Latest / Classic Sci Fi Books - Daily / 14 - Thuvia, Maid of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs

Transcript

14 - Thuvia, Maid of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs · Classic Sci Fi Books - Daily

0:00
Speaker 1: Chapter fourteen, Kulan TIFF's sacrifice. The morning of the second
0:07
Speaker 1: day of her incarceration, in the east tower of the
0:10
Speaker 1: palace of Astok, Prince of Dusar, found Thuvia of Ptarth
0:15
Speaker 1: waiting in dull apathy the coming of the assassin. She
0:19
Speaker 1: had exhausted every possibility of escape, going over and over
0:24
Speaker 1: again the door and the windows, the floor and the walls,
0:30
Speaker 1: the solid air sight slabs. She could not even scratch.
0:34
Speaker 1: The tough Barsoomian glass of the windows would have shattered
0:37
Speaker 1: to nothing less than a heavy sledge in the hands
0:40
Speaker 1: of a strong man. The door and the lock were impregnable.
0:45
Speaker 1: There was no escape, and they had stripped her of
0:49
Speaker 1: her weapons, so that she could not even anticipate the
0:52
Speaker 1: hour of her doom, thus robbing them of the satisfaction
0:55
Speaker 1: of witnessing her last moments. When would they come? Would
1:01
Speaker 1: Astok do the deed with his own hands? She doubted
1:05
Speaker 1: that he had the courage for it. At heart, he
1:08
Speaker 1: was a coward. She had known it since first she
1:11
Speaker 1: had heard him brag as a visitor at the court
1:14
Speaker 1: of her father. He had sought to impress her with
1:17
Speaker 1: his valor. She could not help but compare him with another?
1:22
Speaker 1: And with whom would an affianced bride compare an unsuccessful
1:26
Speaker 1: suitor with her betrothed? And did Thuvia of Ptarth now
1:31
Speaker 1: measure Astok of Dussar by the standards of Kulan Tith
1:34
Speaker 1: Jeddak of Cowl. She was about to die. Her thoughts
1:39
Speaker 1: were her own to do with as she pleased, Yet
1:43
Speaker 1: furthest from them was Kulan Tiff. Instead, the figure of
1:47
Speaker 1: the tall and comely Heliumite filled her mind, crowding therefrom
1:52
Speaker 1: all other images. She dreamed of his noble face, the
1:57
Speaker 1: quiet dignity of his bearing, the smile that lit his
2:01
Speaker 1: eyes as he conversed with his friends, and the smile
2:04
Speaker 1: that touched his lips as he fought with his enemies,
2:08
Speaker 1: the fighting smile of his Virginian sire. And Thuvia of Ptarth,
2:13
Speaker 1: true daughter of Barsoom, found her breath quickening and heart
2:17
Speaker 1: leaping to the memory of this other smile, the smile
2:21
Speaker 1: that she would never see again. With a little half
2:25
Speaker 1: sob the girl sank to the pile of silks and
2:28
Speaker 1: furs that were tumbled in confusion beneath the east windows,
2:31
Speaker 1: burying her face in her arms. In the corridor outside
2:36
Speaker 1: her prison room, two men had paused in heated argument.
2:41
Speaker 2: I tell you again, asked doc. One was saying that
2:44
Speaker 2: I shall not do this thing unless you be present
2:47
Speaker 2: in the room. There was little of the respect due
2:51
Speaker 2: royalty in the tone of the speaker's voice, the other,
2:55
Speaker 2: noting it flushed. Do not impose too far upon my
3:00
Speaker 2: friendship for you, Vaskor, he snapped, there is a limit
3:05
Speaker 2: to my patience. There is no question of royal prerogative here,
3:11
Speaker 2: returned Vaskor. You ask me to become an assassin in
3:15
Speaker 2: your stead, and against your Jeddak's strict injunctions. You are
3:20
Speaker 2: in no position astoc to dictate to me, But rather,
3:26
Speaker 2: should you be glad to accede to my reasonable request
3:30
Speaker 2: that you be present, thus sharing the guilt with me,
3:35
Speaker 2: Why should I bear it all? The younger man scowled,
3:40
Speaker 2: but he advanced toward the locked door, and as it
3:43
Speaker 2: swung in upon its hinges, he entered the room beyond
3:46
Speaker 2: at the side of Vaskor. Across the chamber, the girl,
3:51
Speaker 2: hearing the mentor, rose to her feet and faced them.
3:55
Speaker 2: Under the soft copper of her skin. She blanched just
3:58
Speaker 2: a trifle, but her eyes eyes were brave and level,
4:01
Speaker 2: and the haughty tilt of her firm little chin was
4:04
Speaker 2: eloquent of loathing and contempt. You still prefer death, asked
4:11
Speaker 2: Astok to you, Yes, replied the girl coldly. The Prince
4:18
Speaker 2: of Dusar turned to Vaskor and nodded. The noble drew
4:22
Speaker 2: his short sword and crossed the room toward Thuvia Neil.
4:27
Speaker 2: He commanded, I prefer to die standing. She replied, as
4:34
Speaker 2: you will, said Vaskor, feeling the point of his blade
4:38
Speaker 2: with his left thumb. In the name of Nudus Jeddak
4:43
Speaker 2: of Dusar, he cried, and ran quickly toward her. In
4:47
Speaker 2: the name of Carthoris, Prince of Helium, came in low
4:51
Speaker 2: tones from the doorway. Vaskor turned to see the Panthon
4:56
Speaker 2: he had recruited at his son's house, leaping across the
4:59
Speaker 2: floor toward him. The fellow brushed past Astok with an
5:03
Speaker 2: after him, you calot. Vaskor wheeled to meet the charging man.
5:10
Speaker 2: What means this treason?
5:12
Speaker 1: He cried Astok, with barred sword, leaped to Vaskor's assistance.
5:19
Speaker 1: The Panthon's sword clashed against that of the noble, and
5:22
Speaker 1: in the first encounter, Vaskor knew that he faced a
5:25
Speaker 1: master swordsman before he half realized the stranger's purpose. He
5:30
Speaker 1: found the man between himself and Thuvia of Ptarth at Bay,
5:34
Speaker 1: facing the two swords of the Dusarians. But he fought
5:38
Speaker 1: not like a man at Bay. Ever, was he the aggressor,
5:42
Speaker 1: And though always he kept his flashing blade between the
5:44
Speaker 1: girl and her enemies, yet he managed to force them
5:48
Speaker 1: hither and thither about the room, calling to the girl
5:51
Speaker 1: to follow close behind, until it was too late. Neither
5:55
Speaker 1: Astok nor Vaskor dreamed of that which lay in the
5:58
Speaker 1: Panthon's mind. But at last, as the fellow stood with
6:02
Speaker 1: his back toward the door, both understood they were penned
6:06
Speaker 1: in their own prison, and now the intruder could slay
6:10
Speaker 1: them at his will. For Thuvia of Ptarth was bolting
6:12
Speaker 1: the door at the man's direction, first taking the key
6:15
Speaker 1: from the opposite side, where Astok had left it when
6:18
Speaker 1: he had entered. Astok as was his way, finding that
6:22
Speaker 1: the enemy did not fall immediately before their swords, was
6:26
Speaker 1: leaving the brunt of the fighting to vas Kor. And
6:29
Speaker 1: now as his eyes appraised the panthan carefully. They presently
6:32
Speaker 1: went wider and wider, for slowly he had come to
6:36
Speaker 1: recognize the features of the Prince of Helium. The Helium
6:40
Speaker 1: Mite was pressing close to vas Kor, the noble was
6:44
Speaker 1: bleeding from a dozen wounds. Astok saw that he could
6:48
Speaker 1: not for long withstand the cunning craft of that terrible
6:51
Speaker 1: sword hand courage Vaskor. He whispered in the other's ear,
6:56
Speaker 1: I have a plan. Hold him but a moment longer,
6:59
Speaker 1: and all will be well. But the balance of the
7:02
Speaker 1: sentence with Astok, Prince of Dusar, He did not voice aloud,
7:09
Speaker 1: vas Kor, dreaming no treachery, nodded his head, and for
7:13
Speaker 1: a moment succeeded in holding Carthoris at bay. Then the
7:16
Speaker 1: Heliumite and the girl saw the Dusarian prince run swiftly
7:20
Speaker 1: to the opposite side of the chamber, touch something in
7:23
Speaker 1: the wall that sent a great panel swinging inward and
7:25
Speaker 1: disappear into the black vault beyond. It was done so
7:30
Speaker 1: quickly that by no possibility could they have intercepted him. Carthoris,
7:34
Speaker 1: fearful lest vas Kor might similarly elude him, or Astok
7:38
Speaker 1: return immediately with reinforcements sprang viciously in upon his antagonist,
7:43
Speaker 1: and a moment later, the headless body of the Dusarian
7:46
Speaker 1: noble rolled upon the airside floor. Come cried Carthoris, there
7:52
Speaker 1: is no time to be lost. Astok will be back
7:54
Speaker 1: in a moment with enough warriors to overpower me. But
7:58
Speaker 1: Astok had no such plan in mind, for such a
8:01
Speaker 1: move would have meant the spreading of the fact among
8:03
Speaker 1: the palace gossips that the Parthian princess was a prisoner
8:07
Speaker 1: in the East Tower. Quickly would the word have come
8:10
Speaker 1: to his father, and no amount of falsifying could have
8:13
Speaker 1: explained away the facts that the Jeddak's investigation would have
8:17
Speaker 1: brought to light. Instead, Astok was racing madly through a
8:22
Speaker 1: long corridor to reach the door of the tower room.
8:24
Speaker 1: Before Carthoris and Thuvia left the apartment, he had seen
8:29
Speaker 1: the girl remove the key and place it in her
8:31
Speaker 1: pocket pouch, and he knew that a dagger point driven
8:34
Speaker 1: into the keyhole from the opposite side would imprison them
8:37
Speaker 1: in the secret chamber till eight dead worlds circled a cold,
8:41
Speaker 1: dead sun. As fast as he could run, Astok entered
8:46
Speaker 1: the main corridor that led to the tower chamber. Would
8:50
Speaker 1: he reach the door in time? What if the Heliumite
8:53
Speaker 1: should have already emerged and he should run upon him
8:55
Speaker 1: in the passageway. Astok felt a cold chill run up
8:59
Speaker 1: his spine. He had no stomach to face that uncanny blade.
9:04
Speaker 1: He was almost at the door. Around the next turn
9:07
Speaker 1: of the corridor had stood No, they had not left
9:11
Speaker 1: the apartment. Evidently vas Kor was still holding the heliumite.
9:16
Speaker 1: Astok could scarce repress a grin at the clever manner
9:19
Speaker 1: in which he had outwitted the noble and disposed of
9:21
Speaker 1: him at the same time. And then he rounded the
9:24
Speaker 1: turn and came face to face with an auburn haired,
9:27
Speaker 1: white giant. The fellow did not wait to ask the
9:31
Speaker 1: reason for his coming. Instead, he leaped upon him with
9:34
Speaker 1: a long sword, so that Astok had to parry a
9:37
Speaker 1: dozen vicious cuts before he could disengage himself and flee
9:40
Speaker 1: back down the runway. A moment later, Carthoris and Thuvia
9:44
Speaker 1: entered the corridor from the secret chamber well. Karkomac asked
9:48
Speaker 1: the Heliumite, it is fortunate that you left me here,
9:52
Speaker 1: red man, said the bowman. I but just now intercepted
9:56
Speaker 1: one who seemed over anxious to reach this door. It
10:00
Speaker 1: he whom they call Astok, Prince of Dusar. Carthoris smiled,
10:06
Speaker 1: Where is he now, he asked, He escaped my blade
10:10
Speaker 1: and ran down this corridor, replied Karkomac. We must not
10:15
Speaker 1: lose time, Then exclaimed Carthoris, he will have the guard
10:19
Speaker 1: upon us. Yet Together the three hastened along the winding
10:23
Speaker 1: passages through which Carthoris and Carkomak had tracked the Dusarians
10:28
Speaker 1: by the marks of the latter's sandals in the thin
10:31
Speaker 1: dust that overspread the floors of these seldom used passageways.
10:36
Speaker 1: They had come to the chamber at the entrances to
10:38
Speaker 1: the lifts before they met with opposition. Here they found
10:42
Speaker 1: a handful of guardsmen and an officer, who, seeing that
10:46
Speaker 1: they were strangers, questioned their presence in the palace of Astok.
10:51
Speaker 1: Once more, Carthoris and Carkomak had recourse to their blades,
10:55
Speaker 1: and before they had won their way to one of
10:57
Speaker 1: the lifts, the noise of the conflict must have aroused
11:01
Speaker 1: the entire palace, for they heard men shouting, and as
11:05
Speaker 1: they passed the many levels on their quick passage to
11:07
Speaker 1: the landing, stage, they saw armed men running hither and
11:11
Speaker 1: thither in search of the cause of the commotion. Beside
11:15
Speaker 1: the stage lay the Thuria, with three warriors on guard. Again,
11:20
Speaker 1: the Heliumite and the Lotharian fought shoulder to shoulder, but
11:24
Speaker 1: the battle was soon over, for the Prince of Helium
11:27
Speaker 1: alone would have been a match for any three that
11:29
Speaker 1: Dusar could produce scarce. Had the Thuria arisen from the
11:33
Speaker 1: ways ere, a hundred or more fighting men leaped to
11:36
Speaker 1: view upon the landing stage. At their head was Astok
11:40
Speaker 1: of Dusar, and as he saw the two he had
11:43
Speaker 1: thought so safely in his power, slipping from his grasp,
11:46
Speaker 1: he danced with rage and chagrin, shaking his fists and
11:50
Speaker 1: hurling abuse and vile insults at them. With her bow
11:55
Speaker 1: inclined upward at a dizzy angle, the Thuria shot meteor
11:58
Speaker 1: like into the sky from a dozen points. Swift patrol
12:02
Speaker 1: boats darted after her, for the scene upon the landing
12:05
Speaker 1: stage above the palace of the Prince of Dusar had
12:08
Speaker 1: not gone unnoticed. A dozen times shots grazed the Thuria's side,
12:14
Speaker 1: and as Carthoris could not leave the control leavers, Thuvia
12:17
Speaker 1: of Ptarth turned the muzzles of the craft's rapid fire
12:21
Speaker 1: guns upon the enemy as she clung to the steep
12:24
Speaker 1: and slippery surface of the deck. It was a noble
12:27
Speaker 1: race and a noble fight, one against a score. Now,
12:32
Speaker 1: for other Dusarian craft had joined in the pursuit. But Astok,
12:37
Speaker 1: Prince of Dusar, had built well when he built the Thuria.
12:41
Speaker 1: None in the navy of his sire possessed a swifter flier,
12:45
Speaker 1: no other craft so well armored or so well armed.
12:51
Speaker 1: One by one the pursuers were distanced, and as the
12:54
Speaker 1: last of them fell out of range behind, Carthoris dropped
12:58
Speaker 1: the Thuria's nose to a horizontal plane, as with lever
13:01
Speaker 1: drawn to the last notch, she tore through the thin
13:04
Speaker 1: air of dying Mars toward the east and Ptarth. Thirteen
13:11
Speaker 1: and a half thousand hods away lay Ptarth, a stiff
13:15
Speaker 1: thirty hour journey for the swiftest of flyers, and between
13:19
Speaker 1: Dusar and Ptarth might lay half the navy of Dusar.
13:22
Speaker 1: For in this direction was the reported seat of the
13:25
Speaker 1: great naval battle that even now might be in progress.
13:30
Speaker 1: Could Carthoris have known precisely where the great fleets of
13:33
Speaker 1: the contending nations lay, he would have hastened to them
13:37
Speaker 1: without delay, for in the return of Thuvia to her
13:40
Speaker 1: sire lay the greatest hope of peace. Half the distance
13:45
Speaker 1: they covered without sighting a single warship, and then kar
13:48
Speaker 1: Komac called Carthoris's attention to a distant craft that rested
13:52
Speaker 1: upon the ochre vegetation of the great dead sea bottom,
13:56
Speaker 1: above which the Thuria was speeding. About the vessel, many
14:01
Speaker 1: figures could be seen swarming with the aid of powerful glasses,
14:05
Speaker 1: the Heliumites saw that they were green warriors, and that
14:08
Speaker 1: they were repeatedly charging down upon the crew of the
14:11
Speaker 1: stranded airship. The nationality of the latter he could not
14:15
Speaker 1: make out. At so great a distance. It was not
14:19
Speaker 1: necessary to change the course of the Thuria to permit
14:22
Speaker 1: of passing directly above the scene of battle, But Carthoris
14:26
Speaker 1: dropped his craft a few hundred feet that he might
14:28
Speaker 1: have a better and closer view. If the ship was
14:32
Speaker 1: of a friendly power, he could do no less than
14:35
Speaker 1: stop and direct his guns upon her enemies. Though with
14:38
Speaker 1: the precious freight he carried, he scarcely felt justified in landing,
14:43
Speaker 1: for he could offer but two swords in reinforcement, scarce
14:47
Speaker 1: enough to warrant, jeopardizing the safety of the Princess of Ptarth.
14:52
Speaker 1: As they came close above the stricken ship, they could
14:55
Speaker 1: see that it would be but a question of minutes
14:57
Speaker 1: before the Green Horde would swarm across the armored bulwarks
15:00
Speaker 1: to glut the ferocity of their blood lust upon the defenders.
15:05
Speaker 1: It would be futile to descend, said Carthoris to Thuvia.
15:09
Speaker 1: The craft may even be of Dusar. She shows no insignia.
15:14
Speaker 1: All that we may do is fire upon the hordesmen.
15:17
Speaker 1: And as he spoke, he stepped to one of the
15:19
Speaker 1: guns and deflected its muzzle toward the Green warriors at
15:22
Speaker 1: the ship's side. At the first shot from the Thuria,
15:27
Speaker 1: those upon the vessel below evidently discovered her for the
15:30
Speaker 1: first time. Immediately a device fluttered from the bow of
15:34
Speaker 1: the warship on the ground. Thuvia of Ptarth caught her breath,
15:38
Speaker 1: quickly glancing at Carthoris. The device was that of Coulan
15:43
Speaker 1: tith Jeddak of Cowl, the man to whom the Princess
15:47
Speaker 1: of Ptarth was betrothed. How easy for the heliumite to
15:51
Speaker 1: pass on, leaving his rival to the fate that could
15:55
Speaker 1: not for long be averted. No man could accuse him
15:58
Speaker 1: of cowardice treachery, for Kulan Tith was in arms against Helium,
16:04
Speaker 1: and further upon the Thuria were not enough swords to delay,
16:08
Speaker 1: even temporarily, the outcome that already was a foregone conclusion
16:12
Speaker 1: in the minds of the watchers. What would Carthoris, Prince
16:17
Speaker 1: of Helium do, scarce had the device broken to the
16:22
Speaker 1: faint breeze ere the bow of the Thuria dropped at
16:25
Speaker 1: a sharp angle toward the ground. Can you navigate her,
16:29
Speaker 1: asked Carthoris of Thuvia. The girl nodded, I am going
16:34
Speaker 1: to try to take the survivors aboard. He continued, It
16:37
Speaker 1: will need both kar Komak and myself to man the
16:40
Speaker 1: guns while the Cowolians take to the boarding tackle. Keep
16:43
Speaker 1: her bow depressed against the rifle fire. She can bear
16:46
Speaker 1: it better in her forward armor, and at the same
16:49
Speaker 1: time the propellers will be protected. He hurried to the
16:52
Speaker 1: cabin as Thuvia took the control. A moment later, the
16:56
Speaker 1: boarding tackle dropped from the keel of the Thuria, and
16:59
Speaker 1: from a dozen points along either side stout knotted leathern
17:03
Speaker 1: lines trailed downward. At the same time, a signal broke
17:07
Speaker 1: from her bow prepare to board us. A shout arose
17:14
Speaker 1: from the deck of the Cowlian warship. Carthoris, who by
17:17
Speaker 1: this time had returned from the cabin, smiled sadly. He
17:22
Speaker 1: was about to snatch from the jaws of death the
17:25
Speaker 1: man who stood between himself and the woman he loved.
17:30
Speaker 1: Take the port bow gun, kar Komac, he called to
17:33
Speaker 1: the bowman, and himself stepped to the gun upon the
17:36
Speaker 1: starboard bow. It was a forlorn hope at best. At
17:41
Speaker 1: any moment the repulsive right tank might be pierced. The
17:44
Speaker 1: men upon the Coalian ship were battling with renewed hope,
17:48
Speaker 1: and the bow stood Kulan Tith, a brave figure fighting
17:52
Speaker 1: beside his brave warriors, beating back the ferocious Green men.
17:57
Speaker 1: The Thuria came low above the other crack. The Coolians
18:01
Speaker 1: were forming under their officers in readiness to board, and
18:05
Speaker 1: then a sudden, fierce fusillade from the rifles of the
18:07
Speaker 1: Green warriors vomited their hail of death and destruction into
18:11
Speaker 1: the side of the brave flier, like a wounded bird,
18:16
Speaker 1: she dived suddenly marsward, careening drunkenly. Thuvia turned the bow
18:21
Speaker 1: upward in an effort to avert the imminent tragedy, but
18:24
Speaker 1: she succeeded only in lessening the shock of the flier's
18:27
Speaker 1: impact as she struck the ground beside the Coolean ship.
18:33
Speaker 1: When the green Men saw only two warriors and a
18:35
Speaker 1: woman upon the deck of the Thuria, a savage shout
18:38
Speaker 1: of triumph arose from their ranks, while an answering groan
18:42
Speaker 1: broke from the lips of the Cowolians. The former now
18:47
Speaker 1: turned their attention upon the new arrival, for they saw
18:50
Speaker 1: her defenders could soon be overcome, and that from her
18:53
Speaker 1: deck they could command the deck of the better manned ship.
18:57
Speaker 1: As they charged, a shout of warning came from Kulan
19:00
Speaker 1: Tith upon the bridge of his own ship, and with
19:04
Speaker 1: it an appreciation of the valor of the act that
19:06
Speaker 1: had put the smaller vessel in these sore straits. Who
19:11
Speaker 1: is it he cried, that offers his life in the
19:14
Speaker 1: service of Coulan Tith. Never was wrought a nobler deed
19:18
Speaker 1: of self sacrifice upon barsoom the Green Horde was scrambling
19:24
Speaker 1: over the thurious side, as there broke from the bow
19:26
Speaker 1: the device of Carthoris, Prince of Helium, in reply to
19:30
Speaker 1: the query of the Jeddak of Cowole. None upon the
19:34
Speaker 1: smaller flier had opportunity to note the effect of this
19:37
Speaker 1: announcement upon the Cowoleans, for their attention was claimed slowly
19:42
Speaker 1: now by that which was transpiring upon their own deck.
19:46
Speaker 1: Karkomac stood behind the gun he had been operating, staring
19:50
Speaker 1: with wide eyes at the onrushing hideous Green warriors. Carthoris,
19:55
Speaker 1: seeing him, thus, felt a pang of regret that, after all,
20:01
Speaker 1: this man that he had thought so valorous, should prove,
20:05
Speaker 1: in the hour of need, as spineless as jav Or
20:09
Speaker 1: Tario kar Komak the man, he shouted, grip yourself, remember
20:15
Speaker 1: the days of the glory of the seafarers of Lothar. Fight, fight, man,
20:20
Speaker 1: fight as man never fought before. All that remains to
20:24
Speaker 1: us is to die fighting. Karkomak turned toward the Heliumite,
20:29
Speaker 1: a grim smile upon his lips. Why should we fight,
20:34
Speaker 1: he asked, against such fearful odds. There is another way,
20:39
Speaker 1: a better way. Look, he pointed toward the companionway that
20:44
Speaker 1: led below deck. The Green men, A handful of them
20:48
Speaker 1: had already reached the Thuria's deck. As Carthoris glanced in
20:52
Speaker 1: the direction the Lotharian had indicated. The sight that met
20:56
Speaker 1: his eyes set his heart to thumping and joy and relief.
21:00
Speaker 1: Thuvia of Ptarth might yet be saved. For from below
21:04
Speaker 1: there poured a stream of giant bowmen, grim and terrible.
21:09
Speaker 1: Not the bowmen of Tario or Jav, but the bowmen
21:12
Speaker 1: of an odd war of bowmen, savage fighting men, eager
21:16
Speaker 1: for the fray. The Green warriors paused in momentary surprise
21:21
Speaker 1: and consternation, but only for a moment. Then, with horrid
21:25
Speaker 1: war cries, they leaped forward to meet these strange new foemen.
21:30
Speaker 1: A vogli of arrows stopped them in their tracks. In
21:34
Speaker 1: a moment, the only Green Warriors upon the deck of
21:36
Speaker 1: the Thuria were dead warriors, and the bowmen of kar
21:39
Speaker 1: Komak were leaping over the vessel's side to charge the
21:42
Speaker 1: hordesmen upon the ground. Utan after Utan tumbled from the
21:46
Speaker 1: bows of the Thuria to launch themselves upon the unfortunate
21:50
Speaker 1: Green men. Kulan Tith and his Kwolians stood wide eyed
21:54
Speaker 1: and speechless with amazement as they saw thousands of these strange,
21:58
Speaker 1: fierce warriors merged from the companionway of the small craft
22:02
Speaker 1: that could not comfortably have accommodated more than fifty. At last,
22:08
Speaker 1: the green Men could withstand the onslaught of overwhelming numbers.
22:11
Speaker 1: No longer slowly at first, they fell back across the
22:15
Speaker 1: Ochre plain. The bowmen pursued them. Kar Komac, standing upon
22:21
Speaker 1: the deck of the Thuria, trembled with excitement. At the
22:25
Speaker 1: top of his lungs, he voiced the savage war cry
22:27
Speaker 1: of his forgotten day. He roared encouragement and commands at
22:31
Speaker 1: his battling utans, and then as they charged further and
22:35
Speaker 1: further from the Thuria, he could no longer withstand the
22:38
Speaker 1: lure of battle. Leaping over the ship's side to the ground,
22:42
Speaker 1: he joined the last of his bowmen as they raced
22:44
Speaker 1: over the dead sea bottom in pursuit of the fleeing
22:47
Speaker 1: Green Horde. Beyond a low promontory of what once had
22:51
Speaker 1: been an island, the green Men were disappearing toward the west.
22:55
Speaker 1: Close upon their heels raced the fleet bowmen of a
22:58
Speaker 1: by gone day, and forging steadily ahead among them, Carthoris
23:02
Speaker 1: and Thuvia could see the mighty figure of car Coomak,
23:06
Speaker 1: brandishing aloft the Torquasian's short sword with which he was
23:09
Speaker 1: armed as he urged his creatures after the retreating enemy.
23:14
Speaker 1: As the last of them disappeared behind the promontory, Carthoris
23:18
Speaker 1: turned toward Thuvia of Ptarth. They have taught me a
23:22
Speaker 1: lesson these vanishing bowmen of Lothar, he said. When they
23:27
Speaker 1: have served their purpose, they remain not to embarrass their
23:30
Speaker 1: masters by their presence. Kulan Tith and his warriors are
23:34
Speaker 1: here to protect you. My acts have constituted the proof
23:37
Speaker 1: of my honesty of purpose. Goodbye, and he knelt at
23:41
Speaker 1: her feet, raising a bit of her harness to his lips.
23:46
Speaker 1: The girl reached out a hand and laid it upon
23:49
Speaker 1: the thick black hair of the head bent before her softly,
23:53
Speaker 1: She said, where are you going, Carthoris with kar Komak
23:59
Speaker 1: the bowman. He replied, there'll be fighting, and forgetfulness. The
24:06
Speaker 1: girl put her hands before her eyes, as though to
24:09
Speaker 1: shut out some mighty temptation from her sight. May my
24:14
Speaker 1: ancestors have mercy upon me, she cried. If I say
24:17
Speaker 1: the thing I have no right to say, but I
24:20
Speaker 1: cannot see you cast your life away, Carthoris, Prince of Helium, stay,
24:24
Speaker 1: my chieftain, stay, I love you. A cough behind them
24:31
Speaker 1: brought both about, and there they saw, standing not two
24:35
Speaker 1: paces from them, kulan Tith Jeddak of cow Ol. For
24:41
Speaker 1: a long moment none spoke. Then kulan Tith cleared his throat.
24:46
Speaker 1: He I could not help hearing all that passed, he said,
24:52
Speaker 1: I am no fool to be blind to the love
24:54
Speaker 1: that lies between you, Nor am I blind to the
24:58
Speaker 1: lofty honor that has caused you, Carthoris, to risk your
25:02
Speaker 1: life in hers to save mine, though you thought that
25:06
Speaker 1: that very act would rob you of the chance to
25:08
Speaker 1: keep her for your own. Nor can I fail to
25:12
Speaker 1: appreciate the virtue that has kept your lips sealed against
25:15
Speaker 1: words of love for this Heliumite Thuvia. For I know
25:19
Speaker 1: that I have but just heard the first declaration of
25:22
Speaker 1: your passion for him. I do not condemn you. Rather,
25:27
Speaker 1: should I have condemned you had you entered a loveless
25:29
Speaker 1: marriage with me. Take back your liberty, Thuvia of Ptarth,
25:35
Speaker 1: he cried, and bestow it where your heart already lies
25:38
Speaker 1: and chained, And when the golden collars are clasped about
25:42
Speaker 1: your necks, you will see that Coulan Tiths is the
25:45
Speaker 1: first sword to be raised in declaration of eternal friendship
25:49
Speaker 1: for the new Princess of Helium and her royal mate.
25:54
Speaker 1: End of Chapter fourteen.