 CHAPTER XXI AND AIR SCOUT FOR ZODENGA As I proceeded on my journey towards Odenga, many strange and interesting sites arrested my attention, and at the several farmhouses where I stopped I learned a number of new and instructive things concerning the methods and manners of Barsoom. The water which supplies the farms of Mars is collected in immense underground reservoirs at either pole from the melting ice caps, and pumped through long conduits to the various populated areas. Along either side of these conduits, and extending their entire length, lie the cultivated districts. These are divided into tracks of about the same size, each tracked being under the supervision of one or more government officers. Instead of flooding the surface of the fields and thus wasting immense quantities of water by evaporation, the precious liquid is carried underground through a vast network of small pipes directly to the roots of the vegetation. The crops upon Mars are always uniform, for there are no droughts, no rains, no high winds, and no insects, or destroying birds. On this trip I tasted the first meat I had eaten since leaving earth, large juicy steaks and chops from the well-fed, domestic animals of the farms. I also enjoyed luscious fruits and vegetables, but not a single article of food which was exactly similar to anything on earth. Every plant and flower and vegetable and animal has been so refined by ages of careful scientific cultivation and breeding that the like of them on earth dwindled into pale, gray, characterless nothingness by comparison. At a second stop I met some highly cultivated people of the noble class, and while in conversation we chanced to speak of Helium. One of the older men had been there on a diplomatic mission several years before, and spoke with regret of the conditions which seemed destined ever to keep those two countries at war. Helium, he said, rightly boasts the most beautiful women of Barsoom, and of all her treasures the wondrous daughter of Moors Kajak Deja Thoris is the most exquisite flower. Why, he added, the people really worship the ground she walks upon, and since her loss on that ill-starred expedition all Helium has been draped in mourning. That our ruler should have attacked the disabled fleet as it was returning to Helium was but another of his awful blunders, which I fear will sooner or later compel Zodanga to elevate a wiser man to his place. Even now, though our victorious armies are surrounding Helium, the people of Zodanga are voicing their displeasure, for the war is not a popular one, since it is not based on right or justice. Our forces took advantage of the absence of the principal fleet of Helium on their search for the princess, and so we have been able easily to reduce the city to a sorry plight. It is said she will fall within the next few passages of the further moon. "'And what think you may have been the fate of the princess, Deja Thoris?' I asked, as casually as possible. "'She is dead,' he answered. "'This much was learned from a green warrior recently captured by our forces in the south. She escaped from the hordes of Thark with a strange creature of another world, only to fall into the hands of the war-hoons. Their thoats were found wandering upon the sea-bottom and evidences of a bloody conflict were discovered nearby.' While this information was in no way reassuring, neither was it at all conclusive proof of the death of Deja Thoris. And so I determined to make every effort possible to reach Helium as quickly as I could, and carry to Tardos Mors such news of his granddaughter's possible whereabouts as lay in my power. Ten days after leaving the three Ptor brothers I arrived at Zodanga. From the moment that I had come in contact with the red inhabitants of Mars I had noticed that Wula drew a great amount of unwelcome attention to me, since the huge brute belonged to a species which is never domesticated by the red men. Were one to stroll down Broadway with a Numidian lion at his heels the effect would be somewhat similar to that which I should have produced had I entered Zodanga with Wula. The very thought of parting with the faithful fellow caused me so great regret and genuine sorrow that I put it off until just before we arrived at the city's gates. But then, finally, it became imperative that we separate. Had nothing further than my own safety or pleasure been at stake no argument could have prevailed upon me to turn away the one creature upon Barsoom that had never failed in a demonstration of affection and loyalty. But as I would willingly have offered my life in the service of her in search of whom I was about to challenge the unknown dangers of this, to me, mysterious city, I could not permit even Wula's life to threaten the success of my venture, much less his momentary happiness, for I doubted not he soon would forget me. And so I bade the poor beast an affectionate farewell, promising him, however, that if I came through my adventure and safety that in some way I should find the means to search him out. He seemed to understand me fully, and when I pointed back in the direction of Thark he turned sorrowfully away, nor could I bear to watch him go, but resolutely set my face towards Zodanga and with a touch of heart-sickness approached her frowning walls. The letter I bore from them gained me immediate entrance to the vast walled city. It was still very early in the morning and the streets were practically deserted. The residences, raised high upon their metal columns, resembled huge rookeries, while the uprights themselves presented the appearance of steel tree trunks. The shops as a rule were not raised from the ground, or were the doors bolted or barred, since Thievery is practically unknown upon Barsoom. Assassination is the ever-present fear of all Barsoomians, and for this reason alone their homes are raised high above the ground at night or in times of danger. The Pator brothers had given me explicit directions for reaching the point of the city where I could find living accommodations and be near the offices of the government agents to whom they had given me letters. My way led to the central square or plaza, which is a characteristic of all Martian cities. The plaza of Zodanga covers a square mile and is bounded by the palaces of the Jeddak, the Jedds, and other members of the royalty and nobility of Zodanga, as well as by the principal public buildings, cafes, and shops. As I was crossing the great square, lost in wonder and admiration of the magnificent architecture and the gorgeous scarlet vegetation which carpeted the broad lawns, I discovered a red Martian walking briskly toward me from one of the avenues. He paid not the slightest attention to me, but as he came abreast I recognized him, and, turning, I placed my hand upon his shoulder, calling out, K'or, Kantos, can! Like lightning he wheeled and before I could so much as lower my hand the point of his longsword was at my breast. Who are you, he growled, and then, as a backward leap carried me fifty feet from the sword, he dropped the point to the ground and exclaimed, laughing, I do not need a better reply. There is but one man upon all Barsoom who can bounce about like a rubber ball. By the mother of the further moon, John Carter, how came you here, and have you become a darsen that you can change your color at will? You gave me a bad half-minute, my friend, he continued, after I had briefly outlined my adventures since parting with him in the arena at Warhoon. Where my name and city known to the Zodangans I would shortly be sitting on the banks of the Lost Sea of Chorus with my revered and departed ancestors. I am here in the interest of Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium, to discover the whereabouts of Dejah Thoris, our princess. Zab Than, of Zodanga, has her hidden in the city and has fallen madly in love with her. His father, Than Kosis, Jeddak of Zodanga, has made her voluntary marriage to his son the price of peace between our countries. But Tardos Mors will not exceed to the demands and has sent word that he and his people would rather look upon the dead face of their princess than see her wed to any than her own choice, and that personally he would prefer being engulfed in the ashes of a lost and burning Helium to joining the middle of his house with that of Than Kosis. His reply was the deadliest affront he could have put upon Than Kosis and the Zodangans, but his people love him the more for it, and his strength in Helium is greater today than ever. I have been here three days, continued Kantos Kan, but I have not yet found where Dejah Thoris is imprisoned. Today I join the Zodangan navy as an air scout, and I hope in this way to win the confidence of Zab Than, the prince, who is commander of this division of the navy, and thus learn the whereabouts of Dejah Thoris. I am glad that you are here, John Carter, for I know your loyalty to my princess and the two of us working together should be able to accomplish much. The plaza was now commencing to fill with people going and coming upon the daily activities of their duties. The shops were opening and the cafes filling with early morning patrons. Kantos Kan led me to one of these gorgeous eating places where we were served entirely by mechanical apparatus. No hand touched the food from the time it entered the building in its raw state until it emerged hot and delicious upon the tables before the guests, in response to the touching of tiny buttons to indicate their desires. After our meal Kantos Kan took me with him to the headquarters of the air scout squadron, and introducing me to his superior asked that I be enrolled as a member of the corps. In accordance with custom an examination was necessary, but Kantos Kan had told me to have no fear on this score as he would attend to that part of the matter. He accomplished this by taking my order for examination to the examining officer and representing himself as John Carter. This ruse will be discovered later, he cheerfully explained, when they check up my weights, measurements, and other personal identification data, but it will be several months before this is done and our mission should be accomplished or have failed long before that time. The next few days were spent by Kantos Kan in teaching me the intricacies of flying and of repairing the dainty little contrivances which the Martians use for this purpose. The body of the one-man aircraft is about sixteen feet long, two feet wide, and three inches thick, tapering to a point at each end. The driver sits on top of this plane, upon a seat constructed over the small, noiseless, radium engine which propels it. The medium of buoyancy is contained within the thin metal walls of the body, and consists of the eighth Barsoomian ray, or ray of propulsion, as it may be termed in view of its properties. This ray, like the ninth ray, is unknown on earth, but the Martians have discovered that it is an inherent property of all light no matter from what source it emanates. They have learned that it is the solar eighth ray which propels the light of the sun to the various planets, and that is the individual eighth ray of each planet which reflects or propels the light thus obtained out into space once more. The solar eighth ray would be absorbed by the surface of Barsoom, but the Barsoomian eighth ray, which tends to propel light from Mars into space, is constantly streaming out from the planet constituting a force of repulsion of gravity, which when confined is able to lift enormous weights from the surface of the ground. It is this ray which has enabled them to so perfect aviation that battleships far outweighing anything known upon earth sail as gracefully and lightly through the thin air of Barsoom as a toy balloon in the heavy atmosphere of earth. During the early years of the discovery of this ray, many strange accidents occurred before the Martians learned to measure and control the wonderful power they had found. In one instance, some nine hundred years before, the first great battleship to be built with eighth ray reservoirs was stored with two greater quantity of the rays and she had sailed up from Helium with five hundred officers and men never to return. Her power of repulsion for the planet was so great that it had carried her far into space, where she can be seen today by the aid of powerful telescopes hurtling through the heavens ten thousand miles from Mars, a tiny satellite that will thus encircle Barsoom to the end of time. The fourth day after my arrival at Zodanga I made my first flight, and as a result of it I won a promotion which included quarters in the palace of Thancosis. As I rose above the city I circled several times, as I had seen cantos can do, and then throwing my engine into top speed I raced at terrific velocity toward the south, following one of the great waterways which enters Zodanga from that direction. I had traversed perhaps two hundred miles in little less than an hour when I described far below me a party of three green warriors racing madly toward a small figure on foot, which seemed to be trying to reach the confines of one of the walled fields. Dropping my machine rapidly toward them and circling to the rear of the warriors I soon saw that the object of their pursuit was a red Martian, wearing the metal of the scout squadron to which I was attached. A short distance away lay his tiny flyer, surrounded by the tools with which he had evidently been occupied in repairing some damage when surprised by the green warriors. They were now almost upon him. Their flying mounts charging down on the relatively puny figure at terrific speed, while the warriors leaned low to the right with their great metal shod spears. Each seemed striving to be the first to impale the poor Zodangan, and in another moment his fate would have been sealed had it not been for my timely arrival. Driving my fleet aircraft at high speed directly behind the warriors I soon overtook them and without diminishing my speed I rammed the prow of my little flyer between the shoulders of the nearest. The impact sufficient to have torn through inches of solid steel hurled the fellow's headless body into the air over the head of his throat, where it fell sprawling upon the moss. The mounts of the other two warriors turned squealing in terror and bolted in opposite directions. Reducing my speed I circled and came to the ground at the feet of the astonished Zodangan. He was warm in his thanks for my timely aid and promised that my day's work would bring the reward it merited, for it was none other than a cousin of the Jeddak of Zodanga whose life I had saved. We wasted no time in talk as we knew that the warriors would surely return as soon as they had gained control of their mounts. Hastening to his damaged machine we were bending every effort to finish the needed repairs and had almost completed them when we saw the two green monsters returning at top speed from opposite sides of us. When they had approached within a hundred yards their thoats again became unmanageable and absolutely refused to advance further toward the aircraft which had frightened them. The warriors finally dismounted and hobbling their animals advanced toward us on foot with drawn long swords. I advanced to meet the larger telling the Zodangan to do the best he could with the other. Finishing my man with almost no effort as had now from much practice become habitual with me I hastened to return to my new acquaintance whom I found indeed in desperate straits. He was wounded and down with the huge foot of his antagonist upon his throat and the great long sword raised to deal the final thrust. With a bound I cleared the fifty feet intervening between us and with outstretched point drove my sword completely through the body of the green warrior. His sword fell harmless to the ground and he sank limply upon the prostrate form of the Zodangan. A cursory examination of the latter revealed no mortal injuries and after a brief rest he asserted that he felt fit to attempt the return voyage. He would have to pilot his own craft, however, as these frail vessels are not intended to convey but a single person. Quickly completing the repairs we rose together into the still cloudless Martian sky and at great speed and without further mishap returned to Zodanga. As we neared the city we discovered a mighty concourse of civilians and troops assembled upon the plain before the city. The sky was black with naval vessels and private and public pleasure craft, flying long streamers of gay-colored silks and banners and flags of odd and picturesque design. My companion signaled that I slowed down and running his machine close beside mine suggested that we approach and watch the ceremony, which he said was for the purpose of conferring honors on individual officers and men for bravery and for other distinguished service. He then unfurled a little ensign which denoted that his craft bore a member of the royal family of Zodanga, and together we made our way through the maze of low-lying air vessels until we hung directly over the jeddak of Zodanga and his staff. All were mounted upon the small domestic bull thoats of the Red Martians, and their trappings and ornamentation bore such a quantity of gorgeously colored feathers that I could not but be struck by the startling resemblance the concourse bore to a band of the Red Indians of my own earth. One of the staff called the attention of Than Kosas to the presence of my companion above them, and the ruler motioned for him to descend. As they waited for the troops to move into position facing the jeddak the two talked earnestly together, the jeddak and his staff occasionally glancing up at me. I could not hear their conversation, and presently it ceased, and all dismounted, as the last body of troops had wheeled into position before their emperor. A member of the staff advanced toward the troops and calling the name of a soldier commanded him to advance. The officer then recited the nature of the heroic act which had won the approval of the jeddak, and the latter advanced and placed a metal ornament upon the left arm of the lucky man. Ten men had been so decorated when the aid called out, John Carter, air scout! Never in my life had I been so surprised, but the habit of military discipline is strong within me, and I dropped my little machine lightly to the ground and advanced on foot as I had seen the others do. As I halted before the officer he addressed me in a voice audible to the entire assemblage of troops and spectators. In recognition, John Carter, he said, of your remarkable courage and skill in defending the person of a cousin of the jeddak Thancosis and, single-handed, vanquishing three green warriors, it is the pleasure of our jeddak to confer on you the mark of his esteem. John Cosis then advanced toward me, and placing an ornament upon me, said, My cousin has narrated the details of your wonderful achievement, which seems little short of miraculous, and if you can so well defend a cousin of the jeddak, how much better could you defend the person of the jeddak himself. You are therefore appointed a padwar of the guards, and will be quartered in my palace hereafter. I thanked him, and at his direction joined the members of his staff. After the ceremony I returned my machine to its quarters on the roof of the barracks of the air-scout squadron, and with an orderly from the palace to guide me I reported to the officer in charge of the palace. CHAPTER XXII. I FIND DEJA. The major domo to whom I reported had been given instructions to station me near the person of the jeddak, who, in time of war, is always in great danger of assassination, as the rule that all is fair in war seems to constitute the entire ethics of Martian conflict. He therefore escorted me immediately to the apartment in which Than Cosis then was. The ruler was engaged in conversation with his son, Sab Than, and several courtiers of his household, and did not perceive my entrance. The walls of the apartment were completely hung with splendid tapestries which hid any windows or doors which may have pierced them. The room was lighted by imprisoned rays of sunshine held between the ceiling proper and what appeared to be a ground-glass false ceiling a few inches below. My guide drew aside one of the tapestries disclosing a passage which encircled the room between the hangings and the walls of the chamber. Within this passage I was to remain, he said, so long as Than Cosis was in the apartment. When he left I was to follow. My only duty was to guard the ruler and keep out of sight as much as possible. I would be relieved after a period of four hours, the Major Domo then left me. The tapestries were of a strange weaving which gave the appearance of heavy solidity from one side, but from my hiding place I could perceive all that took place within the room as readily as though there had been no curtain intervening. Scarcely had I gained my post then the tapestry at the opposite end of the chamber separated and four soldiers of the guard entered, surrounding a female figure. As they approached Than Cosis the soldiers fell to either side and there standing before the jeddak and not ten feet from me, her beautiful face radiant with smiles was Dejah Thoris. Thab Than, Prince of Zodanga, advanced to meet her, and hand in hand they approached close to the jeddak. Than Cosis looked up in surprise and rising saluted her. To what strange freak do I owe this visit from the Princess of Helium, who, two days ago, with rare consideration for my pride, assured me that she would prefer Tal Hajus, the green thark to my son. Dejah Thoris only smiled the more, and with the roguish dimples playing at the corners of her mouth she made answer. From the beginning of time upon Barsoom it has been the prerogative of woman to change her mind as she listed and to dissemble in matters concerning her heart. That you will forgive Than Cosis as has your son. Two days ago I was not sure of his love for me, but now I am, and I have come to beg of you to forget my rash words and to accept the assurance of the Princess of Helium that when the time comes she will wed Thab Than, Prince of Zodanga. I am glad you have so decided, replied Than Cosis. It is far from my desire to push war further against the people of Helium, and your promise shall be recorded and a proclamation to my people issued forthwith. It were better than Cosis, interrupted Dejah Thoris, that the proclamation wait the ending of this war. It would look strange indeed to my people and to yours were the Princess of Helium to give herself to her country's enemy in the midst of hostilities. Cannot the war be ended at once, spoke Thab Than. It requires but the word of Than Cosis to bring peace. Say it, my father. Say the word that will hasten my happiness and end this unpopular strife. We shall see, replied Than Cosis, how the people of Helium take to peace. I shall at least offer it to them. Dejah Thoris, after a few words, turned and left the apartment, still followed by her guards. Thus was the edifice of my brief dream of happiness dashed, broken to the ground of reality. The woman for whom I had offered my life and from whose lips I had so recently heard a declaration of love for me had lightly forgotten my very existence, smilingly given herself to the son of her people's most hated enemy. Although I had heard it with my own ears, I could not believe it. I must search out her apartments and force her to repeat the cruel truth to me alone, before I would be convinced, and so I deserted my post and hastened through the passage behind the tapestries toward the door by which she had left the chamber. Slipping quietly through this opening I discovered a maze of winding corridors branching and turning in every direction. Running rapidly down first one and then another of them I soon became hopelessly lost, and was standing, panting against a side wall, when I heard voices near me. Apparently they were coming from the opposite side of the partition against which I leaned, and presently I made out the tones of Dejah Thoris. I could not hear the words, but I knew that I could not possibly be mistaken in the voice. Moving on a few steps I discovered another passageway at the end of which lay a door. Walking boldly forward I pushed into the room only to find myself in a small anti-chamber in which were the four guards who had accompanied her. One of them instantly arose and accosted me, asking the nature of my business. I am from Thancosis, I replied, and wish to speak privately with Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium. And your order, asked the fellow. I did not know what he meant, but replied that I was a member of the guard, and without waiting for a reply from him I strode toward the opposite door of the anti-chamber, behind which I could hear Dejah Thoris conversing. But my entrance was not to be so easily accomplished. The guardsmen stepped before me, saying, No one comes from Thancosis without carrying an order or the password. You must give me one or the other before you may pass. The only order I require, my friend, to enter where I will hangs at my side, I answered, grabbing my long sword. Will you let me pass in peace or no? For reply he whipped out his own sword, calling to the others to join him, and thus the four stood, withdrawn weapons, barring my further progress. You are not here by the order of Thancosis, cried the one who had first addressed me, and not only shall you not enter the apartments of the Princess of Helium, but you shall go back to Thancosis under guard to explain this unwarranted temerity. Throw down your sword. You cannot hope to overcome four of us," he added with a grim smile. My reply was a quick thrust which left me but three antagonists, and I can assure you that they were worthy of my medal. They had me backed against the wall in no time, fighting for my life. Slowly I worked my way to a corner of the room where I could force them to come at me only one at a time, and thus we fought upward of twenty minutes, the clanging of steel on steel producing a veritable bedlam in the little room. The noise had brought Dejah Thoris to the door of her apartment, and there she stood throughout the conflict with Sola at her back peering over her shoulder. Her face was set and emotionless, and I knew that she did not recognize me, nor did Sola. Finally a lucky cut brought down a second guardsman, and then with only two opposing me I changed my tactics and rushed them down after the fashion of my fighting that had won me many a victory. The third fell within ten seconds after the second, and the last lay dead upon the bloody floor a few moments later. They were brave men and noble fighters, and it grieved me that I had been forced to kill them. But I would have willingly depopulated all Barsoom could I have reached the side of my Dejah Thoris in no other way. Sheathing my bloody blade I advanced toward my Martian princess, who stood mutely gazing at me with no sign of recognition. Who are you, Zodangan? she whispered. Another enemy to harass me in my misery? I am a friend, I answered, a once cherished friend. No friend of Helium's princess wears that metal, she replied. In yet the voice. I have heard it before. It is not. It cannot be. No, for he is dead. It is, though, my princess, none other than John Carter, I said. Do you not recognize, even through paint and strange metal, the heart of your chieftain? As I came close to her she swayed toward me without stretched hands, but as I reached to take her in my arms she drew back with a shudder and a little moan of misery. Too late, too late, she grieved, O my chieftain that was, and whom I thought dead, had you but returned one little hour before, but now it is too late, too late. What do you mean, Dejah Thoris? I cried, that you would not have promised yourself to the Zodangan prince had you known that I lived? Think you, John Carter, that I would give my heart to you yesterday and to-day to another? I thought that it lay buried with your ashes in the pits of Warhoon, and so to-day I have promised my body to another to save my people from the curse of a victorious Zodangan army. But I am not dead, my princess. I have come to claim you, and all Zodanga cannot prevent it. It is too late, John Carter. My promise is given, and on Barsoom that is final. The ceremonies which follow later are but meaningless formalities. They make the fact of marriage no more certain than does the funeral cortage of a jeddak again place the seal of death upon him. I am as good as married, John Carter. No longer may you call me your princess. No longer are you my chieftain. I know but little of your customs here upon Barsoom, Dejah Thoris, but I do know that I love you, and if you meant the last words you spoke to me that day as the hordes of Warhoon were charging down upon us, no other man shall ever claim you as his bride. You meant them then, my princess, and you mean them still. Say that it is true. I meant them, John Carter, she whispered. I cannot repeat them now, for I have given myself to another. Ah, if you had only known our ways, my friend, she continued half to herself. The promise would have been yours long months ago, and you could have claimed me before all others. It might have meant the fall of Helium, but I would have given my empire for my Tharkian chief. Then allowed, she said, Do you remember the night when you offended me, you called me your princess without having asked my hand of me, and then you boasted that you had fought for me. You did not know, and I should not have been offended. I see that now, but there was no one to tell you what I could not, that upon Barsoom there are two kinds of women in the cities of the red men, the one they fight for that they may ask them in marriage, the other kind they fight for also, but never ask their hands. When a man has won a woman he may address her as his princess, or in any of the several terms which signify possession. You had fought for me, but had never asked me in marriage, and so when you called me your princess you see, she faltered, I was hurt, but even then, John Carter, I did not repulse you as I should have done until you made it doubly worse by taunting me with having won me through combat. I do not need to ask your forgiveness now, Dejah Thoris, I cried. You must know that my fault was of ignorance of your Barsoomian customs. What I failed to do, through implicit belief that my petition would be presumptuous and unwelcome, I do now, Dejah Thoris. I ask you to be my wife, and by all the Virginian fighting blood that flows in my veins you shall be. No, John Carter, it is useless, she cried hopelessly, I may never be yours while Sab Than lives. You have sealed his death warrant, my princess, Sab Than dies. Nor that either, she hastened to explain, I may not wed the man who slays my husband even in self-defense. It is custom, we are ruled by custom upon Barsoom. It is useless, my friend, you must bear the sorrow with me, that at least we may share in common, that and the memory of the brief days among the tharks. You must go now and never see me again. Goodbye, my chieftain, that was. Disheartened and dejected I withdrew from the room, but I was not entirely discouraged, nor would I admit that Dejah Thoris was lost to me until the ceremony had actually been performed. As I wandered along the corridors I was as absolutely lost in the mazes of winding passageways as I had been before I discovered Dejah Thoris' apartments. I knew that my only hope lay in escape from the city of Zodanga, for the matter of the four dead guardsmen would have to be explained, and as I could never reach my original post without a guide suspicion would surely rest on me so soon as I was discovered wandering aimlessly through the palace. Presently I came upon a spiral runway leading to a lower floor, and this I followed downward for several stories until I reached the doorway of a large apartment in which were a number of guardsmen. The walls of this room were hung with transparent tapestries behind which I secreted myself without being apprehended. The conversation of the guardsmen was general, and awakened no interest in me until an officer entered the room and ordered four of the men to relieve the detail who were guarding the Princess of Helium. Now I knew my troubles would commence in earnest, and indeed they were upon me all too soon, for it seemed that the squad had scarcely left the guard room before one of their number burst in again breathlessly, crying that they had found their four comrades butchered in the anti-chamber. In a moment the entire palace was alive with people. Guardsmen, officers, courtiers, servants, and slaves ran helter-skelter through the corridors and apartments carrying messages and orders and searching for signs of the assassin. This was my opportunity, and slim as it appeared I grasped it, for as a number of soldiers came hurrying past my hiding place I fell in behind them and followed through the mazes of the palace until, in passing through a great hall, I saw the blessed light of day coming in through a series of larger windows. Here I left my guides, and slipping to the nearest window sought for an avenue of escape. The windows opened upon a great balcony which overlooked one of the broad avenues of Zodanga. The ground was about thirty feet below, and at a like distance from the building was a wall full twenty feet high, constructed of polished glass about a foot in thickness. To a red Martian escape by this path would have appeared impossible, but to me with my earthly strength and agility it seemed already accomplished. My only fear was in being detected before darkness fell, or I could not make the leap in broad daylight while the court below and the avenue beyond were crowded with Zodangans. Accordingly I searched for a hiding place and finally found one by accident, inside a huge hanging ornament which swung from the ceiling of the hall, and about ten feet from the floor. Into the capaceous bowl-like vase I sprang with ease, and scarcely had I settled down within it then I heard a number of people enter the apartment. The group stopped beneath my hiding place and I could plainly overhear their every word. It is the work of Heliumites, said one of the men. Yes, O Jeddak, but how had they accessed to the palace? I could believe that even with the diligent care of your guardsmen a single enemy might reach the inner chambers, but how a force of six or eight fighting men could have done so unobserved is beyond me. We shall soon know, however, for here comes the royal psychologist. Another man now joined the group and after making his formal greetings to his ruler said, O mighty Jeddak, it is a strange tale I read in the dead minds of your faithful guardsmen. They were filled not by a number of fighting men, but by a single opponent. He paused to let the full weight of this announcement impress his hearers, and that his statement was scarcely credited was evidenced by the impatient exclamation of incredulity which escaped the lips of Than-Cosis. What manner of weird tale are you bringing me, notan? he cried. It is the truth, my Jeddak, replied the psychologist. In fact the impressions were strongly marked on the brain of each of the four guardsmen. Their antagonist was a very tall man, wearing the medal of one of your own guardsmen, and his fighting ability was little short of marvellous, for he fought fair against the entire four and vanquished them by his surpassing skill and superhuman strength and endurance. Though he wore the medal of Zodanga, my Jeddak, such a man was never seen before in this or any other country upon Barsoom. The mind of the Princess of Helium, whom I have examined and questioned, was a blank to me. She has perfect control, and I could not read one iota of it. She said that she witnessed a portion of the encounter and that when she looked there was but one man engaged with the guardsmen, a man whom she did not recognize as ever having seen. Where is my erstwhile saviour? spoke another of the party, and I recognized the voice of the cousin of Thancosis, whom I had rescued from the Green Warriors. By the medal of my first ancestor, he went on, but the description fits him to perfection, especially as to his fighting ability. Where is this man? cried Thancosis. Have him brought to me at once. What know you of him, cousin? It seems strange to me now that I think upon it that there should have been such a fighting man in Zodanga of whose name even we were ignorant before to-day, and his name, too, John Carter, who ever heard of such a name upon Barsoom. Word was soon brought that I was nowhere to be found, either in the palace or at my former quarters in the barracks of the air-scout squadron. Kantos Khan they had found and questioned, but he knew nothing of my whereabouts, and as to my past he told them he knew as little, since he had but recently met me during our captivity among the war-hoons. Keep your eyes on this other one, commanded Thancosis. He also is a stranger, and, likely as not, they both hail from Helium, and where one is we shall, sooner or later, find the other. Quadruple the air-patrol, and let every man who leaves the city by air or ground be subjected to the closest scrutiny. Another messenger now entered with word that I was still within the palace walls. The likeness of every person who has entered or left the palace grounds to-day has been carefully examined, concluded the fellow, and not one approaches the likeness of this new padwar of the guards, other than that which was recorded of him at the time he entered. Then we shall have him shortly, commented Thancosis contentedly, and in the meanwhile we will repair to the apartments of the Princess of Helium and question her in regard to the affair. She may know more than she cared to divulge to you, notan. Come. They left the hall, and as darkness had fallen without I slipped lightly from my hiding place, and hastened to the balcony. Few were in sight, and choosing a moment when none seemed near, I sprang quickly to the top of the glass wall, and from there to the avenue beyond the palace grounds. CHAPTER XXIII. LOST IN THE SKY Without effort at concealment I hastened to the vicinity of our quarters, where I felt sure I should find Kantos Khan. As I neared the building I became more careful, as I judged, and rightly, that the place would be guarded. Several men and civilian metal loitered near the front entrance, and in the rear were others. My only means of reaching, unseen, the upper story, where our apartments were situated, was through an adjoining building, and after considerable maneuvering I managed to attain the roof of a shop several doors away. Leaping from roof to roof I soon reached an open window in the building where I hoped to find the Heliumite, and in another moment I stood in the room before him. He was alone and showed no surprise at my coming, saying he had expected me much earlier, as my tour of duty must have ended some time since. I saw that he knew nothing of the events of the day at the palace, and when I had enlightened him he was all excitement. The news that Dejah Thoris had promised her hand to Sab Than filled him with dismay. It cannot be, he exclaimed. It is impossible. Why, no man in all Helium but would prefer death to the selling of our loved princess to the ruling house of Zodanga. She must have lost her mind to have assented to such an atrocious bargain. You, who do not know how we of Helium love the members of our ruling house, cannot appreciate the horror with which I contemplate such an unholy alliance. What can be done, John Carter, he continued. You are a resourceful man. Can you not think of some way to save Helium from this disgrace? If I can come within sword's reach of Sab Than, I answered, I can solve the difficulty in so far as Helium is concerned, but for personal reasons I would prefer that another struck the blow that frees Dejah Thoris. Kantos Ken eyed me narrowly before he spoke. You love her, he said. Does she know it? She knows it, Kantos Ken, and repulses me only because she has promised to Sab Than. The splendid fellow sprang to his feet and grasping me by the shoulder raised his sword on high, exclaiming, and had the choice been left to me I could not have chosen a more fitting mate for the first princess of Barsoom. Here is my hand upon your shoulder, John Carter, and my word that Sab Than shall go out at the point of my sword for the sake of my love for Helium, for Dejah Thoris, and for you. This very night I shall try to reach his quarters in the palace. How, I asked, you are strongly guarded, and a quadruple force patrols the sky. He bent his head in a thought a moment, then raised it with an air of confidence. I only need to pass these guards and can do it, he said at first. I know a secret entrance to the palace through the pinnacle of the highest tower. I fell upon it by chance one day as I was passing above the palace on patrol duty. In this work it is required that we investigate any unusual occurrence we may witness, and a face peering from the pinnacle of the high tower of the palace was to me most unusual. I therefore drew near and discovered that the possessor of the peering face was none other than Sab Than. He was slightly put out at being detected and commanded me to keep the matter to myself, explaining that the passage from the tower led directly to his apartments, and was known only to him. If I can reach the roof of the barracks and get my machine I can be in Sab Than's quarters in five minutes. But how am I to escape from this building guarded as you say it is? How well are the machine sheds at the barracks guarded, I asked. There is usually but one man on duty there at night upon the roof. Go to the roof of this building, Kantos Khan, and wait me there. Without stopping to explain my plans I retraced my way to the street and hastened to the barracks. I did not dare to enter the building, filled as it was with members of the air-scout squadron, who in common with all Zodanga were on the lookout for me. The building was an enormous one, rearing its lofty head fully a thousand feet into the air. But few buildings in Zodanga were higher than these barracks, though several topped it by a few hundred feet. The docks of the great battleships of the line standing some fifteen hundred feet from the ground, while the freight and passenger stations of the merchant squadrons rose nearly as high. It was a long climb up the face of the building and one fraught with much danger, but there was no other way, and so I assayed the task. The fact that Barsoomian architecture is extremely ornate made the feet much simpler than I had anticipated, since I found ornamental ledges and projections which fairly formed a perfect ladder for me all the way to the eaves of the building. Here I met my first real obstacle. The eaves projected nearly twenty feet from the wall to which I clung, and though I encircled a great building I could find no opening through them. The top floor was alight and filled with soldiers engaged in the pastimes of their kind. I could not therefore reach the roof through the building. There was one slight desperate chance, and that I decided I must take. It was for Dejah Thoris, and no man has lived who would not risk a thousand deaths for such as she. Clinging to the wall with my feet and one hand I unloosened one of the long leather straps of my trappings at the end of which dangled a great hook by which air sailors are hung to the sides and bottoms of their craft for various purposes of repair, and by means of which landing parties are lowered to the ground from the battleships. I swung this hook cautiously to the roof several times before it finally found lodgment. Gently I pulled on it to strengthen its hold, but whether it would bear the weight of my body I did not know. It might be barely caught upon the very outer verge of the roof, so that as my body swung out at the end of the strap it would slip off and launch me to the pavement a thousand feet below. An instant I hesitated, and then releasing my grasp upon the supporting ornament I swung out into space at the end of the strap. Far below me lay the brilliantly lighted streets, the hard pavements, and death. There was a little jerk at the top of the supporting eaves and a nasty slipping grating sound which turned me cold with apprehension. Then the hook caught and I was safe. Clambering quickly aloft I grasped the edge of the eaves and drew myself to the surface of the roof above. As I gained my feet I was confronted by the sentry on duty, into the muzzle of whose revolver I found myself looking. "'Who are you?' and whence came you?' he cried. "'I am an air scout, friend, and very near a dead one, for just by the nearest chance I escaped falling to the avenue below,' I replied. "'But how came you upon the roof, man? No one has landed or come up from the building for the past hour. Quick, explain yourself, or I call the guard.' "'Look here, sentry, and you shall see how I came and how close a shave I had to not coming at all,' I answered, turning toward the edge of the roof, where twenty feet below, at the end of my strap, hung all my weapons. The fellow, acting on impulse of curiosity, stepped to my side and to his undoing. For as he leaned to peer over the eaves, I grasped him by his throat and his pistol-arm and threw him heavily to the roof. The weapon dropped from his grasp and my fingers choked off his attempted cry for assistance. I gagged and bound him, and then hung him over the edge of the roof as myself had hung a few moments before. I knew it would be morning before he would be discovered, and I needed all the time that I could Donning my trappings and weapons I hastened to the sheds, and soon had out both my machine and Kanto's cans. Making his fast behind me, I started my engine, and skimming over the edge of the roof, I dove down into the streets of the city far below, the plain usually occupied by the air patrol. In less than a minute I was settling safely upon the roof of our apartment beside the astonished Kanto's can. I lost no time in explanation but plunged immediately into a discussion of our plans for the immediate future. It was decided that I was to try to make helium while Kanto's can was to enter the palace and dispatch Sab Than. If successful he was then to follow me. He set my compass for me, a clever little device which will remain steadfastly fixed upon my given point on the surface of Varsum, and bidding each other farewell we rose together and sped in the direction of the palace which lay in the route which I must take to reach helium. As we neared the high tower a patrol shot down from above, throwing its piercing searchlight full upon my craft, and a voice roared out a command to halt, following with a shot as I paid no attention to his hail. Kanto's can dropped quickly into the darkness, while I rose steadily and at terrific speed raced through the Martian sky, followed by a dozen of the air scout craft which had joined the pursuit, and later by a swift cruiser carrying a hundred men and a battery of rapid-fire guns. By twisting and turning my little machine now rising and now falling I managed to elude their searchlights most of the time, but I was also losing ground by these tactics, and so I decided to hazard everything on a straightaway course and leave the result to fate and the speed of my machine. Kanto's can had showed me a trick of gearing, which is known only to the navy of helium, that greatly increased the speed of our machines, so that I felt sure I could distance my pursuers if I could dodge their projectiles for a few moments. As I sped through the air the screeching of bullets around me convinced me that only by a miracle could I escape, but the die was cast, and throwing on full speed I raced a straight course toward helium. Gradually I left my pursuers further and further behind, and I was just congratulating myself on my lucky escape when a well-directed shot from the cruiser exploded at the prow of my little craft. The concussion nearly capsized her, and with a sickening plunge she hurdled downward through the dark night. How far I fell before I regained control of the plane I do not know, but I must have been very close to the ground when I started to rise again as I plainly heard the squealing of animals below me. Rising again I scanned the heavens for my pursuers, and finally making out their lights far behind me saw that they were landing, evidently, in search of me. Not until their lights were no longer discernible did I venture to flash my little lamp upon my compass, and then I found to my consternation that a fragment of the projectile had utterly destroyed my only guide, as well as my speedometer. It was true I could follow the stars in the general direction of helium, but without knowing the exact location of the city or the speed at which I was travelling my chances for finding it were slim. Helium lies a thousand miles south-west of Zodanga, and with my compass intact I should have made the trip barring accidents in between four and five hours. As it turned out, however, mourning found me speeding over a vast expanse of dead sea-bottom after nearly six hours of continuous flight at high speed. Presently a great city showed below me, but it was not helium, as that alone of all Barsoomian metropolises consists in two immense circular walled cities about seventy-five miles apart, and would have been easily distinguishable from the altitude at which I was flying. Believing that I had come too far to the north and west I turned back in a south-easterly direction, passing, during the forenoon, several other large cities, but none resembling the description which Kantos Kan had given me of helium. In addition to the twin-city formation of helium, another distinguishing feature is the two immense towers, one of Vivid Scarlet, rising nearly a mile into the air from the center of one of the cities, while the other, of bright yellow and of the same height, marks her sister. CHAPTER XXIV TARS TARCUS FINDS A FRIEND About noon I passed low over a great dead city of ancient Mars, and as I skimmed out across the plain beyond I came full upon several thousand green warriors engaged in a terrific battle. Scarcely had I seen them that a volley of shots was directed at me, and with the almost unfailing accuracy of their aim my little craft was instantly a ruined wreck, sinking erratically to the ground. I fell almost directly in the center of the fierce combat, among warriors who had not seen my approach so busily were they engaged in life-and-death struggles. The men were fighting on foot with long swords, while an occasional shot from a sharpshooter on the outskirts of the conflict would bring down a warrior who might for an instant separate himself from the entangled mass. As my machine sank among them I realized that it was fight or die, with good chances of dying in any event, and so I struck the ground with drawn longsword ready to defend myself as I could. I fell beside a huge monster who was engaged with three antagonists, and as I glanced at his fierce face filled with the light of battle I recognized Tars Tarkas the Thark. He did not see me as I was a trifle behind him, and just then the three warriors opposing him and whom I recognized as war-hoons charged simultaneously. The mighty fellow made quick work of one of them, but in stepping back for another thrust he fell over a dead body behind him and was down and at the mercy of his foes in an instant. Quick as lightning they were upon him, and Tars Tarkas would have been gathered to his father's in short order had I not sprung before his prostrate form and engaged his adversaries. I had accounted for one of them when the mighty Thark regained his feet and quickly settled the other. He gave me one look, and a slight smile touched his grim lip as touching my shoulder he said, I would scarcely recognize you, John Carter, but there is no other mortal upon Barsoom who would have done what you have done for me. I think I have learned that there is such a thing as friendship, my friend. He said no more, nor was there opportunity, for the war-hoons were closing in about us, and together we fought shoulder to shoulder during all that long, hot afternoon, until the tide of battle turned and the remnant of the fierce war-hoon horde fell back upon their thoats and fled into the gathering darkness. Ten thousand men had been engaged in that titanic struggle and upon the field of battle lay three thousand dead. Neither side asked or gave quarter, nor did they attempt to take prisoners. On our return to the city after the battle we had gone directly to Tars Tarkas quarters where I was left alone while the chieftain attended the customary council which immediately follows an engagement. As I sat awaiting the return of the green warrior I heard something move in an adjoining apartment and as I glanced up there rushed suddenly upon me a huge and hideous creature which bore me backward upon the pile of silks and furs upon which I had been reclining. It was Wula, faithful, loving Wula. He had found his way back to Thark and, as Tars Tarkas later told me, had gone immediately to my former quarters where he had taken up his pathetic and seemingly hopeless watch for my return. "'Talhages knows that you are here, John Carter,' said Tars Tarkas on his return from the Jeddak's quarters. Sarkoja saw and recognized you as we were returning. Talhages has ordered me to bring you before him to-night. I have ten thoats, John Carter. You may take your choice from among them and I will accompany you to the nearest waterway that leads to Helium. Tars Tarkas may be a cruel green warrior, but he can be a friend as well. Come, we must start." "'And when you return, Tars Tarkas?' I asked. "'The wild Kailats, possibly, or worse,' he replied. "'Unless I should chance to have the opportunity I have so long waited of battling with Talhages.'" "'We will stay, Tars Tarkas, and see Talhages to-night. You shall not sacrifice yourself, and it may be that to-night you can have the chance you wait.' He objected strenuously, saying that Talhages often flew into wild fits of passion at the mere thought of the blow I had dealt him, and that if ever he laid his hands upon me I would be subjected to the most horrible tortures. While we were eating, I repeated to Tars Tarkas the story which Sola had told me that night upon the sea-bottom during the march to Thark. He said but little, but the great muscles of his face worked in passion and in the agony at recollection of the horrors which had been heaped upon the only thing he had ever loved in all his cold, cruel, and terrible existence. He no longer demurred when I suggested that we go before Talhages, only saying that he would like to speak to Sarkoja first. At his request I accompanied him to her quarters, and the look of venomous hatred she cast upon me was almost adequate recompense for any future misfortunes this accidental return to Thark might bring me." "'Sarkoja,' said Tars Tarkas, forty years ago you were instrumental in bringing about the torture and death of a woman named Gosava. I have just discovered that the warrior who loved that woman has learned of your part in the transaction. He may not kill you, Sarkoja. It is not our custom. But there is nothing to prevent him tying one end of a strap about your neck and the other end to a wild throat merely to test your fitness to survive and help perpetuate our race. Having heard that he would do this on the morrow, I thought it only right to warn you, for I am a just man. The river is, is but a short pilgrimage, Sarkoja. Come, John Carter." The next morning Sarkoja was gone, nor was she ever seen after. In silence we hastened to the Jeddak's palace, where we were immediately admitted to his presence. In fact he could scarcely wait to see me and was standing erect upon his platform, glowering at the entrance as I came in. "'Strap him to that pillar,' he shrieked. We shall see who it is dare strike the mighty Tal Hajus. Heat the irons. With my own hands I shall burn the eyes from his head, that he may not pollute my person with his vile gaze." "'Chieftains of Thark,' I cried, turning to the assembled council and ignoring Tal Hajus. I have been a chief among you. And today I have fought for Thark, shoulder to shoulder, with her greatest warrior. You owe me at least a hearing. I have won that much today. You claim to be a just people.' "'Silence,' roared Tal Hajus. Gag the creature and bind him as I command.' "'Justice, Tal Hajus,' exclaimed Lurquas Tumel. "'Who are you to set aside the customs of ages among the Tharks?' "'Yes, Justice,' echoed a dozen voices. And so, while Tal Hajus fumed and frothed, I continued, "'You are a brave people, and you love bravery. But where was your mighty Jeddak during the fighting today? I did not see him in the thick of battle. He was not there. He rends defenseless women and little children in his lair. But how recently has one of you seen him fight with men? Why, even I, a midget beside him, felled him with a single blow of my fist. Is it of such that the Tharks fashioned their Jeddaks? There stands beside me now a great Thark, a mighty warrior and a noble man. Chieftains, how sounds, Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark!' A roar of deep-toned applause greeted this suggestion. It but remains for this council to command, and Tal Hajus must prove his fitness to rule. Were he a brave man, he would invite Tars Tarkas to combat, for he does not love him, but Tal Hajus is afraid. Tal Hajus, your Jeddak, is a coward. With my bare hands I could kill him, and he knows it.' After I ceased there was tense silence, as all eyes were riveted upon Tal Hajus. He did not speak or move, but the blotchy green of his countenance turned livid, and the froth froze upon his lips. Tal Hajus, said Lorquas Tommel in a cold, hard voice. Never in my long life have I seen a Jeddak of the Tharks so humiliated. There could be but one answer to this arraignment. We wait it. And still Tal Hajus stood, as though electrified. Chieftains, continued Lorquas Tommel, shall the Jeddak Tal Hajus prove his fitness to rule over Tars Tarkas? There were twenty chieftains about the rostrum, and twenty swords flashed high in ascent. There was no alternative. The decree was final, and so Tal Hajus drew his long sword and advanced to meet Tars Tarkas. But combat was soon over, and with his foot upon the neck of the dead monster Tars Tarkas became Jeddak among the Tharks. His first act was to make me a full-fledged chieftain with the rank I had won by my combats the first few weeks of my captivity among them. Seeing the favorable disposition of the warriors towards Tars Tarkas as well as toward me I grasped the opportunity to enlist them in my cause against Zodanga. I told Tars Tarkas the story of my adventures, and in a few words had explained to him the thought I had in mind. John Carter has made me a proposal, he said, addressing the Council, which meets with my sanction. I shall put it to you briefly. Dejah Thoris, the Princess of Elium, who was our prisoner, is now held by the Jeddak of Zodanga, whose son she must wed to save her country from devastation at the hands of the Zodangan forces. John Carter suggests that we rescue her and return her to Elium. The loot of Zodanga would be magnificent, and I have often thought that had we an alliance with the people of Elium we could obtain sufficient assurance of sustenance to permit us to increase the size and frequency of our hatchings, and thus become unquestionably supreme among the green men of Al-Barsoom. What say you? It was a chance to fight, an opportunity to loot, and they rose to the bait as a speckled trout to a fly. For Tharks they were wildly enthusiastic, and before another half-hour had passed twenty mounted messengers were speeding across dead sea-bottoms to call the hordes together for the expedition. In three days we were on the march toward Zodanga, one hundred thousand strong, as Thoris Tarkas had been able to enlist the services of three smaller hordes on the promise of the great loot of Zodanga. At the head of the column I rode beside the great Thark while at the heels of my mount trotted my beloved Wula. We traveled entirely by night, timing our marches so that we camped during the day at deserted cities, where even to the beasts we were all kept indoors during the daylight hours. On the march, Thoris Tarkas, through his remarkable ability and statesmanship, enlisted fifty thousand more warriors from various hordes, so that ten days after we set out we halted at midnight outside the great walled city of Zodanga, one hundred and fifty thousand strong. The fighting strength and efficiency of this horde of ferocious green monsters was equivalent to ten times their number of red men. Never in the history of Barsoom, Thoris Tarkas told me, had such a force of green warriors marched to battle together. It was a monstrous task to keep even a semblance of harmony among them, and it was a marvel to me that we got them to the city without a mighty battle among themselves. But as we neared Zodanga their personal quarrels were submerged by their greater hatred for the red men, and especially for the Zodangans, who had for years waged a ruthless campaign of extermination against the green men, directing special attention toward despoiling their incubators. Now that we were before Zodanga the task of obtaining entry to the city devolved upon me, and directing Thoris Tarkas to hold his forces in two divisions out of earshot of the city, with each division opposite a large gateway, I took twenty dismounted warriors and approached one of the small gates that pierced the walls at short intervals. These gates have no regular guard, but are covered by sentries, who patrol the avenue that encircles the city just within the walls, as our metropolitan police patrol their beats. The walls of Zodanga are seventy-five feet in height and fifty feet thick. They are built of enormous blocks of carborundum, and the task of entering the city seemed to my escort of green warriors an impossibility. The fellows who had been detailed to accompany me were of one of the smaller hordes, and therefore did not know me. Placing three of them with their faces to the wall and arms locked, I commanded two more to mount to their shoulders, and a sixth I ordered to climb upon the shoulders of the upper two, the head of the topmost warrior towering over forty feet from the ground. In this way, with ten warriors, I built a series of three steps from the ground to the shoulders of the topmost man. Then, starting from a short distance behind them, I ran swiftly up from one tier to the next, and with a final bound from the broad shoulders of the highest I clutched the top of the great wall, and quietly drew myself to its broad expanse. After me I dragged six lengths of leather from an equal number of my warriors. These lengths we had previously fastened together, and passing one end to the topmost warrior I lowered the other end cautiously over the opposite side of the wall toward the avenue below. No one was in sight, so lowering myself to the end of my leather strap I dropped the remaining thirty feet to the pavement below. I had learned from Kantos Kan the secret of opening these gates, and in another moment my twenty great fighting men stood within the doomed city of Zodanga. I found to my delight that I had entered at the lower boundary of the enormous palace grounds. The building itself showed in the distance a blaze of glorious light, and on the instant I determined to lead a detachment of warriors directly within the palace itself, while the balance of the great horde was attacking the barracks of the soldiery. Dispatching one of my men to Tars Tarkas for a detail of fifty tharks with word of my intentions, I ordered ten warriors to capture and open one of the great gates, while with the nine remaining I took the other. We were to do our work quietly. No shots were to be fired, and no general advance made until I had reached the palace with my fifty tharks. Our plans worked to perfection. The two centuries we met were dispatched to their fathers upon the banks of the lost sea of chorus, and the guards at both gates followed them in silence. END OF CHAPTER XXIV CHAPTERS XXV and XXVI of A PRINCESS OF MARS by Edgar Rice Burroughs Red by Mark Nelson. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, visit LibriVox.org. A PRINCESS OF MARS. CHAPTER XXV. THE LOODING OF ZODENGA. As the great gate where I stood swung open, my fifty tharks, headed by Tars Tarkas himself, rode in upon their mighty thoats. I led them to the palace walls, which I negotiated easily without assistance. Once inside, however, the gate gave me considerable trouble, but I finally was rewarded by seeing it swing upon its huge hinges, and soon my fierce escort was riding across the gardens of the Jeddak of Zodenga. As we approached the palace I could see through the great windows of the first floor into the brilliantly illuminated audience chamber of Thankosis. The immense hall was crowded with nobles and their women, as though some important function was in progress. There was not a guard in sight without the palace, due, I presume, to the fact that the city and palace walls were considered impregnable, and so I came close and peered within. At one end of the chamber, upon massive golden thrones encrusted with diamonds, sat Thankosis and his consort, surrounded by officers and dignitaries of state. Before them stretched a broad aisle lined on either side with soldiery, and as I looked there entered this aisle at the far end of the hall, the head of a procession which advanced to the foot of the throne. First there marched four officers of the Jeddak's guard, bearing a huge salver on which reposed, upon a cushion of scarlet silk, a great golden chain with a collar and padlock at each end. Directly behind these officers came four others carrying a similar salver which supported the magnificent ornaments of a prince and princess of the reigning house of Zodenga. At the foot of the throne these two parties separated and halted, facing each other at opposite sides of the aisle. Then came more dignitaries and the officers of the palace and of the army. And finally two figures entirely muffled in scarlet silk, so that not a feature of either was discernible. These two stopped at the foot of the throne, facing Thankosis. When the balance of the procession had entered and assumed their stations, Thankosis addressed the couple standing before him. I could not hear his words, but presently two officers advanced and removed the scarlet robe from one of the figures, and I saw that Kantos Kan had failed in his mission, for it was Sab Than, prince of Zodenga, who stood reveal before me. Thankosis now took a set of the ornaments from one of the salvers and placed one of the collars of gold about his son's neck, springing the padlock fast. After a few more words addressed to Sab Than, he turned to the other figure, from which the officers now removed the enshrouding silks, disclosing to my now comprehending view Dejah Thoris, princess of Helium. The object of the ceremony was clear to me. In another moment Dejah Thoris would be joined forever to the prince of Zodenga. It was an impressive and beautiful ceremony, I presume, but to me it seemed the most fiendish sight I had ever witnessed, and as the ornaments were adjusted upon her beautiful figure and her collar of gold swung open in the hands of Thankosis. I raised my longsword above my head, and with a heavy hilt I shattered the glass of the great window and sprang into the midst of the astonished assemblage. With a bound I was on the steps of the platform beside Thankosis, and as he stood riveted with surprise I brought my longsword down upon the golden chain that would have bound Dejah Thoris to another. In an instant all was confusion. A thousand drawn swords menaced me from every quarter, and Sab Than sprang upon me with a jeweled dagger he had drawn from his nuptial ornaments. I could have killed him as easily as I might have fly, but the age-old custom of Barsoom stayed my hand, and grasping his wrist as the dagger flew toward my heart I held him as though in a vice, and with my longsword pointed to the far end of the hall. Zodanga has fallen, I cried, look! All eyes turned in the direction I had indicated, and there, forging through the portals of the entranceway, rode Thars Tarkas and his fifty warriors on their great thoats. A cry of alarm and amazement broke from the assemblage, but no word of fear, and in a moment the soldiers and nobles of Zodanga were hurling themselves upon the advancing Tharks. Thrusting Sab Than headlong from the platform I drew Dejah Thoris to my side. Behind the throne was a narrow doorway, and in this Thankosis now stood facing me with drawn longsword. In an instant we were engaged, and I found no mean antagonist. As we circled upon the broad platform I saw Sab Than rushing up the steps to aid his father, but as he raised his hand to strike Dejah Thoris sprang before him, and then my sword found the spot that made Sab Than Jeddak of Zodanga. As his father rolled dead upon the floor the new Jeddak tore himself free from Dejah Thoris grasp, and again we faced each other. He was soon joined by a quartet of officers, and with my back against a golden throne I fought once again for Dejah Thoris. I was hard pressed to defend myself, and yet not strike down Sab Than, and with him my last chance to win the woman I loved. My blade was swinging with the rapidity of lightning as I sought to parry the thrusts and cuts of my opponents. Two I had disarmed, and one was down, when several more rushed to the aid of their new ruler and to avenge the death of the old. As they advanced there were cries of, The woman, the woman, strike her down! It is her plot! Kill her! Kill her! Calling to Dejah Thoris to get behind me I worked my way toward the little doorway back of the throne, but the officers realized my intentions, and three of them sprang in behind me and blocked my chances for gaining a position where I could have defended Dejah Thoris against any army of swordsmen. The Tharks were having their hands full in the center of the room, and I began to realize that nothing short of a miracle could save Dejah Thoris and myself, when I saw Tars Tarkas surging through the crowd of pygmies that swarmed about him. With one swing of his mighty longsword he laid a dozen corpses at his feet, and so he hewed a pathway before him until, in another moment, he stood upon the platform beside me, dealing death and destruction right and left. The bravery of the Zodangans was awe-inspiring, not one attempted to escape, and when the fighting ceased it was because only Tharks remained alive in the great hall, other than Dejah Thoris and myself. Sab Than laid dead beside his father, and the corpses of the flower of Zodangan nobility and chivalry covered the floor of the bloody shambles. My first thought when the battle was over was for Kantos Kan, and leaving Dejah Thoris in charge of Tars Tarkas I took a dozen warriors and hastened to the dungeons beneath the palace. The Jailers had all left to join the fighters in the throne room, so we searched the labyrinthine prison without opposition. I called Kantos Kan's name aloud in each new corridor and apartment, and finally I was rewarded by hearing a faint response. Guided by the sound we soon found him helpless in a dark recess. He was overjoyed at seeing me, and to know the meaning of the fight, faint echoes of which had reached his prison cell. He told me that the air patrol had captured him before he reached the high tower of the palace, so that he had not even seen Sab Than. We discovered that it would be futile to attempt to cut away the bars and chains which held him prisoner, so at his suggestion I returned to search the bodies on the floor above for keys to open the padlocks of his cell and of his chains. Fortunately among the first I examined I found his Jailer, and soon we had Kantos Kan with us in the throne room. The sounds of heavy firing mingled with shouts and cries came to us from the city's streets, and Tarkas hastened away to direct the fighting without. Kantos Kan accompanied him to act as guide, the green warriors commencing a thorough search of the palace for other Zodangans and for loot, and Dejah Thoris and I were left alone. She had sunk into one of the golden thrones, and as I turned to her she greeted me with a wan smile. Was there ever such a man, she exclaimed, I know that Barsoom has never before seen your like. Can it be that all earthmen are as you, alone, a stranger, hunted, threatened, persecuted, you have done in a few short months what in all the past ages of Barsoom no man has ever done, joined together the wild hordes of the sea bottoms and brought them to fight as allies of a red Martian people? The answer is easy, Dejah Thoris, I replied, smiling. It was not I who did it, it was love, love for Dejah Thoris, a power that would work greater miracles than this you have seen. A pretty flush over spread her face and she answered, You may say that now, John Carter, and I may listen, for I am free. And more still I have to say ere it is again too late, I returned. I have done many strange things in my life, many things that wiser men would not have dared, but never in my wildest fancies have I dreamed of winning a Dejah Thoris for myself. For never had I dreamed that in all the universe dwelt such a woman as the Princess of Helium. That you are a princess does not abash me. But that you are you is enough to make me doubt my sanity, as I ask you, my Princess, to be mine. He does not need to be abashed who so well knew the answer to his plea before the plea were made, she replied, rising and placing her dear hands upon my shoulders, so I took her in my arms and kissed her. And thus, in the midst of a city of wild conflict, filled with the alarms of war, with death and destruction reaping their terrible harvest around her, did Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, true daughter of Mars, the God of War, promise herself in marriage to John Carter, gentleman of Virginia. CHAPTER XXVI. THROUGH CARNAGE TO JOY Some time later, Tars Tarkas and Cantos can return to report that Zodanga had been completely reduced. Her forces were entirely destroyed or captured, and no further resistance was to be expected from within. Several battleships had escaped, but there were thousands of war and merchant vessels under guard of Tark warriors. The lesser hordes had commenced looting and quarreling among themselves, so it was decided that we would collect what warriors we could, man as many vessels as possible with Zodangan prisoners, and make for Helium without further loss of time. Five hours later we sailed from the roofs of the dock buildings with a fleet of two hundred and fifty battleships, carrying nearly one hundred thousand green warriors, followed by a fleet of transports with our thoats. Behind us we left the stricken city in the fierce and brutal clutches of some forty thousand green warriors of the lesser hordes. They were looting, murdering, and fighting amongst themselves. In a hundred places they had applied the torch, and columns of dense smoke were rising above the city as though to blot out from the eye of heaven the horrid sights beneath. In the middle of the afternoon we sighted the scarlet and yellow towers of Helium, and a short time later a great fleet of Zodangan battleships rose from the camps of the besiegers without the city and advanced to meet us. The banners of Helium had been strung from stem to stern of each of our mighty craft, but the Zodangans did not need this sign to realize that we were enemies, for our great Martian warriors had opened fire upon them almost as they left the ground. With their uncanny marksmanship they raked the oncoming fleet with volley after volley. The twin cities of Helium, perceiving that we were friends, sent out hundreds of vessels to aid us, and then began the first real air battle I had ever witnessed. The vessels carrying our green warriors were kept circling above the contending fleets of Helium and Zodanga, since their batteries were useless in the hands of the Tharks, who, having no navy, have no skill in naval gunnery. Their small arm fire, however, was most effective, and the final outcome of the engagement was strongly influenced, if not wholly determined, by their presence. At first the two forces circled at the same altitude, pouring broadside after broadside into each other. Presently a great hole was torn in the hull of one of the immense battle-craft from the Zodangan camp. With a lurch she turned completely over, the little figures of her crew plunging, turning and twisting toward the ground a thousand feet below. Then, with sickening velocity, she tore after them, almost completely bearing herself in the soft loam of the ancient sea-bottom. A wild cry of exaltation arose from the Heliumite squadron, and with redoubled ferocity they fell upon the Zodangan fleet. By a pretty maneuver two of the vessels of Helium gained a position above their adversaries, from which they poured upon them from their keel bomb batteries a perfect torrent of exploding bombs. Then, one by one, the battleships of Helium succeeded in rising above the Zodangans, and in a short time a number of the beleaguering battleships were drifting hopeless wrecks toward the high scarlet tower of greater Helium. Several others attempted to escape, but they were soon surrounded by thousands of tiny individual fliers, and above each hung a monster battleship of Helium ready to drop boarding parties upon their decks. Within but little more than an hour from the moment the victorious Zodangan squadron had risen to meet us from the camp of the besiegers, the battle was over, and the remaining vessels of the conquered Zodangans were headed toward the cities of Helium under prized crews. There was an extremely pathetic side to the surrender of these mighty fliers, the result of an age-old custom which demanded that surrender should be signalized by the voluntary plunging to earth of the commander of the vanquished vessel. One after another the brave fellows holding their colors high above their heads leaped from the towering boughs of their mighty craft to an awful death. Not until the commander of the entire fleet took the fearful plunge, thus indicating the surrender of the remaining vessels did the fighting cease, and the useless sacrifice of brave men came to an end. We now signalled the flagship of Helium's navy to approach, and when she was with inhaling distance I called out that we had the Princess Dejah Thoris on board, and that we wished to transfer her to the flagship that she might be taken immediately to the city. As the full import of my announcement bore in upon them a great cry arose from the decks of the flagship, and a moment later the colors of the Princess of Helium broke from a hundred points upon her upper works. When the other vessels of the squadron caught the meaning of the signals flashed them they took up the wild acclaim and unfurled their colors in the gleaming sunlight. The flagship bore down upon us, and as she swung gracefully to and touched our side a dozen officers sprang upon our decks. As their astonished gaze fell upon the hundreds of green warriors who now came forth from the fighting shelters, they stopped aghast, but at sight of Kantos Khan who advanced to meet them they came forward crowding about him. Dejah Thoris and I then advanced, and they had no eyes for other than her. She received them gracefully, calling each by name, for they were men high in the esteem and service of her grandfather, and she knew them well. Lay your hands upon the shoulder of John Carter, she said to them, turning toward me, the man to whom Helium owes her Princess as well as her victory to-day. They were very courteous to me and said many kind and complementary things, but what seemed to impress them most was that I had won the aid of the fierce tharks in my campaign for the liberation of Dejah Thoris and the relief of Helium. You owe your thanks more to another man than to me, I said, and here he is, meet one of Barsoom's greatest soldiers and statesmen, Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark. With the same polished courtesy that had marked their manner toward me they extended their greetings to the great Thark, nor to my surprise was he much behind them in ease of bearing or in courtly speech. Though not a garrulous race, the Tharks are extremely formal and their ways lend themselves amazingly well to dignified and courtly manners. Dejah Thoris went aboard the flagship and was much put out that I would not follow, but as I explained to her the battle was but partly won. We still had the land forces of the besieging Zodangas to account for, and I would not leave Tars Tarkas until that had been accomplished. The commander of the naval forces of Helium promised to arrange to have the armies of Helium attack from the city in conjunction with our land attack, and so the vessels separated and Dejah Thoris was born in triumph back to the court of her grandfather, Tardos Mors, Jeddak of Helium. In the distance lay our fleet of transports with the thoats of the green warriors where they had remained during the battle. Without landing stages it was to be a difficult matter to unload these beasts upon the open plain, but there was nothing else for it, and so we put out for a point about ten miles from the city and began the task. It was necessary to lower the animals to the ground in slings, and this work occupied the remainder of the day and half the night. Twice we were attacked by parties of Zodangan cavalry, but with little loss, however, and after darkness shut down they withdrew. As soon as the last thoat was unloaded Tars Tarkas gave the command to advance, and in three parties we crept upon the Zodangan camp from the north, the south, and the east. About a mile from the main camp we encountered their outposts, and as had been prearranged accepted this as the signal to charge. With wild ferocious cries and amidst the nasty squealing of battle-enraged thoats we bored down upon the Zodangans. We did not catch them napping, but found a well-entrenched battle-line confronting us. Time after time we were repulsed until toward noon I began to fear for the result of the battle. The Zodangans numbered nearly a million fighting men, gathered from pole to pole wherever stretched their ribbon-like waterways, while pitted against them were less than a hundred thousand green warriors. The forces from Helium had not arrived, nor could we receive any word from them. Just at noon we heard heavy firing all along the line between the Zodangans and the cities, and we knew then that our much needed reinforcements had come. Again Tars Tarkas ordered the charge, and once more the mighty thoats bore their terrible riders against the ramparts of the enemy. At the same moment the battle-line of Helium surged over the opposite breastworks of the Zodangans, and in another moment they were being crushed as between two millstones. Nobly they fought but in vain. The plane before the city became a veritable shambles aired the last Zodangan surrendered, but finally the carnage ceased, the prisoners were marched back to Helium, and we entered the greater city's gates a huge triumphal procession of conquering heroes. The broad avenues were lined with women and children, among which were the few men whose duties necessitated that they remain within the city during the battle. We were greeted with an endless round of applause and showered with ornaments of gold, platinum, silver, and precious jewels. The city had gone mad with joy. My fierce Tharks caused the wildest excitement and enthusiasm. Never before had an armed body of green warriors entered the gates of Helium, and that they came now as friends and allies filled the red men with rejoicing. That my poor services to Dejah Thoris had become known to the Heliumites was evidenced by the loud crying of my name, and by the loads of ornaments that were fastened upon me and my huge throat as we passed up the avenues to the palace, or even in the face of the ferocious appearance of Wula the populace pressed close about me. As we approached this magnificent pile we were met by a party of officers who greeted us warmly and requested that Thars Tarkas and his jeds, with the jeddaks and jeds of his wild allies, together with myself dismount and accompany them to receive from Tardos Mors an expression of his gratitude for our services. At the top of the great steps leading up to the main portals of the palace stood the royal party, and as we reached the lower steps one of their number descended to meet us. He was an almost perfect specimen of manhood, tall, straight as an arrow, superbly muscled and with the carriage and bearing of a ruler of men. I did not need to be told that he was Tardos Mors, jeddak of Helium. The first member of our party he met was Thars Tarkas, and his first words sealed forever the new friendship between the races. That Tardos Mors, he said earnestly, may meet the greatest living warrior of Barsoom is a priceless honour, but that he may lay his hand on the shoulder of a friend and ally is a far greater boon. Jeddak of Helium, returned Thars Tarkas, it has remained for a man of another world to teach the green warriors of Barsoom the meaning of friendship. To him we owe the fact that the hordes of Thark can understand you, that they can appreciate and reciprocate the sentiments so graciously expressed. Tardos Mors then greeted each of the green jeddaks and jeds, and to each spoke words of friendship and appreciation. As he approached me he laid both hands upon my shoulders. Welcome, my son, he said, that you are granted gladly and without one word of opposition the most precious jewel in all Helium, yes, on all Barsoom, is sufficient earnest of my esteem. We were then presented to Mors Kajak, Jedd of Lesser Helium, and father of Dejah Thoris. He had followed close behind Tardos Mors and seemed even more affected by the meeting than had his father. He tried a dozen times to express his gratitude to me, but his voice choked with emotion and he could not speak. And yet he had, as I was to later learn, a reputation for ferocity and fearlessness as a fighter that was remarkable even upon warlike Barsoom. In common with all Helium he worshipped his daughter, nor could he think of what she had escaped without deep emotion.