Breast Cancer Symbol Clip Art

the gods of mars by edgar rice burroughs foreword twelve years had passed since i had laid thebody of my great-uncle, captain john carter, of virginia, away from the sight of men inthat strange mausoleum in the old cemetery at richmond. often had i pondered on the odd instructionshe had left me governing the construction of his mighty tomb, and especially those partswhich directed that he be laid in an open casket and that the ponderous mechanism whichcontrolled the bolts of the vault's huge door be accessible only from the inside.

twelve years had passed since i had read theremarkable manuscript of this remarkable man; this man who remembered no childhood and whocould not even offer a vague guess as to his age; who was always young and yet who haddandled my grandfather's great-grandfather upon his knee; this man who had spent tenyears upon the planet mars; who had fought for the green men of barsoom and fought againstthem; who had fought for and against the red men and who had won the ever beautiful dejahthoris, princess of helium, for his wife, and for nearly ten years had been a princeof the house of tardos mors, jeddak of helium. twelve years had passed since his body hadbeen found upon the bluff before his cottage overlooking the hudson, and oft-times duringthese long years i had wondered if john carter

were really dead, or if he again roamed thedead sea bottoms of that dying planet; if he had returned to barsoom to find that hehad opened the frowning portals of the mighty atmosphere plant in time to save the countlessmillions who were dying of asphyxiation on that far-gone day that had seen him hurtledruthlessly through forty-eight million miles of space back to earth once more. i had wonderedif he had found his black-haired princess and the slender son he had dreamed was withher in the royal gardens of tardos mors, awaiting his return. or, had he found that he had been too late,and thus gone back to a living death upon a dead world? or was he really dead afterall, never to return either to his mother

earth or his beloved mars? thus was i lost in useless speculation onesultry august evening when old ben, my body servant, handed me a telegram. tearing itopen i read: 'meet me to-morrow hotel raleigh richmond.'john carter' early the next morning i took the first trainfor richmond and within two hours was being ushered into the room occupied by john carter. as i entered he rose to greet me, his old-timecordial smile of welcome lighting his handsome face. apparently he had not aged a minute,but was still the straight, clean-limbed fighting-man of thirty. his keen grey eyes were undimmed,and the only lines upon his face were the

lines of iron character and determinationthat always had been there since first i remembered him, nearly thirty-five years before. 'well, nephew,' he greeted me, 'do you feelas though you were seeing a ghost, or suffering from the effects of too many of uncle ben'sjuleps?' 'juleps, i reckon,' i replied, 'for i certainlyfeel mighty good; but maybe it's just the sight of you again that affects me. you havebeen back to mars? tell me. and dejah thoris? you found her well and awaiting you?' 'yes, i have been to barsoom again, and-butit's a long story, too long to tell in the limited time i have before i must return.i have learned the secret, nephew, and i may

traverse the trackless void at my will, comingand going between the countless planets as i list; but my heart is always in barsoom,and while it is there in the keeping of my martian princess, i doubt that i shall everagain leave the dying world that is my life. 'i have come now because my affection foryou prompted me to see you once more before you pass over for ever into that other lifethat i shall never know, and which though i have died thrice and shall die again to-night,as you know death, i am as unable to fathom as are you. 'even the wise and mysterious therns of barsoom,that ancient cult which for countless ages has been credited with holding the secretof life and death in their impregnable fastnesses

upon the hither slopes of the mountains ofotz, are as ignorant as we. i have proved it, though i near lost my life in the doingof it; but you shall read it all in the notes i have been making during the last three monthsthat i have been back upon earth.' he patted a swelling portfolio that lay onthe table at his elbow. 'i know that you are interested and that youbelieve, and i know that the world, too, is interested, though they will not believe formany years; yes, for many ages, since they cannot understand. earth men have not yetprogressed to a point where they can comprehend the things that i have written in those notes. 'give them what you wish of it, what you thinkwill not harm them, but do not feel aggrieved

if they laugh at you.' that night i walked down to the cemetery withhim. at the door of his vault he turned and pressed my hand. 'good-bye, nephew,' he said. 'i may neversee you again, for i doubt that i can ever bring myself to leave my wife and boy whilethey live, and the span of life upon barsoom is often more than a thousand years.' he entered the vault. the great door swungslowly to. the ponderous bolts grated into place. the lock clicked. i have never seencaptain john carter, of virginia, since. but here is the story of his return to marson that other occasion, as i have gleaned

it from the great mass of notes which he leftfor me upon the table of his room in the hotel there is much which i have left out; muchwhich i have not dared to tell; but you will find the story of his second search for dejahthoris, princess of helium, even more remarkable than was his first manuscript which i gaveto an unbelieving world a short time since and through which we followed the fightingvirginian across dead sea bottoms under the moons of mars. e. r. b. chapter ithe plant men as i stood upon the bluff before my cottageon that clear cold night in the early part

of march, 1886, the noble hudson flowing likethe grey and silent spectre of a dead river below me, i felt again the strange, compellinginfluence of the mighty god of war, my beloved mars, which for ten long and lonesome yearsi had implored with outstretched arms to carry me back to my lost love. not since that other march night in 1866,when i had stood without that arizona cave in which my still and lifeless body lay wrappedin the similitude of earthly death had i felt the irresistible attraction of the god ofmy profession. with arms outstretched toward the red eyeof the great star i stood praying for a return of that strange power which twice had drawnme through the immensity of space, praying

as i had prayed on a thousand nights beforeduring the long ten years that i had waited and hoped. suddenly a qualm of nausea swept over me,my senses swam, my knees gave beneath me and i pitched headlong to the ground upon thevery verge of the dizzy bluff. instantly my brain cleared and there sweptback across the threshold of my memory the vivid picture of the horrors of that ghostlyarizona cave; again, as on that far-gone night, my muscles refused to respond to my will andagain, as though even here upon the banks of the placid hudson, i could hear the awfulmoans and rustling of the fearsome thing which had lurked and threatened me from the darkrecesses of the cave, i made the same mighty

and superhuman effort to break the bonds ofthe strange anaesthesia which held me, and again came the sharp click as of the suddenparting of a taut wire, and i stood naked and free beside the staring, lifeless thingthat had so recently pulsed with the warm, red life-blood of john carter. with scarcely a parting glance i turned myeyes again toward mars, lifted my hands toward his lurid rays, and waited. nor did i have long to wait; for scarce hadi turned ere i shot with the rapidity of thought into the awful void before me. there was thesame instant of unthinkable cold and utter darkness that i had experienced twenty yearsbefore, and then i opened my eyes in another

world, beneath the burning rays of a hot sun,which beat through a tiny opening in the dome of the mighty forest in which i lay. the scene that met my eyes was so un-martianthat my heart sprang to my throat as the sudden fear swept through me that i had been aimlesslytossed upon some strange planet by a cruel fate. why not? what guide had i through the tracklesswaste of interplanetary space? what assurance that i might not as well be hurtled to somefar-distant star of another solar system, as to mars? i lay upon a close-cropped sward of red grasslikevegetation, and about me stretched a grove

of strange and beautiful trees, covered withhuge and gorgeous blossoms and filled with brilliant, voiceless birds. i call them birdssince they were winged, but mortal eye ne'er rested on such odd, unearthly shapes. the vegetation was similar to that which coversthe lawns of the red martians of the great waterways, but the trees and birds were unlikeanything that i had ever seen upon mars, and then through the further trees i could seethat most un-martian of all sights-an open sea, its blue waters shimmering beneath thebrazen sun. as i rose to investigate further i experiencedthe same ridiculous catastrophe that had met my first attempt to walk under martian conditions.the lesser attraction of this smaller planet

and the reduced air pressure of its greatlyrarefied atmosphere, afforded so little resistance to my earthly muscles that the ordinary exertionof the mere act of rising sent me several feet into the air and precipitated me uponmy face in the soft and brilliant grass of this strange world. this experience, however, gave me some slightlyincreased assurance that, after all, i might indeed be in some, to me, unknown corner ofmars, and this was very possible since during my ten years' residence upon the planet ihad explored but a comparatively tiny area of its vast expanse. i arose again, laughing at my forgetfulness,and soon had mastered once more the art of

attuning my earthly sinews to these changedconditions. as i walked slowly down the imperceptibleslope toward the sea i could not help but note the park-like appearance of the swardand trees. the grass was as close-cropped and carpet-like as some old english lawn andthe trees themselves showed evidence of careful pruning to a uniform height of about fifteenfeet from the ground, so that as one turned his glance in any direction the forest hadthe appearance at a little distance of a vast, high-ceiled chamber. all these evidences of careful and systematiccultivation convinced me that i had been fortunate enough to make my entry into mars on thissecond occasion through the domain of a civilized

people and that when i should find them iwould be accorded the courtesy and protection that my rank as a prince of the house of tardosmors entitled me to. the trees of the forest attracted my deepadmiration as i proceeded toward the sea. their great stems, some of them fully a hundredfeet in diameter, attested their prodigious height, which i could only guess at, sinceat no point could i penetrate their dense foliage above me to more than sixty or eightyfeet. as far aloft as i could see the stems andbranches and twigs were as smooth and as highly polished as the newest of american-made pianos.the wood of some of the trees was as black as ebony, while their nearest neighbours mightperhaps gleam in the subdued light of the

forest as clear and white as the finest china,or, again, they were azure, scarlet, yellow, or deepest purple. and in the same way was the foliage as gayand variegated as the stems, while the blooms that clustered thick upon them may not bedescribed in any earthly tongue, and indeed might challenge the language of the gods. as i neared the confines of the forest i beheldbefore me and between the grove and the open sea, a broad expanse of meadow land, and asi was about to emerge from the shadows of the trees a sight met my eyes that banishedall romantic and poetic reflection upon the beauties of the strange landscape.

to my left the sea extended as far as theeye could reach, before me only a vague, dim line indicated its further shore, while atmy right a mighty river, broad, placid, and majestic, flowed between scarlet banks toempty into the quiet sea before me. at a little distance up the river rose mightyperpendicular bluffs, from the very base of which the great river seemed to rise. but it was not these inspiring and magnificentevidences of nature's grandeur that took my immediate attention from the beauties of theforest. it was the sight of a score of figures moving slowly about the meadow near the bankof the mighty river. odd, grotesque shapes they were; unlike anythingthat i had ever seen upon mars, and yet, at

a distance, most manlike in appearance. thelarger specimens appeared to be about ten or twelve feet in height when they stood erect,and to be proportioned as to torso and lower extremities precisely as is earthly man. their arms, however, were very short, andfrom where i stood seemed as though fashioned much after the manner of an elephant's trunk,in that they moved in sinuous and snakelike undulations, as though entirely without bonystructure, or if there were bones it seemed that they must be vertebral in nature. as i watched them from behind the stem ofa huge tree, one of the creatures moved slowly in my direction, engaged in the occupationthat seemed to be the principal business of

each of them, and which consisted in runningtheir oddly shaped hands over the surface of the sward, for what purpose i could notdetermine. as he approached quite close to me i obtainedan excellent view of him, and though i was later to become better acquainted with hiskind, i may say that that single cursory examination of this awful travesty on nature would haveproved quite sufficient to my desires had i been a free agent. the fastest flier ofthe heliumetic navy could not quickly enough have carried me far from this hideous creature. its hairless body was a strange and ghoulishblue, except for a broad band of white which encircled its protruding, single eye: an eyethat was all dead white-pupil, iris, and

ball. its nose was a ragged, inflamed, circularhole in the centre of its blank face; a hole that resembled more closely nothing that icould think of other than a fresh bullet wound which has not yet commenced to bleed. below this repulsive orifice the face wasquite blank to the chin, for the thing had no mouth that i could discover. the head, with the exception of the face,was covered by a tangled mass of jet-black hair some eight or ten inches in length. eachhair was about the bigness of a large angleworm, and as the thing moved the muscles of itsscalp this awful head-covering seemed to writhe

and wriggle and crawl about the fearsome faceas though indeed each separate hair was endowed with independent life. the body and the legs were as symmetricallyhuman as nature could have fashioned them, and the feet, too, were human in shape, butof monstrous proportions. from heel to toe they were fully three feet long, and veryflat and very broad. as it came quite close to me i discoveredthat its strange movements, running its odd hands over the surface of the turf, were theresult of its peculiar method of feeding, which consists in cropping off the tendervegetation with its razorlike talons and sucking it up from its two mouths, which lie one inthe palm of each hand, through its arm-like

throats. in addition to the features which i have alreadydescribed, the beast was equipped with a massive tail about six feet in length, quite roundwhere it joined the body, but tapering to a flat, thin blade toward the end, which trailedat right angles to the ground. by far the most remarkable feature of thismost remarkable creature, however, were the two tiny replicas of it, each about six inchesin length, which dangled, one on either side, from its armpits. they were suspended by asmall stem which seemed to grow from the exact tops of their heads to where it connectedthem with the body of the adult. whether they were the young, or merely portionsof a composite creature, i did not know.

as i had been scrutinizing this weird monstrositythe balance of the herd had fed quite close to me and i now saw that while many had thesmaller specimens dangling from them, not all were thus equipped, and i further notedthat the little ones varied in size from what appeared to be but tiny unopened buds an inchin diameter through various stages of development to the full-fledged and perfectly formed creatureof ten to twelve inches in length. feeding with the herd were many of the littlefellows not much larger than those which remained attached to their parents, and from the youngof that size the herd graded up to the immense adults. fearsome-looking as they were, i did not knowwhether to fear them or not, for they did

not seem to be particularly well equippedfor fighting, and i was on the point of stepping from my hiding-place and revealing myselfto them to note the effect upon them of the sight of a man when my rash resolve was, fortunatelyfor me, nipped in the bud by a strange shrieking wail, which seemed to come from the directionof the bluffs at my right. naked and unarmed, as i was, my end wouldhave been both speedy and horrible at the hands of these cruel creatures had i had timeto put my resolve into execution, but at the moment of the shriek each member of the herdturned in the direction from which the sound seemed to come, and at the same instant everyparticular snake-like hair upon their heads rose stiffly perpendicular as if each hadbeen a sentient organism looking or listening

for the source or meaning of the wail. andindeed the latter proved to be the truth, for this strange growth upon the craniumsof the plant men of barsoom represents the thousand ears of these hideous creatures,the last remnant of the strange race which sprang from the original tree of life. instantly every eye turned toward one memberof the herd, a large fellow who evidently was the leader. a strange purring sound issuedfrom the mouth in the palm of one of his hands, and at the same time he started rapidly towardthe bluff, followed by the entire herd. their speed and method of locomotion wereboth remarkable, springing as they did in great leaps of twenty or thirty feet, muchafter the manner of a kangaroo.

they were rapidly disappearing when it occurredto me to follow them, and so, hurling caution to the winds, i sprang across the meadow intheir wake with leaps and bounds even more prodigious than their own, for the musclesof an athletic earth man produce remarkable results when pitted against the lesser gravityand air pressure of mars. their way led directly towards the apparentsource of the river at the base of the cliffs, and as i neared this point i found the meadowdotted with huge boulders that the ravages of time had evidently dislodged from the toweringcrags above. for this reason i came quite close to thecause of the disturbance before the scene broke upon my horrified gaze. as i toppeda great boulder i saw the herd of plant men

surrounding a little group of perhaps fiveor six green men and women of barsoom. that i was indeed upon mars i now had no doubt,for here were members of the wild hordes that people the dead sea bottoms and deserted citiesof that dying planet. here were the great males towering in allthe majesty of their imposing height; here were the gleaming white tusks protruding fromtheir massive lower jaws to a point near the centre of their foreheads, the laterally placed,protruding eyes with which they could look forward or backward, or to either side withoutturning their heads, here the strange antennae-like ears rising from the tops of their foreheads;and the additional pair of arms extending from midway between the shoulders and thehips.

even without the glossy green hide and themetal ornaments which denoted the tribes to which they belonged, i would have known themon the instant for what they were, for where else in all the universe is their like duplicated? there were two men and four females in theparty and their ornaments denoted them as members of different hordes, a fact whichtended to puzzle me infinitely, since the various hordes of green men of barsoom areeternally at deadly war with one another, and never, except on that single historicinstance when the great tars tarkas of thark gathered a hundred and fifty thousand greenwarriors from several hordes to march upon the doomed city of zodanga to rescue dejahthoris, princess of helium, from the clutches

of than kosis, had i seen green martians ofdifferent hordes associated in other than mortal combat. but now they stood back to back, facing, inwide-eyed amazement, the very evidently hostile demonstrations of a common enemy. both men and women were armed with long-swordsand daggers, but no firearms were in evidence, else it had been short shrift for the gruesomeplant men of barsoom. presently the leader of the plant men chargedthe little party, and his method of attack was as remarkable as it was effective, andby its very strangeness was the more potent, since in the science of the green warriorsthere was no defence for this singular manner

of attack, the like of which it soon was evidentto me they were as unfamiliar with as they were with the monstrosities which confrontedthem. the plant man charged to within a dozen feetof the party and then, with a bound, rose as though to pass directly above their heads.his powerful tail was raised high to one side, and as he passed close above them he broughtit down in one terrific sweep that crushed a green warrior's skull as though it had beenan eggshell. the balance of the frightful herd was nowcircling rapidly and with bewildering speed about the little knot of victims. their prodigiousbounds and the shrill, screeching purr of their uncanny mouths were well calculatedto confuse and terrorize their prey, so that

as two of them leaped simultaneously fromeither side, the mighty sweep of those awful tails met with no resistance and two moregreen martians went down to an ignoble death. there were now but one warrior and two femalesleft, and it seemed that it could be but a matter of seconds ere these, also, lay deadupon the scarlet sward. but as two more of the plant men charged,the warrior, who was now prepared by the experiences of the past few minutes, swung his mightylong-sword aloft and met the hurtling bulk with a clean cut that clove one of the plantmen from chin to groin. the other, however, dealt a single blow withhis cruel tail that laid both of the females crushed corpses upon the ground.

as the green warrior saw the last of his companionsgo down and at the same time perceived that the entire herd was charging him in a body,he rushed boldly to meet them, swinging his long-sword in the terrific manner that i hadso often seen the men of his kind wield it in their ferocious and almost continual warfareamong their own race. cutting and hewing to right and left, he laidan open path straight through the advancing plant men, and then commenced a mad race forthe forest, in the shelter of which he evidently hoped that he might find a haven of refuge. he had turned for that portion of the forestwhich abutted on the cliffs, and thus the mad race was taking the entire party fartherand farther from the boulder where i lay concealed.

as i had watched the noble fight which thegreat warrior had put up against such enormous odds my heart had swelled in admiration forhim, and acting as i am wont to do, more upon impulse than after mature deliberation, iinstantly sprang from my sheltering rock and bounded quickly toward the bodies of the deadgreen martians, a well-defined plan of action already formed. half a dozen great leaps brought me to thespot, and another instant saw me again in my stride in quick pursuit of the hideousmonsters that were rapidly gaining on the fleeing warrior, but this time i grasped amighty long-sword in my hand and in my heart was the old blood lust of the fighting man,and a red mist swam before my eyes and i felt

my lips respond to my heart in the old smilethat has ever marked me in the midst of the joy of battle. swift as i was i was none too soon, for thegreen warrior had been overtaken ere he had made half the distance to the forest, andnow he stood with his back to a boulder, while the herd, temporarily balked, hissed and screechedabout him. with their single eyes in the centre of theirheads and every eye turned upon their prey, they did not note my soundless approach, sothat i was upon them with my great long-sword and four of them lay dead ere they knew thati was among them. for an instant they recoiled before my terrificonslaught, and in that instant the green warrior

rose to the occasion and, springing to myside, laid to the right and left of him as i had never seen but one other warrior do,with great circling strokes that formed a figure eight about him and that never stoppeduntil none stood living to oppose him, his keen blade passing through flesh and boneand metal as though each had been alike thin air. as we bent to the slaughter, far above usrose that shrill, weird cry which i had heard once before, and which had called the herdto the attack upon their victims. again and again it rose, but we were too much engagedwith the fierce and powerful creatures about us to attempt to search out even with oureyes the author of the horrid notes.

great tails lashed in frenzied anger aboutus, razor-like talons cut our limbs and bodies, and a green and sticky syrup, such as oozesfrom a crushed caterpillar, smeared us from head to foot, for every cut and thrust ofour longswords brought spurts of this stuff upon us from the severed arteries of the plantmen, through which it courses in its sluggish viscidity in lieu of blood. once i felt the great weight of one of themonsters upon my back and as keen talons sank into my flesh i experienced the frightfulsensation of moist lips sucking the lifeblood from the wounds to which the claws still clung. i was very much engaged with a ferocious fellowwho was endeavouring to reach my throat from

in front, while two more, one on either side,were lashing viciously at me with their tails. the green warrior was much put to it to holdhis own, and i felt that the unequal struggle could last but a moment longer when the hugefellow discovered my plight, and tearing himself from those that surrounded him, he raked theassailant from my back with a single sweep of his blade, and thus relieved i had littledifficulty with the others. once together, we stood almost back to backagainst the great boulder, and thus the creatures were prevented from soaring above us to delivertheir deadly blows, and as we were easily their match while they remained upon the ground,we were making great headway in dispatching what remained of them when our attention wasagain attracted by the shrill wail of the

caller above our heads. this time i glanced up, and far above us upona little natural balcony on the face of the cliff stood a strange figure of a man shriekingout his shrill signal, the while he waved one hand in the direction of the river's mouthas though beckoning to some one there, and with the other pointed and gesticulated towardus. a glance in the direction toward which hewas looking was sufficient to apprise me of his aims and at the same time to fill me withthe dread of dire apprehension, for, streaming in from all directions across the meadow,from out of the forest, and from the far distance of the flat land across the river, i couldsee converging upon us a hundred different

lines of wildly leaping creatures such aswe were now engaged with, and with them some strange new monsters which ran with greatswiftness, now erect and now upon all fours. "it will be a great death," i said to my companion."look!" as he shot a quick glance in the directioni indicated he smiled. "we may at least die fighting and as greatwarriors should, john carter," he replied. we had just finished the last of our immediateantagonists as he spoke, and i turned in surprised wonderment at the sound of my name. and there before my astonished eyes i beheldthe greatest of the green men of barsoom; their shrewdest statesman, their mightiestgeneral, my great and good friend, tars tarkas,

jeddak of thark. chapter iia forest battle tars tarkas and i found no time for an exchangeof experiences as we stood there before the great boulder surrounded by the corpses ofour grotesque assailants, for from all directions down the broad valley was streaming a perfecttorrent of terrifying creatures in response to the weird call of the strange figure farabove us. "come," cried tars tarkas, "we must make forthe cliffs. there lies our only hope of even temporary escape; there we may find a caveor a narrow ledge which two may defend for ever against this motley, unarmed horde."

together we raced across the scarlet sward,i timing my speed that i might not outdistance my slower companion. we had, perhaps, threehundred yards to cover between our boulder and the cliffs, and then to search out a suitableshelter for our stand against the terrifying things that were pursuing us. they were rapidly overhauling us when tarstarkas cried to me to hasten ahead and discover, if possible, the sanctuary we sought. thesuggestion was a good one, for thus many valuable minutes might be saved to us, and, throwingevery ounce of my earthly muscles into the effort, i cleared the remaining distance betweenmyself and the cliffs in great leaps and bounds that put me at their base in a moment.

the cliffs rose perpendicular directly fromthe almost level sward of the valley. there was no accumulation of fallen debris, forminga more or less rough ascent to them, as is the case with nearly all other cliffs i haveever seen. the scattered boulders that had fallen from above and lay upon or partly buriedin the turf, were the only indication that any disintegration of the massive, toweringpile of rocks ever had taken place. my first cursory inspection of the face ofthe cliffs filled my heart with forebodings, since nowhere could i discern, except wherethe weird herald stood still shrieking his shrill summons, the faintest indication ofeven a bare foothold upon the lofty escarpment. to my right the bottom of the cliff was lostin the dense foliage of the forest, which

terminated at its very foot, rearing its gorgeousfoliage fully a thousand feet against its stern and forbidding neighbour. to the left the cliff ran, apparently unbroken,across the head of the broad valley, to be lost in the outlines of what appeared to bea range of mighty mountains that skirted and confined the valley in every direction. perhaps a thousand feet from me the riverbroke, as it seemed, directly from the base of the cliffs, and as there seemed not theremotest chance for escape in that direction i turned my attention again toward the forest. the cliffs towered above me a good five thousandfeet. the sun was not quite upon them and

they loomed a dull yellow in their own shade.here and there they were broken with streaks and patches of dusky red, green, and occasionalareas of white quartz. altogether they were very beautiful, but ifear that i did not regard them with a particularly appreciative eye on this, my first inspectionof them. just then i was absorbed in them only as amedium of escape, and so, as my gaze ran quickly, time and again, over their vast expanse insearch of some cranny or crevice, i came suddenly to loathe them as the prisoner must loathethe cruel and impregnable walls of his dungeon. tars tarkas was approaching me rapidly, andstill more rapidly came the awful horde at his heels.

it seemed the forest now or nothing, and iwas just on the point of motioning tars tarkas to follow me in that direction when the sunpassed the cliff's zenith, and as the bright rays touched the dull surface it burst outinto a million scintillant lights of burnished gold, of flaming red, of soft greens, andgleaming whites-a more gorgeous and inspiring spectacle human eye has never rested upon. the face of the entire cliff was, as laterinspection conclusively proved, so shot with veins and patches of solid gold as to quitepresent the appearance of a solid wall of that precious metal except where it was brokenby outcroppings of ruby, emerald, and diamond boulders-a faint and alluring indicationof the vast and unguessable riches which lay

deeply buried behind the magnificent surface. but what caught my most interested attentionat the moment that the sun's rays set the cliff's face a-shimmer, was the several blackspots which now appeared quite plainly in evidence high across the gorgeous wall closeto the forest's top, and extending apparently below and behind the branches. almost immediately i recognised them for whatthey were, the dark openings of caves entering the solid walls-possible avenues of escapeor temporary shelter, could we but reach them. there was but a single way, and that led throughthe mighty, towering trees upon our right. that i could scale them i knew full well,but tars tarkas, with his mighty bulk and

enormous weight, would find it a task possiblyquite beyond his prowess or his skill, for martians are at best but poor climbers. uponthe entire surface of that ancient planet i never before had seen a hill or mountainthat exceeded four thousand feet in height above the dead sea bottoms, and as the ascentwas usually gradual, nearly to their summits they presented but few opportunities for thepractice of climbing. nor would the martians have embraced even such opportunities as mightpresent themselves, for they could always find a circuitous route about the base ofany eminence, and these roads they preferred and followed in preference to the shorterbut more arduous ways. however, there was nothing else to considerthan an attempt to scale the trees contiguous

to the cliff in an effort to reach the cavesabove. the thark grasped the possibilities and thedifficulties of the plan at once, but there was no alternative, and so we set out rapidlyfor the trees nearest the cliff. our relentless pursuers were now close tous, so close that it seemed that it would be an utter impossibility for the jeddak ofthark to reach the forest in advance of them, nor was there any considerable will in theefforts that tars tarkas made, for the green men of barsoom do not relish flight, nor everbefore had i seen one fleeing from death in whatsoever form it might have confronted him.but that tars tarkas was the bravest of the brave he had proven thousands of times; yes,tens of thousands in countless mortal combats

with men and beasts. and so i knew that therewas another reason than fear of death behind his flight, as he knew that a greater powerthan pride or honour spurred me to escape these fierce destroyers. in my case it waslove-love of the divine dejah thoris; and the cause of the thark's great and suddenlove of life i could not fathom, for it is oftener that they seek death than life-thesestrange, cruel, loveless, unhappy people. at length, however, we reached the shadowsof the forest, while right behind us sprang the swiftest of our pursuers-a giant plantman with claws outreaching to fasten his bloodsucking mouths upon us. he was, i should say, a hundred yards in advanceof his closest companion, and so i called

to tars tarkas to ascend a great tree thatbrushed the cliff's face while i dispatched the fellow, thus giving the less agile tharkan opportunity to reach the higher branches before the entire horde should be upon usand every vestige of escape cut off. but i had reckoned without a just appreciationeither of the cunning of my immediate antagonist or the swiftness with which his fellows werecovering the distance which had separated them from me. as i raised my long-sword to deal the creatureits death thrust it halted in its charge and, as my sword cut harmlessly through the emptyair, the great tail of the thing swept with the power of a grizzly's arm across the swardand carried me bodily from my feet to the

ground. in an instant the brute was upon me,but ere it could fasten its hideous mouths into my breast and throat i grasped a writhingtentacle in either hand. the plant man was well muscled, heavy, andpowerful but my earthly sinews and greater agility, in conjunction with the deathly stranglehold i had upon him, would have given me, i think, an eventual victory had we had timeto discuss the merits of our relative prowess uninterrupted. but as we strained and struggledabout the tree into which tars tarkas was clambering with infinite difficulty, i suddenlycaught a glimpse over the shoulder of my antagonist of the great swarm of pursuers that now werefairly upon me. now, at last, i saw the nature of the othermonsters who had come with the plant men in

response to the weird calling of the man uponthe cliff's face. they were that most dreaded of martian creatures-great white apes ofbarsoom. my former experiences upon mars had familiarizedme thoroughly with them and their methods, and i may say that of all the fearsome andterrible, weird and grotesque inhabitants of that strange world, it is the white apesthat come nearest to familiarizing me with the sensation of fear. i think that the cause of this feeling whichthese apes engender within me is due to their remarkable resemblance in form to our earthmen, which gives them a human appearance that is most uncanny when coupled with their enormoussize.

they stand fifteen feet in height and walkerect upon their hind feet. like the green martians, they have an intermediary set ofarms midway between their upper and lower limbs. their eyes are very close set, butdo not protrude as do those of the green men of mars; their ears are high set, but morelaterally located than are the green men's, while their snouts and teeth are much likethose of our african gorilla. upon their heads grows an enormous shock of bristly hair. it was into the eyes of such as these andthe terrible plant men that i gazed above the shoulder of my foe, and then, in a mightywave of snarling, snapping, screaming, purring rage, they swept over me-and of all thesounds that assailed my ears as i went down

beneath them, to me the most hideous was thehorrid purring of the plant men. instantly a score of cruel fangs and keentalons were sunk into my flesh; cold, sucking lips fastened themselves upon my arteries.i struggled to free myself, and even though weighed down by these immense bodies, i succeededin struggling to my feet, where, still grasping my long-sword, and shortening my grip uponit until i could use it as a dagger, i wrought such havoc among them that at one time i stoodfor an instant free. what it has taken minutes to write occurredin but a few seconds, but during that time tars tarkas had seen my plight and had droppedfrom the lower branches, which he had reached with such infinite labour, and as i flungthe last of my immediate antagonists from

me the great thark leaped to my side, andagain we fought, back to back, as we had done a hundred times before. time and again the ferocious apes sprang into close with us, and time and again we beat them back with our swords. the great tailsof the plant men lashed with tremendous power about us as they charged from various directionsor sprang with the agility of greyhounds above our heads; but every attack met a gleamingblade in sword hands that had been reputed for twenty years the best that mars ever hadknown; for tars tarkas and john carter were names that the fighting men of the world ofwarriors loved best to speak. but even the two best swords in a world offighters can avail not for ever against overwhelming

numbers of fierce and savage brutes that knownot what defeat means until cold steel teaches their hearts no longer to beat, and so, stepby step, we were forced back. at length we stood against the giant tree that we had chosenfor our ascent, and then, as charge after charge hurled its weight upon us, we gaveback again and again, until we had been forced half-way around the huge base of the colossaltrunk. tars tarkas was in the lead, and suddenlyi heard a little cry of exultation from him. "here is shelter for one at least, john carter,"he said, and, glancing down, i saw an opening in the base of the tree about three feet indiameter. "in with you, tars tarkas," i cried, but hewould not go; saying that his bulk was too

great for the little aperture, while i mightslip in easily. "we shall both die if we remain without, johncarter; here is a slight chance for one of us. take it and you may live to avenge me,it is useless for me to attempt to worm my way into so small an opening with this hordeof demons besetting us on all sides." "then we shall die together, tars tarkas,"i replied, "for i shall not go first. let me defend the opening while you get in, thenmy smaller stature will permit me to slip in with you before they can prevent." we still were fighting furiously as we talkedin broken sentences, punctured with vicious cuts and thrusts at our swarming enemy.

at length he yielded, for it seemed the onlyway in which either of us might be saved from the ever-increasing numbers of our assailants,who were still swarming upon us from all directions across the broad valley. "it was ever your way, john carter, to thinklast of your own life," he said; "but still more your way to command the lives and actionsof others, even to the greatest of jeddaks who rule upon barsoom." there was a grim smile upon his cruel, hardface, as he, the greatest jeddak of them all, turned to obey the dictates of a creatureof another world-of a man whose stature was less than half his own.

"if you fail, john carter," he said, "knowthat the cruel and heartless thark, to whom you taught the meaning of friendship, willcome out to die beside you." "as you will, my friend," i replied; "butquickly now, head first, while i cover your retreat." he hesitated a little at that word, for neverbefore in his whole life of continual strife had he turned his back upon aught than a deador defeated enemy. "haste, tars tarkas," i urged, "or we shallboth go down to profitless defeat; i cannot hold them for ever alone." as he dropped to the ground to force his wayinto the tree, the whole howling pack of hideous

devils hurled themselves upon me. to rightand left flew my shimmering blade, now green with the sticky juice of a plant man, nowred with the crimson blood of a great white ape; but always flying from one opponent toanother, hesitating but the barest fraction of a second to drink the lifeblood in thecentre of some savage heart. and thus i fought as i never had fought before,against such frightful odds that i cannot realize even now that human muscles couldhave withstood that awful onslaught, that terrific weight of hurtling tons of ferocious,battling flesh. with the fear that we would escape them, thecreatures redoubled their efforts to pull me down, and though the ground about me waspiled high with their dead and dying comrades,

they succeeded at last in overwhelming me,and i went down beneath them for the second time that day, and once again felt those awfulsucking lips against my flesh. but scarce had i fallen ere i felt powerfulhands grip my ankles, and in another second i was being drawn within the shelter of thetree's interior. for a moment it was a tug of war between tars tarkas and a great plantman, who clung tenaciously to my breast, but presently i got the point of my long-swordbeneath him and with a mighty thrust pierced his vitals. torn and bleeding from many cruel wounds,i lay panting upon the ground within the hollow of the tree, while tars tarkas defended theopening from the furious mob without.

for an hour they howled about the tree, butafter a few attempts to reach us they confined their efforts to terrorizing shrieks and screams,to horrid growling on the part of the great white apes, and the fearsome and indescribablepurring by the plant men. at length, all but a score, who had apparentlybeen left to prevent our escape, had left us, and our adventure seemed destined to resultin a siege, the only outcome of which could be our death by starvation; for even shouldwe be able to slip out after dark, whither in this unknown and hostile valley could wehope to turn our steps toward possible escape? as the attacks of our enemies ceased and oureyes became accustomed to the semi-darkness of the interior of our strange retreat, itook the opportunity to explore our shelter.

the tree was hollow to an extent of aboutfifty feet in diameter, and from its flat, hard floor i judged that it had often beenused to domicile others before our occupancy. as i raised my eyes toward its roof to notethe height i saw far above me a faint glow of light. there was an opening above. if we could butreach it we might still hope to make the shelter of the cliff caves. my eyes had now becomequite used to the subdued light of the interior, and as i pursued my investigation i presentlycame upon a rough ladder at the far side of the cave. quickly i mounted it, only to find that itconnected at the top with the lower of a series

of horizontal wooden bars that spanned thenow narrow and shaft-like interior of the tree's stem. these bars were set one aboveanother about three feet apart, and formed a perfect ladder as far above me as i couldsee. dropping to the floor once more, i detailedmy discovery to tars tarkas, who suggested that i explore aloft as far as i could goin safety while he guarded the entrance against a possible attack. as i hastened above to explore the strangeshaft i found that the ladder of horizontal bars mounted always as far above me as myeyes could reach, and as i ascended, the light from above grew brighter and brighter.

for fully five hundred feet i continued toclimb, until at length i reached the opening in the stem which admitted the light. it wasof about the same diameter as the entrance at the foot of the tree, and opened directlyupon a large flat limb, the well worn surface of which testified to its long continued useas an avenue for some creature to and from this remarkable shaft. i did not venture out upon the limb for fearthat i might be discovered and our retreat in this direction cut off; but instead hurriedto retrace my steps to tars tarkas. i soon reached him and presently we were bothascending the long ladder toward the opening above.

tars tarkas went in advance and as i reachedthe first of the horizontal bars i drew the ladder up after me and, handing it to him,he carried it a hundred feet further aloft, where he wedged it safely between one of thebars and the side of the shaft. in like manner i dislodged the lower bars as i passed them,so that we soon had the interior of the tree denuded of all possible means of ascent fora distance of a hundred feet from the base; thus precluding possible pursuit and attackfrom the rear. as we were to learn later, this precautionsaved us from dire predicament, and was eventually the means of our salvation. when we reached the opening at the top tarstarkas drew to one side that i might pass

out and investigate, as, owing to my lesserweight and greater agility, i was better fitted for the perilous threading of this dizzy,hanging pathway. the limb upon which i found myself ascendedat a slight angle toward the cliff, and as i followed it i found that it terminated afew feet above a narrow ledge which protruded from the cliff's face at the entrance to anarrow cave. as i approached the slightly more slenderextremity of the branch it bent beneath my weight until, as i balanced perilously uponits outer tip, it swayed gently on a level with the ledge at a distance of a couple offeet. five hundred feet below me lay the vivid scarletcarpet of the valley; nearly five thousand

feet above towered the mighty, gleaming faceof the gorgeous cliffs. the cave that i faced was not one of thosethat i had seen from the ground, and which lay much higher, possibly a thousand feet.but so far as i might know it was as good for our purpose as another, and so i returnedto the tree for tars tarkas. together we wormed our way along the wavingpathway, but when we reached the end of the branch we found that our combined weight sodepressed the limb that the cave's mouth was now too far above us to be reached. we finally agreed that tars tarkas shouldreturn along the branch, leaving his longest leather harness strap with me, and that whenthe limb had risen to a height that would

permit me to enter the cave i was to do so,and on tars tarkas' return i could then lower the strap and haul him up to the safety ofthe ledge. this we did without mishap and soon foundourselves together upon the verge of a dizzy little balcony, with a magnificent view ofthe valley spreading out below us. as far as the eye could reach gorgeous forestand crimson sward skirted a silent sea, and about all towered the brilliant monster guardiancliffs. once we thought we discerned a gilded minaret gleaming in the sun amidst the wavingtops of far-distant trees, but we soon abandoned the idea in the belief that it was but anhallucination born of our great desire to discover the haunts of civilized men in thisbeautiful, yet forbidding, spot.

below us upon the river's bank the great whiteapes were devouring the last remnants of tars tarkas' former companions, while great herdsof plant men grazed in ever-widening circles about the sward which they kept as close clippedas the smoothest of lawns. knowing that attack from the tree was nowimprobable, we determined to explore the cave, which we had every reason to believe was buta continuation of the path we had already traversed, leading the gods alone knew where,but quite evidently away from this valley of grim ferocity. as we advanced we found a well-proportionedtunnel cut from the solid cliff. its walls rose some twenty feet above the floor, whichwas about five feet in width. the roof was

arched. we had no means of making a light,and so groped our way slowly into the ever-increasing darkness, tars tarkas keeping in touch withone wall while i felt along the other, while, to prevent our wandering into diverging branchesand becoming separated or lost in some intricate and labyrinthine maze, we clasped hands. how far we traversed the tunnel in this manneri do not know, but presently we came to an obstruction which blocked our further progress.it seemed more like a partition than a sudden ending of the cave, for it was constructednot of the material of the cliff, but of something which felt like very hard wood. silently i groped over its surface with myhands, and presently was rewarded by the feel

of the button which as commonly denotes adoor on mars as does a door knob on earth. gently pressing it, i had the satisfactionof feeling the door slowly give before me, and in another instant we were looking intoa dimly lighted apartment, which, so far as we could see, was unoccupied. without more ado i swung the door wide openand, followed by the huge thark, stepped into the chamber. as we stood for a moment in silencegazing about the room a slight noise behind caused me to turn quickly, when, to my astonishment,i saw the door close with a sharp click as though by an unseen hand. instantly i sprang toward it to wrench itopen again, for something in the uncanny movement

of the thing and the tense and almost palpablesilence of the chamber seemed to portend a lurking evil lying hidden in this rock-boundchamber within the bowels of the golden cliffs. my fingers clawed futilely at the unyieldingportal, while my eyes sought in vain for a duplicate of the button which had given usingress. and then, from unseen lips, a cruel and mockingpeal of laughter rang through the desolate place. chapter iiithe chamber of mystery for moments after that awful laugh had ceasedreverberating through the rocky room, tars tarkas and i stood in tense and expectantsilence. but no further sound broke the stillness,

nor within the range of our vision did aughtmove. at length tars tarkas laughed softly, afterthe manner of his strange kind when in the presence of the horrible or terrifying. itis not an hysterical laugh, but rather the genuine expression of the pleasure they derivefrom the things that move earth men to loathing or to tears. often and again have i seen them roll uponthe ground in mad fits of uncontrollable mirth when witnessing the death agonies of womenand little children beneath the torture of that hellish green martian fete-the greatgames. i looked up at the thark, a smile upon myown lips, for here in truth was greater need

for a smiling face than a trembling chin. "what do you make of it all?" i asked. "wherein the deuce are we?" he looked at me in surprise. "where are we?" he repeated. "do you tellme, john carter, that you know not where you be?" "that i am upon barsoom is all that i canguess, and but for you and the great white apes i should not even guess that, for thesights i have seen this day are as unlike the things of my beloved barsoom as i knewit ten long years ago as they are unlike the world of my birth.

"no, tars tarkas, i know not where we be." "where have you been since you opened themighty portals of the atmosphere plant years ago, after the keeper had died and the enginesstopped and all barsoom was dying, that had not already died, of asphyxiation? your bodyeven was never found, though the men of a whole world sought after it for years, thoughthe jeddak of helium and his granddaughter, your princess, offered such fabulous rewardsthat even princes of royal blood joined in the search. "there was but one conclusion to reach whenall efforts to locate you had failed, and that, that you had taken the long, last pilgrimagedown the mysterious river iss, to await in

the valley dor upon the shores of the lostsea of korus the beautiful dejah thoris, your princess. "why you had gone none could guess, for yourprincess still lived-" "thank god," i interrupted him. "i did notdare to ask you, for i feared i might have been too late to save her-she was very lowwhen i left her in the royal gardens of tardos mors that long-gone night; so very low thati scarcely hoped even then to reach the atmosphere plant ere her dear spirit had fled from mefor ever. and she lives yet?" "she lives, john carter." "you have not told me where we are," i remindedhim.

"we are where i expected to find you, johncarter-and another. many years ago you heard the story of the woman who taught me the thingthat green martians are reared to hate, the woman who taught me to love. you know thecruel tortures and the awful death her love won for her at the hands of the beast, talhajus. "she, i thought, awaited me by the lost seaof korus. "you know that it was left for a man fromanother world, for yourself, john carter, to teach this cruel thark what friendshipis; and you, i thought, also roamed the care-free valley dor. "thus were the two i most longed for at theend of the long pilgrimage i must take some

day, and so as the time had elapsed whichdejah thoris had hoped might bring you once more to her side, for she has always triedto believe that you had but temporarily returned to your own planet, i at last gave way tomy great yearning and a month since i started upon the journey, the end of which you havethis day witnessed. do you understand now where you be, john carter?" "and that was the river iss, emptying intothe lost sea of korus in the valley dor?" i asked. "this is the valley of love and peace andrest to which every barsoomian since time immemorial has longed to pilgrimage at theend of a life of hate and strife and bloodshed,"

he replied. "this, john carter, is heaven." his tone was cold and ironical; its bitternessbut reflecting the terrible disappointment he had suffered. such a fearful disillusionment,such a blasting of life-long hopes and aspirations, such an uprooting of age-old tradition mighthave excused a vastly greater demonstration on the part of the thark. i laid my hand upon his shoulder. "i am sorry," i said, nor did there seem aughtelse to say. "think, john carter, of the countless billionsof barsoomians who have taken the voluntary pilgrimage down this cruel river since thebeginning of time, only to fall into the ferocious

clutches of the terrible creatures that to-dayassailed us. "there is an ancient legend that once a redman returned from the banks of the lost sea of korus, returned from the valley dor, backthrough the mysterious river iss, and the legend has it that he narrated a fearful blasphemyof horrid brutes that inhabited a valley of wondrous loveliness, brutes that pounced uponeach barsoomian as he terminated his pilgrimage and devoured him upon the banks of the lostsea where he had looked to find love and peace and happiness; but the ancients killed theblasphemer, as tradition has ordained that any shall be killed who return from the bosomof the river of mystery. "but now we know that it was no blasphemy,that the legend is a true one, and that the

man told only of what he saw; but what doesit profit us, john carter, since even should we escape, we also would be treated as blasphemers?we are between the wild thoat of certainty and the mad zitidar of fact-we can escapeneither." "as earth men say, we are between the deviland the deep sea, tars tarkas," i replied, nor could i help but smile at our dilemma. "there is naught that we can do but take thingsas they come, and at least have the satisfaction of knowing that whoever slays us eventuallywill have far greater numbers of their own dead to count than they will get in return.white ape or plant man, green barsoomian or red man, whosoever it shall be that takesthe last toll from us will know that it is

costly in lives to wipe out john carter, princeof the house of tardos mors, and tars tarkas, jeddak of thark, at the same time." i could not help but laugh at his grim humour,and he joined in with me in one of those rare laughs of real enjoyment which was one ofthe attributes of this fierce tharkian chief which marked him from the others of his kind. "but about yourself, john carter," he criedat last. "if you have not been here all these years where indeed have you been, and howis it that i find you here to-day?" "i have been back to earth," i replied. "forten long earth years i have been praying and hoping for the day that would carry me oncemore to this grim old planet of yours, for

which, with all its cruel and terrible customs,i feel a bond of sympathy and love even greater than for the world that gave me birth. "for ten years have i been enduring a livingdeath of uncertainty and doubt as to whether dejah thoris lived, and now that for the firsttime in all these years my prayers have been answered and my doubt relieved i find myself,through a cruel whim of fate, hurled into the one tiny spot of all barsoom from whichthere is apparently no escape, and if there were, at a price which would put out for everthe last flickering hope which i may cling to of seeing my princess again in this life-andyou have seen to-day with what pitiful futility man yearns toward a material hereafter.

"only a bare half-hour before i saw you battlingwith the plant men i was standing in the moonlight upon the banks of a broad river that tapsthe eastern shore of earth's most blessed land. i have answered you, my friend. do youbelieve?" "i believe," replied tars tarkas, "thoughi cannot understand." as we talked i had been searching the interiorof the chamber with my eyes. it was, perhaps, two hundred feet in length and half as broad,with what appeared to be a doorway in the centre of the wall directly opposite thatthrough which we had entered. the apartment was hewn from the material ofthe cliff, showing mostly dull gold in the dim light which a single minute radium illuminatorin the centre of the roof diffused throughout

its great dimensions. here and there polishedsurfaces of ruby, emerald, and diamond patched the golden walls and ceiling. the floor wasof another material, very hard, and worn by much use to the smoothness of glass. asidefrom the two doors i could discern no sign of other aperture, and as one we knew to belocked against us i approached the other. as i extended my hand to search for the controllingbutton, that cruel and mocking laugh rang out once more, so close to me this time thati involuntarily shrank back, tightening my grip upon the hilt of my great sword. and then from the far corner of the greatchamber a hollow voice chanted: "there is no hope, there is no hope; the dead returnnot, the dead return not; nor is there any

resurrection. hope not, for there is no hope." though our eyes instantly turned toward thespot from which the voice seemed to emanate, there was no one in sight, and i must admitthat cold shivers played along my spine and the short hairs at the base of my head stiffenedand rose up, as do those upon a hound's neck when in the night his eyes see those uncannythings which are hidden from the sight of man. quickly i walked toward the mournful voice,but it had ceased ere i reached the further wall, and then from the other end of the chambercame another voice, shrill and piercing: "fools! fools!" it shrieked. "thinkest thouto defeat the eternal laws of life and death?

wouldst cheat the mysterious issus, goddessof death, of her just dues? did not her mighty messenger, the ancient iss, bear you uponher leaden bosom at your own behest to the valley dor? "thinkest thou, o fools, that issus wilt giveup her own? thinkest thou to escape from whence in all the countless ages but a single soulhas fled? "go back the way thou camest, to the mercifulmaws of the children of the tree of life or the gleaming fangs of the great white apes,for there lies speedy surcease from suffering; but insist in your rash purpose to threadthe mazes of the golden cliffs of the mountains of otz, past the ramparts of the impregnablefortresses of the holy therns, and upon your

way death in its most frightful form willovertake you-a death so horrible that even the holy therns themselves, who conceivedboth life and death, avert their eyes from its fiendishness and close their ears againstthe hideous shrieks of its victims. "go back, o fools, the way thou camest." and then the awful laugh broke out from anotherpart of the chamber. "most uncanny," i remarked, turning to tarstarkas. "what shall we do?" he asked. "we cannot fightempty air; i would almost sooner return and face foes into whose flesh i may feel my bladebite and know that i am selling my carcass dearly before i go down to that eternal oblivionwhich is evidently the fairest and most desirable

eternity that mortal man has the right tohope for." "if, as you say, we cannot fight empty air,tars tarkas," i replied, "neither, on the other hand, can empty air fight us. i, whohave faced and conquered in my time thousands of sinewy warriors and tempered blades, shallnot be turned back by wind; nor no more shall you, thark." "but unseen voices may emanate from unseenand unseeable creatures who wield invisible blades," answered the green warrior. "rot, tars tarkas," i cried, "those voicescome from beings as real as you or as i. in their veins flows lifeblood that may be letas easily as ours, and the fact that they

remain invisible to us is the best proof tomy mind that they are mortal; nor overly courageous mortals at that. think you, tars tarkas, thatjohn carter will fly at the first shriek of a cowardly foe who dare not come out intothe open and face a good blade?" i had spoken in a loud voice that there mightbe no question that our would-be terrorizers should hear me, for i was tiring of this nerve-rackingfiasco. it had occurred to me, too, that the whole business was but a plan to frightenus back into the valley of death from which we had escaped, that we might be quickly disposedof by the savage creatures there. for a long period there was silence, thenof a sudden a soft, stealthy sound behind me caused me to turn suddenly to behold agreat many-legged banth creeping sinuously

upon me. the banth is a fierce beast of prey that roamsthe low hills surrounding the dead seas of ancient mars. like nearly all martian animalsit is almost hairless, having only a great bristly mane about its thick neck. its long, lithe body is supported by ten powerfullegs, its enormous jaws are equipped, like those of the calot, or martian hound, withseveral rows of long needle-like fangs; its mouth reaches to a point far back of its tinyears, while its enormous, protruding eyes of green add the last touch of terror to itsawful aspect. as it crept toward me it lashed its powerfultail against its yellow sides, and when it

saw that it was discovered it emitted theterrifying roar which often freezes its prey into momentary paralysis in the instant thatit makes its spring. and so it launched its great bulk toward me,but its mighty voice had held no paralysing terrors for me, and it met cold steel insteadof the tender flesh its cruel jaws gaped so widely to engulf. an instant later i drew my blade from thestill heart of this great barsoomian lion, and turning toward tars tarkas was surprisedto see him facing a similar monster. no sooner had he dispatched his than i, turning,as though drawn by the instinct of my guardian subconscious mind, beheld another of the savagedenizens of the martian wilds leaping across

the chamber toward me. from then on for the better part of an hourone hideous creature after another was launched upon us, springing apparently from the emptyair about us. tars tarkas was satisfied; here was somethingtangible that he could cut and slash with his great blade, while i, for my part, maysay that the diversion was a marked improvement over the uncanny voices from unseen lips. that there was nothing supernatural aboutour new foes was well evidenced by their howls of rage and pain as they felt the sharp steelat their vitals, and the very real blood which flowed from their severed arteries as theydied the real death.

i noticed during the period of this new persecutionthat the beasts appeared only when our backs were turned; we never saw one really materializefrom thin air, nor did i for an instant sufficiently lose my excellent reasoning faculties to beonce deluded into the belief that the beasts came into the room other than through someconcealed and well-contrived doorway. among the ornaments of tars tarkas' leatherharness, which is the only manner of clothing worn by martians other than silk capes androbes of silk and fur for protection from the cold after dark, was a small mirror, aboutthe bigness of a lady's hand glass, which hung midway between his shoulders and hiswaist against his broad back. once as he stood looking down at a newly fallenantagonist my eyes happened to fall upon this

mirror and in its shiny surface i saw pictureda sight that caused me to whisper: "move not, tars tarkas! move not a muscle!" he did not ask why, but stood like a gravenimage while my eyes watched the strange thing that meant so much to us. what i saw was the quick movement of a sectionof the wall behind me. it was turning upon pivots, and with it a section of the floordirectly in front of it was turning. it was as though you placed a visiting-card uponend on a silver dollar that you had laid flat upon a table, so that the edge of the cardperfectly bisected the surface of the coin. the card might represent the section of thewall that turned and the silver dollar the

section of the floor. both were so nicelyfitted into the adjacent portions of the floor and wall that no crack had been noticeablein the dim light of the chamber. as the turn was half completed a great beastwas revealed sitting upon its haunches upon that part of the revolving floor that hadbeen on the opposite side before the wall commenced to move; when the section stopped,the beast was facing toward me on our side of the partition-it was very simple. but what had interested me most was the sightthat the half-turned section had presented through the opening that it had made. a greatchamber, well lighted, in which were several men and women chained to the wall, and infront of them, evidently directing and operating

the movement of the secret doorway, a wicked-facedman, neither red as are the red men of mars, nor green as are the green men, but white,like myself, with a great mass of flowing yellow hair. the prisoners behind him were red martians.chained with them were a number of fierce beasts, such as had been turned upon us, andothers equally as ferocious. as i turned to meet my new foe it was witha heart considerably lightened. "watch the wall at your end of the chamber,tars tarkas," i cautioned, "it is through secret doorways in the wall that the brutesare loosed upon us." i was very close to him and spoke in a low whisper that my knowledgeof their secret might not be disclosed to

our tormentors. as long as we remained each facing an oppositeend of the apartment no further attacks were made upon us, so it was quite clear to methat the partitions were in some way pierced that our actions might be observed from without. at length a plan of action occurred to me,and backing quite close to tars tarkas i unfolded my scheme in a low whisper, keeping my eyesstill glued upon my end of the room. the great thark grunted his assent to my propositionwhen i had done, and in accordance with my plan commenced backing toward the wall whichi faced while i advanced slowly ahead of him. when we had reached a point some ten feetfrom the secret doorway i halted my companion,

and cautioning him to remain absolutely motionlessuntil i gave the prearranged signal i quickly turned my back to the door through which icould almost feel the burning and baleful eyes of our would be executioner. instantly my own eyes sought the mirror upontars tarkas' back and in another second i was closely watching the section of the wallwhich had been disgorging its savage terrors upon us. i had not long to wait, for presently thegolden surface commenced to move rapidly. scarcely had it started than i gave the signalto tars tarkas, simultaneously springing for the receding half of the pivoting door. inlike manner the thark wheeled and leaped for

the opening being made by the inswinging section. a single bound carried me completely throughinto the adjoining room and brought me face to face with the fellow whose cruel face ihad seen before. he was about my own height and well muscled and in every outward detailmoulded precisely as are earth men. at his side hung a long-sword, a short-sword,a dagger, and one of the destructive radium revolvers that are common upon mars. the fact that i was armed only with a long-sword,and so according to the laws and ethics of battle everywhere upon barsoom should onlyhave been met with a similar or lesser weapon, seemed to have no effect upon the moral senseof my enemy, for he whipped out his revolver

ere i scarce had touched the floor by hisside, but an uppercut from my long-sword sent it flying from his grasp before he could dischargeit. instantly he drew his long-sword, and thusevenly armed we set to in earnest for one of the closest battles i ever have fought. the fellow was a marvellous swordsman andevidently in practice, while i had not gripped the hilt of a sword for ten long years beforethat morning. but it did not take me long to fall easilyinto my fighting stride, so that in a few minutes the man began to realize that he hadat last met his match. his face became livid with rage as he foundmy guard impregnable, while blood flowed from

a dozen minor wounds upon his face and body. "who are you, white man?" he hissed. "thatyou are no barsoomian from the outer world is evident from your colour. and you are notof us." his last statement was almost a question. "what if i were from the temple of issus?"i hazarded on a wild guess. "fate forfend!" he exclaimed, his face goingwhite under the blood that now nearly covered it. i did not know how to follow up my lead, buti carefully laid the idea away for future use should circumstances require it. his answerindicated that for all he knew i might be

from the temple of issus and in it were menlike unto myself, and either this man feared the inmates of the temple or else he heldtheir persons or their power in such reverence that he trembled to think of the harm andindignities he had heaped upon one of them. but my present business with him was of adifferent nature than that which requires any considerable abstract reasoning; it wasto get my sword between his ribs, and this i succeeded in doing within the next few seconds,nor was i an instant too soon. the chained prisoners had been watching thecombat in tense silence; not a sound had fallen in the room other than the clashing of ourcontending blades, the soft shuffling of our naked feet and the few whispered words wehad hissed at each other through clenched

teeth the while we continued our mortal duel. but as the body of my antagonist sank an inertmass to the floor a cry of warning broke from one of the female prisoners. "turn! turn! behind you!" she shrieked, andas i wheeled at the first note of her shrill cry i found myself facing a second man ofthe same race as he who lay at my feet. the fellow had crept stealthily from a darkcorridor and was almost upon me with raised sword ere i saw him. tars tarkas was nowherein sight and the secret panel in the wall, through which i had come, was closed. how i wished that he were by my side now!i had fought almost continuously for many

hours; i had passed through such experiencesand adventures as must sap the vitality of man, and with all this i had not eaten fornearly twenty-four hours, nor slept. i was fagged out, and for the first time inyears felt a question as to my ability to cope with an antagonist; but there was naughtelse for it than to engage my man, and that as quickly and ferociously as lay in me, formy only salvation was to rush him off his feet by the impetuosity of my attack-i couldnot hope to win a long-drawn-out battle. but the fellow was evidently of another mind,for he backed and parried and parried and sidestepped until i was almost completelyfagged from the exertion of attempting to finish him.

he was a more adroit swordsman, if possible,than my previous foe, and i must admit that he led me a pretty chase and in the end camenear to making a sorry fool of me-and a dead one into the bargain. i could feel myself growing weaker and weaker,until at length objects commenced to blur before my eyes and i staggered and blunderedabout more asleep than awake, and then it was that he worked his pretty little coupthat came near to losing me my life. he had backed me around so that i stood infront of the corpse of his fellow, and then he rushed me suddenly so that i was forcedback upon it, and as my heel struck it the impetus of my body flung me backward acrossthe dead man.

my head struck the hard pavement with a resoundingwhack, and to that alone i owe my life, for it cleared my brain and the pain roused mytemper, so that i was equal for the moment to tearing my enemy to pieces with my barehands, and i verily believe that i should have attempted it had not my right hand, inthe act of raising my body from the ground, come in contact with a bit of cold metal. as the eyes of the layman so is the hand ofthe fighting man when it comes in contact with an implement of his vocation, and thusi did not need to look or reason to know that the dead man's revolver, lying where it hadfallen when i struck it from his grasp, was at my disposal.

the fellow whose ruse had put me down wasspringing toward me, the point of his gleaming blade directed straight at my heart, and ashe came there rang from his lips the cruel and mocking peal of laughter that i had heardwithin the chamber of mystery. and so he died, his thin lips curled in thesnarl of his hateful laugh, and a bullet from the revolver of his dead companion burstingin his heart. his body, borne by the impetus of his headlongrush, plunged upon me. the hilt of his sword must have struck my head, for with the impactof the corpse i lost consciousness. chapter ivthuvia it was the sound of conflict that arousedme once more to the realities of life. for

a moment i could neither place my surroundingsnor locate the sounds which had aroused me. and then from beyond the blank wall besidewhich i lay i heard the shuffling of feet, the snarling of grim beasts, the clank ofmetal accoutrements, and the heavy breathing of a man. as i rose to my feet i glanced hurriedly aboutthe chamber in which i had just encountered such a warm reception. the prisoners and thesavage brutes rested in their chains by the opposite wall eyeing me with varying expressionsof curiosity, sullen rage, surprise, and hope. the latter emotion seemed plainly evidentupon the handsome and intelligent face of the young red martian woman whose cry of warninghad been instrumental in saving my life.

she was the perfect type of that remarkablybeautiful race whose outward appearance is identical with the more god-like races ofearth men, except that this higher race of martians is of a light reddish copper colour.as she was entirely unadorned i could not even guess her station in life, though itwas evident that she was either a prisoner or slave in her present environment. it was several seconds before the sounds uponthe opposite side of the partition jolted my slowly returning faculties into a realizationof their probable import, and then of a sudden i grasped the fact that they were caused bytars tarkas in what was evidently a desperate struggle with wild beasts or savage men.

with a cry of encouragement i threw my weightagainst the secret door, but as well have assayed the down-hurling of the cliffs themselves.then i sought feverishly for the secret of the revolving panel, but my search was fruitless,and i was about to raise my longsword against the sullen gold when the young woman prisonercalled out to me. "save thy sword, o mighty warrior, for thoushalt need it more where it will avail to some purpose-shatter it not against senselessmetal which yields better to the lightest finger touch of one who knows its secret." "know you the secret of it then?" i asked. "yes; release me and i will give you entranceto the other horror chamber, if you wish.

the keys to my fetters are upon the firstdead of thy foemen. but why would you return to face again the fierce banth, or whateverother form of destruction they have loosed within that awful trap?" "because my friend fights there alone," ianswered, as i hastily sought and found the keys upon the carcass of the dead custodianof this grim chamber of horrors. there were many keys upon the oval ring, butthe fair martian maid quickly selected that which sprung the great lock at her waist,and freed she hurried toward the secret panel. again she sought out a key upon the ring.this time a slender, needle-like affair which she inserted in an almost invisible hole inthe wall. instantly the door swung upon its

pivot, and the contiguous section of the floorupon which i was standing carried me with it into the chamber where tars tarkas fought. the great thark stood with his back againstan angle of the walls, while facing him in a semi-circle a half-dozen huge monsters crouchedwaiting for an opening. their blood-streaked heads and shoulders testified to the causeof their wariness as well as to the swordsmanship of the green warrior whose glossy hide borethe same mute but eloquent witness to the ferocity of the attacks that he had so farwithstood. sharp talons and cruel fangs had torn leg,arm, and breast literally to ribbons. so weak was he from continued exertion and loss ofblood that but for the supporting wall i doubt

that he even could have stood erect. but withthe tenacity and indomitable courage of his kind he still faced his cruel and relentlessfoes-the personification of that ancient proverb of his tribe: "leave to a thark hishead and one hand and he may yet conquer." as he saw me enter, a grim smile touched thosegrim lips of his, but whether the smile signified relief or merely amusement at the sight ofmy own bloody and dishevelled condition i do not know. as i was about to spring into the conflictwith my sharp long-sword i felt a gentle hand upon my shoulder and turning found, to mysurprise, that the young woman had followed me into the chamber.

"wait," she whispered, "leave them to me,"and pushing me advanced, all defenceless and unarmed, upon the snarling banths. when quite close to them she spoke a singlemartian word in low but peremptory tones. like lightning the great beasts wheeled uponher, and i looked to see her torn to pieces before i could reach her side, but insteadthe creatures slunk to her feet like puppies that expect a merited whipping. again she spoke to them, but in tones so lowi could not catch the words, and then she started toward the opposite side of the chamberwith the six mighty monsters trailing at heel. one by one she sent them through the secretpanel into the room beyond, and when the last

had passed from the chamber where we stoodin wide-eyed amazement she turned and smiled at us and then herself passed through, leavingus alone. for a moment neither of us spoke. then tarstarkas said: "i heard the fighting beyond the partitionthrough which you passed, but i did not fear for you, john carter, until i heard the reportof a revolver shot. i knew that there lived no man upon all barsoom who could face youwith naked steel and live, but the shot stripped the last vestige of hope from me, since youi knew to be without firearms. tell me of it." i did as he bade, and then together we soughtthe secret panel through which i had just

entered the apartment-the one at the oppositeend of the room from that through which the girl had led her savage companions. to our disappointment the panel eluded ourevery effort to negotiate its secret lock. we felt that once beyond it we might lookwith some little hope of success for a passage to the outside world. the fact that the prisoners within were securelychained led us to believe that surely there must be an avenue of escape from the terriblecreatures which inhabited this unspeakable again and again we turned from one door toanother, from the baffling golden panel at one end of the chamber to its mate at theother-equally baffling.

when we had about given up all hope one ofthe panels turned silently toward us, and the young woman who had led away the banthsstood once more beside us. "who are you?" she asked, "and what your mission,that you have the temerity to attempt to escape from the valley dor and the death you havechosen?" "i have chosen no death, maiden," i replied."i am not of barsoom, nor have i taken yet the voluntary pilgrimage upon the river iss.my friend here is jeddak of all the tharks, and though he has not yet expressed a desireto return to the living world, i am taking him with me from the living lie that hathlured him to this frightful place. "i am of another world. i am john carter,prince of the house of tardos mors, jeddak

of helium. perchance some faint rumour ofme may have leaked within the confines of your hellish abode." she smiled. "yes," she replied, "naught that passes inthe world we have left is unknown here. i have heard of you, many years ago. the thernshave ofttimes wondered whither you had flown, since you had neither taken the pilgrimage,nor could be found upon the face of barsoom." "tell me," i said, "and who be you, and whya prisoner, yet with power over the ferocious beasts of the place that denotes familiarityand authority far beyond that which might be expected of a prisoner or a slave?"

"slave i am," she answered. "for fifteen yearsa slave in this terrible place, and now that they have tired of me and become fearful ofthe power which my knowledge of their ways has given me i am but recently condemned todie the death." she shuddered. "what death?" i asked. "the holy therns eat human flesh," she answeredme; "but only that which has died beneath the sucking lips of a plant man-flesh fromwhich the defiling blood of life has been drawn. and to this cruel end i have been condemned.it was to be within a few hours, had your advent not caused an interruption of theirplans."

"was it then holy therns who felt the weightof john carter's hand?" i asked. "oh, no; those whom you laid low are lessertherns; but of the same cruel and hateful race. the holy therns abide upon the outerslopes of these grim hills, facing the broad world from which they harvest their victimsand their spoils. "labyrinthine passages connect these caveswith the luxurious palaces of the holy therns, and through them pass upon their many dutiesthe lesser therns, and hordes of slaves, and prisoners, and fierce beasts; the grim inhabitantsof this sunless world. "there be within this vast network of windingpassages and countless chambers men, women, and beasts who, born within its dim and gruesomeunderworld, have never seen the light of day-nor

ever shall. "they are kept to do the bidding of the raceof therns; to furnish at once their sport and their sustenance. "now and again some hapless pilgrim, driftingout upon the silent sea from the cold iss, escapes the plant men and the great whiteapes that guard the temple of issus and falls into the remorseless clutches of the therns;or, as was my misfortune, is coveted by the holy thern who chances to be upon watch inthe balcony above the river where it issues from the bowels of the mountains through thecliffs of gold to empty into the lost sea of korus.

"all who reach the valley dor are, by custom,the rightful prey of the plant men and the apes, while their arms and ornaments becomethe portion of the therns; but if one escapes the terrible denizens of the valley for evena few hours the therns may claim such a one as their own. and again the holy thern onwatch, should he see a victim he covets, often tramples upon the rights of the unreasoningbrutes of the valley and takes his prize by foul means if he cannot gain it by fair. "it is said that occasionally some deludedvictim of barsoomian superstition will so far escape the clutches of the countless enemiesthat beset his path from the moment that he emerges from the subterranean passage throughwhich the iss flows for a thousand miles before

it enters the valley dor as to reach the verywalls of the temple of issus; but what fate awaits one there not even the holy thernsmay guess, for who has passed within those gilded walls never has returned to unfoldthe mysteries they have held since the beginning of time. "the temple of issus is to the therns whatthe valley dor is imagined by the peoples of the outer world to be to them; it is theultimate haven of peace, refuge, and happiness to which they pass after this life and whereinan eternity of eternities is spent amidst the delights of the flesh which appeal moststrongly to this race of mental giants and moral pygmies."

"the temple of issus is, i take it, a heavenwithin a heaven," i said. "let us hope that there it will be meted to the therns as theyhave meted it here unto others." "who knows?" the girl murmured. "the therns, i judge from what you have said,are no less mortal than we; and yet have i always heard them spoken of with the utmostawe and reverence by the people of barsoom, as one might speak of the gods themselves." "the therns are mortal," she replied. "theydie from the same causes as you or i might: those who do not live their allotted spanof life, one thousand years, when by the authority of custom they may take their way in happinessthrough the long tunnel that leads to issus.

"those who die before are supposed to spendthe balance of their allotted time in the image of a plant man, and it is for this reasonthat the plant men are held sacred by the therns, since they believe that each of thesehideous creatures was formerly a thern." "and should a plant man die?" i asked. "should he die before the expiration of thethousand years from the birth of the thern whose immortality abides within him then thesoul passes into a great white ape, but should the ape die short of the exact hour that terminatesthe thousand years the soul is for ever lost and passes for all eternity into the carcassof the slimy and fearsome silians whose wriggling thousands seethe the silent sea beneath thehurtling moons when the sun has gone and strange

shapes walk through the valley dor." "we sent several holy therns to the siliansto-day, then," said tars tarkas, laughing. "and so will your death be the more terriblewhen it comes," said the maiden. "and come it will-you cannot escape." "one has escaped, centuries ago," i remindedher, "and what has been done may be done again." "it is useless even to try," she answeredhopelessly. "but try we shall," i cried, "and you shallgo with us, if you wish." "to be put to death by mine own people, andrender my memory a disgrace to my family and my nation? a prince of the house of tardosmors should know better than to suggest such

a thing." tars tarkas listened in silence, but i couldfeel his eyes riveted upon me and i knew that he awaited my answer as one might listen tothe reading of his sentence by the foreman of a jury. what i advised the girl to do would seal ourfate as well, since if i bowed to the inevitable decree of age-old superstition we must allremain and meet our fate in some horrible form within this awful abode of horror andcruelty. "we have the right to escape if we can," ianswered. "our own moral senses will not be offended if we succeed, for we know that thefabled life of love and peace in the blessed

valley of dor is a rank and wicked deception.we know that the valley is not sacred; we know that the holy therns are not holy; thatthey are a race of cruel and heartless mortals, knowing no more of the real life to come thanwe do. "not only is it our right to bend every effortto escape-it is a solemn duty from which we should not shrink even though we know thatwe should be reviled and tortured by our own peoples when we returned to them. "only thus may we carry the truth to thosewithout, and though the likelihood of our narrative being given credence is, i grantyou, remote, so wedded are mortals to their stupid infatuation for impossible superstitions,we should be craven cowards indeed were we

to shirk the plain duty which confronts us. "again there is a chance that with the weightof the testimony of several of us the truth of our statements may be accepted, and atleast a compromise effected which will result in the dispatching of an expedition of investigationto this hideous mockery of heaven." both the girl and the green warrior stoodsilent in thought for some moments. the former it was who eventually broke the silence. "never had i considered the matter in thatlight before," she said. "indeed would i give my life a thousand times if i could but savea single soul from the awful life that i have led in this cruel place. yes, you are right,and i will go with you as far as we can go;

but i doubt that we ever shall escape." i turned an inquiring glance toward the thark. "to the gates of issus, or to the bottom ofkorus," spoke the green warrior; "to the snows to the north or to the snows to the south,tars tarkas follows where john carter leads. i have spoken." "come, then," i cried, "we must make the start,for we could not be further from escape than we now are in the heart of this mountain andwithin the four walls of this chamber of death." "come, then," said the girl, "but do not flatteryourself that you can find no worse place than this within the territory of the therns."

so saying she swung the secret panel thatseparated us from the apartment in which i had found her, and we stepped through oncemore into the presence of the other prisoners. there were in all ten red martians, men andwomen, and when we had briefly explained our plan they decided to join forces with us,though it was evident that it was with some considerable misgivings that they thus temptedfate by opposing an ancient superstition, even though each knew through cruel experiencethe fallacy of its entire fabric. thuvia, the girl whom i had first freed, soonhad the others at liberty. tars tarkas and i stripped the bodies of the two therns oftheir weapons, which included swords, daggers, and two revolvers of the curious and deadlytype manufactured by the red martians.

we distributed the weapons as far as theywould go among our followers, giving the firearms to two of the women; thuvia being one so armed. with the latter as our guide we set off rapidlybut cautiously through a maze of passages, crossing great chambers hewn from the solidmetal of the cliff, following winding corridors, ascending steep inclines, and now and againconcealing ourselves in dark recesses at the sound of approaching footsteps. our destination, thuvia said, was a distantstoreroom where arms and ammunition in plenty might be found. from there she was to leadus to the summit of the cliffs, from where it would require both wondrous wit and mightyfighting to win our way through the very heart

of the stronghold of the holy therns to theworld without. "and even then, o prince," she cried, "thearm of the holy thern is long. it reaches to every nation of barsoom. his secret templesare hidden in the heart of every community. wherever we go should we escape we shall findthat word of our coming has preceded us, and death awaits us before we may pollute theair with our blasphemies." we had proceeded for possibly an hour withoutserious interruption, and thuvia had just whispered to me that we were approaching ourfirst destination, when on entering a great chamber we came upon a man, evidently a thern. he wore in addition to his leathern trappingsand jewelled ornaments a great circlet of

gold about his brow in the exact centre ofwhich was set an immense stone, the exact counterpart of that which i had seen uponthe breast of the little old man at the atmosphere plant nearly twenty years before. it is the one priceless jewel of barsoom.only two are known to exist, and these were worn as the insignia of their rank and positionby the two old men in whose charge was placed the operation of the great engines which pumpthe artificial atmosphere to all parts of mars from the huge atmosphere plant, the secretto whose mighty portals placed in my possession the ability to save from immediate extinctionthe life of a whole world. the stone worn by the thern who confrontedus was of about the same size as that which

i had seen before; an inch in diameter i shouldsay. it scintillated nine different and distinct rays; the seven primary colours of our earthlyprism and the two rays which are unknown upon earth, but whose wondrous beauty is indescribable. as the thern saw us his eyes narrowed to twonasty slits. "stop!" he cried. "what means this, thuvia?" for answer the girl raised her revolver andfired point-blank at him. without a sound he sank to the earth, dead. "beast!" she hissed. "after all these yearsi am at last revenged." then as she turned toward me, evidently witha word of explanation on her lips, her eyes

suddenly widened as they rested upon me, andwith a little exclamation she started toward me. "o prince," she cried, "fate is indeed kindto us. the way is still difficult, but through this vile thing upon the floor we may yetwin to the outer world. notest thou not the remarkable resemblance between this holy thernand thyself?" the man was indeed of my precise stature,nor were his eyes and features unlike mine; but his hair was a mass of flowing yellowlocks, like those of the two i had killed, while mine is black and close cropped. "what of the resemblance?" i asked the girlthuvia. "do you wish me with my black, short

hair to pose as a yellow-haired priest ofthis infernal cult?" she smiled, and for answer approached thebody of the man she had slain, and kneeling beside it removed the circlet of gold fromthe forehead, and then to my utter amazement lifted the entire scalp bodily from the corpse'shead. rising, she advanced to my side and placingthe yellow wig over my black hair, crowned me with the golden circlet set with the magnificentgem. "now don his harness, prince," she said, "andyou may pass where you will in the realms of the therns, for sator throg was a holythern of the tenth cycle, and mighty among his kind."

as i stooped to the dead man to do her biddingi noted that not a hair grew upon his head, which was quite as bald as an egg. "they are all thus from birth," explainedthuvia noting my surprise. "the race from which they sprang were crowned with a luxuriantgrowth of golden hair, but for many ages the present race has been entirely bald. the wig,however, has come to be a part of their apparel, and so important a part do they consider itthat it is cause for the deepest disgrace were a thern to appear in public without it." in another moment i stood garbed in the habilimentsof a holy thern. at thuvia's suggestion two of the releasedprisoners bore the body of the dead thern

upon their shoulders with us as we continuedour journey toward the storeroom, which we reached without further mishap. here the keys which thuvia bore from the deadthern of the prison vault were the means of giving us immediate entrance to the chamber,and very quickly we were thoroughly outfitted with arms and ammunition. by this time i was so thoroughly fagged outthat i could go no further, so i threw myself upon the floor, bidding tars tarkas to dolikewise, and cautioning two of the released prisoners to keep careful watch. in an instant i was asleep.

chapter vcorridors of peril how long i slept upon the floor of the storeroomi do not know, but it must have been many hours. i was awakened with a start by cries of alarm,and scarce were my eyes opened, nor had i yet sufficiently collected my wits to quiterealize where i was, when a fusillade of shots rang out, reverberating through the subterraneancorridors in a series of deafening echoes. in an instant i was upon my feet. a dozenlesser therns confronted us from a large doorway at the opposite end of the storeroom fromwhich we had entered. about me lay the bodies of my companions, with the exception of thuviaand tars tarkas, who, like myself, had been

asleep upon the floor and thus escaped thefirst raking fire. as i gained my feet the therns lowered theirwicked rifles, their faces distorted in mingled chagrin, consternation, and alarm. instantly i rose to the occasion. "what means this?" i cried in tones of fierceanger. "is sator throg to be murdered by his own vassals?" "have mercy, o master of the tenth cycle!"cried one of the fellows, while the others edged toward the doorway as though to attempta surreptitious escape from the presence of the mighty one.

"ask them their mission here," whispered thuviaat my elbow. "what do you here, fellows?" i cried. "two from the outer world are at large withinthe dominions of the therns. we sought them at the command of the father of therns. onewas white with black hair, the other a huge green warrior," and here the fellow cast asuspicious glance toward tars tarkas. "here, then, is one of them," spoke thuvia,indicating the thark, "and if you will look upon this dead man by the door perhaps youwill recognize the other. it was left for sator throg and his poor slaves to accomplishwhat the lesser therns of the guard were unable to do-we have killed one and captured theother; for this had sator throg given us our

liberty. and now in your stupidity have youcome and killed all but myself, and like to have killed the mighty sator throg himself." the men looked very sheepish and very scared. "had they not better throw these bodies tothe plant men and then return to their quarters, o mighty one?" asked thuvia of me. "yes; do as thuvia bids you," i said. as the men picked up the bodies i noticedthat the one who stooped to gather up the late sator throg started as his closer scrutinyfell upon the upturned face, and then the fellow stole a furtive, sneaking glance inmy direction from the corner of his eye.

that he suspicioned something of the truthi could have sworn; but that it was only a suspicion which he did not dare voice wasevidenced by his silence. again, as he bore the body from the room,he shot a quick but searching glance toward me, and then his eyes fell once more uponthe bald and shiny dome of the dead man in his arms. the last fleeting glimpse that iobtained of his profile as he passed from my sight without the chamber revealed a cunningsmile of triumph upon his lips. only tars tarkas, thuvia, and i were left.the fatal marksmanship of the therns had snatched from our companions whatever slender chancethey had of gaining the perilous freedom of the world without.

so soon as the last of the gruesome processionhad disappeared the girl urged us to take up our flight once more. she, too, had noted the questioning attitudeof the thern who had borne sator throg away. "it bodes no good for us, o prince," she said."for even though this fellow dared not chance accusing you in error, there be those abovewith power sufficient to demand a closer scrutiny, and that, prince, would indeed prove fatal." i shrugged my shoulders. it seemed that inany event the outcome of our plight must end in death. i was refreshed from my sleep, butstill weak from loss of blood. my wounds were painful. no medicinal aid seemed possible.how i longed for the almost miraculous healing

power of the strange salves and lotions ofthe green martian women. in an hour they would have had me as new. i was discouraged. never had a feeling ofsuch utter hopelessness come over me in the face of danger. then the long flowing, yellowlocks of the holy thern, caught by some vagrant draught, blew about my face. might they not still open the way of freedom?if we acted in time, might we not even yet escape before the general alarm was sounded?we could at least try. "what will the fellow do first, thuvia?" iasked. "how long will it be before they may return for us?"

"he will go directly to the father of therns,old matai shang. he may have to wait for an audience, but since he is very high amongthe lesser therns, in fact as a thorian among them, it will not be long that matai shangwill keep him waiting. "then if the father of therns puts credencein his story, another hour will see the galleries and chambers, the courts and gardens, filledwith searchers." "what we do then must be done within an hour.what is the best way, thuvia, the shortest way out of this celestial hades?" "straight to the top of the cliffs, prince,"she replied, "and then through the gardens to the inner courts. from there our way willlie within the temples of the therns and across

them to the outer court. then the ramparts-oprince, it is hopeless. ten thousand warriors could not hew a way to liberty from out thisawful place. "since the beginning of time, little by little,stone by stone, have the therns been ever adding to the defences of their stronghold.a continuous line of impregnable fortifications circles the outer slopes of the mountainsof otz. "within the temples that lie behind the rampartsa million fighting-men are ever ready. the courts and gardens are filled with slaves,with women and with children. "none could go a stone's throw without detection." "if there is no other way, thuvia, why dwellupon the difficulties of this. we must face

them." "can we not better make the attempt afterdark?" asked tars tarkas. "there would seem to be no chance by day." "there would be a little better chance bynight, but even then the ramparts are well guarded; possibly better than by day. thereare fewer abroad in the courts and gardens, though," said thuvia. "what is the hour?" i asked. "it was midnight when you released me frommy chains," said thuvia. "two hours later we reached the storeroom. there you sleptfor fourteen hours. it must now be nearly

sundown again. come, we will go to some nearbywindow in the cliff and make sure." so saying, she led the way through windingcorridors until at a sudden turn we came upon an opening which overlooked the valley dor. at our right the sun was setting, a huge redorb, below the western range of otz. a little below us stood the holy thern on watch uponhis balcony. his scarlet robe of office was pulled tightly about him in anticipation ofthe cold that comes so suddenly with darkness as the sun sets. so rare is the atmosphereof mars that it absorbs very little heat from the sun. during the daylight hours it is alwaysextremely hot; at night it is intensely cold. nor does the thin atmosphere refract the sun'srays or diffuse its light as upon earth. there

is no twilight on mars. when the great orbof day disappears beneath the horizon the effect is precisely as that of the extinguishingof a single lamp within a chamber. from brilliant light you are plunged without warning intoutter darkness. then the moons come; the mysterious, magic moons of mars, hurtling like monstermeteors low across the face of the planet. the declining sun lighted brilliantly theeastern banks of korus, the crimson sward, the gorgeous forest. beneath the trees wesaw feeding many herds of plant men. the adults stood aloft upon their toes and their mightytails, their talons pruning every available leaf and twig. it was then that i understoodthe careful trimming of the trees which had led me to form the mistaken idea when firsti opened my eyes upon the grove that it was

the playground of a civilized people. as we watched, our eyes wandered to the rollingiss, which issued from the base of the cliffs beneath us. presently there emerged from themountain a canoe laden with lost souls from the outer world. there were a dozen of them.all were of the highly civilized and cultured race of red men who are dominant on mars. the eyes of the herald upon the balcony beneathus fell upon the doomed party as soon as did ours. he raised his head and leaning far outover the low rail that rimmed his dizzy perch, voiced the shrill, weird wail that calledthe demons of this hellish place to the attack. for an instant the brutes stood with stifflyerected ears, then they poured from the grove

toward the river's bank, covering the distancewith great, ungainly leaps. the party had landed and was standing on thesward as the awful horde came in sight. there was a brief and futile effort of defence.then silence as the huge, repulsive shapes covered the bodies of their victims and scoresof sucking mouths fastened themselves to the flesh of their prey. i turned away in disgust. "their part is soon over," said thuvia. "thegreat white apes get the flesh when the plant men have drained the arteries. look, theyare coming now." as i turned my eyes in the direction the girlindicated, i saw a dozen of the great white

monsters running across the valley towardthe river bank. then the sun went down and darkness that could almost be felt engulfedus. thuvia lost no time in leading us toward thecorridor which winds back and forth up through the cliffs toward the surface thousands offeet above the level on which we had been. twice great banths, wandering loose throughthe galleries, blocked our progress, but in each instance thuvia spoke a low word of commandand the snarling beasts slunk sullenly away. "if you can dissolve all our obstacles aseasily as you master these fierce brutes i can see no difficulties in our way," i saidto the girl, smiling. "how do you do it?" she laughed, and then shuddered.

"i do not quite know," she said. "when firsti came here i angered sator throg, because i repulsed him. he ordered me to be throwninto one of the great pits in the inner gardens. it was filled with banths. in my own countryi had been accustomed to command. something in my voice, i do not know what, cowed thebeasts as they sprang to attack me. "instead of tearing me to pieces, as satorthrog had desired, they fawned at my feet. so greatly were sator throg and his friendsamused by the sight that they kept me to train and handle the terrible creatures. i knowthem all by name. there are many of them wandering through these lower regions. they are thescavengers. many prisoners die here in their chains. the banths solve the problem of sanitation,at least in this respect.

"in the gardens and temples above they arekept in pits. the therns fear them. it is because of the banths that they seldom venturebelow ground except as their duties call them." an idea occurred to me, suggested by whatthuvia had just said. "why not take a number of banths and set themloose before us above ground?" i asked. thuvia laughed. "it would distract attention from us, i amsure," she said. she commenced calling in a low singsong voicethat was half purr. she continued this as we wound our tedious way through the mazeof subterranean passages and chambers. presently soft, padded feet sounded closebehind us, and as i turned i saw a pair of

great, green eyes shining in the dark shadowsat our rear. from a diverging tunnel a sinuous, tawny form crept stealthily toward us. low growls and angry snarls assailed our earson every side as we hastened on and one by one the ferocious creatures answered the callof their mistress. she spoke a word to each as it joined us.like well-schooled terriers, they paced the corridors with us, but i could not help butnote the lathering jowls, nor the hungry expressions with which they eyed tars tarkas and myself. soon we were entirely surrounded by some fiftyof the brutes. two walked close on either side of thuvia, as guards might walk. thesleek sides of others now and then touched

my own naked limbs. it was a strange experience;the almost noiseless passage of naked human feet and padded paws; the golden walls splashedwith precious stones; the dim light cast by the tiny radium bulbs set at considerabledistances along the roof; the huge, maned beasts of prey crowding with low growls aboutus; the mighty green warrior towering high above us all; myself crowned with the pricelessdiadem of a holy thern; and leading the procession the beautiful girl, thuvia. i shall not soon forget it. presently we approached a great chamber morebrightly lighted than the corridors. thuvia halted us. quietly she stole toward the entranceand glanced within. then she motioned us to

follow her. the room was filled with specimens of thestrange beings that inhabit this underworld; a heterogeneous collection of hybrids-theoffspring of the prisoners from the outside world; red and green martians and the whiterace of therns. constant confinement below ground had wroughtodd freaks upon their skins. they more resemble corpses than living beings. many are deformed,others maimed, while the majority, thuvia explained, are sightless. as they lay sprawled about the floor, sometimesoverlapping one another, again in heaps of several bodies, they suggested instantly tome the grotesque illustrations that i had

seen in copies of dante's inferno, and whatmore fitting comparison? was this not indeed a veritable hell, peopled by lost souls, deadand damned beyond all hope? picking our way carefully we threaded a windingpath across the chamber, the great banths sniffing hungrily at the tempting prey spreadbefore them in such tantalizing and defenceless profusion. several times we passed the entrances to otherchambers similarly peopled, and twice again we were compelled to cross directly throughthem. in others were chained prisoners and beasts. "why is it that we see no therns?" i askedof thuvia.

"they seldom traverse the underworld at night,for then it is that the great banths prowl the dim corridors seeking their prey. thetherns fear the awful denizens of this cruel and hopeless world that they have fosteredand allowed to grow beneath their feet. the prisoners even sometimes turn upon them andrend them. the thern can never tell from what dark shadow an assassin may spring upon hisback. "by day it is different. then the corridorsand chambers are filled with guards passing to and fro; slaves from the temples abovecome by hundreds to the granaries and storerooms. all is life then. you did not see it becausei led you not in the beaten tracks, but through roundabout passages seldom used. yet it ispossible that we may meet a thern even yet.

they do occasionally find it necessary tocome here after the sun has set. because of this i have moved with such great caution." but we reached the upper galleries withoutdetection and presently thuvia halted us at the foot of a short, steep ascent. "above us," she said, "is a doorway whichopens on to the inner gardens. i have brought you thus far. from here on for four milesto the outer ramparts our way will be beset by countless dangers. guards patrol the courts,the temples, the gardens. every inch of the ramparts themselves is beneath the eye ofa sentry." i could not understand the necessity for suchan enormous force of armed men about a spot

so surrounded by mystery and superstitionthat not a soul upon barsoom would have dared to approach it even had they known its exactlocation. i questioned thuvia, asking her what enemies the therns could fear in theirimpregnable fortress. we had reached the doorway now and thuviawas opening it. "they fear the black pirates of barsoom, oprince," she said, "from whom may our first ancestors preserve us." the door swung open; the smell of growingthings greeted my nostrils; the cool night air blew against my cheek. the great banthssniffed the unfamiliar odours, and then with a rush they broke past us with low growls,swarming across the gardens beneath the lurid

light of the nearer moon. suddenly a great cry arose from the roofsof the temples; a cry of alarm and warning that, taken up from point to point, ran offto the east and to the west, from temple, court, and rampart, until it sounded as adim echo in the distance. the great thark's long-sword leaped from itsscabbard; thuvia shrank shuddering to my side. chapter vithe black pirates of barsoom "what is it?" i asked of the girl. for answer she pointed to the sky. i looked, and there, above us, i saw shadowybodies flitting hither and thither high over

temple, court, and garden. almost immediately flashes of light brokefrom these strange objects. there was a roar of musketry, and then answering flashes androars from temple and rampart. "the black pirates of barsoom, o prince,"said thuvia. in great circles the air craft of the maraudersswept lower and lower toward the defending forces of the therns. volley after volley they vomited upon thetemple guards; volley on volley crashed through the thin air toward the fleeting and illusivefliers. as the pirates swooped closer toward the ground,thern soldiery poured from the temples into

the gardens and courts. the sight of themin the open brought a score of fliers darting toward us from all directions. the therns fired upon them through shieldsaffixed to their rifles, but on, steadily on, came the grim, black craft. they weresmall fliers for the most part, built for two to three men. a few larger ones therewere, but these kept high aloft dropping bombs upon the temples from their keel batteries. at length, with a concerted rush, evidentlyin response to a signal of command, the pirates in our immediate vicinity dashed recklesslyto the ground in the very midst of the thern soldiery.

scarcely waiting for their craft to touch,the creatures manning them leaped among the therns with the fury of demons. such fighting!never had i witnessed its like before. i had thought the green martians the most ferociouswarriors in the universe, but the awful abandon with which the black pirates threw themselvesupon their foes transcended everything i ever before had seen. beneath the brilliant light of mars' two gloriousmoons the whole scene presented itself in vivid distinctness. the golden-haired, white-skinnedtherns battling with desperate courage in hand-to-hand conflict with their ebony-skinnedfoemen. here a little knot of struggling warriorstrampled a bed of gorgeous pimalia; there

the curved sword of a black man found theheart of a thern and left its dead foeman at the foot of a wondrous statue carved froma living ruby; yonder a dozen therns pressed a single pirate back upon a bench of emerald,upon whose iridescent surface a strangely beautiful barsoomian design was traced outin inlaid diamonds. a little to one side stood thuvia, the thark,and i. the tide of battle had not reached us, but the fighters from time to time swungclose enough that we might distinctly note them. the black pirates interested me immensely.i had heard vague rumours, little more than legends they were, during my former life onmars; but never had i seen them, nor talked

with one who had. they were popularly supposed to inhabit thelesser moon, from which they descended upon barsoom at long intervals. where they visitedthey wrought the most horrible atrocities, and when they left carried away with themfirearms and ammunition, and young girls as prisoners. these latter, the rumour had it,they sacrificed to some terrible god in an orgy which ended in the eating of their victims. i had an excellent opportunity to examinethem, as the strife occasionally brought now one and now another close to where i stood.they were large men, possibly six feet and over in height. their features were clearcut and handsome in the extreme; their eyes

were well set and large, though a slight narrownesslent them a crafty appearance; the iris, as well as i could determine by moonlight, wasof extreme blackness, while the eyeball itself was quite white and clear. the physical structureof their bodies seemed identical with those of the therns, the red men, and my own. onlyin the colour of their skin did they differ materially from us; that is of the appearanceof polished ebony, and odd as it may seem for a southerner to say it, adds to ratherthan detracts from their marvellous beauty. but if their bodies are divine, their hearts,apparently, are quite the reverse. never did i witness such a malign lust for blood asthese demons of the outer air evinced in their mad battle with the therns.

all about us in the garden lay their sinistercraft, which the therns for some reason, then unaccountable to me, made no effort to injure.now and again a black warrior would rush from a nearby temple bearing a young woman in hisarms. straight for his flier he would leap while those of his comrades who fought nearby would rush to cover his escape. the therns on their side would hasten to rescuethe girl, and in an instant the two would be swallowed in the vortex of a maelstromof yelling devils, hacking and hewing at one another, like fiends incarnate. but always, it seemed, were the black piratesof barsoom victorious, and the girl, brought miraculously unharmed through the conflict,borne away into the outer darkness upon the

deck of a swift flier. fighting similar to that which surroundedus could be heard in both directions as far as sound carried, and thuvia told me thatthe attacks of the black pirates were usually made simultaneously along the entire ribbon-likedomain of the therns, which circles the valley dor on the outer slopes of the mountains ofotz. as the fighting receded from our positionfor a moment, thuvia turned toward me with a question. "do you understand now, o prince," she said,"why a million warriors guard the domains of the holy therns by day and by night?"

"the scene you are witnessing now is but arepetition of what i have seen enacted a score of times during the fifteen years i have beena prisoner here. from time immemorial the black pirates of barsoom have preyed uponthe holy therns. "yet they never carry their expeditions toa point, as one might readily believe it was in their power to do, where the exterminationof the race of therns is threatened. it is as though they but utilized the race as playthings,with which they satisfy their ferocious lust for fighting; and from whom they collect tollin arms and ammunition and in prisoners." "why don't they jump in and destroy thesefliers?" i asked. "that would soon put a stop to the attacks, or at least the blacks wouldscarce be so bold. why, see how perfectly

unguarded they leave their craft, as thoughthey were lying safe in their own hangars at home." "the therns do not dare. they tried it once,ages ago, but the next night and for a whole moon thereafter a thousand great black battleshipscircled the mountains of otz, pouring tons of projectiles upon the temples, the gardens,and the courts, until every thern who was not killed was driven for safety into thesubterranean galleries. "the therns know that they live at all onlyby the sufferance of the black men. they were near to extermination that once and they willnot venture risking it again." as she ceased talking a new element was instilledinto the conflict. it came from a source equally

unlooked for by either thern or pirate. thegreat banths which we had liberated in the garden had evidently been awed at first bythe sound of the battle, the yelling of the warriors and the loud report of rifle andbomb. but now they must have become angered by thecontinuous noise and excited by the smell of new blood, for all of a sudden a greatform shot from a clump of low shrubbery into the midst of a struggling mass of humanity.a horrid scream of bestial rage broke from the banth as he felt warm flesh beneath hispowerful talons. as though his cry was but a signal to theothers, the entire great pack hurled themselves among the fighters. panic reigned in an instant.thern and black man turned alike against the

common enemy, for the banths showed no partialitytoward either. the awful beasts bore down a hundred men bythe mere weight of their great bodies as they hurled themselves into the thick of the fight.leaping and clawing, they mowed down the warriors with their powerful paws, turning for an instantto rend their victims with frightful fangs. the scene was fascinating in its terribleness,but suddenly it came to me that we were wasting valuable time watching this conflict, whichin itself might prove a means of our escape. the therns were so engaged with their terribleassailants that now, if ever, escape should be comparatively easy. i turned to searchfor an opening through the contending hordes. if we could but reach the ramparts we mightfind that the pirates somewhere had thinned

the guarding forces and left a way open tous to the world without. as my eyes wandered about the garden, thesight of the hundreds of air craft lying unguarded around us suggested the simplest avenue tofreedom. why it had not occurred to me before! i was thoroughly familiar with the mechanismof every known make of flier on barsoom. for nine years i had sailed and fought with thenavy of helium. i had raced through space on the tiny one-man air scout and i had commandedthe greatest battleship that ever had floated in the thin air of dying mars. to think, with me, is to act. grasping thuviaby the arm, i whispered to tars tarkas to follow me. quickly we glided toward a smallflier which lay furthest from the battling

warriors. another instant found us huddledon the tiny deck. my hand was on the starting lever. i pressed my thumb upon the buttonwhich controls the ray of repulsion, that splendid discovery of the martians which permitsthem to navigate the thin atmosphere of their planet in huge ships that dwarf the dreadnoughtsof our earthly navies into pitiful insignificance. the craft swayed slightly but she did notmove. then a new cry of warning broke upon our ears. turning, i saw a dozen black piratesdashing toward us from the melee. we had been discovered. with shrieks of rage the demonssprang for us. with frenzied insistence i continued to press the little button whichshould have sent us racing out into space, but still the vessel refused to budge. thenit came to me-the reason that she would

not rise. we had stumbled upon a two-man flier. itsray tanks were charged only with sufficient repulsive energy to lift two ordinary men.the thark's great weight was anchoring us to our doom. the blacks were nearly upon us. there wasnot an instant to be lost in hesitation or doubt. i pressed the button far in and locked it.then i set the lever at high speed and as the blacks came yelling upon us i slippedfrom the craft's deck and with drawn long-sword met the attack.

at the same moment a girl's shriek rang outbehind me and an instant later, as the blacks fell upon me. i heard far above my head, andfaintly, in thuvia's voice: "my prince, o my prince; i would rather remain and die with-"but the rest was lost in the noise of my assailants. i knew though that my ruse had worked andthat temporarily at least thuvia and tars tarkas were safe, and the means of escapewas theirs. for a moment it seemed that i could not withstandthe weight of numbers that confronted me, but again, as on so many other occasions wheni had been called upon to face fearful odds upon this planet of warriors and fierce beasts,i found that my earthly strength so far transcended that of my opponents that the odds were notso greatly against me as they appeared.

my seething blade wove a net of death aboutme. for an instant the blacks pressed close to reach me with their shorter swords, butpresently they gave back, and the esteem in which they suddenly had learned to hold mysword arm was writ large upon each countenance. i knew though that it was but a question ofminutes before their greater numbers would wear me down, or get around my guard. i mustgo down eventually to certain death before them. i shuddered at the thought of it, dyingthus in this terrible place where no word of my end ever could reach my dejah thoris.dying at the hands of nameless black men in the gardens of the cruel therns. then my old-time spirit reasserted itself.the fighting blood of my virginian sires coursed

hot through my veins. the fierce blood lustand the joy of battle surged over me. the fighting smile that has brought consternationto a thousand foemen touched my lips. i put the thought of death out of my mind, and fellupon my antagonists with fury that those who escaped will remember to their dying day. that others would press to the support ofthose who faced me i knew, so even as i fought i kept my wits at work, searching for an avenueof escape. it came from an unexpected quarter out ofthe black night behind me. i had just disarmed a huge fellow who had given me a desperatestruggle, and for a moment the blacks stood back for a breathing spell.

they eyed me with malignant fury, yet withalthere was a touch of respect in their demeanour. "thern," said one, "you fight like a dator.but for your detestable yellow hair and your white skin you would be an honour to the firstborn of barsoom." "i am no thern," i said, and was about toexplain that i was from another world, thinking that by patching a truce with these fellowsand fighting with them against the therns i might enlist their aid in regaining my liberty.but just at that moment a heavy object smote me a resounding whack between my shouldersthat nearly felled me to the ground. as i turned to meet this new enemy an objectpassed over my shoulder, striking one of my assailants squarely in the face and knockinghim senseless to the sward. at the same instant

i saw that the thing that had struck us wasthe trailing anchor of a rather fair-sized air vessel; possibly a ten man cruiser. the ship was floating slowly above us, notmore than fifty feet over our heads. instantly the one chance for escape that it offeredpresented itself to me. the vessel was slowly rising and now the anchor was beyond the blackswho faced me and several feet above their heads. with a bound that left them gaping in wide-eyedastonishment i sprang completely over them. a second leap carried me just high enoughto grasp the now rapidly receding anchor. but i was successful, and there i hung byone hand, dragging through the branches of

the higher vegetation of the gardens, whilemy late foemen shrieked and howled beneath presently the vessel veered toward the westand then swung gracefully to the south. in another instant i was carried beyond the crestof the golden cliffs, out over the valley dor, where, six thousand feet below me, thelost sea of korus lay shimmering in the moonlight. carefully i climbed to a sitting posture acrossthe anchor's arms. i wondered if by chance the vessel might be deserted. i hoped so.or possibly it might belong to a friendly people, and have wandered by accident almostwithin the clutches of the pirates and the therns. the fact that it was retreating fromthe scene of battle lent colour to this hypothesis. but i decided to know positively, and at once,so, with the greatest caution, i commenced

to climb slowly up the anchor chain towardthe deck above me. one hand had just reached for the vessel'srail and found it when a fierce black face was thrust over the side and eyes filled withtriumphant hate looked into mine. chapter viia fair goddess for an instant the black pirate and i remainedmotionless, glaring into each other's eyes. then a grim smile curled the handsome lipsabove me, as an ebony hand came slowly in sight from above the edge of the deck andthe cold, hollow eye of a revolver sought the centre of my forehead. simultaneously my free hand shot out for theblack throat, just within reach, and the ebony

finger tightened on the trigger. the pirate'shissing, "die, cursed thern," was half choked in his windpipe by my clutching fingers. thehammer fell with a futile click upon an empty chamber. before he could fire again i had pulled himso far over the edge of the deck that he was forced to drop his firearm and clutch therail with both hands. my grasp upon his throat effectually preventedany outcry, and so we struggled in grim silence; he to tear away from my hold, i to drag himover to his death. his face was taking on a livid hue, his eyeswere bulging from their sockets. it was evident to him that he soon must die unless he toreloose from the steel fingers that were choking

the life from him. with a final effort hethrew himself further back upon the deck, at the same instant releasing his hold uponthe rail to tear frantically with both hands at my fingers in an effort to drag them fromhis throat. that little second was all that i awaited.with one mighty downward surge i swept him clear of the deck. his falling body came nearto tearing me from the frail hold that my single free hand had upon the anchor chainand plunging me with him to the waters of the sea below. i did not relinquish my grasp upon him, however,for i knew that a single shriek from those lips as he hurtled to his death in the silentwaters of the sea would bring his comrades

from above to avenge him. instead i held grimly to him, choking, everchoking, while his frantic struggles dragged me lower and lower toward the end of the chain. gradually his contortions became spasmodic,lessening by degrees until they ceased entirely. then i released my hold upon him and in aninstant he was swallowed by the black shadows far below. again i climbed to the ship's rail. this timei succeeded in raising my eyes to the level of the deck, where i could take a carefulsurvey of the conditions immediately confronting the nearer moon had passed below the horizon,but the clear effulgence of the further satellite

bathed the deck of the cruiser, bringing intosharp relief the bodies of six or eight black men sprawled about in sleep. huddled close to the base of a rapid firegun was a young white girl, securely bound. her eyes were widespread in an expressionof horrified anticipation and fixed directly upon me as i came in sight above the edgeof the deck. unutterable relief instantly filled them asif they fell upon the mystic jewel which sparkled in the centre of my stolen headpiece. shedid not speak. instead her eyes warned me to beware the sleeping figures that surroundedher. noiselessly i gained the deck. the girl noddedto me to approach her. as i bent low she whispered

to me to release her. "i can aid you," she said, "and you will needall the aid available when they awaken." "some of them will awake in korus," i repliedsmiling. she caught the meaning of my words, and thecruelty of her answering smile horrified me. one is not astonished by cruelty in a hideousface, but when it touches the features of a goddess whose fine-chiselled lineamentsmight more fittingly portray love and beauty, the contrast is appalling. quickly i released her. "give me a revolver," she whispered. "i canuse that upon those your sword does not silence

in time." i did as she bid. then i turned toward thedistasteful work that lay before me. this was no time for fine compunctions, nor fora chivalry that these cruel demons would neither appreciate nor reciprocate. stealthily i approached the nearest sleeper.when he awoke he was well on his journey to the bosom of korus. his piercing shriek asconsciousness returned to him came faintly up to us from the black depths beneath. the second awoke as i touched him, and, thoughi succeeded in hurling him from the cruiser's deck, his wild cry of alarm brought the remainingpirates to their feet. there were five of

as they arose the girl's revolver spoke insharp staccato and one sank back to the deck again to rise no more. the others rushed madly upon me with drawnswords. the girl evidently dared not fire for fear of wounding me, but i saw her sneakstealthily and cat-like toward the flank of the attackers. then they were on me. for a few minutes i experienced some of thehottest fighting i had ever passed through. the quarters were too small for foot work.it was stand your ground and give and take. at first i took considerably more than i gave,but presently i got beneath one fellow's guard and had the satisfaction of seeing him collapseupon the deck.

the others redoubled their efforts. the crashingof their blades upon mine raised a terrific din that might have been heard for miles throughthe silent night. sparks flew as steel smote steel, and then there was the dull and sickeningsound of a shoulder bone parting beneath the keen edge of my martian sword. three now faced me, but the girl was workingher way to a point that would soon permit her to reduce the number by one at least.then things happened with such amazing rapidity that i can scarce comprehend even now allthat took place in that brief instant. the three rushed me with the evident purposeof forcing me back the few steps that would carry my body over the rail into the voidbelow. at the same instant the girl fired

and my sword arm made two moves. one man droppedwith a bullet in his brain; a sword flew clattering across the deck and dropped over the edgebeyond as i disarmed one of my opponents and the third went down with my blade buried tothe hilt in his breast and three feet of it protruding from his back, and falling wrenchedthe sword from my grasp. disarmed myself, i now faced my remainingfoeman, whose own sword lay somewhere thousands of feet below us, lost in the lost sea. the new conditions seemed to please my adversary,for a smile of satisfaction bared his gleaming teeth as he rushed at me bare-handed. thegreat muscles which rolled beneath his glossy black hide evidently assured him that herewas easy prey, not worth the trouble of drawing

the dagger from his harness. i let him come almost upon me. then i duckedbeneath his outstretched arms, at the same time sidestepping to the right. pivoting onmy left toe, i swung a terrific right to his jaw, and, like a felled ox, he dropped inhis tracks. a low, silvery laugh rang out behind me. "you are no thern," said the sweet voice ofmy companion, "for all your golden locks or the harness of sator throg. never lived thereupon all barsoom before one who could fight as you have fought this night. who are you?" "i am john carter, prince of the house oftardos mors, jeddak of helium," i replied.

"and whom," i added, "has the honour of servingbeen accorded me?" she hesitated a moment before speaking. thenshe asked: "you are no thern. are you an enemy of thetherns?" "i have been in the territory of the thernsfor a day and a half. during that entire time my life has been in constant danger. i havebeen harassed and persecuted. armed men and fierce beasts have been set upon me. i hadno quarrel with the therns before, but can you wonder that i feel no great love for themnow? i have spoken." she looked at me intently for several minutesbefore she replied. it was as though she were attempting to read my inmost soul, to judgemy character and my standards of chivalry

in that long-drawn, searching gaze. apparently the inventory satisfied her. "i am phaidor, daughter of matai shang, holyhekkador of the holy therns, father of therns, master of life and death upon barsoom, brotherof issus, prince of life eternal." at that moment i noticed that the black ihad dropped with my fist was commencing to show signs of returning consciousness. i sprangto his side. stripping his harness from him i securely bound his hands behind his back,and after similarly fastening his feet tied him to a heavy gun carriage. "why not the simpler way?" asked phaidor.

"i do not understand. what 'simpler way'?"i replied. with a slight shrug of her lovely shouldersshe made a gesture with her hands personating the casting of something over the craft'sside. "i am no murderer," i said. "i kill in self-defenceonly." she looked at me narrowly. then she puckeredthose divine brows of hers, and shook her head. she could not comprehend. well, neither had my own dejah thoris beenable to understand what to her had seemed a foolish and dangerous policy toward enemies.upon barsoom, quarter is neither asked nor given, and each dead man means so much moreof the waning resources of this dying planet

to be divided amongst those who survive. but there seemed a subtle difference herebetween the manner in which this girl contemplated the dispatching of an enemy and the tender-heartedregret of my own princess for the stern necessity which demanded it. i think that phaidor regretted the thrillthat the spectacle would have afforded her rather than the fact that my decision leftanother enemy alive to threaten us. the man had now regained full possession ofhis faculties, and was regarding us intently from where he lay bound upon the deck. hewas a handsome fellow, clean limbed and powerful, with an intelligent face and features of suchexquisite chiselling that adonis himself might

have envied him. the vessel, unguided, had been moving slowlyacross the valley; but now i thought it time to take the helm and direct her course. onlyin a very general way could i guess the location of the valley dor. that it was far south ofthe equator was evident from the constellations, but i was not sufficiently a martian astronomerto come much closer than a rough guess without the splendid charts and delicate instrumentswith which, as an officer in the heliumite navy, i had formerly reckoned the positionsof the vessels on which i sailed. that a northerly course would quickest leadme toward the more settled portions of the planet immediately decided the direction thati should steer. beneath my hand the cruiser

swung gracefully about. then the button whichcontrolled the repulsive rays sent us soaring far out into space. with speed lever pulledto the last notch, we raced toward the north as we rose ever farther and farther abovethat terrible valley of death. as we passed at a dizzy height over the narrowdomains of the therns the flash of powder far below bore mute witness to the ferocityof the battle that still raged along that cruel frontier. no sound of conflict reachedour ears, for in the rarefied atmosphere of our great altitude no sound wave could penetrate;they were dissipated in thin air far below us. it became intensely cold. breathing was difficult.the girl, phaidor, and the black pirate kept

their eyes glued upon me. at length the girlspoke. "unconsciousness comes quickly at this altitude,"she said quietly. "unless you are inviting death for us all you had best drop, and thatquickly." there was no fear in her voice. it was asone might say: "you had better carry an umbrella. it is going to rain." i dropped the vessel quickly to a lower level.nor was i a moment too soon. the girl had swooned. the black, too, was unconscious, while i,myself, retained my senses, i think, only by sheer will. the one on whom all responsibilityrests is apt to endure the most.

we were swinging along low above the foothillsof the otz. it was comparatively warm and there was plenty of air for our starved lungs,so i was not surprised to see the black open his eyes, and a moment later the girl also. "it was a close call," she said. "it has taught me two things though," i replied. "what?" "that even phaidor, daughter of the masterof life and death, is mortal," i said smiling. "there is immortality only in issus," shereplied. "and issus is for the race of therns alone. thus am i immortal."

i caught a fleeting grin passing across thefeatures of the black as he heard her words. i did not then understand why he smiled. lateri was to learn, and she, too, in a most horrible manner. "if the other thing you have just learned,"she continued, "has led to as erroneous deductions as the first you are little richer in knowledgethan you were before." "the other," i replied, "is that our duskyfriend here does not hail from the nearer moon-he was like to have died at a few thousandfeet above barsoom. had we continued the five thousand miles that lie between thuria andthe planet he would have been but the frozen memory of a man."

phaidor looked at the black in evident astonishment. "if you are not of thuria, then where?" sheasked. he shrugged his shoulders and turned his eyeselsewhere, but did not reply. the girl stamped her little foot in a peremptorymanner. "the daughter of matai shang is not accustomedto having her queries remain unanswered," she said. "one of the lesser breed shouldfeel honoured that a member of the holy race that was born to inherit life eternal shoulddeign even to notice him." again the black smiled that wicked, knowingsmile. "xodar, dator of the first born of barsoom,is accustomed to give commands, not to receive

them," replied the black pirate. then, turningto me, "what are your intentions concerning me?" "i intend taking you both back to helium,"i said. "no harm will come to you. you will find the red men of helium a kindly and magnanimousrace, but if they listen to me there will be no more voluntary pilgrimages down theriver iss, and the impossible belief that they have cherished for ages will be shatteredinto a thousand pieces." "are you of helium?" he asked. "i am a prince of the house of tardos mors,jeddak of helium," i replied, "but i am not of barsoom. i am of another world."

xodar looked at me intently for a few moments. "i can well believe that you are not of barsoom,"he said at length. "none of this world could have bested eight of the first born single-handed.but how is it that you wear the golden hair and the jewelled circlet of a holy thern?"he emphasized the word holy with a touch of irony. "i had forgotten them," i said. "they arethe spoils of conquest," and with a sweep of my hand i removed the disguise from myhead. when the black's eyes fell on my close-croppedblack hair they opened in astonishment. evidently he had looked for the bald pate of a thern.

"you are indeed of another world," he said,a touch of awe in his voice. "with the skin of a thern, the black hair of a first bornand the muscles of a dozen dators it was no disgrace even for xodar to acknowledge yoursupremacy. a thing he could never do were you a barsoomian," he added. "you are travelling several laps ahead ofme, my friend," i interrupted. "i glean that your name is xodar, but whom, pray, are thefirst born, and what a dator, and why, if you were conquered by a barsoomian, couldyou not acknowledge it?" "the first born of barsoom," he explained,"are the race of black men of which i am a dator, or, as the lesser barsoomians wouldsay, prince. my race is the oldest on the

planet. we trace our lineage, unbroken, directto the tree of life which flourished in the centre of the valley dor twenty-three millionyears ago. "for countless ages the fruit of this treeunderwent the gradual changes of evolution, passing by degrees from true plant life toa combination of plant and animal. in the first stages the fruit of the tree possessedonly the power of independent muscular action, while the stem remained attached to the parentplant; later a brain developed in the fruit, so that hanging there by their long stemsthey thought and moved as individuals. "then, with the development of perceptionscame a comparison of them; judgments were reached and compared, and thus reason andthe power to reason were born upon barsoom.

"ages passed. many forms of life came andwent upon the tree of life, but still all were attached to the parent plant by stemsof varying lengths. at length the fruit tree consisted in tiny plant men, such as we nowsee reproduced in such huge dimensions in the valley dor, but still hanging to the limbsand branches of the tree by the stems which grew from the tops of their heads. "the buds from which the plant men blossomedresembled large nuts about a foot in diameter, divided by double partition walls into foursections. in one section grew the plant man, in another a sixteen-legged worm, in the thirdthe progenitor of the white ape and in the fourth the primaeval black man of barsoom.

"when the bud burst the plant man remaineddangling at the end of his stem, but the three other sections fell to the ground, where theefforts of their imprisoned occupants to escape sent them hopping about in all directions. "thus as time went on, all barsoom was coveredwith these imprisoned creatures. for countless ages they lived their long lives within theirhard shells, hopping and skipping about the broad planet; falling into rivers, lakes,and seas, to be still further spread about the surface of the new world. "countless billions died before the firstblack man broke through his prison walls into the light of day. prompted by curiosity, hebroke open other shells and the peopling of

barsoom commenced. "the pure strain of the blood of this firstblack man has remained untainted by admixture with other creatures in the race of whichi am a member; but from the sixteen-legged worm, the first ape and renegade black manhas sprung every other form of animal life upon barsoom. "the therns," and he smiled maliciously ashe spoke, "are but the result of ages of evolution from the pure white ape of antiquity. theyare a lower order still. there is but one race of true and immortal humans on barsoom.it is the race of black men. "the tree of life is dead, but before it diedthe plant men learned to detach themselves

from it and roam the face of barsoom withthe other children of the first parent. "now their bisexuality permits them to reproducethemselves after the manner of true plants, but otherwise they have progressed but littlein all the ages of their existence. their actions and movements are largely mattersof instinct and not guided to any great extent by reason, since the brain of a plant manis but a trifle larger than the end of your smallest finger. they live upon vegetationand the blood of animals, and their brain is just large enough to direct their movementsin the direction of food, and to translate the food sensations which are carried to itfrom their eyes and ears. they have no sense of self-preservation and so are entirely withoutfear in the face of danger. that is why they

are such terrible antagonists in combat." i wondered why the black man took such painsto discourse thus at length to enemies upon the genesis of life barsoomian. it seemeda strangely inopportune moment for a proud member of a proud race to unbend in casualconversation with a captor. especially in view of the fact that the black still laysecurely bound upon the deck. it was the faintest straying of his eye beyondme for the barest fraction of a second that explained his motive for thus dragging outmy interest in his truly absorbing story. he lay a little forward of where i stood atthe levers, and thus he faced the stern of the vessel as he addressed me. it was at theend of his description of the plant men that

i caught his eye fixed momentarily upon somethingbehind me. nor could i be mistaken in the swift gleamof triumph that brightened those dark orbs for an instant. some time before i had reduced our speed,for we had left the valley dor many miles astern, and i felt comparatively safe. i turned an apprehensive glance behind me,and the sight that i saw froze the new-born hope of freedom that had been springing upwithin me. a great battleship, forging silent and unlightedthrough the dark night, loomed close astern. chapter viiithe depths of omean

now i realized why the black pirate had keptme engrossed with his strange tale. for miles he had sensed the approach of succour, andbut for that single tell-tale glance the battleship would have been directly above us in anothermoment, and the boarding party which was doubtless even now swinging in their harness from theship's keel, would have swarmed our deck, placing my rising hope of escape in suddenand total eclipse. i was too old a hand in aerial warfare tobe at a loss now for the right manoeuvre. simultaneously i reversed the engines anddropped the little vessel a sheer hundred feet. above my head i could see the dangling formsof the boarding party as the battleship raced

over us. then i rose at a sharp angle, throwingmy speed lever to its last notch. like a bolt from a crossbow my splendid craftshot its steel prow straight at the whirring propellers of the giant above us. if i couldbut touch them the huge bulk would be disabled for hours and escape once more possible. at the same instant the sun shot above thehorizon, disclosing a hundred grim, black faces peering over the stern of the battleshipupon us. at sight of us a shout of rage went up froma hundred throats. orders were shouted, but it was too late to save the giant propellers,and with a crash we rammed them. instantly with the shock of impact i reversedmy engine, but my prow was wedged in the hole

it had made in the battleship's stern. onlya second i hung there before tearing away, but that second was amply long to swarm mydeck with black devils. there was no fight. in the first place therewas no room to fight. we were simply submerged by numbers. then as swords menaced me a commandfrom xodar stayed the hands of his fellows. "secure them," he said, "but do not injurethem." several of the pirates already had releasedxodar. he now personally attended to my disarming and saw that i was properly bound. at leasthe thought that the binding was secure. it would have been had i been a martian, buti had to smile at the puny strands that confined my wrists. when the time came i could snapthem as they had been cotton string.

the girl they bound also, and then they fastenedus together. in the meantime they had brought our craft alongside the disabled battleship,and soon we were transported to the latter's deck. fully a thousand black men manned the greatengine of destruction. her decks were crowded with them as they pressed forward as far asdiscipline would permit to get a glimpse of their captives. the girl's beauty elicited many brutal commentsand vulgar jests. it was evident that these self-thought supermen were far inferior tothe red men of barsoom in refinement and in chivalry.

my close-cropped black hair and thern complexionwere the subjects of much comment. when xodar told his fellow nobles of my fighting abilityand strange origin they crowded about me with numerous questions. the fact that i wore the harness and metalof a thern who had been killed by a member of my party convinced them that i was an enemyof their hereditary foes, and placed me on a better footing in their estimation. without exception the blacks were handsomemen, and well built. the officers were conspicuous through the wondrous magnificence of theirresplendent trappings. many harnesses were so encrusted with gold, platinum, silver andprecious stones as to entirely hide the leather

beneath. the harness of the commanding officer wasa solid mass of diamonds. against the ebony background of his skin they blazed out witha peculiarly accentuated effulgence. the whole scene was enchanting. the handsome men; thebarbaric splendour of the accoutrements; the polished skeel wood of the deck; the gloriouslygrained sorapus of the cabins, inlaid with priceless jewels and precious metals in intricateand beautiful design; the burnished gold of hand rails; the shining metal of the guns. phaidor and i were taken below decks, where,still fast bound, we were thrown into a small compartment which contained a single port-hole.as our escort left us they barred the door

behind them. we could hear the men working on the brokenpropellers, and from the port-hole we could see that the vessel was drifting lazily towardthe south. for some time neither of us spoke. each wasoccupied with his own thoughts. for my part i was wondering as to the fate of tars tarkasand the girl, thuvia. even if they succeeded in eluding pursuitthey must eventually fall into the hands of either red men or green, and as fugitivesfrom the valley dor they could look for but little else than a swift and terrible death. how i wished that i might have accompaniedthem. it seemed to me that i could not fail

to impress upon the intelligent red men ofbarsoom the wicked deception that a cruel and senseless superstition had foisted uponthem. tardos mors would believe me. of that i waspositive. and that he would have the courage of his convictions my knowledge of his characterassured me. dejah thoris would believe me. not a doubt as to that entered my head. thenthere were a thousand of my red and green warrior friends whom i knew would face eternaldamnation gladly for my sake. like tars tarkas, where i led they would follow. my only danger lay in that should i ever escapethe black pirates it might be to fall into the hands of unfriendly red or green men.then it would mean short shrift for me.

well, there seemed little to worry about onthat score, for the likelihood of my ever escaping the blacks was extremely remote. the girl and i were linked together by a ropewhich permitted us to move only about three or four feet from each other. when we hadentered the compartment we had seated ourselves upon a low bench beneath the porthole. thebench was the only furniture of the room. it was of sorapus wood. the floor, ceilingand walls were of carborundum aluminum, a light, impenetrable composition extensivelyutilized in the construction of martian fighting ships. as i had sat meditating upon the future myeyes had been riveted upon the port-hole which

was just level with them as i sat. suddenlyi looked toward phaidor. she was regarding me with a strange expression i had not beforeseen upon her face. she was very beautiful then. instantly her white lids veiled her eyes,and i thought i discovered a delicate flush tingeing her cheek. evidently she was embarrassedat having been detected in the act of staring at a lesser creature, i thought. "do you find the study of the lower ordersinteresting?" i asked, laughing. she looked up again with a nervous but relievedlittle laugh. "oh very," she said, "especially when theyhave such excellent profiles."

it was my turn to flush, but i did not. ifelt that she was poking fun at me, and i admired a brave heart that could look forhumour on the road to death, and so i laughed with her. "do you know where we are going?" she said. "to solve the mystery of the eternal hereafter,i imagine," i replied. "i am going to a worse fate than that," shesaid, with a little shudder. "what do you mean?" "i can only guess," she replied, "since nothern damsel of all the millions that have been stolen away by black pirates during theages they have raided our domains has ever

returned to narrate her experiences amongthem. that they never take a man prisoner lends strength to the belief that the fateof the girls they steal is worse than death." "is it not a just retribution?" i could nothelp but ask. "do not the therns themselves do likewisewith the poor creatures who take the voluntary pilgrimage down the river of mystery? wasnot thuvia for fifteen years a plaything and a slave? is it less than just that you shouldsuffer as you have caused others to suffer?" "you do not understand," she replied. "wetherns are a holy race. it is an honour to a lesser creature to be a slave among us.did we not occasionally save a few of the lower orders that stupidly float down an unknownriver to an unknown end all would become the

prey of the plant men and the apes." "but do you not by every means encourage thesuperstition among those of the outside world?" i argued. "that is the wickedest of your deeds.can you tell me why you foster the cruel deception?" "all life on barsoom," she said, "is createdsolely for the support of the race of therns. how else could we live did the outer worldnot furnish our labour and our food? think you that a thern would demean himself by labour?" "it is true then that you eat human flesh?"i asked in horror. she looked at me in pitying commiserationfor my ignorance. "truly we eat the flesh of the lower orders.do not you also?"

"the flesh of beasts, yes," i replied, "butnot the flesh of man." "as man may eat of the flesh of beasts, somay gods eat of the flesh of man. the holy therns are the gods of barsoom." i was disgusted and i imagine that i showedit. "you are an unbeliever now," she continuedgently, "but should we be fortunate enough to escape the clutches of the black piratesand come again to the court of matai shang i think that we shall find an argument toconvince you of the error of your ways. and-," she hesitated, "perhaps we shall find a wayto keep you as-as-one of us." again her eyes dropped to the floor, and afaint colour suffused her cheek. i could not

understand her meaning; nor did i for a longtime. dejah thoris was wont to say that in some things i was a veritable simpleton, andi guess that she was right. "i fear that i would ill requite your father'shospitality," i answered, "since the first thing that i should do were i a thern wouldbe to set an armed guard at the mouth of the river iss to escort the poor deluded voyagersback to the outer world. also should i devote my life to the extermination of the hideousplant men and their horrible companions, the great white apes." she looked at me really horror struck. "no, no," she cried, "you must not say suchterribly sacrilegious things-you must not

even think them. should they ever guess thatyou entertained such frightful thoughts, should we chance to regain the temples of the therns,they would mete out a frightful death to you. not even my-my-" again she flushed, andstarted over. "not even i could save you." i said no more. evidently it was useless.she was even more steeped in superstition than the martians of the outer world. theyonly worshipped a beautiful hope for a life of love and peace and happiness in the hereafter.the therns worshipped the hideous plant men and the apes, or at least they reverencedthem as the abodes of the departed spirits of their own dead. at this point the door of our prison openedto admit xodar.

he smiled pleasantly at me, and when he smiledhis expression was kindly-anything but cruel or vindictive. "since you cannot escape under any circumstances,"he said, "i cannot see the necessity for keeping you confined below. i will cut your bondsand you may come on deck. you will witness something very interesting, and as you nevershall return to the outer world it will do no harm to permit you to see it. you willsee what no other than the first born and their slaves know the existence of-the subterraneanentrance to the holy land, to the real heaven of barsoom. "it will be an excellent lesson for this daughterof the therns," he added, "for she shall see

the temple of issus, and issus, perchance,shall embrace her." phaidor's head went high. "what blasphemy is this, dog of a pirate?"she cried. "issus would wipe out your entire breed an' you ever came within sight of hertemple." "you have much to learn, thern," replied xodar,with an ugly smile, "nor do i envy you the manner in which you will learn it." as we came on deck i saw to my surprise thatthe vessel was passing over a great field of snow and ice. as far as the eye could reachin any direction naught else was visible. there could be but one solution to the mystery.we were above the south polar ice cap. only

at the poles of mars is there ice or snowupon the planet. no sign of life appeared below us. evidently we were too far southeven for the great fur-bearing animals which the martians so delight in hunting. xodar was at my side as i stood looking outover the ship's rail. "what course?" i asked him. "a little west of south," he replied. "youwill see the otz valley directly. we shall skirt it for a few hundred miles." "the otz valley!" i exclaimed; "but, man,is not there where lie the domains of the therns from which i but just escaped?"

"yes," answered xodar. "you crossed this icefield last night in the long chase that you led us. the otz valley lies in a mighty depressionat the south pole. it is sunk thousands of feet below the level of the surrounding country,like a great round bowl. a hundred miles from its northern boundary rise the otz mountainswhich circle the inner valley of dor, in the exact centre of which lies the lost sea ofkorus. on the shore of this sea stands the golden temple of issus in the land of thefirst born. it is there that we are bound." as i looked i commenced to realize why itwas that in all the ages only one had escaped from the valley dor. my only wonder was thateven the one had been successful. to cross this frozen, wind-swept waste of bleak icealone and on foot would be impossible.

"only by air boat could the journey be made,"i finished aloud. "it was thus that one did escape the thernsin bygone times; but none has ever escaped the first born," said xodar, with a touchof pride in his voice. we had now reached the southernmost extremityof the great ice barrier. it ended abruptly in a sheer wall thousands of feet high atthe base of which stretched a level valley, broken here and there by low rolling hillsand little clumps of forest, and with tiny rivers formed by the melting of the ice barrierat its base. once we passed far above what seemed to bea deep canyon-like rift stretching from the ice wall on the north across the valley asfar as the eye could reach. "that is the bed

of the river iss," said xodar. "it runs farbeneath the ice field, and below the level of the valley otz, but its canyon is openhere." presently i descried what i took to be a village,and pointing it out to xodar asked him what it might be. "it is a village of lost souls," he answered,laughing. "this strip between the ice barrier and the mountains is considered neutral ground.some turn off from their voluntary pilgrimage down the iss, and, scaling the awful wallsof its canyon below us, stop in the valley. also a slave now and then escapes from thetherns and makes his way hither. "they do not attempt to recapture such, sincethere is no escape from this outer valley,

and as a matter of fact they fear the patrollingcruisers of the first born too much to venture from their own domains. "the poor creatures of this outer valley arenot molested by us since they have nothing that we desire, nor are they numerically strongenough to give us an interesting fight-so we too leave them alone. "there are several villages of them, but theyhave increased in numbers but little in many years since they are always warring amongthemselves." now we swung a little north of west, leavingthe valley of lost souls, and shortly i discerned over our starboard bow what appeared to bea black mountain rising from the desolate

waste of ice. it was not high and seemed tohave a flat top. xodar had left us to attend to some duty onthe vessel, and phaidor and i stood alone beside the rail. the girl had not once spokensince we had been brought to the deck. "is what he has been telling me true?" i askedher. "in part, yes," she answered. "that aboutthe outer valley is true, but what he says of the location of the temple of issus inthe centre of his country is false. if it is not false-" she hesitated. "oh it cannotbe true, it cannot be true. for if it were true then for countless ages have my peoplegone to torture and ignominious death at the hands of their cruel enemies, instead of tothe beautiful life eternal that we have been

taught to believe issus holds for us." "as the lesser barsoomians of the outer worldhave been lured by you to the terrible valley dor, so may it be that the therns themselveshave been lured by the first born to an equally horrid fate," i suggested. "it would be astern and awful retribution, phaidor; but a just one." "i cannot believe it," she said. "we shall see," i answered, and then we fellsilent again for we were rapidly approaching the black mountains, which in some indefinableway seemed linked with the answer to our problem. as we neared the dark, truncated cone thevessel's speed was diminished until we barely

moved. then we topped the crest of the mountainand below us i saw yawning the mouth of a huge circular well, the bottom of which waslost in inky blackness. the diameter of this enormous pit was fullya thousand feet. the walls were smooth and appeared to be composed of a black, basalticrock. for a moment the vessel hovered motionlessdirectly above the centre of the gaping void, then slowly she began to settle into the blackchasm. lower and lower she sank until as darkness enveloped us her lights were thrown on andin the dim halo of her own radiance the monster battleship dropped on and on down into whatseemed to me must be the very bowels of barsoom. for quite half an hour we descended and thenthe shaft terminated abruptly in the dome

of a mighty subterranean world. below us roseand fell the billows of a buried sea. a phosphorescent radiance illuminated the scene. thousandsof ships dotted the bosom of the ocean. little islands rose here and there to support thestrange and colourless vegetation of this strange world. slowly and with majestic grace the battleshipdropped until she rested on the water. her great propellers had been drawn and housedduring our descent of the shaft and in their place had been run out the smaller but morepowerful water propellers. as these commenced to revolve the ship took up its journey oncemore, riding the new element as buoyantly and as safely as she had the air.

phaidor and i were dumbfounded. neither hadeither heard or dreamed that such a world existed beneath the surface of barsoom. nearly all the vessels we saw were war craft.there were a few lighters and barges, but none of the great merchantmen such as plythe upper air between the cities of the outer world. "here is the harbour of the navy of the firstborn," said a voice behind us, and turning we saw xodar watching us with an amused smileon his lips. "this sea," he continued, "is larger thankorus. it receives the waters of the lesser sea above it. to keep it from filling abovea certain level we have four great pumping

stations that force the oversupply back intothe reservoirs far north from which the red men draw the water which irrigates their farmlands." a new light burst on me with this explanation.the red men had always considered it a miracle that caused great columns of water to spurtfrom the solid rock of their reservoir sides to increase the supply of the precious liquidwhich is so scarce in the outer world of mars. never had their learned men been able to fathomthe secret of the source of this enormous volume of water. as ages passed they had simplycome to accept it as a matter of course and ceased to question its origin. we passed several islands on which were strangelyshaped circular buildings, apparently roofless,

and pierced midway between the ground andtheir tops with small, heavily barred windows. they bore the earmarks of prisons, which werefurther accentuated by the armed guards who squatted on low benches without, or patrolledthe short beach lines. few of these islets contained over an acreof ground, but presently we sighted a much larger one directly ahead. this proved tobe our destination, and the great ship was soon made fast against the steep shore. xodar signalled us to follow him and witha half-dozen officers and men we left the battleship and approached a large oval structurea couple of hundred yards from the shore. "you shall soon see issus," said xodar tophaidor. "the few prisoners we take are presented

to her. occasionally she selects slaves fromamong them to replenish the ranks of her handmaidens. none serves issus above a single year," andthere was a grim smile on the black's lips that lent a cruel and sinister meaning tohis simple statement. phaidor, though loath to believe that issuswas allied to such as these, had commenced to entertain doubts and fears. she clung veryclosely to me, no longer the proud daughter of the master of life and death upon barsoom,but a young and frightened girl in the power of relentless enemies. the building which we now entered was entirelyroofless. in its centre was a long tank of water, set below the level of the floor likethe swimming pool of a natatorium. near one

side of the pool floated an odd-looking blackobject. whether it were some strange monster of these buried waters, or a queer raft, icould not at once perceive. we were soon to know, however, for as we reachedthe edge of the pool directly above the thing, xodar cried out a few words in a strange tongue.immediately a hatch cover was raised from the surface of the object, and a black seamansprang from the bowels of the strange craft. xodar addressed the seaman. "transmit to your officer," he said, "thecommands of dator xodar. say to him that dator xodar, with officers and men, escorting twoprisoners, would be transported to the gardens of issus beside the golden temple."

"blessed be the shell of thy first ancestor,most noble dator," replied the man. "it shall be done even as thou sayest," and raisingboth hands, palms backward, above his head after the manner of salute which is commonto all races of barsoom, he disappeared once more into the entrails of his ship. a moment later an officer resplendent in thegorgeous trappings of his rank appeared on deck and welcomed xodar to the vessel, andin the latter's wake we filed aboard and below. the cabin in which we found ourselves extendedentirely across the ship, having port-holes on either side below the water line. no soonerwere all below than a number of commands were given, in accordance with which the hatchwas closed and secured, and the vessel commenced

to vibrate to the rhythmic purr of its machinery. "where can we be going in such a tiny poolof water?" asked phaidor. "not up," i replied, "for i noticed particularlythat while the building is roofless it is covered with a strong metal grating." "then where?" she asked again. "from the appearance of the craft i judgewe are going down," i replied. phaidor shuddered. for such long ages havethe waters of barsoom's seas been a thing of tradition only that even this daughterof the therns, born as she had been within sight of mars' only remaining sea, had thesame terror of deep water as is a common attribute

of all martians. presently the sensation of sinking becamevery apparent. we were going down swiftly. now we could hear the water rushing past theport-holes, and in the dim light that filtered through them to the water beyond the swirlingeddies were plainly visible. phaidor grasped my arm. "save me!" she whispered. "save me and yourevery wish shall be granted. anything within the power of the holy therns to give willbe yours. phaidor-" she stumbled a little here, and then in a very low voice, "phaidoralready is yours." i felt very sorry for the poor child, andplaced my hand over hers where it rested on

my arm. i presume my motive was misunderstood,for with a swift glance about the apartment to assure herself that we were alone, shethrew both her arms about my neck and dragged my face down to hers. chapter ixissus, goddess of life eternal the confession of love which the girl's frighthad wrung from her touched me deeply; but it humiliated me as well, since i felt thatin some thoughtless word or act i had given her reason to believe that i reciprocatedher affection. never have i been much of a ladies' man, beingmore concerned with fighting and kindred arts which have ever seemed to me more befittinga man than mooning over a scented glove four

sizes too small for him, or kissing a deadflower that has begun to smell like a cabbage. so i was quite at a loss as to what to door say. a thousand times rather face the wild hordes of the dead sea bottoms than meet theeyes of this beautiful young girl and tell her the thing that i must tell her. but there was nothing else to be done, andso i did it. very clumsily too, i fear. gently i unclasped her hands from about myneck, and still holding them in mine i told her the story of my love for dejah thoris.that of all the women of two worlds that i had known and admired during my long lifeshe alone had i loved. the tale did not seem to please her. likea tigress she sprang, panting, to her feet.

her beautiful face was distorted in an expressionof horrible malevolence. her eyes fairly blazed into mine. "dog," she hissed. "dog of a blasphemer! thinkyou that phaidor, daughter of matai shang, supplicates? she commands. what to her isyour puny outer world passion for the vile creature you chose in your other life? "phaidor has glorified you with her love,and you have spurned her. ten thousand unthinkably atrocious deaths could not atone for the affrontthat you have put upon me. the thing that you call dejah thoris shall die the most horribleof them all. you have sealed the warrant for her doom.

"and you! you shall be the meanest slave inthe service of the goddess you have attempted to humiliate. tortures and ignominies shallbe heaped upon you until you grovel at my feet asking the boon of death. "in my gracious generosity i shall at lengthgrant your prayer, and from the high balcony of the golden cliffs i shall watch the greatwhite apes tear you asunder." she had it all fixed up. the whole lovelyprogramme from start to finish. it amazed me to think that one so divinely beautifulcould at the same time be so fiendishly vindictive. it occurred to me, however, that she had overlookedone little factor in her revenge, and so, without any intent to add to her discomfiture,but rather to permit her to rearrange her

plans along more practical lines, i pointedto the nearest port-hole. evidently she had entirely forgotten her surroundingsand her present circumstances, for a single glance at the dark, swirling waters withoutsent her crumpled upon a low bench, where with her face buried in her arms she sobbedmore like a very unhappy little girl than a proud and all-powerful goddess. down, down we continued to sink until theheavy glass of the port-holes became noticeably warm from the heat of the water without. evidentlywe were very far beneath the surface crust of mars. presently our downward motion ceased, andi could hear the propellers swirling through

the water at our stern and forcing us aheadat high speed. it was very dark down there, but the light from our port-holes, and thereflection from what must have been a powerful searchlight on the submarine's nose showedthat we were forging through a narrow passage, rock-lined, and tube-like. after a few minutes the propellers ceasedtheir whirring. we came to a full stop, and then commenced to rise swiftly toward thesurface. soon the light from without increased and we came to a stop. xodar entered the cabin with his men. "come," he said, and we followed him throughthe hatchway which had been opened by one

of the seamen. we found ourselves in a small subterraneanvault, in the centre of which was the pool in which lay our submarine, floating as wehad first seen her with only her black back showing. around the edge of the pool was a level platform,and then the walls of the cave rose perpendicularly for a few feet to arch toward the centre ofthe low roof. the walls about the ledge were pierced with a number of entrances to dimlylighted passageways. toward one of these our captors led us, andafter a short walk halted before a steel cage which lay at the bottom of a shaft risingabove us as far as one could see.

the cage proved to be one of the common typesof elevator cars that i had seen in other parts of barsoom. they are operated by meansof enormous magnets which are suspended at the top of the shaft. by an electrical devicethe volume of magnetism generated is regulated and the speed of the car varied. in long stretches they move at a sickeningspeed, especially on the upward trip, since the small force of gravity inherent to marsresults in very little opposition to the powerful force above. scarcely had the door of the car closed behindus than we were slowing up to stop at the landing above, so rapid was our ascent ofthe long shaft.

when we emerged from the little building whichhouses the upper terminus of the elevator, we found ourselves in the midst of a veritablefairyland of beauty. the combined languages of earth men hold no words to convey to themind the gorgeous beauties of the scene. one may speak of scarlet sward and ivory-stemmedtrees decked with brilliant purple blooms; of winding walks paved with crushed rubies,with emerald, with turquoise, even with diamonds themselves; of a magnificent temple of burnishedgold, hand-wrought with marvellous designs; but where are the words to describe the gloriouscolours that are unknown to earthly eyes? where the mind or the imagination that cangrasp the gorgeous scintillations of unheard-of rays as they emanate from the thousand namelessjewels of barsoom?

even my eyes, for long years accustomed tothe barbaric splendours of a martian jeddak's court, were amazed at the glory of the scene. phaidor's eyes were wide in amazement. "the temple of issus," she whispered, halfto herself. xodar watched us with his grim smile, partlyof amusement and partly malicious gloating. the gardens swarmed with brilliantly trappedblack men and women. among them moved red and white females serving their every want.the places of the outer world and the temples of the therns had been robbed of their princessesand goddesses that the blacks might have their slaves.

through this scene we moved toward the temple.at the main entrance we were halted by a cordon of armed guards. xodar spoke a few words toan officer who came forward to question us. together they entered the temple, where theyremained for some time. when they returned it was to announce thatissus desired to look upon the daughter of matai shang, and the strange creature fromanother world who had been a prince of helium. slowly we moved through endless corridorsof unthinkable beauty; through magnificent apartments, and noble halls. at length wewere halted in a spacious chamber in the centre of the temple. one of the officers who hadaccompanied us advanced to a large door in the further end of the chamber. here he musthave made some sort of signal for immediately

the door opened and another richly trappedcourtier emerged. we were then led up to the door, where wewere directed to get down on our hands and knees with our backs toward the room we wereto enter. the doors were swung open and after being cautioned not to turn our heads underpenalty of instant death we were commanded to back into the presence of issus. never have i been in so humiliating a positionin my life, and only my love for dejah thoris and the hope which still clung to me thati might again see her kept me from rising to face the goddess of the first born andgo down to my death like a gentleman, facing my foes and with their blood mingling withmine.

after we had crawled in this disgusting fashionfor a matter of a couple of hundred feet we were halted by our escort. "let them rise," said a voice behind us; athin, wavering voice, yet one that had evidently been accustomed to command for many years. "rise," said our escort, "but do not facetoward issus." "the woman pleases me," said the thin, waveringvoice again after a few moments of silence. "she shall serve me the allotted time. theman you may return to the isle of shador which lies against the northern shore of the seaof omean. let the woman turn and look upon issus, knowing that those of the lower orderswho gaze upon the holy vision of her radiant

face survive the blinding glory but a singleyear." i watched phaidor from the corner of my eye.she paled to a ghastly hue. slowly, very slowly she turned, as though drawn by some invisibleyet irresistible force. she was standing quite close to me, so close that her bare arm touchedmine as she finally faced issus, goddess of life eternal. i could not see the girl's face as her eyesrested for the first time on the supreme deity of mars, but felt the shudder that ran throughher in the trembling flesh of the arm that touched mine. "it must be dazzling loveliness indeed," thoughti, "to cause such emotion in the breast of

so radiant a beauty as phaidor, daughter ofmatai shang." "let the woman remain. remove the man. go."thus spoke issus, and the heavy hand of the officer fell upon my shoulder. in accordancewith his instructions i dropped to my hands and knees once more and crawled from the presence.it had been my first audience with deity, but i am free to confess that i was not greatlyimpressed-other than with the ridiculous figure i cut scrambling about on my marrowbones. once without the chamber the doors closedbehind us and i was bid to rise. xodar joined me and together we slowly retraced our stepstoward the gardens. "you spared my life when you easily mighthave taken it," he said after we had proceeded

some little way in silence, "and i would aidyou if i might. i can help to make your life here more bearable, but your fate is inevitable.you may never hope to return to the outer world." "what will be my fate?" i asked. "that will depend largely upon issus. so longas she does not send for you and reveal her face to you, you may live on for years inas mild a form of bondage as i can arrange for you." "why should she send for me?" i asked. "the men of the lower orders she often usesfor various purposes of amusement. such a

fighter as you, for example, would renderfine sport in the monthly rites of the temple. there are men pitted against men, and againstbeasts for the edification of issus and the replenishment of her larder." "she eats human flesh?" i asked. not in horror,however, for since my recently acquired knowledge of the holy therns i was prepared for anythingin this still less accessible heaven, where all was evidently dictated by a single omnipotence;where ages of narrow fanaticism and self-worship had eradicated all the broader humanitarianinstincts that the race might once have possessed. they were a people drunk with power and success,looking upon the other inhabitants of mars as we look upon the beasts of the field andthe forest. why then should they not eat of

the flesh of the lower orders whose livesand characters they no more understood than do we the inmost thoughts and sensibilitiesof the cattle we slaughter for our earthly tables. "she eats only the flesh of the best bredof the holy therns and the red barsoomians. the flesh of the others goes to our boards.the animals are eaten by the slaves. she also eats other dainties." i did not understand then that there lay anyspecial significance in his reference to other dainties. i thought the limit of ghoulishnessalready had been reached in the recitation of issus' menu. i still had much to learnas to the depths of cruelty and bestiality

to which omnipotence may drag its possessor. we had about reached the last of the manychambers and corridors which led to the gardens when an officer overtook us. "issus would look again upon this man," hesaid. "the girl has told her that he is of wondrous beauty and of such prowess that alonehe slew seven of the first born, and with his bare hands took xodar captive, bindinghim with his own harness." xodar looked uncomfortable. evidently he didnot relish the thought that issus had learned of his inglorious defeat. without a word he turned and we followed theofficer once again to the closed doors before

the audience chamber of issus, goddess oflife eternal. here the ceremony of entrance was repeated.again issus bid me rise. for several minutes all was silent as the tomb. the eyes of deitywere appraising me. presently the thin wavering voice broke thestillness, repeating in a singsong drone the words which for countless ages had sealedthe doom of numberless victims. "let the man turn and look upon issus, knowingthat those of the lower orders who gaze upon the holy vision of her radiant face survivethe blinding glory but a single year." i turned as i had been bid, expecting sucha treat as only the revealment of divine glory to mortal eyes might produce. what i saw wasa solid phalanx of armed men between myself

and a dais supporting a great bench of carvedsorapus wood. on this bench, or throne, squatted a female black. she was evidently very old.not a hair remained upon her wrinkled skull. with the exception of two yellow fangs shewas entirely toothless. on either side of her thin, hawk-like nose her eyes burned fromthe depths of horribly sunken sockets. the skin of her face was seamed and creased witha million deepcut furrows. her body was as wrinkled as her face, and as repulsive. emaciated arms and legs attached to a torsowhich seemed to be mostly distorted abdomen completed the "holy vision of her radiantbeauty." surrounding her were a number of female slaves,among them phaidor, white and trembling.

"this is the man who slew seven of the firstborn and, bare-handed, bound dator xodar with his own harness?" asked issus. "most glorious vision of divine loveliness,it is," replied the officer who stood at my side. "produce dator xodar," she commanded. xodar was brought from the adjoining room. issus glared at him, a baleful light in herhideous eyes. "and such as you are a dator of the firstborn?" she squealed. "for the disgrace you have brought upon the immortal race you shallbe degraded to a rank below the lowest. no

longer be you a dator, but for evermore aslave of slaves, to fetch and carry for the lower orders that serve in the gardens ofissus. remove his harness. cowards and slaves wear no trappings." xodar stood stiffly erect. not a muscle twitched,nor a tremor shook his giant frame as a soldier of the guard roughly stripped his gorgeoustrappings from him. "begone," screamed the infuriated little oldwoman. "begone, but instead of the light of the gardens of issus let you serve as a slaveof this slave who conquered you in the prison on the isle of shador in the sea of omean.take him away out of the sight of my divine eyes."

slowly and with high held head the proud xodarturned and stalked from the chamber. issus rose and turned to leave the room by anotherexit. turning to me, she said: "you shall be returnedto shador for the present. later issus will see the manner of your fighting. go." thenshe disappeared, followed by her retinue. only phaidor lagged behind, and as i startedto follow my guard toward the gardens, the girl came running after me. "oh, do not leave me in this terrible place,"she begged. "forgive the things i said to you, my prince. i did not mean them. onlytake me away with you. let me share your imprisonment on shador." her words were an almost incoherentvolley of thoughts, so rapidly she spoke.

"you did not understand the honour that idid you. among the therns there is no marriage or giving in marriage, as among the lowerorders of the outer world. we might have lived together for ever in love and happiness. wehave both looked upon issus and in a year we die. let us live that year at least togetherin what measure of joy remains for the doomed." "if it was difficult for me to understandyou, phaidor," i replied, "can you not understand that possibly it is equally difficult foryou to understand the motives, the customs and the social laws that guide me? i do notwish to hurt you, nor to seem to undervalue the honour which you have done me, but thething you desire may not be. regardless of the foolish belief of the peoples of the outerworld, or of holy thern, or ebon first born,

i am not dead. while i live my heart beatsfor but one woman-the incomparable dejah thoris, princess of helium. when death overtakesme my heart shall have ceased to beat; but what comes after that i know not. and in thati am as wise as matai shang, master of life and death upon barsoom; or issus, goddessof life eternal." phaidor stood looking at me intently for amoment. no anger showed in her eyes this time, only a pathetic expression of hopeless sorrow. "i do not understand," she said, and turningwalked slowly in the direction of the door through which issus and her retinue had passed.a moment later she had passed from my sight. chapter xthe prison isle of shador

in the outer gardens to which the guard nowescorted me, i found xodar surrounded by a crowd of noble blacks. they were revilingand cursing him. the men slapped his face. the women spat upon him. when i appeared they turned their attentionstoward me. "ah," cried one, "so this is the creaturewho overcame the great xodar bare-handed. let us see how it was done." "let him bind thurid," suggested a beautifulwoman, laughing. "thurid is a noble dator. let thurid show the dog what it means to facea real man." "yes, thurid! thurid!" cried a dozen voices.

"here he is now," exclaimed another, and turningin the direction indicated i saw a huge black weighed down with resplendent ornaments andarms advancing with noble and gallant bearing toward us. "what now?" he cried. "what would you of thurid?" quickly a dozen voices explained. thurid turned toward xodar, his eyes narrowingto two nasty slits. "calot!" he hissed. "ever did i think youcarried the heart of a sorak in your putrid breast. often have you bested me in the secretcouncils of issus, but now in the field of war where men are truly gauged your scabbyheart hath revealed its sores to all the world.

calot, i spurn you with my foot," and withthe words he turned to kick xodar. my blood was up. for minutes it had been boilingat the cowardly treatment they had been according this once powerful comrade because he hadfallen from the favour of issus. i had no love for xodar, but i cannot stand the sightof cowardly injustice and persecution without seeing red as through a haze of bloody mist,and doing things on the impulse of the moment that i presume i never should do after maturedeliberation. i was standing close beside xodar as thuridswung his foot for the cowardly kick. the degraded dator stood erect and motionlessas a carven image. he was prepared to take whatever his former comrades had to offerin the way of insults and reproaches, and

take them in manly silence and stoicism. but as thurid's foot swung so did mine, andi caught him a painful blow upon the shin bone that saved xodar from this added ignominy. for a moment there was tense silence, thenthurid, with a roar of rage sprang for my throat; just as xodar had upon the deck ofthe cruiser. the results were identical. i ducked beneath his outstretched arms, andas he lunged past me planted a terrific right on the side of his jaw. the big fellow spun around like a top, hisknees gave beneath him and he crumpled to the ground at my feet.

the blacks gazed in astonishment, first atthe still form of the proud dator lying there in the ruby dust of the pathway, then at meas though they could not believe that such a thing could be. "you asked me to bind thurid," i cried; "behold!"and then i stooped beside the prostrate form, tore the harness from it, and bound the fellow'sarms and legs securely. "as you have done to xodar, now do you likewiseto thurid. take him before issus, bound in his own harness, that she may see with herown eyes that there be one among you now who is greater than the first born." "who are you?" whispered the woman who hadfirst suggested that i attempt to bind thurid.

"i am a citizen of two worlds; captain johncarter of virginia, prince of the house of tardos mors, jeddak of helium. take this manto your goddess, as i have said, and tell her, too, that as i have done to xodar andthurid, so also can i do to the mightiest of her dators. with naked hands, with long-swordor with short-sword, i challenge the flower of her fighting-men to combat." "come," said the officer who was guardingme back to shador; "my orders are imperative; there is to be no delay. xodar, come you also." there was little of disrespect in the tonethat the man used in addressing either xodar or myself. it was evident that he felt lesscontempt for the former dator since he had

witnessed the ease with which i disposed ofthe powerful thurid. that his respect for me was greater than itshould have been for a slave was quite apparent from the fact that during the balance of thereturn journey he walked or stood always behind me, a drawn short-sword in his hand. the return to the sea of omean was uneventful.we dropped down the awful shaft in the same car that had brought us to the surface. therewe entered the submarine, taking the long dive to the tunnel far beneath the upper world.then through the tunnel and up again to the pool from which we had had our first introductionto the wonderful passageway from omean to the temple of issus.

from the island of the submarine we were transportedon a small cruiser to the distant isle of shador. here we found a small stone prisonand a guard of half a dozen blacks. there was no ceremony wasted in completing our incarceration.one of the blacks opened the door of the prison with a huge key, we walked in, the door closedbehind us, the lock grated, and with the sound there swept over me again that terrible feelingof hopelessness that i had felt in the chamber of mystery in the golden cliffs beneath thegardens of the holy therns. then tars tarkas had been with me, but nowi was utterly alone in so far as friendly companionship was concerned. i fell to wonderingabout the fate of the great thark, and of his beautiful companion, the girl, thuvia.even should they by some miracle have escaped

and been received and spared by a friendlynation, what hope had i of the succour which i knew they would gladly extend if it layin their power. they could not guess my whereabouts or myfate, for none on all barsoom even dream of such a place as this. nor would it have advantagedme any had they known the exact location of my prison, for who could hope to penetrateto this buried sea in the face of the mighty navy of the first born? no: my case was hopeless. well, i would make the best of it, and, rising,i swept aside the brooding despair that had been endeavouring to claim me. with the ideaof exploring my prison, i started to look around.

xodar sat, with bowed head, upon a low stonebench near the centre of the room in which we were. he had not spoken since issus haddegraded him. the building was roofless, the walls risingto a height of about thirty feet. half-way up were a couple of small, heavily barredwindows. the prison was divided into several rooms by partitions twenty feet high. therewas no one in the room which we occupied, but two doors which led to other rooms wereopened. i entered one of these rooms, but found it vacant. thus i continued throughseveral of the chambers until in the last one i found a young red martian boy sleepingupon the stone bench which constituted the only furniture of any of the prison cells.

evidently he was the only other prisoner.as he slept i leaned over and looked at him. there was something strangely familiar abouthis face, and yet i could not place him. his features were very regular and, like theproportions of his graceful limbs and body, beautiful in the extreme. he was very lightin colour for a red man, but in other respects he seemed a typical specimen of this handsomerace. i did not awaken him, for sleep in prisonis such a priceless boon that i have seen men transformed into raging brutes when robbedby one of their fellow-prisoners of a few precious moments of it. returning to my own cell, i found xodar stillsitting in the same position in which i had

left him. "man," i cried, "it will profit you nothingto mope thus. it were no disgrace to be bested by john carter. you have seen that in theease with which i accounted for thurid. you knew it before when on the cruiser's deckyou saw me slay three of your comrades." "i would that you had dispatched me at thesame time," he said. "come, come!" i cried. "there is hope yet.neither of us is dead. we are great fighters. why not win to freedom?" he looked at me in amazement. "you know not of what you speak," he replied."issus is omnipotent. issus is omniscient.

she hears now the words you speak. she knowsthe thoughts you think. it is sacrilege even to dream of breaking her commands." "rot, xodar," i ejaculated impatiently. he sprang to his feet in horror. "the curse of issus will fall upon you," hecried. "in another instant you will be smitten down, writhing to your death in horrible agony." "do you believe that, xodar?" i asked. "of course; who would dare doubt?" "i doubt; yes, and further, i deny," i said."why, xodar, you tell me that she even knows

my thoughts. the red men have all had thatpower for ages. and another wonderful power. they can shut their minds so that none mayread their thoughts. i learned the first secret years ago; the other i never had to learn,since upon all barsoom is none who can read what passes in the secret chambers of my brain. "your goddess cannot read my thoughts; norcan she read yours when you are out of sight, unless you will it. had she been able to readmine, i am afraid that her pride would have suffered a rather severe shock when i turnedat her command to 'gaze upon the holy vision of her radiant face.'" "what do you mean?" he whispered in an affrightedvoice, so low that i could scarcely hear him.

"i mean that i thought her the most repulsiveand vilely hideous creature my eyes ever had rested upon." for a moment he eyed me in horror-strickenamazement, and then with a cry of "blasphemer" he sprang upon me. i did not wish to strike him again, nor wasit necessary, since he was unarmed and therefore quite harmless to me. as he came i grasped his left wrist with myleft hand, and, swinging my right arm about his left shoulder, caught him beneath thechin with my elbow and bore him backward across my thigh.

there he hung helpless for a moment, glaringup at me in impotent rage. "xodar," i said, "let us be friends. for ayear, possibly, we may be forced to live together in the narrow confines of this tiny room.i am sorry to have offended you, but i could not dream that one who had suffered from thecruel injustice of issus still could believe her divine. "i will say a few more words, xodar, withno intent to wound your feelings further, but rather that you may give thought to thefact that while we live we are still more the arbiters of our own fate than is any god. "issus, you see, has not struck me dead, noris she rescuing her faithful xodar from the

clutches of the unbeliever who defamed herfair beauty. no, xodar, your issus is a mortal old woman. once out of her clutches and shecannot harm you. "with your knowledge of this strange land,and my knowledge of the outer world, two such fighting-men as you and i should be able towin our way to freedom. even though we died in the attempt, would not our memories befairer than as though we remained in servile fear to be butchered by a cruel and unjusttyrant-call her goddess or mortal, as you will." as i finished i raised xodar to his feet andreleased him. he did not renew the attack upon me, nor did he speak. instead, he walkedtoward the bench, and, sinking down upon it,

remained lost in deep thought for hours. a long time afterward i heard a soft soundat the doorway leading to one of the other apartments, and, looking up, beheld the redmartian youth gazing intently at us. "kaor," i cried, after the red martian mannerof greeting. "kaor," he replied. "what do you here?" "i await my death, i presume," i replied witha wry smile. he too smiled, a brave and winning smile. "i also," he said. "mine will come soon. ilooked upon the radiant beauty of issus nearly a year since. it has always been a sourceof keen wonder to me that i did not drop dead

at the first sight of that hideous countenance.and her belly! by my first ancestor, but never was there so grotesque a figure in all theuniverse. that they should call such a one goddess of life eternal, goddess of death,mother of the nearer moon, and fifty other equally impossible titles, is quite beyondme." "how came you here?" i asked. "it is very simple. i was flying a one-manair scout far to the south when the brilliant idea occurred to me that i should like tosearch for the lost sea of korus which tradition places near to the south pole. i must haveinherited from my father a wild lust for adventure, as well as a hollow where my bump of reverenceshould be.

"i had reached the area of eternal ice whenmy port propeller jammed, and i dropped to the ground to make repairs. before i knewit the air was black with fliers, and a hundred of these first born devils were leaping tothe ground all about me. "with drawn swords they made for me, but beforei went down beneath them they had tasted of the steel of my father's sword, and i hadgiven such an account of myself as i know would have pleased my sire had he lived towitness it." "your father is dead?" i asked. "he died before the shell broke to let mestep out into a world that has been very good to me. but for the sorrow that i had neverthe honour to know my father, i have been

very happy. my only sorrow now is that mymother must mourn me as she has for ten long years mourned my father." "who was your father?" i asked. he was about to reply when the outer doorof our prison opened and a burly guard entered and ordered him to his own quarters for thenight, locking the door after him as he passed through into the further chamber. "it is issus' wish that you two be confinedin the same room," said the guard when he had returned to our cell. "this cowardly slaveof a slave is to serve you well," he said to me, indicating xodar with a wave of hishand. "if he does not, you are to beat him

into submission. it is issus' wish that youheap upon him every indignity and degradation of which you can conceive." with these words he left us. xodar still sat with his face buried in hishands. i walked to his side and placed my hand upon his shoulder. "xodar," i said, "you have heard the commandsof issus, but you need not fear that i shall attempt to put them into execution. you area brave man, xodar. it is your own affair if you wish to be persecuted and humiliated;but were i you i should assert my manhood and defy my enemies."

"i have been thinking very hard, john carter,"he said, "of all the new ideas you gave me a few hours since. little by little i havebeen piecing together the things that you said which sounded blasphemous to me thenwith the things that i have seen in my past life and dared not even think about for fearof bringing down upon me the wrath of issus. "i believe now that she is a fraud; no moredivine than you or i. more i am willing to concede-that the first born are no holierthan the holy therns, nor the holy therns more holy than the red men. "the whole fabric of our religion is basedon superstitious belief in lies that have been foisted upon us for ages by those directlyabove us, to whose personal profit and aggrandizement

it was to have us continue to believe as theywished us to believe. "i am ready to cast off the ties that havebound me. i am ready to defy issus herself; but what will it avail us? be the first borngods or mortals, they are a powerful race, and we are as fast in their clutches as thoughwe were already dead. there is no escape." "i have escaped from bad plights in the past,my friend," i replied; "nor while life is in me shall i despair of escaping from theisle of shador and the sea of omean." "but we cannot escape even from the four wallsof our prison," urged xodar. "test this flint-like surface," he cried, smiting the solid rockthat confined us. "and look upon this polished surface; none could cling to it to reach thetop."

i smiled. "that is the least of our troubles, xodar,"i replied. "i will guarantee to scale the wall and take you with me, if you will helpwith your knowledge of the customs here to appoint the best time for the attempt, andguide me to the shaft that lets from the dome of this abysmal sea to the light of god'spure air above." "night time is the best and offers the onlyslender chance we have, for then men sleep, and only a dozing watch nods in the tops ofthe battleships. no watch is kept upon the cruisers and smaller craft. the watchers uponthe larger vessels see to all about them. it is night now."

"but," i exclaimed, "it is not dark! how canit be night, then?" he smiled. "you forget," he said, "that we are far belowground. the light of the sun never penetrates here. there are no moons and no stars reflectedin the bosom of omean. the phosphorescent light you now see pervading this great subterraneanvault emanates from the rocks that form its dome; it is always thus upon omean, just asthe billows are always as you see them-rolling, ever rolling over a windless sea. "at the appointed hour of night upon the worldabove, the men whose duties hold them here sleep, but the light is ever the same."

"it will make escape more difficult," i said,and then i shrugged my shoulders; for what, pray, is the pleasure of doing an easy thing? "let us sleep on it to-night," said xodar."a plan may come with our awakening." so we threw ourselves upon the hard stonefloor of our prison and slept the sleep of tired men. chapter xiwhen hell broke loose early the next morning xodar and i commencedwork upon our plans for escape. first i had him sketch upon the stone floor of our cellas accurate a map of the south polar regions as was possible with the crude instrumentsat our disposal-a buckle from my harness,

and the sharp edge of the wondrous gem i hadtaken from sator throg. from this i computed the general directionof helium and the distance at which it lay from the opening which led to omean. then i had him draw a map of omean, indicatingplainly the position of shador and of the opening in the dome which led to the outerworld. these i studied until they were indeliblyimprinted in my memory. from xodar i learned the duties and customs of the guards who patrolledshador. it seemed that during the hours set aside for sleep only one man was on duty ata time. he paced a beat that passed around the prison, at a distance of about a hundredfeet from the building.

the pace of the sentries, xodar said, wasvery slow, requiring nearly ten minutes to make a single round. this meant that for practicallyfive minutes at a time each side of the prison was unguarded as the sentry pursued his snail-likepace upon the opposite side. "this information you ask," said xodar, "willbe all very valuable after we get out, but nothing that you have asked has any bearingon that first and most important consideration." "we will get out all right," i replied, laughing."leave that to me." "when shall we make the attempt?" he asked. "the first night that finds a small craftmoored near the shore of shador," i replied. "but how will you know that any craft is moorednear shador? the windows are far beyond our

reach." "not so, friend xodar; look!" with a bound i sprang to the bars of the windowopposite us, and took a quick survey of the scene without. several small craft and two large battleshipslay within a hundred yards of shador. "to-night," i thought, and was just aboutto voice my decision to xodar, when, without warning, the door of our prison opened anda guard stepped in. if the fellow saw me there our chances ofescape might quickly go glimmering, for i knew that they would put me in irons if theyhad the slightest conception of the wonderful

agility which my earthly muscles gave me uponmars. the man had entered and was standing facingthe centre of the room, so that his back was toward me. five feet above me was the topof a partition wall separating our cell from the next. there was my only chance to escape detection.if the fellow turned, i was lost; nor could i have dropped to the floor undetected, sincehe was so nearly below me that i would have struck him had i done so. "where is the white man?" cried the guardof xodar. "issus commands his presence." he started to turn to see if i were in anotherpart of the cell.

i scrambled up the iron grating of the windowuntil i could catch a good footing on the sill with one foot; then i let go my holdand sprang for the partition top. "what was that?" i heard the deep voice ofthe black bellow as my metal grated against the stone wall as i slipped over. then i droppedlightly to the floor of the cell beyond. "where is the white slave?" again cried theguard. "i know not," replied xodar. "he was hereeven as you entered. i am not his keeper-go find him." the black grumbled something that i couldnot understand, and then i heard him unlocking the door into one of the other cells on thefurther side. listening intently, i caught

the sound as the door closed behind him. theni sprang once more to the top of the partition and dropped into my own cell beside the astonishedxodar. "do you see now how we will escape?" i askedhim in a whisper. "i see how you may," he replied, "but i amno wiser than before as to how i am to pass these walls. certain it is that i cannot bounceover them as you do." we heard the guard moving about from cellto cell, and finally, his rounds completed, he again entered ours. when his eyes fellupon me they fairly bulged from his head. "by the shell of my first ancestor!" he roared."where have you been?" "i have been in prison since you put me hereyesterday," i answered. "i was in this room

when you entered. you had better look to youreyesight." he glared at me in mingled rage and relief. "come," he said. "issus commands your presence." he conducted me outside the prison, leavingxodar behind. there we found several other guards, and with them the red martian youthwho occupied another cell upon shador. the journey i had taken to the temple of issuson the preceding day was repeated. the guards kept the red boy and myself separated, sothat we had no opportunity to continue the conversation that had been interrupted theprevious night. the youth's face had haunted me. where hadi seen him before. there was something strangely

familiar in every line of him; in his carriage,his manner of speaking, his gestures. i could have sworn that i knew him, and yet i knewtoo that i had never seen him before. when we reached the gardens of issus we wereled away from the temple instead of toward it. the way wound through enchanted parksto a mighty wall that towered a hundred feet in air. massive gates gave egress upon a small plain,surrounded by the same gorgeous forests that i had seen at the foot of the golden cliffs. crowds of blacks were strolling in the samedirection that our guards were leading us, and with them mingled my old friends the plantmen and great white apes.

the brutal beasts moved among the crowd aspet dogs might. if they were in the way the blacks pushed them roughly to one side, orwhacked them with the flat of a sword, and the animals slunk away as in great fear. presently we came upon our destination, agreat amphitheatre situated at the further edge of the plain, and about half a mile beyondthe garden walls. through a massive arched gateway the blackspoured in to take their seats, while our guards led us to a smaller entrance near one endof the structure. through this we passed into an enclosure beneaththe seats, where we found a number of other prisoners herded together under guard. someof them were in irons, but for the most part

they seemed sufficiently awed by the presenceof their guards to preclude any possibility of attempted escape. during the trip from shador i had had no opportunityto talk with my fellow-prisoner, but now that we were safely within the barred paddock ourguards abated their watchfulness, with the result that i found myself able to approachthe red martian youth for whom i felt such a strange attraction. "what is the object of this assembly?" i askedhim. "are we to fight for the edification of the first born, or is it something worsethan that?" "it is a part of the monthly rites of issus,"he replied, "in which black men wash the sins

from their souls in the blood of men fromthe outer world. if, perchance, the black is killed, it is evidence of his disloyaltyto issus-the unpardonable sin. if he lives through the contest he is held acquitted ofthe charge that forced the sentence of the rites, as it is called, upon him. "the forms of combat vary. a number of usmay be pitted together against an equal number, or twice the number of blacks; or singly wemay be sent forth to face wild beasts, or some famous black warrior." "and if we are victorious," i asked, "whatthen-freedom?" he laughed.

"freedom, forsooth. the only freedom for usdeath. none who enters the domains of the first born ever leave. if we prove able fighterswe are permitted to fight often. if we are not mighty fighters-" he shrugged his shoulders."sooner or later we die in the arena." "and you have fought often?" i asked. "very often," he replied. "it is my only pleasure.some hundred black devils have i accounted for during nearly a year of the rites of issus.my mother would be very proud could she only know how well i have maintained the traditionsof my father's prowess." "your father must have been a mighty warrior!"i said. "i have known most of the warriors of barsoom in my time; doubtless i knew him.who was he?"

"my father was-" "come, calots!" cried the rough voice of aguard. "to the slaughter with you," and roughly we were hustled to the steep incline thatled to the chambers far below which let out upon the arena. the amphitheatre, like all i had ever seenupon barsoom, was built in a large excavation. only the highest seats, which formed the lowwall surrounding the pit, were above the level of the ground. the arena itself was far belowthe surface. just beneath the lowest tier of seats wasa series of barred cages on a level with the surface of the arena. into these we were herded.but, unfortunately, my youthful friend was

not of those who occupied a cage with me. directly opposite my cage was the throne ofissus. here the horrid creature squatted, surrounded by a hundred slave maidens sparklingin jewelled trappings. brilliant cloths of many hues and strange patterns formed thesoft cushion covering of the dais upon which they reclined about her. on four sides of the throne and several feetbelow it stood three solid ranks of heavily armed soldiery, elbow to elbow. in front ofthese were the high dignitaries of this mock heaven-gleaming blacks bedecked with preciousstones, upon their foreheads the insignia of their rank set in circles of gold.

on both sides of the throne stretched a solidmass of humanity from top to bottom of the amphitheatre. there were as many women asmen, and each was clothed in the wondrously wrought harness of his station and his house.with each black was from one to three slaves, drawn from the domains of the therns and fromthe outer world. the blacks are all "noble." there is no peasantry among the first born.even the lowest soldier is a god, and has his slaves to wait upon him. the first born do no work. the men fight-thatis a sacred privilege and duty; to fight and die for issus. the women do nothing, absolutelynothing. slaves wash them, slaves dress them, slaves feed them. there are some, even, whohave slaves that talk for them, and i saw

one who sat during the rites with closed eyeswhile a slave narrated to her the events that were transpiring within the arena. the first event of the day was the tributeto issus. it marked the end of those poor unfortunates who had looked upon the divineglory of the goddess a full year before. there were ten of them-splendid beauties fromthe proud courts of mighty jeddaks and from the temples of the holy therns. for a yearthey had served in the retinue of issus; to-day they were to pay the price of this divinepreferment with their lives; tomorrow they would grace the tables of the court functionaries. a huge black entered the arena with the youngwomen. carefully he inspected them, felt of

their limbs and poked them in the ribs. presentlyhe selected one of their number whom he led before the throne of issus. he addressed somewords to the goddess which i could not hear. issus nodded her head. the black raised hishands above his head in token of salute, grasped the girl by the wrist, and dragged her fromthe arena through a small doorway below the throne. "issus will dine well to-night," said a prisonerbeside me. "what do you mean?" i asked. "that was her dinner that old thabis is takingto the kitchens. didst not note how carefully he selected the plumpest and tenderest ofthe lot?"

i growled out my curses on the monster sittingopposite us on the gorgeous throne. "fume not," admonished my companion; "youwill see far worse than that if you live even a month among the first born." i turned again in time to see the gate ofa nearby cage thrown open and three monstrous white apes spring into the arena. the girlsshrank in a frightened group in the centre of the enclosure. one was on her knees with imploring handsoutstretched toward issus; but the hideous deity only leaned further forward in keeneranticipation of the entertainment to come. at length the apes spied the huddled knotof terror-stricken maidens and with demoniacal

shrieks of bestial frenzy, charged upon them. a wave of mad fury surged over me. the cruelcowardliness of the power-drunk creature whose malignant mind conceived such frightful formsof torture stirred to their uttermost depths my resentment and my manhood. the blood-redhaze that presaged death to my foes swam before my eyes. the guard lolled before the unbarred gateof the cage which confined me. what need of bars, indeed, to keep those poor victims fromrushing into the arena which the edict of the gods had appointed as their death place! a single blow sent the black unconscious tothe ground. snatching up his long-sword, i

sprang into the arena. the apes were almostupon the maidens, but a couple of mighty bounds were all my earthly muscles required to carryme to the centre of the sand-strewn floor. for an instant silence reigned in the greatamphitheatre, then a wild shout arose from the cages of the doomed. my long-sword circledwhirring through the air, and a great ape sprawled, headless, at the feet of the faintinggirls. the other apes turned now upon me, and asi stood facing them a sullen roar from the audience answered the wild cheers from thecages. from the tail of my eye i saw a score of guards rushing across the glistening sandtoward me. then a figure broke from one of the cages behind them. it was the youth whosepersonality so fascinated me.

he paused a moment before the cages, withupraised sword. "come, men of the outer world!" he shouted."let us make our deaths worth while, and at the back of this unknown warrior turn thisday's tribute to issus into an orgy of revenge that will echo through the ages and causeblack skins to blanch at each repetition of the rites of issus. come! the racks withoutyour cages are filled with blades." without waiting to note the outcome of hisplea, he turned and bounded toward me. from every cage that harboured red men a thunderousshout went up in answer to his exhortation. the inner guards went down beneath howlingmobs, and the cages vomited forth their inmates hot with the lust to kill.

the racks that stood without were strippedof the swords with which the prisoners were to have been armed to enter their allottedcombats, and a swarm of determined warriors sped to our support. the great apes, towering in all their fifteenfeet of height, had gone down before my sword while the charging guards were still somedistance away. close behind them pursued the youth. at my back were the young girls, andas it was in their service that i fought, i remained standing there to meet my inevitabledeath, but with the determination to give such an account of myself as would long beremembered in the land of the first born. i noted the marvellous speed of the youngred man as he raced after the guards. never

had i seen such speed in any martian. hisleaps and bounds were little short of those which my earthly muscles had produced to createsuch awe and respect on the part of the green martians into whose hands i had fallen onthat long-gone day that had seen my first advent upon mars. the guards had not reached me when he fellupon them from the rear, and as they turned, thinking from the fierceness of his onslaughtthat a dozen were attacking them, i rushed them from my side. in the rapid fighting that followed i hadlittle chance to note aught else than the movements of my immediate adversaries, butnow and again i caught a fleeting glimpse

of a purring sword and a lightly springingfigure of sinewy steel that filled my heart with a strange yearning and a mighty but unaccountablepride. on the handsome face of the boy a grim smileplayed, and ever and anon he threw a taunting challenge to the foes that faced him. in thisand other ways his manner of fighting was similar to that which had always marked meon the field of combat. perhaps it was this vague likeness which mademe love the boy, while the awful havoc that his sword played amongst the blacks filledmy soul with a tremendous respect for him. for my part, i was fighting as i had foughta thousand times before-now sidestepping a wicked thrust, now stepping quickly in tolet my sword's point drink deep in a foeman's

heart, before it buried itself in the throatof his companion. we were having a merry time of it, we two,when a great body of issus' own guards were ordered into the arena. on they came withfierce cries, while from every side the armed prisoners swarmed upon them. for half an hour it was as though all hellhad broken loose. in the walled confines of the arena we fought in an inextricable mass-howling,cursing, blood-streaked demons; and ever the sword of the young red man flashed besideme. slowly and by repeated commands i had succeededin drawing the prisoners into a rough formation about us, so that at last we fought formedinto a rude circle in the centre of which

were the doomed maids. many had gone down on both sides, but by farthe greater havoc had been wrought in the ranks of the guards of issus. i could seemessengers running swiftly through the audience, and as they passed the nobles there unsheathedtheir swords and sprang into the arena. they were going to annihilate us by force of numbers-thatwas quite evidently their plan. i caught a glimpse of issus leaning far forwardupon her throne, her hideous countenance distorted in a horrid grimace of hate and rage, in whichi thought i could distinguish an expression of fear. it was that face that inspired meto the thing that followed. quickly i ordered fifty of the prisoners todrop back behind us and form a new circle

about the maidens. "remain and protect them until i return,"i commanded. then, turning to those who formed the outerline, i cried, "down with issus! follow me to the throne; we will reap vengeance wherevengeance is deserved." the youth at my side was the first to takeup the cry of "down with issus!" and then at my back and from all sides rose a hoarseshout, "to the throne! to the throne!" as one man we moved, an irresistible fightingmass, over the bodies of dead and dying foes toward the gorgeous throne of the martiandeity. hordes of the doughtiest fighting-men of the first born poured from the audienceto check our progress. we mowed them down

before us as they had been paper men. "to the seats, some of you!" i cried as weapproached the arena's barrier wall. "ten of us can take the throne," for i had seenthat issus' guards had for the most part entered the fray within the arena. on both sides of me the prisoners broke toleft and right for the seats, vaulting the low wall with dripping swords lusting forthe crowded victims who awaited them. in another moment the entire amphitheatrewas filled with the shrieks of the dying and the wounded, mingled with the clash of armsand triumphant shouts of the victors. side by side the young red man and i, withperhaps a dozen others, fought our way to

the foot of the throne. the remaining guards,reinforced by the high dignitaries and nobles of the first born, closed in between us andissus, who sat leaning far forward upon her carved sorapus bench, now screaming high-pitchedcommands to her following, now hurling blighting curses upon those who sought to desecrateher godhood. the frightened slaves about her trembled inwide-eyed expectancy, knowing not whether to pray for our victory or our defeat. severalamong them, proud daughters no doubt of some of barsoom's noblest warriors, snatched swordsfrom the hands of the fallen and fell upon the guards of issus, but they were soon cutdown; glorious martyrs to a hopeless cause. the men with us fought well, but never sincetars tarkas and i fought out that long, hot

afternoon shoulder to shoulder against thehordes of warhoon in the dead sea bottom before thark, had i seen two men fight to such goodpurpose and with such unconquerable ferocity as the young red man and i fought that daybefore the throne of issus, goddess of death, and of life eternal. man by man those who stood between us andthe carven sorapus wood bench went down before our blades. others swarmed in to fill thebreach, but inch by inch, foot by foot we won nearer and nearer to our goal. presently a cry went up from a section ofthe stands near by-"rise slaves!" "rise slaves!" it rose and fell until it swelledto a mighty volume of sound that swept in

great billows around the entire amphitheatre. for an instant, as though by common assent,we ceased our fighting to look for the meaning of this new note nor did it take but a momentto translate its significance. in all parts of the structure the female slaves were fallingupon their masters with whatever weapon came first to hand. a dagger snatched from theharness of her mistress was waved aloft by some fair slave, its shimmering blade crimsonwith the lifeblood of its owner; swords plucked from the bodies of the dead about them; heavyornaments which could be turned into bludgeons-such were the implements with which these fairwomen wreaked the long-pent vengeance which at best could but partially recompense themfor the unspeakable cruelties and indignities

which their black masters had heaped uponthem. and those who could find no other weapons used their strong fingers and their gleamingteeth. it was at once a sight to make one shudderand to cheer; but in a brief second we were engaged once more in our own battle with onlythe unquenchable battle cry of the women to remind us that they still fought-"rise slaves!""rise slaves!" only a single thin rank of men now stood betweenus and issus. her face was blue with terror. foam flecked her lips. she seemed too paralysedwith fear to move. only the youth and i fought now. the others all had fallen, and i waslike to have gone down too from a nasty long-sword cut had not a hand reached out from behindmy adversary and clutched his elbow as the

blade was falling upon me. the youth sprangto my side and ran his sword through the fellow before he could recover to deliver anotherblow. i should have died even then but for thatas my sword was tight wedged in the breastbone of a dator of the first born. as the fellowwent down i snatched his sword from him and over his prostrate body looked into the eyesof the one whose quick hand had saved me from the first cut of his sword-it was phaidor,daughter of matai shang. "fly, my prince!" she cried. "it is uselessto fight them longer. all within the arena are dead. all who charged the throne are deadbut you and this youth. only among the seats are there left any of your fighting-men, andthey and the slave women are fast being cut

down. listen! you can scarce hear the battle-cryof the women now for nearly all are dead. for each one of you there are ten thousandblacks within the domains of the first born. break for the open and the sea of korus. withyour mighty sword arm you may yet win to the golden cliffs and the templed gardens of theholy therns. there tell your story to matai shang, my father. he will keep you, and togetheryou may find a way to rescue me. fly while there is yet a bare chance for flight." but that was not my mission, nor could i seemuch to be preferred in the cruel hospitality of the holy therns to that of the first born. "down with issus!" i shouted, and togetherthe boy and i took up the fight once more.

two blacks went down with our swords in theirvitals, and we stood face to face with issus. as my sword went up to end her horrid careerher paralysis left her, and with an ear-piercing shriek she turned to flee. directly behindher a black gulf suddenly yawned in the flooring of the dais. she sprang for the opening withthe youth and i close at her heels. her scattered guard rallied at her cry and rushed for us.a blow fell upon the head of the youth. he staggered and would have fallen, but i caughthim in my left arm and turned to face an infuriated mob of religious fanatics crazed by the affronti had put upon their goddess, just as issus disappeared into the black depths beneathme. chapter xiidoomed to die

for an instant i stood there before they fellupon me, but the first rush of them forced me back a step or two. my foot felt for thefloor but found only empty space. i had backed into the pit which had received issus. fora second i toppled there upon the brink. then i too with the boy still tightly clutchedin my arms pitched backward into the black abyss. we struck a polished chute, the opening aboveus closed as magically as it had opened, and we shot down, unharmed, into a dimly lightedapartment far below the arena. as i rose to my feet the first thing i sawwas the malignant countenance of issus glaring at me through the heavy bars of a grated doorat one side of the chamber.

"rash mortal!" she shrilled. "you shall paythe awful penalty for your blasphemy in this secret cell. here you shall lie alone andin darkness with the carcass of your accomplice festering in its rottenness by your side,until crazed by loneliness and hunger you feed upon the crawling maggots that were oncea man." that was all. in another instant she was gone,and the dim light which had filled the cell faded into cimmerian blackness. "pleasant old lady," said a voice at my side. "who speaks?" i asked. "'tis i, your companion, who has had the honourthis day of fighting shoulder to shoulder

with the greatest warrior that ever wore metalupon barsoom." "i thank god that you are not dead," i said."i feared for that nasty cut upon your head." "it but stunned me," he replied. "a mere scratch." "maybe it were as well had it been final,"i said. "we seem to be in a pretty fix here with a splendid chance of dying of starvationand thirst." "where are we?" "beneath the arena," i replied. "we tumbleddown the shaft that swallowed issus as she was almost at our mercy." he laughed a low laugh of pleasure and relief,and then reaching out through the inky blackness

he sought my shoulder and pulled my ear closeto his mouth. "nothing could be better," he whispered. "thereare secrets within the secrets of issus of which issus herself does not dream." "i laboured with the other slaves a year sincein the remodelling of these subterranean galleries, and at that time we found below these an ancientsystem of corridors and chambers that had been sealed up for ages. the blacks in chargeof the work explored them, taking several of us along to do whatever work there mightbe occasion for. i know the entire system perfectly. "there are miles of corridors honeycombingthe ground beneath the gardens and the temple

itself, and there is one passage that leadsdown to and connects with the lower regions that open on the water shaft that gives passageto omean. "if we can reach the submarine undetectedwe may yet make the sea in which there are many islands where the blacks never go. therewe may live for a time, and who knows what may transpire to aid us to escape?" he had spoken all in a low whisper, evidentlyfearing spying ears even here, and so i answered him in the same subdued tone. "lead back to shador, my friend," i whispered."xodar, the black, is there. we were to attempt our escape together, so i cannot desert him."

"no," said the boy, "one cannot desert a friend.it were better to be recaptured ourselves than that." then he commenced groping his way about thefloor of the dark chamber searching for the trap that led to the corridors beneath. atlength he summoned me by a low, "s-s-t," and i crept toward the sound of his voice to findhim kneeling on the brink of an opening in the floor. "there is a drop here of about ten feet,"he whispered. "hang by your hands and you will alight safely on a level floor of softsand." very quietly i lowered myself from the inkycell above into the inky pit below. so utterly

dark was it that we could not see our handsat an inch from our noses. never, i think, have i known such complete absence of lightas existed in the pits of issus. for an instant i hung in mid air. there isa strange sensation connected with an experience of that nature which is quite difficult todescribe. when the feet tread empty air and the distance below is shrouded in darknessthere is a feeling akin to panic at the thought of releasing the hold and taking the plungeinto unknown depths. although the boy had told me that it was butten feet to the floor below i experienced the same thrills as though i were hangingabove a bottomless pit. then i released my hold and dropped-four feet to a soft cushionof sand.

the boy followed me. "raise me to your shoulders," he said, "andi will replace the trap." this done he took me by the hand, leadingme very slowly, with much feeling about and frequent halts to assure himself that he didnot stray into wrong passageways. presently we commenced the descent of a verysteep incline. "it will not be long," he said, "before weshall have light. at the lower levels we meet the same stratum of phosphorescent rock thatilluminates omean." never shall i forget that trip through thepits of issus. while it was devoid of important incidents yet it was filled for me with astrange charm of excitement and adventure

which i think must have hinged principallyon the unguessable antiquity of these long-forgotten corridors. the things which the stygian darknesshid from my objective eye could not have been half so wonderful as the pictures which myimagination wrought as it conjured to life again the ancient peoples of this dying worldand set them once more to the labours, the intrigues, the mysteries and the crueltieswhich they had practised to make their last stand against the swarming hordes of the deadsea bottoms that had driven them step by step to the uttermost pinnacle of the world wherethey were now intrenched behind an impenetrable barrier of superstition. in addition to the green men there had beenthree principal races upon barsoom. the blacks,

the whites, and a race of yellow men. as thewaters of the planet dried and the seas receded, all other resources dwindled until life uponthe planet became a constant battle for survival. the various races had made war upon one anotherfor ages, and the three higher types had easily bested the green savages of the water placesof the world, but now that the receding seas necessitated constant abandonment of theirfortified cities and forced upon them a more or less nomadic life in which they becameseparated into smaller communities they soon fell prey to the fierce hordes of green men.the result was a partial amalgamation of the blacks, whites and yellows, the result ofwhich is shown in the present splendid race of red men.

i had always supposed that all traces of theoriginal races had disappeared from the face of mars, yet within the past four days i hadfound both whites and blacks in great multitudes. could it be possible that in some far-offcorner of the planet there still existed a remnant of the ancient race of yellow men? my reveries were broken in upon by a low exclamationfrom the boy. "at last, the lighted way," he cried, andlooking up i beheld at a long distance before us a dim radiance. as we advanced the light increased until presentlywe emerged into well-lighted passageways. from then on our progress was rapid untilwe came suddenly to the end of a corridor

that let directly upon the ledge surroundingthe pool of the submarine. the craft lay at her moorings with uncoveredhatch. raising his finger to his lips and then tapping his sword in a significant manner,the youth crept noiselessly toward the vessel. i was close at his heels. silently we dropped to the deserted deck,and on hands and knees crawled toward the hatchway. a stealthy glance below revealedno guard in sight, and so with the quickness and the soundlessness of cats we dropped togetherinto the main cabin of the submarine. even here was no sign of life. quickly we coveredand secured the hatch. then the boy stepped into the pilot house,touched a button and the boat sank amid swirling

waters toward the bottom of the shaft. eventhen there was no scurrying of feet as we had expected, and while the boy remained todirect the boat i slid from cabin to cabin in futile search for some member of the crew.the craft was entirely deserted. such good fortune seemed almost unbelievable. when i returned to the pilot house to reportthe good news to my companion he handed me a paper. "this may explain the absence of the crew,"he said. it was a radio-aerial message to the commanderof the submarine: "the slaves have risen. come with what menyou have and those that you can gather on

the way. too late to get aid from omean. theyare massacring all within the amphitheatre. issus is threatened. haste. "zithad" "zithad is dator of the guards of issus,"explained the youth. "we gave them a bad scare-one that they will not soon forget." "let us hope that it is but the beginningof the end of issus," i said. "only our first ancestor knows," he replied. we reached the submarine pool in omean withoutincident. here we debated the wisdom of sinking the craft before leaving her, but finallydecided that it would add nothing to our chances

for escape. there were plenty of blacks onomean to thwart us were we apprehended; however many more might come from the temples andgardens of issus would not in any way decrease our chances. we were now in a quandary as to how to passthe guards who patrolled the island about the pool. at last i hit upon a plan. "what is the name or title of the officerin charge of these guards?" i asked the boy. "a fellow named torith was on duty when weentered this morning," he replied. "good. and what is the name of the commanderof the submarine?" "yersted."

i found a dispatch blank in the cabin andwrote the following order: "dator torith: return these two slaves atonce to shador. "yersted" "that will be the simpler way to return,"i said, smiling, as i handed the forged order to the boy. "come, we shall see now how wellit works." "but our swords!" he exclaimed. "what shallwe say to explain them?" "since we cannot explain them we shall haveto leave them behind us," i replied. "is it not the extreme of rashness to thusput ourselves again, unarmed, in the power of the first born?"

"it is the only way," i answered. "you maytrust me to find a way out of the prison of shador, and i think, once out, that we shallfind no great difficulty in arming ourselves once more in a country which abounds so plentifullyin armed men." "as you say," he replied with a smile andshrug. "i could not follow another leader who inspired greater confidence than you.come, let us put your ruse to the test." boldly we emerged from the hatchway of thecraft, leaving our swords behind us, and strode to the main exit which led to the sentry'spost and the office of the dator of the guard. at sight of us the members of the guard sprangforward in surprise, and with levelled rifles halted us. i held out the message to one ofthem. he took it and seeing to whom it was

addressed turned and handed it to torith whowas emerging from his office to learn the cause of the commotion. the black read the order, and for a momenteyed us with evident suspicion. "where is dator yersted?" he asked, and myheart sank within me, as i cursed myself for a stupid fool in not having sunk the submarineto make good the lie that i must tell. "his orders were to return immediately tothe temple landing," i replied. torith took a half step toward the entranceto the pool as though to corroborate my story. for that instant everything hung in the balance,for had he done so and found the empty submarine still lying at her wharf the whole weak fabricof my concoction would have tumbled about

our heads; but evidently he decided the messagemust be genuine, nor indeed was there any good reason to doubt it since it would scarcehave seemed credible to him that two slaves would voluntarily have given themselves intocustody in any such manner as this. it was the very boldness of the plan which renderedit successful. "were you connected with the rising of theslaves?" asked torith. "we have just had meagre reports of some such event." "all were involved," i replied. "but it amountedto little. the guards quickly overcame and killed the majority of us." he seemed satisfied with this reply. "takethem to shador," he ordered, turning to one

of his subordinates. we entered a small boatlying beside the island, and in a few minutes were disembarking upon shador. here we werereturned to our respective cells; i with xodar, the boy by himself; and behind locked doorswe were again prisoners of the first born. chapter xiiia break for liberty xodar listened in incredulous astonishmentto my narration of the events which had transpired within the arena at the rites of issus. hecould scarce conceive, even though he had already professed his doubt as to the deityof issus, that one could threaten her with sword in hand and not be blasted into a thousandfragments by the mere fury of her divine wrath. "it is the final proof," he said, at last."no more is needed to completely shatter the

last remnant of my superstitious belief inthe divinity of issus. she is only a wicked old woman, wielding a mighty power for evilthrough machinations that have kept her own people and all barsoom in religious ignorancefor ages." "she is still all-powerful here, however,"i replied. "so it behooves us to leave at the first moment that appears at all propitious." "i hope that you may find a propitious moment,"he said, with a laugh, "for it is certain that in all my life i have never seen onein which a prisoner of the first born might escape." "to-night will do as well as any," i replied.

"it will soon be night," said xodar. "howmay i aid in the adventure?" "can you swim?" i asked him. "no slimy silian that haunts the depths ofkorus is more at home in water than is xodar," he replied. "good. the red one in all probability cannotswim," i said, "since there is scarce enough water in all their domains to float the tiniestcraft. one of us therefore will have to support him through the sea to the craft we select.i had hoped that we might make the entire distance below the surface, but i fear thatthe red youth could not thus perform the trip. even the bravest of the brave among them areterrorized at the mere thought of deep water,

for it has been ages since their forebearssaw a lake, a river or a sea." "the red one is to accompany us?" asked xodar. "yes." "it is well. three swords are better thantwo. especially when the third is as mighty as this fellow's. i have seen him battle inthe arena at the rites of issus many times. never, until i saw you fight, had i seen onewho seemed unconquerable even in the face of great odds. one might think you two masterand pupil, or father and son. come to recall his face there is a resemblance between you.it is very marked when you fight-there is the same grim smile, the same maddening contemptfor your adversary apparent in every movement

of your bodies and in every changing expressionof your faces." "be that as it may, xodar, he is a great fighter.i think that we will make a trio difficult to overcome, and if my friend tars tarkas,jeddak of thark, were but one of us we could fight our way from one end of barsoom to theother even though the whole world were pitted against us." "it will be," said xodar, "when they findfrom whence you have come. that is but one of the superstitions which issus has foistedupon a credulous humanity. she works through the holy therns who are as ignorant of herreal self as are the barsoomians of the outer world. her decrees are borne to the thernswritten in blood upon a strange parchment.

the poor deluded fools think that they arereceiving the revelations of a goddess through some supernatural agency, since they findthese messages upon their guarded altars to which none could have access without detection.i myself have borne these messages for issus for many years. there is a long tunnel fromthe temple of issus to the principal temple of matai shang. it was dug ages ago by theslaves of the first born in such utter secrecy that no thern ever guessed its existence. "the therns for their part have temples dottedabout the entire civilized world. here priests whom the people never see communicate thedoctrine of the mysterious river iss, the valley dor, and the lost sea of korus to persuadethe poor deluded creatures to take the voluntary

pilgrimage that swells the wealth of the holytherns and adds to the numbers of their slaves. "thus the therns are used as the principalmeans for collecting the wealth and labour that the first born wrest from them as theyneed it. occasionally the first born themselves make raids upon the outer world. it is thenthat they capture many females of the royal houses of the red men, and take the newestin battleships and the trained artisans who build them, that they may copy what they cannotcreate. "we are a non-productive race, priding ourselvesupon our non-productiveness. it is criminal for a first born to labour or invent. thatis the work of the lower orders, who live merely that the first born may enjoy longlives of luxury and idleness. with us fighting

is all that counts; were it not for that therewould be more of the first born than all the creatures of barsoom could support, for inso far as i know none of us ever dies a natural death. our females would live for ever butfor the fact that we tire of them and remove them to make place for others. issus aloneof all is protected against death. she has lived for countless ages." "would not the other barsoomians live forever but for the doctrine of the voluntary pilgrimage which drags them to the bosom ofiss at or before their thousandth year?" i asked him. "i feel now that there is no doubt but thatthey are precisely the same species of creature

as the first born, and i hope that i shalllive to fight for them in atonement of the sins i have committed against them throughthe ignorance born of generations of false teaching." as he ceased speaking a weird call rang outacross the waters of omean. i had heard it at the same time the previous evening andknew that it marked the ending of the day, when the men of omean spread their silks uponthe deck of battleship and cruiser and fall into the dreamless sleep of mars. our guard entered to inspect us for the lasttime before the new day broke upon the world above. his duty was soon performed and theheavy door of our prison closed behind him-we

were alone for the night. i gave him time to return to his quarters,as xodar said he probably would do, then i sprang to the grated window and surveyed thenearby waters. at a little distance from the island, a quarter of a mile perhaps, lay amonster battleship, while between her and the shore were a number of smaller cruisersand one-man scouts. upon the battleship alone was there a watch. i could see him plainlyin the upper works of the ship, and as i watched i saw him spread his sleeping silks upon thetiny platform in which he was stationed. soon he threw himself at full length upon his couch.the discipline on omean was lax indeed. but it is not to be wondered at since no enemyguessed the existence upon barsoom of such

a fleet, or even of the first born, or thesea of omean. why indeed should they maintain a watch? presently i dropped to the floor again andtalked with xodar, describing the various craft i had seen. "there is one there," he said, "my personalproperty, built to carry five men, that is the swiftest of the swift. if we can boardher we can at least make a memorable run for liberty," and then he went on to describeto me the equipment of the boat; her engines, and all that went to make her the flier thatshe was. in his explanation i recognized a trick ofgearing that kantos kan had taught me that

time we sailed under false names in the navyof zodanga beneath sab than, the prince. and i knew then that the first born had stolenit from the ships of helium, for only they are thus geared. and i knew too that xodarspoke the truth when he lauded the speed of his little craft, for nothing that cleavesthe thin air of mars can approximate the speed of the ships of helium. we decided to wait for an hour at least untilall the stragglers had sought their silks. in the meantime i was to fetch the red youthto our cell so that we would be in readiness to make our rash break for freedom together. i sprang to the top of our partition walland pulled myself up on to it. there i found

a flat surface about a foot in width and alongthis i walked until i came to the cell in which i saw the boy sitting upon his bench.he had been leaning back against the wall looking up at the glowing dome above omean,and when he spied me balancing upon the partition wall above him his eyes opened wide in astonishment.then a wide grin of appreciative understanding spread across his countenance. as i stooped to drop to the floor beside himhe motioned me to wait, and coming close below me whispered: "catch my hand; i can almostleap to the top of that wall myself. i have tried it many times, and each day i come alittle closer. some day i should have been able to make it."

i lay upon my belly across the wall and reachedmy hand far down toward him. with a little run from the centre of the cell he sprangup until i grasped his outstretched hand, and thus i pulled him to the wall's top besideme. "you are the first jumper i ever saw amongthe red men of barsoom," i said. he smiled. "it is not strange. i will tellyou why when we have more time." together we returned to the cell in whichxodar sat; descending to talk with him until the hour had passed. there we made our plans for the immediatefuture, binding ourselves by a solemn oath to fight to the death for one another againstwhatsoever enemies should confront us, for

we knew that even should we succeed in escapingthe first born we might still have a whole world against us-the power of religioussuperstition is mighty. it was agreed that i should navigate the craftafter we had reached her, and that if we made the outer world in safety we should attemptto reach helium without a stop. "why helium?" asked the red youth. "i am a prince of helium," i replied. he gave me a peculiar look, but said nothingfurther on the subject. i wondered at the time what the significance of his expressionmight be, but in the press of other matters it soon left my mind, nor did i have occasionto think of it again until later.

"come," i said at length, "now is as gooda time as any. let us go." another moment found me at the top of thepartition wall again with the boy beside me. unbuckling my harness i snapped it togetherwith a single long strap which i lowered to the waiting xodar below. he grasped the endand was soon sitting beside us. "how simple," he laughed. "the balance should be even simpler," i replied.then i raised myself to the top of the outer wall of the prison, just so that i could peerover and locate the passing sentry. for a matter of five minutes i waited and then hecame in sight on his slow and snail-like beat about the structure.

i watched him until he had made the turn atthe end of the building which carried him out of sight of the side of the prison thatwas to witness our dash for freedom. the moment his form disappeared i grasped xodar and drewhim to the top of the wall. placing one end of my harness strap in his hands i loweredhim quickly to the ground below. then the boy grasped the strap and slid down to xodar'sside. in accordance with our arrangement they didnot wait for me, but walked slowly toward the water, a matter of a hundred yards, directlypast the guard-house filled with sleeping soldiers. they had taken scarce a dozen steps when itoo dropped to the ground and followed them

leisurely toward the shore. as i passed theguard-house the thought of all the good blades lying there gave me pause, for if ever menwere to have need of swords it was my companions and i on the perilous trip upon which we wereabout to embark. i glanced toward xodar and the youth and sawthat they had slipped over the edge of the dock into the water. in accordance with ourplan they were to remain there clinging to the metal rings which studded the concrete-likesubstance of the dock at the water's level, with only their mouths and noses above thesurface of the sea, until i should join them. the lure of the swords within the guard-housewas strong upon me, and i hesitated a moment, half inclined to risk the attempt to takethe few we needed. that he who hesitates is

lost proved itself a true aphorism in thisinstance, for another moment saw me creeping stealthily toward the door of the guard-house. gently i pressed it open a crack; enough todiscover a dozen blacks stretched upon their silks in profound slumber. at the far sideof the room a rack held the swords and firearms of the men. warily i pushed the door a triflewider to admit my body. a hinge gave out a resentful groan. one of the men stirred, andmy heart stood still. i cursed myself for a fool to have thus jeopardized our chancesfor escape; but there was nothing for it now but to see the adventure through. with a spring as swift and as noiseless asa tiger's i lit beside the guardsman who had

moved. my hands hovered about his throat awaitingthe moment that his eyes should open. for what seemed an eternity to my overwroughtnerves i remained poised thus. then the fellow turned again upon his side and resumed theeven respiration of deep slumber. carefully i picked my way between and overthe soldiers until i had gained the rack at the far side of the room. here i turned tosurvey the sleeping men. all were quiet. their regular breathing rose and fell in a soothingrhythm that seemed to me the sweetest music i ever had heard. gingerly i drew a long-sword from the rack.the scraping of the scabbard against its holder as i withdrew it sounded like the filing ofcast iron with a great rasp, and i looked

to see the room immediately filled with alarmedand attacking guardsmen. but none stirred. the second sword i withdrew noiselessly, butthe third clanked in its scabbard with a frightful din. i knew that it must awaken some of themen at least, and was on the point of forestalling their attack by a rapid charge for the doorway,when again, to my intense surprise, not a black moved. either they were wondrous heavysleepers or else the noises that i made were really much less than they seemed to me. i was about to leave the rack when my attentionwas attracted by the revolvers. i knew that i could not carry more than one away withme, for i was already too heavily laden to move quietly with any degree of safety orspeed. as i took one of them from its pin

my eye fell for the first time on an openwindow beside the rack. ah, here was a splendid means of escape, for it let directly uponthe dock, not twenty feet from the water's edge. and as i congratulated myself, i heard thedoor opposite me open, and there looking me full in the face stood the officer of theguard. he evidently took in the situation at a glance and appreciated the gravity ofit as quickly as i, for our revolvers came up simultaneously and the sounds of the tworeports were as one as we touched the buttons on the grips that exploded the cartridges. i felt the wind of his bullet as it whizzedpast my ear, and at the same instant i saw

him crumple to the ground. where i hit himi do not know, nor if i killed him, for scarce had he started to collapse when i was throughthe window at my rear. in another second the waters of omean closed above my head, andthe three of us were making for the little flier a hundred yards away. xodar was burdened with the boy, and i withthe three long-swords. the revolver i had dropped, so that while we were both strongswimmers it seemed to me that we moved at a snail's pace through the water. i was swimmingentirely beneath the surface, but xodar was compelled to rise often to let the youth breathe,so it was a wonder that we were not discovered long before we were.

in fact we reached the boat's side and wereall aboard before the watch upon the battleship, aroused by the shots, detected us. then analarm gun bellowed from a ship's bow, its deep boom reverberating in deafening tonesbeneath the rocky dome of omean. instantly the sleeping thousands were awake.the decks of a thousand monster craft teemed with fighting-men, for an alarm on omean wasa thing of rare occurrence. we cast away before the sound of the firstgun had died, and another second saw us rising swiftly from the surface of the sea. i layat full length along the deck with the levers and buttons of control before me. xodar andthe boy were stretched directly behind me, prone also that we might offer as little resistanceto the air as possible.

"rise high," whispered xodar. "they dare notfire their heavy guns toward the dome-the fragments of the shells would drop back amongtheir own craft. if we are high enough our keel plates will protect us from rifle fire." i did as he bade. below us we could see themen leaping into the water by hundreds, and striking out for the small cruisers and one-manfliers that lay moored about the big ships. the larger craft were getting under way, followingus rapidly, but not rising from the water. "a little to your right," cried xodar, forthere are no points of compass upon omean where every direction is due north. the pandemonium that had broken out belowus was deafening. rifles cracked, officers

shouted orders, men yelled directions to oneanother from the water and from the decks of myriad boats, while through all ran thepurr of countless propellers cutting water and air. i had not dared pull my speed lever to thehighest for fear of overrunning the mouth of the shaft that passed from omean's dometo the world above, but even so we were hitting a clip that i doubt has ever been equalledon the windless sea. the smaller fliers were commencing to risetoward us when xodar shouted: "the shaft! the shaft! dead ahead," and i saw the opening,black and yawning in the glowing dome of this underworld.

a ten-man cruiser was rising directly in frontto cut off our escape. it was the only vessel that stood in our way, but at the rate thatit was traveling it would come between us and the shaft in plenty of time to thwartour plans. it was rising at an angle of about forty-fivedegrees dead ahead of us, with the evident intention of combing us with grappling hooksfrom above as it skimmed low over our deck. there was but one forlorn hope for us, andi took it. it was useless to try to pass over her, for that would have allowed her to forceus against the rocky dome above, and we were already too near that as it was. to have attemptedto dive below her would have put us entirely at her mercy, and precisely where she wantedus. on either side a hundred other menacing

craft were hastening toward us. the alternativewas filled with risk-in fact it was all risk, with but a slender chance of success. as we neared the cruiser i rose as thoughto pass above her, so that she would do just what she did do, rise at a steeper angle toforce me still higher. then as we were almost upon her i yelled to my companions to holdtight, and throwing the little vessel into her highest speed i deflected her bows atthe same instant until we were running horizontally and at terrific velocity straight for thecruiser's keel. her commander may have seen my intentionsthen, but it was too late. almost at the instant of impact i turned my bows upward, and thenwith a shattering jolt we were in collision.

what i had hoped for happened. the cruiser,already tilted at a perilous angle, was carried completely over backward by the impact ofmy smaller vessel. her crew fell twisting and screaming through the air to the waterfar below, while the cruiser, her propellers still madly churning, dived swiftly headforemostafter them to the bottom of the sea of omean. the collision crushed our steel bows, andnotwithstanding every effort on our part came near to hurling us from the deck. as it waswe landed in a wildly clutching heap at the very extremity of the flier, where xodar andi succeeded in grasping the hand-rail, but the boy would have plunged overboard had inot fortunately grasped his ankle as he was already partially over.

unguided, our vessel careened wildly in itsmad flight, rising ever nearer the rocks above. it took but an instant, however, for me toregain the levers, and with the roof barely fifty feet above i turned her nose once moreinto the horizontal plane and headed her again for the black mouth of the shaft. the collision had retarded our progress andnow a hundred swift scouts were close upon us. xodar had told me that ascending the shaftby virtue of our repulsive rays alone would give our enemies their best chance to overtakeus, since our propellers would be idle and in rising we would be outclassed by many ofour pursuers. the swifter craft are seldom equipped with large buoyancy tanks, sincethe added bulk of them tends to reduce a vessel's

speed. as many boats were now quite close to us itwas inevitable that we would be quickly overhauled in the shaft, and captured or killed in shortorder. to me there always seems a way to gain theopposite side of an obstacle. if one cannot pass over it, or below it, or around it, whythen there is but a single alternative left, and that is to pass through it. i could notget around the fact that many of these other boats could rise faster than ours by the factof their greater buoyancy, but i was none the less determined to reach the outer worldfar in advance of them or die a death of my own choosing in event of failure.

"reverse?" screamed xodar, behind me. "forthe love of your first ancestor, reverse. we are at the shaft." "hold tight!" i screamed in reply. "graspthe boy and hold tight-we are going straight up the shaft." the words were scarce out of my mouth as weswept beneath the pitch-black opening. i threw the bow hard up, dragged the speed lever toits last notch, and clutching a stanchion with one hand and the steering-wheel withthe other hung on like grim death and consigned my soul to its author. i heard a little exclamation of surprise fromxodar, followed by a grim laugh. the boy laughed

too and said something which i could not catchfor the whistling of the wind of our awful i looked above my head, hoping to catch thegleam of stars by which i could direct our course and hold the hurtling thing that boreus true to the centre of the shaft. to have touched the side at the speed we were makingwould doubtless have resulted in instant death for us all. but not a star showed above-onlyutter and impenetrable darkness. then i glanced below me, and there i saw arapidly diminishing circle of light-the mouth of the opening above the phosphorescentradiance of omean. by this i steered, endeavouring to keep the circle of light below me everperfect. at best it was but a slender cord that held us from destruction, and i thinkthat i steered that night more by intuition

and blind faith than by skill or reason. we were not long in the shaft, and possiblythe very fact of our enormous speed saved us, for evidently we started in the rightdirection and so quickly were we out again that we had no time to alter our course. omeanlies perhaps two miles below the surface crust of mars. our speed must have approximatedtwo hundred miles an hour, for martian fliers are swift, so that at most we were in theshaft not over forty seconds. we must have been out of it for some secondsbefore i realised that we had accomplished the impossible. black darkness enshroudedall about us. there were neither moons nor stars. never before had i seen such a thingupon mars, and for the moment i was nonplussed.

then the explanation came to me. it was summerat the south pole. the ice cap was melting and those meteoric phenomena, clouds, unknownupon the greater part of barsoom, were shutting out the light of heaven from this portionof the planet. fortunate indeed it was for us, nor did ittake me long to grasp the opportunity for escape which this happy condition offeredus. keeping the boat's nose at a stiff angle i raced her for the impenetrable curtain whichnature had hung above this dying world to shut us out from the sight of our pursuingenemies. we plunged through the cold damp fog withoutdiminishing our speed, and in a moment emerged into the glorious light of the two moons andthe million stars. i dropped into a horizontal

course and headed due north. our enemies werea good half-hour behind us with no conception of our direction. we had performed the miraculousand come through a thousand dangers unscathed-we had escaped from the land of the first born.no other prisoners in all the ages of barsoom had done this thing, and now as i looked backupon it it did not seem to have been so difficult after all. i said as much to xodar, over my shoulder. "it is very wonderful, nevertheless," he replied."no one else could have accomplished it but john carter." at the sound of that name the boy jumped tohis feet.

"john carter!" he cried. "john carter! why,man, john carter, prince of helium, has been dead for years. i am his son." chapter xivthe eyes in the dark my son! i could not believe my ears. slowlyi rose and faced the handsome youth. now that i looked at him closely i commenced to seewhy his face and personality had attracted me so strongly. there was much of his mother'sincomparable beauty in his clear-cut features, but it was strongly masculine beauty, andhis grey eyes and the expression of them were mine. the boy stood facing me, half hope and halfuncertainty in his look.

"tell me of your mother," i said. "tell meall you can of the years that i have been robbed by a relentless fate of her dear companionship." with a cry of pleasure he sprang toward meand threw his arms about my neck, and for a brief moment as i held my boy close to methe tears welled to my eyes and i was like to have choked after the manner of some maudlinfool-but i do not regret it, nor am i ashamed. a long life has taught me that a man may seemweak where women and children are concerned and yet be anything but a weakling in thesterner avenues of life. "your stature, your manner, the terrible ferocityof your swordsmanship," said the boy, "are as my mother has described them to me a thousandtimes-but even with such evidence i could

scarce credit the truth of what seemed soimprobable to me, however much i desired it to be true. do you know what thing it wasthat convinced me more than all the others?" "what, my boy?" i asked. "your first words to me-they were of mymother. none else but the man who loved her as she has told me my father did would havethought first of her." "for long years, my son, i can scarce recalla moment that the radiant vision of your mother's face has not been ever before me. tell meof her." "those who have known her longest say thatshe has not changed, unless it be to grow more beautiful-were that possible. only,when she thinks i am not about to see her,

her face grows very sad, and, oh, so wistful.she thinks ever of you, my father, and all helium mourns with her and for her. her grandfather'speople love her. they loved you also, and fairly worship your memory as the saviourof barsoom. "each year that brings its anniversary ofthe day that saw you racing across a near dead world to unlock the secret of that awfulportal behind which lay the mighty power of life for countless millions a great festivalis held in your honour; but there are tears mingled with the thanksgiving-tears of realregret that the author of the happiness is not with them to share the joy of living hedied to give them. upon all barsoom there is no greater name than john carter."

"and by what name has your mother called you,my boy?" i asked. "the people of helium asked that i be namedwith my father's name, but my mother said no, that you and she had chosen a name forme together, and that your wish must be honoured before all others, so the name that she calledme is the one that you desired, a combination of hers and yours-carthoris." xodar had been at the wheel as i talked withmy son, and now he called me. "she is dropping badly by the head, john carter,"he said. "so long as we were rising at a stiff angle it was not noticeable, but now thati am trying to keep a horizontal course it is different. the wound in her bow has openedone of her forward ray tanks."

it was true, and after i had examined thedamage i found it a much graver matter than i had anticipated. not only was the forcedangle at which we were compelled to maintain the bow in order to keep a horizontal coursegreatly impeding our speed, but at the rate that we were losing our repulsive rays fromthe forward tanks it was but a question of an hour or more when we would be floatingstern up and helpless. we had slightly reduced our speed with thedawning of a sense of security, but now i took the helm once more and pulled the noblelittle engine wide open, so that again we raced north at terrific velocity. in the meantimecarthoris and xodar with tools in hand were puttering with the great rent in the bow ina hopeless endeavour to stem the tide of escaping

rays. it was still dark when we passed the northernboundary of the ice cap and the area of clouds. below us lay a typical martian landscape.rolling ochre sea bottom of long dead seas, low surrounding hills, with here and therethe grim and silent cities of the dead past; great piles of mighty architecture tenantedonly by age-old memories of a once powerful race, and by the great white apes of barsoom. it was becoming more and more difficult tomaintain our little vessel in a horizontal position. lower and lower sagged the bow untilit became necessary to stop the engine to prevent our flight terminating in a swiftdive to the ground.

as the sun rose and the light of a new dayswept away the darkness of night our craft gave a final spasmodic plunge, turned halfupon her side, and then with deck tilting at a sickening angle swung in a slow circle,her bow dropping further below her stern each moment. to hand-rail and stanchion we clung, and finallyas we saw the end approaching, snapped the buckles of our harness to the rings at hersides. in another moment the deck reared at an angle of ninety degrees and we hung inour leather with feet dangling a thousand yards above the ground. i was swinging quite close to the controllingdevices, so i reached out to the lever that

directed the rays of repulsion. the boat respondedto the touch, and very gently we began to sink toward the ground. it was fully half an hour before we touched.directly north of us rose a rather lofty range of hills, toward which we decided to makeour way, since they afforded greater opportunity for concealment from the pursuers we wereconfident might stumble in this direction. an hour later found us in the time-roundedgullies of the hills, amid the beautiful flowering plants that abound in the arid waste placesof barsoom. there we found numbers of huge milk-giving shrubs-that strange plant whichserves in great part as food and drink for the wild hordes of green men. it was indeeda boon to us, for we all were nearly famished.

beneath a cluster of these which affordedperfect concealment from wandering air scouts, we lay down to sleep-for me the first timein many hours. this was the beginning of my fifth day upon barsoom since i had found myselfsuddenly translated from my cottage on the hudson to dor, the valley beautiful, the valleyhideous. in all this time i had slept but twice, though once the clock around withinthe storehouse of the therns. it was mid-afternoon when i was awakened bysome one seizing my hand and covering it with kisses. with a start i opened my eyes to lookinto the beautiful face of thuvia. "my prince! my prince!" she cried, in an ecstasyof happiness. "'tis you whom i had mourned as dead. my ancestors have been good to me;i have not lived in vain."

the girl's voice awoke xodar and carthoris.the boy gazed upon the woman in surprise, but she did not seem to realize the presenceof another than i. she would have thrown her arms about my neck and smothered me with caresses,had i not gently but firmly disengaged myself. "come, come, thuvia," i said soothingly; "youare overwrought by the danger and hardships you have passed through. you forget yourself,as you forget that i am the husband of the princess of helium." "i forget nothing, my prince," she replied."you have spoken no word of love to me, nor do i expect that you ever shall; but nothingcan prevent me loving you. i would not take the place of dejah thoris. my greatest ambitionis to serve you, my prince, for ever as your

slave. no greater boon could i ask, no greaterhonour could i crave, no greater happiness could i hope." as i have before said, i am no ladies' man,and i must admit that i seldom have felt so uncomfortable and embarrassed as i did thatmoment. while i was quite familiar with the martian custom which allows female slavesto martian men, whose high and chivalrous honour is always ample protection for everywoman in his household, yet i had never myself chosen other than men as my body servants. "and i ever return to helium, thuvia," i said,"you shall go with me, but as an honoured equal, and not as a slave. there you shallfind plenty of handsome young nobles who would

face issus herself to win a smile from you,and we shall have you married in short order to one of the best of them. forget your foolishgratitude-begotten infatuation, which your innocence has mistaken for love. i like yourfriendship better, thuvia." "you are my master; it shall be as you say,"she replied simply, but there was a note of sadness in her voice. "how came you here, thuvia?" i asked. "andwhere is tars tarkas?" "the great thark, i fear, is dead," she repliedsadly. "he was a mighty fighter, but a multitude of green warriors of another horde than hisoverwhelmed him. the last that i saw of him they were bearing him, wounded and bleeding,to the deserted city from which they had sallied

to attack us." "you are not sure that he is dead, then?"i asked. "and where is this city of which you speak?" "it is just beyond this range of hills. thevessel in which you so nobly resigned a place that we might find escape defied our smallskill in navigation, with the result that we drifted aimlessly about for two days. thenwe decided to abandon the craft and attempt to make our way on foot to the nearest waterway.yesterday we crossed these hills and came upon the dead city beyond. we had passed withinits streets and were walking toward the central portion, when at an intersecting avenue wesaw a body of green warriors approaching.

"tars tarkas was in advance, and they sawhim, but me they did not see. the thark sprang back to my side and forced me into an adjacentdoorway, where he told me to remain in hiding until i could escape, making my way to heliumif possible. "'there will be no escape for me now,' hesaid, 'for these be the warhoon of the south. when they have seen my metal it will be tothe death.' "then he stepped out to meet them. ah, myprince, such fighting! for an hour they swarmed about him, until the warhoon dead formed ahill where he had stood; but at last they overwhelmed him, those behind pushing theforemost upon him until there remained no space to swing his great sword. then he stumbledand went down and they rolled over him like

a huge wave. when they carried him away towardthe heart of the city, he was dead, i think, for i did not see him move." "before we go farther we must be sure," isaid. "i cannot leave tars tarkas alive among the warhoons. to-night i shall enter the cityand make sure." "and i shall go with you," spoke carthoris. "and i," said xodar. "neither one of you shall go," i replied."it is work that requires stealth and strategy, not force. one man alone may succeed wheremore would invite disaster. i shall go alone. if i need your help, i will return for you."

they did not like it, but both were good soldiers,and it had been agreed that i should command. the sun already was low, so that i did nothave long to wait before the sudden darkness of barsoom engulfed us. with a parting word of instructions to carthorisand xodar, in case i should not return, i bade them all farewell and set forth at arapid dogtrot toward the city. as i emerged from the hills the nearer moonwas winging its wild flight through the heavens, its bright beams turning to burnished silverthe barbaric splendour of the ancient metropolis. the city had been built upon the gently rollingfoothills that in the dim and distant past had sloped down to meet the sea. it was dueto this fact that i had no difficulty in entering

the streets unobserved. the green hordes that use these deserted citiesseldom occupy more than a few squares about the central plaza, and as they come and goalways across the dead sea bottoms that the cities face, it is usually a matter of comparativeease to enter from the hillside. once within the streets, i kept close in thedense shadows of the walls. at intersections i halted a moment to make sure that none wasin sight before i sprang quickly to the shadows of the opposite side. thus i made the journeyto the vicinity of the plaza without detection. as i approached the purlieus of the inhabitedportion of the city i was made aware of the proximity of the warriors' quarters by thesquealing and grunting of the thoats and zitidars

corralled within the hollow courtyards formedby the buildings surrounding each square. these old familiar sounds that are so distinctiveof green martian life sent a thrill of pleasure surging through me. it was as one might feelon coming home after a long absence. it was amid such sounds that i had first courtedthe incomparable dejah thoris in the age-old marble halls of the dead city of korad. as i stood in the shadows at the far cornerof the first square which housed members of the horde, i saw warriors emerging from severalof the buildings. they all went in the same direction, toward a great building which stoodin the centre of the plaza. my knowledge of green martian customs convinced me that thiswas either the quarters of the principal chieftain

or contained the audience chamber whereinthe jeddak met his jeds and lesser chieftains. in either event, it was evident that somethingwas afoot which might have a bearing on the recent capture of tars tarkas. to reach this building, which i now felt itimperative that i do, i must needs traverse the entire length of one square and crossa broad avenue and a portion of the plaza. from the noises of the animals which camefrom every courtyard about me, i knew that there were many people in the surroundingbuildings-probably several communities of the great horde of the warhoons of the south. to pass undetected among all these peoplewas in itself a difficult task, but if i was

to find and rescue the great thark i mustexpect even more formidable obstacles before success could be mine. i had entered the cityfrom the south and now stood on the corner of the avenue through which i had passed andthe first intersecting avenue south of the plaza. the buildings upon the south side ofthis square did not appear to be inhabited, as i could see no lights, and so i decidedto gain the inner courtyard through one of nothing occurred to interrupt my progressthrough the deserted pile i chose, and i came into the inner court close to the rear wallsof the east buildings without detection. within the court a great herd of thoats and zitidarsmoved restlessly about, cropping the moss-like ochre vegetation which overgrows practicallythe entire uncultivated area of mars. what

breeze there was came from the north-west,so there was little danger that the beasts would scent me. had they, their squealingand grunting would have grown to such a volume as to attract the attention of the warriorswithin the buildings. close to the east wall, beneath the overhangingbalconies of the second floors, i crept in dense shadows the full length of the courtyard,until i came to the buildings at the north end. these were lighted for about three floorsup, but above the third floor all was dark. to pass through the lighted rooms was, ofcourse, out of the question, since they swarmed with green martian men and women. my onlypath lay through the upper floors, and to gain these it was necessary to scale the faceof the wall. the reaching of the balcony of

the second floor was a matter of easy accomplishment-anagile leap gave my hands a grasp upon the stone hand-rail above. in another instanti had drawn myself up on the balcony. here through the open windows i saw the greenfolk squatting upon their sleeping silks and furs, grunting an occasional monosyllable,which, in connection with their wondrous telepathic powers, is ample for their conversationalrequirements. as i drew closer to listen to their words a warrior entered the room fromthe hall beyond. "come, tan gama," he cried, "we are to takethe thark before kab kadja. bring another with you." the warrior addressed arose and, beckoningto a fellow squatting near, the three turned

and left the apartment. if i could but follow them the chance mightcome to free tars tarkas at once. at least i would learn the location of his prison. at my right was a door leading from the balconyinto the building. it was at the end of an unlighted hall, and on the impulse of themoment i stepped within. the hall was broad and led straight through to the front of thebuilding. on either side were the doorways of the various apartments which lined it. i had no more than entered the corridor thani saw the three warriors at the other end-those whom i had just seen leaving the apartment.then a turn to the right took them from my

sight again. quickly i hastened along thehallway in pursuit. my gait was reckless, but i felt that fate had been kind indeedto throw such an opportunity within my grasp, and i could not afford to allow it to eludeme now. at the far end of the corridor i found a spiralstairway leading to the floors above and below. the three had evidently left the floor bythis avenue. that they had gone down and not up i was sure from my knowledge of these ancientbuildings and the methods of the warhoons. i myself had once been a prisoner of the cruelhordes of northern warhoon, and the memory of the underground dungeon in which i laystill is vivid in my memory. and so i felt certain that tars tarkas lay in the dark pitsbeneath some nearby building, and that in

that direction i should find the trail ofthe three warriors leading to his cell. nor was i wrong. at the bottom of the runway,or rather at the landing on the floor below, i saw that the shaft descended into the pitsbeneath, and as i glanced down the flickering light of a torch revealed the presence ofthe three i was trailing. down they went toward the pits beneath thestructure, and at a safe distance behind i followed the flicker of their torch. the wayled through a maze of tortuous corridors, unlighted save for the wavering light theycarried. we had gone perhaps a hundred yards when the party turned abruptly through a doorwayat their right. i hastened on as rapidly as i dared through the darkness until i reachedthe point at which they had left the corridor.

there, through an open door, i saw them removingthe chains that secured the great thark, tars tarkas, to the wall. hustling him roughly between them, they cameimmediately from the chamber, so quickly in fact that i was near to being apprehended.but i managed to run along the corridor in the direction i had been going in my pursuitof them far enough to be without the radius of their meagre light as they emerged fromthe cell. i had naturally assumed that they would returnwith tars tarkas the same way that they had come, which would have carried them away fromme; but, to my chagrin, they wheeled directly in my direction as they left the room. therewas nothing for me but to hasten on in advance

and keep out of the light of their torch.i dared not attempt to halt in the darkness of any of the many intersecting corridors,for i knew nothing of the direction they might take. chance was as likely as not to carryme into the very corridor they might choose to enter. the sensation of moving rapidly through thesedark passages was far from reassuring. i knew not at what moment i might plunge headlonginto some terrible pit or meet with some of the ghoulish creatures that inhabit theselower worlds beneath the dead cities of dying mars. there filtered to me a faint radiancefrom the torch of the men behind-just enough to permit me to trace the direction of thewinding passageways directly before me, and

so keep me from dashing myself against thewalls at the turns. presently i came to a place where five corridorsdiverged from a common point. i had hastened along one of them for some little distancewhen suddenly the faint light of the torch disappeared from behind me. i paused to listenfor sounds of the party behind me, but the silence was as utter as the silence of thetomb. quickly i realized that the warriors had takenone of the other corridors with their prisoner, and so i hastened back with a feeling of considerablerelief to take up a much safer and more desirable position behind them. it was much slower workreturning, however, than it had been coming, for now the darkness was as utter as the silence.

it was necessary to feel every foot of theway back with my hand against the side wall, that i might not pass the spot where the fiveroads radiated. after what seemed an eternity to me, i reached the place and recognizedit by groping across the entrances to the several corridors until i had counted fiveof them. in not one, however, showed the faintest sign of light. i listened intently, but the naked feet ofthe green men sent back no guiding echoes, though presently i thought i detected theclank of side arms in the far distance of the middle corridor. up this, then, i hastened,searching for the light, and stopping to listen occasionally for a repetition of the sound;but soon i was forced to admit that i must

have been following a blind lead, as onlydarkness and silence rewarded my efforts. again i retraced my steps toward the partingof the ways, when to my surprise i came upon the entrance to three diverging corridors,any one of which i might have traversed in my hasty dash after the false clue i had beenfollowing. here was a pretty fix, indeed! once back at the point where the five passagewaysmet, i might wait with some assurance for the return of the warriors with tars tarkas.my knowledge of their customs lent colour to the belief that he was but being escortedto the audience chamber to have sentence passed upon him. i had not the slightest doubt butthat they would preserve so doughty a warrior as the great thark for the rare sport he wouldfurnish at the great games.

but unless i could find my way back to thatpoint the chances were most excellent that i would wander for days through the awfulblackness, until, overcome by thirst and hunger, i lay down to die, or-what was that! a faint shuffling sounded behind me, and asi cast a hasty glance over my shoulder my blood froze in my veins for the thing i sawthere. it was not so much fear of the present danger as it was the horrifying memories itrecalled of that time i near went mad over the corpse of the man i had killed in thedungeons of the warhoons, when blazing eyes came out of the dark recesses and draggedthe thing that had been a man from my clutches and i heard it scraping over the stone ofmy prison as they bore it away to their terrible

feast. and now in these black pits of the other warhoonsi looked into those same fiery eyes, blazing at me through the terrible darkness, revealingno sign of the beast behind them. i think that the most fearsome attribute of theseawesome creatures is their silence and the fact that one never sees them-nothing butthose baleful eyes glaring unblinkingly out of the dark void behind. grasping my long-sword tightly in my hand,i backed slowly along the corridor away from the thing that watched me, but ever as i retreatedthe eyes advanced, nor was there any sound, not even the sound of breathing, except theoccasional shuffling sound as of the dragging

of a dead limb, that had first attracted myattention. on and on i went, but i could not escape mysinister pursuer. suddenly i heard the shuffling noise at my right, and, looking, saw anotherpair of eyes, evidently approaching from an intersecting corridor. as i started to renewmy slow retreat i heard the noise repeated behind me, and then before i could turn iheard it again at my left. the things were all about me. they had mesurrounded at the intersection of two corridors. retreat was cut off in all directions, unlessi chose to charge one of the beasts. even then i had no doubt but that the others wouldhurl themselves upon my back. i could not even guess the size or nature of the weirdcreatures. that they were of goodly proportions

i guessed from the fact that the eyes wereon a level with my own. why is it that darkness so magnifies our dangers?by day i would have charged the great banth itself, had i thought it necessary, but hemmedin by the darkness of these silent pits i hesitated before a pair of eyes. soon i saw that the matter shortly would betaken entirely from my hands, for the eyes at my right were moving slowly nearer me,as were those at my left and those behind and before me. gradually they were closingin upon me-but still that awful stealthy silence! for what seemed hours the eyes approachedgradually closer and closer, until i felt

that i should go mad for the horror of it.i had been constantly turning this way and that to prevent any sudden rush from behind,until i was fairly worn out. at length i could endure it no longer, and, taking a fresh graspupon my long-sword, i turned suddenly and charged down upon one of my tormentors. as i was almost upon it the thing retreatedbefore me, but a sound from behind caused me to wheel in time to see three pairs ofeyes rushing at me from the rear. with a cry of rage i turned to meet the cowardly beasts,but as i advanced they retreated as had their fellow. another glance over my shoulder discoveredthe first eyes sneaking on me again. and again i charged, only to see the eyes retreat beforeme and hear the muffled rush of the three

at my back. thus we continued, the eyes always a littlecloser in the end than they had been before, until i thought that i should go mad withthe terrible strain of the ordeal. that they were waiting to spring upon my back seemedevident, and that it would not be long before they succeeded was equally apparent, for icould not endure the wear of this repeated charge and countercharge indefinitely. infact, i could feel myself weakening from the mental and physical strain i had been undergoing. at that moment i caught another glimpse fromthe corner of my eye of the single pair of eyes at my back making a sudden rush uponme. i turned to meet the charge; there was

a quick rush of the three from the other direction;but i determined to pursue the single pair until i should have at least settled my accountwith one of the beasts and thus be relieved of the strain of meeting attacks from bothdirections. there was no sound in the corridor, only thatof my own breathing, yet i knew that those three uncanny creatures were almost upon me.the eyes in front were not retreating so rapidly now; i was almost within sword reach of them.i raised my sword arm to deal the blow that should free me, and then i felt a heavy bodyupon my back. a cold, moist, slimy something fastened itself upon my throat. i stumbledand went down. chapter xvflight and pursuit

i could not have been unconscious more thana few seconds, and yet i know that i was unconscious, for the next thing i realized was that a growingradiance was illuminating the corridor about me and the eyes were gone. i was unharmed except for a slight bruiseupon my forehead where it had struck the stone flagging as i fell. i sprang to my feet to ascertain the causeof the light. it came from a torch in the hand of one of a party of four green warriors,who were coming rapidly down the corridor toward me. they had not yet seen me, and soi lost no time in slipping into the first intersecting corridor that i could find. thistime, however, i did not advance so far away

from the main corridor as on the other occasionthat had resulted in my losing tars tarkas and his guards. the party came rapidly toward the openingof the passageway in which i crouched against the wall. as they passed by i breathed a sighof relief. i had not been discovered, and, best of all, the party was the same that ihad followed into the pits. it consisted of tars tarkas and his three guards. i fell in behind them and soon we were atthe cell in which the great thark had been chained. two of the warriors remained withoutwhile the man with the keys entered with the thark to fasten his irons upon him once more.the two outside started to stroll slowly in

the direction of the spiral runway which ledto the floors above, and in a moment were lost to view beyond a turn in the corridor. the torch had been stuck in a socket besidethe door, so that its rays illuminated both the corridor and the cell at the same time.as i saw the two warriors disappear i approached the entrance to the cell, with a well-definedplan already formulated. while i disliked the thought of carrying outthe thing that i had decided upon, there seemed no alternative if tars tarkas and i were togo back together to my little camp in the hills. keeping near the wall, i came quite closeto the door to tars tarkas' cell, and there

i stood with my longsword above my head, graspedwith both hands, that i might bring it down in one quick cut upon the skull of the jaileras he emerged. i dislike to dwell upon what followed afteri heard the footsteps of the man as he approached the doorway. it is enough that within anotherminute or two, tars tarkas, wearing the metal of a warhoon chief, was hurrying down thecorridor toward the spiral runway, bearing the warhoon's torch to light his way. a dozenpaces behind him followed john carter, prince of helium. the two companions of the man who lay nowbeside the door of the cell that had been tars tarkas' had just started to ascend therunway as the thark came in view.

"why so long, tan gama?" cried one of themen. "i had trouble with a lock," replied tarstarkas. "and now i find that i have left my short-sword in the thark's cell. go you on,i'll return and fetch it." "as you will, tan gama," replied he who hadbefore spoken. "we shall see you above directly." "yes," replied tars tarkas, and turned asthough to retrace his steps to the cell, but he only waited until the two had disappearedat the floor above. then i joined him, we extinguished the torch, and together we crepttoward the spiral incline that led to the upper floors of the building. at the first floor we found that the hallwayran but halfway through, necessitating the

crossing of a rear room full of green folk,ere we could reach the inner courtyard, so there was but one thing left for us to do,and that was to gain the second floor and the hallway through which i had traversedthe length of the building. cautiously we ascended. we could hear thesounds of conversation coming from the room above, but the hall still was unlighted, norwas any one in sight as we gained the top of the runway. together we threaded the longhall and reached the balcony overlooking the courtyard, without being detected. at our right was the window letting into theroom in which i had seen tan gama and the other warriors as they started to tars tarkas'cell earlier in the evening. his companions

had returned here, and we now overheard aportion of their conversation. "what can be detaining tan gama?" asked one. "he certainly could not be all this time fetchinghis shortsword from the thark's cell," spoke another. "his short-sword?" asked a woman. "what meanyou?" "tan gama left his short-sword in the thark'scell," explained the first speaker, "and left us at the runway, to return and get it." "tan gama wore no short-sword this night,"said the woman. "it was broken in to-day's battle with the thark, and tan gama gave itto me to repair. see, i have it here," and

as she spoke she drew tan gama's short-swordfrom beneath her sleeping silks and furs. the warriors sprang to their feet. "there is something amiss here," cried one. "'tis even what i myself thought when tangama left us at the runway," said another. "methought then that his voice sounded strangely." "come! let us hasten to the pits." we waited to hear no more. slinging my harnessinto a long single strap, i lowered tars tarkas to the courtyard beneath, and an instant laterdropped to his side. we had spoken scarcely a dozen words sincei had felled tan gama at the cell door and

seen in the torch's light the expression ofutter bewilderment upon the great thark's face. "by this time," he had said, "i should havelearned to wonder at nothing which john carter accomplishes." that was all. he did not needto tell me that he appreciated the friendship which had prompted me to risk my life to rescuehim, nor did he need to say that he was glad to see me. this fierce green warrior had been the firstto greet me that day, now twenty years gone, which had witnessed my first advent upon mars.he had met me with levelled spear and cruel hatred in his heart as he charged down uponme, bending low at the side of his mighty

thoat as i stood beside the incubator of hishorde upon the dead sea bottom beyond korad. and now among the inhabitants of two worldsi counted none a better friend than tars tarkas, jeddak of the tharks. as we reached the courtyard we stood in theshadows beneath the balcony for a moment to discuss our plans. "there be five now in the party, tars tarkas,"i said; "thuvia, xodar, carthoris, and ourselves. we shall need five thoats to bear us." "carthoris!" he cried. "your son?" "yes. i found him in the prison of shador,on the sea of omean, in the land of the first

born." "i know not any of these places, john carter.be they upon barsoom?" "upon and below, my friend; but wait untilwe shall have made good our escape, and you shall hear the strangest narrative that evera barsoomian of the outer world gave ear to. now we must steal our thoats and be well awayto the north before these fellows discover how we have tricked them." in safety we reached the great gates at thefar end of the courtyard, through which it was necessary to take our thoats to the avenuebeyond. it is no easy matter to handle five of these great, fierce beasts, which by natureare as wild and ferocious as their masters

and held in subjection by cruelty and bruteforce alone. as we approached them they sniffed our unfamiliarscent and with squeals of rage circled about us. their long, massive necks upreared raisedtheir great, gaping mouths high above our heads. they are fearsome appearing brutesat best, but when they are aroused they are fully as dangerous as they look. the thoatstands a good ten feet at the shoulder. his hide is sleek and hairless, and of a darkslate colour on back and sides, shading down his eight legs to a vivid yellow at the huge,padded, nailless feet; the belly is pure white. a broad, flat tail, larger at the tip thanat the root, completes the picture of this ferocious green martian mount-a fit warsteed for these warlike people.

as the thoats are guided by telepathic meansalone, there is no need for rein or bridle, and so our object now was to find two thatwould obey our unspoken commands. as they charged about us we succeeded in masteringthem sufficiently to prevent any concerted attack upon us, but the din of their squealingwas certain to bring investigating warriors into the courtyard were it to continue muchlonger. at length i was successful in reaching theside of one great brute, and ere he knew what i was about i was firmly seated astride hisglossy back. a moment later tars tarkas had caught and mounted another, and then betweenus we herded three or four more toward the great gates.

tars tarkas rode ahead and, leaning down tothe latch, threw the barriers open, while i held the loose thoats from breaking backto the herd. then together we rode through into the avenue with our stolen mounts and,without waiting to close the gates, hurried off toward the southern boundary of the city. thus far our escape had been little shortof marvellous, nor did our good fortune desert us, for we passed the outer purlieus of thedead city and came to our camp without hearing even the faintest sound of pursuit. here a low whistle, the prearranged signal,apprised the balance of our party that i was returning, and we were met by the three withevery manifestation of enthusiastic rejoicing.

but little time was wasted in narration ofour adventure. tars tarkas and carthoris exchanged the dignified and formal greetings commonupon barsoom, but i could tell intuitively that the thark loved my boy and that carthorisreciprocated his affection. xodar and the green jeddak were formally presentedto each other. then thuvia was lifted to the least fractious thoat, xodar and carthorismounted two others, and we set out at a rapid pace toward the east. at the far extremityof the city we circled toward the north, and under the glorious rays of the two moons wesped noiselessly across the dead sea bottom, away from the warhoons and the first born,but to what new dangers and adventures we knew not.

toward noon of the following day we haltedto rest our mounts and ourselves. the beasts we hobbled, that they might move slowly aboutcropping the ochre moss-like vegetation which constitutes both food and drink for them onthe march. thuvia volunteered to remain on watch while the balance of the party sleptfor an hour. it seemed to me that i had but closed my eyeswhen i felt her hand upon my shoulder and heard her soft voice warning me of a new danger. "arise, o prince," she whispered. "there bethat behind us which has the appearance of a great body of pursuers." the girl stood pointing in the direction fromwhence we had come, and as i arose and looked,

i, too, thought that i could detect a thindark line on the far horizon. i awoke the others. tars tarkas, whose giant stature toweredhigh above the rest of us, could see the farthest. "it is a great body of mounted men," he said,"and they are travelling at high speed." there was no time to be lost. we sprang toour hobbled thoats, freed them, and mounted. then we turned our faces once more towardthe north and took our flight again at the highest speed of our slowest beast. for the balance of the day and all the followingnight we raced across that ochre wilderness with the pursuers at our back ever gainingupon us. slowly but surely they were lessening the distance between us. just before darkthey had been close enough for us to plainly

distinguish that they were green martians,and all during the long night we distinctly heard the clanking of their accoutrementsbehind us. as the sun rose on the second day of our flightit disclosed the pursuing horde not a half-mile in our rear. as they saw us a fiendish shoutof triumph rose from their ranks. several miles in advance lay a range of hills-thefarther shore of the dead sea we had been crossing. could we but reach these hills ourchances of escape would be greatly enhanced, but thuvia's mount, although carrying thelightest burden, already was showing signs of exhaustion. i was riding beside her whensuddenly her animal staggered and lurched against mine. i saw that he was going down,but ere he fell i snatched the girl from his

back and swung her to a place upon my ownthoat, behind me, where she clung with her arms about me. this double burden soon proved too much formy already overtaxed beast, and thus our speed was terribly diminished, for the others wouldproceed no faster than the slowest of us could go. in that little party there was not onewho would desert another; yet we were of different countries, different colours, different races,different religions-and one of us was of a different world. we were quite close to the hills, but thewarhoons were gaining so rapidly that we had given up all hope of reaching them in time.thuvia and i were in the rear, for our beast

was lagging more and more. suddenly i feltthe girl's warm lips press a kiss upon my shoulder. "for thy sake, o my prince," shemurmured. then her arms slipped from about my waist and she was gone. i turned and saw that she had deliberatelyslipped to the ground in the very path of the cruel demons who pursued us, thinkingthat by lightening the burden of my mount it might thus be enabled to bear me to thesafety of the hills. poor child! she should have known john carter better than that. turning my thoat, i urged him after her, hopingto reach her side and bear her on again in our hopeless flight. carthoris must have glancedbehind him at about the same time and taken

in the situation, for by the time i had reachedthuvia's side he was there also, and, springing from his mount, he threw her upon its backand, turning the animal's head toward the hills, gave the beast a sharp crack acrossthe rump with the flat of his sword. then he attempted to do the same with mine. the brave boy's act of chivalrous self-sacrificefilled me with pride, nor did i care that it had wrested from us our last frail chancefor escape. the warhoons were now close upon us. tars tarkas and xodar had discovered ourabsence and were charging rapidly to our support. everything pointed toward a splendid endingof my second journey to barsoom. i hated to go out without having seen my divine princess,and held her in my arms once again; but if

it were not writ upon the book of fate thatsuch was to be, then would i take the most that was coming to me, and in these last fewmoments that were to be vouchsafed me before i passed over into that unguessed future icould at least give such an account of myself in my chosen vocation as would leave the warhoonsof the south food for discourse for the next twenty generations. as carthoris was not mounted, i slipped fromthe back of my own mount and took my place at his side to meet the charge of the howlingdevils bearing down upon us. a moment later tars tarkas and xodar ranged themselves oneither hand, turning their thoats loose that we might all be on an equal footing.

the warhoons were perhaps a hundred yardsfrom us when a loud explosion sounded from above and behind us, and almost at the sameinstant a shell burst in their advancing ranks. at once all was confusion. a hundred warriorstoppled to the ground. riderless thoats plunged hither and thither among the dead and dying.dismounted warriors were trampled underfoot in the stampede which followed. all semblanceof order had left the ranks of the green men, and as they looked far above our heads totrace the origin of this unexpected attack, disorder turned to retreat and retreat toa wild panic. in another moment they were racing as madly away from us as they had beforebeen charging down upon us. we turned to look in the direction from whencethe first report had come, and there we saw,

just clearing the tops of the nearer hills,a great battleship swinging majestically through the air. her bow gun spoke again even as welooked, and another shell burst among the fleeing warhoons. as she drew nearer i could not repress a wildcry of elation, for upon her bows i saw the device of helium. chapter xviunder arrest as carthoris, xodar, tars tarkas, and i stoodgazing at the magnificent vessel which meant so much to all of us, we saw a second andthen a third top the summit of the hills and glide gracefully after their sister.

now a score of one-man air scouts were launchingfrom the upper decks of the nearer vessel, and in a moment more were speeding in long,swift dives to the ground about us. in another instant we were surrounded by armedsailors, and an officer had stepped forward to address us, when his eyes fell upon carthoris.with an exclamation of surprised pleasure he sprang forward, and, placing his handsupon the boy's shoulder, called him by name. "carthoris, my prince," he cried, "kaor! kaor!hor vastus greets the son of dejah thoris, princess of helium, and of her husband, johncarter. where have you been, o my prince? all helium has been plunged in sorrow. terriblehave been the calamities that have befallen your great-grandsire's mighty nation sincethe fatal day that saw you leave our midst."

"grieve not, my good hor vastus," cried carthoris,"since i bring not back myself alone to cheer my mother's heart and the hearts of my belovedpeople, but also one whom all barsoom loved best-her greatest warrior and her saviour-johncarter, prince of helium!" hor vastus turned in the direction indicatedby carthoris, and as his eyes fell upon me he was like to have collapsed from sheer surprise. "john carter!" he exclaimed, and then a suddentroubled look came into his eyes. "my prince," he started, "where hast thou-" and thenhe stopped, but i knew the question that his lips dared not frame. the loyal fellow wouldnot be the one to force from mine a confession of the terrible truth that i had returnedfrom the bosom of the iss, the river of mystery,

back from the shore of the lost sea of korus,and the valley dor. "ah, my prince," he continued, as though nothought had interrupted his greeting, "that you are back is sufficient, and let hor vastus'sword have the high honour of being first at thy feet." with these words the noble fellowunbuckled his scabbard and flung his sword upon the ground before me. could you know the customs and the characterof red martians you would appreciate the depth of meaning that that simple act conveyed tome and to all about us who witnessed it. the thing was equivalent to saying, "my sword,my body, my life, my soul are yours to do with as you wish. until death and after deathi look to you alone for authority for my every

act. be you right or wrong, your word shallbe my only truth. whoso raises his hand against you must answer to my sword." it is the oath of fealty that men occasionallypay to a jeddak whose high character and chivalrous acts have inspired the enthusiastic love ofhis followers. never had i known this high tribute paid to a lesser mortal. there wasbut one response possible. i stooped and lifted the sword from the ground, raised the hiltto my lips, and then, stepping to hor vastus, i buckled the weapon upon him with my ownhands. "hor vastus," i said, placing my hand uponhis shoulder, "you know best the promptings of your own heart. that i shall need yoursword i have little doubt, but accept from

john carter upon his sacred honour the assurancethat he will never call upon you to draw this sword other than in the cause of truth, justice,and righteousness." "that i knew, my prince," he replied, "ereever i threw my beloved blade at thy feet." as we spoke other fliers came and went betweenthe ground and the battleship, and presently a larger boat was launched from above, onecapable of carrying a dozen persons, perhaps, and dropped lightly near us. as she touched,an officer sprang from her deck to the ground, and, advancing to hor vastus, saluted. "kantos kan desires that this party whom wehave rescued be brought immediately to the deck of the xavarian," he said.

as we approached the little craft i lookedabout for the members of my party and for the first time noticed that thuvia was notamong them. questioning elicited the fact that none had seen her since carthoris hadsent her thoat galloping madly toward the hills, in the hope of carrying her out ofharm's way. immediately hor vastus dispatched a dozenair scouts in as many directions to search for her. it could not be possible that shehad gone far since we had last seen her. we others stepped to the deck of the craft thathad been sent to fetch us, and a moment later were upon the xavarian. the first man to greet me was kantos kan himself.my old friend had won to the highest place

in the navy of helium, but he was still tome the same brave comrade who had shared with me the privations of a warhoon dungeon, theterrible atrocities of the great games, and later the dangers of our search for dejahthoris within the hostile city of zodanga. then i had been an unknown wanderer upon astrange planet, and he a simple padwar in the navy of helium. to-day he commanded allhelium's great terrors of the skies, and i was a prince of the house of tardos mors,jeddak of helium. he did not ask me where i had been. like horvastus, he too dreaded the truth and would not be the one to wrest a statement from me.that it must come some time he well knew, but until it came he seemed satisfied to butknow that i was with him once more. he greeted

carthoris and tars tarkas with the keenestdelight, but he asked neither where he had been. he could scarcely keep his hands offthe boy. "you do not know, john carter," he said tome, "how we of helium love this son of yours. it is as though all the great love we borehis noble father and his poor mother had been centred in him. when it became known thathe was lost, ten million people wept." "what mean you, kantos kan," i whispered,"by 'his poor mother'?" for the words had seemed to carry a sinister meaning which icould not fathom. he drew me to one side. "for a year," he said, "ever since carthorisdisappeared, dejah thoris has grieved and

mourned for her lost boy. the blow of yearsago, when you did not return from the atmosphere plant, was lessened to some extent by theduties of motherhood, for your son broke his white shell that very night." "that she suffered terribly then, all heliumknew, for did not all helium suffer with her the loss of her lord! but with the boy gonethere was nothing left, and after expedition upon expedition returned with the same hopelesstale of no clue as to his whereabouts, our beloved princess drooped lower and lower,until all who saw her felt that it could be but a matter of days ere she went to joinher loved ones within the precincts of the "as a last resort, mors kajak, her father,and tardos mors, her grandfather, took command

of two mighty expeditions, and a month agosailed away to explore every inch of ground in the northern hemisphere of barsoom. fortwo weeks no word has come back from them, but rumours were rife that they had met witha terrible disaster and that all were dead. "about this time zat arras renewed his importunitiesfor her hand in marriage. he has been for ever after her since you disappeared. shehated him and feared him, but with both her father and grandfather gone, zat arras wasvery powerful, for he is still jed of zodanga, to which position, you will remember, tardosmors appointed him after you had refused the honour. "he had a secret audience with her six daysago. what took place none knows, but the next

day dejah thoris had disappeared, and withher had gone a dozen of her household guard and body servants, including sola the greenwoman-tars tarkas' daughter, you recall. no word left they of their intentions, butit is always thus with those who go upon the voluntary pilgrimage from which none returns.we cannot think aught than that dejah thoris has sought the icy bosom of iss, and thather devoted servants have chosen to accompany her. "zat arras was at helium when she disappeared.he commands this fleet which has been searching for her since. no trace of her have we found,and i fear that it be a futile quest." while we talked, hor vastus' fliers were returningto the xavarian. not one, however, had discovered

a trace of thuvia. i was much depressed overthe news of dejah thoris' disappearance, and now there was added the further burden ofapprehension concerning the fate of this girl whom i believed to be the daughter of someproud barsoomian house, and it had been my intention to make every effort to return herto her people. i was about to ask kantos kan to prosecutea further search for her when a flier from the flagship of the fleet arrived at the xavarianwith an officer bearing a message to kantos kan from arras. my friend read the dispatch and then turnedto me. "zat arras commands me to bring our 'prisoners'before him. there is naught else to do. he

is supreme in helium, yet it would be farmore in keeping with chivalry and good taste were he to come hither and greet the saviourof barsoom with the honours that are his due." "you know full well, my friend," i said, smiling,"that zat arras has good cause to hate me. nothing would please him better than to humiliateme and then to kill me. now that he has so excellent an excuse, let us go and see ifhe has the courage to take advantage of it." summoning carthoris, tars tarkas, and xodar,we entered the small flier with kantos kan and zat arras' officer, and in a moment werestepping to the deck of zat arras' flagship. as we approached the jed of zodanga no signof greeting or recognition crossed his face; not even to carthoris did he vouchsafe a friendlyword. his attitude was cold, haughty, and

uncompromising. "kaor, zat arras," i said in greeting, buthe did not respond. "why were these prisoners not disarmed?" heasked to kantos kan. "they are not prisoners, zat arras," repliedthe officer. "two of them are of helium's noblest family.tars tarkas, jeddak of thark, is tardos mors' best beloved ally. the other is a friend andcompanion of the prince of helium-that is enough for me to know." "it is not enough for me, however," retortedzat arras. "more must i hear from those who have taken the pilgrimage than their names.where have you been, john carter?"

"i have just come from the valley dor andthe land of the first born, zat arras," i replied. "ah!" he exclaimed in evident pleasure, "youdo not deny it, then? you have returned from the bosom of iss?" "i have come back from a land of false hope,from a valley of torture and death; with my companions i have escaped from the hideousclutches of lying fiends. i have come back to the barsoom that i saved from a painlessdeath to again save her, but this time from death in its most frightful form." "cease, blasphemer!" cried zat arras. "hopenot to save thy cowardly carcass by inventing

horrid lies to-" but he got no further.one does not call john carter "coward" and "liar" thus lightly, and zat arras shouldhave known it. before a hand could be raised to stop me, i was at his side and one handgrasped his throat. "come i from heaven or hell, zat arras, youwill find me still the same john carter that i have always been; nor did ever man callme such names and live-without apologizing." and with that i commenced to bend him backacross my knee and tighten my grip upon his throat. "seize him!" cried zat arras, and a dozenofficers sprang forward to assist him. kantos kan came close and whispered to me.

"desist, i beg of you. it will but involveus all, for i cannot see these men lay hands upon you without aiding you. my officers andmen will join me and we shall have a mutiny then that may lead to the revolution. forthe sake of tardos mors and helium, desist." at his words i released zat arras and, turningmy back upon him, walked toward the ship's rail. "come, kantos kan," i said, "the prince ofhelium would return to the xavarian." none interfered. zat arras stood white andtrembling amidst his officers. some there were who looked upon him with scorn and drewtoward me, while one, a man long in the service and confidence of tardos mors, spoke to mein a low tone as i passed him.

"you may count my metal among your fighting-men,john carter," he said. i thanked him and passed on. in silence weembarked, and shortly after stepped once more upon the deck of the xavarian. fifteen minuteslater we received orders from the flagship to proceed toward helium. our journey thither was uneventful. carthorisand i were wrapped in the gloomiest of thoughts. kantos kan was sombre in contemplation ofthe further calamity that might fall upon helium should zat arras attempt to followthe age-old precedent that allotted a terrible death to fugitives from the valley dor. tarstarkas grieved for the loss of his daughter. xodar alone was care-free-a fugitive andoutlaw, he could be no worse off in helium

than elsewhere. "let us hope that we may at least go out withgood red blood upon our blades," he said. it was a simple wish and one most likely tobe gratified. among the officers of the xavarian i thoughti could discern division into factions ere we had reached helium. there were those whogathered about carthoris and myself whenever the opportunity presented, while about anequal number held aloof from us. they offered us only the most courteous treatment, butwere evidently bound by their superstitious belief in the doctrine of dor and iss andkorus. i could not blame them, for i knew how strong a hold a creed, however ridiculousit may be, may gain upon an otherwise intelligent

people. by returning from dor we had committed a sacrilege;by recounting our adventures there, and stating the facts as they existed we had outragedthe religion of their fathers. we were blasphemers-lying heretics. even those who still clung to usfrom personal love and loyalty i think did so in the face of the fact that at heart theyquestioned our veracity-it is very hard to accept a new religion for an old, no matterhow alluring the promises of the new may be; but to reject the old as a tissue of falsehoodswithout being offered anything in its stead is indeed a most difficult thing to ask ofany people. kantos kan would not talk of our experiencesamong the therns and the first born.

"it is enough," he said, "that i jeopardizemy life here and hereafter by countenancing you at all-do not ask me to add still furtherto my sins by listening to what i have always been taught was the rankest heresy." i knew that sooner or later the time mustcome when our friends and enemies would be forced to declare themselves openly. whenwe reached helium there must be an accounting, and if tardos mors had not returned i fearedthat the enmity of zat arras might weigh heavily against us, for he represented the governmentof helium. to take sides against him were equivalent to treason. the majority of thetroops would doubtless follow the lead of their officers, and i knew that many of thehighest and most powerful men of both land

and air forces would cleave to john carterin the face of god, man, or devil. on the other hand, the majority of the populaceunquestionably would demand that we pay the penalty of our sacrilege. the outlook seemeddark from whatever angle i viewed it, but my mind was so torn with anguish at the thoughtof dejah thoris that i realize now that i gave the terrible question of helium's plightbut scant attention at that time. there was always before me, day and night,a horrible nightmare of the frightful scenes through which i knew my princess might eventhen be passing-the horrid plant men-the ferocious white apes. at times i would covermy face with my hands in a vain effort to shut out the fearful thing from my mind.

it was in the forenoon that we arrived abovethe mile-high scarlet tower which marks greater helium from her twin city. as we descendedin great circles toward the navy docks a mighty multitude could be seen surging in the streetsbeneath. helium had been notified by radio-aerogram of our approach. from the deck of the xavarian we four, carthoris,tars tarkas, xodar, and i, were transferred to a lesser flier to be transported to quarterswithin the temple of reward. it is here that martian justice is meted to benefactor andmalefactor. here the hero is decorated. here the felon is condemned. we were taken intothe temple from the landing stage upon the roof, so that we did not pass among the peopleat all, as is customary. always before i had

seen prisoners of note, or returned wanderersof eminence, paraded from the gate of jeddaks to the temple of reward up the broad avenueof ancestors through dense crowds of jeering or cheering citizens. i knew that zat arras dared not trust thepeople near to us, for he feared that their love for carthoris and myself might breakinto a demonstration which would wipe out their superstitious horror of the crime wewere to be charged with. what his plans were i could only guess, but that they were sinisterwas evidenced by the fact that only his most trusted servitors accompanied us upon theflier to the temple of reward. we were lodged in a room upon the south sideof the temple, overlooking the avenue of ancestors

down which we could see the full length tothe gate of jeddaks, five miles away. the people in the temple plaza and in the streetsfor a distance of a full mile were standing as close packed as it was possible for themto get. they were very orderly-there were neither scoffs nor plaudits, and when theysaw us at the window above them there were many who buried their faces in their armsand wept. late in the afternoon a messenger arrivedfrom zat arras to inform us that we would be tried by an impartial body of nobles inthe great hall of the temple at the 1st zode* on the following day, or about 8:40 a.m. earthtime. *wherever captain carter has used martianmeasurements of time, distance, weight, and

the like i have translated them into as nearlytheir equivalent in earthly values as is possible. his notes contain many martian tables, anda great volume of scientific data, but since the international astronomic society is atpresent engaged in classifying, investigating, and verifying this vast fund of remarkableand valuable information, i have felt that it will add nothing to the interest of captaincarter's story or to the sum total of human knowledge to maintain a strict adherence tothe original manuscript in these matters, while it might readily confuse the readerand detract from the interest of the history. for those who may be interested, however,i will explain that the martian day is a trifle over 24 hours 37 minutes duration (earth time).this the martians divide into ten equal parts,

commencing the day at about 6 a.m. earth time.the zodes are divided into fifty shorter periods, each of which in turn is composed of 200 briefperiods of time, about equivalent to the earthly second. the barsoomian table of time as heregiven is but a part of the full table appearing in captain carter's notes. table 200 tals . . . . . . . . . 1 xat50 xats . . . . . . . . . 1 zode 10 zodes . . . . . . . . 1 revolution of marsupon its axis. chapter xviithe death sentence a few moments before the appointed time onthe following morning a strong guard of zat

arras' officers appeared at our quarters toconduct us to the great hall of the temple. in twos we entered the chamber and marcheddown the broad aisle of hope, as it is called, to the platform in the centre of the hall.before and behind us marched armed guards, while three solid ranks of zodangan soldierylined either side of the aisle from the entrance to the rostrum. as we reached the raised enclosure i saw ourjudges. as is the custom upon barsoom there were thirty-one, supposedly selected by lotfrom men of the noble class, for nobles were on trial. but to my amazement i saw no singlefriendly face among them. practically all were zodangans, and it was i to whom zodangaowed her defeat at the hands of the green

hordes and her subsequent vassalage to helium.there could be little justice here for john carter, or his son, or for the great tharkwho had commanded the savage tribesmen who overran zodanga's broad avenues, looting,burning, and murdering. about us the vast circular coliseum was packedto its full capacity. all classes were represented-all ages, and both sexes. as we entered the hallthe hum of subdued conversation ceased until as we halted upon the platform, or throneof righteousness, the silence of death enveloped the ten thousand spectators. the judges were seated in a great circle aboutthe periphery of the circular platform. we were assigned seats with our backs towarda small platform in the exact centre of the

larger one. this placed us facing the judgesand the audience. upon the smaller platform each would take his place while his case wasbeing heard. zat arras himself sat in the golden chairof the presiding magistrate. as we were seated and our guards retired to the foot of thestairway leading to the platform, he arose and called my name. "john carter," he cried, "take your placeupon the pedestal of truth to be judged impartially according to your acts and here to know thereward you have earned thereby." then turning to and fro toward the audience he narratedthe acts upon the value of which my reward was to be determined.

"know you, o judges and people of helium,"he said, "that john carter, one time prince of helium, has returned by his own statementfrom the valley dor and even from the temple of issus itself. that, in the presence ofmany men of helium he has blasphemed against the sacred iss, and against the valley dor,and the lost sea of korus, and the holy therns themselves, and even against issus, goddessof death, and of life eternal. and know you further by witness of thine own eyes thatsee him here now upon the pedestal of truth that he has indeed returned from these sacredprecincts in the face of our ancient customs, and in violation of the sanctity of our ancientreligion. "he who be once dead may not live again. hewho attempts it must be made dead for ever.

judges, your duty lies plain before you-herecan be no testimony in contravention of truth. what reward shall be meted to john carterin accordance with the acts he has committed?" "death!" shouted one of the judges. and then a man sprang to his feet in the audience,and raising his hand on high, cried: "justice! justice! justice!" it was kantos kan, andas all eyes turned toward him he leaped past the zodangan soldiery and sprang upon theplatform. "what manner of justice be this?" he criedto zat arras. "the defendant has not been heard, nor has he had an opportunity to callothers in his behalf. in the name of the people of helium i demand fair and impartial treatmentfor the prince of helium."

a great cry arose from the audience then:"justice! justice! justice!" and zat arras dared not deny them. "speak, then," he snarled, turning to me;"but blaspheme not against the things that are sacred upon barsoom." "men of helium," i cried, turning to the spectators,and speaking over the heads of my judges, "how can john carter expect justice from themen of zodanga? he cannot nor does he ask it. it is to the men of helium that he stateshis case; nor does he appeal for mercy to any. it is not in his own cause that he speaksnow-it is in thine. in the cause of your wives and daughters, and of wives and daughtersyet unborn. it is to save them from the unthinkably

atrocious indignities that i have seen heapedupon the fair women of barsoom in the place men call the temple of issus. it is to savethem from the sucking embrace of the plant men, from the fangs of the great white apesof dor, from the cruel lust of the holy therns, from all that the cold, dead iss carries themto from homes of love and life and happiness. "sits there no man here who does not knowthe history of john carter. how he came among you from another world and rose from a prisoneramong the green men, through torture and persecution, to a place high among the highest of barsoom.nor ever did you know john carter to lie in his own behalf, or to say aught that mightharm the people of barsoom, or to speak lightly of the strange religion which he respectedwithout understanding.

"there be no man here, or elsewhere upon barsoomto-day who does not owe his life directly to a single act of mine, in which i sacrificedmyself and the happiness of my princess that you might live. and so, men of helium, i thinkthat i have the right to demand that i be heard, that i be believed, and that you letme serve you and save you from the false hereafter of dor and issus as i saved you from the realdeath that other day. "it is to you of helium that i speak now.when i am done let the men of zodanga have their will with me. zat arras has taken mysword from me, so the men of zodanga no longer fear me. will you listen?" "speak, john carter, prince of helium," crieda great noble from the audience, and the multitude

echoed his permission, until the buildingrocked with the noise of their demonstration. zat arras knew better than to interfere withsuch a sentiment as was expressed that day in the temple of reward, and so for two hoursi talked with the people of helium. but when i had finished, zat arras arose and,turning to the judges, said in a low tone: "my nobles, you have heard john carter's plea;every opportunity has been given him to prove his innocence if he be not guilty; but insteadhe has but utilized the time in further blasphemy. what, gentlemen, is your verdict?" "death to the blasphemer!" cried one, springingto his feet, and in an instant the entire thirty-one judges were on their feet withupraised swords in token of the unanimity

of their verdict. if the people did not hear zat arras' charge,they certainly did hear the verdict of the tribunal. a sullen murmur rose louder andlouder about the packed coliseum, and then kantos kan, who had not left the platformsince first he had taken his place near me, raised his hand for silence. when he couldbe heard he spoke to the people in a cool and level voice. "you have heard the fate that the men of zodangawould mete to helium's noblest hero. it may be the duty of the men of helium to acceptthe verdict as final. let each man act according to his own heart. here is the answer of kantoskan, head of the navy of helium, to zat arras

and his judges," and with that he unbuckledhis scabbard and threw his sword at my feet. in an instant soldiers and citizens, officersand nobles were crowding past the soldiers of zodanga and forcing their way to the throneof righteousness. a hundred men surged up on the platform, and a hundred blades rattledand clanked to the floor at my feet. zat arras and his officers were furious, but they werehelpless. one by one i raised the swords to my lips and buckled them again upon theirowners. "come," said kantos kan, "we will escort johncarter and his party to his own palace," and they formed about us and started toward thestairs leading to the aisle of hope. "stop!" cried zat arras. "soldiers of helium,let no prisoner leave the throne of righteousness."

the soldiery from zodanga were the only organizedbody of heliumetic troops within the temple, so zat arras was confident that his orderswould be obeyed, but i do not think that he looked for the opposition that was raisedthe moment the soldiers advanced toward the from every quarter of the coliseum swordsflashed and men rushed threateningly upon the zodangans. some one raised a cry: "tardosmors is dead-a thousand years to john carter, jeddak of helium." as i heard that and sawthe ugly attitude of the men of helium toward the soldiers of zat arras, i knew that onlya miracle could avert a clash that would end in civil war. "hold!" i cried, leaping to the pedestal oftruth once more. "let no man move till i am

done. a single sword thrust here to-day mayplunge helium into a bitter and bloody war the results of which none can foresee. itwill turn brother against brother and father against son. no man's life is worth that sacrifice.rather would i submit to the biased judgment of zat arras than be the cause of civil strifein helium. "let us each give in a point to the other,and let this entire matter rest until tardos mors returns, or mors kajak, his son. if neitherbe back at the end of a year a second trial may be held-the thing has a precedent."and then turning to zat arras, i said in a low voice: "unless you be a bigger fool thani take you to be, you will grasp the chance i am offering you ere it is too late. oncethat multitude of swords below is drawn against

your soldiery no man upon barsoom-not eventardos mors himself-can avert the consequences. what say you? speak quickly." the jed of zodangan helium raised his voiceto the angry sea beneath us. "stay your hands, men of helium," he shouted,his voice trembling with rage. "the sentence of the court is passed, but the day of retributionhas not been set. i, zat arras, jed of zodanga, appreciating the royal connections of theprisoner and his past services to helium and barsoom, grant a respite of one year, or untilthe return of mors kajak, or tardos mors to helium. disperse quietly to your houses. go." no one moved. instead, they stood in tensesilence with their eyes fastened upon me,

as though waiting for a signal to attack. "clear the temple," commanded zat arras, ina low tone to one of his officers. fearing the result of an attempt to carryout this order by force, i stepped to the edge of the platform and, pointing towardthe main entrance, bid them pass out. as one man they turned at my request and filed, silentand threatening, past the soldiers of zat arras, jed of zodanga, who stood scowlingin impotent rage. kantos kan with the others who had sworn allegianceto me still stood upon the throne of righteousness with me. "come," said kantos kan to me, "we will escortyou to your palace, my prince. come, carthoris

and xodar. come, tars tarkas." and with ahaughty sneer for zat arras upon his handsome lips, he turned and strode to the throne stepsand up the aisle of hope. we four and the hundred loyal ones followed behind him, norwas a hand raised to stay us, though glowering eyes followed our triumphal march throughthe temple. in the avenues we found a press of people,but they opened a pathway for us, and many were the swords that were flung at my feetas i passed through the city of helium toward my palace upon the outskirts. here my oldslaves fell upon their knees and kissed my hands as i greeted them. they cared not wherei had been. it was enough that i had returned to them.

"ah, master," cried one, "if our divine princesswere but here this would be a day indeed." tears came to my eyes, so that i was forcedto turn away that i might hide my emotions. carthoris wept openly as the slaves pressedabout him with expressions of affection, and words of sorrow for our common loss. it wasnow that tars tarkas for the first time learned that his daughter, sola, had accompanied dejahthoris upon the last long pilgrimage. i had not had the heart to tell him what kantoskan had told me. with the stoicism of the green martian he showed no sign of suffering,yet i knew that his grief was as poignant as my own. in marked contrast to his kind,he had in well-developed form the kindlier human characteristics of love, friendship,and charity.

it was a sad and sombre party that sat atthe feast of welcome in the great dining hall of the palace of the prince of helium thatday. we were over a hundred strong, not counting the members of my little court, for dejahthoris and i had maintained a household consistent with our royal rank. the board, according to red martian custom,was triangular, for there were three in our family. carthoris and i presided in the centreof our sides of the table-midway of the third side dejah thoris' high-backed, carvenchair stood vacant except for her gorgeous wedding trappings and jewels which were drapedupon it. behind stood a slave as in the days when his mistress had occupied her place atthe board, ready to do her bidding. it was

the way upon barsoom, so i endured the anguishof it, though it wrung my heart to see that silent chair where should have been my laughingand vivacious princess keeping the great hall ringing with her merry gaiety. at my right sat kantos kan, while to the rightof dejah thoris' empty place tars tarkas sat in a huge chair before a raised section ofthe board which years ago i had had constructed to meet the requirements of his mighty bulk.the place of honour at a martian board is always at the hostess's right, and this placewas ever reserved by dejah thoris for the great thark upon the occasions that he wasin helium. hor vastus sat in the seat of honour uponcarthoris' side of the table. there was little

general conversation. it was a quiet and saddenedparty. the loss of dejah thoris was still fresh in the minds of all, and to this wasadded fear for the safety of tardos mors and mors kajak, as well as doubt and uncertaintyas to the fate of helium, should it prove true that she was permanently deprived ofher great jeddak. suddenly our attention was attracted by thesound of distant shouting, as of many people raising their voices at once, but whetherin anger or rejoicing, we could not tell. nearer and nearer came the tumult. a slaverushed into the dining hall to cry that a great concourse of people was swarming throughthe palace gates. a second burst upon the heels of the first alternately laughing andshrieking as a madman.

"dejah thoris is found!" he cried. "a messengerfrom dejah thoris!" i waited to hear no more. the great windowsof the dining hall overlooked the avenue leading to the main gates-they were upon the oppositeside of the hall from me with the table intervening. i did not waste time in circling the greatboard-with a single leap i cleared table and diners and sprang upon the balcony beyond.thirty feet below lay the scarlet sward of the lawn and beyond were many people crowdingabout a great thoat which bore a rider headed toward the palace. i vaulted to the groundbelow and ran swiftly toward the advancing party. as i came near to them i saw that the figureon the thoat was sola.

"where is the princess of helium?" i cried. the green girl slid from her mighty mountand ran toward me. "o my prince! my prince!" she cried. "sheis gone for ever. even now she may be a captive upon the lesser moon. the black pirates ofbarsoom have stolen her." chapter xviiisola's story once within the palace, i drew sola to thedining hall, and, when she had greeted her father after the formal manner of the greenmen, she told the story of the pilgrimage and capture of dejah thoris. "seven days ago, after her audience with zatarras, dejah thoris attempted to slip from

the palace in the dead of night. althoughi had not heard the outcome of her interview with zat arras i knew that something had occurredthen to cause her the keenest mental agony, and when i discovered her creeping from thepalace i did not need to be told her destination. "hastily arousing a dozen of her most faithfulguards, i explained my fears to them, and as one they enlisted with me to follow ourbeloved princess in her wanderings, even to the sacred iss and the valley dor. we cameupon her but a short distance from the palace. with her was faithful woola the hound, butnone other. when we overtook her she feigned anger, and ordered us back to the palace,but for once we disobeyed her, and when she found that we would not let her go upon thelast long pilgrimage alone, she wept and embraced

us, and together we went out into the nighttoward the south. "the following day we came upon a herd ofsmall thoats, and thereafter we were mounted and made good time. we travelled very fastand very far due south until the morning of the fifth day we sighted a great fleet ofbattleships sailing north. they saw us before we could seek shelter, and soon we were surroundedby a horde of black men. the princess's guard fought nobly to the end, but they were soonovercome and slain. only dejah thoris and i were spared. "when she realized that she was in the clutchesof the black pirates, she attempted to take her own life, but one of the blacks tore herdagger from her, and then they bound us both

so that we could not use our hands. "the fleet continued north after capturingus. there were about twenty large battleships in all, besides a number of small swift cruisers.that evening one of the smaller cruisers that had been far in advance of the fleet returnedwith a prisoner-a young red woman whom they had picked up in a range of hills under thevery noses, they said, of a fleet of three red martian battleships. "from scraps of conversation which we overheardit was evident that the black pirates were searching for a party of fugitives that hadescaped them several days prior. that they considered the capture of the young womanimportant was evident from the long and earnest

interview the commander of the fleet heldwith her when she was brought to him. later she was bound and placed in the compartmentwith dejah thoris and myself. "the new captive was a very beautiful girl.she told dejah thoris that many years ago she had taken the voluntary pilgrimage fromthe court of her father, the jeddak of ptarth. she was thuvia, the princess of ptarth. andthen she asked dejah thoris who she might be, and when she heard she fell upon her kneesand kissed dejah thoris' fettered hands, and told her that that very morning she had beenwith john carter, prince of helium, and carthoris, her son. "dejah thoris could not believe her at first,but finally when the girl had narrated all

the strange adventures that had befallen hersince she had met john carter, and told her of the things john carter, and carthoris,and xodar had narrated of their adventures in the land of the first born, dejah thorisknew that it could be none other than the prince of helium; 'for who,' she said, 'uponall barsoom other than john carter could have done the deeds you tell of.' and when thuviatold dejah thoris of her love for john carter, and his loyalty and devotion to the princessof his choice, dejah thoris broke down and wept-cursing zat arras and the cruel fatethat had driven her from helium but a few brief days before the return of her belovedlord. "'i do not blame you for loving him, thuvia,'she said; 'and that your affection for him

is pure and sincere i can well believe fromthe candour of your avowal of it to me.' "the fleet continued north nearly to helium,but last night they evidently realized that john carter had indeed escaped them and sothey turned toward the south once more. shortly thereafter a guard entered our compartmentand dragged me to the deck. "'there is no place in the land of the firstborn for a green one,' he said, and with that he gave me a terrific shove that carried metoppling from the deck of the battleship. evidently this seemed to him the easiest wayof ridding the vessel of my presence and killing me at the same time. "but a kind fate intervened, and by a miraclei escaped with but slight bruises. the ship

was moving slowly at the time, and as i lungedoverboard into the darkness beneath i shuddered at the awful plunge i thought awaited me,for all day the fleet had sailed thousands of feet above the ground; but to my uttersurprise i struck upon a soft mass of vegetation not twenty feet from the deck of the ship.in fact, the keel of the vessel must have been grazing the surface of the ground atthe time. "i lay all night where i had fallen and thenext morning brought an explanation of the fortunate coincidence that had saved me froma terrible death. as the sun rose i saw a vast panorama of sea bottom and distant hillslying far below me. i was upon the highest peak of a lofty range. the fleet in the darknessof the preceding night had barely grazed the

crest of the hills, and in the brief spanthat they hovered close to the surface the black guard had pitched me, as he supposed,to my death. "a few miles west of me was a great waterway.when i reached it i found to my delight that it belonged to helium. here a thoat was procuredfor me-the rest you know." for many minutes none spoke. dejah thorisin the clutches of the first born! i shuddered at the thought, but of a sudden the old fireof unconquerable self-confidence surged through me. i sprang to my feet, and with back-thrownshoulders and upraised sword took a solemn vow to reach, rescue, and revenge my princess. a hundred swords leaped from a hundred scabbards,and a hundred fighting-men sprang to the table-top

and pledged me their lives and fortunes tothe expedition. already my plans were formulated. i thanked each loyal friend, and leaving carthoristo entertain them, withdrew to my own audience chamber with kantos kan, tars tarkas, xodar,and hor vastus. here we discussed the details of our expeditionuntil long after dark. xodar was positive that issus would choose both dejah thorisand thuvia to serve her for a year. "for that length of time at least they willbe comparatively safe," he said, "and we will at least know where to look for them." in the matter of equipping a fleet to enteromean the details were left to kantos kan and xodar. the former agreed to take suchvessels as we required into dock as rapidly

as possible, where xodar would direct theirequipment with water propellers. for many years the black had been in chargeof the refitting of captured battleships that they might navigate omean, and so was familiarwith the construction of the propellers, housings, and the auxiliary gearing required. it was estimated that it would require sixmonths to complete our preparations in view of the fact that the utmost secrecy must bemaintained to keep the project from the ears of zat arras. kantos kan was confident nowthat the man's ambitions were fully aroused and that nothing short of the title of jeddakof helium would satisfy him. "i doubt," he said, "if he would even welcomedejah thoris' return, for it would mean another

nearer the throne than he. with you and carthorisout of the way there would be little to prevent him from assuming the title of jeddak, andyou may rest assured that so long as he is supreme here there is no safety for eitherof you." "there is a way," cried hor vastus, "to thwarthim effectually and for ever." "what?" i asked. "i shall whisper it here, but some day i shallstand upon the dome of the temple of reward and shout it to cheering multitudes below." "what do you mean?" asked kantos kan. "john carter, jeddak of helium," said horvastus in a low voice.

the eyes of my companions lighted, and grimsmiles of pleasure and anticipation overspread their faces, as each eye turned toward mequestioningly. but i shook my head. "no, my friends," i said, smiling, "i thankyou, but it cannot be. not yet, at least. when we know that tardos mors and mors kajakare gone to return no more; if i be here, then i shall join you all to see that thepeople of helium are permitted to choose fairly their next jeddak. whom they choose may countupon the loyalty of my sword, nor shall i seek the honour for myself. until then tardosmors is jeddak of helium, and zat arras is his representative." "as you will, john carter," said hor vastus,"but-what was that?" he whispered, pointing

toward the window overlooking the gardens. the words were scarce out of his mouth erehe had sprung to the balcony without. "there he goes!" he cried excitedly. "theguards! below there! the guards!" we were close behind him, and all saw thefigure of a man run quickly across a little piece of sward and disappear in the shrubberybeyond. "he was on the balcony when i first saw him,"cried hor vastus. "quick! let us follow him!" together we ran to the gardens, but even thoughwe scoured the grounds with the entire guard for hours, no trace could we find of the nightmarauder. "what do you make of it, kantos kan?" askedtars tarkas.

"a spy sent by zat arras," he replied. "itwas ever his way." "he will have something interesting to reportto his master then," laughed hor vastus. "i hope he heard only our references to anew jeddak," i said. "if he overheard our plans to rescue dejah thoris, it will meancivil war, for he will attempt to thwart us, and in that i will not be thwarted. therewould i turn against tardos mors himself, were it necessary. if it throws all heliuminto a bloody conflict, i shall go on with these plans to save my princess. nothing shallstay me now short of death, and should i die, my friends, will you take oath to prosecutethe search for her and bring her back in safety to her grandfather's court?"

upon the hilt of his sword each of them sworeto do as i had asked. it was agreed that the battleships that wereto be remodelled should be ordered to hastor, another heliumetic city, far to the south-west.kantos kan thought that the docks there, in addition to their regular work, would accommodateat least six battleships at a time. as he was commander-in-chief of the navy, it wouldbe a simple matter for him to order the vessels there as they could be handled, and thereafterkeep the remodelled fleet in remote parts of the empire until we should be ready toassemble it for the dash upon omean. it was late that night before our conferencebroke up, but each man there had his particular duties outlined, and the details of the entireplan had been mapped out.

kantos kan and xodar were to attend to theremodelling of the ships. tars tarkas was to get into communication with thark and learnthe sentiments of his people toward his return from dor. if favourable, he was to repairimmediately to thark and devote his time to the assembling of a great horde of green warriorswhom it was our plan to send in transports directly to the valley dor and the templeof issus, while the fleet entered omean and destroyed the vessels of the first born. upon hor vastus devolved the delicate missionof organising a secret force of fighting-men sworn to follow john carter wherever he mightlead. as we estimated that it would require over a million men to man the thousand greatbattleships we intended to use on omean and

the transports for the green men as well asthe ships that were to convoy the transports, it was no trifling job that hor vastus hadbefore him. after they had left i bid carthoris good-night,for i was very tired, and going to my own apartments, bathed and lay down upon my sleepingsilks and furs for the first good night's sleep i had had an opportunity to look forwardto since i had returned to barsoom. but even now i was to be disappointed. how long i slept i do not know. when i awokesuddenly it was to find a half-dozen powerful men upon me, a gag already in my mouth, anda moment later my arms and legs securely bound. so quickly had they worked and to such goodpurpose, that i was utterly beyond the power

to resist them by the time i was fully awake. never a word spoke they, and the gag effectuallyprevented me speaking. silently they lifted me and bore me toward the door of my chamber.as they passed the window through which the farther moon was casting its brilliant beams,i saw that each of the party had his face swathed in layers of silk-i could not recognizeone of them. when they had come into the corridor withme, they turned toward a secret panel in the wall which led to the passage that terminatedin the pits beneath the palace. that any knew of this panel outside my own household, iwas doubtful. yet the leader of the band did not hesitate a moment. he stepped directlyto the panel, touched the concealed button,

and as the door swung open he stood asidewhile his companions entered with me. then he closed the panel behind him and followedus. down through the passageways to the pits wewent. the leader rapped upon it with the hilt of his sword-three quick, sharp blows, apause, then three more, another pause, and then two. a second later the wall swung in,and i was pushed within a brilliantly lighted chamber in which sat three richly trappedmen. one of them turned toward me with a sardonicsmile upon his thin, cruel lips-it was zat arras. chapter xixblack despair

"ah," said zat arras, "to what kindly circumstanceam i indebted for the pleasure of this unexpected visit from the prince of helium?" while he was speaking, one of my guards hadremoved the gag from my mouth, but i made no reply to zat arras: simply standing therein silence with level gaze fixed upon the jed of zodanga. and i doubt not that my expressionwas coloured by the contempt i felt for the the eyes of those within the chamber werefixed first upon me and then upon zat arras, until finally a flush of anger crept slowlyover his face. "you may go," he said to those who had broughtme, and when only his two companions and ourselves were left in the chamber, he spoke to me againin a voice of ice-very slowly and deliberately,

with many pauses, as though he would choosehis words cautiously. "john carter," he said, "by the edict of custom,by the law of our religion, and by the verdict of an impartial court, you are condemned todie. the people cannot save you-i alone may accomplish that. you are absolutely inmy power to do with as i wish-i may kill you, or i may free you, and should i electto kill you, none would be the wiser. "should you go free in helium for a year,in accordance with the conditions of your reprieve, there is little fear that the peoplewould ever insist upon the execution of the sentence imposed upon you. "you may go free within two minutes, uponone condition. tardos mors will never return

to helium. neither will mors kajak, nor dejahthoris. helium must select a new jeddak within the year. zat arras would be jeddak of helium.say that you will espouse my cause. this is the price of your freedom. i am done." i knew it was within the scope of zat arras'cruel heart to destroy me, and if i were dead i could see little reason to doubt that hemight easily become jeddak of helium. free, i could prosecute the search for dejah thoris.were i dead, my brave comrades might not be able to carry out our plans. so, by refusingto accede to his request, it was quite probable that not only would i not prevent him frombecoming jeddak of helium, but that i would be the means of sealing dejah thoris' fate-ofconsigning her, through my refusal, to the

horrors of the arena of issus. for a moment i was perplexed, but for a momentonly. the proud daughter of a thousand jeddaks would choose death to a dishonorable alliancesuch as this, nor could john carter do less for helium than his princess would do. then i turned to zat arras. "there can be no alliance," i said, "betweena traitor to helium and a prince of the house of tardos mors. i do not believe, zat arras,that the great jeddak is dead." zat arras shrugged his shoulders. "it will not be long, john carter," he said,"that your opinions will be of interest even

to yourself, so make the best of them whileyou can. zat arras will permit you in due time to reflect further upon the magnanimousoffer he has made you. into the silence and darkness of the pits you will enter upon yourreflection this night with the knowledge that should you fail within a reasonable time toagree to the alternative which has been offered you, never shall you emerge from the darknessand the silence again. nor shall you know at what minute the hand will reach out throughthe darkness and the silence with the keen dagger that shall rob you of your last chanceto win again the warmth and the freedom and joyousness of the outer world." zat arras clapped his hands as he ceased speaking.the guards returned.

zat arras waved his hand in my direction. "to the pits," he said. that was all. fourmen accompanied me from the chamber, and with a radium hand-light to illumine the way, escortedme through seemingly interminable tunnels, down, ever down beneath the city of helium. at length they halted within a fair-sizedchamber. there were rings set in the rocky walls. to them chains were fastened, and atthe ends of many of the chains were human skeletons. one of these they kicked aside,and, unlocking the huge padlock that had held a chain about what had once been a human ankle,they snapped the iron band about my own leg. then they left me, taking the light with them.

utter darkness prevailed. for a few minutesi could hear the clanking of accoutrements, but even this grew fainter and fainter, untilat last the silence was as complete as the darkness. i was alone with my gruesome companions-withthe bones of dead men whose fate was likely but the index of my own. how long i stood listening in the darknessi do not know, but the silence was unbroken, and at last i sunk to the hard floor of myprison, where, leaning my head against the stony wall, i slept. it must have been several hours later thati awakened to find a young man standing before me. in one hand he bore a light, in the othera receptacle containing a gruel-like mixture-the

common prison fare of barsoom. "zat arras sends you greetings," said theyoung man, "and commands me to inform you that though he is fully advised of the plotto make you jeddak of helium, he is, however, not inclined to withdraw the offer which hehas made you. to gain your freedom you have but to request me to advise zat arras thatyou accept the terms of his proposition." i but shook my head. the youth said no more,and, after placing the food upon the floor at my side, returned up the corridor, takingthe light with him. twice a day for many days this youth cameto my cell with food, and ever the same greetings from zat arras. for a long time i tried toengage him in conversation upon other matters,

but he would not talk, and so, at length,i desisted. for months i sought to devise methods to informcarthoris of my whereabouts. for months i scraped and scraped upon a single link ofthe massive chain which held me, hoping eventually to wear it through, that i might follow theyouth back through the winding tunnels to a point where i could make a break for liberty. i was beside myself with anxiety for knowledgeof the progress of the expedition which was to rescue dejah thoris. i felt that carthoriswould not let the matter drop, were he free to act, but in so far as i knew, he also mightbe a prisoner in zat arras' pits. that zat arras' spy had overheard our conversationrelative to the selection of a new jeddak,

i knew, and scarcely a half-dozen minutesprior we had discussed the details of the plan to rescue dejah thoris. the chances werethat that matter, too, was well known to him. carthoris, kantos kan, tars tarkas, hor vastus,and xodar might even now be the victims of zat arras' assassins, or else his prisoners. i determined to make at least one more effortto learn something, and to this end i adopted strategy when next the youth came to my cell.i had noticed that he was a handsome fellow, about the size and age of carthoris. and ihad also noticed that his shabby trappings but illy comported with his dignified andnoble bearing. it was with these observations as a basisthat i opened my negotiations with him upon

his next subsequent visit. "you have been very kind to me during my imprisonmenthere," i said to him, "and as i feel that i have at best but a very short time to live,i wish, ere it is too late, to furnish substantial testimony of my appreciation of all that youhave done to render my imprisonment bearable. "promptly you have brought my food each day,seeing that it was pure and of sufficient quantity. never by word or deed have you attemptedto take advantage of my defenceless condition to insult or torture me. you have been uniformlycourteous and considerate-it is this more than any other thing which prompts my feelingof gratitude and my desire to give you some slight token of it.

"in the guard-room of my palace are many finetrappings. go thou there and select the harness which most pleases you-it shall be yours.all i ask is that you wear it, that i may know that my wish has been realized. tellme that you will do it." the boy's eyes had lighted with pleasure asi spoke, and i saw him glance from his rusty trappings to the magnificence of my own. fora moment he stood in thought before he spoke, and for that moment my heart fairly ceasedbeating-so much for me there was which hung upon the substance of his answer. "and i went to the palace of the prince ofhelium with any such demand, they would laugh at me and, into the bargain, would more thanlikely throw me headforemost into the avenue.

no, it cannot be, though i thank you for theoffer. why, if zat arras even dreamed that i contemplated such a thing he would havemy heart cut out of me." "there can be no harm in it, my boy," i urged."by night you may go to my palace with a note from me to carthoris, my son. you may readthe note before you deliver it, that you may know that it contains nothing harmful to zatarras. my son will be discreet, and so none but us three need know. it is very simple,and such a harmless act that it could be condemned by no one." again he stood silently in deep thought. "and there is a jewelled short-sword whichi took from the body of a northern jeddak.

when you get the harness, see that carthorisgives you that also. with it and the harness which you may select there will be no morehandsomely accoutred warrior in all zodanga. "bring writing materials when you come nextto my cell, and within a few hours we shall see you garbed in a style befitting your birthand carriage." still in thought, and without speaking, heturned and left me. i could not guess what his decision might be, and for hours i satfretting over the outcome of the matter. if he accepted a message to carthoris it wouldmean to me that carthoris still lived and was free. if the youth returned wearing theharness and the sword, i would know that carthoris had received my note and that he knew thati still lived. that the bearer of the note

was a zodangan would be sufficient to explainto carthoris that i was a prisoner of zat it was with feelings of excited expectancywhich i could scarce hide that i heard the youth's approach upon the occasion of hisnext regular visit. i did not speak beyond my accustomed greeting of him. as he placedthe food upon the floor by my side he also deposited writing materials at the same time. my heart fairly bounded for joy. i had wonmy point. for a moment i looked at the materials in feigned surprise, but soon i permittedan expression of dawning comprehension to come into my face, and then, picking themup, i penned a brief order to carthoris to deliver to parthak a harness of his selectionand the short-sword which i described. that

was all. but it meant everything to me andto carthoris. i laid the note open upon the floor. parthakpicked it up and, without a word, left me. as nearly as i could estimate, i had at thistime been in the pits for three hundred days. if anything was to be done to save dejah thorisit must be done quickly, for, were she not already dead, her end must soon come, sincethose whom issus chose lived but a single year. the next time i heard approaching footstepsi could scarce await to see if parthak wore the harness and the sword, but judge, if youcan, my chagrin and disappointment when i saw that he who bore my food was not parthak.

"what has become of parthak?" i asked, butthe fellow would not answer, and as soon as he had deposited my food, turned and retracedhis steps to the world above. days came and went, and still my new jailercontinued his duties, nor would he ever speak a word to me, either in reply to the simplestquestion or of his own initiative. i could only speculate on the cause of parthak'sremoval, but that it was connected in some way directly with the note i had given himwas most apparent to me. after all my rejoicing, i was no better off than before, for now idid not even know that carthoris lived, for if parthak had wished to raise himself inthe estimation of zat arras he would have permitted me to go on precisely as i did,so that he could carry my note to his master,

in proof of his own loyalty and devotion. thirty days had passed since i had given theyouth the note. three hundred and thirty days had passed since my incarceration. as closelyas i could figure, there remained a bare thirty days ere dejah thoris would be ordered tothe arena for the rites of issus. as the terrible picture forced itself vividlyacross my imagination, i buried my face in my arms, and only with the greatest difficultywas it that i repressed the tears that welled to my eyes despite my every effort. to thinkof that beautiful creature torn and rended by the cruel fangs of the hideous white apes!it was unthinkable. such a horrid fact could not be; and yet my reason told me that withinthirty days my incomparable princess would

be fought over in the arena of the first bornby those very wild beasts; that her bleeding corpse would be dragged through the dirt andthe dust, until at last a part of it would be rescued to be served as food upon the tablesof the black nobles. i think that i should have gone crazy butfor the sound of my approaching jailer. it distracted my attention from the terriblethoughts that had been occupying my entire mind. now a new and grim determination cameto me. i would make one super-human effort to escape. kill my jailer by a ruse, and trustto fate to lead me to the outer world in safety. with the thought came instant action. i threwmyself upon the floor of my cell close by the wall, in a strained and distorted posture,as though i were dead after a struggle or

convulsions. when he should stoop over mei had but to grasp his throat with one hand and strike him a terrific blow with the slackof my chain, which i gripped firmly in my right hand for the purpose. nearer and nearer came the doomed man. nowi heard him halt before me. there was a muttered exclamation, and then a step as he came tomy side. i felt him kneel beside me. my grip tightened upon the chain. he leaned closeto me. i must open my eyes to find his throat, grasp it, and strike one mighty final blowall at the same instant. the thing worked just as i had planned. sobrief was the interval between the opening of my eyes and the fall of the chain thati could not check it, though in that minute

interval i recognized the face so close tomine as that of my son, carthoris. god! what cruel and malign fate had workedto such a frightful end! what devious chain of circumstances had led my boy to my sideat this one particular minute of our lives when i could strike him down and kill him,in ignorance of his identity! a benign though tardy providence blurred my vision and mymind as i sank into unconsciousness across the lifeless body of my only son. when i regained consciousness it was to feela cool, firm hand pressed upon my forehead. for an instant i did not open my eyes. i wasendeavouring to gather the loose ends of many thoughts and memories which flitted elusivelythrough my tired and overwrought brain.

at length came the cruel recollection of thething that i had done in my last conscious act, and then i dared not to open my eyesfor fear of what i should see lying beside me. i wondered who it could be who ministeredto me. carthoris must have had a companion whom i had not seen. well, i must face theinevitable some time, so why not now, and with a sigh i opened my eyes. leaning over me was carthoris, a great bruiseupon his forehead where the chain had struck, but alive, thank god, alive! there was noone with him. reaching out my arms, i took my boy within them, and if ever there arosefrom any planet a fervent prayer of gratitude, it was there beneath the crust of dying marsas i thanked the eternal mystery for my son's

life. the brief instant in which i had seen andrecognized carthoris before the chain fell must have been ample to check the force ofthe blow. he told me that he had lain unconscious for a time-how long he did not know. "how came you here at all?" i asked, mystifiedthat he had found me without a guide. "it was by your wit in apprising me of yourexistence and imprisonment through the youth, parthak. until he came for his harness andhis sword, we had thought you dead. when i had read your note i did as you had bid, givingparthak his choice of the harnesses in the guardroom, and later bringing the jewelledshort-sword to him; but the minute that i

had fulfilled the promise you evidently hadmade him, my obligation to him ceased. then i commenced to question him, but he wouldgive me no information as to your whereabouts. he was intensely loyal to zat arras. "finally i gave him a fair choice betweenfreedom and the pits beneath the palace-the price of freedom to be full information asto where you were imprisoned and directions which would lead us to you; but still he maintainedhis stubborn partisanship. despairing, i had him removed to the pits, where he still is. "no threats of torture or death, no bribes,however fabulous, would move him. his only reply to all our importunities was that wheneverparthak died, were it to-morrow or a thousand

years hence, no man could truly say, 'a traitoris gone to his deserts.' "finally, xodar, who is a fiend for subtlecraftiness, evolved a plan whereby we might worm the information from him. and so i causedhor vastus to be harnessed in the metal of a zodangan soldier and chained in parthak'scell beside him. for fifteen days the noble hor vastus has languished in the darknessof the pits, but not in vain. little by little he won the confidence and friendship of thezodangan, until only to-day parthak, thinking that he was speaking not only to a countryman,but to a dear friend, revealed to hor vastus the exact cell in which you lay. "it took me but a short time to locate theplans of the pits of helium among the official

papers. to come to you, though, was a triflemore difficult matter. as you know, while all the pits beneath the city are connected,there are but single entrances from those beneath each section and its neighbour, andthat at the upper level just underneath the ground. "of course, these openings which lead fromcontiguous pits to those beneath government buildings are always guarded, and so, whilei easily came to the entrance to the pits beneath the palace which zat arras is occupying,i found there a zodangan soldier on guard. there i left him when i had gone by, but hissoul was no longer with him. "and here i am, just in time to be nearlykilled by you," he ended, laughing.

as he talked carthoris had been working atthe lock which held my fetters, and now, with an exclamation of pleasure, he dropped theend of the chain to the floor, and i stood up once more, freed from the galling ironsi had chafed in for almost a year. he had brought a long-sword and a dagger forme, and thus armed we set out upon the return journey to my palace. at the point where we left the pits of zatarras we found the body of the guard carthoris had slain. it had not yet been discovered,and, in order to still further delay search and mystify the jed's people, we carried thebody with us for a short distance, hiding it in a tiny cell off the main corridor ofthe pits beneath an adjoining estate.

some half-hour later we came to the pits beneathour own palace, and soon thereafter emerged into the audience chamber itself, where wefound kantos kan, tars tarkas, hor vastus, and xodar awaiting us most impatiently. no time was lost in fruitless recounting ofmy imprisonment. what i desired to know was how well the plans we had laid nearly a yearago had been carried out. "it has taken much longer than we had expected,"replied kantos kan. "the fact that we were compelled to maintain utter secrecy has handicappedus terribly. zat arras' spies are everywhere. yet, to the best of my knowledge, no wordof our real plans has reached the villain's ear.

"to-night there lies about the great docksat hastor a fleet of a thousand of the mightiest battleships that ever sailed above barsoom,and each equipped to navigate the air of omean and the waters of omean itself. upon eachbattleship there are five ten-man cruisers, and ten five-man scouts, and a hundred one-manscouts; in all, one hundred and sixteen thousand craft fitted with both air and water propellers. "at thark lie the transports for the greenwarriors of tars tarkas, nine hundred large troopships, and with them their convoys. sevendays ago all was in readiness, but we waited in the hope that by so doing your rescue mightbe encompassed in time for you to command the expedition. it is well we waited, my prince."

"how is it, tars tarkas," i asked, "that themen of thark take not the accustomed action against one who returns from the bosom ofiss?" "they sent a council of fifty chieftains totalk with me here," replied the thark. "we are a just people, and when i had told themthe entire story they were as one man in agreeing that their action toward me would be guidedby the action of helium toward john carter. in the meantime, at their request, i was toresume my throne as jeddak of thark, that i might negotiate with neighboring hordesfor warriors to compose the land forces of the expedition. i have done that which i agreed.two hundred and fifty thousand fighting men, gathered from the ice cap at the north tothe ice cap at the south, and representing

a thousand different communities, from a hundredwild and warlike hordes, fill the great city of thark to-night. they are ready to sailfor the land of the first born when i give the word and fight there until i bid themstop. all they ask is the loot they take and transportation to their own territories whenthe fighting and the looting are over. i am done." "and thou, hor vastus," i asked, "what hasbeen thy success?" "a million veteran fighting-men from helium'sthin waterways man the battleships, the transports, and the convoys," he replied. "each is swornto loyalty and secrecy, nor were enough recruited from a single district to cause suspicion."

"good!" i cried. "each has done his duty,and now, kantos kan, may we not repair at once to hastor and get under way before to-morrow'ssun?" "we should lose no time, prince," repliedkantos kan. "already the people of hastor are questioning the purpose of so great afleet fully manned with fighting-men. i wonder much that word of it has not before reachedzat arras. a cruiser awaits above at your own dock; let us leave at-" a fusilladeof shots from the palace gardens just without cut short his further words. together we rushed to the balcony in timeto see a dozen members of my palace guard disappear in the shadows of some distant shrubberyas in pursuit of one who fled. directly beneath

us upon the scarlet sward a handful of guardsmenwere stooping above a still and prostrate form. while we watched they lifted the figure intheir arms and at my command bore it to the audience chamber where we had been in council.when they stretched the body at our feet we saw that it was that of a red man in the primeof life-his metal was plain, such as common soldiers wear, or those who wish to concealtheir identity. "another of zat arras' spies," said hor vastus. "so it would seem," i replied, and then tothe guard: "you may remove the body." "wait!" said xodar. "if you will, prince,ask that a cloth and a little thoat oil be

brought." i nodded to one of the soldiers, who leftthe chamber, returning presently with the things that xodar had requested. the blackkneeled beside the body and, dipping a corner of the cloth in the thoat oil, rubbed fora moment on the dead face before him. then he turned to me with a smile, pointing tohis work. i looked and saw that where xodar had applied the thoat oil the face was white,as white as mine, and then xodar seized the black hair of the corpse and with a suddenwrench tore it all away, revealing a hairless pate beneath. guardsmen and nobles pressed close about thesilent witness upon the marble floor. many

were the exclamations of astonishment andquestioning wonder as xodar's acts confirmed the suspicion which he had held. "a thern!" whispered tars tarkas. "worse than that, i fear," replied xodar."but let us see." with that he drew his dagger and cut opena locked pouch which had dangled from the thern's harness, and from it he brought fortha circlet of gold set with a large gem-it was the mate to that which i had taken fromsator throg. "he was a holy thern," said xodar. "fortunateindeed it is for us that he did not escape." the officer of the guard entered the chamberat this juncture.

"my prince," he said, "i have to report thatthis fellow's companion escaped us. i think that it was with the connivance of one ormore of the men at the gate. i have ordered them all under arrest." xodar handed him the thoat oil and cloth. "with this you may discover the spy amongyou," he said. i at once ordered a secret search within thecity, for every martian noble maintains a secret service of his own. a half-hour later the officer of the guardcame again to report. this time it was to confirm our worst fears-half the guardsat the gate that night had been therns disguised

as red men. "come!" i cried. "we must lose no time. onto hastor at once. should the therns attempt to check us at the southern verge of the icecap it may result in the wrecking of all our plans and the total destruction of the expedition." ten minutes later we were speeding throughthe night toward hastor, prepared to strike the first blow for the preservation of dejahthoris. chapter xxthe air battle two hours after leaving my palace at helium,or about midnight, kantos kan, xodar, and i arrived at hastor. carthoris, tars tarkas,and hor vastus had gone directly to thark

upon another cruiser. the transports were to get under way immediatelyand move slowly south. the fleet of battleships would overtake them on the morning of thesecond day. at hastor we found all in readiness, and soperfectly had kantos kan planned every detail of the campaign that within ten minutes ofour arrival the first of the fleet had soared aloft from its dock, and thereafter, at therate of one a second, the great ships floated gracefully out into the night to form a long,thin line which stretched for miles toward the south. it was not until after we had entered thecabin of kantos kan that i thought to ask

the date, for up to now i was not positivehow long i had lain in the pits of zat arras. when kantos kan told me, i realized with apang of dismay that i had misreckoned the time while i lay in the utter darkness ofmy cell. three hundred and sixty-five days had passed-it was too late to save dejahthoris. the expedition was no longer one of rescuebut of revenge. i did not remind kantos kan of the terrible fact that ere we could hopeto enter the temple of issus, the princess of helium would be no more. in so far as iknew she might be already dead, for i did not know the exact date on which she firstviewed issus. what now the value of burdening my friendswith my added personal sorrows-they had

shared quite enough of them with me in thepast. hereafter i would keep my grief to myself, and so i said nothing to any other of thefact that we were too late. the expedition could yet do much if it could but teach thepeople of barsoom the facts of the cruel deception that had been worked upon them for countlessages, and thus save thousands each year from the horrid fate that awaited them at the conclusionof the voluntary pilgrimage. if it could open to the red men the fair valleydor it would have accomplished much, and in the land of lost souls between the mountainsof otz and the ice barrier were many broad acres that needed no irrigation to bear richharvests. here at the bottom of a dying world was theonly naturally productive area upon its surface.

here alone were dews and rains, here alonewas an open sea, here was water in plenty; and all this was but the stamping ground offierce brutes and from its beauteous and fertile expanse the wicked remnants of two once mightyraces barred all the other millions of barsoom. could i but succeed in once breaking downthe barrier of religious superstition which had kept the red races from this el doradoit would be a fitting memorial to the immortal virtues of my princess-i should have againserved barsoom and dejah thoris' martyrdom would not have been in vain. on the morning of the second day we raisedthe great fleet of transports and their consorts at the first flood of dawn, and soon werenear enough to exchange signals. i may mention

here that radio-aerograms are seldom if everused in war time, or for the transmission of secret dispatches at any time, for as oftenas one nation discovers a new cipher, or invents a new instrument for wireless purposes itsneighbours bend every effort until they are able to intercept and translate the messages.for so long a time has this gone on that practically every possibility of wireless communicationhas been exhausted and no nation dares transmit dispatches of importance in this way. tars tarkas reported all well with the transports.the battleships passed through to take an advanced position, and the combined fleetsmoved slowly over the ice cap, hugging the surface closely to prevent detection by thetherns whose land we were approaching.

far in advance of all a thin line of one-manair scouts protected us from surprise, and on either side they flanked us, while a smallernumber brought up the rear some twenty miles behind the transports. in this formation wehad progressed toward the entrance to omean for several hours when one of our scouts returnedfrom the front to report that the cone-like summit of the entrance was in sight. at almostthe same instant another scout from the left flank came racing toward the flagship. his very speed bespoke the importance of hisinformation. kantos kan and i awaited him upon the little forward deck which correspondswith the bridge of earthly battleships. scarcely had his tiny flier come to rest upon the broadlanding-deck of the flagship ere he was bounding

up the stairway to the deck where we stood. "a great fleet of battleships south-south-east,my prince," he cried. "there must be several thousands and they are bearing down directlyupon us." "the thern spies were not in the palace ofjohn carter for nothing," said kantos kan to me. "your orders, prince." "dispatch ten battleships to guard the entranceto omean, with orders to let no hostile enter or leave the shaft. that will bottle up thegreat fleet of the first born. "form the balance of the battleships intoa great v with the apex pointing directly south-south-east. order the transports, surroundedby their convoys, to follow closely in the

wake of the battleships until the point ofthe v has entered the enemies' line, then the v must open outward at the apex, the battleshipsof each leg engage the enemy fiercely and drive him back to form a lane through hisline into which the transports with their convoys must race at top speed that they maygain a position above the temples and gardens of the therns. "here let them land and teach the holy thernssuch a lesson in ferocious warfare as they will not forget for countless ages. it hadnot been my intention to be distracted from the main issue of the campaign, but we mustsettle this attack with the therns once and for all, or there will be no peace for uswhile our fleet remains near dor, and our

chances of ever returning to the outer worldwill be greatly minimized." kantos kan saluted and turned to deliver myinstructions to his waiting aides. in an incredibly short space of time the formation of the battleshipschanged in accordance with my commands, the ten that were to guard the way to omean werespeeding toward their destination, and the troopships and convoys were closing up inpreparation for the spurt through the lane. the order of full speed ahead was given, thefleet sprang through the air like coursing greyhounds, and in another moment the shipsof the enemy were in full view. they formed a ragged line as far as the eye could reachin either direction and about three ships deep. so sudden was our onslaught that theyhad no time to prepare for it. it was as unexpected

as lightning from a clear sky. every phase of my plan worked splendidly.our huge ships mowed their way entirely through the line of thern battlecraft; then the vopened up and a broad lane appeared through which the transports leaped toward the templesof the therns which could now be plainly seen glistening in the sunlight. by the time thetherns had rallied from the attack a hundred thousand green warriors were already pouringthrough their courts and gardens, while a hundred and fifty thousand others leaned fromlow swinging transports to direct their almost uncanny marksmanship upon the thern soldierythat manned the ramparts, or attempted to defend the temples.

now the two great fleets closed in a titanicstruggle far above the fiendish din of battle in the gorgeous gardens of the therns. slowlythe two lines of helium's battleships joined their ends, and then commenced the circlingwithin the line of the enemy which is so marked a characteristic of barsoomian naval warfare. around and around in each other's tracks movedthe ships under kantos kan, until at length they formed nearly a perfect circle. by thistime they were moving at high speed so that they presented a difficult target for theenemy. broadside after broadside they delivered as each vessel came in line with the shipsof the therns. the latter attempted to rush in and break up the formation, but it waslike stopping a buzz saw with the bare hand.

from my position on the deck beside kantoskan i saw ship after ship of the enemy take the awful, sickening dive which proclaimsits total destruction. slowly we manoeuvered our circle of death until we hung above thegardens where our green warriors were engaged. the order was passed down for them to embark.then they rose slowly to a position within the centre of the circle. in the meantime the therns' fire had practicallyceased. they had had enough of us and were only too glad to let us go on our way in peace.but our escape was not to be encompassed with such ease, for scarcely had we gotten underway once more in the direction of the entrance to omean than we saw far to the north a greatblack line topping the horizon. it could be

nothing other than a fleet of war. whose or whither bound, we could not evenconjecture. when they had come close enough to make us out at all, kantos kan's operatorreceived a radio-aerogram, which he immediately handed to my companion. he read the thingand handed it to me. "kantos kan:" it read. "surrender, in thename of the jeddak of helium, for you cannot escape," and it was signed, "zat arras." the therns must have caught and translatedthe message almost as soon as did we, for they immediately renewed hostilities whenthey realized that we were soon to be set upon by other enemies.

before zat arras had approached near enoughto fire a shot we were again hotly engaged with the thern fleet, and as soon as he drewnear he too commenced to pour a terrific fusillade of heavy shot into us. ship after ship reeledand staggered into uselessness beneath the pitiless fire that we were undergoing. the thing could not last much longer. i orderedthe transports to descend again into the gardens "wreak your vengeance to the utmost," wasmy message to the green allies, "for by night there will be none left to avenge your wrongs." presently i saw the ten battleships that hadbeen ordered to hold the shaft of omean. they were returning at full speed, firing theirstern batteries almost continuously. there

could be but one explanation. they were beingpursued by another hostile fleet. well, the situation could be no worse. the expeditionalready was doomed. no man that had embarked upon it would return across that dreary icecap. how i wished that i might face zat arras with my longsword for just an instant beforei died! it was he who had caused our failure. as i watched the oncoming ten i saw theirpursuers race swiftly into sight. it was another great fleet; for a moment i could not believemy eyes, but finally i was forced to admit that the most fatal calamity had overtakenthe expedition, for the fleet i saw was none other than the fleet of the first born, thatshould have been safely bottled up in omean. what a series of misfortunes and disasters!what awful fate hovered over me, that i should

have been so terribly thwarted at every angleof my search for my lost love! could it be possible that the curse of issus was uponme! that there was, indeed, some malign divinity in that hideous carcass! i would not believeit, and, throwing back my shoulders, i ran to the deck below to join my men in repellingboarders from one of the thern craft that had grappled us broadside. in the wild lustof hand-to-hand combat my old dauntless hopefulness returned. and as thern after thern went downbeneath my blade, i could almost feel that we should win success in the end, even fromapparent failure. my presence among the men so greatly inspiritedthem that they fell upon the luckless whites with such terrible ferocity that within afew moments we had turned the tables upon

them and a second later as we swarmed theirown decks i had the satisfaction of seeing their commander take the long leap from thebows of his vessel in token of surrender and defeat. then i joined kantos kan. he had been watchingwhat had taken place on the deck below, and it seemed to have given him a new thought.immediately he passed an order to one of his officers, and presently the colours of theprince of helium broke from every point of the flagship. a great cheer arose from themen of our own ship, a cheer that was taken up by every other vessel of our expeditionas they in turn broke my colours from their upper works.

then kantos kan sprang his coup. a signallegible to every sailor of all the fleets engaged in that fierce struggle was strungaloft upon the flagship. "men of helium for the prince of helium againstall his enemies," it read. presently my colours broke from one of zat arras' ships. then fromanother and another. on some we could see fierce battles waging between the zodangansoldiery and the heliumetic crews, but eventually the colours of the prince of helium floatedabove every ship that had followed zat arras upon our trail-only his flagship flew themnot. zat arras had brought five thousand ships.the sky was black with the three enormous fleets. it was helium against the field now,and the fight had settled to countless individual

duels. there could be little or no manoeuveringof fleets in that crowded, fire-split sky. zat arras' flagship was close to my own. icould see the thin features of the man from where i stood. his zodangan crew was pouringbroadside after broadside into us and we were returning their fire with equal ferocity.closer and closer came the two vessels until but a few yards intervened. grapplers andboarders lined the contiguous rails of each. we were preparing for the death struggle withour hated enemy. there was but a yard between the two mightyships as the first grappling irons were hurled. i rushed to the deck to be with my men asthey boarded. just as the vessels came together with a slight shock, i forced my way throughthe lines and was the first to spring to the

deck of zat arras' ship. after me poured ayelling, cheering, cursing throng of helium's best fighting-men. nothing could withstandthem in the fever of battle lust which enthralled down went the zodangans before that surgingtide of war, and as my men cleared the lower decks i sprang to the forward deck where stoodzat arras. "you are my prisoner, zat arras," i cried."yield and you shall have quarter." for a moment i could not tell whether he contemplatedacceding to my demand or facing me with drawn sword. for an instant he stood hesitating,and then throwing down his arms he turned and rushed to the opposite side of the deck.before i could overtake him he had sprung to the rail and hurled himself headforemostinto the awful depths below.

and thus came zat arras, jed of zodanga, tohis end. on and on went that strange battle. the thernsand blacks had not combined against us. wherever thern ship met ship of the first born wasa battle royal, and in this i thought i saw our salvation. wherever messages could bepassed between us that could not be intercepted by our enemies i passed the word that allour vessels were to withdraw from the fight as rapidly as possible, taking a positionto the west and south of the combatants. i also sent an air scout to the fighting greenmen in the gardens below to re-embark, and to the transports to join us. my commanders were further instructed thatwhen engaged with an enemy to draw him as

rapidly as possible toward a ship of his hereditaryfoeman, and by careful manoeuvring to force the two to engage, thus leaving himself freeto withdraw. this stratagem worked to perfection, and just before the sun went down i had thesatisfaction of seeing all that was left of my once mighty fleet gathered nearly twentymiles southwest of the still terrific battle between the blacks and whites. i now transferred xodar to another battleshipand sent him with all the transports and five thousand battleships directly overhead tothe temple of issus. carthoris and i, with kantos kan, took the remaining ships and headedfor the entrance to omean. our plan now was to attempt to make a combinedassault upon issus at dawn of the following

day. tars tarkas with his green warriors andhor vastus with the red men, guided by xodar, were to land within the garden of issus orthe surrounding plains; while carthoris, kantos kan, and i were to lead our smaller forcefrom the sea of omean through the pits beneath the temple, which carthoris knew so well. i now learned for the first time the causeof my ten ships' retreat from the mouth of the shaft. it seemed that when they had comeupon the shaft the navy of the first born were already issuing from its mouth. fullytwenty vessels had emerged, and though they gave battle immediately in an effort to stemthe tide that rolled from the black pit, the odds against them were too great and theywere forced to flee.

with great caution we approached the shaft,under cover of darkness. at a distance of several miles i caused the fleet to be halted,and from there carthoris went ahead alone upon a one-man flier to reconnoitre. in perhapshalf an hour he returned to report that there was no sign of a patrol boat or of the enemyin any form, and so we moved swiftly and noiselessly forward once more toward omean. at the mouth of the shaft we stopped againfor a moment for all the vessels to reach their previously appointed stations, thenwith the flagship i dropped quickly into the black depths, while one by one the other vesselsfollowed me in quick succession. we had decided to stake all on the chancethat we would be able to reach the temple

by the subterranean way and so we left noguard of vessels at the shaft's mouth. nor would it have profited us any to have doneso, for we did not have sufficient force all told to have withstood the vast navy of thefirst born had they returned to engage us. for the safety of our entrance upon omeanwe depended largely upon the very boldness of it, believing that it would be some littletime before the first born on guard there would realize that it was an enemy and nottheir own returning fleet that was entering the vault of the buried sea. and such proved to be the case. in fact, fourhundred of my fleet of five hundred rested safely upon the bosom of omean before thefirst shot was fired. the battle was short

and hot, but there could have been but oneoutcome, for the first born in the carelessness of fancied security had left but a handfulof ancient and obsolete hulks to guard their mighty harbour. it was at carthoris' suggestion that we landedour prisoners under guard upon a couple of the larger islands, and then towed the shipsof the first born to the shaft, where we managed to wedge a number of them securely in theinterior of the great well. then we turned on the buoyance rays in the balance of themand let them rise by themselves to further block the passage to omean as they came intocontact with the vessels already lodged there. we now felt that it would be some time atleast before the returning first born could

reach the surface of omean, and that we wouldhave ample opportunity to make for the subterranean passages which lead to issus. one of the firststeps i took was to hasten personally with a good-sized force to the island of the submarine,which i took without resistance on the part of the small guard there. i found the submarine in its pool, and atonce placed a strong guard upon it and the island, where i remained to wait the comingof carthoris and the others. among the prisoners was yersted, commanderof the submarine. he recognized me from the three trips that i had taken with him duringmy captivity among the first born. "how does it seem," i asked him, "to havethe tables turned? to be prisoner of your

erstwhile captive?" he smiled, a very grim smile pregnant withhidden meaning. "it will not be for long, john carter," hereplied. "we have been expecting you and we are prepared." "so it would appear," i answered, "for youwere all ready to become my prisoners with scarce a blow struck on either side." "the fleet must have missed you," he said,"but it will return to omean, and then that will be a very different matter-for johncarter." "i do not know that the fleet has missed meas yet," i said, but of course he did not

grasp my meaning, and only looked puzzled. "many prisoners travel to issus in your grimcraft, yersted?" i asked. "very many," he assented. "might you remember one whom men called dejahthoris?" "well, indeed, for her great beauty, and then,too, for the fact that she was wife to the first mortal that ever escaped from issusthrough all the countless ages of her godhood. and the way that issus remembers her bestas the wife of one and the mother of another who raised their hands against the goddessof life eternal." i shuddered for fear of the cowardly revengethat i knew issus might have taken upon the

innocent dejah thoris for the sacrilege ofher son and her husband. "and where is dejah thoris now?" i asked,knowing that he would say the words i most dreaded, but yet i loved her so that i couldnot refrain from hearing even the worst about her fate so that it fell from the lips ofone who had seen her but recently. it was to me as though it brought her closer to me. "yesterday the monthly rites of issus wereheld," replied yersted, "and i saw her then sitting in her accustomed place at the footof issus." "what," i cried, "she is not dead, then?" "why, no," replied the black, "it has beenno year since she gazed upon the divine glory

of the radiant face of-" "no year?" i interrupted. "why, no," insisted yersted. "it cannot havebeen upward of three hundred and seventy or eighty days." a great light burst upon me. how stupid ihad been! i could scarcely retain an outward exhibition of my great joy. why had i forgottenthe great difference in the length of martian and earthly years! the ten earth years i hadspent upon barsoom had encompassed but five years and ninety-six days of martian time,whose days are forty-one minutes longer than ours, and whose years number six hundred andeighty-seven days.

i am in time! i am in time! the words surgedthrough my brain again and again, until at last i must have voiced them audibly, foryersted shook his head. "in time to save your princess?" he asked,and then without waiting for my reply, "no, john carter, issus will not give up her own.she knows that you are coming, and ere ever a vandal foot is set within the precinctsof the temple of issus, if such a calamity should befall, dejah thoris will be put awayfor ever from the last faint hope of rescue." "you mean that she will be killed merely tothwart me?" i asked. "not that, other than as a last resort," hereplied. "hast ever heard of the temple of the sun? it is there that they will put her.it lies far within the inner court of the

temple of issus, a little temple that raisesa thin spire far above the spires and minarets of the great temple that surrounds it. beneathit, in the ground, there lies the main body of the temple consisting in six hundred andeighty-seven circular chambers, one below another. to each chamber a single corridorleads through solid rock from the pits of issus. "as the entire temple of the sun revolvesonce with each revolution of barsoom about the sun, but once each year does the entranceto each separate chamber come opposite the mouth of the corridor which forms its onlylink to the world without. "here issus puts those who displease her,but whom she does not care to execute forthwith.

or to punish a noble of the first born shemay cause him to be placed within a chamber of the temple of the sun for a year. ofttimesshe imprisons an executioner with the condemned, that death may come in a certain horribleform upon a given day, or again but enough food is deposited in the chamber to sustainlife but the number of days that issus has allotted for mental anguish. "thus will dejah thoris die, and her fatewill be sealed by the first alien foot that crosses the threshold of issus." so i was to be thwarted in the end, althoughi had performed the miraculous and come within a few short moments of my divine princess,yet was i as far from her as when i stood

upon the banks of the hudson forty-eight millionmiles away. chapter xxithrough flood and flame yersted's information convinced me that therewas no time to be lost. i must reach the temple of issus secretly before the forces undertars tarkas assaulted at dawn. once within its hated walls i was positive that i couldovercome the guards of issus and bear away my princess, for at my back i would have aforce ample for the occasion. no sooner had carthoris and the others joinedme than we commenced the transportation of our men through the submerged passage to themouth of the gangways which lead from the submarine pool at the temple end of the waterytunnel to the pits of issus.

many trips were required, but at last allstood safely together again at the beginning of the end of our quest. five thousand strongwe were, all seasoned fighting-men of the most warlike race of the red men of barsoom. as carthoris alone knew the hidden ways ofthe tunnels we could not divide the party and attack the temple at several points atonce as would have been most desirable, and so it was decided that he lead us all as quicklyas possible to a point near the temple's centre. as we were about to leave the pool and enterthe corridor, an officer called my attention to the waters upon which the submarine floated.at first they seemed to be merely agitated as from the movement of some great body beneaththe surface, and i at once conjectured that

another submarine was rising to the surfacein pursuit of us; but presently it became apparent that the level of the waters wasrising, not with extreme rapidity, but very surely, and that soon they would overflowthe sides of the pool and submerge the floor of the chamber. for a moment i did not fully grasp the terribleimport of the slowly rising water. it was carthoris who realized the full meaning ofthe thing-its cause and the reason for it. "haste!" he cried. "if we delay, we all arelost. the pumps of omean have been stopped. they would drown us like rats in a trap. wemust reach the upper levels of the pits in advance of the flood or we shall never reachthem. come."

"lead the way, carthoris," i cried. "we willfollow." at my command, the youth leaped into one ofthe corridors, and in column of twos the soldiers followed him in good order, each company enteringthe corridor only at the command of its dwar, or captain. before the last company filed from the chamberthe water was ankle deep, and that the men were nervous was quite evident. entirely unaccustomedto water except in quantities sufficient for drinking and bathing purposes the red martiansinstinctively shrank from it in such formidable depths and menacing activity. that they wereundaunted while it swirled and eddied about their ankles, spoke well for their braveryand their discipline.

i was the last to leave the chamber of thesubmarine, and as i followed the rear of the column toward the corridor, i moved throughwater to my knees. the corridor, too, was flooded to the same depth, for its floor wason a level with the floor of the chamber from which it led, nor was there any perceptiblerise for many yards. the march of the troops through the corridorwas as rapid as was consistent with the number of men that moved through so narrow a passage,but it was not ample to permit us to gain appreciably on the pursuing tide. as the levelof the passage rose, so, too, did the waters rise until it soon became apparent to me,who brought up the rear, that they were gaining rapidly upon us. i could understand the reasonfor this, as with the narrowing expanse of

omean as the waters rose toward the apex ofits dome, the rapidity of its rise would increase in inverse ratio to the ever-lessening spaceto be filled. long ere the last of the column could hopeto reach the upper pits which lay above the danger point i was convinced that the waterswould surge after us in overwhelming volume, and that fully half the expedition would besnuffed out. as i cast about for some means of saving asmany as possible of the doomed men, i saw a diverging corridor which seemed to riseat a steep angle at my right. the waters were now swirling about my waist. the men directlybefore me were quickly becoming panic-stricken. something must be done at once or they wouldrush forward upon their fellows in a mad stampede

that would result in trampling down hundredsbeneath the flood and eventually clogging the passage beyond any hope of retreat forthose in advance. raising my voice to its utmost, i shoutedmy command to the dwars ahead of me. "call back the last twenty-five utans," ishouted. "here seems a way of escape. turn back and follow me." my orders were obeyed by nearer thirty utans,so that some three thousand men came about and hastened into the teeth of the flood toreach the corridor up which i directed them. as the first dwar passed in with his utani cautioned him to listen closely for my commands, and under no circumstances to venture intothe open, or leave the pits for the temple

proper until i should have come up with him,"or you know that i died before i could reach you." the officer saluted and left me. the men filedrapidly past me and entered the diverging corridor which i hoped would lead to safety.the water rose breast high. men stumbled, floundered, and went down. many i graspedand set upon their feet again, but alone the work was greater than i could cope with. soldierswere being swept beneath the boiling torrent, never to rise. at length the dwar of the 10thutan took a stand beside me. he was a valorous soldier, gur tus by name, and together wekept the now thoroughly frightened troops in the semblance of order and rescued manythat would have drowned otherwise.

djor kantos, son of kantos kan, and a padwarof the fifth utan joined us when his utan reached the opening through which the menwere fleeing. thereafter not a man was lost of all the hundreds that remained to passfrom the main corridor to the branch. as the last utan was filing past us the watershad risen until they surged about our necks, but we clasped hands and stood our grounduntil the last man had passed to the comparative safety of the new passageway. here we foundan immediate and steep ascent, so that within a hundred yards we had reached a point abovethe waters. for a few minutes we continued rapidly upthe steep grade, which i hoped would soon bring us quickly to the upper pits that letinto the temple of issus. but i was to meet

with a cruel disappointment. suddenly i heard a cry of "fire" far ahead,followed almost at once by cries of terror and the loud commands of dwars and padwarswho were evidently attempting to direct their men away from some grave danger. at last thereport came back to us. "they have fired the pits ahead." "we are hemmed in by flames infront and flood behind." "help, john carter; we are suffocating," and then there sweptback upon us at the rear a wave of dense smoke that sent us, stumbling and blinded, intoa choking retreat. there was naught to do other than seek a newavenue of escape. the fire and smoke were to be feared a thousand times over the water,and so i seized upon the first gallery which

led out of and up from the suffocating smokethat was engulfing us. again i stood to one side while the soldiershastened through on the new way. some two thousand must have passed at a rapid run,when the stream ceased, but i was not sure that all had been rescued who had not passedthe point of origin of the flames, and so to assure myself that no poor devil was leftbehind to die a horrible death, unsuccoured, i ran quickly up the gallery in the directionof the flames which i could now see burning with a dull glow far ahead. it was hot and stifling work, but at lasti reached a point where the fire lit up the corridor sufficiently for me to see that nosoldier of helium lay between me and the conflagration-what

was in it or upon the far side i could notknow, nor could any man have passed through that seething hell of chemicals and livedto learn. having satisfied my sense of duty, i turnedand ran rapidly back to the corridor through which my men had passed. to my horror, however,i found that my retreat in this direction had been blocked-across the mouth of thecorridor stood a massive steel grating that had evidently been lowered from its resting-placeabove for the purpose of effectually cutting off my escape. that our principal movements were known tothe first born i could not have doubted, in view of the attack of the fleet upon us theday before, nor could the stopping of the

pumps of omean at the psychological momenthave been due to chance, nor the starting of a chemical combustion within the one corridorthrough which we were advancing upon the temple of issus been due to aught than well-calculateddesign. and now the dropping of the steel gate topen me effectually between fire and flood seemed to indicate that invisible eyes wereupon us at every moment. what chance had i, then, to rescue dejah thoris were i to becompelled to fight foes who never showed themselves. a thousand times i berated myself for beingdrawn into such a trap as i might have known these pits easily could be. now i saw thatit would have been much better to have kept our force intact and made a concerted attackupon the temple from the valley side, trusting

to chance and our great fighting ability tohave overwhelmed the first born and compelled the safe delivery of dejah thoris to me. the smoke from the fire was forcing me furtherand further back down the corridor toward the waters which i could hear surging throughthe darkness. with my men had gone the last torch, nor was this corridor lighted by theradiance of phosphorescent rock as were those of the lower levels. it was this fact thatassured me that i was not far from the upper pits which lie directly beneath the temple. finally i felt the lapping waters about myfeet. the smoke was thick behind me. my suffering was intense. there seemed but one thing todo, and that to choose the easier death which

confronted me, and so i moved on down thecorridor until the cold waters of omean closed about me, and i swam on through utter blacknesstoward-what? the instinct of self-preservation is strongeven when one, unafraid and in the possession of his highest reasoning faculties, knowsthat death-positive and unalterable-lies just ahead. and so i swam slowly on, waitingfor my head to touch the top of the corridor, which would mean that i had reached the limitof my flight and the point where i must sink for ever to an unmarked grave. but to my surprise i ran against a blank wallbefore i reached a point where the waters came to the roof of the corridor. could ibe mistaken? i felt around. no, i had come

to the main corridor, and still there wasa breathing space between the surface of the water and the rocky ceiling above. and theni turned up the main corridor in the direction that carthoris and the head of the columnhad passed a half-hour before. on and on i swam, my heart growing lighter at every stroke,for i knew that i was approaching closer and closer to the point where there would be nochance that the waters ahead could be deeper than they were about me. i was positive thati must soon feel the solid floor beneath my feet again and that once more my chance wouldcome to reach the temple of issus and the side of the fair prisoner who languished there. but even as hope was at its highest i feltthe sudden shock of contact as my head struck

the rocks above. the worst, then, had cometo me. i had reached one of those rare places where a martian tunnel dips suddenly to alower level. somewhere beyond i knew that it rose again, but of what value was thatto me, since i did not know how great the distance that it maintained a level entirelybeneath the surface of the water! there was but a single forlorn hope, and itook it. filling my lungs with air, i dived beneath the surface and swam through the inky,icy blackness on and on along the submerged gallery. time and time again i rose with upstretchedhand, only to feel the disappointing rocks close above me. not for much longer would my lungs withstandthe strain upon them. i felt that i must soon

succumb, nor was there any retreating nowthat i had gone this far. i knew positively that i could never endure to retrace my pathnow to the point from which i had felt the waters close above my head. death stared mein the face, nor ever can i recall a time that i so distinctly felt the icy breath fromhis dead lips upon my brow. one more frantic effort i made with my fastebbing strength. weakly i rose for the last time-my tortured lungs gasped for the breaththat would fill them with a strange and numbing element, but instead i felt the revivifyingbreath of life-giving air surge through my starving nostrils into my dying lungs. i wassaved. a few more strokes brought me to a point wheremy feet touched the floor, and soon thereafter

i was above the water level entirely, andracing like mad along the corridor searching for the first doorway that would lead me toissus. if i could not have dejah thoris again i was at least determined to avenge her death,nor would any life satisfy me other than that of the fiend incarnate who was the cause ofsuch immeasurable suffering upon barsoom. sooner than i had expected i came to whatappeared to me to be a sudden exit into the temple above. it was at the right side ofthe corridor, which ran on, probably, to other entrances to the pile above. to me one point was as good as another. whatknew i where any of them led! and so without waiting to be again discovered and thwarted,i ran quickly up the short, steep incline

and pushed open the doorway at its end. the portal swung slowly in, and before itcould be slammed against me i sprang into the chamber beyond. although not yet dawn,the room was brilliantly lighted. its sole occupant lay prone upon a low couch at thefurther side, apparently in sleep. from the hangings and sumptuous furniture of the roomi judged it to be a living-room of some priestess, possibly of issus herself. at the thought the blood tingled through myveins. what, indeed, if fortune had been kind enough to place the hideous creature aloneand unguarded in my hands. with her as hostage i could force acquiescence to my every demand.cautiously i approached the recumbent figure,

on noiseless feet. closer and closer i cameto it, but i had crossed but little more than half the chamber when the figure stirred,and, as i sprang, rose and faced me. at first an expression of terror overspreadthe features of the woman who confronted me-then startled incredulity-hope-thanksgiving. my heart pounded within my breast as i advancedtoward her-tears came to my eyes-and the words that would have poured forth in a perfecttorrent choked in my throat as i opened my arms and took into them once more the womani loved-dejah thoris, princess of helium. chapter xxiivictory and defeat "john carter, john carter," she sobbed, withher dear head upon my shoulder; "even now

i can scarce believe the witness of my owneyes. when the girl, thuvia, told me that you had returned to barsoom, i listened, buti could not understand, for it seemed that such happiness would be impossible for onewho had suffered so in silent loneliness for all these long years. at last, when i realizedthat it was truth, and then came to know the awful place in which i was held prisoner,i learned to doubt that even you could reach me here. "as the days passed, and moon after moon wentby without bringing even the faintest rumour of you, i resigned myself to my fate. andnow that you have come, scarce can i believe it. for an hour i have heard the sounds ofconflict within the palace. i knew not what

they meant, but i have hoped against hopethat it might be the men of helium headed by my prince. "and tell me, what of carthoris, our son?" "he was with me less than an hour since, dejahthoris," i replied. "it must have been he whose men you have heard battling within theprecincts of the temple. "where is issus?" i asked suddenly. dejah thoris shrugged her shoulders. "she sent me under guard to this room justbefore the fighting began within the temple halls. she said that she would send for melater. she seemed very angry and somewhat

fearful. never have i seen her act in so uncertainand almost terrified a manner. now i know that it must have been because she had learnedthat john carter, prince of helium, was approaching to demand an accounting of her for the imprisonmentof his princess." the sounds of conflict, the clash of arms,the shouting and the hurrying of many feet came to us from various parts of the temple.i knew that i was needed there, but i dared not leave dejah thoris, nor dared i take herwith me into the turmoil and danger of battle. at last i bethought me of the pits from whichi had just emerged. why not secrete her there until i could return and fetch her away insafety and for ever from this awful place. i explained my plan to her.

for a moment she clung more closely to me. "i cannot bear to be parted from you now,even for a moment, john carter," she said. "i shudder at the thought of being alone againwhere that terrible creature might discover me. you do not know her. none can imagineher ferocious cruelty who has not witnessed her daily acts for over half a year. it hastaken me nearly all this time to realize even the things that i have seen with my own eyes." "i shall not leave you, then, my princess,"i replied. she was silent for a moment, then she drewmy face to hers and kissed me. "go, john carter," she said. "our son is there,and the soldiers of helium, fighting for the

princess of helium. where they are you shouldbe. i must not think of myself now, but of them and of my husband's duty. i may not standin the way of that. hide me in the pits, and go." i led her to the door through which i hadentered the chamber from below. there i pressed her dear form to me, and then, though it toremy heart to do it, and filled me only with the blackest shadows of terrible foreboding,i guided her across the threshold, kissed her once again, and closed the door upon her. without hesitating longer, i hurried fromthe chamber in the direction of the greatest tumult. scarce half a dozen chambers had itraversed before i came upon the theatre of

a fierce struggle. the blacks were massedat the entrance to a great chamber where they were attempting to block the further progressof a body of red men toward the inner sacred precincts of the temple. coming from within as i did, i found myselfbehind the blacks, and, without waiting to even calculate their numbers or the foolhardinessof my venture, i charged swiftly across the chamber and fell upon them from the rear withmy keen long-sword. as i struck the first blow i cried aloud,"for helium!" and then i rained cut after cut upon the surprised warriors, while thereds without took heart at the sound of my voice, and with shouts of "john carter! johncarter!" redoubled their efforts so effectually

that before the blacks could recover fromtheir temporary demoralization their ranks were broken and the red men had burst intothe chamber. the fight within that room, had it had buta competent chronicler, would go down in the annals of barsoom as a historic memorial tothe grim ferocity of her warlike people. five hundred men fought there that day, the blackmen against the red. no man asked quarter or gave it. as though by common assent theyfought, as though to determine once and for all their right to live, in accordance withthe law of the survival of the fittest. i think we all knew that upon the outcomeof this battle would hinge for ever the relative positions of these two races upon barsoom.it was a battle between the old and the new,

but not for once did i question the outcomeof it. with carthoris at my side i fought for the red men of barsoom and for their totalemancipation from the throttling bondage of a hideous superstition. back and forth across the room we surged,until the floor was ankle deep in blood, and dead men lay so thickly there that half thetime we stood upon their bodies as we fought. as we swung toward the great windows whichoverlooked the gardens of issus a sight met my gaze which sent a wave of exultation overme. "look!" i cried. "men of the first born, look!" for an instant the fighting ceased, and withone accord every eye turned in the direction

i had indicated, and the sight they saw wasone no man of the first born had ever imagined could be. across the gardens, from side to side, stooda wavering line of black warriors, while beyond them and forcing them ever back was a greathorde of green warriors astride their mighty thoats. and as we watched, one, fiercer andmore grimly terrible than his fellows, rode forward from the rear, and as he came he shoutedsome fierce command to his terrible legion. it was tars tarkas, jeddak of thark, and ashe couched his great forty-foot metal-shod lance we saw his warriors do likewise. thenit was that we interpreted his command. twenty yards now separated the green men from theblack line. another word from the great thark,

and with a wild and terrifying battle-crythe green warriors charged. for a moment the black line held, but only for a moment-thenthe fearsome beasts that bore equally terrible riders passed completely through it. after them came utan upon utan of red men.the green horde broke to surround the temple. the red men charged for the interior, andthen we turned to continue our interrupted battle; but our foes had vanished. my first thought was of dejah thoris. callingto carthoris that i had found his mother, i started on a run toward the chamber wherei had left her, with my boy close beside me. after us came those of our little force whohad survived the bloody conflict.

the moment i entered the room i saw that someone had been there since i had left. a silk lay upon the floor. it had not been therebefore. there were also a dagger and several metal ornaments strewn about as though tornfrom their wearer in a struggle. but worst of all, the door leading to the pits wherei had hidden my princess was ajar. with a bound i was before it, and, thrustingit open, rushed within. dejah thoris had vanished. i called her name aloud again and again, butthere was no response. i think in that instant i hovered upon the verge of insanity. i donot recall what i said or did, but i know that for an instant i was seized with therage of a maniac. "issus!" i cried. "issus! where is issus?search the temple for her, but let no man

harm her but john carter. carthoris, whereare the apartments of issus?" "this way," cried the boy, and, without waitingto know that i had heard him, he dashed off at breakneck speed, further into the bowelsof the temple. as fast as he went, however, i was still beside him, urging him on to greaterspeed. at last we came to a great carved door, andthrough this carthoris dashed, a foot ahead of me. within, we came upon such a scene asi had witnessed within the temple once before-the throne of issus, with the reclining slaves,and about it the ranks of soldiery. we did not even give the men a chance to draw,so quickly were we upon them. with a single cut i struck down two in the front rank. andthen by the mere weight and momentum of my

body, i rushed completely through the tworemaining ranks and sprang upon the dais beside the carved sorapus throne. the repulsive creature, squatting there interror, attempted to escape me and leap into a trap behind her. but this time i was notto be outwitted by any such petty subterfuge. before she had half arisen i had grasped herby the arm, and then, as i saw the guard starting to make a concerted rush upon me from allsides, i whipped out my dagger and, holding it close to that vile breast, ordered themto halt. "back!" i cried to them. "back! the firstblack foot that is planted upon this platform sends my dagger into issus' heart."

for an instant they hesitated. then an officerordered them back, while from the outer corridor there swept into the throne room at the heelsof my little party of survivors a full thousand red men under kantos kan, hor vastus, andxodar. "where is dejah thoris?" i cried to the thingwithin my hands. for a moment her eyes roved wildly about thescene beneath her. i think that it took a moment for the true condition to make anyimpression upon her-she could not at first realize that the temple had fallen beforethe assault of men of the outer world. when she did, there must have come, too, a terriblerealization of what it meant to her-the loss of power-humiliation-the exposureof the fraud and imposture which she had for

so long played upon her own people. there was just one thing needed to completethe reality of the picture she was seeing, and that was added by the highest noble ofher realm-the high priest of her religion-the prime minister of her government. "issus, goddess of death, and of life eternal,"he cried, "arise in the might of thy righteous wrath and with one single wave of thy omnipotenthand strike dead thy blasphemers! let not one escape. issus, thy people depend uponthee. daughter of the lesser moon, thou only art all-powerful. thou only canst save thypeople. i am done. we await thy will. strike!" and then it was that she went mad. a screaming,gibbering maniac writhed in my grasp. it bit

and clawed and scratched in impotent fury.and then it laughed a weird and terrible laughter that froze the blood. the slave girls uponthe dais shrieked and cowered away. and the thing jumped at them and gnashed its teethand then spat upon them from frothing lips. god, but it was a horrid sight. finally, i shook the thing, hoping to recallit for a moment to rationality. "where is dejah thoris?" i cried again. the awful creature in my grasp mumbled inarticulatelyfor a moment, then a sudden gleam of cunning shot into those hideous, close-set eyes. "dejah thoris? dejah thoris?" and then thatshrill, unearthly laugh pierced our ears once

more. "yes, dejah thoris-i know. and thuvia, andphaidor, daughter of matai shang. they each love john carter. ha-ah! but it is droll.together for a year they will meditate within the temple of the sun, but ere the year isquite gone there will be no more food for them. ho-oh! what divine entertainment," andshe licked the froth from her cruel lips. "there will be no more food-except eachother. ha-ah! ha-ah!" the horror of the suggestion nearly paralysedme. to this awful fate the creature within my power had condemned my princess. i trembledin the ferocity of my rage. as a terrier shakes a rat i shook issus, goddess of life eternal.

"countermand your orders!" i cried. "recallthe condemned. haste, or you die!" "it is too late. ha-ah! ha-ah!" and then shecommenced her gibbering and shrieking again. almost of its own volition, my dagger flewup above that putrid heart. but something stayed my hand, and i am now glad that itdid. it were a terrible thing to have struck down a woman with one's own hand. but a fitterfate occurred to me for this false deity. "first born," i cried, turning to those whostood within the chamber, "you have seen to-day the impotency of issus-the gods are impotent.issus is no god. she is a cruel and wicked old woman, who has deceived and played uponyou for ages. take her. john carter, prince of helium, would not contaminate his handwith her blood," and with that i pushed the

raving beast, whom a short half-hour beforea whole world had worshipped as divine, from the platform of her throne into the waitingclutches of her betrayed and vengeful people. spying xodar among the officers of the redmen, i called him to lead me quickly to the temple of the sun, and, without waiting tolearn what fate the first born would wreak upon their goddess, i rushed from the chamberwith xodar, carthoris, hor vastus, kantos kan, and a score of other red nobles. the black led us rapidly through the innerchambers of the temple, until we stood within the central court-a great circular spacepaved with a transparent marble of exquisite whiteness. before us rose a golden templewrought in the most wondrous and fanciful

designs, inlaid with diamond, ruby, sapphire,turquoise, emerald, and the thousand nameless gems of mars, which far transcend in lovelinessand purity of ray the most priceless stones of earth. "this way," cried xodar, leading us towardthe entrance to a tunnel which opened in the courtyard beside the temple. just as we wereon the point of descending we heard a deep-toned roar burst from the temple of issus, whichwe had but just quitted, and then a red man, djor kantos, padwar of the fifth utan, brokefrom a nearby gate, crying to us to return. "the blacks have fired the temple," he cried."in a thousand places it is burning now. haste to the outer gardens, or you are lost."

as he spoke we saw smoke pouring from a dozenwindows looking out upon the courtyard of the temple of the sun, and far above the highestminaret of issus hung an ever-growing pall of smoke. "go back! go back!" i cried to those who hadaccompanied me. "the way! xodar; point the way and leave me. i shall reach my princessyet." "follow me, john carter," replied xodar, andwithout waiting for my reply he dashed down into the tunnel at our feet. at his heelsi ran down through a half-dozen tiers of galleries, until at last he led me along a level floorat the end of which i discerned a lighted massive bars blocked our further progress,but beyond i saw her-my incomparable princess,

and with her were thuvia and phaidor. whenshe saw me she rushed toward the bars that separated us. already the chamber had turnedupon its slow way so far that but a portion of the opening in the temple wall was oppositethe barred end of the corridor. slowly the interval was closing. in a short time therewould be but a tiny crack, and then even that would be closed, and for a long barsoomianyear the chamber would slowly revolve until once more for a brief day the aperture inits wall would pass the corridor's end. but in the meantime what horrible things wouldgo on within that chamber! "xodar!" i cried. "can no power stop thisawful revolving thing? is there none who holds the secret of these terrible bars?"

"none, i fear, whom we could fetch in time,though i shall go and make the attempt. wait for me here." after he had left i stood and talked withdejah thoris, and she stretched her dear hand through those cruel bars that i might holdit until the last moment. thuvia and phaidor came close also, but whenthuvia saw that we would be alone she withdrew to the further side of the chamber. not sothe daughter of matai shang. "john carter," she said, "this be the lasttime that you shall see any of us. tell me that you love me, that i may die happy." "i love only the princess of helium," i repliedquietly. "i am sorry, phaidor, but it is as

i have told you from the beginning." she bit her lip and turned away, but not beforei saw the black and ugly scowl she turned upon dejah thoris. thereafter she stood alittle way apart, but not so far as i should have desired, for i had many little confidencesto impart to my long-lost love. for a few minutes we stood thus talking inlow tones. ever smaller and smaller grew the opening. in a short time now it would be toosmall even to permit the slender form of my princess to pass. oh, why did not xodar haste.above we could hear the faint echoes of a great tumult. it was the multitude of blackand red and green men fighting their way through the fire from the burning temple of issus.

a draught from above brought the fumes ofsmoke to our nostrils. as we stood waiting for xodar the smoke became thicker and thicker.presently we heard shouting at the far end of the corridor, and hurrying feet. "come back, john carter, come back!" crieda voice, "even the pits are burning." in a moment a dozen men broke through thenow blinding smoke to my side. there was carthoris, and kantos kan, and hor vastus, and xodar,with a few more who had followed me to the temple court. "there is no hope, john carter," cried xodar."the keeper of the keys is dead and his keys are not upon his carcass. our only hope isto quench this conflagration and trust to

fate that a year will find your princess aliveand well. i have brought sufficient food to last them. when this crack closes no smokecan reach them, and if we hasten to extinguish the flames i believe they will be safe." "go, then, yourself and take these otherswith you," i replied. "i shall remain here beside my princess until a merciful deathreleases me from my anguish. i care not to live." as i spoke xodar had been tossing a greatnumber of tiny cans within the prison cell. the remaining crack was not over an inch inwidth a moment later. dejah thoris stood as close to it as she could, whispering wordsof hope and courage to me, and urging me to

save myself. suddenly beyond her i saw the beautiful faceof phaidor contorted into an expression of malign hatred. as my eyes met hers she spoke. "think not, john carter, that you may so lightlycast aside the love of phaidor, daughter of matai shang. nor ever hope to hold thy dejahthoris in thy arms again. wait you the long, long year; but know that when the waitingis over it shall be phaidor's arms which shall welcome you-not those of the princess ofhelium. behold, she dies!" and as she finished speaking i saw her raisea dagger on high, and then i saw another figure. it was thuvia's. as the dagger fell towardthe unprotected breast of my love, thuvia

was almost between them. a blinding gust ofsmoke blotted out the tragedy within that fearsome cell-a shriek rang out, a singleshriek, as the dagger fell. the smoke cleared away, but we stood gazingupon a blank wall. the last crevice had closed, and for a long year that hideous chamber wouldretain its secret from the eyes of men. they urged me to leave. "in a moment it will be too late," cried xodar."there is, in fact, but a bare chance that we can come through to the outer garden aliveeven now. i have ordered the pumps started, and in five minutes the pits will be flooded.if we would not drown like rats in a trap we must hasten above and make a dash for safetythrough the burning temple."

"go," i urged them. "let me die here besidemy princess-there is no hope or happiness elsewhere for me. when they carry her dearbody from that terrible place a year hence let them find the body of her lord awaitingher." of what happened after that i have only aconfused recollection. it seems as though i struggled with many men, and then that iwas picked bodily from the ground and borne away. i do not know. i have never asked, norhas any other who was there that day intruded on my sorrow or recalled to my mind the occurrenceswhich they know could but at best reopen the terrible wound within my heart. ah! if i could but know one thing, what aburden of suspense would be lifted from my

shoulders! but whether the assassin's daggerreached one fair bosom or another, only time will divulge.