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

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Chapter eleven, Green Men and white Apes, a Torquasian sword smote a glancing
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blow across the forehead of Carthoris. He had a fleeting vision of soft arms
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about his neck and warm lips close to his before he lost consciousness. How
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long he lay there senseless, he could not guess. But when he opened
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his eyes again, he was alone, except for the bodies of the dead
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green men and Dusarians, and the carcass of a great banth that lay half
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across his own. Thuvia was gone, nor was the body of Carkomac among
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the dead. Weak from loss of blood, Carthoris made his way slowly toward
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Anthor, reaching its outskirts at dark. He wanted water more than any other
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thing, and so he kept on up a broad avenue toward the great central
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plaza, where he knew the precious fluid was to be found, and a
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half ruined building opposite the great palace of the ancient Jeddak who once had ruled
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this mighty city. Disheartened and discouraged by the strange sequence of events that seemed
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fore ordained to thwart his every attempt to serve the Princess of Ptarth, he
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paid little or no attention to his surroundings, moving through the deserted city,
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as though no great white apes lurked in the black shadows of the mystery haunted
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piles that flanked the broad avenues of the great plaza. But if Carthoris was
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careless of his surroundings, not so other eyes that watched his entrance into the
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plaza and followed his slow footsteps toward the marble pile that housed the tiny,
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half choked spring, whose water one might gain only by scratching a deep hole
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in the red sand that covered it. And as the heliumite entered the small
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building, a dozen mighty grotesque figures emerged from the doorway of the palace to
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speed noiselessly across the plaza toward him. For half an hour, Carthoris remained
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in the building, digging for water and gaining the few much needed drops which
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were the fruits of his labor. Then he rose and slowly left the structure.
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Scarce had he stepped beyond the threshold than twelve Torquesian warriors leaped upon him.
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No time then to draw long sword, but swift from his harness,
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flew his long, slim dagger, and as he went down beneath them,
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more than a single green heart ceased beating at the bite of that keen point.
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Then they overpowered him and took his weapons away, But only nine of
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the twelve warriors who had crossed the plaza returned with their prize. They dragged
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their prisoner roughly to the palace pits, where, in utter darkness they chained
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him with rusty lengths to the solid masonry of the wall. Tomorrow thar Ban
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will speak with you, they said. Now he sleeps, but great will
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be his pleasure when he learns who has wandered amongst us. And great will
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be the pleasure of hortan Gur when thar Ban drags him the mad fool who
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dared prick the great Jeddak with his sword. Then they left him to the
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silence and the darkness for what seemed hours. Carthoris squatted upon the stone floor
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of his prison, his back against the wall in which was sunk the heavy
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eye bolt that secured the chain which held him. Then, from out of
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the mysterious blackness before him, there came to his ears the sound of naked
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feet moving stealthily upon the stone, approaching nearer and nearer to where he lay,
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unarmed and defenseless. Minutes passed, minutes that seemed hours, during which
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time periods of sepulchral silence would be followed by a repetition of the uncanny scraping
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of naked feet slinking warily upon him. At last he heard a sudden rush
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of unshod souls across the empty blackness, and at a little distance a scuffling
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sound, heavy breathing, and once what he thought the muttered imprecation of a
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man battling against great odds. Then the clanging of a chain, and a
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noise as of the snapping back against the stone of a broken link. Again
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came silence, but for a moment only Now he heard once more the soft
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feet approaching him. He thought that he discerned wicked eyes gleaming fearfully at him
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through the darkness. He knew that he could hear the heavy breathing of powerful
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lungs. Then came the rush of many feet toward him, and the things
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were upon him, hands terminating in manlike fingers clutched at his throat, and
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arms and legs. Hairy body strained and struggled against his own smooth hide as
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he battled in grim silence against these horrid foemen, in the darkness of the
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pits of ancient anthor feud. Like some giant god was Carthoris of Helium.
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Yet in the clutches of these unseen creatures of the pits Stygian night, he
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was helpless as a frail woman. Yet he battled on, striking futile blows
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against great, hispid breasts he could not see, feeling thick squat throats beneath
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his fingers, the drool of saliva upon his cheek, and hot foul breath
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in his nostrils. Fangs too, mighty fangs he knew were close, and
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why they did not sink into his flesh he could not guess. At last,
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he became aware of the mighty surging of a number of his antagonists back
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and forth upon the great chain that held him, and presently came the same
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sound that he had heard a little distance from him a short time before.
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He had been attacked. His chain had parted, and the broken end snapped
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back against the stone wall. Now he was seized upon either side and dragged
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at a rapid pace through the dark corridors toward what fate He could not even
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guess. At first, he had thought his foes might be of the tribe
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of Torcass, but their hairy bodies belied to that belief. Now he was
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at last quite sure of their identity, though why they had not killed him
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and devoured him at once he could not imagine. After half an hour or
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more of rapid racing through the underground passages that are a distinguishing feature of all
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Barsoomian cities, modern as well as ancient, his captors suddenly emerged into the
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moonlight of a courtyard far from the central plaza. Immediately Carthoris saw that he
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was in the power of a tribe of the great white Apes of Barsoom.
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All that had caused him doubt before as to the identity of his attackers was
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the hairiness of their breasts, for the white Apes are entirely hairless, except
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for a great shock bristling from their heads. Now he saw the cause of
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that which had deceived him. Across the chests of each of them were strips
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of hairy hide, usually of banth in imitation of the harness of the green
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warriors who so often camped at their deserted city. Carthoris had read of the
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existence of tribes of apes that seemed to be progressing slowly toward higher's standards of
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intelligence. Into the hands of such, he realized he had fallen, But
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what were their intentions toward him? As he glanced about the court yard,
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he saw fully fifty of the hideous beasts squatting on their haunches, and at
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a little distance from him another human being closely guarded. As his eyes met
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those of his fellow captive, a smile at the other's face, and kawor
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red man burst from his lips. It was kar Komak, the bowman.
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Kowor cried Carthoris in response, how came you here? And what befell the
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princess? Red Men like yourself descended in mighty ships that sailed the air,
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even as the great ships of my distant day sailed the five seas, replied
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Kar Komak. They fought with the green men of Torcass. They slew Komal,
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God of Lothar. I thought they were your friends, and I was
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glad when finally those of them who had survived the battle carried the red girl
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to one of the ships and sailed away with her into the safety of the
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high air. Then the green men seized me and carried me to a great
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empty city, where they chained me to a wall and a black pit.
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Afterward came these and dragged me hither. And what of you, red man?
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Carthoris related all that had befallen him, and as the two men to
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the great apes squatted about them, watching them intently, What are we to
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do now, asked the bowman. Our case looks rather hopeless, replied Carthoris
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ruefully. These creatures are born man eaters. Why they have not already devoured
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us? I cannot imagine. There, he whispered, see the end is
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coming. Car Komak looked in the direction Carthoris indicated to see a huge ape
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advancing with a mighty bludgeon. It is thus they like best to kill their
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prey, said Carthoris. Must we die without a struggle, asked Krkomak,
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Not, I, replied Carthoris, though I know how futile. Our best
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defense must be against these mighty brutes. Oh for a long sword or a
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good bow, added Krkomak, and a uton of bowmen at the words.
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Carthoris half sprang to his feet, only to be dragged roughly down by his
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guard. Carkomak, He cried, why cannot you do what Tario and Jav
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did. They had no bowmen other than those of their own creation. You
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must know the secret of their power. Call forth your own utan. Krkomak,
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the Lotharian looked at Carthoris in wide eyed astonishment as the full purport of
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the suggestion bore in upon his understanding. Why not, he murmured. The
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savage ape bearing the mighty bludgeon was slinking toward Carthoris. The Heliumite's fingers were
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working as he kept his eyes upon his executioner. Krkomak bent his gaze penetratingly
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upon the apes. The effort of his mind was evidenced by the sweat upon
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his contracted brows. The creature that was to slay the red Man was almost
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within arm's reach of his prey when Carthoris heard a hoarse shout from the opposite
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side of the courtyard. In common with the squatting apes and the demon with
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the club, he turned in the direction of the sound to see a company
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of sturdy bowmen rushing from the doorway of a nearby building with screams of rage.
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The Apes leaped to their feet to meet the charge. A volley of
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arrows met them half way, sending a dozen rolling lifeless to the ground.
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Then the Apes closed with their adversaries. All their attention was occupied by the
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attackers. Even the guard had deserted the prisoners to join the battle. Come,
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whispered Karkomac. Now may we escape while their attention is diverted from us
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by my bowmen, and leave those brave fellows leaderless, cried Carthoris, whose
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loyal nature revolted at the merest suggestion of such a thing. Krkomak laughed,
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You forget, he said, that they are but thin air figments of my
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brain. They will vanish unscathed when we have no further need for them.
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Praised be your first answer, red man, that you thought of this chance
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in time. It would never have occurred to me to imagine that I might
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wield the same power that brought me into existence. You are right, said
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Carthoris. Still I hate to leave them, though there is naught else to
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do. And so the two turned from the courtyard, and, making their
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way into one of the broad avenues, crept stealthily in the shadows of the
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building toward the great central plaza, upon which were the buildings occupied by the
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Green warriors when they visited the deserted city. When they had come to the
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plaza's edge, Carthoris halted. Wait here, he whispered, I go to
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fetch thoats, since on foot we may never hope to escape the clutches of
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these green fiends. To reach the courtyard where the thoats were kept, it
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was necessary for Carthoris to pass through one of the buildings which surrounded the square.
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Which were occupied and which were not he could not even guess, so
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he was compelled to take considerable chances to gain the enclosure in which he could
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hear the restless beasts squealing and quarreling among themselves. Chance carried him through a
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dark doorway into a large chamber in which lay a score or more Green warriors,
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wrapped in their sleeping silks and furs. Scarce had Carthoris passed through the
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short hallway that connected the door of the building and the great room beyond it,
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than he became aware of the presence of something or some one in the
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hallway through which he had but just passed. He heard a man yawn,
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and then behind him he saw the figure of a sentry arise from where the
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fellow had been dozing, and stretching himself resume his wakeful watchfulness. Carthoris realized
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that he must have passed within a foot of the warrior. Doubtless, rousing
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him from his slumber to retreat now would be impossible. Yet to cross through
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that room of sleeping warriors seemed almost equal beyond the pale of possibility. Carthoris
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shrugged his broad shoulders and chose the lesser evil. Warily, he entered the
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room. At his right, against the wall leaned several swords and rifles and
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spears, extra weapons which the warriors had stacked here, ready to their hands
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should there be a night alarm calling them suddenly from slumber. Beside each sleeper
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lay his weapon. These were never far from their owners, from childhood to
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death. The sight of the swords made the young man's palm itch. He
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stepped quickly to them, selecting two short swords, one for car Coomac,
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the other for himself, also some trappings for his naked comrade. Then he
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started directly across the center of the apartment among the sleeping Torquasians. Not a
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man of them moved until Carthoris had completed more than half of this short,
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though dangerous journey. Then a fellow directly in his path turned restlessly upon his
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sleeping silks and furs. The Heliumite paused above him, one of the short
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swords, in readiness should the warrior awaken for what seemed an eternity to the
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young prince. The green Man continued to move uneasily upon his couch, Then,
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as though actuated by springs, he leaped to his feet and faced the
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Red Man. Instantly, Carthoris struck, but not before a savage grunt escaped
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the other's lips. In an instant the room was in turmoil. Warriors leaped
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to their feet, grasping their weapons as they rose, and shouting to one
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another for an explanation of the disturbance. To Carthoris, all within the room
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was plainly visible in the dim light reflected from without, for the further moon
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stood directly at zenith. But to the eyes of the newly awakened green Men,
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objects as yet had not taken on familiar forms. They but saw vaguely
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the figures of warriors moving about their apartment. Now one stumbled against the corpse
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of him whom Carthoris had slain. The fellow stooped, and his hand came
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in contact with the cleft skull. He saw about him the giant figures of
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other green men, and so he jumped to the only conclusion that was open
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to him, the Thirds. He cried, The Thirds are upon us.
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Rise, warriors of Torcass, and drive home your swords within the hearts of
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Torcasa's ancient enemies. Instantly the green Men began to fall upon one another with
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naked swords. Their savage lust of battle was aroused, to fight, to
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kill, to die, with cold steel buried in their vitals. Ah that
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to them was nirvana. Carthoris was quick to guess their error and take advantage
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of it. He knew that in the pleasure of killing, they might fight
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on long after they had discovered their mistake, unless their attention was distracted by
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sight of the real cause of the altercation. And so he lost no time
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in continuing across the room to the doorway upon the opposite side, which opened
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into the inner court, where the savage thoats were squealing and fighting among themselves.
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Once here, he had no easy task before him to catch and mount
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one of these habitually rageful and intractable beasts was no child's play under the best
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of conditions. But now, when silence and time were such important considerations,
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it might well have seemed quite hopeless to a less resourceful and optimistic man than
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the son of the great Warlord. From his father he had learned much concerning
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the traits of these mighty beasts, and from Tars Tarkas also when he had
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visited that great green Jeddak among his horde at Thark. So now he centered
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upon the work in hand all that he had ever learned about them from others
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and from his own experience, for he too had ridden and handled them many
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times. The temper of the thoats of Torcass appeared even shorter than their vicious
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cousins among the Tharks and warhoons, and for a time it seemed unlikely that
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he should escape a savage charge on the part of a couple of old bulls
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that circled squealing about him. But at last he managed to get close enough
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to one of them to touch the beast with the feel of his hand upon
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the sleek hide. The creature quieted, and, in answer to the telepathic
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command of the Red Man, sank to its knees. In a moment,
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Carthoris was upon its back, guiding it toward the great gate that leads from
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the courtyard through a large building at one end into an avenue beyond the other,
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bull, still squealing and enraged, followed after his fellow. There was
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no bridle upon either, for these strange creatures are controlled entirely by suggestion.
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When they are controlled at all, even in the hands of the giant green
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men, bridle reins would be hopelessly futile against the mad savagery and mastodonic strength
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of the thoat, and so they are guided by that strange telepathic power with
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which the men of Mars have learned to communicate in a crude way with the
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lower orders of their planets. With difficulty, Carthoris urged the two beasts to
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the gate, where, leaning down, he raised the latch. Then the
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thoat he was riding placed his great shoulder to the skeel wood planking, pushed
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through, and a moment later the man and the two beasts were swinging silently
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down the avenue to the edge of the plaza, where car Comac hid.
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Here, Carthoris found considerable difficulty in subduing the second thoat, and as car
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Comak had never before ridden one of the beasts, it seemed a most hopeless
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job. But at last the bowmen managed to scramble to the sleek back,
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and again the two beasts fled softly down the moss grown avenues toward the open
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sea bottom beyond the city. All that night. In the following day and
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the second night they rode toward the northeast. No indication of pursuit developed,
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and at dawn of the second day, Carthoris saw in the distance the waving
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ribbon of great trees that marked one of the long Barsoomian waterways. Immediately they
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abandoned their thoats and approached the cultivated district on foot. Carthoris also discarded the
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metal from his harness, or such of it as might serve to identify him
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as a Heliumite or of royal blood, for he did not know to which
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nation belonged this waterway, and upon Mars, it is always well to assume
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every man and nation your enemy until you have learned the contrary. It was
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mid forenoon when the two at last entered one of the roads that cut through
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the cultivated districts at regular intervals. Joining the arid wastes on either side,
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with the great white central highway that follows through the center from end to end
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of the far reaching threadlike farm lands. The high wall surrounding the fields served
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as a protection against surprise by raiding green hordes, as well as keeping the
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savage banths and other carnivora from the domestic animals and the human beings upon the
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farms. Carthoris stopped before the first gate he came to, pounding for admission.
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The young man who answered his summons greeted the two hospitably, though he
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looked with considerable wonder upon the white skin and auburn hair of the bowmen.
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After he had listened for a moment to a partial narration of their escape from
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the Torcasians, he invited them within, took them to his house, and
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bade the servants there prepare food for them. As they waited in the low,
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sealed, pleasant living room of the farm house until the meal should be
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ready. Carthoris drew his host into conversation, that he might learn his nationality
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and thus the nation under whose dominion lay the waterway where circumstance had placed him.
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I am hal Vas, said the young man son of vas Kor of
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Dusar, a noble in the retinue of Astok, Prince of Dusar. At
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present, I am Duar of the road for this district. Carthoris was very
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glad that he had not disclosed his identity, for though he had no idea
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of anything that had transpired since he left Helium, or that Astok was at
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the bottom of all his misfortunes, he well knew that the Dusarian had no
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love for him, and that he could hope for no assistance within the dominions
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of Dusar. And who are you, asked, hal vas By your appearance,
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I take you for a fighting man, but I see no insignia upon
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your harness. Can it be that you are a panthon? Now? These
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wandering soldiers of fortune are common upon Barsoom, where most men love to fight.
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They sell their services wherever war exists, and in the occasional brief intervals
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when there is no organized warfare between the Red nations, they join one of
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the numerous expeditions that are constantly being dispatched against the green men in protection of
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the waterways that traverse the wilder portions of the globe. When their service is
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over, they discard the metal of the nation they have been serving until they
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shall have found the new master. In the intervals, they wear no insignia,
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their war torn harness and grim weapons being sufficient to attest their calling.
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The suggestion was a happy one, and Carthoris embraced the chance it afforded to
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account satisfactorily for himself. There was, however, a single drawback. In
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times of war. Such panthons as happened to be within the domain of a
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belligerent nation were compelled to don the insignia of that nation and fight with her
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warriors. As far as Carthoris knew, Dusar was not at war with any
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other nation, But there was never any telling when one red nation would be
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flying at the throat of a neighbor, even though the great and powerful alliance,
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at the head of which was his father, John Carter, had managed
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to maintain a long peace upon the greater portion of Barsoom. A pleasant smile
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lighted hal Vas's face as Carthoris admitted his vocation. It is well exclaimed the
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young man, that you chanced to come hither, for here you will find
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the means of obtaining service. In short order, my father vast corps as
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even now with me having come hither to recruit a force for the new war
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against Helium. End of Chapter eleven.