and with one
• 7:07:18
  accord, every eye turned in the direction I had indicated. And the sight
• 7:07:22
  they saw was one no man of the firstborn had ever imagined could be.
• 7:07:26
  Across the gardens, from side to side stood a wavering line of black warriors,
• 7:07:32
  while beyond them, and forcing them ever back, was a green horde
• 7:07:34
  of green warriors astride their mighty thoats. And as we watched, one fiercer
• 7:07:40
  and more grimly terrible than his fellows, rode forward from the rear, And
• 7:07:44
  as he came he shouted some fierce command to his terrible legion. It was
• 7:07:48
  Tars Tarkas Jeddak of Thark, And as he couched his great forty foot metal
• 7:07:53
  shod lance, we saw his warriors do likewise. Then it was that we
• 7:07:56
  interpreted his command. Twenty yards now separated the green men from the black line.
• 7:08:03
  Another word from the great Thark, and with a wild and terrifying battle
• 7:08:06
  cry, the Green warriors charged. For a moment, the black line held,
• 7:08:10
  but only for a moment. Then the fearsome beasts that bore equally terrible
• 7:08:14
  riders passed completely through it. After them came Yu Tan upon Eu ten of
• 7:08:18
  red men. The Green Horde broke to surround the temple. The Red men
• 7:08:23
  charged for the interior, and then we turned to continue our interrupted battle.
• 7:08:27
  But our foes had vanished. My first thought was of dejah Thoris calling to
• 7:08:33
  Carthoris that I had found his mother. I started on a run toward the
• 7:08:36
  chamber where I had left her, with my boy close beside me. After
• 7:08:40
  us came those of our little force who had survived the bloody conflict. The
• 7:08:44
  moment I entered the room, I saw that some one had been there since
• 7:08:47
  I had left. A silk lay upon the floor. It had not been
• 7:08:51
  there before. There were also a dagger and several metal ornaments strewn about,
• 7:08:55
  as though torn from their wearer in a struggle. But worst of all,
• 7:08:59
  the door leading to the pits where I had hidden my princess was ajar with
• 7:09:03
  a bound. I was before it and thrusting it open. Rushed within.
• 7:09:07
  Dejah Thoris had vanished. I called her name aloud again and again, but
• 7:09:11
  there was no response. I think in that instance I hovered upon the verge
• 7:09:15
  of insanity. I do not recall what I said or did, but I
• 7:09:18
  know that for an instant I was seized with the rage of a maniac Ishus.
• 7:09:23
  I cried, Ishus, where is Ishus? Search the temple for her?
• 7:09:27
  But let no man harm her? But John Carter Carthoris, where are
• 7:09:33
  the apartments of Issus? This way, cried the boy, And without waiting
• 7:09:37
  to know that I had heard him, he dashed off at breakneck speed,
• 7:09:41
  further into the bows of the temple. As fast as he went, however,
• 7:09:45
  I was still beside him, urging him on to greater speed. At
• 7:09:48
  last we came to a great carved door, and through this Carthoris dashed a
• 7:09:52
  foot ahead of me. Within we came upon such a scene as I had
• 7:09:56
  witnessed within the temple once before, the throne a vicious with the reclining slaves,
• 7:10:02
  and about it the ranks of soldiery. We did not even give the
• 7:10:04
  men a chance to draw, so quickly were we upon them. With a
• 7:10:08
  single cut, I struck down two in the front rank, and then by
• 7:10:11
  the mere weight and momentum my body, I rushed completely through the two remaining
• 7:10:17
  ranks and sprang upon the dais beside the carved saurpus throne. The repulsive creatures,
• 7:10:22
  squatting there in terror, attempted to escape me and leap into a trap
• 7:10:26
  behind her, But this time I was not to be outwitted by any such
• 7:10:30
  pretty subtribuge. Before she had half arisen, I had grasped her by the
• 7:10:33
  arm, And then as I saw the guards starting to make a concerted rush
• 7:10:37
  upon me from all sides, I whipped out my dagger, and, holding
• 7:10:41
  it close to that vile breast, ordered them to halt back. I cried
• 7:10:45
  to them, back, the first black foot that is planted upon this platform
• 7:10:51
  sends my dagger into Isshus's heart. For an instant they hesitated. Then an
• 7:10:56
  officer ordered them back, while from the outer corridor there swept into the throne
• 7:11:00
  room at the heels of my little party of survivors, a full thousand red
• 7:11:03
  men under Kantos, kan hor Vastus and Exodar. Where's dejah Thoris? I
• 7:11:10
  cried to the thing within my hands. For a moment, her eyes rove
• 7:11:14
  wildly about the scene beneath her, I think that it took a moment for
• 7:11:18
  the true condition to make any impression upon her. She could not at first
• 7:11:22
  realize that the temple had fallen before the assault of men of the outer world.
• 7:11:26
  When she did, there must have come to a terrible realization of what
• 7:11:30
  it meant to her, the loss of power, humiliation, the exposure of
• 7:11:33
  the fraud and imposture which she had for so long played upon her own people.
• 7:11:38
  There was just one thing needed to complete the reality of the picture she
• 7:11:41
  was seeing, and that was added by the highest noble of her realm,
• 7:11:47
  the high priest of her religion, the prime minister of her government, Issus,
• 7:11:52
  Goddess of death and of life eternal. He cried, arise in the
• 7:11:56
  might of thy righteous wrath, and with one single wave of thy omnipotent hand,
• 7:12:00
  and strike dead thy blasphemers. Let not one escape, Issus. Thy
• 7:12:03
  people depend upon thee daughter of the lesser Moon. Thou only art all powerful,
• 7:12:10
  Thou only canst save thy people. I am done, We await thy
• 7:12:12
  will strike. And then it was that she went mad, a screaming,
• 7:12:18
  gibbering maniac. Writhed in my grasp it bit and clawed and scratched an impotent
• 7:12:22
  fury, and then it laughed, a weird, terrible laughter that froze the
• 7:12:26
  blood. The slave girls upon the day shrieked and cowered away, and the
• 7:12:32
  thing jumped at them and gnashed its teeth, and then spat upon them from
• 7:12:34
  frothing lips. God, but it was a horrid sight. Finally I shook
• 7:12:40
  the thing, hoping to recall it for a moment to reality. Where's dejah
• 7:12:44
  Thoris? I cried again. The awful creature in my grasp mumbled inarticulately for
• 7:12:48
  a moment. Then a sudden gleam of cunning shot into those hideous, close
• 7:12:52
  set eyes, dejah Thoris, dejah Thoris. Then that shrill, unearthly laugh
• 7:12:59
  pierced our ears once more. Yes, dejah Thoris, I know. And
• 7:13:03
  Thuvia and Podor, daughter of Mataishang, they each love Jan Carter ha,
• 7:13:10
  but it is druel. Together for a year they will meditate within the temple
• 7:13:12
  of the Sun. But ere the year is quite gone, there will be
• 7:13:17
  no more food for them. Ho ho, what divine entertainment? And she
• 7:13:21
  licked the froth from her cruel lips. There will be no more food except
• 7:13:25
  each other ha ha The horror of the suggestion nearly paralyzed me. To this
• 7:13:30
  awful fate. The creature within my power had condemned my princess. I trembled
• 7:13:34
  in the ferocity of my rage. As a terrier shakes a rat. I
• 7:13:38
  shook Issus, goddess of life, eternal counterman, your orders, I cried,
• 7:13:44
  recall the condemned, haste, or you die. It is too late,
• 7:13:48
  ha ha. And then she commenced, her gibbering and shrieking again,
• 7:13:52
  almost of its own bolition. My dagger flew up above that putrid heart.
• 7:13:56
  But something stayed my hand, and I am now glad that it did.
• 7:14:00
  It were a terrible thing to have struck down a woman with one's own hand.
• 7:14:04
  But a fitter fate occurred to me for this false deity first born,
• 7:14:08
  I cried, turning to those who stood within the chamber. You have seen
• 7:14:12
  to day the impotency of Issus. The gods are impotent. Issus is no
• 7:14:17
  god. She is a cruel and wicked old woman who is deceived and played
• 7:14:22
  upon you for ages. Take her. John Carter, Prince of Helium,
• 7:14:26
  would not contaminate his hands with her blood. And with that I pushed the
• 7:14:30
  raving beast, whom a short half hour before a whole world had worshiped as
• 7:14:34
  divine from the platform of her, thrown into the waiting clutches of her betrayed
• 7:14:38
  and vengeful people. Spying Exodar among the officers of the red men, I
• 7:14:44
  called him to lead me quickly to the Temple of the Sun, And,
• 7:14:47
  without waiting to learn what fate the first born would reek upon their goddess,
• 7:14:51
  I rushed from the chamber with Exodar, Carthoris, hor Vastus, cantos Kan,
• 7:14:56
  and a score of other red nobles. The black let us rapid lay
• 7:15:00
  through the inner chambers of the temple, until we stood within the central court,
• 7:15:03
  a great circular space paved with a transparent marble of exquisite whiteness. Before
• 7:15:10
  us rose a golden temple wrought in the most wondrous and fanciful designs, inlaid
• 7:15:15
  with diamond, ruby, sapphire, turquoise, emeral, and the thousand nameless
• 7:15:19
  gems of Mars, which far transcend in loveliness and purity of ray the most
• 7:15:25
  priceless stones of Earth. This way, cried Exodar, leading us toward the
• 7:15:29
  entrance to a tunnel which opened in the courtyard beside the temple. Just as
• 7:15:33
  we were on the point of descending, we heard a deep toned roar burst
• 7:15:37
  from the Temple of Issus, which we had but just quitted. And then
• 7:15:40
  a red man djor Kantos Padwar of the fifth Utan, broke from a nearby
• 7:15:45
  gate, crying to us to return. The blacks have fired the temple,
• 7:15:48
  he cried, in a thousand places, it is burning. Now, haste
• 7:15:52
  to the outer gardens where you were lost. As he spoke, we saw
• 7:15:56
  smoke pouring from a dozen windows looking out upon the court yard of the Temple
• 7:16:00
  of the Sun, and far above the highest minaret of Issus hung an ever
• 7:16:04
  growing pall of smoke. Go back, Go back, I cried to those
• 7:16:07
  who had accompanied me the way, Exodar, point the way and lead me.
• 7:16:12
  I shall reach my princess. Yet follow me, John Carter replied Exodar,
• 7:16:18
  and without waiting for my reply, he dashed down into the tunnel at
• 7:16:21
  our feet. At his heels, I ran down through a half dozen tiers
• 7:16:23
  of galleries, until at last he led me along a level floor, at
• 7:16:27
  the end of which I discerned a lighted chamber mass of bars blocked our further
• 7:16:33
  progress. But beyond I saw her, my incomparable princess, and with her
• 7:16:37
  were Thuvia and Phaidor. When she saw me, she rushed toward the bars
• 7:16:41
  that separated us. Already the chamber had turned upon its slow way, so
• 7:16:45
  far that but a portion of the opening in the temple wall was opposite the
• 7:16:49
  barred end of the corridor. Slowly the interval was closing. In a short
• 7:16:55
  time there would be but a tiny crack, and then even that would be
• 7:16:57
  closed. And for a long arsumium year, the chamber would slowly revolve,
• 7:17:02
  until once more, for a brief day, the aperture in its wall would
• 7:17:06
  pass the corridor's end. But in the meantime, what horrible things would go
• 7:17:10
  on within that chamber? Exodar, I cried, Can no power stop this
• 7:17:14
  awful revolving thing? Is there none who holds the secret of these terrible bars?
• 7:17:18
  None, I fear, whom we could fetch in time, Though I
• 7:17:22
  shall go and make the attempt. Wait for me here. After he had
• 7:17:26
  left, I stood and talked with dejah Thoris, and she stretched her dear
• 7:17:30
  hand through those cruel bars, that I might hold it until the last moment.
• 7:17:33
  Thuvia and Phaeodor came close also, But when Thuvia saw that we would
• 7:17:37
  be alone, she withdrew to the further side of the chamber. Not so
• 7:17:41
  the daughter of Matai Shang Chang carter. She said, this be the last
• 7:17:47
  time that you shall see any of us. Tell me that you love me,
• 7:17:49
  that I may die happy. I love only the Princess of Helium,
• 7:17:53
  I replied quietly. I am sorry, Phaeodor, but it is as I
• 7:17:59
  have told you from the beginning. She bit her lip and turned away,
• 7:18:03
  but not before I saw the black and ugly scowl she turned upon dejah Thoris.
• 7:18:07
  Thereafter she stood a little way apart, but not so far as I
• 7:18:11
  should have desired, for I had many little confidences to impart to my long
• 7:18:15
  lost love. For a few minutes we stood thus, talking in low tones.
• 7:18:19
  Ever, smaller and smaller grew the opening in a short time. Now
• 7:18:23
  it would be too small even to permit the slender form of my princess to
• 7:18:26
  pass. Oh, why did not exit our haste? Above we could hear
• 7:18:32
  the faint echoes of a great tumult. It was the multitude of black and
• 7:18:36
  red and green men fighting their way through the fire from the burning temple of
• 7:18:38
  Issus. A draft from above brought the fumes of smoke to our nostrils.
• 7:18:44
  As we stood waiting for Exodar, the smoke became thicker and thicker. Presently
• 7:18:48
  we heard shouting at the far end of the corridor, and hurrying feet.
• 7:18:51
  Come back, John Carter, come back, cried a voice. Even the
• 7:18:53
  pits are burning. In a moment, a dozen men broke through the now
• 7:18:57
  blinding smoke to my side. There was Carthoris, and kantos Kan, and
• 7:19:03
  hor Vastus, and Exodar, with a few more who had followed me to
• 7:19:06
  the temple court. There is no hope, John Carter, cried Exodar,
• 7:19:10
  the keeper of the keys is dead, and his keys are not upon his
• 7:19:12
  carcass. Our only hope is to quench this conflagration, and trust to fate
• 7:19:17
  that a year will find your princess alive and well. I have brought sufficient
• 7:19:21
  food to last them. When this crack closes, no smoke can reach them,
• 7:19:25
  And if we hasten to extinguish the flames, I believe they will be
• 7:19:29
  safe. Go then yourself, and take these others with you, I replied,
• 7:19:33
  I shall remain here beside my princess until a merciful death releases me from
• 7:19:37
  my anguish. I care not to live. As I spoke, Exodar had
• 7:19:41
  been tossing a great number of tiny cans within the prison cell. The remaining
• 7:19:45
  crack was not over an inch in width. A moment later, dejah Thoris
• 7:19:48
  stood as close to it as she could, whispering words of hope and courage
• 7:19:52
  to me and urging me to save myself. Suddenly, beyond her, I
• 7:19:56
  saw the beautiful face of Phaeodor contorted into an ext breshon of maligned hatred.
• 7:20:00
  As my eyes met hers, she spoke, think not, John Carter,
• 7:20:04
  that you may so lightly cast aside the love of Phaeador, daughter of Matashang,
• 7:20:10
  nor ever hope to hold thy dejah Thoris in thy arms. Again,
• 7:20:14
  wait you the long long year. But know that when the waiting is over,
• 7:20:18
  it shall be Pheador's arms which shall welcome you, not those of the
• 7:20:21
  Princess of Helium. Behold she dies, and as she finished speaking, I
• 7:20:26
  saw her raise a dagger on high, and then I saw another figure.
• 7:20:30
  It was Thuvia's. As the dagger fell toward the unprotected breast of my love,
• 7:20:33
  Thuvia was almost between them. A blinding gust of smoke blotted out the
• 7:20:38
  tragedy within that fearsome cell. A shriek rang out, a single shriek.
• 7:20:42
  As the dagger fell, the smoke cleared away, But we stood gazing upon
• 7:20:48
  a blank wall. The last crevice had closed, and for a long year
• 7:20:52
  that hideous chamber would retain its secret from the eyes of men. They urged
• 7:20:56
  me to leave. In a moment, it will be too late, criedex
• 7:21:00
  There is, in fact but a bare chance that we can come through to
• 7:21:03
  the outer gate alive. Even now I have ordered the pumps started, and
• 7:21:07
  in five minutes the pits will be flooded. If we would not drown like
• 7:21:11
  rats in a trap, we must hasten above and make a dash for safety
• 7:21:15
  through the burning temple. Go I urged them. Let me die here beside
• 7:21:19
  my princess. There is no hope or happiness elsewhere for me. When they
• 7:21:23
  carry her dear body from that terrible place a year hence, let them find
• 7:21:27
  the body of her lord awaiting her. Of what happened after that, I
• 7:21:32
  have only a confused recollection. It seems as though I struggled with many men,
• 7:21:37
  and then that I was picked up bodily from the ground, and borne
• 7:21:40
  away. I do not know. I have never asked, nor has any
• 7:21:44
  other who was there that day, intruded on my sorrow, or recalled to
• 7:21:48
  my mind the occurrences which they know could but at best reopen the terrible womb
• 7:21:52
  within my heart. Ah. If I could but know one thing, what
• 7:21:56
  a burden of suspense would be lifted from my shoulders. But whether the assassin's
• 7:22:00
  dagger reached one fair bosom or another, only time will divulge. End of
• 7:22:06
  Chapter twenty two and end of Gods of Mars, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs