Classic Audiobook Collection - A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs ~ Full Audiobook [scifi]

Episode Date: March 5, 2024

A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs audiobook. Genre: scifi Under the double moons of Barsoom, an invisible flier sped to the mysterious city of Jahar where Sanoma Tora, the kidnapped princess of Helium had been taken. Hadron of Hastor was at the controls, hatching a rescue plan that required unusual daring and great ingenuity. For invisibility alone was not a great enough weapon against 'The Death.' And should Hadron succeed, what fate would await him at the hands of the madman whose very genius had created the means of that rescue? A FIGHTING MAN OF MARS is the exciting story of Martian adventure as transmitted by Ulysses Paxton on Mars to Edgar Rice Burroughs in Tarzana, by means of Pellucidar's Gridley Wave For ad-free listening try our premium subscription Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:13:12) Chapter 01 (00:43:41) Chapter 02 (01:10:38) Chapter 03 (01:40:06) Chapter 04 (02:07:11) Chapter 05 (02:38:27) Chapter 06 (03:11:54) Chapter 07 (03:50:43) Chapter 08 (04:19:27) Chapter 09 (04:50:00) Chapter 10 (05:14:43) Chapter 11 (05:42:45) Chapter 12 (06:16:49) Chapter 13 (06:43:09) Chapter 14 (07:13:56) Chapter 15 (07:53:01) Chapter 16 (08:28:15) Chapter 17 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Forward To Jason Gridley of Tarzana, discoverer of the Gridley Wave, belong the credit of establishing radio communication between Palusidar and the outer world. It was my good fortune to be much in his laboratory while he was carrying on his experiments, and to be also the recipient of his confidences, so that I was fully aware that while he hoped to establish

communication with Palusidar, he was also reaching out toward an even more stupendous accomplishment. He was groping through space for contact with another planet. Nor did he attempt to deny that the present goal of his ambition was radio communication with Mars. Gridley had constructed a simple, automatic device for broadcasting signals intermittently, and for recording whatever might be received during his absence. For a period of five minutes, the Gridley wave carried a simple code signal consisting of two letters, J.G., out into the ether, following which there was a pause of ten minutes. Hour after hour, day after day, week after week,

the silent, invisible messenger sped out to the uttermost reaches of infinite space. And after Jason Gridley left Tarzana to embark upon his expedition to Palusadar, I found myself drawn to his laboratory by the lure of the tantalizing possibilities of his dream. as well as by the promise I admit him that I would look in occasionally to see that the device was functioning properly, and to examine the recording instruments for any indication that the signals have been received and answered. My considerable association with Gridley had given me a fair working knowledge of his devices, and sufficient knowledge of the Morse code to enable me to receive with moderate accuracy and speed. Months passed. Dust accumulated thickly upon everything,

except the working parts of Gridley's device, and the white ribbon of ticker tape that was to receive an answering signal retained its virgin purity. Then I went away for a short trip into Arizona. I was absent for about ten days, and upon my return, one of the first things with which I concerned myself

was an inspection of Gridley's laboratory and the instruments he had left in my care. As I entered the familiar room and switched on the lights, it was with the expectation of meeting with the same blank unresponsiveness, to which I was by now quite accustomed. As a matter of fact, hope of success had never been raised to any considerable degree in my breast, nor had gridly been over-sanguine. His was merely an experiment. He considered it well worthwhile to make it, and I considered it equally worthwhile to lend him what small assistance

I might. It was, therefore, with feelings of astonishment that assumed the magnitude of a distinct shock that I saw upon the ticker tape the familiar tracings which stand for the dots and dashes of code. Of course, I realized that some other researcher might have duplicated Jason's discovery of the Gridley Wave, and that the message might have originated upon Earth, or again it might be a message from Jason himself in Pelucidar. But when I had deciphered it, all doubts were to be.

were quickly put to rest. It was from Ulysses Paxton, one-time captain, inth U.S. infantry, who, miraculously transported from a battlefield in France to the bosom of the great red planet, had become the right-hand man of Rastavus, the mastermind of Mars, and later the husband of Aladea, daughter of Khor San, Jeddak of Duhor. In brief, the message explained that for months mysterious signals had been received at Helium, and while they were unable to interpret them, they felt that they came from Jasum, the name by which the planet Earth is known upon Mars. John Carter being absent from Helium, a fast flyer had been dispatched to Dohor, bearing an urgent request to Paxton, to come at once to the Twin Cities,

and endeavored to determine, if in truth, the signals they were receiving actually originated upon the planet of his birth. Upon his arrival at Helium, Paxton immediately recognized the Morsecoast. signals, and no doubt was left in the minds of the Martian scientists that at last something tangible had been accomplished toward the solution of intercommunication between Jasum and Barsoom. Repeated attempts to transmit answering signals to Earth prove fruitless, and then the best minds of helium settled down to the task of analyzing and reproducing the Gridley wave. They felt that at last they had succeeded. Paxton had sent his message, and they were eagerly away.

waiting and acknowledgement. I have since been in almost constant communication with Mars, but out of loyalty to Jason Gridley, to whom all the credit and honor are due, I have made no official announcement, nor shall I give out any important information, leaving all that for his return to the outer world. But I believe that I am betraying no confidence if I narrate to you the interesting story of Hadron of Hastor, which Paxton told me one evening not long since. I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did. But before I go on with the story, a brief description of the principal races of Mars, their political and military organization, and some of their customs may prove of interest to many of my readers. The dominant race,

in whose hands rests the progress and civilization, yes, the very life of Mars, differ but little in physical appearance from ourselves. The fact that their skin, are a light reddish copper color, and that they are oviparous, constitute the two marked divergencies from Anglo-Saxon standards. No, there is another. Their longevity. A thousand years is the natural span of life of a Martian, although, because of their warlike activities and the prevalence of assassination among them, few live their allotted span.

Their general political organization has changed little in countless ages, the unit still being the tribe, at the head of which is a chief or jed, corresponding in modern times to our king. The princes are known as lesser jeds, while the chief of chiefs, or the head of consolidated tribes, is the Jeddak, or emperor, whose consort is a Jedara. The majority of Red Martians live in walled cities, though there are many who reside in isolated, though well-walled and defended farm-homes, along those rich irrigated ribbons of land, that we of Earth know as the canals of Mars. In the far south, that is, the South polar region,

dwells a race of very handsome and highly intelligent black men. There also is the remnant of a white race, while the North polar regions are dominated by a race of yellow men. In between the two poles and scattered over all the arid wastelands of the dead sea bottoms, often inhabiting the ruined cities of another age, are the feared green hordes of Mars. The terrible green warriors of Barsoom are the hereditary enemies of all the other races

of this martial planet. They are of heroic size, and in addition to being equipped with two legs and two arms apiece, they have an intermediary pair of limbs, which may be used at will either as arms or legs. Their eyes are set at the extreme size of their heads, a trifle above the center, and protrude in such a manner that they may be directed either forward or back and also independently of each other,

thus permitting these remarkable creatures to look in any direction, or in two directions at once, without the necessity of turning their heads. Their ears, which are slightly above the eyes and closer together, are small, cupped shape, and tennie, protruding several inches from the head, while their noses are but longitudinal slits in the center of their faces, midway between their mouths and ears. They have no hair on their bodies, which are of a very light yellowish-green color in infancy, deepening to an olive-green toward maturity, the adult males being darker in color than the females.

The iris of the eyes is blood red, as an albinos, while the pupil is dark. The eyeball itself is very white, as are the teeth, and it is these latter which add a most ferocious appearance to an otherwise fearsome and terrible countenance, as the lower tusks curve upward to sharp points, which end about where the eyes of earthly human beings are located. The whiteness of the teeth is not that of ivory, but of the snowiest and most gleaming of China. Against the dark background of their olive skins, their tusks stand out in a most striking manner, causing these

weapons to present a singularly formidable appearance. They are a cruel and taciturn race, entirely devoid of love, sympathy, or pity. They are an equestrian race, never walking other than to move about their camps. Their mounts, called Thots, are great savage beasts, whose proportions harmonize with those of their giant masters. They have eight legs and broad flat tails larger at the tips than at the roots. They hold these tails straight out while running. Their mouths are enormous, splitting their heads from their snows.

to their long, massive necks. Like their masters, they are entirely devoid of hair, their skins being a dark slate color and exceedingly smooth and glossy, with the exception of the belly, which is white, and the legs,

which shade from the slate of the shoulders and hips to a vivid yellow at the feet. The feet are heavily padded and nailess. Like the red men, the green hordes are ruled by Jeds and Jetax, but their military organization is not carried to the same detail of perfection as is that of the Red Men. The military forces of the Red Men are highly organized,

the principal arm of the service being the Navy, an enormous air force of battleships, cruisers, and an infinite variety of lesser craft down to one-man scout flyers. Next in size and importance is the infantry branch of the service, while the cavalry mounted on a breed of small thoats, similar to those used by the Green Martian Giants, is utilized principally in patrolling the avenues of the cities and the rural districts that border the irrigating systems.

The principal basic unit, although not the smallest one of the military organization, is a U-TAN, consisting of 100 men, which is commanded by a d'war with several paduars or lieutenants junior to him. And Adwar commands a UMAC of 10,000 men, while next above him is a jedwar who is junior only to the jedd or king. Science, literature, art, and architecture are in some of their departments further advanced upon Mars than upon Earth, a remarkable thing when one considers the constant

battle for survival which is the most marked characteristic of life upon Barsoom. Not only are they waging a continual battle against nature, which is slowly diminishing their already scant atmosphere, but from birth to death they are constantly faced by the stern necessity of defending themselves against the enemy nations of their own race, and the great hordes of roving green warriors of the dead sea bottom. While within the walls of their own cities are countless professional assassins, whose calling is so well recognized that in some localities they are organized into guilds. But notwithstanding all the grim realities with which they have to contend, The Red Martians are a happy, social people.

They have their games, their dances, and their songs, and the social life of a great capital of Barsoom is as gay and magnificent as any that may be found in the rich capitals of Earth. That they are a brave, noble, and generous people is indicated by the fact that neither John Carter nor Ulysses-Paxon would return to Earth if they might. And now to return to the tale that I had from Paxton across 43 million miles of space.

End of forward. Chapter 1 of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 1. Sonoma Torah This is the story of Hadron of Hastor, Fighting Man of Mars, as narrated by him to Ulysses Paxton.

I am Tan Hadron of Hastor, My father has had Urter, Adwar of the First Umak of the troops of Hastor. He commands the largest ship of war that Hastor has ever contributed to the Navy of Heedium, accommodating as it does the entire ten thousand men of the first Umac, together with five hundred lesser fighting ships and all the paraphernalia of war. My mother is a princess of Gothol. As a family, we are not rich except in honor,

and, valuing this above all mundane possessions, I chose the profession of my father rather than a more profitable career. The better to further my ambition, I came to the capital of the Empire of Helium and took service in the troops of Tardos Moors, Jeddak of Helium, that I might be nearer the great John Carter, warlord of Mars. My life in Helium and my career in the army were similar to those of hundreds of other young men.

I passed through my training days with a lot of people. notable accomplishment, neither heading nor trailing my fellows. And in due course I was made a padwar of the 91st UMAC, being assigned to the fifth Utan of the 11th Dar. What with being of noble lineage by my father, and inheriting royal blood from my mother, the palaces of the Twin Cities of Helium were always open to me, and I entered much into the gay life of the capital. It was thus that I met Sonoma Torah, daughter of Torhatan, Adwar of the 91st Umac. Torhatan is only of the lower nobility,

but he is fabulously rich from the loot of many cities, well invested in farmland and mines, and because here in the capital of Helium, riches count for more than they do in Hastur, Torhatan is a powerful man, whose influence reaches even to the throne of the Jeddak. Never shall I forget the occasion upon which I first laid eyes upon Sonoma Torah.

It was upon the occasion of a great feast at the marble palace of the warlord. There were gathered under one roof, the most beautiful women of Barsum, where, notwithstanding the gorgeous and radiant beauty of Deja Thoris, Tara of Helium, and Thuvia of Tarth, the pulcritude of Sonoma Torah was such as to arrest attention. I shall not say that it was greater than that of those acknowledged queens of Barsoomian loveliness, for I know that my adoration of Sonoma Torah might easily influence my judgment, but there were others there who were marked her gorgeous beauty,

which differs from that of Deja Thoris, as the chaste beauty of a polar landscape differs from the beauty of the tropics. As the beauty of a white palace in the moonlight differs from the beauty of its garden at midday. When at my solicitation I was presented to her, she glanced first at the insignia upon my armor, and noting therefrom that I was but a padwar, she vouchsafed me but a condescending word and turned her attention again to the dwarf with whom she had been conversing. I must admit that I was piqued, and yet it was indeed the contumidious treatment she accorded

me that fixed my determination to win her, for the goal most difficult of attainment has always seemed to me the most desirable. And so it was that I fell in love with Sonoma Torah, the daughter of the commander of the UMAC to which I was attached. For a long time I found it difficult to further my suit in the slightest degree. In fact, I did not even see Sonoma Torah for several months after our first meeting. Since when she found that I was poor as well as low in rank, I found it impossible to gain an invitation to her home,

and a chance that I did not meet her elsewhere for a long time. But the more inaccessible she became, the more I love. loved her, until every waking moment of my time that was not actually occupied by the performance of my military duties, was devoted to the devising of new and ever-increasingly rash plans to possess her. I even had the madness to consider abducting her, and I believe that I should eventually have gone this far had there been no other way in which I could see her. But about this time, a fellow officer of the 91st, in fact the dwarf of the Utan to which

I was attached, took pity on me. and obtained for me an invitation to a feast in the palace of Tor Hatan. My host, who was also my commanding officer, had never noticed me before this evening, and I was surprised to note the warmth and cordiality of his greetings. "'We must see more of you here, Hadron of Hastur,' he had said. "'I have been watching you, and I prophesy, that you will go far in the military service of the Jeddak.'

Now I knew he was lying when he said, that he had been watching me, for Torhatan was notoriously lax in his duties as a commanding officer, all of which were performed by the senior Tidwar of the UMAC. While I could not fathom the cause of this sudden interest in me, it was nevertheless very pleasing, since through it I might in some degree further my pursuit of the heart and hand of Sonoma Torah. Sonoma Torah herself was slightly more cordial than upon the occasion of our first meeting, though she noticeably paid more attention to Sil Vegas than she did to me.

Now, if there is any man in Hedium whom I particularly detest more than another, it is Sil Vegas, a nasty little snob who holds the title of Tidwar, though as far as I was ever able to ascertain, he commands no troops, but is merely on the staff of Torhatan, principally I presume, because of the great wealth of his father. Such creatures we have to put up with in times of peace, but when war comes and the great warlord takes command, it is the fighting men who rank, and riches do not count. But be that as it may, while Silvagus spoiled this evening for me, as he would spoil many others in the future, nevertheless, I left the palace of Torhatan that night with a feeling

bordering upon elation, for I had Sonoma Torra's permission to see her again in her father's home, when my duties would permit me to pay my respects to her. Returning to my quarters, I was accompanied by my friend the d'war, and when I commented on the warmth of Torhatan's reception of me, he laughed. You find it amusing, I said. Why? Torhatan, as you know, he said, is very rich and powerful. And yet, it is seldom, as you may have noticed, that he is invited to any one of the four palaces of his house.

Helium, in which ambitious men most crave to be seen. You mean the palaces of the warlord, the Jeddak, the Jedd, and Carthoris? I asked. Of course, he replied. What other foreign helium count for so much as these? Torhatan, he continued, is supposed to come from lower nobility, but there is a question in my mind as whether there is a drop of noble blood in his veins. And one of the facts upon which I base my conjecture is his cringing and fawning reverence for anything pertaining to royalty. He would give his fat soul to be considered and intimate of any one of the four. But what is that to do with me? I demanded.

A great deal, he replied. In fact, because of it, you were invited to his palace tonight. I do not understand, I said. I chanced to be talking with Torhatan the morning of the day you received your invitation. and in the course of our conversation I mentioned you. He had never heard of you, and as a Padwar in the Fifth U-Tan, you aroused his interest not a particle. But when I told him that your mother was a princess of Gathol,

he pricked up his ears, and when he learned that you were received as a friend and equal in the palaces of the four demigods of Helium, he became almost enthusiastic about you. Now do you understand? He concluded with a short laugh. Perfectly, I replied. But nonetheless, I thank you.

All that I wanted was the opportunity, and inasmuch as I was prepared to achieve it criminally if necessary, I cannot quibble over any means that were employed to obtain it, however unflattering they may be to me. For months I haunted the palace of Torhatan, and being naturally a good conversationalist and well-schooled in the stately dances and joyous games of Barsoom, I was by no means and unconstitutional.

welcome visitor. Also, I made it a point often to take Sonoma Torah to one or another of the four great palaces of Helium. I was always welcome because of the blood relationship which existed between my mother and Gahan of Gathal, who had married Tara of Helium. Naturally, I felt that I was progressing well with my suit, but my progress was not fast enough to keep pace with the racing desires of my passion. Never had I known love before, and I felt that I should die if I did not soon possess an Omatora. And so it was that, upon a certain night, I visited the palace of her father, definitely determined to lay my heart and sword at her feet before I left.

And, although the natural complexes of a lover convinced me that I was an unworthy worm, that she would be wholly justified in spurning, I was yet determined to declare myself, so that I might openly be accounted a suitor, which, after all, gives one greater freedom, even though he be not entirely a favored suitor. It was one of those lovely knights that transformed old Barsoom into a world of enchantment. Thuria and Cluros were racing through the heavens, casting their soft light upon the garden of Torhatan, impurpling the livid, scarlet sward,

and lending strange hues to the gorgeous blooms of Pamelia and Sirapis, While the winding walks, graveled with semi-precious stones, shot back a thousand's scintillate rays, that clothed in ever-changing colors, danced at the feet of the marble statuary that lent an added artistic charm to the ensemble. In one of the spacious halls that overlooked the garden of the palace, a youth and a maiden sat upon a massive bench of rich Surapus wood, such a bench as might have graced the halls of the great Jeddak himself, so intricate its rich design, so perfect the carving of the master craftsman who produced it.

Upon the leathern harness of the youth were the insignia of his rank and service, a padwar in the 91st Umak. The youth was I, Hadron of Hastor, and with me was Sonoma Torah, daughter of Torhatan. I had come filled with a determination boldly to plead my cause, but suddenly I had become aware of my unworthiness. What had I to offer this beautiful daughter of the rich Torhatan? I was only a padwar, and a poor one at that. Of course, there was the royal blood of Gathal in my veins,

and that I knew would have weight with Torhatan, but I am not given to boasting, and I could not have reminded Sonoma Torah of the advantages to be derived because of it, even had I known positively that it would influence her. I had, therefore, nothing to offer but my great love, which is perhaps, after all, the greatest gift that man or woman can bring to another, and I had thought of late that Sonoma Torah might love me. Upon several occasions she had sent for me, and although in each instance she had suggested going to the palace of Tara of Helium, I had been vain enough to hope that

this was not her sole reason for wishing to be with me. "'You are uninteresting to-night, Hadron of Hastor,' she said, after a particularly long silence, during which I have been endeavouring to formulate my proposal in some convincing and graceful phrases. "'Perhaps,' I replied, "'it is because I am trying to find the words in which to clothe the most interesting thought I have ever entertained.' "'And what is that?' she asked politely, though with no great show of interest. "'I love you, Sonoma Torah. I blurted awkwardly.

She laughed. It was like the tinkling of silver upon crystal, beautiful but cold. That has been apparent for a long while, she said. But why speak of it? And why not? I asked. Because even if I returned your love, I am not for you, Hadron of Hastor. She replied coldly. You cannot love me then, Sonoma Torah, I asked.

I did not say that, she replied. You could love me? I could love you if I permitted myself the weakness, she said. But what is love? Love is everything, I told her. Sonoma Torah laughed. If you think that I would link myself for life to a threadbare padwar, even if I loved him, you are mistaken, she said haughtily.

I am the daughter of Torhatan. whose wealth and power are but little less than those of the royal families of Helium. I have suitors whose wealth is so great that they could buy you a thousand times over. Within the year, an emissary of the Jeddak Tull-Axtar of Jahar waited upon my father. He had seen me and said that he would return. And merely for love you would ask me, who may someday be Jadar of Jhaar to become the wife of a poor Padwar. I arose.

Perhaps you are right, I said. You are so beautiful that it does not seem possible that you could be wrong, but deep in my heart I cannot but feel that happiness is the great treasure that one may possess and love the greatest power. Without these Sonoma Torah, even a Jedara is poor indeed. I shall take my chance, she said. I hoped that the Jeddak of the Reddak of you. of Jahar is not as greasy as his emissary," I remarked rather peevishly, I'm afraid.

"'He may be an animated grease-pot for all I care, if he will make me his Jadara,' said Sonoma Tora. "'Then there is no hope for me,' I asked. "'Not while you have so little to offer, Padwar,' she replied. "'It was then that a slave announced Silvegas, and I took my leave. I had never before plumbed such depths of despondency as that which engulfed me as I made my unhappy way back to my quarters. But even though hope seemed dead, I had not relinquished my determination to win her. If wealth and power were her price, then I would achieve wealth and power.

Just how I was to accomplish it was not entirely clear, but I was young, and to youth, all things are possible. I had tossed in wakefulness upon my sleeping silks and furs for some time, when an officer of the guard burst suddenly into my quarters. Hadron! he shouted. Are you here? Yes, I replied. Praise be the ashes of my ancestors, he exclaimed.

I fear that you were not. Why should I not be? I demanded. What is this all about? Torhatan, the fat old treasure bag, is gone mad, he exclaimed. Torhatan gone mad. "'What do you mean? What has that got to do with me?' "'He swears that you have abducted his daughter.'

"'In an instant I was upon my feet. "'Uptuited Sonoma Torah?' I cried. "'Has something happened to her? Tell me quickly.' "'Yes, she has gone all right,' said my informant, "'and there is something mighty mysterious about it.' "'But I did not wait to hear more. Seizing my harness, I adjusted it as I ran up the spiral runway toward the hangars on the roof of the barracks. I had no authority or permit to take out a flyer, but what did that mean to me if Sonoma Torah was in danger?

The hangar guards sought to detain and question me. I do not recall what I told them. I know that I must have lied to them, for they let me run out a swift one-man flyer, and an instant later I was racing through the night toward the palace of Torhatan. As it stands but little more than two hods from the barracks, I was there in but a few minutes, and as I landed in the garden, which was now brilliantly lighted, I saw a number of people congregated there, among whom were Torhatan and Sil Vegas. As I leaped from the deck of the flyer, the former came angrily toward me. "'So it is you!' he cried. "'What have you to say for yourself? Where is my daughter?'

"'That is what I have come to ask, Torhatan.' I replied, "'You are at the bottom of this,' he cried. "'You abducted her. She told Silvagus that this very night you had demanded her hand in marriage and that she had refused you. I did ask for her hand,' I said,

and she refused me. That part is true. But if she has been abducted, in the name of your first ancestor, do not waste time trying to connect me with the diabolical plot. I had nothing to do with it. How did it happen? Who was with her? Silvegas was with her. They were walking in the garden, replied Torhatan.

You saw her abducted, I asked, turning to Silvagus. And you are here, unwounded and alive? He started to stammer. There were many of them, he said. They overpowered me. You saw them? I asked. Yes. Was I among them? I demanded. It was dark. I could not recognize any of them. Perhaps they were disguised. "'They overpowered you?' I asked him. "'Yes,' he said. "'You lie,' I exclaimed.

"'Had they laid hands upon you, they would have killed you. You ran away and hid, never drawing a weapon to defend the girl.' "'That is a lie!' cried Sylvagas. "'I fought with them, but they overpowered me.' I turned to Tor Hatan. We are wasting time, I said. Is there no one who can give us a clue as to the identity of these men and the direction they took in their flight? How and whence came they?

How and whence did they depart? He is trying to throw you off the track, Torhatan, said Silvagus. Who else could it have been but a disgruntled suitor? What would you say if I should tell you that the medal of the men who stole Sonoma torah was the medal of the warriors of Hastur? I would say that you are a liar, I replied. If it was so dark that you could not recognize faces, how could you decipher the insignia upon their harness?

At this juncture, another officer of the 91st UMAC joined us. We have found one who may perhaps shed some light upon the subject, he said, if he lives long enough to speak. Men have been searching the grounds of Torhatan and that portion of the city adjacent to his past. palace, and now several approached bearing a man, whom they laid upon the sword at our feet. His broken and mangled body was entirely naked, and as he lay there gasping feebly for breath, he was a pitiful spectacle.

A slave dispatched into the palace returned with stimulants, and when some of these have been forced between his lips the man revived slightly. "'Who are you?' asked Tor Hattan. "'I am a warrior of the city guard,' replied the man. man feebly. An officer approached Torhatan excitedly. "'My men have just found six more bodies close to the point at which we discovered this man,' he said. "'They are all naked and similarly broken and mangled.' "'Perhaps we shall get to the bottom of this yet,' said Torhatan, and turning again to the

poor broken thing upon the scarlet sward, he directed him to proceed. We were on night patrol over the city when we saw a craft running without light. As we approached it and turned our searchlight upon it, I caught a single brief glimpse of it. It bore no colors or insignia to denote its origin, and its design was unlike that of any ship I have ever seen. It had a long, low, enclosed cabin upon either side of which were mounted two peculiar-looking guns. This was all I had time to note, except that I saw a man directing one of the guns in our direction.

The Padwar in command of our ship immediately gave orders to fire upon the stranger, and at the same time he hailed him. At that instant our ship dissolved in mid-air. Even my harness fell from me. I remember falling, that is all. And with these words he gasped once and died. Torhatan called his people around him. There must have been someone about the palace or grounds who saw something

of this occurrence, he said. I command that, no matter who may be involved, whoever has any knowledge whatsoever of this affair shall speak. A slave stepped forward, and as he approached, Torhatan eyed him with haughty arrogance. Well, demanded the Adwar, what have you to say? Speak. You have commanded it, Torhatan, said the slave. Otherwise, I should not speak, for, when I...

I have told what I saw, I shall have incurred the enmity of a powerful noble." And he glanced quickly toward Silvegas. "'And if you speak the truth, man, you will have won the friendship of a padwar whose sword is not so mean but that it may protect you even from a powerful noble.' I said quickly, and I too glanced at Silvegas, for it was in my mind that what the fellow had to tell might be none too flattering to the soft fop who masqueraded beneath the title of a warrior. Speak, commanded Torhattan impassedly, and see to it thou dost not lie.

For fourteen years I have served faithfully in your palace, Torhatan, replied the man. Ever since I was brought to Helium a prisoner of war after the fallen sack of Cobol, where I served in the bodyguard of the jet of Cobal, and in all that time you have had no reason to question my truthfulness. Sonoma Torah trusted me. "'And had I had a sword this night, she might still be with us.' "'Come, come!' cried Torhattan. "'Get to the point! What saw you?'

"'The fellow saw nothing,' snapped Silvegas. "'Why waste time upon him? He seeks but to glory in a little brief notoriety.' "'Let him speak,' I exclaimed. "'I had just descended the first ramp to the second level of the palace,' explained the slave, on my way to the sleeping quarters of Torhatan to arrange his sleeping silks and furs for the night, as is my custom, and, pausing for a moment to look out into the garden, I saw Sonoma Torah and Silvagus walking in the moonlight. Conscious that I should not thus observe them, I was about to continue on my way about my duties when I saw a flyer dropping silently out of

the night toward the garden. Its motors were noiseless. It showed no light. It seemed a spectral ship, and of such strange design that, even if for no other reason, it would have arrested my attention. But there were other reasons. Unlighted ships moved through the night for no good purpose, and so I paused to watch it. It landed silently and quickly

behind Sonoma Tora and Silvegas, nor did they seem aware of its presence until their attention was attracted by the slight clanking of the accoutrements of one of the several warriors who sprang from its low cabin as it grounded. Then Silvegis wheeled about. For just an instant he stood as though petrified,

and then, as the strange warriors leaped toward him, he turned and fled into the concealing shrubbery of the garden. "'It is a lie!' cried Silvagus. "'Silence, coward!' I commanded. "'Continue, slave,' directed Torhatan. "'Sonoma Torah was not aware of the presence of the strange warriors until she was seized roughly from behind. It all happened so quickly that I scarce had time to realize the purpose of the sinister

visitation before they laid hands upon her. When I comprehended that my mistress was the object of this night attack, I rushed hurriedly down the ramp, but ere I reached the garden they had dragged her aboard the flyer. Even then, however, had I had a sword, I might at least have died in the service of Sonoma a Torah, for I reached the ship of mystery as the last warrior was clamoring aboard. I seized him by the harness, and attempted to drag him to the ground, at the same time shouting loudly to attract the palace guard, but ere I did so, one of his fellows on the deck above me drew his long-sword and struck viciously at my head.

The blade caught me but a glancing blow, which, however, suffice to stun me for a moment, so that I relaxed my hold upon the strange warrior and fell to the sward. When I regained consciousness, the ship had gone, and the tardy palace guard was pouring from the guardroom. I have spoken, and spoken truthfully. Torhatan's cold gaze sought out the lowered eyes of Silvegas. What have you to say to this? he demanded. The fellow is in the employ of Hadron of Hastur, shouted Silvegas.

shouted Silvagus. He speaks nothing but lies. I attacked them when they came, but there were many, and they overpowered me. This fellow was not present. Let me see thy head, I said to the slave, and when he had come and knelt before me, I saw a great red welt the length of one side of his head above the ear,

just such a welt as a glancing blow from the flat side of a long-sword might have made. "'Here,' I said to Torhattan, pointing to the great welt, "'is the proof of a slave's loyalty and courage. "'Let us see the wounds received by a noble of Helium, "'who, by his own testimony, engaged in single-handed combat against great odds. "'Surely in such an encounter he must have received at least a single scratch.' "'Unless he is as marvellous a swordsman as the great John Carter himself,' said the dwarf of the palace guard with a thinly veiled sneer.

"'It is all a plot!' cried Sylvagas. "'Do you take the word of a slave, Torhatan, against that of a noble of helium?' "'I rely on the testimony of my eyes and my senses,' replied the Adwar, and he turned his back upon Silvegas and again addressed the slave. "'Dits thou recognize any of those who abducted Sonoma Torah?' he demanded, or note their harness or their metal. I got no good look at the face of any of them, but I did see the harness and metal of him whom I tried to drag from the flyer.

Was it the medal of Hastor? asked Torhattan. By my first ancestor, it was not, replied the slave emphatically, nor was it the medal of any other city of the Empire of Helium. The design and the insignia were unknown to me, and yet there was a certain familiarity about them that tantalizes me. I feel that I have seen them before, but when and where I cannot recall. In the service of my jedd I fought invaders from many lands, and it may be that upon some of these I saw similar metal many years ago.

Are you satisfied Torhatan, I demanded, that the aspersions cast upon me by Silvegas are without foundation? "'Yes, Hadron of Hastor,' replied the Adwar. "'Then, with your leave, I shall depart,' I said. "'Where are you going?' he asked. "'To find Sonoma Torah,' I replied. "'And if you find her,' he said, "'and return her safely to me, she is yours.'

I made no other acknowledgement of his generous offer than to bow deeply, for I had it in my mind that Sonoma Torah might have something to say of about that, and whether she had or not I wish no mate who came not to me willingly. Leaping to the deck of the flyer that brought me, I rose into the night and sped in the direction of the marble palace of the warlord of Barsoom, for even though the hour was late, I was determined to see him without an instance unnecessary loss of time. End of Chapter 2 of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burrow. This Libervox recording is in the public domain.

Chapter 2 Brought Down As I approached the warlord's palace, I saw signs of activity unusual for that hour of the night. Flyers were arriving and departing, and when I lighted upon that portion of the roof reserved for military ships, I saw the flyers of a number of high officers of the warlord's staff. Being a frequent visitor at the palace, and being well known by all the officers of the warlord's bodyguard, I had no difficulty in gaining admission to the palace, and presently I was waiting in the hall, just off the small compartment in which the warlord is accustomed

to give small private audiences, while a slave announced me to his master. I do not know how long I waited. It could not have been a long while, yet it seemed to me a veritable eternity, because my mind was harassed by the conviction that the woman I loved was in dire danger. I was possessed by a conviction, ridiculous, perhaps, but nonetheless real, that I alone could save her, and that every instant I was delayed reduced her chances for succor before it was too late. But at last I was invited to enter, and when I stood in the presence of the great warlord, I found him surrounded by men high in the councils of Helium. "'I assume,' said John Carter, coming directly to the point,

"'that what brings you here to-night, Hadron of Haster, "'preting to the matter of the abduction of the daughter of Tor Hatan. "'Have you any knowledge or any theory that might cast any light upon the subject?' "'No,' I replied. "'I have come merely to obtain your authority to depart at once in an attempt to pick up the trail of the abductors of Sonoma Torah. "'Where do you intend to search?' he demanded. "'I do not yet know, sir,' I replied,

"'but I shall find her.' He smiled. "'Such an assurance is at least an asset,' he said. "'And knowing as I do what prompts it, I shall grant you the permission you desire. "'While the abduction of a daughter of helium "'is in itself of sufficient gravity to warrant the use of every resource to apprehend her abductors

and return her to her home. There is also involved in this occurrence, an element that may portend high danger to the empire. As you doubtless know, the mysterious ship that bore her away mounted a gun from which emanated some force that entirely disintegrated all the metal parts of the patrol-flyer that sought to intercept and question it.

Even the weapons and the metal portions of the harness of the crows of the crew, were dissipated into nothing, a fact that was easily discernible from an examination of the wreck of the patrol-flier and the bodies of its crew. Wood, leather, flesh, everything of the animal and vegetable kingdom that was aboard the flyer, has been found scattered about the ground where it fell, but no trace of any metallic substance remains. I am impressing this upon you because it suggests to my mind a possible clue to the general location of the city of these new enemies of Helium.

I am convinced that this is but the first blow, since any Navy armed with such guns could easily hold helium at its mercy, and few indeed are the cities of Barsoom outside the Empire that would not seize with avidity upon any instrument that would give them the sack of the Twin Cities. For some time now we have been deeply concerned by the increasing number of missing ships of the Navy. In nearly all instances, these were ships engaged in charting air currents and recording atmospheric

pressures in different parts of Barsoom far from the Empire. And recently, it has become apparent that the vast majority of these ships, which never return, were those cruising in the southern part of the western hemisphere, an unhospitable portion of our planet concerning which we have unfortunately but little knowledge owing to the fact that we have developed no trade with the unfriendly people inhabiting this vast domain. This Hadron of Hastor is only a suggestion. Only the vaguest of clues, but I offer it to you for what it is worth. A thousand one-man scout flyers will be dispatched between now and noon tomorrow in search

of the abductors of Sonoma Torah. Nor will these be all. Cruisers and battleships will take the air as well, for Helium must know what city or what nation has developed a weapon of destruction, such as that used above helium this night. It is my belief that the weapon is a very recent invention, and that whatever power possesses it must be bending every effort to perfect it and produce it in such quantities as to make them masters of the world. I have spoken. Go and may fortune be with you. You may believe that I lost no time in setting out upon my mission.

now that I had authority from John Carter. Going to my quarters, I hasten my preparation for departure, which consisted principally of making a careful selection of weapons and of exchanging a rather ornate harness I have been wearing for one of simpler design and of heavier and more durable leather. My fighting harness is always the best and plainest that I can procure, and is made for me by a famous harness-maker of lesser hedium. My equipment of weapons was standard, consisting of a long sword, a short sword, a dagger, and a pistol.

I also provided myself with extra ammunition and a supply of the concentrated ration used by all Martian fighting men. As I gathered together these simple necessities, which, with a single sleeping fur, would constitute my equipment, my mind was given over to consideration of various explanations for the disappearance of Sonoma Torah. I searched my brain for any slightest memory that might suggest an explanation, or point toward the possible identity of her abductors. It was while thus engaged that I recalled her reference to the Jeddak, Tull Axtar of Jahar, nor was there within the scope of my recollection any other incident that might point a clue.

I distinctly recalled the emissary of Tull Axtar, who had visited the Court of Helium not long since. I had heard him boast of the riches and power of his jeddak and the beauty of his women. Perhaps, then, it might be as well to search in the direction of Jahar as elsewhere, but before departing I determined once again to visit the palace of Torhatan and question the slave who had been the last to see Sonoma Torah. As I was about to set out, another thought occurred to me. I knew that in the Temple of Knowledge might be found either illustrations

or replicas of the metal and harness of every nation of Barsoom, concerning which ought was known in Helium. I therefore repaired immediately to the temple, and with the assistance of a clerk I presently found a drawing of the harness and metal of a warrior of Jihar. By an ingenious photostatic process, a copy of this illustration was made for me in a few seconds, and with this I hastened to the palace of Tor Hatan. The Adwar was absent, having gone to the palace of the warlord, but his major-domo summoned the slave, Cal Tavan, who had witnessed the abduction of Sonoma Torah and grappled

with one of her abductors. As the man approached, I noticed him more particularly than I had previously. He was well built, with clear-cut features and that air which definitely bespeaks the fighting man. "'You said, I believe, that you were from Cobol?' I asked. "'I was born in Chanath,' he replied. "'I had a wife and daughter there. My wife fell before the hand of an assassin, and my daughter disappeared when she was very young.

I never knew what became of her. The familiar scenes of Chaneth reminded me of happier days, and so increased my grief that I could not remain. I turned Panthen then, and sought service in other than. cities. Thus I served in Cobol. And there you became familiar with the harness and the medal of many cities and nations, I asked. Yes, he replied. What harness and metal are these, I demanded, handing him the copy of the illustration I had brought from the Temple of Knowledge. He examined it briefly, and then his eyes

lighted with recognition. It is the same, he said. It is identical. identical. Identical with what? I asked. With the harness worn by the warrior with whom I grappled at the time that Sonoma Torah was stolen, he replied. The identity of the abductors of Sonoma Torah is established, I said, and then I turn to the Major Domo.

Send a messenger at once to the warlord informing him that the daughter of Torhatan was stolen by men from Jahar, and that it is my belief that they are the emerald. of Tull Axtar, Jeddak of Jihar. And without more words I turned and left the palace, going directly to my flyer. As I rose above the towers and domes and lofty landing stages of greater helium, I turned the prow of my flyer toward the west, and opening wide the throttle sped swiftly through the thin air of dying Barsoom toward that great unknown expanse of her remote southwestern hemisphere, somewhere within the vast reaches of which lay Jahar, toward which I was now convinced, Sanoma Tora was being

born to become not the Jadar of Tull Axtar, but his slave, for Jadax take not their Jadars by force upon Barsum. I believe that I understood the explanation of Sonoma Tora's abduction, an explanation that would have caused her intensive chagrin since it was far from flattery. I believe that Tull Axtar's emissary had reported to his master's, her the charm and beauty of the daughter of Torhatan, but that she was not of sufficiently noble birth to become his Jedara, and so he had adopted the only expedient by which he might possess her. My blood boiled at the suggestion, but my judgment told me that it was doubtless right. During the past years, I should say the last ten or twenty, greater strides

have been taken in the advancement of aeronautics than had been previously achieved in the preceding 500 years. The perfection of the destination control compass by Carthoris of Helium is considered by many authorities to have marked the beginning of a new era of invention. For centuries, we seemed to have stagnated in a quiet pond of self-sufficiency, as though we had reached the acme of perfection beyond which it was useless to seek for improvement upon what we considered the highest possible achievements of science. Carthoris of helium, inheriting the restless, inquiring mind of his earth-born sire, awoke us. Our best minds took up the challenge, and the result was rapid improvement in design

and construction of airships of all classes, leading to a revolution in motor building. We had thought that our light, compact, powerful radium motors never could be improved upon, and that man never would travel, either safely or economically, at a speed greater than that attained, by her swift one-man scout-flyers, about 1,100 Hods per Zode. Note, approximately 160 earth-miles per hour. When a virtually unknown paduar in the Navy of Helium announced that he had perfected a motor that, with one-half the weight of our present motors, would develop twice the speed.

It was this type of motor with which my scout-flyer was equipped, a seemingly fuelless motor, since it derived its invisible and imponderable energy from the inexhaustible and illimitable magnetic field of the planet. There are certain basic features of the new motor that only the inventor and the government of helium are fully conversant with, and these are most jealously guarded. The propeller shaft, which extends well within the hull of the flyer,

is constructed of numerous lateral segments insulated from one another. around this shaft and supporting it is a series of armature-like bearings, through the center of which it passes. These are connected in series with a device called an accumulator, through which the planet's magnetic energy is directed to the peculiar armatures which encircle the propeller shaft. Speed is controlled by increasing or diminishing the number of armature bearings in series with the accumulator, all of which is simply accomplished by a lever which the pilot moves from his position on deck, where he ordinarily lies upon his stomach, his safety belt snapped to heavy rings in the deck. The limit of speed, the inventor claims, is dependent solely on the ratio of strength to wait in the construction of the hull.

My one-man scout-flyer easily attains a speed of two thousand hods per zode. Note, approximately three hundred miles per hour. nor could it have withstood the tremendous strain of a more powerful motor, though it would have been easy to have increased both the power of one and the speed of the other by the simple expedient of a longer propeller shaft carrying an additional number of armature bearings. In experimenting with the new motor at Hastor last year, an attempt was made to drive a scout-flyer at the exceptional speed of 3,300 hods per zode. Note, approximately 500 miles per hour.

A HOD being 1,949.0592 Earth feet, and a Zod 2.462 Earth hours. But before the ship had attained a speed of 3,000 Hods per Zod, it was torn to pieces by its own motor. Now we are trying to attain the greatest strength with a minimum of weight, and as our engineers succeed, we shall see speed increased. Until, I am sure, we shall easily attain to 7,000 Hods per Zode. Note, over 1,000 miles per hour. For there seems to be no limit to the power of these marvelous motors. Little less marvelous is the destination control compass of Carthoris of Helium.

Set your pointer upon any spot on either hemisphere. Open your throttle, and then lie down and go to sleep, if you will. Your ship will carry you to your destination, Drop within a hundred yards or so of the ground and stop, while an alarm awakens you. It is really a very simple device, but I believe that John Carter has fully described it in one of his numerous manuscripts. In the adventure upon which I had embarked, the destination control compass was of little value to me, since I did not know the exact location of Jahar.

However, I set it roughly at a point about thirty degrees south latitude, thirty-five, 5 degrees east longitude, as I believe that Jahar lay somewhere to the southwest of that point. Flying at high speed, I had long since left behind the cultivated areas near helium, and was crossing above a desolate and deserted waste of ochre moss that clothed the dead sea-bottoms, where once rolled a mighty ocean bearing upon its bosom the shipping of a happy and prosperous people, now but a half-forgotten memory in the legends of Barsoom. Upon the edges of plateaus that once had marked the shoreline of a noble continent, I passed above the lonely monuments of that ancient prosperity,

the sad deserted cities of old Barsoom. Even in their ruins, there is a grandeur and magnificence that still has power to awe a modern man. Down toward the lowest sea bottoms, other ruins marked the tragic trail that that ancient civilization had followed in pursuit of the receding waters of its ocean. to where the last city finally succumbed, bereft of commerce, shorn of power, to fall at last an easy victim to the marauding hordes of fierce green tribesmen, whose descendants now are the sole rulers of many of these deserted sea-bottoms. Hating and hated, ignorant of love, laughter or happiness, they lead their long, fierce lives, quarreling among themselves and their

neighbors and preying upon any chance adventurers who happen within the confines of their bitter and desolate domain. Fierce and terrible, as are all green men, there are few whose cruel natures and bloody exploits have horrified the minds of red men to such an extent as have the green hordes of Torkas. The city of Torkas, from which they derived their name, was one of the most magnificent and powerful of ancient Barsoom. Though it has been deserted for ages by all but roaming tribes of green men, it is still marked upon every map, and as it lay directly in the path of my search for Jahar, and as I had never seen it, I had purposely laid my course to pass over it. And when far ahead I saw its lofty towers and battlements, I felt the thrill of excitement

and the lure of adventure which these dead cities of Barsoom, proverbially, exert upon us red men. As I approached the city, I reduced my speed and dropped lower that I might obtain a better view of it. What a beautiful city it must have been in its time. Even today, after all the ages that have passed, since its broad avenue surged with a life of happy, prosperous throngs, its great palaces still stand in all their glorious splendor, that time and the elements have softened and mellowed, but not yet. destroyed. As I circle low above the city, I saw miles of avenues that have not known the foot of

man for countless ages. The stone flagging of their pavement was overgrown with ochre moss, with here and there a stunted tree or a grotesque shrub of one of those varieties that somehow finds sustenance in the arid wasteland. Silent, deserted courtyards looked up at me, gorgeous gardens of another happier day. Here and there the roof of a building had fallen in, but for the most part they remained intact, dreaming doubtless of the wealth and beauty they had known in days of yore, and in imagination I could see the gorgeous sleeping silks and firs spread out in the sunlight,

while the women idled beneath gay canopies of silks, their jeweled harnesses scintillating with each move of their bodies. I saw the penance waving from countless thousands of staffs, and the great ships at anchor in the harbor rose and fell to the undulations of the restless sea. There were swaggering sailors upon the avenues, and burly fighting men before the doors of every palace. Ah, what a picture imagination conjured from the death-like silence of that deserted city, and then, as a long swinging circle brought me above the courtyard of a splendid palace, that faced upon the city's great central square, my eyes beheld that, which shattered my beautiful dream of the past. Directly below me I saw a score of great thoats penned in what what's

may have been the Royal Garden of a jeddak. The presence of these huge beasts met but one thing, and that was that their green masters were to be found nearby. As I passed above the courtyard, one of the restless, vicious beasts looked up and saw me, and instantly he commenced to squeal angrily. Immediately the other thots, their short temper aroused by the squealing of their fellow, and their attention directed by his upward gaze, discovered me and set up a perfect pandemonium of grunts and squeals, which brought the result that I had immediately foreseen.

A green warrior leaped into the courtyard from the interior of the palace and looked up just in time to see me before I pass from his line of vision above the roof of the building. Realizing immediately that this was no place for me to loiter, I opened my throttle, and at the same time rose swiftly toward a greater altitude. As I passed over the building and out across the avenue in front of it, I saw some twenty green warriors pour out of the building, their upward gaze searching the skies.

The warrior on guard had apprised them of my presence. I cursed myself for a stupid fool, and having taken this unnecessary chance merely to satisfy my idle curiosity. Instantly I took a zigzag upward course, rising as swiftly as I could, while from below a savage war-cry rose plainly to my ears. I saw long, wicked-looking rifles aimed at me.

I heard the hiss of projectiles hurtling by me, but though the first volley pass close to us, not a bullet struck the ship. In a moment more I would be out of run, range and safe, and I prayed to a thousand ancestors to protect me for the few brief minutes that would be necessary to place me entirely out of harm's way. I thought that I had made it and was just about to congratulate myself upon my good luck, when I heard the thud of a bullet against the metal of my ship, and almost simultaneously the explosion of the projectile, and then I

was out of range. Angry cries of disappointment came faintly to my ears as I sped some of the swiftly toward the southwest, relieved that I had been so fortunate as to be able to get away without suffering any damage. I had already flown about 70 kharads. Note a kharad is equivalent to a degree of longitude from helium, but I was aware that Jahar might still be 50 to 75 kharads distant, and I made up my mind that I would take no more chances such as those from which I had just so fortunately escaped. I was now moving at great speed again, and I had scarcely finished congratulating myself

upon my good fortune, when it suddenly became apparent to me that I was having difficulty in maintaining my altitude. My flyer was losing buoyancy, and almost immediately I guessed what investigation later revealed, that one of my buoyancy tanks had been punctured by the explosive bullet of the Green Warriors. To reproach myself for my carelessness seemed a useless waste of my miscarriage of my mental energy, though I can assure you that I was keenly aware of my fault and of its possible bearing upon the fate of Sonoma Torah, from the active prosecution of whose rescue I might now be

entirely eliminated. The results, as they affected me, did not appall me half so much as did the contemplation of the unquestioned danger in which Sonoma Torah must be, from which my determination to rescue her had so obsessed me that there had not entered into my thoughts, and I had not entered into my thoughts any slightest consideration of failure. The mishap was a severe blow to my hopes, and yet it did not shatter them entirely, for I am so constituted that I know I shall never give up hope of success in any issue as long as life remains to me. How much longer my ship would remain afloat it was difficult to say, and having no means

of making such repairs as would be necessary to conserve the remaining contents of the punctured buoyancy tank, the best that I could do was to increase my speed, so that I might cover as much distance as possible before I was forced down. The construction of my ship was such that at high speed it tended to maintain itself in the air with a minimum of the eight-ray in its buoyancy tanks. Yet I knew that the time was not far distant when I should have to make a landing in this dreary, desolate wasteland. I had covered something in the neighborhood of two thousand hods since I had been fired upon above Torkas, crossing what had been a large gulf when the waters of the ocean rolled over

the vast plains that now lay moss covered and arid beneath me. Far ahead, I could see the outlines of low hills that must have marked the southwestern shoreline of the Gulf. Toward the northwest, the dead sea bottom extended as far as the eye could reach, but this was not the direction I wished to take. And so I sped on toward the hills, hoping that I might maintain sufficient altitude to cross them. But as they swiftly loomed closer,

this hope died in my breast, and I realized that the end of my flight was now but a matter of moments. At the same time, I discerned the ruins of a deserted city nestling at the foot of the hills. Nor was this an unwelcome sight, since water is almost always to be found in the way, wells of these ancient cities, which have been kept in repair by the green nomads of the wasteland. By now I was skimming but a few ads above the surface of the ground.

Note, an ad is about 9.75 earth feet. I had greatly diminished my speed to avoid a serious accident in landing, and because of this the end was hasten, so that presently I came gently to rest upon the ochre vegetation, scarcely a hod from the water. of the deserted city. End of Chapter 2. Chapter 3 of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 3. Cornered

My landing was most unfortunate in that it left me in plain sight of the city without any place of concealment, in the event that the ruins happened to be occupied by one of the numerous tribes of green men who infest the dead sea bottoms of Barsoom, often making their headquarters in one or another of the deserted cities that line the ancient shore. The fact that they usually choose to inhabit

the largest and most magnificent of the ancient palaces, and that these ordinarily stand back some little distance from the waterfront, rendered it quite possible that even in the event that there were green men in the city, I might reach the concealing safety of one of the nearer buildings before I was discovered by them. My flyer being now useless, there was nothing to do but abandon it, and so, with only my weapons, ammunition, and a little concentrated rations,

I walked quickly in the direction of the age-old waterfront. Whether or not I reached the buildings unobserved I was unable to determine, but at any rate I did reach them without seeing any sign of a living creature about. Portions of many of these ancient, deserted cities are inhabited by the great white apes of Barsoom, which are in many respects more to be feared than the green warriors themselves, for not only are these man-like creatures endowed with enormous strength and characterized by intense ferocity, but they are also voracious man-eaters. So terrible are they, that it is said that they are the only living creatures that can

still instill fear within the breasts of the green men of Barsoom. Knowing the possible dangers that might lurk within the precincts of this ruin, it may be wondered that I approached it at all, but as a matter of fact, there was no safe alternative. Out upon the dead monotony of the ochre moss of the sea-bottom, I should have been discovered by the first white ape or green Martian that approached the city from that direction, or that chance to come from the interior of the ruins to the waterfront. It was, therefore, necessary for me to see concealment until night had fallen,

since only by night might I travel in safety across the sea-bottom, and as the city offered the only concealment nearby, I had no choice but to enter it. I can assure you that it was not without feelings of extreme concern that I clambered to the surface of the Broad Avenue that once skirted the shore of a busy harbor. Across its wide expanse rose the ruins of what once had been shops and where-house. houses, but whose eyeless windows now looked down upon a scene of arid desolation. Gone were the great ships. Gone were the busy, hurrying throngs, gone the ocean. Crossing the avenue, I entered one of the taller buildings, which I noticed was surmounted

by a high tower. The entire structure, including the tower, seemed to be in an excellent state of preservation, and it occurred to me that if I could ascend into the ladder, I should be able to obtain an excellent view of the city and of the country that lay beyond it to the southwest, which was the direction in which I intended to pursue my search for Jahar. I reached the building apparently unobserved, and entering, found myself in a large chamber, the nature and purpose of which it was no longer possible to determine, since such decorations as may possibly have adorned its walls in the past, were no longer discernible, and whatever furniture it may have contained to give a clue to its identity had long since been removed.

There was an enormous fireplace in the far end of the room, and at one side of this fireplace a ramp led downward, and upon the other a similar ramp led upward. Listening intently for a moment I heard no sound, either within or without the building, so that it was with considerable confidence that I started to ascend the ramp. Upward I continued from floor to floor, each of which consisted of a single large chamber, a fact which finally convinced me that the building had been a warehouse for the storing of goods passing through this ancient port. From the upper floor a wooden ladder extended upward through the center of the tower above.

It was of solid skill, which is practically indestructible. so that, though I knew it might be anywhere from 500,000 to a million years old, I did not hesitate to trust myself to it. The circular interior core of the tower, upward through which the ladder extended, was rather dark. At each landing there was an opening into the tower chamber at that point, but as many of these openings were closed, only a subdued light penetrated to the central core. I had ascended to the second level of the tower when I thought that I heard a strange noise beneath me.

Just the suggestion of a noise it was, but such utter silence had reigned over the deserted city that the faintest sound must have been appreciable to me. Pausing in my ascent I looked down listening, but the sound which I had been unable to translate was not repeated, and I continued my way on upward. Having it in my mind to climb as high up in the tower as possible, I did not stop to examine any of the levels that I passed. Continuing upward for a considerable distance, my progress was finally blocked by heavy planking

that appeared to form the ceiling of the shaft. Some eight or ten feet below me was a small door that probably led to one of the upper levels of the tower, and I could not but wonder why the ladder have been continued on upward above this doorway, since it could serve no practical purpose if it merely ended at the ceiling. Feeling above me with my fingers,

I traced the outlines of what appeared to be a trap-door. Obtaining a firm footing upon the ladder as high up as I could climb, I placed a shoulder against the barrier. In this position, I was able to exert considerable pressure upward, with the result that, presently, I felt the planking rise above me, and a moment later, to the accompaniment of subdued groans, the trap-door swung upward upon ancient

wooden hinges long unused. Clambering into the apartment above, I found myself upon the top level of the tower, which rose to a height of some two hundred feet above the avenue below. Before me were the corroded remains of an ancient and long obsolete beacon light, such as were used by the ancients long before the discovery of radium and its practical and scientific application to the lighting requirements of modern civilization upon Barsoom. These ancient lamps were operated by expensive machines which generated electricity, and this one was doubtless used as a beacon for the safe guidance of ancient mariners into the harbor, whose waters once rolled almost to the foot of the tower.

This upper level of the tower afforded an excellent view in all directions. To the north and northeast stretched a vast expanse of a dead sea bottom as far as the eye could reach. To the south was a range of low hills that curved gently in a northeasterly direction, forming in bygone days the southern shoreline of what is still known as the Gulf of Torgas. Toward the west I looked out over the ruins of a great city, which extended far back into low hills, the flanks of which it had mounted as it expanded from the seashore. There in the distance, I could still discern the ancient villas of the wealthy, while in the nearer foreground were enormous public buildings, the most pretentious of which

were built upon the four sides of a large quadrangle that I could easily discern a short distance from the waterfront. Here, doubtless, stood the official palace of the Jeddak, who once ruled the rich country of which this city was the capital and the principal port. There now only silence reigns. It was indeed a depressing sight, and one fraught with poignant prophecy for us of present-day Barsoom. Where they battled valiantly but futilely against the menace of a constantly diminishing water supply, we are faced with a problem that far transcends theirs in the importance of its bearing upon the maintenance of life upon our planet. During the past several thousand years, only the courage, resourcefulness, and wealth of the

Red Men of Barsoom have made it possible for life to exist upon our dying planet. For were it not for the great atmosphere plants conceived and built and maintained by the red race of Barsoom, all forms of air-breathing creatures would have become extinct thousands of years ago. As I gazed out over the city, my mind occupied with these dismal thoughts, I again became aware of a sound coming from the interior of the tower beneath me, and stepping to the open trap, I looked down into the shaft, and there, directly below me, I saw that which might well make the stoutest Barsumian heart quail, the hideous snarling face of a great white ape of Varsum.

As our eyes met, the creature voiced an angry growl, and abandoning its former stealthy approach, rushed swiftly up the ladder. Acting almost mechanically, I did the one and only thing that might even temporarily stay its rush upon me. I slammed down the heavy-trap door above its head, and as I did so, I saw for the first time that the door was equipped with a heavy wooden bar, and you may well believe that I lost no time in securing this, thus effectually barring the creature's ascent by this route into the veritable cul-de-sac in which I had placed myself. Now, indeed, was I in a pretty predicament, two hundred feet above the city, with my only

avenue escape cut off by one of the most feared of all the savage beasts of Barsoom. I had hunted these creatures in Thark as a guest of the great green jet-hack, Tars Tarkas, and I knew something of their cunning and resourcefulness as well as of their ferocity. Extremely manlike in confirmation, they also approached men more closely than any other of the lower orders in the size and development of their brain. Occasionally, these creatures are captured when young and trained to perform, and so intelligent are they that they can be taught to do almost anything that man can do that lies within the range of their limited reasoning capacity.

Man has, however, never been able to subdue their ferocious nature, and they are always the most dangerous of animals to handle, which probably accounts more even than their intelligence for the interest displayed by the large audiences which they unfailingly attract. In Hastor, I have paid a good price to see one of these, and now I found myself in a position where I should very gladly pay a good deal more not to see one. But from the noise he was making in the shaft beneath me, it appeared to me that he was determined that I should have a free show, and he a free meal. He was hurling himself as best he could against the trap-door, Above which I stood with some misgivings which were presently allayed,

when I realized that not even the vast strength of a white ape could avail against the still, staunch and sturdy skeel of the ancient door. Finally convinced that he could not come at me by this avenue, I set about taking stock of my situation. Circling the tower, I examined its outward architecture by the simple expedient of leaning far outward above each of the four sides. Three sides terminated at the roof of the building 150 feet below me, while the fourth extended to the pavement of the courtyard 200 feet below.

Like much of the architecture of ancient Barsoom, the surface of the tower was elaborately carved from top to bottom, and at each level there were window embrasures, some of which were equipped with small stone balconies. As a rule, there was but a single window to a level, and as the window for the level directly beneath never opened on the same side of the tower as the window for the level above, there was always a distance of from thirty to forty feet between windows upon the same side, and as I was examining the outside of the tower with a view

to its offering me an avenue of escape, this point was of great importance to me, since a series of window-ledges, one below another, would have proved a most welcome sight to a man in my position. By the time I had completed my survey of the exterior of the tower, the ape had evidently come to the conclusion that he could not demolish the barrier that kept him from me, and I hoped that he would abandon the idea entirely and depart. But when I lay down on the floor and placed an ear close to the door, I could plainly hear him just below, as he occasionally changed from one uncomfortable position to another upon the small ladder beneath me.

I did not know to what extent these creatures might have developed pertinacity of purpose, but I hope that he might soon tire of his vigil and his thoughts be diverted into some other channel. However, as the day wore to a close, this possibility seemed to grow more and more remote. Until at last, I became almost convinced that the creature had determined to lay siege until hunger or desperation forced me from my retreat. How longingly I gazed at the beckoning hills beyond the city Where lay my route toward the southwest, toward Fable Jihar? The sun was low in the west.

Soon would come the sudden transition from daylight to darkness, and then what? Perhaps the creature would abandon its vigil. Hunger or thirst might attract it elsewhere, but how was I to know? How easily it might descend to the bottom of the tower and await me there, confident that sooner or later I must come down. One unfamiliar with the traits of these savage creatures might wonder why, armed as I was with sword and pistol, I did not raise the trap-door and give battle to my jailer.

Had I known positively that he was the only white ape in the vicinity, I should not have hesitated to do so, but experience assured me that there was doubtless an entire herd of them quartered in the ruined city. So scarce is the flesh they crave that it is their ordinary custom to hunt alone, so that in the event that they make a kill they may be more certain of retaining the prize for themselves. But if I should attack him, he would most certainly raise such a row as to attract his fellows, in which event my chance for escape would have been reduced to the ultimate zero.

A single shot from my pistol might have dispatched him, but it was equally possible that it would not, for these great white apes of Barsoom are tremendous creatures, endowed with almost unbelievable vitality. Many of them stand fully fifteen feet in height, and are endowed by nature with tremendous strength. Their very appearance is demoralizing to an enemy. Their white, hairless bodies are in themselves repulsive to the eye of a red man. The great shock of white hair bristling erect upon their pates accentuates the brutality of their countenances. While their intermediary set of limbs, which they use either as arms or legs as necessity or whim suggests, render them most formidable antagonists, quite generally they carry a club, in the use of which they are terribly proficient.

One of them, therefore, seems sufficiently a menace in itself, so that I had no desire to attract others of its kind, though I was fully aware that eventually I might be forced to carry the battle to him. Just as the sun was setting, my attention was attracted toward the waterfront, where the long shadows of the city were stretching far out across the dead sea bottom. Riding up the gentle acclivity toward the city was a party of green warriors, mounted upon their great savage thots. There were perhaps twenty of them, moving silently over the soft moss that car

carpeted the bottom of the ancient harbor, the padded feet of their mounts giving forth no sound. Like specters, they moved in the shadows of the dying day, giving me further proof that fate had led me to a most unfriendly shore. And then, as though to complete the trilogy of fearsome Barsoomian menaces, the roar of a banth rolled down out of the hills behind the city. Say from observation in the high tower above them, I watched the part of the part of the as it emerged from the hollow of the harbor and rode out upon the avenue below me, and then, for the first time, I noted a small figure seated in front of one of the warriors. Darkness was coming swiftly now, but before the little cavalcade passed out of sight

momentarily behind the corner of the building, as it entered another avenue leading toward the heart of the city, I thought that I recognized the little figure as that of a woman of my own race. That she was a captive was a foregifted, gone conclusion, and I could not but shudder as I contemplated the fate that lay in store for her. Perhaps my own Sonoma Torah was in equal jeopardy. Perhaps—but no, that could not be possible. How could Sonoma Torah have fallen into the clutches of warriors of the fierce horde of Torkas? It could not be she. No, that was impossible. But the fact remained that the captive was a red woman, and whether she were Sonoma Torah or another, whether she were from Helium or

Jahar, my heart went out in sympathy to her, and I forgot my own predicament as something within me urged me to pursue her captors and to seek to snatch her from them. But, alas, how futile seemed my fancy! How might I, who might not even save himself, aspire to the rescue of another? The thought galled me. It hurt my pride. And forthwith, I... determined that, if I would not chance dying to save myself, I might at least chance it for a woman of my own race. And always in the back of my head was the thought that perhaps the object of my solicitude might indeed be the woman I loved. Darkness had fallen as I pressed my ear again to the trap-door. All was silent below, so that presently I became assured that the creature had departed.

Perhaps he was lying in wait for me further down, but what of that? I must face him eventually if he elected to remain. I loosened my pistol in its holster, and was upon the point of slipping the bar that secured the door, when I distinctly heard the beast directly beneath me. For an instant I paused. What was the use? It met certain death to raise that door,

and in what way might I be profiting either myself or the poor captive if I gave my life thus uselessly? But there was an alternative, one that I had been planning to adopt in case of necessity from the moment that I had first examined the exterior construction of the tower. It offered a slender chance of escape from my predicament, and even a very slender chance was better than what would confront me should I raise the trap-door. I stepped to one of the windows of the tower and looked down upon the city. Neither moon was in the sky. I could see nothing.

Toward the interior of the city I heard the squealing of thots. There would the camp of the green men be located. Thus, by the squealing of their vicious mounts, would I be guided to it. Again, a hunting benth roared in the hills. I sat upon the sill and swung both legs across, and then turning on my belly, slipped silently over the edge until I hung only by my hands. groping with my sandaled toes, I felt for a foothold upon the deep-cut carvings of the tower's face. Above me was a blue-black void shot with stars.

Below me a blank and empty void. It might have been a thousand sophads to the roof below me, or it might have been one. But though I could see nothing, I knew that it was one hundred and fifty, and that at the bottom lay death if a foot or hand slipped. In daylight the sculpturing had seemed large and deep and bold, but by night how different. My toes seemed to find but hollow scratches in a smooth surface of polished stone. My arms and fingers were tiring. I must find a foothold or fall, and then, when hope seemed gone,

the toe of my right sandals slipped into a horizontal groove, and an instant later my left found a hold. flattened against the sheer wall of the tower, I lay there resting my tired fingers and arms for a moment, and when I felt they would bear my weight again, I sought for hand-holes. Thus painfully, perilously, monotonously, I descended inch by inch. I avoided the windows, which naturally greatly increased the difficulty and danger of my descent. Yet I did not care to pass directly in front of them, for fear that by chance the ape might have descended from the summit of the ladder and would see me. I cannot recall that ever in my life I felt more alone than I did that night, as I was descending

the ancient beacon tower of that deserted city, for not even hope was with me. So precarious were my holds upon the rough stone, that my fingers were soon numb and exhausted. How they clung at all to those shallow cuts I do not know. The only redeeming feature of the descent was the darkness, and a hundred times I blessed my first ancestors that I could not see the dizzy depths below me. But, on the other hand, it was so dark that I could not tell how far I had descended. Nor did I dare to look up where the summit of the tower must have been silhouetted against the starlit sky, for fear that in doing so I should lose my balance

and be precipitated to the courtyard or the roof below. The air of Barsoom is thin. It does not greatly diffuse the starlight. And so, while the heavens above were shot with brilliant points of light, the ground beneath was obliterated in darkness. Yet I must have been nearer the roof than I thought when that happened which I had been assiduously endeavoring to prevent. The scabbard of my long-sword pattered noisly against the face of the tower. In the darkness and the silence it seemed a veritable din. But, however exaggerated it might appear to me, I knew that it was sufficient to reach the ears of the great ape in the tower.

Whether a suggestion of its import would occur to him, I could not guess. I could only hope that he would be too dull to connect it with me or my escape. But I was not to be left long in doubt, for almost immediately afterward a sound came from the interior of the tower that sounded to my overwrought nerves like a heavy body rapidly descending a ladder. I realize now that imagination might even, easily have construed utter silence into such a sound, since I've been listening so intently for that very thing that I might easily have worked myself into such a state of nervous apprehension

that almost any sort of an hallucination was possible. With redoubled speed and with a measure of recklessness that was almost suicidal, I hastened my descent, and an instant later I felt the solid roof beneath my feet. I breathed a sigh of relief, but it was a moment. I was a sigh of relief, but was destined to be but a short sigh and but brief relief, for almost instantly I was made aware that the sound from the interior of the tower had been no hallucination, as the huge bulk of a great ape loomed suddenly from a doorway not a dozen paces from me. As he charged me, he gave forth no sound. Evidently, he had not held his solitary vigil this long with any intention of sharing his feast with another. He would dispatch me in silence, and with similar

intent, I drew my long-sword rather than my pistol to meet his savage charge. What a puny-futal thing I must have appeared confronting that towering mountain of bestial ferocity! Thanks be to a thousand fighting ancestors that I wielded a long-sword with swiftness and with strength. Otherwise, I must have been gathered into that savage embrace in the brute's first charge. Four powerful hands were reached out to seize me. but I swung my long sword in a terrific cut that severed one of them cleanly at the wrist,

and at the same instant I leaped quickly to one side, and as the beast rushed me, carried onward by its momentum, I ran my blade deep into its body. With a savage scream of rage and pain it sought to turn upon me, but its foot slipped upon its own dismembered hand, and it stumbled awkwardly on trying to regain its equilibrium, but that it never accomplished, and still stumbling grotesquely it lunged over the edge of the roof to the courtyard below.

Fearing that the beast's scream might attract others of its kind to the roof, I ran swiftly to the north edge of the building, where I had noted from the tower earlier in the afternoon a series of lower buildings adjoining, over the roofs of which I might possibly accomplish my descent to the street level. Cold Cluros was rising above the distant horizon, shedding its pale light upon the city so that I could, plainly see the roofs below me as I came to the north edge of the building. It was a long drop,

but there was no safe alternative, since it was quite probable that should I attempt to descend through the building, I would meet other members of the apes herd, who had been attracted by the scream of their fellow. Slipping over the edge of the roof, I hung an instant by my hands and then dropped. The distance was about two ads, but I alighted safely and without injury. Upon your own planet, with its larger bulk and greater gravity, I presume that a fall of that distance might be serious, but not so necessarily upon Barsoom. From this roof I had a short drop to the next, and from that I leaped to a low wall and thence to the ground below. Had it not been for the fleeting glimpse of the girl captive that I

caught just at sunset, I should have set out directly for the hills west of the town, Bant or no Bantz. But now I felt strongly upon me a certain moral obligation to make the best efforts that I could for succoring the poor unfortunate who had fallen into the clutches of these cruelest of creatures. Keeping well within the shadows of the buildings, I moved stealthily toward the central plaza of the city, from which direction I had heard the squealing of the Thots. The plaza was a full hod from the waterfront, and I was compelled to cross several intersecting avenues as I cautiously made my way toward it, guided by an occasional squeal from the Thoats quartered in the same deserted palace courtyard.

I reached the plaza in safety, confident that I had not been observed. Upon the opposite side I saw light within one of the great buildings that faced it, but I dared not cross the open space in the moonlight, and so, still clinging to the shadows, I moved to the far end of the quadrangle, where Cluro's cast his densest shadows, and thus at last I wan to the building in which the green men were quartered. Directly before me was a low window that must have opened into a room adjoining the one in which the warriors were congregated. Listening intently I heard nothing within the chamber, and slipping a leg over the sill I entered the dark interior with the utmost stealth.

Tiptoeing across the room to find a door through which I might look into the adjoining chamber, I was suddenly arrested as my foot touched a soft body, and I froze into rigidity, my hand upon my long sword as the body moved. End of Chapter 3 Chapter 4 of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 4. Tavia There are occasions in the life of every man, when he becomes impressed,

by the evidence of the existence of an extraneous power which guides his acts, which is sometimes described as the hand of providence. Or is again explained on the hypothesis of a sixth sense, which transports to the part of our brain that controls our actions, perceptions of which we are not objectively aware. But account for it as one may, the fact remains that, as I stood there that night in the dark chamber of the ancient palace of the deserted city, I hesitated to thrust my sword into the soft body moving at my feet. This might, after all, have been the most reasonable and logical course for me to pursue. Instead, I pressed my sword point firmly against the yielding flesh and whispered a single word. Silence! A thousand times since then have I given

thanks to my first ancestors that I did not follow my natural impulse. For in response to my admonition, a voice whispered, "'Do not thrust, Red Man, I am of your own and a prisoner. And the voice was that of a girl. Instantly, I withdrew my blade and kneeled beside her. "'If you have come to help me, cut my bonds,' she said. And be quick, for they will soon return for me. Feeling rapidly over her body, I found that her wrists and ankles were secured with leather thongs, and drawing my dagger I quickly severed these. "'Are you alone?' I asked as I helped her to her feet. "'Yes,' she replied.

"'In the next room, they are playing for me, to decide to which one I shall belong.' At that moment there came the clank of sidearms from the adjoining room. "'They are coming,' she said. "'They must not find us here.' Taking her by the hand, I moved to the window through which I had entered the apartment,

but fortunately I reconnoitered before stepping out into the avenue, and it was well for us that I did so. for as I looked to the right along the face of the building, I saw a green Martian warrior emerging from the main entrance. Evidently, it had been the rattling of his sidearms that we had heard as he moved across the adjoining apartment to the doorway. "'Is there another exit from this room?' I asked in a low whisper. "'Yes,' she replied.

"'Oposit this window, there is a doorway leading into a corridor. It was open when they brought me in, but they closed it.' We shall be better off inside the building than out for a while at least," I said. Come, and together we crossed the apartment, groping along the wall for the door which I soon located. With the utmost care I drew it ajar, fearing that its ancient hinges might betray us by their complaining. Beyond the doorway lay a corridor, dark as the depths of Omean, and into this I drew the girl, closing the door silently behind us.

our way to the right away from the apartment occupied by the Green Warriors, we moved slowly through a black void, until presently we saw just ahead a faint light, which investigation revealed as coming through the open doorway of an apartment that faced upon the central courtyard of the edifice. I was about to pass this doorway and seek a hiding place further within the remote interior of the building, when my attention was attracted by the squealing of a thote in the courtyard beyond the apartment we were passing. From earliest boyhood, I have had a great deal of experience with the small breed of thote's used as saddle animals by the men of my race, and while I was visiting Tar Tarkas of Thark, I became quite familiar with the methods employed by the green men in controlling their own huge vicious beasts.

For travel over the surface of the ground, the Thote compares to other methods of land transportation as the one-man scout-flyer does to all other ships of the air in aerial navigation. He is as once the swiftest and the most dangerous, so that faced as I was with a problem of land transportation, it was only natural that the squeal of the thots should suggest a plan to my mind. "'Why do you hesitate?' asked the girl. "'We cannot escape in that direction since we cannot cross the courtyard.' "'On the contrary,' I replied, "'I believe that in this direction may lie our surest avenue of escape.'

"'But their thots are pinned in the courtyard. she remonstrated, and green warriors are never far from their thots. It is because the thots are there that I wish to investigate the courtyard, I replied. The moment they catch our scent, she said, they will raise a disturbance

that will attract the attention of their masters, and we shall immediately be discovered and captured. Perhaps, I said, but if my plan succeeds, it will be well worth the risk. But if you are very much afraid, I will abandon it. No, she said.

It is not for me to choose or direct. You have been generous enough to help me, and I may only follow where you lead, but if I knew your plan, perhaps I might follow more intelligently. Certainly, I said, it is very simple. There are thots.

We shall take one of them and ride away. It will be much easier than walking, and our chances for escape will be considerably greater. At the same time we shall leave the courtyard gates open, hoping that the other thots will follow us out, leaving their masters unable to pursue us. "'It is a mad plan,' said the girl, "'but it is a brave one.

"'If we are discovered, there will be fighting, "'and I am unarmed. "'Give me your short-sword, warrior, "'that we may at least make the best account of ourselves that is possible.' "'I unsnap the scabbard of my short-sword from my harness and attached it to hers at her left hip. And as I touched her body in doing so, I could not but note that there was no sign of trembling,

such as there would have been, had she been affected by fright or excitement. She seemed perfectly cool and collected, and her tone of voice was most reassuring to me. That she was not Sonoma Torah, I had known when she had first spoken in the darkness of the room in which I had stumbled upon her, and while I had been keenly disappointed,

I was still determined to do the best I could to assist in the escape of the stranger, although I was confident that her presence might greatly delay and embarrass me, while it subjected me to far greater danger than would have fallen to the lot of a warrior traveling alone. It was, therefore, reassuring to find that my unwelcome companion would not prove entirely helpless. "'I trust you will not have to use it,' I said as I finished hooking my short sword to her harness. You will find, she said, that if necessity arises, I can use it. Good, I said. Now follow me and keep close to me.

A careful survey of the courtyard from the window of the chamber, overlooking it, revealed about twenty huge thots, but no green warriors, evidence that they felt perfectly secure against enemies. The thots were congregated in the far end of the courtyard. A few of them had lain down for the night. but the balance were moving restlessly about as is their habit. Across the courtyard from us, and at the same end, stood a pair of massive gates. As far as I could determine, they barred the only opening into the courtyard large enough to admit a thote,

and I assumed that, beyond them, lay an alley leading to one of the avenues nearby. To reach the gates unobserved by the thots was the first step in my plan, and the better to do this I decided to seek an apartment near the gate, On either side of which I saw window similar to that from which we were looking. Therefore, motioning my companion to follow me, I returned to the corridor, and again, groping through the darkness, we made our way along it. In the third apartment which I explored, I found a window letting into the courtyard close beside the gate.

And in the wall which ran at right angles to that in which the window was set, I found a doorway that opened into a large vaulted corridor upon the opposite side of the gate. This discovery greatly encouraged me, since it harmonized perfectly with the plan I had in mind, at the same time reducing the risk which my companion must run in the attempted adventure of escape. "'Remain here,' I said to her, placing her just behind the gate. "'If the plan is successful, I shall ride into this corridor upon one of the thots, and as I do so you must be ready to seize my hand and mount behind me. If I am discovered and fail, I shall cry out, for helium, and that must be your signal to

escape as best as you may. She laid her hand upon my arm. Let me go into the courtyard with you, she begged, two swords are better than one. No, I said. Alone, I have a better chance of handling the Thots than if their attention is distracted by another. Very well, she said, and with that I left her, and re-entering the chamber went to directly to the window. For a moment I reconnoitered the interior of the courtyard, and finding conditions unchanged, I slipped stealthly through the window and edged slowly toward the gate.

Cautiously, I examined the latch, and discovering it easy to manipulate, I was soon silently pushing one of the gates back upon its hinges. When it was open sufficiently wide to permit the passage of a throat, I turned my attention to the beast within the enclosure. Practically untamed, these savage creatures are wild as their uncaptured fellows of the remote sea bottoms, and being controlled solely by telepathic means, they are amenable only to the suggestion of the more powerful minds of their masters, and even so it requires considerable skill to dominate them. I had learned the method from Tars Tarkas himself, and had come to feel considerable proficiency so that I approached the crucial test of my power with the confidence that was absolutely

requisite to success. Placing myself close beside the gate, I concentrated every faculty of my mind to the direction of my will, telepathically upon the brain of the Thot I had selected for my purpose, the selection being determined solely by the fact

that he stood nearest to me. The effect of my effort was immediately apparent. The creature, which had been searching for the occasional tufts of moss that grew between the stone flags of the courtyard, raised his head and looked about him. At once he became restless, but he gave forth no sound since I was willing him to silence. Presently his eyes moved in my direction and halted upon me.

Then slowly I drew him toward me. It was slow work, for he evidently sensed that I was not his master, but on he came. Once when he was quite near me he stopped and snorted angrily. He must have caught my scent then and realized that I was not even of the same. same race as that to which he was accustomed. Then it was that I exerted to their fullest extent every power of my mind. He stood there shaking his ugly head to and fro, his snarling lips bearing his great fangs. Beyond him I could see that the other thodes had been attracted by his actions.

They were looking toward us and moving about restlessly, always drawing closer. Should they discover me and start to squeal, which is the first and always ready sign of easily aroused anger, I knew that I should have their riders upon me in no time, since because of his nervous and irritable nature the Thote is the watchdog as well as the beast of burden of the green Barsoomians. For a moment the beast I had selected hesitated before me, as though undecided whether to retreat or to charge. But he did neither.

Instead he came slowly up to me, and as I backed through the gate into the vaulted corridor beyond, he followed me. This was better than I had expected, for it permitted me to compel him to lie down, so that the girl and I were able to mount with ease. Before us lay a long vaulted corridor, at the far end of which I could discern a moonlit archway, through which we presently passed onto a broad avenue. To the left lay the hills, and turning this way I urged the fleet animal along the ancient deserted thereofair between rows of stately ruins toward the west, and—

What? Where the avenue turned to wind upward into the hills, I glanced back. Nor could I refrain a feeling of exultation, as I saw strung up behind us in the moonlight, a file of great thots, which I was confident would well know what to do with their newfound liberty. "'Your captors will not pursue us far,' I said to the girl, indicating the thots with a nod of my head. "'Our ancestors are with us to-night,' she said.

let us pray that they may never desert us. Now for the first time I had a fairly good look at my companion, for both Cloros and Thuria were in the heavens, and it was quite light. If I reveal my surprise, it is not to be wondered at, for in the darkness, having only my companion's voice for a guide, I had been perfectly confident that I had given aid to a female. But now, as I looked at that short hair and boyish face, I did not know what to think, nor did the harness that my companion wore aid me in

justify my first conclusion, since it was quite evidently the harness of a man. "'I thought you were a girl,' I blurted out. A fine mouth spread into a smile that revealed strong white teeth. "'I am,' she said. "'But your hair, your harness, even your figure belies your claim.' She laughed gaily. that, I was to find later, was one of her chiefest charms, that she could laugh so easily, yet never to wound.

My voice betrayed me, she said, it is too bad. Why is it too bad? I asked. Because you would have felt better with a fighting man as a companion, whereas now you feel that you have only a burden. A light one, I replied, recalling how easily I had lifted her to the thot's back. But tell me who you are and why you are masquerading as a boy. "'I am a slave-girl,' she said. "'Just a slave-girl who has run away from her master.

"'Perhaps that will make a difference,' she added a little sadly. "'Perhaps you will be sorry that you have defended just a slave-girl.' "'No,' I said, "'that makes no difference. "'I myself am only a poor Padwar, not rich enough to afford a slave. "'Perhaps you are the one to be sorry that you were not rescued by a rich man.' She laughed. "'I ran away from the richest man in the world,' she said. "'At least I guess he must have been the richest man in the world,

for who could be richer than Tull Axtar, Jeddak of Jahar?' "'You belong to Tull Axtar, Jeddak of Jahar?' I exclaimed. "'Yes,' she said. "'I was stolen when I was very young from a city called Janath, and ever since I have lived in the palace of Tall Axtar. He has many women, thousands of them. Sometimes they live all their lives in his palace and never see him. I have seen him.

She shuddered. He is terrible. I was not unhappy there, for I had never known my mother. She died when I was young, and my father was only a memory. You see, I was very, very young indeed, when the emissaries of Tall Axtar stole me from my home in Chabye. I made friends with everyone about the palace of Tall Axtar. They all liked me, the slaves and the warriors and the chiefs, and because I was always boyish,

it amused them to train me in the use of arms, and even to navigate the smaller flyers. But then came a day when my happiness was ended forever. Tall Axtar saw me. He saw me and sent for me. I pretended that I was ill and did not go. and when night came I went to the quarters of a soldier whom I knew to be on guard and stole harness, and I cut off my long hair and painted my face that I might look more like a man, and then I went to the hangers on the palace roof, and by a ruse deceived the guard there

and stole a one-man flyer. I thought, she continued, that if they searched for me at all they would search in the direction of Chaneth, and so I flew in the opposite direction, toward the northeast, intending to make a great circle to the north, turning back toward Chanath. After I passed over Xanator, I discovered a large grove of Mantalia growing out upon the dead sea bottom, and I immediately descended to obtain some of the milk from these plants, as I had left the palace so hurriedly that I had had no opportunity to supply myself with provisions. The Mantellia Grove was an unusually large one,

and as the plants grew to a height of from ten to twelve sophads, the grove offered excellent protection from observation. I had no difficulty in finding a landing place well within its confines. In order to prevent detection from above, I ran my plane in among the concealing foliage of two overarching mantalias, and then set about obtaining a supply of milk. As near objects never appear as attractive as those more distant, I wandered some little distance from my flyer

before I found the plants that seemed to offer a sufficiently copious supply of rich milk. A band of green warriors had also entered the grove to procure milk, and, as I was tapping the tree I had selected, one of them discovered me, and a moment later I was captured. From their questions I became assured that they had not seen me enter the grove, and that they knew nothing of the presence of my flyer. They must have been in a portion of the grove very thickly overhung by foliage while I was approaching from above and making my landing. But be that as it may, they were ignorant of the presence of my flyer, and I determined to keep them in ignorance of it.

When they had obtained as much milk as they required, they returned to Zanator, bringing me with them. The rest you know. This is Zanator? I asked. Yes, she replied. And what is your name? I asked.

Tavia, she replied. And what is yours? Tandran of Hastor, I replied. "'It is a nice name,' she said. "'There was a certain boyish frankness about the way she said it that convinced me that she would have been just as quick to tell me had she not liked my name. There was no suggestion of brainless flattery in her tone,

and I was to learn, as I became better acquainted with her, that honesty and candor were two of her marked characteristics. But at the moment I was giving such matters little thought, since my mind was occupied with a portion of her narrative that had suggested to me an easy and swift method of escape from our predicament. "'Do you believe,' I asked, "'that you could find the Mantalia Grove where you hid your flyer?' "'I am positive of it,' she replied.

"'Will the craft carry two?' I asked. "'It is a one-man flyer,' she replied, "'but it will carry both of us, though both its speed and altitude will be reduced.' She told me that the grove lay to the southeast of Xanator, and accordingly I turned the Thoth's head toward the east. After we had passed well beyond the limits of the city, we moved in a southerly direction down out of the hills onto the dead sea bottom. Thuria was winging her swift flight through the heavens, casting strange and ever-moving

shadows upon the ochre moss that covered the ground, while far above, cold Kloros took his slow and stately way. The light of the two moons clearly illuminated the landscape, and I was sure that keen eyes could easily have detected us from the ruins of Xanator, although the swiftly moving shadows cast by Thuria were helpful to us, since the shadows of every shrub and stunted tree produced a riot of movement upon the surface of the sea-bottom in which our own moving shadow was less conspicuous. But the hope that I entertained most fondly was that all of the Thots had followed our beast

from the courtyard, and that the green Martian warriors were left dismounted, in which event no pursuit could overtake us. The great beast that was carrying us moved swiftly and silently, so that it was not long before we saw in the distance the shadowy foliage of the Mantalia Grove, and shortly afterward we entered its gloomy confines. It was not without considerable difficulty, however, that we located Tavius Flyer, and mighty glad was I, too, when we found it in good condition. for we had seen more than a single shadowy form slinking through the forest, and I knew that

the fierce animals of the barren hills and the great white apes of the ruined cities were equally fond of the milk of the mantalya, and that we should be fortunate indeed if we escaped an encounter. I rode as close to the flyer as possible, and, leaving Tavia on the Thot, slipped quickly to the ground and dragged the small craft out into the open. An examination of the control showed that they had not been tampered with, which was a great relief to me, as I had feared that the flyer might have been damaged by the great apes, which are inclined to be both inquisitive and destructive.

Assured that all was well, I assisted Tavia to the ground, and a moment later we were upon the deck of the flyer. The craft responded satisfactorily, though a little sluggishly, to the controls, and immediately we were floating gently upward into the temporary. safety of a Barsoomian night. The flyer, which was of a design now almost obsolete in helium, was not equipped with a destination control compass, which rendered it necessary for the pilot to be constantly at the controls.

Our quarters on the narrow deck were exceedingly cramped, and I foresaw a most uncomfortable journey ahead of us. Our safety belts were snapped to the same deck ring as we lay almost touching one another upon the hard skeel. The cowl, which protected our faces from the rush of the wind that was generated even by our relatively slow speed, was not sufficiently high to permit us to change our positions to any considerable degree, though occasionally we found it a relief to sit up with our backs toward the bow, and thus relieve the tedium of remaining constantly prone in one position.

When I thus rested my cramped muscles, Tavia guided the flyer, but the cold wind of the Barsoomian night always brought me down behind the cow in a very few moments. By mutual consent, we were heading in a southwesterly direction while we discussed our eventual destination. I had told Tavia that I wished to go to Jihar and why. She appeared much interested in the story of the abduction of Sonoma Torah, and from her knowledge of Tull Axtar and the customs of Jihar, she thought it most probable that the missing girl might be found there.

but as to the possibility of rescuing her, that was another matter over which she shook her head dubiously. It was obvious to me that Tavia did not desire to return to Jhaar, yet she put no obstacles in the path of my search for this my great objective. In fact, she gave me Jahar's position, and herself set the nose of the flyer upon the right course. Will there be any great danger to you in returning to Jahar? I asked her.

The danger will be very great, she said, but where the master goes, the slave must follow. I am not your master, I said, and you are not my slave. Let us consider ourselves rather as comrades in arms. That will be nice, she said simply, and then, after a pause. And if we are to be comrades, then let me warn you against going directly to Jahaar. This flyer would be recognized immediately. Your harness would mark you as an alien,

and you would accomplish nothing more toward rescuing your Sonoma Torah than to achieve the pits of Tall Axar, and sooner or later the games in the great arena, where eventually you must be slain. What would you suggest, then, I asked. Beyond Jihar, to the southwest, lies Janath, the city of my birth. Of all the cities upon Barsoom, that is the... only one where I may hope to be received in a friendly manner, and as they receive me, so will

they receive you. There you may better prepare to enter Jihar, which you may only accomplish by disguising yourself as a Jaharian, for Tull Axtar permits no alien within the confines of his empire, other than those who are brought as prisoners of war and as slaves. In Janath, you can obtain the harness and metal of Jihar, and there I can coach you in the customs and manners of the Empire of Tel-Axtar, so that in a short time you may enter it with some reasonably slight assurance that you may deceive them as to your identity. To enter without proper preparation would be fatal. I saw the wisdom of her counsel, and accordingly we altered our course so as to pass

south of Jihar, as we headed straight toward Janath six thousand hods away. All the balance of the night we traveled steadily at the rate of about six hundred hods per zode, a slow speed when compared with that of the good one-man flyer that I had brought out of helium. As the sun rose, the first thing that attracted my particular attention was the ghastly blue color of the flyer. "'What a color for a flyer!' I exclaimed. Tavia looked up at me.

"'There is an excellent reason for it, though,' she said. "'A reason that you must fully understand before you enter Jihar.' "' End of Chapter 4. Chapter 5. of a Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burrows. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 5. To the Pits Below us, in the ever-changing light of the two moons,

stretch the weird landscape of a Barsoomian night, as our little craft, solely overloaded, wings slowly away from Xanator above the low hills that mark the southwestern boundary of the fierce green hordes of Torkas. With the coming of the new day, we discussed the advisability of making a landing and waiting until night before proceeding upon our journey, since we realize that, should we be sighted by an enemy craft, we could not possibly hope to escape. Few flyers passed this way, said Tavia.

And if we keep a sharp lookout, I believe that we shall be as safe in the air as on the ground, for although we have passed beyond the limits of Torkas, there would still be danger from their raiding parties, which often go far afield. And so we proceeded slowly in the direction of Chanath, our eyes constantly scanning the heavens in all directions. The monotony of the landscape, combined with our slow rate of progress, would ordinarily have rendered such a journey unendurable to me. But to my surprise, the time passed quickly,

a fact which I attributed solely to the wit and intelligence of my companion, for there was no gainsaying the fact that Tavia was, was excellent company. I think that we must have talked about everything upon Barsoom, and naturally a great deal of the conversation revolved about our own experiences and personalities, so that long before we reached Chaneth I felt that I knew Tavia better than I had ever known any other woman, and I was quite sure that I had never confided so completely in any other person. Tavia had a way with her that seemed to compel confidences, so that, to my surprise,

I found myself discussing the most intimate details of my past life, my hopes, ambitions, and aspirations, as well as the fears and doubts, which I presume, assail the minds of all young men. When I realized how fully I had embosomed myself to this little slave-girl, I experienced a distinct shock of embarrassment. But the sincerity of Tavie's interest dispelled this feeling, as did the realization that she had been almost as equally free with her confidences, as she had been almost as equally free with her confidences, as had I.

We were two nights and a day covering the distance between Zanator and Janath, and as the towers and landing stages of our destination appeared upon the distant horizon, toward the end of the first Zode of the second day, I realized that the hours that stretched away behind us to Xanator were, for some unaccountable reason, as happy a period as I had ever experienced. Now it was over. Janath lay before us, and with the realization I experienced a distinct regret that Janath did not lie upon the opposite side of Barsoom. With the exception of Sonoma Torah, I had never been particularly keen to be much in the

company of women. I do not mean to convey the impression that I did not like them, for that would not be true. Their occasional company offered a diversion, which I enjoyed, and of which I took advantage. But that I could be for so many hours in the exclusive company of a woman I did not love, and thoroughly enjoy every minute of it, would have seemed to me quite impossible. Yet such had been the fact, and I found myself wondering if Tavia had shared my enjoyment of the adventure. "'That must be Chaneth,' I said, nodding in the direction of the distant city. "'Yes,' she replied.

"'You must be very glad the journey is over,' I ventured. She looked up at me quickly, her brows contracting suddenly in conjecture. Perhaps I should be, she replied enigmatically. It is your home, I reminded her. I have no home, she replied. But your friends are here, I insisted. I have no friends, she said. You forget Hadron of Hastor, I reminded her.

No, she said, I do not forget that you have been kind to me, but I remember that I am only an incident in your search for Sonoma Torah. Tomorrow, perhaps, you will be gone, and we shall never see each other again. I had not thought of that, and I found that I did not like to think about it, and yet I knew that it was true. You will soon make friends here, I said. I hope so, she replied, but I have been gone a very long time, and I was so young when I was taken away that I have but the faintest of memories of my life

and Janath. Janath really means nothing to me. I could be as happy anywhere else in Barsoom with—with a friend. We were now close above the outer wall of the city, and our conversation was interrupted by the appearance of a flyer, evidently a patrol bearing down upon us. She was sounding an alarm. The shrill screaming of her horn shattering the silence of the urnors. morning. Almost immediately the warning was taken up by gongs and shrieking sirens throughout the

city. The patrol boat changed her course and rose swiftly above us, while from the landing stages all about rose scores of fighting planes until we were entirely surrounded. I tried to hail the nearer of them, but the infernal din of the warning signals drowned my voice. Hundreds of guns covered us, their crews standing ready to hurl destruction upon us. "'Does Janeth always receive visitors in this hostile manner?' I inquired of Tavia. She shook her head. "'I do not know,' she replied. "'Had we approached in a strange ship of war, I might understand it.

But why this little scout-flyer should attract half the Navy of Janath is—' "'Wait!' she exclaimed suddenly. "'The design and color of our flyer mark its origin as Jahar. The people of Janath have seen this color before, and they fear it. Yet, if that is true, why is it that they have not fired upon us?' "'I do not know why they did not fire upon us at first,' I replied. "'But it is obvious why they do not now. Their ships are so thick about us that they could not fire without endangering their own craft

and men.' "'Can't you make them understand that we are friends?' she asked. "'Immediately I made the signs of friendship and of surrender, but the ships seemed afraid to approach. The alarms had ceased, and the ships were circling silently about us. Again I hailed a nearby ship. "'Do not fire!' I shouted. "'We are friends!'

"'Friends do not come to Janath in the blue death-ships of Jahar,' replied an officer upon the deck of the ship I had hailed. "'Let us come alongside,' I insisted. "'And at least I can prove to you that we are harmless.' "'You will not come alongside my ship,' he replied. "'If you are friends, you can prove it by doing as I instruct you.' "'What are your wishes?' I asked. "'Come about and take your flyer beyond the city walls.

"'Ground her at least a hod beyond the east gate, "'and then, with your companion, walk toward the city. "'Can you promise that we will be well received?' I asked. "'You will be questioned,' he replied, and if you are all right, you have nothing to fear. Very well, I replied. We will do as you say. Signal your other ships to make way for us.

And then, through the lane that they opened, we passed slowly back above the walls of Janath and came to the ground about a hard beyond the east gate. As we approached the city, the gate swung open and a detachment of warriors marched out to meet us. It was evident that they were very suspicious and fearful, of us. The Padwar in charge of them ordered us to halt while there were yet fully a hundred sophads between us. "'Throw down your weapons,' he commanded, and then come forward.

"'But we are not enemies,' I replied. "'Do not the people of Chaneth know how to receive friends? "'Do as you are told, or we will destroy you both,' was his only reply. I could not refrain a shrug of disgust as I divested myself of my weapons, while Tavia threw down the short sword that I had loaned her. Unarmed, we advanced toward the warriors, but even then the Padua was not entirely satisfied, for he searched our harness carefully before he finally conducted us into the city, keeping us well surrounded by warriors. As the east gate of Chaneth closed behind us, I realized that we were prisoners rather than the guest that we had hoped to be. But Tavia tried to reassure me by insisting that when they had heard

our story, we would be set at liberty and accorded the hospital. hospitality that she insisted was our due. Our guards conducted us to a building that stood upon the opposite side of the avenue, facing the East Gate, and presently we found ourselves upon a broad landing stage upon the roof of the building. Here a patrol flyer awaited us, and our padward turned us over to the officer in charge, whose attitude toward us was marked by ill-concealed hatred and distrust. As soon as we had been received on board, the patrol-fly was a man. arose and proceeded toward the center of the city. Below us lay Janath, giving the impression

of a city that had not kept abreast of modern improvements. It was marked by signs of antiquity. The buildings reflected the architecture of the ancients, and many of them were in a state of disrepair, though much of the city's ugliness was hidden or softened by the foliage of great trees and climbing vines, so that on the whole the aspect was more pleasing than otherwise. Toward the center of the city was a large plaza, entirely surrounded by imposing public buildings, including the Palace of the Jed. It was upon the roof of one of these buildings that the flyer landed. Under a strong guard we were conducted into the interior of the building,

and after a brief wait were ushered into the presence of some high official. Evidently, he had already been advised of the circumstances surrounding our arrival at Chaneth, for he seemed to be expecting us and was familiar with all that had transpired up to the present moment. "'What do you at Janath, Jaharian?' he demanded. "'I am not from Jahar,' I replied. "'Look at my medal.' "'A warrior may change his medal,' he replied gruffly.

"'This man has not changed his medal,' said Tavia. "'He is not from Jahar. He is from Hestor, one of the cities of Helium. I am from Jahar.' The official looked at her in surprise. "'So, you admit it,' he cried. "'But first I was from Janath,' said the girl. "'What do you mean?' he demanded. "'As a little child I was stolen from Janath,' replied Tavia.

"'All my life since I have been a slave in the palace of Tull Axtar, Jeddak of Jadhak of Jahar. Only recently I escaped in the same flyer upon which we arrived at Janath. Near the dead city of Xanator, I landed, and was captured by the green men of Torkas. This warrior, who was Hadron of Hastur, rescued me from them. Together we came to Janath, expecting a friendly reception. "'Who are your people in Janath?' demanded the official. "'I do not know,' replied Tavia. "'I was very young. I remember practically nothing about my life in Janath.'

"'What is your name?' Tavia The man's interest in her story, which had seemed wholly perfunctory, seemed suddenly altered and galvanized. "'You know nothing about your parents or your family?' he demanded. "'Nothing,' replied Tavia. He turned to the Padua, who was in charge of our escort. "'Hold them until I return,' he said,

and rising from his desk he left the apartment. "'He seemed to recognize your name,' I said to Tavia. "'How could he?' she asked. "'Possibly he knew your family,' I suggested. "'At least his manner suggested that we are going to be given some consideration.' "'I hope so,' she said. "'I feel that our troubles are about over, Tavia,' I assured her. "'And for your sake I shall be very happy.'

"'And you, I suppose,' she said, "'we'll endeavor to enlist aid in continuing your search for Sonoma Torah.' "'Naturally,' I replied, "'could anything less be expected of me?' "'No,' she admitted in a very low voice. "'Notwithstanding the fact that something in the demeanor of the official who had interrogated us had raised my hope for our future, I was still conscious of a feeling of depression,

as our conversation emphasized the near approach of our separation. It seemed as though I had always known Tavia, for the few days that we have been thrown together have brought us very close indeed. I knew that I should miss her sparkling wit, her ready sympathy, and the quiet companionship of her silences, and then the beautiful features of Sonoma Torah were projected upon memory screen, and knowing where my duty lay, I cast vain regrets aside, for love I knew was greater than friendship, and I loved Sonoma Torah. After a considerable lapse of time, the official re-entered the apartment.

I searched his face to read the first tidings of good news there, but his expression was inscrutable. However, his first words addressed to the Padua were entirely understandable. Confined the woman in the East Tower, he said, and send the man to the pits. That was all. It was like a blow in the face. I looked at Tavia and saw her wide eyes. upon the official. "'You mean that we are to be held as prisoners?' she demanded. "'I, a daughter of Chaneth, and this warrior who came here from a friendly nation

seeking your aid and protection?' "'You will each have a hearing later before the jed,' snapped the official. "'I have spoken. Take them away.' Several of the warriors seized me rather roughly by the arms. Tavia had turned away from the official and was looking at me. "'Good-bye, Hadron of Hastor,' she said. "'It is my fault that you are here. May my ancestors forgive me.'

"'Do not reproach yourself, Tavia,' I begged her. "'For who might have foreseen such a stupid reception?' "'We were taken from the apartment by different doorways, and there we turned, each for a last look at the other, and in Tavia's eyes there were tears, and in my heart. The pits of Janath, to which I was immediately conducted, are gloomy, but they are not enveloped in impenetrable darkness, as are the pits beneath most Barsoomian cities. Into the dungeon dim light filtered through the iron grating from the corridors, where ancient

radium bulbs glowed faintly. Yet it was light, and I gave thanks for that, for I have always believed that I should go mad, imprisoned in utter darkness. I was heavily fettered, and unnecessarily so, it seemed to me, as they chained me to a massive iron ring set deep in the masonry wall of my dungeon, and then, leaving me, locked also the ponderous iron grating before the doorway. As the footfalls of the warriors diminished to nothingness in the distance, I heard the faint sound of something moving nearby me in the dungeon.

What could it be? I strained my eyes into the gloomy darkness. Presently, as my eyes became more accustomed to the dim light in my cell, I saw the figure of what appeared to be a man crouching against the wall near me. Again I heard a sound as he moved, and this time it was accompanied by the rattle of a chain, and then I saw a face turned toward me, but I could not distinguish the features. Another guest to share the hospitality of Janath, said a voice that came from the blurred figure beside me. It was a clear voice, the voice of a man, and there was a quality to its timbre that I

liked. Do our hosts entertain many such as we? I asked. In this cell there was but one, he replied. Now there are two. Are you from Chaneth or elsewhere? I am from Hastor, city of the Empire of Tardos Moors, Jeddak of Helium. You are a long way from home, he said. Yes, I replied, and you? I am from Jihar, he answered. My name is Nur-Anne. And mine is Hadron, I said. Why are you here? I am a prisoner because I am from Jihar, he replied.

What is your crime? It is that they think I am from Jahar, I told him. What made them think that? Do you wear the medal of Jahar? No, I wear the medal of Heedim, but I chanced to come to Chinath in a Jaharian flyer. He whistled. That would be hard to explain, he said.

I found it so, I admitted. They would not believe a word of my story, nor that of my companion. You had a companion then? he asked. Where is he? It was a woman. She was born in Chanath, but for long years had been a slave in Jahar. Perhaps later they will believe her story, but for the present we are in prison. I heard them order her to the East Tower, while they sent me here to the prison. And you will stay until you rut, unless you are lucky enough to be called for the games,

or unlucky enough to be sentenced to the death. What is the death? I asked. My curiosity peaked by his emphasis of the words. I do not know, he replied. The warriors who come here often speak of it as though it was something quite horrible. Perhaps they do it to frighten me, but if that is true, then they have had very little satisfaction, for whether or not I have been frightened I have not let them see it. Let us hope for the games, then, I said. They are dull and stupid people here in Janath, said my companion. The warriors have told me that sometimes many years elapsed between games in the arena,

but we may hope at least, for surely, it would be better to die there with a good long sword in one's hand, rather than to rot here in the darkness, or die the death, whatever it may be. You are right, I said. Let us beseech our ancestors that the Jed of Chanath decrees games in the near future. So, you are from Hastor, he said musingly, after a moment's silence. That is a long way from Janath. Pressing must have been the service that brought you so far afield.

I was searching for Jahar, I replied. Perhaps you're as well off that you found Chanath first, he said, for, though I am a Jaharian, I cannot boast the hospitality of Jihar. You think I would not have been accorded a cordial welcome there then? I asked. By my first ancestor, no, he exclaimed most emphatically. Tull Axtar would have had you in the pits before he asked your name, and the pits of Jahar are not as light nor as pleasant as these. I did not intend that Tull Axtar should know that I was visiting him, I said.

You are a spy, he asked. No, I replied. The daughter of the commander of the Umak to which I was attached was abducted by Jaharians, and I have reason to believe by the orders of Tull Axtar himself. To affect her rescue was the object of my journey. You tell this to a Jaharian? He asked lightly. With perfect impunity, I replied.

In the first place, I have read in your words and your tone that you are no friend to Tall Axtar, Jeddak of Jahar, and secondly there is evidently little chance that you will ever return to Jahar. You are right in both conjectures, he said. I most assuredly have no love for Tall Axtar. He is a beast, hated by all decent men. The cause of my hatred for him so closely parallels your own reason to hate Tull Axtar that we are indeed bound by a common tie. How is that, I demanded.

All my life I have never felt ought but content for Tull Axtar, Jeddak of Jahar, but this contempt was not transmuted into hatred until he stole a woman, and it was the stealing of a woman also that directed your venom against him. "'A woman of your family?' I asked. "'My sweetheart, the woman I was to marry,' replied Nur-Anne. "'I am a noble. My family is of ancient lineage and great wealth. For these reasons, Tull Axtar knew that he had good cause to fear me, and, urged on by this fear, he confiscated my property and sentenced me to death.

But I have many friends in Jahar, and one of these, a common warrior of the guard, card connived at my escape after I had been imprisoned in the pits. I made my way to Janath and told my story to Hage Ozes, the Jed, and laying my sword at his feet, I offered him my services. But Haj Osses is a suspicious old fool and saw in me only a spy from Jihar. He ordered me to the pits, and here I have lain for a long time. "'Jahar must be indeed an unhappy country,' I said, ruled over as she is by such a man as Tull Axtar. Recently I have heard much of him,

but as yet I have not heard him credited with a single virtue. "'He has none,' said Nuran. "'He is a cruel tyrant, rotten with corruption and vice. If any of the great powers of Barsoom could have guessed what was in his mind, Jehar would have been reduced long ago and Tull Axtar destroyed. What do you mean? I asked. For at least two hundred years, Tull Axtar has fostered a magnificent dream, the conquest of all Barsoom.

During all this time he has made manpower his fetish. No eggs might be destroyed, each woman being compelled to preserve all that she laid. Note, Martians are oviparous. An army of officials and inspectors took a record of the production of each female. Those that had the greatest number of males were rewarded. The unproductive were destroyed. When it was discovered that marriage tended to reduce the productivity of the females of Jahar, marriage among any classes beneath the nobility was proscribed by imperial edict.

The result has been an appalling increase in population, until many of the provinces of Jihar cannot support the incalculable numbers that swarm like ants in a hill. The richest agricultural land upon Barsoom could not support such numbers. Every natural resource has been exhausted. Millions are starving. And in large districts, cannibalism is prevalent. During all this time, Tull Axtar's officers have been training the males for war. From earliest consciousness, the thought of war has been implanted within their

minds. To war and war alone do they look for relief from the hideous conditions which oppressed them. Until today, countless millions are clamoring for war, realizing that victory means loot, and that loot means food and riches. Already, Tull Axtar commands an army of such vast proportions that the fate of Barsum might readily lie in the palm of his hand, were it not but for a single obstacle. "'And what is that?' I asked. Laxstar is a coward, replied Nour-Anne. Having fulfilled his dream of manpower, he is afraid to use it, lest by some accident of fate his military plan should fail and his troops meet defeat.

Therefore, he has waited while he urged on the scientists of Jihar to produce some weapon that would be so far superior in its destructive power to anything possessed by any other nation of Barsoom that his armies would be invincible. For years, the best minds of Jihar labored with the problem, until at last one of our most eminent scientists, an old man named Fort Tack, developed a rifle of amazing properties. The success of Fort Tak aroused the jealousies of other scientists, and though the old man had given Tull Axtar what he sought, yet the tyrant showed no gratitude, and Fortak was subjected to such indignities and oppressions that eventually he fled from Jahar.

That, however, is of no import. All that Fortak could do for a tall-ax-star he had done, and with the new rifle in his possession that Jeddak was glad to be rid of the old scientist. Naturally, I was much interested in the rifle which Ner-Anne had mentioned, and I hope that he would go into a further and more detailed description of it, but I dared not suggest that, for fear that the natural loyalty, which every man feels for the country of his birth, might restrain him from divulging her military secrets to a stranger. I was to learn, however, that these lofty sentiments of patriotism, which are part of every man of

helium, were induced as much by the love and respect in which we held our great jeddaks as by our natural attachment to the land of our birth. While, upon the other hand, the Jaharians looked only with contempt and loathing upon the head of their state, and feeling no loyalty for him, who was in effect the state, they looked upon patriotism as nothing more than an empty catch-word. which an unworthy master had used to his own end, until it had become meaningless. And so, while at the moment I was surprised, I later came to understand why it was that Nouran voluntarily explained in detail to me all that he knew about the strange new weapon of Jahar and the means of defense against it.

This new rifle, he continued after a moment's silence, would render all the other armies and navies of Barsoom impinent before us. It projects an invisible ray, the vibrations of which affect such a change in the constitutional metals as to cause them to disintegrate. I am not as scientist. I do not fully understand the exact explanation of the phenomenon, but from what I was able to gather while the new weapon was being discussed in Jihar, I am under the impression that these rays changed the polarity of the protons in metallic substances, releasing the whole

mass as free electrons. I have also heard the theory expounded that, Ford Tack, in his investigation, discovered that the fundamental principle underlying time, matter, and space are identical, and that what the race projected from his rifle really accomplish is to translate any mass of metal upon which it is directed into the most elementary constituents of space. But be that as it may, Tull Axtar had the manpower and the weapon, yet still he hesitated. He was afraid, and he sought for some excuse further to delay the war of conquest and loot

which his millions of subjects now demanded, and to this end he hit upon the plan of insisting upon some medium of defense against this new rifle, basing his demands upon the possibility that some other power might also have discovered a similar weapon, or would eventually, by the use of spies or informers, learn the secret from Jahar. Probably, greatly to his surprise and unquestionably to his embarrassment, a man who had been an assistant in Fort Tax Laboratory presently developed a substance which dissipated the rays of the new weapon, rendering them harmless.

With this substance, which is of a bluish color, the metal portions of the ships, weapons, and harness of Jihar are now painted. But yet again, Tull Axtar postponed his war, insisting upon the production of an enormous quantity of the new rifles and a mighty fleet of warships upon which to mount them. Then he says he will sail forth and conquer all barsoom. The destruction of the patrol boat above helium, the night of the abduction of Sonoma Torah, was now quite clear to me. And when Nouran told me later that Tull Axtar had sent experimental flyers to attack Janath, I understood why it was that the blue flyer in which Tavia and I had arrived had caused such consternation,

But the thought that upset my mind now, almost to the exclusion of the plight of Sonoma Torah, was that, somewhere in the thin air of dying Barsoom, a great Heliomatic fleet was moving to attack Jahar. Or at least that was what I supposed, since I had no reason to doubt that the message that I had given to the Major Domo of Torhatan's palace had not been delivered to the warlord. To lie here and chained in the pits of Chaneth, while the great fleet of Helium's sped to its destruction, filled me with horror. With my own eyes I had seen the effects of this terrible new weapon, and I knew that it was no idle dream upon the part of Nouran when he

had stated that with it Tal Axtar could conquer a world. But there was a defense against it. If I could but regain my freedom, I might not only warn the ships of helium and save them from inevitable doom, but also, in connection with my quest for Sonoma Torah in the city of Jihar, I might discover the secret of the defense against the weapon which the Jaharians had evolved. Freedom. Before it had only seemed the most desirable thing in the world. Now it had become imperative. End of Chapter 5. Chapter 6. Of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 6. Sentence to Die

I was not long in the pits of Janath before warriors came, and removing my fetters led me from my dungeon. There were only two of them, and I could not but know their carelessness and the lackness of their discipline as they escorted me to an upper level of the palace. But at the time I thought it meant only that the attitude of the officials had altered, and that I was to be free. There was nothing remarkable about the palace of the jet of Chanath. It was a poor place, by comparison with the palaces of some of the great nobles of helium. Yet never before, I imagined, had I challenged with greater interest every detail of architecture, every corridor and doorway, or the manners, harness, and decorations of the people that passed us.

For though in my heart was the hope that I was about to be free, yet I considered this place my prison and these people my jailers, and as my one object in life was to escape, I was determined to let no detail elude my eye that might possibly in any way aid me if the time should come when I must make a break for liberty. It was such thoughts that were uppermost in my mind as I was ushered through wide portals into the presence of a bejeweled warrior. As my eyes first alighted upon him, I knew at once that I was in the presence of Hage Osses, Jed of Chaneth.

As my guard halted me before him, the Jed scrutinized me intently, with that air of suspicion which is his most marked characteristic. "'Your name and country?' he demanded. "'I am Hadron of Hastur, Padwar, and the Navy of Helium,' I replied. "'You are from Jahar,' he accused. "'You came here from Jahar with a woman of Jahar in a flyer of Jahar. "'Can you deny it?' I told Hage Osses in detail everything that had led up to my arrival at Janath.

I told him Tavie's story as well, and I must at least credit him with listening to me in patience, though I was constantly impressed by a feeling that my appeal was being directed at a mind already so prejudiced against me that nothing that I might say could alter its convictions. The chiefs and courtiers that surrounded the Jed evinced open skepticism in their manner, until I became convinced that fear of Tull Axtar so obsessed them that they were unable to consider intelligently any matter connected with the activities of the Jeddak of Jahar. Terror made them suspicious, and suspicion sees everything through distorted lenses.

When I had finished my story, Haj Osis ordered me removed from the room, and I was held in a small antechamber for some time, while I imagined he discussed my case with his advisors. When I was again ushered into his presence, I felt that the whole atmosphere of the chamber was charged with antagonism, as for the second time I was halted before the dais upon which the jed sat in his carved throne chair. "'The laws of Janeth are just,' proclaimed Hage Osis, glaring at me. "'And the jed of Janeth is merciful. "'The enemies of Janeth shall receive justice, but they may not expect mercy.

"'You, who call yourself Hadron of Hastor, have been a judgeed a spy of our most malignant enemy, Tull Axtar of Jahar, and as such I, Hajosus, Jed of Chaneth, sentenced you to die the death. I have spoken. With an imperious gesture he signaled the guards to remove me. There was no appeal. My doom was sealed, and in silence I turned and left the chamber, escorted by a guard of warriors. But for the honor of helium, I may say that my step was firm, and my chin high. On my return to the pits, I questioned the padua in charge of my escort relative to Tavia,

but if the fellow knew Odover, he refused to divulge it to me, and presently I found myself again fettered in the gloomy dungeon by the side of Nur-Anne of Jhaar. Well, he asked. The death, I replied. He extended a manacled hand through the darkness and placed it upon one of mine. I am sorry, my friend, he said. Man has but one life, I replied. If he is permitted to give it in a good cause, he should not complain.

You die for a woman, he said. I die for a woman of helium, I corrected. Perhaps we shall die together, he said. What do you mean? While you were gone, a messenger came from the Major Domo of the palace, advising me to make peace with my ancestors, as I should die the death in a short time. I wonder what the death is like, I said. I do not know, replied Nour-Anne. But from the all-hushed tones in which they mention it, I imagine that it must be very terrible. Torture, do you imagine?

I asked. Perhaps, he replied. They will find that the men of Helium who know so well how to live know also how to die, I said. I shall hope to render a good account of myself also, said Nuran. I shall not give them the satisfaction of knowing that I suffer. Still, I wish I might know beforehand what it is like that I might better be prepared to meet it. Let us not depress our thoughts by dwelling upon it, I suggested. Let us rather take the part of men

and consider only plans for thwarting our enemies and affecting our escape. I am afraid that is hopeless, he said. I may answer that, I said, in the famous words of John Carter, I still live. The blind philosophy of absolute courage, he said admiringly, but yet futile. It served him well many a time, I insisted, for it gave him the will to attempt the impossible and to succeed.

We still live, Neer-Anne, do not forget that. We still live. Make the best of it while you can, said a gruff voice from the corridor, for it will not long be true. The speaker entered our dungeon, a warrior of the guard, and with him was a single companion. I wondered how much of our conversation they had overheard, but I was soon reassured,

for the very next words of the warrior that had first spoken revealed the fact that they had heard nothing but my assertion that we still lived. "'What did you mean by that?' he asked. "'Remember, Nouran, we still live.' I pretended not to hear his question, and he did not repeat it, but came directly to me and unlocked my fetters. As he turned to unlock those which held Nouran, he turned his back to me, and I could not

but note his inexcusable carelessness. His companion lulled at the doorway, while the first warrior bent over the padlock that held the fetters of Nairan. My ancestors were kind to me. Little had I expected such an opportunity as this, yet I waited. Like a great bantth ready to spring, I waited until he should have released Nour Anne. And then, as the fetters fell away from my companion, I flung myself upon the back of the warrior. He sprawled forward upon his face on the stone flagging.

falling heavily beneath my weight, and as he did so I snatched his dagger from its sheath and plunged it between his shoulder blades. With a single cry he died, but I had no fear that the echo of that cry would carry upward out of the gloomy pits of Janath to warn his fellows upon the level above. But the fellow's companion had seen and heard, and with a bound he was across the dungeon, his long sword ready in his hand, and now I was to see the medal of which Nure Anne was made. The affair had occurred so quickly, like a bolt of lightning out of a clear sky, that any man

might have been excused had he been momentarily stunned into inactivity by the momentousness of my act, but Ner-Anne was guilty of no fatal delay. As though we had planned the thing together, it seemed that he leaped forward the instant that I sprang for the warrior and ran to meet his companion. Bare-handed, he faced the long-sword of his antagonist. The gloom of the dungeon reduced the advantage of the armed man. He saw a figure leaping to meet his attack, and in the excitement of the moment and in the dark of the cell,

he did not know that Nour Anne was unarmed. He hesitated, paused, and stepped back to receive the impetuous attack coming out of the darkness, and in that instant I had whipped the long sword of the fallen warrior from its scabbard and was charging the fellow at a slightly different angle from Nour Anne. An instant later we were engaged, and I found the fellow no mean swordsman. Yet, from the instant that our blades crossed, I knew that I was his master, and he must soon have realized it too, for he fell back, fully on the defensive,

evidently bent upon escaping to the corridor. This, however, I was determined not to permit, and so I pressed him so closely that he dared not turn to run, nor did he call for help, and this, I guess, was because he realized the futility of so doing. With the desperation of caged animals, NER-Anne and I were fighting for our lives. There could be no question here of the scrupulous observance of the niceties of combat.

It was his life or ours. Realizing this, Nour-an snatched the short-sword from the corpse of the fallen warrior, and an instant later the second man was lying in a pool of his own blood. "'And now what?' asked Nour-Anne. "'Are you familiar with the palace?' I asked. "'No,' he replied. "'Then we must depend upon what little I was able to glean from my observation of it,' I said.

"'Let us get into the harnesses of these two men at once. Perhaps they will offer a sufficient disguise to permit us to reach one of the upper levels, at least, for without an intimate knowledge of the pits, it is useless for us to try to seek escape below ground.' "'You are right,' he said, And a few moments later, we emerged into the corridors, to all intents and purposes, two warriors of the guard of Hajosus, Jed of Chaneth. Believing that up to a certain point, boldness of demeanor would be our best safeguard against detection, I led the way toward the ground level of the palace without attempting in any way to resort to

stealth or secrecy. "'There are many warriors at the main entrance of the palace,' I told Nuran, and without knowing something of the regulations governing the coming and going of the inmates of the building, it would be suicidal to attempt to reach the avenue beyond the palace by that route. What do you suggest, then, he asked. The ground level of the palace is a busy place. People are coming and going constantly through the corridors. Doubtless, some of the upper levels are less frequented.

Let us, therefore, seek a hiding place higher up, and from the vantage point of some balcony we may be able to work out a feasible plan of escape. Good, he said, lead on. Ascending the winding ramp from the lower pits, we passed two levels before we reached the ground level of the palace, without meeting a single person. But the instant that we emerged upon the ground level, we saw people everywhere. Officers, courtiers, warriors, slaves, and merchants moved to and fro upon their various duties or in pursuit of the business that had brought them to the palace, but their very numbers proved a safeguard for us.

Upon the side of the corridor opposite from the point at which we entered it, lay an arched entrance to another ramp running upward. Without an instant's hesitation I crossed through the throng of people, and with Nour Anne at my side, passed beneath the arch and entered the ascending ramp. Scarcely had we started upward when we met a young officer descending. He accorded us scarcely a glance as we passed, and I breathed more easily as I realized that our disguises did, in fact, disguise us. There were fewer people on the second level of the palace, and yet far too many to suit me,

and so we continued on upward to the third level, the corridors of which we found almost deserted. Near the mouth of the ramp lay the intersection of two main corridors. Here we hesitated for an instant to reconnoiter. There were people approaching from both directions along the corridor and to which we had emerged, but in one direction the transfers corridor seemed deserted, and we quickly entered it. It was a very long corridor, apparently extending the full length of the palace. It was flanked at intervals upon both sides by doorways,

the doors to some of which were open, while others were closed or ajar. Through some of the open doorways we saw people, while the apartments revealed through others appeared vacant. The location of these we noted carefully as we moved slowly along, carefully observing every detail that might later prove a value to us. We had traversed about two-thirds of this long corridor, when a man stepped into it from a doorway a couple of hundred feet ahead of us. He was an officer, apparently a paddwar of the guard.

He halted in the middle of the corridor as a file of warriors emerged from the same doorway, informing in a line of twos marched in our direction, the officer bringing up the rear. Here was a test for our disguises that I did not care to risk. There was an open doorway at our left. Beyond it I could see no one. Come, I said to Nur-Anne, and without accelerating our speed, we walked nonchalantly into the chamber, and as Nur-Anne crossed the threshold, I closed the door behind him, and as I did so I saw a young woman standing at the opposite side of the apartment looking squarely at us. "'What do you hear, warriors?' she demanded.

Here indeed was an embarrassing situation. In the corridor without I could hear the clank of the accoutrements of the approaching warriors, and I knew that the girl must hear it too. If I did ought to arouse her suspicion, she had but to call for help. And how might I allay her suspicion when I had not the faintest conception of what might pass for a valid excuse for the presence of two warriors in this particular apartment, which, for all I knew, might be the apartment of a princess of the royal house, to enter which, without permission, might easily mean death to a common warrior.

I thought quickly, or perhaps I did not think at all. Often we act rightly upon impulse, and then credit the result to super-intelligence. We have come for the girl, I stated brusquely. Where is she? What girl? demanded the young woman in surprise. The prisoner, of course, I replied. The prisoner?

She looked more puzzled than before. Of course, said Nur-Anne. The prisoner. Where is she? And I almost smiled, for I knew that Nur-Anne had not the faintest idea of what was in my mind. There is no prisoner here. said the young woman. These are the apartments of the infant son of Hajosus.

The fool misdirected us, I said. We are sorry that we intruded. We were sent to fetch the girl, Tavia, who was a prisoner in the palace. It was only a guess. I did not know that Tavia was a prisoner, but after the treatment that had been accorded me, I surmised as much. She is not here, said the young woman,

and as for you, you had better leave these apartments at once, for if you are discovered here, it will go ill with you. Nur-Anne, who was standing beside me, had been looking at the young woman intently. He stepped forward now, closer to her. By my first ancestor! He exclaimed in a low voice, It is feo.

The girl stepped back, her eyes wide with surprise, and then slowly, recognition. dawned within them. Nur-Anne! she exclaimed. Nur-an came close to the girl and took her hand in his. All these years fail, I have thought that you were dead, he said. When the ship returned, the captain reported that you and a number of others were killed. He lied, said the girl. He sold us into slavery here in Chanath.

But you, Nur-an, what are you doing here in the harness of Janath? I am a prisoner, replied my companion, as is this warrior also. We have been confined in the pits beneath the palace, and today we were to have died the death, but we killed the two warriors who were sent to fetch us, and now we are trying to find our way out of the palace. Then you are not looking for the girl, Tavia? she asked. Yes, I said, we are looking for her, too. She was made a prisoner at the same time that I was.

"'Perhaps I can help you,' said Fayo. "'Perhaps,' she added wistfully, "'we may all escape together.' "'I shall not escape without you, Fayo,' said Nuran. "'My ancestors have been good to me at last,' said the girl. "'Where is Tavia?' I asked. "'She is in the East Tower,' replied Fahoe. "'Can you lead us there, or tell us how we may reach it?' I asked.

"'It would do no good to lead you to it.' it, she replied, as the door is locked and the guards stand before it. But there is another way. And that? I asked. I know where the keys are, she said, and I know other things that will prove helpful. May our ancestors protect and reward you, Fayo, I said. And now tell me where I may find the keys. I shall have to lead you to the place myself, she replied. But we shall stand a better chance to succeed if there are not too many of us. I therefore suggest that Nuran remain here. I shall place him in hiding where he will not be found. I will then lead you to the prisoner, and if possible we will make our way back to this apartment. I am in charge here. Only at regular hours, twice a day, night and morning

does any other visit the apartment of the little prince. Here I can hide you and feed you for a long time, and perhaps eventually we shall be able to evolve some feasible plan for escape. "'We are in your hands, fail,' said Nuran. "'If there is to be fighting, though, I should like to accompany Hadron.' "'If we succeed, there will be no fighting,' replied the girl. She stepped quickly across the room to a door, which she opened, revealing a large closet. "'Here, Nuran,' she said, "'is where you must remain until we return.' "'There is no reason why anyone should open this door, and insofar as I know it never has been opened since I have occupied these quarters except by me.'

"'I do not like the idea of hiding,' said Nouran with a grimace, but I have had to do many things recently that I did not like. And without more words he crossed the apartment and entered the closet. Their eyes met for an instant before Fayo closed the door, and I read in the depth of both, that which made me wonder, remembering as I did the story that Nuran had told me of the other woman whom Tall Axtar had stolen from him. But such matters were no concern of mine, nor had they any bearing upon the business at hand. "'Here is my plan, warrior,' said Fayo, as she returned to my side. "'When you entered this apartment, you came saying that you were looking for the prisoner, Tavia.

Although she was not here, I believed you. "'We will go, therefore, to Yosino, the keeper of the keys, "'and you will tell him the same story that you have been set to fetch the prisoner Tavia. "'If Yosino believes you, all will be well, "'for he will go himself and release the prisoner, turning her over to you.' "'And if he does not believe me?' I asked. "'He is a beast,' she said, "'who is better dead than alive.

"'Therefore you will know what to do.' "'I understand,' I said. Lead the way. The office of Yosino, the keeper of the Keys, was upon the fourth level of the palace, almost directly above the quarters of the infant prince. At the doorway, Fayo halted, and drawing my ear down to her lips, whispered her final instructions. "'I shall enter first,' she said, upon some trivial errand. A moment later you may enter, but pay no attention to me.

It must not appear that we have come together. I understand, I said, and walked a few paces along the corridor so that I should not be in sight when the door opened. She told me afterward that she asked Yosino to have a new key made for one of the numerous doors in the apartment of the little prince. I waited but a moment, and then I too entered the apartment. It was a gloomy room without windows. Upon its walls hung keys of every imaginable size and shape. Behind a large desk sat a coarse-looking man who looked up to quickly and scowled at the interruption as I entered. "'Well?' he demanded.

"'I have come for the woman, Tavia,' I said, "'the prisoner from Jihar.' "'Ossanchu. What do you want of her?' he demanded. "'I have orders to bring her to Hage Osses,' I replied. He looked at me suspiciously. "'You'll bring a written order?' he asked. "'Of course not,' I replied. "'It is not necessary.

she is not to be taken out of the palace, merely from one apartment to another. I must have a written order,' he snapped. "'Hajosis will not be pleased,' I said, when he learns that you have refused to obey his command. "'I am not refusing,' said Yosino. "'Do not dare to say that I refuse. I cannot turn a prisoner over without a written order. Show me your authority, and I will give you the keys.'

I saw that the plan had failed. Other measures must be taken. I whipped out my long sword. "'Here is my authority,' I exclaimed, leaping toward him. With an oath he drew his own sword, but instead of facing me with it, he stepped quickly back. The desk still between us and turning struck a copper gong heavily with the flat of his blade. As I rushed toward him, I heard the sound of hurrying feet and the clank of metal from an adjoining room.

Yo Sino, still backing away, sneered sardonically, and then the lights went out, and the windowless room was plunged into darkness. Soft fingers grasped my left hand, and a low voice whispered in my ear, Come with me! Quickly, I was drawn to one side and through a narrow aperture, just as a door upon the opposite side of the chamber was flung open, revealing the forms of half a dozen warriors silhouetted against the light from the room behind them. Then the door closed directly in front of my face, and I was again in utter darkness, but Fayo's finger still grasped my hand. Silence!

A soft voice whispered. From beyond the panels I heard angry and excited voices. Above the others, one voice rose in tones of authority. What is wrong here? There were muttered exclamations and curses as men bumped against pieces of furniture and ran into one another. Give us a light, cried her. a voice, and a moment later, that is better.

Where is Yosino? Oh, there you are, you fat rascal. What is a miss? By Isis, he is gone, the voice was that of Yosino. Who is gone? demanded the other voice. Why did you summon us? I was attacked by a warrior, explained Yosino, who came demanding the key to the apartment where Hage Osses keeps the daughter of—' I could not hear the rest of the sentence. "'Well, where is the man?' demanded the other. "'He is gone. And the key, too. The key is gone!' Yosino's voice rose almost to a wail.

"'Quick, then, to the apartment where the girl is kept,' cried the first speaker, doubtless the officer of the guard, and almost at once I heard them hasten from the apartment. The girl at my side moved a little, and I heard a low laugh. "'They will not find the key,' she said. "'Why?' I asked. "'Because I have it,' she replied. "'Little good it will do us,' I said ruefully. "'They will keep the door well guarded now, and we cannot use the key.'

Theo laughed again. "'We do not need the key,' she said. "'I took it to throw them off the track. "'They will watch the door while we enter elsewhere.' "'I do not understand,' I said. "'This corridor leads between the partitions to the room where the prison is kept. I know that, because when I was a prisoner in that room, Yosino came thus to visit me. He is a beast. I hope he has not visited this girl. I hope it for your sake, if you love her.

I do not love her, I said. She is only a friend. But I scarcely knew what I was saying. The words seemed to come mechanically, for I was in the grip of such an emotion as I never before had experienced or endured. It was in the grip of such an emotion. It was in the grip of such an emotion, had seized me the instant that Fayo had suggested that Yosino might have visited Tavia through his secret corridor. I experienced a sensation that was almost akin to a convulsion, a sensation that left me a changed man. Before I could have killed Yosino with my sword and been glad. Now I wanted to tear him to pieces. I wanted to mutilate him and make him suffer. Never before in my life had I experienced such a bestial desire.

It was hideous, and yet I gloated in its possession. "'What is the matter?' exclaimed Fayo. "'I thought I felt you tremble then.' "'I trembled,' I said. "'For what?' she asked. "'For Yosino,' I replied. "'But let us hasten. "'If this quarter leads to the apartment where Tavi is in prison,

"'I cannot reach her too soon. "'For when Hajosus learns that the key has been stolen, "'he will have her removed to another. their prison. He will not learn it if Yosino and the padwar of the guard can prevent, said Fayeau. For if this reached the ears of Hajjosis, it might easily cost them both their lives. They will wait for you to come that they may kill you and get the key, but they will wait outside the prison door, and you will not come that way. As she spoke, she started to walk along the narrow, dark corridor, leading me by the hand behind her. It was slow work, for Fahoe had a

groper way slowly because the corridor turned sharply at right angles, as it followed the partitions of the apartments between which it passed, and there were numerous stairways that led up over doorways, and finally a ladder to the level above. Presently she halted. "'We are there,' she whispered, "'but we must listen first to make sure that no one has entered the apartment with the prisoner.' I could see absolutely nothing in the darkness, and how Fahoe knew that she had reached her destination, I could not guess. "'It is all right,' she said presently, and simultaneously she pushed a wooden panel ajar,

and in the opening I saw a portion of the interior of a circular apartment with narrow windows heavily barred. Opposite the opening, upon a pile of sleeping silks and furs, I saw a woman reclining. Only a bare shoulder, a tiny ear, and a head of tousled hair were visible. At the first glance, I knew that the same thing. they were Tavia's. As we stepped into the apartment,

Faya closed the panel behind us. Attracted by the sound of our entrance, quietly executed though it was, Tavia sat up and looked at us, and then, as she recognized me, sprang to her feet. Her eyes were wide with surprise, and there was an exclamation upon her lips, which I silenced by a warning forefinger

placed against my own. I crossed the apartment toward her, and she came to meet me almost running. As I looked into her eyes, I saw an expression there that I have never seen in the eyes of any other woman, at least not for me, and if I had ever doubted Tavia's friendship, such a doubt would have vanished in that instant. But I had not doubted it, and I was only surprised now to realize the depth of it. Had Sonoma Tora ever looked at me like that, I should have read love in the expression, but I had never spoken of love to Tavia, and so I knew that it was only friendship that she felt.

I had always been too much engrossed in my profession to make any close friendships, so that I had never realized until that moment what a wonderful thing friendship might be. As we met in the center of the room, her eyes, moist with tears, were upturned to mine. Hadron! She whispered, her voice husky with emotion, and then I put my arm about her slender shoulders and drew her to me, and something that was quite beyond my volition impelled me to kiss her upon the forehead. Instantly she disengaged herself, and I feared that she had misunderstood that impulsive kiss

of friendship, but her next words reassured me. "'I thought never to see you again, Hadron of Hastur,' she said. "'I feared that they had killed you. How comes it that you are here and in the middle of a warrior of Chaneth?' I told her briefly of what had occurred to me since we had been separated, and of how I had temporarily at least escaped the death. She asked me what the death was, but I could not tell her. "'It is very horrible,' said Fayo.

"'What is it?' I asked. "'I do not know,' replied the girl, "'only that it is horrible. There is a deep pit. Some say a bottomless pit, beneath the lower pits of the palace. Horrible noises, groans and moans arise perpetually from it, and into this pit those that are to die the death are cast, but in such a way that the fall will not kill them.

They must reach the bottom alive to endure all the horrors of the death that await them there. That the torture is almost interminable is evidenced by the fact that the moans and groans of the victims never cease, no matter how long a period may have elapsed between executions. And you have escaped it, exclaimed Tavia. My prayers have. been answered. For days and nights have I been praying to my ancestors that you might be spared.

Now, if you can but escape this hateful place, have you a plan? We have a plan that with the help of Fayo here may prove successful. Nur-Anne, of whom I told you, is hiding in a closet in one of the apartments of the little prince. We shall return to that apartment at the first opportunity, and there, Fayo will hide all three of us until... some opportunity for escape presents itself. And we should lose no more time in returning, said Fayo. Come, let us go at once. As we turned toward the panel through which we had entered, I saw that it was ajar,

though I was confident that Fayo had closed it after us when we entered, and simultaneously I could have sworn that I saw an eye glued to the narrow crack, as though someone watched us from the dark interior of the secret corridor. In a single bound I was across the room and had drawn the panel aside. My sword was ready in my hand, but there was no one in the corridor beyond. End of Chapter 6. Chapter 7 of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libervox recording is in the public domain.

Chapter 7. The Death With Fayyo in the lead and Tavia between us, We traverse the dark corridor back toward the apartment of Yosino. When we reached the panel marking the end of our journey, Faeo halted, and together we listened intently for any sound that might evidence the presence of an occupant in the room beyond. All was silent as the tomb. "'I believe,' said Fayao,

"'that it will be safer if you and Tavia remain here until night. I shall return to my apartment and go about my duties in the usual manner, and after the palace has quieted down, these levels will be almost deserted. Then I can come and get you with far less danger of detection than were I to take you to the apartment now. We agreed that her plan was a good one, and bidding us a temporary farewell, she opened the panel sufficiently to permit her to survey the apartment beyond. It was quite empty. She stepped from the corridor, closing the panel behind her,

and once again Tavia and I were plunged into darkness. The long hours of our weight in the darkness of the corridor should have seemed interminable, but they did not. We made ourselves as comfortable as possible upon the floor, our backs against one of the walls, and leaning close together so that we might converse in low whispers. We found more entertainment than I should have guessed possible, both in our conversation and in the long silences that broke it, so that it really did not seem a long time at all before the panel was swung open, and we saw Fayo in the sub-dust, due light of the apartment beyond. She motioned us to follow her, and in silence we obeyed.

The corridor beyond the chamber of Yosino was deserted, as also was the ramp leading to the level below, and the corridor upon which it opened. Fortune seemed to favor us at every step, and there was a prayer of Thanksgiving upon my lips as Feo pushed open the door leading into the apartment of the prince and motioned us to enter. But at the same instant my heart sank with the moment. within me, for as I entered the apartment with Tavia, I saw warriors standing upon either side of the room awaiting us. With an exclamation of warning, I drew Tavia behind me and backed quickly toward the door.

But as I did so, I heard a rush of feet and the clank of accoutrements in the corridor behind me, and casting a quick glance over my shoulder, I saw other warriors running from the doorway of an apartment upon the opposite side of the corridor. We were surrounded. were lost, and my first thought was that Feo had betrayed us, leading us into this trap from which there could be no escape. They hustled us back into the room and surrounded us, and for the first time I saw Yosino. He stood there, a sneering grin upon his face, and but for the fact that Tavia had assured me that he had not harmed her, I should have

leaped upon him there, though a dozen swords had been at my vitals the next instant. "'So,' sneered Yosino, "'you thought to fool me, did you? "'Well, I am not so easily fooled. "'I guessed the truth, "'and I followed you through the corridor "'and overheard all your plans "'as you discussed them with the woman Tavia.

"'We have you all now.' "'And turning to one of the warriors, "'he motioned to the closet upon the opposite side of the chamber. "'Fetch the other,' he commanded. "'The fellow crossed to the door, and opening it, revealed Nouran, lying bound and gagged upon the floor. Cut his bonds and remove the gag, ordered Yosino. It is too late now for him to thwart my plans by giving the others a warning.

Nouran came toward us with a firm step, his head high, and a glance of haughty contempt for our captors. The four of us stood facing Yosino, the sneer upon whose face had been replaced by a glare of hatred. You have been sentenced to die the death, he said. It is the death for spies. No more terrible punishment can be inflicted. Could there be, it would be meted out to you two, as he looked first at me and then at Nur-Anne. That you might suffer more for the murder of our two comrades.

So they had found the warriors we had dispatched. Well, what of it? Evidently, it had not rendered our position any worse than it had been before. We were to die the death, and that was the worst that they could accord us. "'Have you anything to say?' demanded Yosino. "'We still live,' I exclaimed, and laughed in his face. "'Before long, you will be beseeching your first ancestors for death,' hissed the keeper of the

keys. "'But you will not have death too soon, and remember that no one knows how long it takes to die the death. We cannot add to your physical suffering, but for the torment of your mind, let me remind you that we are sending you to the death without letting you know what the fate of your accomplices will be.' And he nodded toward Tavia and Feo. That was a nice point, well chosen. He could not have hit upon any means more certain to inflict acute torture upon me than this, but I would not give him the satisfaction of witnessing my true emotion, and so once again I laughed.

in his face. His patience had about reached the limit of its endurance, for he turned abruptly to a padwar of the guard and ordered him to remove us at once. As we were hustled from the room, Nuran called a brave goodbye to Fayo. "'Good-bye, Tavia,' I cried, and remember, that we still live. "'We still live, Hadron of Hastor,' she called back. "'We still live!' And then she was swept from my view as we were pushed along down the corridor. Down ramp after ramp we were conducted to the uttermost deaths of the palace pits, and then into a great chamber where I saw Hajosa sitting upon a throne, surrounded again by his chiefs and his courtiers,

as he had been upon the occasion that he had interviewed me. Opposite the jed, and in the middle of the chamber, hung a great iron cage, suspended from a heavy block set in the ceiling, Into this cage we were roughly pushed. The door was closed and secured with a large lock. I wondered what it was all about and what this had to do with the death, and while I wondered a dozen men pushed a huge trap-door from beneath the cage. A rush of cold, clammy air enveloped us, and I experienced a chill that seemed to enter my marrow, as though I lay in the cold arms of death. Hollow moans and groans came faintly to my ears, and I knew that

we were above the pits where the death lay. No word was spoken within the chamber, but at a signal from Hajjosis, strong men lowered the case slowly into the aperture beneath us. Here the cold and the damp were more obvious and penetrating than before, while the ghastly sounds appeared to redouble in volume. Down, down we slid into an abyss of darkness. The horror of the silence in the chamber above was forgotten in the horror of the the pandemonium of uncanny sounds that rose from beneath.

How far we lowered thus I may not even guess, but to Nouran it seemed at least a thousand feet, and then we commenced to detect a slight luminosity about us. The moaning and groaning had become a constant roar. As we approached, it seemed less like moans and groans, and more like the sound of wind and rushing waters. Suddenly, without the slightest warning, the bottom of the cage, which evidently must have been hinged upon one side,

and held by a catch that could be sprung from above, swung downward. It happened so quickly that we hardly had time for conjecture before we were plunged into rushing water. As I rose to the surface, I discovered that I could see. Wherever we were, it was not shrouded in impenetrable darkness, but was lighted dimly. Almost immediately, Nur-Anne's head bobbed up. up at arm's length from me.

A strong current was bearing us onward, and I realized at once that we were in the grip of a great underground river, one of those which the remaining waters of dying barsoom have receded. In the distance I described a shoreline dimly visible in the subdued light, and shouting to Nuran to follow me I struck out toward it. The water was cold, but not sufficiently so to alarm me, and I had no doubt but that we would reach the shore. By the time we had attained our goal and crawled out upon the rocky shore, our eyes had become accustomed to the dim light of the interior, and now, with astonishment, we gazed

about us. What a vast cavern! Far, far above us, its ceiling was discernible in the light of the minute radium particles with which the rock that formed its walls in ceiling was impregnated. But the opposite bank of the rushing torrent was beyond the range of our vision. "'So this is the death!' exclaimed Nour Anne. "'I doubt if they know what it is themselves,' I replied. "'From the roaring of the river and the moaning of the wind,

they have conjured something horrible in their own imaginations. "'Perhaps the greatest suffering that the victim must endure "'lies in his anticipation of what awaits him in these seemingly horrid depths,' "'suggested Nour Anne. "'Whereas the worst that realization might bring, would be death by drowning. Or by starvation, I suggested. Nuran nodded.

Nevertheless, he said, I wish I might return just long enough to mock them and witness their disappointment when they find that the death is not so horrible after all. What a mighty river, he added after a moment's silence. Could it be a tributary of Is? Perhaps it is Is herself, I said. Then we are bound upon the last long pilgrimage down to the Lost Sea of course in the

valley door," said Nur Anne gloomily. It may be a lovely place, but I do not wish to go there yet. It is a place of horror, I replied. Hush, he cautioned, that is sacrilege. It is sacrilege no longer since John Carter and Tars Tarkas snatched the veil of secrecy from the valley door and disposed to the valley door and disposed to the lake. of the myth of Isis, goddess of life eternal. Even after I had told him the whole tragic story of the false gods of Mars, Nuran remained skeptical. So closely are the superstitions of religion

woven into every fiber of our being. We were both a trifle fatigued after our battle with the strong current of the river, and perhaps too we were suffering from reaction from the nervous shock of the ordeal through which we had passed. So we remained there, resting upon the rocky shore of the river of mystery. Eventually our conversation turned to what was uppermost in the minds of both, yet which each hesitated to mention, the fate of Tavia and Phao. I wish that they too had been sentenced to the death, I said, for then at least we might be with them and protect them.

I am afraid that we shall never see them again, said Nure Anne gloomily. What a cruel fate that I should have found, Fayo, only to lose her again irretrievably so quickly. It is indeed a strange trick of fate that after Tull Axtar stole her from you, he should have lost her too, and then that you should find her in Chanath. He looked at me with a slightly puzzled expression for a moment, and then his face cleared. "'Feyo is not the woman of whom I told you in the dungeon at Chanth,' he said. "'Phail, I loved long before. She was my first love.

After I lost her, I thought that I could never care for a woman again. But this other one came into my life, and knowing that Fayo was gone forever, I found some consolation in my new love. But I realized now that it was not the same, that no love could ever displace that which I felt for Fayo. You lost her irretrievably once before, I reminded him, but you found her again. Perhaps you will find her once more. I wish that I might share your optimism, he said. We have little else to buoy us up, I reminded him. You are right, he said, and then, with a laugh, added,

We still live. Presently, feeling rested, we set out along the shore in the direction that the river ran, for we decided that that would be our course, if for no other reason, than that it would be easier going downhill than up. Where it would lead we had not the slightest idea. Perhaps to chorus. Perhaps to Omean, the buried sea where lay the ships of the firstborn. Over-tumbled rock masses we clambered, and along level stretches of smooth gravel we pursued

our rather aimless course, knowing not whither we were going, having no goal toward which to strive. There was some vegetation, weird and grotesque, but almost colorless for want of sunlight. There were tree-like plants with strange angular branches that snapped off at the lightest touch, and as the trees did not look like trees, there were blossoms that did not look like flowers. It was a world as unlike the outer world as the figments of imagination are unlike realities. But whatever musing upon the flora of this strange land I may have been indulging in was brought to a sudden termination, as we rounded the shoulder of a jutting promontory and

came face to face with as hideous a creature as ever I had laid my eyes upon. It was a great white lizard, with gaping jaws large enough to engulf a man at a single swallow. At sight of us it emitted an angry hiss and advanced menacingly toward us. Being unarmed and absolutely at the mercy of any creature that attacked us, we pursued the only plan that our intelligence could dictate. We retreated, and I am not ashamed to admit that we retreated rapidly. Running quickly around the end of the promontory, we turned sharply up the bank away from the river. The bottom of the cavern rose sharply, and as I clambered upward I glanced behind me occasionally to note the actions of our pursuer. He was now in

plain sight, having followed us around the end of the promontory, and there he stood looking about as though in search of us. Though we were not far from him, he did not seem to see us, and I soon became convinced that his eyesight was faulty. But not wishing to depend upon this, I kept on climbing, until presently, we came to the top of the promontory, and looking down upon the other side I saw a considerable stretch of smooth gravel, stretching out into the dim distance along the river shore. If we could clamber down the opposite side of the barrier and reach this level stretch

of gravel, I felt that we might escape the attentions of the huge monster. A final glance at him showed him still standing, peering first in one direction and then in another, as though in search of us. Nouran had followed close behind me, and now together we slipped over the edge of the escarpment, and though the rough rocks scratched us severely, we finally reached the gravel below. Whereupon, having eluded our menacer, we set out upon a brisk run down the river. We had covered scarcely more than fifty paces when NER-Anne stumbled over an obstacle.

And as I stooped to give him a hand up, I saw that the thing that had tripped him was the rotting harness of a warrior, and a moment later I saw the hilt of a sword protruding from the gravel. Seizing it, I wrenched it from the ground. It was a good long-sword, and I may tell you that the feel of it in my hand did more to restore my self-confidence than aught else that might have transpired. Being made of non-corrosive metal, as are all Barsoomian weapons, it remained as sound today as the moment that it had been abandoned by its owner.

"'Look,' said Nur-Anne pointing, and there at a little distance we saw another harness and another sword. This time there were two, a long-sword and a short-sword, and these Nuran took. No longer did we run. I have always felt that there is little upon Barsum that two well-armed warriors need run from. As we continued along our way across the level stretch of gravel, we sought to solve the mystery of these abandoned weapons, a mystery that was still further heightened by our discovery of many more. In some cases, the harness had rotted away entirely, leaving nothing but the metal parts, while in others it was comparatively sound and new. Presently we discerned a white mound ahead of us, but in the dim light of the cavern we

could not at first determine of what it consisted. When we did, we were filled with horror, for the white mound was of the bones and skulls of human beings. Then at last I thought I had an explanation of the abandoned harness and weapons. This was the lair of the lair of the of the great lizard. Here he took his toll of the unhappy creatures that passed down the river, but how was it that armed men had come here? We had been cast into the cavern unarmed, as I was positive all of the condemned prisoners of Chanath must have been. From whence came the others. I do not know, doubtless, I shall never know. It was a mystery from the first, it will remain a mystery to the last. As we passed on,

We found harness and weapons scattered all about, but there was infinitely more harness than weapons. I had added a good short-sword to my equipment, as well as a dagger, as had also NER-Anne, and I was stooping to examine another weapon which we had found, a short-sword with a beautifully ornamented hilt and guard, when Nour-an suddenly voiced an exclamation of warning. "'On guard,' he cried, "'hadron, it comes!' leaping to my feet, I wheeled about. out, the short-sword still in my hand, and there, bearing down upon us at considerable speed and with wide distended jaws, came the great white lizard hissing ominously. He was a hideous sight, a sight such as to make even a brave man turn and run, which

I am now convinced is what practically all of his victims did. But here were two who did not run. Perhaps he was so close that we realized the futility of flight without giving the matter conscious thought. But be that as it may, we stood there. Nouran, with his long sword in his hand, I with the ornately carved short-sword that I have been examining, though instantly I realized that it was not the weapon with which to defend myself against this great hulking brute. Yet I could not bear to waste a weapon already in my hand, especially in view of an accomplishment of mine in which I took considerable pride. In Helium,

both officers and men often wager large amounts upon the accuracy with which they can hurl daggers and short swords, and I have seen considerable sums change hands within an hour. But so proficient was I that I had added considerably to my pay through my winning, until my fame had spread to such an extent that I could find no one willing to pit his skill against mine. Never had I hurled a weapon with a more fervent prayer for the accuracy of my throw than now, as I had I hurled a weapon I launched the short sword swiftly at the mouth of the oncoming lizard. It was not a good throw. It would have lost me money in helium, but in this instance I think it saved my life.

The sword, instead of speeding in a straight line, point first as it should have, turned slowly upward until it was traveling at an angle of about forty-five degrees, with a point forward and downward. In this position the point struck just inside the lower jaw of the creature, while the heavy Hilt, carried forward by its own momentum, lodged in the roof of the monster's mouth. Instantly, it was helpless. The point of the sword had passed through its tongue into the bony substance of its lower jaw, while the hilt was lodged in its upper jaw behind its mighty fangs.

It could not dislodge the sword either forward or backward, and for an instant it halted in hissing dismay, and simultaneously, Nure Ann and I leaped to opposite sides of its side. ghastly white body. It tried to defend itself with its tail and talents, but we were too quick for it, and presently it was lying in a pool of its own purple blood in the final spasmodic musketer reaction of dissolution. There was something peculiarly disgusting and loathsome about the purple blood of the creature, not only in its appearance, but in its odor, which was almost nauseating, and Nuran and I lost no time in quitting the scene of our victory. At the river we washed our blades and then continued on upon our fruitless quest.

As we had washed our blades we had noticed fish in the river, and after we had put sufficient distance between the lair of the lizard and ourselves, we determined to bend our energies for a while toward filling our larder and our stomachs. Neither one of us had ever caught a fish or eaten one, but we knew from history that they could be caught and that they were edible. swordsmen, we naturally looked to our swords as the best means for procuring our flesh, and so we waded into the river with drawn long-swords, prepared to slaughter fish to our heart's content. But wherever we went, there was no fish. We could see them elsewhere, but not within reach

of our swords. Perhaps, said Nuran, fish are not such fools as they appear. They may see us approaching and question our motives. I can readily believe that you are right, I replied. Suppose we try strategy. How? he asked. Come with me, I said, and return to the bank. After a little search downstream, I found a rocky ledge overhanging the river. We will lie here at intervals, I said, with only our eyes and the points of our swords over

the edge of the bank. We must not talk or move, lest we frighten the fish. Perhaps in this way we shall procure one. for I had long since given up the idea of a general slaughter. To my gratification, my plan worked, and it was not long before we each had a large fish. Naturally, like other men, we prefer our flesh cooked, but being warriors we were accustomed to it either way,

and so we broke our long fast upon raw fish from the river of mystery. Both Nour Ann and I felt greatly refreshed and strengthened by our meal, however unpalatable it might have been. It had been some time since we had slept, and though we had no idea whether it was still night upon the outer surface of Barsoom, or whether dawn had already broken, we decided that it would be best for us to sleep, and so Nuran stretched out where we were while I watched.

After he awoke, I took my turn. I think that neither one of us slept more than a single zode, but the rest did us quite as much good as the food that we had eaten, and I am sure that I have never felt more fit than I did when we set out again upon our goalless journey. I do not know how long we have been traveling after our sleep, for by now the journey was most monotonous, there being little change in the dimly seen landscape surrounding us, and only the ceaseless roar of the river and the howling of the wind to keep us company.

Nour-Anne was the first to discern the change. He seized my arm and pointed ahead. I must have been walking with my eyes upon the ground in front of me, else I must have seen what he saw simultaneously. "'It is daylight,' I exclaimed. "'It is the sun.' "'It can be nothing else,' he said. There, far ahead of us, lay a great archway of light.

That was all that we could see from the point at which we discovered it, but now we hastened on almost at a run, so anxious were we for a solution, so hopeful that it was indeed the sunlight, and that in some inexplicable and mysterious way the river had found its way to the surface of Barsoom. I knew that this could not be true, and Nur-Anne knew it, and yet each knew how great his disappointment would be when the true explanation of the phenomenon was revealed. When we approached the great patch of light, it became more and more evident

that the river had broken from its dark haven out into the light of day. And when we reached the edge of that mighty portal, we looked out upon a scene that filled our hearts with warmth and gladness, for there, stretching before us, lay a valley. A small valley, it is true, a valley hemmed in as far as we could see by mighty cliffs, but yet a valley of life and fertility and beauty bathed in the hot light of the sun. It is not quite the surface of Barsoom,

said Nuran, but it is the next best thing. And there must be a way out, I said. There must be. If there is not, we will make one. Right you are, Hadron of Hastur, he cried, We will make a way. Come!

Before us, the banks of the roaring river were lined with lush vegetation. Great trees raised their leafy branches far above the waters. The brilliant scarlet sward was lapped by the little wavelet, and everywhere bloomed gorgeous flowers and shrubs of many hues and shapes. Here was a vegetation such as I had never seen before upon the surface of Barsoom. Here were forms similar to those with which I was familiar, and others totally unknown to me, yet all were lovely, though some were bizarre. Emerging as we had from the dark and gloomy bowels of the earth,

the scene before us presented a view of wondrous beauty, and while doubtless enhanced by contrast, it was nevertheless such an aspect as is seldom given to the eyes of a Barsoomian of today to view. To me it seemed a little garden spot upon a dying world preserved from an ancient era when Barsoom was young, and meteorological conditions were such as to favor the growth of vegetation that has long since become extinct over practically the entire area of the planet. In this deep valley, surrounded by lofty cliffs, the atmosphere doubtless was considerably denser than upon the surface of the planet above. The sun's rays were reflected by the lofty escarpment, which must also hold them heat during

the colder periods of night, and in addition to this, there was ample water for irrigation, which nature might easily have achieved through percolation of the waters of the river through and beneath the topsoil of the valley. For several minutes, Nour Ann and I stood spellbound by the bewitching view, and then, espying luscious fruit hanging in gray clusters from some of the trees, and bushes loaded with berries, we subordinated the aesthetic to the corporeal and set forth to supplement our meal of raw fish with the exquisite offerings which hung so temptingly before us. As we started to move through the vegetation, we became aware of thin threads of a gossamer-like substance

festooned from tree to tree and bush to bush. So fine is to be almost invisible, yet they were so strong as to impede our progress. It was surprisingly difficult to break them, and when there were a dozen or more at a time barring our way, we found it necessary to use our daggers to cut away through them. We had taken only a few steps into the deeper vegetation, cutting our way through the gossamer strands when we were confronted by a new and surprising obstacle to our advance, a large, venomous-looking spider that scurried toward us in an inverted position, clinging with a dozen legs to one of the gossamer strands, which served both as its support and its pathway. And if its appearance was any index to its venomousness, it must indeed have been a deadly insect.

As it came toward me, apparently with the most sinister intentions, I hastily returned my dagger to its scabbard and drew my short sword, with which I struck at the fearsome-looking creature. As the blow descended, it drew back so that my point only slightly scratched it, whereupon it opened its hideous mouth and emitted a terrific scream so out of proportion to its size and to the nature of such insects with which I was familiar, that it had a most appalling effect upon my nerves. Instantly the scream was answered by an unearthly chorus of similar cries all about us, and immediately a swarm of these horrid insects came racing toward us upon their gossamer threads. Evidently, this was the only position which they assumed in

moving about, and their webs the only means to that end, for their twelve legs grew upward from their backs, giving them a most uncanny appearance. Fearing that the creatures might be poisonous, Nour Anonai retreated hastily to the mouth of the cavern, and as the spiders could not go beyond the ends of their threads, we were soon quite safe from them, and now the luscious fruit looked more tempting than ever, since it seemed to be denied to us. The road down the river is well Well guarded," said Nuran with a rueful smile, which might indicate a most desirable goal. "'At present that fruit is the most desirable thing in the world to me,' I replied, and I am going to try to discover some means of obtaining it.

Moving to the right away from the river I sought for an entrance into the forest that would be free from the threads of the spiders, and presently I came to a point where there was a well-defined trail about four or five feet wide. apparently cut by men from the vegetation. Across the mouth of it, however, were strung thousands of gossamer strands. To touch them we knew would be the signal for myriads of the angry spiders to swarm upon us.

While our greatest fear was, of course, that the insects might be poisonous, their cruelly fanged mouths also suggested that, poisonous or not, they might, in their great numbers, constitute a real menace. Do you notice, I said to Nur-Anne, that these threads seem stretched across the entrance to the pathway only? Beyond them, I cannot detect any,

though, of course, they are so tenuous that they might defy one's vision even at a short distance. I do not see any spiders here, said Nur-Anne. Perhaps we can cut our way through with impunity at this point. We shall experiment, I said, drawing my long-sword. Advancing, I cut a few strands, when immediately they're swarmed out of the tree, trees and bushes upon either side great companies of the insects, each racing along its own

individual strand. Where the strands were intact, the creatures crossed and recrossed the trail, staring at us with their venomous, beady eyes, their powerful gleaming fangs bared threateningly toward us. The cut strands floated in the air until borne down by the weight of the approaching spiders, who followed to the severed ends, but no further. Here they either hung glaring at us or else clambered up and down excitedly, but not one of them ever ventured from his strand. As I watched them, their antics suggested a plan. They are helpless when their web is severed, I said to Nur-Anne. Therefore, if we cut all their webs, they cannot reach us. Whereupon advancing, I swung my long sword above my head and cut downward through the

remaining strands. Instantly the creature set up their infernal sense. screaming. Several of them, torn from their webs by the blow of my sword, lay upon the ground upon their bellies, their feet sticking straight up into the air. They seemed utterly helpless, and though they screamed loudly and frantically waved their legs, they were clearly unable to move, nor could those hanging at either side of the trail reach us. With my sword I destroyed those that lay in the path, and then, followed by Neer-Anne, I entered the forest. I turned to about to have a last look at the discomfited insects to see what they might be about. They had stopped screaming now, and were slowly returning into the foliage,

evidently to their lairs, and as they seemed to offer no further menace, we continued upon our way. The trees and bushes along the pathway were innocent of fruit or berries, though just beyond reach we saw them growing in profusion, behind a barrier of those gossamer webs that we had so quickly learned to avoid. This trail appears to have been made by man, said Nuran. "'Whoever made it, or when,' I said, "'there is no doubt but that some creature still uses it. The absence of fruit along it would alone be ample proof of that.'

We moved cautiously along the winding trail, not knowing at what moment we might be confronted by some new menace in the form of man or beast. Presently we saw ahead of us what appeared to be an opening in the forest, and a moment later we emerged into a clearing. Looming in front of us at a distance of perhaps less than a hod was a towering pile of masonry. It was a gloomy pile, apparently built of black volcanic rock. For some thirty feet above the ground there was a blank wall,

pierced by but a single opening, a small doorway almost directly in front of us. This part of the structure appeared to be a wall. Beyond it rose buildings of weird and grotesque outlines, and dominating all was a lofty tower, from the summit of which a wisp of smoke curled upward into the quiet air. From this new vantage point, we had a better view of the valley than had at first been accorded us,

and now, more marked than ever, were the indications that it was the crater of some gigantic and long-extinct volcano. Between us and the buildings, which suggested a small-walled city, the clearing contained a few scattered trees, but most of the ground was given over to cultivation, being traversed by irrigation ditches of an archaic type which has been abandoned upon the surface for many ages, having been superseded by a system of sub-irrigation when the diminishing water supply necessitated the adoption of conservation measures. Satisfied that no further information could be gained by remaining where we were, I started boldly into the clearing toward the city. Where are you going? asked Nouran.

I am going to find out who dwells in that gloomy place, I replied. Here are fields and gardens, so they must have food, and that, after all, is the only favor that I shall ask of them. Nur-Anne shook his head. The very sighted. The very sighted of the place depresses me, he said. But he came with me, as I knew he would, for Nure End is a splendid companion upon whose loyalty one may always depend. We had traversed about two-thirds of the distance across the clearing toward the city, before we saw any signs of life, and then a few figures appeared at the top of the wall above the entrance. They carried long, thin scarfs, which they seemed to be waving and greeting to us, and

When we had come yet closer, I saw that they were young women. They leaned over the parapet and smiled and beckoned to us. As we came within speaking distance below the wall, I halted. "'What city is this?' I asked. "'And who is Jed here?' "'Enter Warriors,' cried one of the girls, "'and we will lead you to the Jed.' "'She was very pretty, and she was smiling sweetly, as were her companions.

"'This is not such a depressing place as you, you thought, I said in a low voice to NER-Anne. I was mistaken, said Nour-Anne. They seem to be a kindly hospitable people. Shall we enter? Come, called another of the girls, behind these gloomy walls like food and wine and love. Food. I would have entered a far more forbidding place than this for food. As Nour-Anne and I strode toward the small door, it slowly withdrew to one side. Beyond, across a black paved avenue, rose buildings of black volcanic rock. The avenue seemed deserted as we stepped within. We heard the faint click of a lock as the door slid into place behind us,

and I had a sudden foreboding of ill that made my right hand seek the hilt of my long sword. End of Chapter 7. Chapter 8 Of a Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libervox recording is in the public. domain. Chapter 8. The Spider of Gasta For a moment we stood undecided in the middle of the empty avenue, looking about us,

and then our attention was attracted to a narrow stairway running up the inside of the wall, upon the summit of which the girls had appeared and welcomed us. Down the stairway the girls were coming. There were six of them. Their beautiful faces were radiant with happy smiles of welcome that instantly dispelled the gloom of the dark surroundings, as the rising sun dissipates the night's darkness and replaces her shadows with light and warmth and happiness. Beautifully wrought harness, enriched by many a sparkling jewel, accentuated the loveliness of the faultless figures. As they approached, a vision of Tavia sprang to my mind. Beautiful as these girls unquestionably were, how much

more beautiful was Tavia. I recall distinctly, even now, that in that very instant, with all that was transpiring to distract my attention, I was suddenly struck by wonder that it should have been Tavia's face and figure that I saw, rather than those of Sonoma Torah. You may believe that I brought myself up with a round turn, and thereafter it was a vision of Sonoma Tora that I saw, and that, too, without any disloyalty to my friend's friendship for Tavia, that blessed friendship which I looked upon as one of my proudest and most valuable possessions. As the girls reached the pavement, they came eagerly toward us.

"'Welcome warriors!' cried one, to happy Gasta. After your long journey, you must be hungry. Come with us and you shall be fed. But first, the great Jed will wish to greet you and welcome you to our city, for visitors to Gasta are few. As they led us along the avenue, I could not but note the deserted appearance of the city. There was no sign of life about any of the buildings that we passed, nor did we see another human being until we had come to an open plaza, in the center of which rose a mighty building surmounted by the lofty tower that we had seen when we first emerged from the forest. Here we saw a number of people, both men and women, sad, dejected-looking people, who moved with

bent shoulders and downcast eyes. There was no animation in their step, and their whole demeanour seemed that of utter hopelessness. What a contrast they presented to the gay and happy girls who so joyously conducted us toward the main entrance of what I assumed to be the palace of the Jed. Here burly warriors were on guard, fat, oily-looking fellows, whose appearance was not at all to my liking. As we approached them, an often emerged from the interior of the building. If possible, he was even fatter and more greasy-looking than his men, but he smiled and bowed as he welcomed us.

"'Greetings!' he exclaimed. "'May the peace of Gasta be upon the stranger who enter her gates!' "'Sendward de Gron, the great Jed,' said one of the girls to him, "'that we are bringing two strange warriors who wished to do honor to him before partaking of the hospitality of Gasta. As the officer dispatched a warrior to notify the jet of our coming, we were escorted into the interior of the palace. The furnishings were striking,

but extremely fantastic in design and execution. The native wood of the forests have been used to find advantage in the construction of numerous pieces of beautifully carved furniture, the grain of the woods showing lustrously in their velderals, various natural colors. The beauties of which were sometimes accentuated by delicate stain and by high polishes, but perhaps the most striking feature of the interior decorations was the gorgeously painted fabric of unbelievable lightness, which gave the impression of spun silver. So closely woven was it that, as I was to learn later, it would hold water,

and of such great strength that it was almost impossible to tear it. Upon it were painted in brilliant colors the most fantastic scenes that imagination might conceive. There were spiders with the heads of beautiful women, and women with the heads of spiders. There were flowers and trees that danced beneath a great red sun, and great lizards, such as we had passed within the gloomy cavern on our journey down from Chaneth. In all the figures that were depicted, there was nothing represented as nature had created it, It was as though some mad mind had conceived the whole. As we waited in the great entrance hall of the Palace of the Jed,

four of the girls danced for our entertainment, a strange dance, such as I had never before seen upon Barsoom. Its steps and movements were as weird and fantastic as the mural decorations of the room in which it was executed. And yet, with all, there was a certain rhythm and suggestiveness in the undulations of those lithe bodies, that imparted to us a feeling of well-being and content. The fat and greasy padwar of the guard moistened his thick lips as he watched them, and though he had doubtless seen them dance upon many occasions, he seemed to be much more affected

than we, but perhaps he had no feo or Sonoma Tora to occupy his thoughts. Sonoma Tora The chiseled beauty of her noble face stood out clearly upon the screen of memory for a brief instant, and then slowly it began to fade. I tried to recall it, to see again the short, haughty lip and the cold, level gaze, but it receded into a blue, from which there presently emerged a pair of wondrous eyes, moist with tears, a perfect face and a head of tousled hair. It was then that the warrior returned to say that Gron, the Jed, would receive us at once.

Only the girls accompanied us, the fat Padua remaining behind, though I could have sworn that it was not through choice. The room in which the Jed received us was upon the second level of the palace. It was a large room, even more grotesquely decorated than those to which we had passed. The furniture was of weird shapes and size. nothing harmonized with anything else, and yet the result was a harmony of discord that was not at all unpleasing. The Jed sat upon a perfectly enormous throne of volcanic glass. It was, perhaps, the most ornate and remarkable piece of furniture that I had ever seen,

and was the outstanding specimen of craftsmanship in the entire city of Gasta. But if it caught my eye at the time, it was only for an instant, as nothing could for long distract one's attention from the jed himself. In the first glance, he looked more like a hairy ape than a man. He was massively built, with great, heavy, stooping shoulders and long arms covered with shaggy black hair, the more remarkable, perhaps, because there is no race of hairy men upon Barsoom. His face was broad and flat, and his eyes were so far apart, that they seemed literally to be

said in the corners of his face. As we were halted before him, he twisted his mouth into what I imagined at the time was intended for a smile, but which only succeeded in making him look more horrible than before. As is customary, we laid our swords at his feet and announced our names and our cities. Hadron of Hastor, Nur'an of Jahar, he repeated, "'Gran the Jedd welcomes you to Gasta. Few are the visitors who find their way to our beautiful city. It is an event, therefore, when two such illustrious warriors honor us with a visit.

Seldom do we receive word from the outer world. Tell us, then, of your journey, and of what is transpiring upon the surface of Barsoom above us. His words and his manner were those of a most solicitous host, bent upon extending a proper and cordial welcome to strangers. but I could not rid myself of the belying suggestion of his repulsive countenance, though I could do no less than play the part of a grateful and appreciative guest. We told our stories and gave him much news of those portions of Barsoom with which each of us was familiar, and as Nour Anne spoke, I looked about me at the assemblage in the Great Chamber.

They were mostly women, and many of them were young and beautiful. The men, for the most part, were gross-looking, fat, and oily, and there were certain lines of cruelty about their eyes and their mouths that did not escape me, though I tried to attribute it to the first depressing impression that the black and somber buildings and the deserted avenues had conveyed to my mind. When we had finished our recitals, Grasn announced that a banquet had been prepared in our honor, and in person he led the procession from the throne room down a long corridor to a mighty banquet hall, in the center of which stood a great table, down the entire length of which was a magnificent decoration consisting entirely of the fruits and flowers of the forest through which we had passed.

At one end of the table was the Jed's throne, and at the other were smaller thrones, one for Nur-an and one for me. Seated on either side of us were the girls who had welcomed us to the city, and whose business it seemed now was to entertain us. The design of the dishes with which the table was set was quite in keeping with all the other mad designs of the Palace of Gron. No two plates or goblets or platters were of the same shape or size or design, and nothing seemed suited to the purpose for which it was intended. My wine was served in a shallow, triangular-shaped, saucer, while my meat was crammed into a tall, slender-stemmed goblet.

However, I was too hungry to be particular, and I hoped, too well converse it with the amenities of polite society, to reveal the astonishment that I felt. Here, as in other parts of the palace, the wall coverings were of the gossamer-like silver fabric that had attracted my attention and admiration the moment that I had entered the building, and so fascinated was I by it that I could not refrain from mentioning it to the girl who sat at my right. "'There is no such fabric anywhere else in Barsoom,' she said. "'It is made here, and only here.'

"'It is very beautiful,' I said. "'Other nations would pay well for it. "'If we could get it to them,' she said, "'but we have no intercourse with the world above us.' "'Of what is it woven?' I asked. "'When you entered the Valley Hoar,' she said, "'you saw a beautiful forest running down to the banks of the river Sil. "'Doubtless you saw fruit in the forest,

"'and being hungry you sought to gather it, "'but you were set upon by huge spiders "'that sped along silver threads, "'finer than a woman's hair.' "'Yes,' I said, "'that is just what happened.' "'It is from this web spun by those hideous spiders "'that we weave our fabric. "'It is as strong as leather,

and as enduring as the rocks of which Gasta is built. Do women of Gasta spin this wonderful fabric? I asked. The slaves, she said, both men and women. And from whence come your slaves, I asked, if you have no intercourse with the upper world. Many of them come down the river from Janeth, where they have died the death, and there are others who come from further up the river.

But why they come, or from whence, we never know. They are silent people who will not tell us, and sometimes they come from down the river, but these are few, and usually are so crazed by the horrors of their journey, that we can glean no knowledge from them. And do any ever go on down the river from Gasta? I asked. For it was in that direction that Nouran and I hoped to make our way in search of liberty, as deep within me was the hope that we might reach the valley door and the lost sea, of

chorus, from which I was convinced I could escape, as did John Carter and Tar's Tarkas. "'A few, perhaps,' she said. "'But we never know what becomes of these, for none returns.' "'You are happy here?' I asked. She forced a smile to her beautiful lips, but I thought that a shudder ran through her frame. The banquet was elaborate and the food delicious. There was a great deal of laughter at the far and of the table where the Jed sat, for those about him watched him closely, and when he laughed,

which he always did at his own jokes, the others all laughed uproariously. Toward the end of the meal, a troop of dancers entered the apartment. My first view of them almost took my breath away, for with but a single exception, they were all horribly deformed. That one exception was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. the most beautiful girl I have ever seen with the saddest face that I have ever seen. She danced divinely, and about her hopped and crawled the poor, unhappy creatures, whose sad afflictions should have made them the objects of sympathy rather than ridicule, and yet it was obvious that they had been selected for their part for the sole purpose

of giving the audience an opportunity to vent its ridicule upon them. The sight of them seemed to incite Gron to a pitch of frenzied mirth, and to add to his own pleasure and to the discomforts of the poor pathetic performers, he hurled food and plates at them as they danced about the banquet table. I tried not to look at them, but there was a fascination in their deformities which attracted my gaze, and presently it became apparent to me that the majority of them were artificially deformed, that they have been thus broken and bent at the behest of some malign mind. And as I looked down the longboard at the horrid face of Gron, distorted by maniacal laughter,

I could not but guess the author of their disfigurement. When at last they were gone, three large goblets of wine were borne into the banquet hall by a slave. Two of them were red goblets, and one was black. The black goblet was set before Gron and the red ones before Nur-Anne and me. Then Gron rose and the whole company followed his example. "'Gron, the Jed, drinks to the happiness of his honored guests,' announced the ruler, and raising the goblet to his lips, he drained it to the bottom. It seemed obvious that this little ceremony would conclude the banquet, and that it was intended Nour-Anne and I should drink the health of our host. I, therefore, raise my goblin.

It was the first time that anything had been served to me in the proper receptacle, and I was glad that at last I might drink without incurring the danger of spilling most of the contents of the receptacle into my lap. "'To the health and power of the great Jed Gran,' I said, and following my host's example, drain the contents of the goblet. As near Anne followed my example with some appropriate words, I felt a sudden lethargy stealing over me, and in the instant before I lost consciousness I realized that I had been given drugged wine. When I regained consciousness, I found myself lying upon the bare floor of a room of a

peculiar shape that suggested it was the portion of the arc of a circle lying between the peripheries of two concentric circles. The narrow end of the room curved inward, the wider end outward. In the ladder was a single grated window. No door or other opening. appeared in any of the walls, which were covered with the same silver fabric that I had noticed upon the walls and ceilings of the palace of the Jed. Near me lay Nur-Anne, evidently still under the influence of the opiate that had been administered to us in the wine. Again I looked about the room. I rose and went to the window. Far below me I saw the roofs of the city. Evidently, we were imprisoned in the lofty tower that rose from the center of the window.

of the palace of the Jed. But how have we been brought into the room? Certainly not through the window, which must have been fully two hundred feet above the city. While I was pondering this seemingly unanswerable problem, Nuran regained consciousness. At first he did not speak. He just lay there looking at me with a rueful smile upon his lips. "'Well?' I asked. Nuran shook his head. "'We still live,' he said. "'We still live,' he said, said dismally, but that is about the best that one may say. "'We are in the palace of a maniac, Nuran,' I said. "'There is no doubt in my mind as to that.

Everyone here lives in constant terror of Gron, and from what I have seen today they are warranted in feeling terror. "'Yet, I believe we saw little or nothing at that,' said Nuran. "'I saw enough,' I replied. Those girls were so beautiful, he said after a moment's silence. I could not believe that such beauty and such duplicity could exist together. Perhaps they were the unwilling tools of a cruel master, I suggested. I shall always like to think so, he said.

The day waned and night fell. No one came near us, but in the meantime I discovered something. Accidentally leaning against the wall at the narrow end of our room, I found that it was very warm, in fact, quite hot. And from this, I inferred that the flu of the chimney from which we had seen the smoke issuing rose through the center of the tower, and the wall of the chimney formed the rear wall of our apartment. It was a discovery, but at the moment it meant nothing to us. There were no lights in our apartment, and, as only Cluros was in the heavens, and he upon the opposite side of the tower, our prison

was in almost total darkness. We were sitting in gloomy contemplation of our predicament, each wrapped in his own unhappy thoughts, when I heard footsteps apparently approaching from below. They came nearer and nearer, until finally they ceased in an adjoining apartment, seemingly the one next to ours. A moment later there was a scraping sound, and a line of light appeared at the bottom of one of the side walls. It kept growing in width until I finally realized that the entire partition wall was rising. In the opening we saw at first the sandaled feet of warriors, and finally, little by little, their entire bodies were revealed, two stalwart brawny men heavily armed. They carried manacles, and with them they fastened our wrists behind our

backs. They did not speak, but with a gesture, one of them directed us to follow him, and as we filed out of the room, the second warrior fell in behind us. In silence we entered a steep spiral ramp, which we descended to the main body of the palace. But yet our escorts conducted us still lower, until I knew that we must be in the pits beneath the palace. The pits. Inwardly, I shuddered. I much preferred the tower, for I have always possessed an inherent horror of the pits. Perhaps these would be utterly dark and doubtless overrun by rats and lizards. The ramp ended in a gorgeously decorated apartment, in which was assembled about the same company of men and women that had partaken of the banquet with us earlier in the day. Here, too, was grown upon a throne. This time he did not

smile as we entered the room. He did not seem to realize our presence. He was sitting, leaning forward, his eyes fixed upon something at the far end of the room over which hung a deadly silence that was suddenly shattered by a piercing scream of anguish. The scream was but a prelude to a series of similar cries of agony. I looked quickly in the direction from which the screams came, the direction in which Gron's gaze was fastened. I saw a naked woman chained to a grill before a hot fire. Evidently they had just placed her there as I had entered the room, and it was her first shrill scream of agony that had attracted my attention.

The grill was mounted upon wheels so that it could be removed to any distance from the fire that the torturer chose, or completely turned about presenting the other side of the victim to the blaze. As my eyes wandered back to the audience, I saw that most of the girls sat there glaring straight ahead, their eyes fixed with horror upon the horrid scene. I do not believe that they enjoyed it. I know that they did not. They were equally the unwilling victims of the cruel vagaries of Gras' of Gras' diseased mind, but like the poor creature upon the grill, they were helpless.

Next to the torture itself, the most diabolical concede of the mind that had directed it was the utter silence enjoined upon all spectators, against the background of which, the shrieks and moans of the tortured victim evidently achieved their highest effectiveness upon the crazed mind of the jed." The spectacle was sickening. I turned my eyes away. Presently one of the warriors who had fetched us touched me on the arm and motioned me to follow him.

He led us from this apartment to another, and there we witnessed a scene infinitely more terrible than the grilling of the human victim. I cannot describe it. It tortures my memory even to think of it. Long before we reached that hideous apartment, we heard the screams and curses of its inmates. In utter silence, our guard usured us within. It was the chamber of horrors in which the jet of Gasta was creating abnormal deformities for his cruel dance of the cripples.

Still in silence, we were led from this horrid place, and now our guide conducted us upward to a luxuriously furnished apartment. upon DeVans lay two of the beautiful girls who had welcomed us to Gasta. For the first time since we left our room in the tower, one of our escort broke the silence. They will explain, he said, pointing to the girls. Do not try to escape. There is only one exit from this room. We will be waiting outside. He then removed our manacles, and with his companion, left the apartment, closing the door after them. One of the occupants of the room was the same girl who had sat at my right during the banquet.

I had found her most gracious and intelligent, and to her I now turned. "'What is the meaning of this?' I demanded. "'Why are we made prisoners? Why have we been brought here?' She beckoned me to come to the divan in which she reclined, and as I approached, she motioned to me to sit down beside her. "'What you have seen to-night?' she said. represents the three fates that lie in store for you. Grand has taken a fancy to you, and he is giving you your choice.

I do not yet understand, I said. You saw the victim before the grill, she asked. Yes, I replied. Would you care to suffer that fate? Scarcely. You saw the unhappy ones being bent and broken for the dance of the cripples, she pursued. I did, I answered.

answered, and now you see this luxurious room and me. Which would you choose? I cannot believe, I replied, that the final alternative is without conditions, which might make it appear less attractive than it now seems, for otherwise there could be no possible question as to which I would choose. You are right, she said. There are conditions. What are they? I asked. You will become an officer in the palace of the Jed, and as such you will conduct tortures

similar to those you have witnessed in the pits of the palace. You will be guided by whatever whim may possess your master. I drew myself to my full height. I choose the fire, I said. I knew that you would, she said sadly, and yet I hoped that you might not. It is not because of you. I said quickly. It is the other conditions which no man of honor could accept.

I know, she said, and had you accepted them, I must eventually have despised you as I despise the others. You are unhappy here, I asked. Of course, she said. Who but a maniac could be happy in this horrid place? There are perhaps six hundred people in the city, and there is not one who knows happiness. A hundred of us form the court of the jed.

The others are slaves. As a matter of fact, we are all slaves, subject to every mad whim or caprice of the maniac who is our master. And there is no escape? I asked. None. I shall escape, I said. How? The fire, I replied.

She shuddered. I do not know why I should care so much, she said, unless it is that I liked you from the first. Even while I was helping to lure you into the city for the human spider of Gasta, I wish that I might warn you not to enter, but I was afraid, just as I'm afraid to die. I wish that I had your courage to escape through the fire. I turned to Nur-Anne, who had been listening to our conversation. You have reached your decision? I asked.

Certainly, he said. There could be but one decision. decision for a man of honor. Good, I exclaimed, and then I turned to the girl. You will notify Gron of our decision? I asked. Wait, she said. Ask for time in which to consider it. I know that it will make no difference in the end, but yet... Oh, even yet there is a germ of hope within me that even utter hopelessness cannot destroy.

You are right, I said. There is always hope. Let him think that you have half-persuaded us to accept the life of luxury and ease that he has offered as an alternative to death or torture, and that if you're given a little more time, you may succeed. In the meantime, we may be able to work out some plan of escape. Never, she said. End of Chapter 8. Chapter 9. Of a Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

This Liberbox recording is in the public. domain. Chapter 9. Four Tack of Jama Back in our quarters in the chimney tower, Nour Anne and I discussed every mad plan of escape that entered our brains. For some reason our fetters had not been replaced, which gave us at least as much freedom of action as our apartment afforded, and you may rest assured that we took full advantage of it,

examining minutely every square inch of the floor and the walls as far up as we could reach. But our combined efforts failed to reveal any means for raising the partition, which closed the only avenue of escape from our prison, with the exception of the window, which, while heavily barred in some two hundred feet above the ground, was by no means, therefore, eliminated from our plans. The heavy vertical bars which protected the window withstood our combined efforts when we sought to bend them, though Nuran is a powerful man, while I have always been lauded for my unusual muscular development. The bars were set a little too close together to permit our bodies to pass through,

but the removal of one of them would leave an opening of ample size. Yet, to what purpose? Perhaps the same answer was in Nuran's mind that was in mine, that when hope was gone and the sole alternative remaining was the fire within the grill, we might at least cheat, Gron, could we but hurl ourselves from this high-flung window to the ground far below. But whatever end each of us may have had in view, he kept it to himself. And when I started digging at the mortar at the bottom of one of the bars with the prong of a buckle

for my harness, Nuran asked no questions, but set to work similarly upon the mortar at the top of the same bar. We worked in silence and with little fear of discovery, as no one had entered our prison since we had been incarcerated there. Once a day the partition was raised a few inches. and food slipped into us beneath it. But we did not see the person who brought it, nor did anyone communicate with us

from the time that the guards had taken us to the palace that first night, up to the moment that we had finally succeeded in loosening the bar so that it could be easily removed from its seat. I shall never forget with what impatience we awaited the coming of night, that we might remove the bar and investigate the surrounding surface of the tower, for it had occurred to me that it might offer a moment, means of descent to the ground below, or rather to the roof of the building which it surmounted, from where we might hope to make our way to the summit of the city wall undetected.

Already, in view of this possibility, I had planned to tear strips from the fabric covering of our walls, wherewith to make a rope down which we might lower ourselves to the ground beyond the city wall. As night approached, I commenced to realize how high I had built my hopes upon this idea. It already seemed as good as accomplished, especially when I had utilized the possibilities of the rope to its fullest extent, which included making one of sufficient length to reach from our window to the bottom of the tower. Thus every obstacle was overcome. It was then, just at dusk, that I explained my plan to Nur-Anne. "'Fine,' he exclaimed. "'Let us start at once making our rope. We know how strong this fabric is, and that a slender strand of it will support our weight.

There is enough upon one wall to make all the rope we need. Success seemed almost assured as we started to remove the fabric from one of the larger walls, but here we met with our first obstacle. The fabric was fastened at the top and at the bottom with large-headed nails, set close together, which withstood our every effort to tear it loose. Thin and light in weight, this remarkable fabric appeared absolutely indestructible, and we were almost exhausted by our efforts when we were finally forced to admit defeat. The quick Barsoomian night had fallen, and we might now, with comparative safety,

remove the bar from the window and reconnoiter for the first time beyond the restricted limits of our cell, but hope was now low within our breasts, and it was with little anticipation of encouragement that I drew myself to the sill and projected my head and shoulders through the aperture. Below me lay the sombre, gloomy city, its blackness relieved by but a few dim lights, most of which shone faintly from the palace windows. I passed my palm over the surface of the tower that lay within arm's reach, and again my heart sank within me.

Smooth, almost glass-like volcanic rock, beautifully cut and laid, offered not the slightest handhold. Indeed, an insect might have found it difficult to have clung to its polished surface. "'It is quite hopeless,' I said as I drew my head back into the room. "'The tower is as smooth as a woman's breast.' "'What is above?' asked Nuran. Again I leaned out, this time looking upward. "'Just above me the eaves of the tower. Our cell was at the highest level of the structure. Something impelled me to investigate in that direction, an insane urge perhaps born of despair.

"'Hold my ankles, Nouran,' I said. "'And, in the name of your first ancestor, hold tightly.' Clinging to two of the remaining bars, I raised myself to a standing position upon the window ledge, while Nour Anne clung to my ankles. I could just reach the top of the eaves with my extended fingers. Loring myself again to the sill, I whispered to Nur-Anne. I am going to attempt to reach the roof of the tower, I exclaimed. Why? he asked. I laughed. I do not know, I admitted.

But something within my inner consciousness seems insistently to urge me on. If you fall, he said, you will have escaped the fire, and I will follow you. Good luck, my friend from Hastor. Once again I raised myself to a standing position upon the sill, and reached upward until my fingers bent above the edge of the lofty roof. Slowly I drew myself upward. Below me, two hundred feet lay the palace roof and death. I am very strong.

Only a very strong man could have hoped to succeed, for I had at best but a precarious hold upon the flat roof above me. But at last I succeeded in getting an elbow over, and then I drew my body. slowly over the edge, until at last I lay panting upon the basalt flagging that topped the slender tower. Resting a few moments, I rose to my feet. Mad, passionate Thuria raced across the cloudless sky. Cloros, her cold spouse, swung his aloof circle in splendid isolation. Below me lay the valley of whore like some enchanted fairyland of ancient lore. Above me frowned the beetling cliff that hemmed in this madman's world.

A puff of hot air struck me suddenly in the face, recalling to my mind that far below in the pits of Gasta, an orgy of torture was occurring. Faintly, a scream arose from the black mouth of the flu behind me. I shuddered, but my attention was centered upon the yawning opening now, and I approached it. Almost unbearable waves of heat were billowing upward from the mouth of the chimney. There was little smoke, so perfect was the combustion, but what there was shot into the air at terrific velocity. It almost seemed that, were I to cast myself upon it, I should be carried far aloft. It was then that a thought was born, a mad, impossible idea, it seemed, and yet it clung to me as I lowered myself gingerly over the outer edge of the tower,

and finally regained the greater security of my cell. I was about to explain my insane plan to Nouran when I was interrupted by sounds from the adjoining chamber, and an instant later the partition started to rise. I thought they were bringing us food again, but the partition rose further than was necessary for the passing of food receptacles beneath it, and a moment later we saw the ankles and legs of a woman beneath the base of the rising wall. Then a girl stooped and entered our cell. In the light from the adjoining room I recognized,

her, she who had been selected by Grand to lure me to his will. Her name was Sharu. Nouran had quickly replaced the bar in the window, and when the girl entered, there was nothing to indicate that ought was amiss, or that one of us had so recently been outside our cell. The partition remained half-raised, permitting light to enter the apartment, and the girl, looking at me, must have noticed my gaze wandering to the adjoining room. Do not let your hopes rise, she said with a rueful smile. There are guards waiting at the level next below. Why are you here, Sharu? I asked.

Gron sent me, she replied. He is impatient for your decision. I thought quickly. Our only hope lay in the sympathy of this girl, whose attitude in the past had at least demonstrated her friendliness. Had we a dagger and a needle? I said in in a low whisper, we could give Gron his answer upon the morning of the day after tomorrow. "'What reason can I give him for this further delay?' she asked after a moment's thought. "'Tell him,' said Nour Anne, "'that we are communing with our ancestors, and that upon their advice shall depend our decision.'

Sharu smiled. She drew a dagger from its sheath at her side and laid it upon the floor, and from a pocket-pouch attached to her harness she produced a needle, which he laid beside the dagger. "'I shall convince Gron that it is best to wait,' she said. "'My heart had hoped, Hadron of Hestor, that you would decide to remain with me. But I am glad that I have not been mistaken in my estimate of your character. You will die, my warrior, but at least you will die as a brave man should and undefiled.' "'Good-bye. I look upon you in life for the last time, but until I am gathered to my ancestors, your image shall remain enshrined within my heart.'

She was gone, the partition dropped, and again we were left in the semi-darkness of a moonlit night. But now we had the two things that I most desired, a dagger and a needle. "'Of what good are those?' asked Nour Anne as I gathered the two articles from the floor. "'You will see,' I replied, "'and immediately I set to work cutting the fabric "'from the walls of our cell, "'and then, standing upon Nuran's shoulders, "'I removed also that which covered the ceiling.

"'I worked quickly, "'for I knew that we had little time "'in which to accomplish that which I had set out to do. "'A mad scheme it was, "'and yet with all, within the realms of practicability. "'Working in the dark, "'more by sense of feel than by sight, I must have been inspired by some higher power to have accomplished within any degree of perfection

the task that I had set myself. The balance of that night and all of the following day, Nour Anne and I labored without rest, until we had fashioned an enormous bag from the fabric that had covered the walls and ceiling of our cell, and from the scraps that remained we fashioned long ropes, and when night fell again our task was complete. May luck be with us, I said. "'The scheme is worthy of the mad brain of Gron himself,' said Nour-Anne. "'Yet has within it the potentialities of success.'

"'Night has fallen,' I said. "'We need not delay longer.' "'Of one thing, however, we may be sure. "'Whether we succeed or fail, we shall have escaped the fire, "'and in either event may our ancestors look with love and compassion upon Sharu, whose friendship has made possible our attempt. Whose love, corrected Nouran. Once again I made the perilous ascent to the roof,

taking one of our new-made ropes with me. Then, from the summit, I lowered it to Nuran, who fastened the great bag to it. After which I drew the fruits of our labors carefully to the roof beside me. It was as light as a feather, yet stronger than the well-tanned height of a Zididar. Next I lowered the rope and assisted Nuran to my side, but not until he had replaced the bar

that we had removed from the window. Attached to the bottom of our bag, which was open, were a number of long cords, terminating in loops. Through these loops we passed the longest rope that we had made, a rope so long that it entirely encircled the circumference of the tower, when we lowered it below the projecting eaves. We made it fast there, but with a slip-knot that could be instantly. instantly released with a single jerk.

Next, we slid the loops at the end of the ropes attached to the bottom of the bag along the cord that encircled the tower below the eaves, until we had maneuvered the opening of the bag directly over the mouth of the flu, leading down into the furnace of death in the pits of Gasta. Standing upon either side of the flu, NER-Anon I lifted the bag until it commenced to fill with the hot air rushing from the chimney. Presently it was sufficiently inflated to remain in an erect position, whereupon leaving Nuran to steady it, I moved the loops until they were at equal distances from one another,

thus anchoring the bag directly over the center of the flu. Then I passed another rope loosely through the loops and secured its ends together. And to opposite sides of this rope, Nouran and I snapped the boarding hooks that are a part of the harness of every Barsumian warrior, the primary purpose. of which is to lower boarding parties from the deck of one ship to that of another directly below, but which in practice are used in countless ways and numerous emergencies. Then we waited. Nuran ready to slip the knot that held the rope around the tower beneath the eaves,

and I, upon the opposite side, with Sharu's sharp dagger prepared to cut the rope upon my side. I saw the great bag that we had made filling with hot air. At first, loosely inflated, it rocked and swayed, but presently its size distended, it strained upward. Its fabric stretched tightly until I thought that it should burst. It tugged and pulled at its restraining cords, and yet I waited. Down in the valley of whore, there was little or no wind, which greatly facilitated the carrying out of our rash venture. The great bag, almost as large as the large as the air.

the room in which we had been confined, bellied above us. It strained upon its guy ropes in its impatience to be aloft, until I wondered that they held, and then I gave the word. Simultaneously, Nuran slipped his knot, and I severed the rope upon the opposite side. Freed, the great bag leapt aloft, snapping us in its wake. It shot upward with a velocity that was astounding, until the Valley of Hore was but a little hollow in the surface of the great world that lay below us. Presently, a wind caught us, and you may be assured that we gave thanks to our ancestors

as we realized that we were at last drifting from above the cruel city of Gasta. The wind increased until it was blowing rapidly in a northeasterly direction, but little did we care where it wafted us as long as it took us away from the river Sill and the Valley of Hore. After we had passed beyond the crater of the ancient volcano, which formed the bed of the valley in which lay somber gasta, we saw below us in the moonlight, a rough volcanic country that presented a weird and impressive appearance of unreality. Deep chasms and tumbled piles of basalt seemed to present an unsurmountable barrier to man, which may explain why in this remote and desolate

corner of Barsoom, the Valley of Hoare had lain for countless ages undiscovered. The wind increased. Floating at a great altitude, we were being carried at considerable speed, yet I could see that we were very slowly falling, as the hot air within our bag cooled. How much longer it would keep us up, I could not guess, but I hoped it would bear us at least beyond the uninviting terrain beneath us. With the coming of dawn, we were floating but... a few hundred feet above the ground. The volcanic country was far behind us, and as far as we could

see stretched lovely rolling hills, sparsely timbered by the drought-resisting skeel upon which it has been said the civilization of Barsoom has been erected. As we topped a low hill, passing over it by a scant fifty sophads, we saw below us a building of gleaming white. Like all the cities and isolated buildings of Barsoom, it was surrounded by a lofty wall, but in other respects it differed materially from the usual Barsoomian type of architecture. The edifice, which was made up of a number of buildings, was not surmounted by the usual towers, domes, and minarets that mark all Barsoomian cities, and which only in recent ages have been giving away slowly to the flat landing stages of an aerial world.

The structure below us was composed of a number of flat-roofed buildings of various heights, none of which, however, appeared to rise over four levels. Between the buildings and the outer walls and in several open courts between the buildings, there was a profusion of trees and shrubbery, with scarlet sward and well-kept paths. It was, in fact, a striking and beautiful sight, yet having so recently been lured to near destruction by the beauties of whore, and the engaging allurements of her beautiful women. We had no mind to be deceived again by external appearances.

We would float over the Palace of Enchantment and take our chances in the open country beyond. But fate willed otherwise. The wind had abated. We were dropping rapidly. Beneath us we saw people in the garden of the building, and simultaneously, as they discovered us, it was evident that they were filled with consternation.

They hastened quickly to the nearest entrances, and there was not a human being in sight when we finally came to rest upon the roof of one of the taller sections of the structure. As we extricated ourselves from the loops in which we had been sitting, the great bag, relieved of our weight, rose quickly into the air for a short distance, turned completely over, and dropped to the ground just beyond the outer wall. It had served us well, and now it seemed like a living thing that had given us, given up its life for our salvation. We were to have little time, however, for sentimental regrets, for almost immediately a head appeared

through a small opening in the roof upon which we stood. The head was followed by the body of a man, whose harness was so scant as to leave him almost nude. He was an old man with a finely-shaped head, covered with scant gray locks. A parent physical age is so rare upon Barsoom, as always to attract immediate attention. In the natural span of life, we live often to a thousand years, but during that long period our appearance seldom changes but little. It is true that most of us meet violent death long before we reach old age, but there are some who pass the allotted span of life,

and others who do not care for themselves so well, and these few constitute the physically old among us, Evidently of such was the little old man who confronted us. At sight of him, Nuran voiced an exclamation of pleased surprise. Fortak! he cried. Hey-oo! cackled the old man in a high falsetto. Who cometh from the high heavens who knows old Fortak? It is I, Nour-Anne! exclaimed my friend.

Hey-oo! cried Fort-Tak. "'Nur, Anne, one of Tull Axtar's pets. "'As you once were for a tack. "'But not now, not now!' "'Almost scream the old man. "'The tyrant squeeze me like a juicy fruit "'and then cast the empty rind aside. "'Huy-hoo! He thought it was empty,

"'but I pray daily to all my ancestors "'that he may live to know that he was wrong. "'I can say this with safety to you, Nuran, "'for I have you in my power. and I promise you that you shall never live to carry word of my whereabouts to Tall-Ackstar." "'Do not fear, Fortak,' said Nuran. "'I too have suffered from the villainy of the Jeddak of Jahar. You were permitted to leave the capital in peace, but all my property was confiscated,

and I was sentenced to death.' "'Hayu! then you hate him too!' exclaimed the old man. "'Hate is a weak word to describe my feeling for Tall Axar,' replied my friend. "'It is well,' said Fortak. "'When I saw you descending from the skies, I thought that my ancestors had set you to help me, and now I know that it was indeed true.

"'Be this another warrior from Jahar?' he added, nodding his old head toward me. "'No, Fortak,' replied Nour-Anne. "'This is Hadron of Hastor, a noble of Helium. But he too has been wronged by Jahar.' "'Good!' exclaimed the old man. "'Now there are three of us. "'Here to-fore I have had only slaves and women to assist me.

"'But now, with two trained warriors, young and strong, "'the goal of my triumph appears almost in sight!' "'As the two men conversed, "'I had recalled that part of the story that Nuren had told me in the pits of Janath, "'which related to Fort Tack and his invention of the rifle "'that projected the disintegrating rays, which had proved so deadly against the patrol boat above Helium the night of Sonoma Torah's abduction. Strange indeed was fate that it should have brought me into the palace of the man who held this secret

that might mean so much to helium and to all barsoom. Strange, too, and devious had been the path along which fate had led me. Yet I knew that my ancestors were guiding me, and that all must have been arranged to some good end. When Fortak had heard only a portion of our story, he insisted that we must be both fatigued and hungry, and like the good host that he proved to be, he conducted us down to the interior of his palace, and summoning slaves ordered that we be bathed and fed, then permitted to retire, until we were rested. We thanked him for his kindness and consideration, of which we were glad to avail ourselves. The days that followed were both interesting and profitable.

Fortak, surrounded only by a few faithful slaves who had followed him into his exile, was delighted with our company, and with the assistance which we could give him in his experiment, which, once assured of our loyalty, he explained to us in detail. He told us the story of his wanderings after he had left Jahar, and of how he had stumbled upon this long-deserted capital. whose builder and occupants had left no record other than their bones. He told us that when he discovered it, skeletons had strewn the courtyard, and in the main entrance were piled the bones of a score of warriors,

attesting the fierce defense that the occupants had waged against some unknown enemy, while in many of the upper rooms he had found other skeletons, the skeletons of women and children. "'I believe,' he said, that the place was beset by members of some savage horde of green warriors that left not a single survivor. The courts and gardens were overgrown with weeds, and the interior of the building was filled with dust,

but otherwise little damage had been done. I called it Jama, and here I am carrying on my life's work. And that, I asked. Revenge upon Tall Axtar, said the old man. I gave him the disintegrating ray. I gave him the insulating paint that protects his own ships and weapons from it. And now, someday, I shall give him something else. Something that will be as revolutionary in the art of war as the disintegrating ray itself.

Something that will cast the fleet of Jahar broken wrecks upon the ground. Something that will search out the palace of Tull Axtar and bury the tyrant beneath its ruins. We had not been long at Jama before both Nur-Anne and I became convinced that Fortak's mind was at least slightly deranged from long brooding over the wrongs inflicted upon him by Tall Axtar. Though naturally possessed of a kindly disposition, he was obsessed by a maniacal desire to wreak vengeance upon the tyrant with utter disregard of the consequences to himself and to others. Upon this single subject he was beyond the influence of reason, and having established to his own satisfaction that Nour Ann and I were potential factors in the successful accomplishment

of his design. He would fly into a perfect frenzy of rage whenever I broached the subject of our departure. Fredding as I was beneath the urge to push on to Jihar and the rescue of Sonoma Torah, I could but illy brook this enforced delay. But Fort Tack was adamant. He would not permit me to depart, and the absolute loyalty of his slaves made it possible for him to enforce his will. In our hearing he explained to them that we were guests, honored guests, as long as we made no effort to depart without his permission. But should they discover us in an attempt to leave Jama surreptitiously, they were to destroy us. Nuran and I discussed the matter at length. We had discovered that four thousand hods of difficult

an unfriendly country lay between us and Jahar. Being without a ship and without Thot's, there was little likelihood that we should be able to reach Jihar in time to be of service to Sonoma Torah, if we ever reached it at all. And so we agreed to bide our time, impressing Fortak with our willingness to aid him, in the hope that, eventually,

we should be able to enlist his aid and support. And so successful were we that, within a short time, we had so won the confidence, of the old scientist, that we began to entertain hope that he would take us into his innermost confidence, and reveal the nature of the instrument of destruction which he was preparing for Tall Axtar. I must admit that I was principally interested in his invention because I was confident that in order to utilize it against Tall Axtar, he must find some means of transporting it to Jihar, and in this I saw an opportunity for reaching the capital of the

tyrant myself. We had been in Jama about ten days, during which time Fortak exhibited signs of extreme nervousness and irritability. He kept us with him practically all of the time that he was not closeted in the innermost recesses of his secret laboratory. During the evening meal upon the tenth day, Fortak seemed more distraught than ever. Talking as usual, interminably about his hatred of Tall Axtar, his countenance assumed an expression of maniacal fury.

"'But I am helpless!' he almost screamed at last. "'I am helpless, because there is no one to whom I may entrust my secret, who also has the courage and intelligence to carry out my plan. I am too old, too weak to undergo the hardships that would be nothing to young men like you, but which must be undergone if I am to fulfill my destiny as the savior of Jaha'er. "'If I could but trust you! If I could but trust you!' "'Perhaps you can, Fortak,' I suggested. The words or my tone seemed to soothe him.

"'I-oh!' he exclaimed. "'Sometimes I almost think that I can.' "'We have a common aim,' I said. "'Or at least different aims which converge at the same point, "'jahar. Let us work together then.' We wish to reach Jahar. If you can help us, we will help you. He sat in silent thought for a long moment. "'I'll do it,' he said.

"'Hayo! I'll do it! Come!' And rising from his chair, he led us toward the locked doorway that barred the entrance to his secret laboratory. End of Chapter 9. Chapter 10 of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 10. The Flying Death Fortax Laboratory occupied an entire wing of the building

and consisted of a single immense room, fully 50 feet in height. His benches, tables, instruments, and cabinets, located in one corner, were lost in the great interior. Near the ceiling and encircling the room was a single track from which was suspended a miniature cruising. painted the ghastly blue of Jahar. Upon one of the benches was a cylindrical object about as long as one's hand.

These were the only noticeable features of the laboratory other than its immense emptiness. As Fort Tack us within, he closed the door behind him, and I heard the ominous click of the ponderous lock. There was something depressing in the suggestiveness of the situation, induced, perhaps, by our knowledge that Fort Tack was mad, and accentuated by the eerie mystery of the vasty chamber.

Leading us to the bench upon which lay the cylindrical object which had attracted my attention, he lifted it carefully, almost caressingly, from its resting place. "'This,' he said, "'is a model of the device that will destroy Jahar. In it you behold the concentrated essence of scientific achievement. In appearance it is but a small metal cylinder, but within it is a mechanism as delicate and as sensitive as the human brain, and you will perceive that it functions almost as though animated by a mind within itself,

but it is purely mechanical and may be produced in quantities quickly and at low cost. Before I explain it further, I shall demonstrate one phase of its possibilities. Watch. Still holding the cylinder in his hand, Fort Tack stepped to a shallow cabinet against the wall, and opening it revealed an elaborate equipment of switches, levers, and push buttons. Now watch the miniature flyer suspended from the track near the ceiling, he directed, at the same time closing a switch.

Immediately the flyer commenced to travel along the track at considerable speed. Now Fortak pressed a button upon the top of the cylinder, which immediately sped from his extended palm, turned quickly in the air, and rushed straight for the speeding flyer. Slowly the distance between the two closed. The cylinder, curving gradually into the line of flight of the flyer, was now trailing directly behind it, its pointed nose but a few feet from the stern of the miniature ship. Then Fortak pulled a tiny lever upon his switchboard,

and the flyer leaped forward at accelerated speed. Instantly the speed of the cylinder increased, and I could see that it was gaining in velocity, much more rapidly than the flyer. Halfway around the room again, its nose struck the stern of the fleeing craft with sufficient severity to cause the ship to tremble from stem to stern.

Then the cylinder fell away and floated gently toward the floor. Foretack opened a switch that stopped the flyer in its flight, and then, running forward, caught the descending cylinder in his hand. "'This model,' he explained as he returned to where we stood, is so constructed that when it makes contact with the flyer, it will float gently downward to the floor. But as you have doubtless fully realized ere this,

the finished product in practical use will explode upon contact with the ship. Note these tiny buttons with which it is covered. When any one of these comes in contact with an object, the model stops and descends, whereas the full-sized device, property equipped, will explode, absolutely demolishing whatever it may have come in contact with. As you are aware, every substance in the universe has its own fixed vibratory rate. This mechanism can be so attuned as to be attracted by the vibratory rate of any substance.

The model, for example, is attracted by the blue protective paint with which the flyer is covered. Imagine a fleet of Jiharian warships moving majestically through the air in battle formation. from an enemy ship or from the ground and at a distance so far as to be unobservable by the ships of Jahar, I release as many of these devices as there are ships in the fleet, allowing a few moments to elapse between launchings. The first torpedo rushes toward the fleet and destroys the nearest ship. All the torpedoes in the rear, strung out in line, are attracted by the combined masses of all the blue protecting coverings of the entire fleet. The first ship is falling to the ground, and though all of its paint may not have been destroyed, it has not the power to deflect any of the succeeding torpedoes, which, one by one,

destroy the nearest of the remaining ships, until the fleet has been absolutely erased. I have destroyed a great fleet without risking the life of a single man of my own following. But they will see the torpedoes coming, suggested Nour Anne, and they will devise some defense. Even gunfire might stop many of them. "'Hayo! But I have thought of that!' cackled for attack. He laid the torpedo upon a bench and opened another cabinet. In this cabinet were a number of receptacles, some tightly sealed and others opened,

revealing their contents which appeared to be different colored paints. From a number of these receptacles protruded the handles of paintbrushes. One such handle, however, appeared to hang in mid-air, a few inches above one of the shelves, while just beneath it was a section of the rim of a receptacle that also appeared to be resting upon nothing. Fortack placed his open hand directly beneath his floating rim, and when he removed his hand from the cabinet,

the rim of the receptacle and the portion of the handle of the paintbrush, floating just above it, followed, hovering just over his extended fingers, which were cupped in the position that they might assume were they holding a glass jar, such as would ordinarily have belonged to a rim like that, which I could see floating about an inch above his fingers. Going to the bench where he had laid the cylinder, Fortac went through the motions of setting a jar upon it,

and though there was no jar visible other than the floating rim, I distinctly heard a noise that was identical with the sound which the bottom of a glass jar would have made in coming in contact with the bench. I can assure you that I was greatly mystified, but still more so by the events immediately following. Fort Tack seized the handle of the paintbrush and made a pass a few inches above the metal torpedo. Instantly, a portion of the torpedo,

about an inch wide and three or four inches long, disappeared. Pass after pass he made, until finally the whole surface of the torpedo had disappeared. Where it had rested, the bench was empty. Fort Tack returned the handle of the paintbrush to his floating position just above the floating jar-rim. And then he turned to us with an expression of childlike pride upon his face, as much to say,

Well, what do you think of that? Am I not wonderful? And I was certainly forced to concede that it was wonderful, and that I was entirely baffled and mystified by what I had seen. "'There, Nuran!' exclaimed Fort Tack. "'Is the answer to your criticism of the flying death?' "'I do not understand.' said Nur-Anne with a puzzled expression upon his face.

"'Hio!' cried Fortak. "'Have you not see me rendered the device invisible?' "'But it is gone,' said Nuran. Fortak laughed his high, cackling laugh. "'It is still there!' he said. "'But you cannot see it. Here!' And he took Nuran's hand and guided it toward the spot where the device had been. I could see Nuran's fingers apparently feeling over the surface of something several

inches above the top of the table. By my first ancestor, it is still there, he exclaimed. It is wonderful, I exclaimed. You did not even touch it. You merely made passes above it with the handle of a paintbrush and it disappeared. But I did touch it, insisted Fortak. The brush was there, but you did not see it, because it was covered by the substance which renders the flying death invisible.

Note this transparent glass receptacle in which I keep the compound of invisibility, and all that you can see of it is that part of the rim, which, by chance, has not been coated with the compound. "'Marvellous,' I exclaimed. "'Even now, although I've witnessed it with my own eyes, I can scarcely conceive of the possibility of such a miracle.' "'It is no miracle,' said Fortak. "'It is merely the application of scientific principles, well known to the

me for hundreds of years. Nothing moves in straight lines. Light, vision, electromagnetic forces followed lines that curve. The compound of invisibility merely bows outward the reflected light, which, entering our eyes and impinging upon our optic nerves, results in the phenomenon which we call vision, so that they pass around any object which is coated with the compound. When I first started to apply the compound to the flying death, your line of vision was deflected, around the small portion so coated. But when I coated the entire surface of the torpedo, the curve of your vision passed completely around it on both sides,

so that you could plainly see the bench upon which it was resting precisely as though the device had not been there. I was astounded at the apparent simplicity of the explanation, and naturally, being a soldier, I saw the tremendous advantage that the possession of these two scientific secrets would impart to the nation which controlled them. For the safety, yes, for the very existence of Helium, I must possess them, and if that were impossible, then Fortak must be destroyed before the secret of this infernal power could

be passed on to any other nation. Perhaps I could so ingratiate myself with old Fortak as to be able to persuade him to turn these secrets over to Helium in return for Helium's assistance in the work of wreaking his vengeance upon Tal-Axtar. "'Fortak,' I said, "'you hold here within your grasp two secrets, "'which in the hands of a kindly and beneficent power "'would bring eternal peace to Barsoom. "'Hi, oh!' he cried,

"'I do not want peace! "'I want war! War! War!' "'Very well,' I agreed, "'realizing that my suggestion had not been in line "'with the mad processes of his crazed brain. "'Let us have war, then. and what country upon Barsoom is better equipped to wage war than Helium? If you want war, form an alliance with helium.

I do not need helium, he cried. I do not need to form alliances. I shall make war. I shall make war alone. With the invisible flying death, I can destroy whole navies, whole cities, entire nations. I shall start with Jahar. Tall Axtar shall be the first to feel the weight of my devastating power. When the fleet of Jihar has tumbled upon the roofs of Jihar and the walls of Jihar have fallen

about the ears of Toulax-Star, then I shall destroy Janath. Helium shall know me next. Proud and mighty Helium shall tremble and bow at the feet of Fortak. I shall be the Jeddak of Jeddak's, ruler of a world. As he spoke, his voice rose to a piercing shriek, and he trembled in the grip of the frenzy that held him. He must be destroyed, not alone for the sake of helium, but for the sake of all Barsoom. This mad mind must be removed if I found that it was impossible to direct or cajol it to my own ends. I determined, however, to omit no sacrifice that might tend to bring about a satisfactory conclusion

to this strange adventure. I knew that mad minds were sometimes fickle minds, and I hope that in a moment of insane caprice four-tac might reveal to me the secret of the flying death and the compound of invisibility. This hope was his temporary reprieve from death. Its fulfillment would be his pardon, but I knew that I must work warily, that at the slightest suggestion of duplicity, Fort-Tac suspicions would be aroused, and that I should then be the one to be destroyed. I tossed long upon my sleeping silks and furs that night in trouble thought and planning.

I felt that I must possess these secrets, yet how? That they existed within his brain alone, I knew, for he had told me that there were no written formulas or plans or specifications for either of them. Somehow I must wheedle them out of him, and the best way to start was to ingratiate myself with him. To this end I must further his plans insofar as I possibly could. Just before I fell asleep, my thoughts reverted to the same. to Sonoma Torah, and to the urgent mission that had led me to enter upon what had developed

into the strangest adventure of my career. I felt a twinge of self-reproach as I suddenly realized that Sonoma Torah had not been uppermost in my mind while I had lain there making plans for the future. But now with recollection of her a plan was suggested whereby I might not only succor her, but also advanced myself in the good graces of Fortak at the same time, and thus relieved I fell asleep. It was late the following morning before I had an opportunity to speak with the old inventor, when I immediately broached the subject that was uppermost in my mind.

"'Fortak,' I said, "'you are handicapped by lack of knowledge of conditions existing in Jihar and the size and location of the fleet. Nour Ann and I will go to Jahar for you and obtain the information that you must have if your plans are to be successful.' In this way, Nour Anne and I will be, also be striking a blow at Tallax-Star, while we will be in a position to attend to those matters which require our presence in Jahar.

"'But how will you get to Jahar?' demanded Fortak. "'Could not you let us take a flyer?' I asked. "'I have none,' replied Fortak. "'I know nothing about them. I am not interested in them. I could not even build one.' To say that I was both surprised and shocked we'd be putting it mildly. But if I had previously entertained any doubts that Fortak's brain was abnormally developed, it would have vanished with his admission that he knew nothing about flyers, for it seemed to me that there was scarcely a man, woman, or child in any of the flying

nations of Barsoom, but could have constructed some sort of a flyer. But how without flyers did you expect to transport the flying death to the vicinity of the Jaharian fleet? How did you expect to demolish the palace of Talakstar? or reduce the city of Jihar to ruins. Now that you and Nuran are here to help me, I can set my slaves to work under you and easily turn out a dozen torpedoes a day. As these are completed, they will immediately be launched,

and eventually they will find their way to Jahar and the fleet. Of that there is no doubt. Even if it takes a year, they will eventually find their prey. If nothing chances to get in their way, I suggested, But even so, what pleasure will you derive from your revenge if you are unable to witness any part of it? "'Hayo! I have thought of that,' replied Fortak. "'But one may not have everything.'

"'You may have that,' I told him. "'And how?' "'By taking your torpedoes aboard a ship and flying to Jahar,' I replied. "'No,' he exclaimed stubbornly. "'I shall do it my own way. "'What right have you to interfere with my plans?' "'I merely want to help you,' I said, attempting to mollify him by a conciliatory tone and attitude. "'And there is another thought,' said Nuran,

"'that suggests that it might be expedient to follow Hadron's plans.' "'You are both against me,' said Fortak. "'By no means,' Nuran assured him. "'It is our keen desire to aid you that prompts the suggestion.' "'Well, what is yours, then?' asked the old man. "'Your plan contemplates the destruction of the navies of Janath and Helium following the fall of Jihar,' exclaimed Nuran. "'This, at least, in respect to the Navy of Helium,

you cannot possibly hope to accomplish at so great a distance and without any knowledge of the number of ships to be destroyed. Nor will your torpedoes be similarly attracted to them as they are to the ships of Jihar, because the ships of these other nations are not protected by the blue paint of Jahar. It will therefore be necessary for you to proceed to the vicinity of Janath and later to Helium, and for your own protection you will use the blue pane of Jahar upon your ship, for you may never be certain unless you were on the ground at the time

that you have destroyed all of the Navy of Jahar or all of their disintegrating ray rifles. That is true, said Fort Tack thoughtfully. And furthermore, continue Nur-Anne, if you dispatch more than the necessary number of torpedoes, those that remain at large will certainly be attracted by the blue paint of your own ship, and you will be destroyed by your own devices. You ruin all my plans, screamed Fort Tack. Why did you think of this? If I had not thought of it, you would have been destroyed, Nur-Anne reminded him.

Well, what am I to do about it? I have no ship. I cannot build a ship. We can get you one, I said. How? The conversation between Nur and Fort Tack had suggested a plan to me, and this I now explain roughly to them. Nour Anne was enthusiastic over the idea,

but Fortak was not particularly keen for it. I could not understand the grounds for his objection, nor, as a matter of fact, did they interest me greatly, since he finally admitted that he would be compelled to act in accordance with my suggestion. Immediately adjacent to Fortex Laboratory was a well-equipped machine shop, and here Nour Ann and I labored for weeks utilizing the services of a dozen slaves, until we had succeeded in constructing what I am sure was the most remarkable-looking airship that it had ever fallen to my lot to behold.

Briefly, it was a cylinder pointed at each end, and closely resembled the model of the flying death. Within the outer shell was another smaller cylinder. Between the walls of these two we placed the buoyancy tanks. The tanks and the sides of the two envelopes were pierced by observation ports along each side of the ship and at the bow and stern. These ports could be completely covered by shutters hinged upon the outside, but operated from within.

There were two hatchways in the keel, and two above which led to a narrow walkway along the top. top of the cylinder. In turrets, forward and aft, were mounted two disintegrating ray rifles. Above the controls was a periscope that transmitted an image of all that came within its range to a ground-glass plate in front of the pilot. The entire outside of the ship was first painted the ghastly blue that would protect it from the disintegrating ray rifles of Jihar, while over this was spread a coating of the compound of invisibility. The shutters that covered the ports being similarly coded, the ship could attain practically total invisibility by closing them,

the only point remaining visible being the tiny eye of the periscope. Not possessing the sufficient technical knowledge to enable me to build one of the new type motors, I had to content myself with one of the old types of much less efficiency. At last the work was done. We had a ship that would accommodate four with ease, and it was uncanny to realize this fact, and yet at the same time be unable to see anything but the tiny eye of the periscope when the covers were lowered over the ports. And even the eye of the periscope was invisible,

unless it was turned in the direction of the observer. As the work neared completion, I had noticed that Fort Tack's manner became more marked by nervousness and irritability. He found fault with everything, and on several occasions he almost stopped the work upon the ship. Now at last we were ready to be. to sail. The ship was stocked with ammunition, water, and provisions, and at the last minute I installed a destination control compass, for which I was afterward to be devoutly thankful.

When I suggested immediate departure, however, Fort Tack demurred, but would it give me no reason for his objection. Presently, however, I lost patience, and told the old man that we were going anyway whether he liked it or not. He did not fly into a rage as I had. He had not. He did not fly into a rage as I had expected, but laughed instead. And there was something in the laugh that seemed more terrible than anger. "'You think that I am a fool,' he said, and that I will let you go and carry my secrets to Toll Axtar. But you are mistaken.' "'So are you,' I snapped. "'You are mistaken in thinking that we would betray you, and you are also mistaken in thinking that you can prevent our departure.'

"'Hyo!' he cackled. "'I do not need to prevent your departure.' but I can prevent your arrival at Jahar or elsewhere. I have not been idle while you worked upon this ship. I have constructed a full-size flying death. It is attuned to search out this ship. If you depart against my wishes, it will follow and destroy you. Hey, what do you think of that?

I think that you are an old fool, I cried in exasperation. You have the opportunity to enlist you. the loyal aid of two honorable warriors, and yet you choose to turn them into enemies. Enemies who cannot harm me, he reminded me, I hold your lives in the hollow of my hand. Well, have you concealed your thoughts from me, but not quite well enough. I have read enough of them to know that you think me mad, and I have also received the impression that you would stop at nothing to prevent me from using my power against helium. I have no doubt but that you will help me against Jahar, and against Janath too, perhaps.

But Helium, the mightiest and proudest empire of Barsoom, is my real goal. Helium shall proclaim me Jeddak of Jeddaks if I have to wreck a world to accomplish my design. Then all our work has been for nothing? I demanded. We are not going to use the ship we have constructed. We may use it, he said, but under my... terms. And what are they? I asked. You may go alone to Jhaar, but I shall keep Nuran here as hostage.

If you betray me, he dies. There was no moving him. No amount of argument could alter his determination. I tried to convince him that one man could accomplish little, that in fact he might not be able to accomplish anything, but he was adamant. I should go alone or not at all. End of Chapter 10. Later they... Chapter 11

of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 11. Let the fire be hot. As I rose that night into the starlit splendor of a Barsoomian night, the white castle of Fort Tack lay a lovely jewellery. gem below me bathed in the soft light of Thuria. I was alone. Nuran remained behind the hostage of the mad scientist. Because of him I must return to Jama. Nuran had exacted no promise

from me, but he knew that I would return. Twenty-five hundred hods to the east lay Jahar and Sonoma Torah. Fifteen hundred hods to the southwest were Chaneth and Tavia. I turned the nose of my flyer toward the goal of my duty, toward the woman I loved, and, with throttle wide, my invisible craft sped toward distant Jahar. But my thoughts I could not control. Despite my every effort to keep them concentrated upon the purpose of my adventure, they persisted in wandering to a prison tower, to a tasseled head of a refractory hair, to a rounded shoulder that had once pressed mine. I shook myself to be rid of the vision as I spent. bed through the night. But it constantly returned, and in its wake came harrowing thoughts of the

fate that might have overtaken Tavia during my absence. I set my destination control compass upon Jahar, the exact position of which I had obtained from four tack, and thus relieved of the necessity of constantly remaining at the controls. I busied myself about the interior of the ship. I looked to the ammunition of the disintegrating ray rifles and rearranged it to suit my own ideas. Fortec had equipped me with three types of rays. One would disintegrate metal, another would disintegrate wood, and the third would disintegrate human flesh. I had also brought along something which Fort Tack had refused me when I had asked him for it. I pressed the pocket pouch in which I had placed it to make sure that I still had the vial, the contents of which I imagined

might prove of inestimable value to me. I raised all the port shutters and adjusted the ventilators, for at best the interior of this strange ship seemed close and stuffy, to one who was accustomed to the open deck of the fast scout-flyers of helium. Then I spread my sleeping silks and furs and settled myself down to rest, knowing that when I arrived at Jahar, my destination control compass would stop the ship, and an alarm would awaken me if I slept,

but sleep would not come. I thought of Sonoma Torah. I visualized her cold and stately beauty, but always her haughty eyes dissolved into the eyes of Tavia, sparkling with the joy of life, soft with the light of friendship. I was far from Jama, when at last I sprang determinedly for my sleeping silks and furs, and going to the controls, I cut off the destination control compass, and with a single swift turn swung the nose of the fire

toward Jonathan. The die was cast. I felt that I should experience remorse and self-loathing, but I experienced neither. I joyed in the thought that I was rushing to the service of a friend, and I knew in the most innermost recesses of my heart that of the two, Tavia had more claim upon my friendship than had Sonoma Torah, from whom I had received at best only scant courtesy. I did not again try to sleep. I did not feel like sleeping. Instead, I remained at the controls and watched the desolate landscape as it rushed forward to pass beneath me. With the coming of dawn I saw Janeth directly ahead of me, and as I approached the city, it was difficult for me to realize that I could do so with utter impunity, and that my ship

with its closed ports was entirely invisible. Moving slowly now, I circled above the palace of Hage Osses. Those portions of the palace that were topped by flat roofs revealed sleepy guardsmen. At the main hangar a single guardsman watched. I floated above the east tower. Beneath me, cuddled in her sleeping silks and furs, I could picture Tavia. How surprised she would be could she know that I hovered thus close above her. Dropping lower, I circled the tower, coming to a stop finally, opposite.

the windows of the room in which Tavia had been confined. I maneuvered the ship to bring one of the ports opposite the window, and close enough to give me a view of the interior of the room. But though I remained there for some time, I could see no one, and at last I became convinced that Tavia had been removed to other quarters. I was disappointed, for this must necessarily greatly complicate my plans for rescue. I had foreseen but little difficulty in transferring Tavia by night through the tower window to the flyer. Now I must make my plans all anew.

Everything hinged, of course, upon my ability to locate Tavia. To do that, it was evident that I must enter the palace. The moment that I quitted the invisibility of my flyer, I should be menaced by the greatest danger at every turn, and clothed as I was in homemade harness fashioned by the hands of the slaves of Fortack, I should arouse the active suspicion of the first person who laid eyes upon me. I must enter the palace, and to do it in any degree of safety I must have a disguise. All my ports were now closed, the periscope being my only eye.

I turned it slowly about as I tried to plan some method of procedure that might have within it some tiny seed of success. As the panorama slowly unfolded itself upon the ground-glass before me, there appeared the main palace hangar and the single warrior upon watch. Here my periscope came to rest, for here was an entrance to the palace, and here a disguise. Slowly maneuvering my ship in the direction of the hangar, I brought it down upon the roof of that structure.

I should have been glad to moor it, but here there were no means at hand. I must depend upon its own weight, and hope that no high wind would rise. Realizing that the instant that I emerged from the interior of the flyer I should be entirely visible, I waited, watching through my periscope until the warrior upon the roof just below me turned his back.

Then I emerged quickly from the ship through one of the upper hatches and dropped to the roof upon the side closest to the warrior. I was about four feet from the edge of the roof, roof, and he was standing almost below me, his back toward me. Should he turn, he would discover me instantly and would give an alarm before I could be upon him. My only hope of success, therefore, was to silence him before he realized that he was menaced. I have learned from the experiences of John Carter that first thoughts are often inspirations, while sober afterthought may lead to failure, or so delay action as to nullify all its effect.

Therefore, in this instance, I acted upon inspiration. I did not hesitate. I stepped quickly to the edge of the roof and hurled myself straight at the broad shoulders of the sentry. In my hand was a slim dagger. The end came quickly. I think the poor fellow never knew what happened to him. Dragging his body to the interior of the hangar,

I stripped the harness from it. At the same time, though almost mechanically, I noted the ships within the hangar. With the exception of one, a patrol boat, they all bore the personal insignia of the jet of Janath. They were the king's ships, an ornate cruiser heavily armed, two smaller pleasure crafts, a two-man scout-flyer and a one-man scout-flyer. They were not much, of course, by comparison with the ships of helium, but I was quite sure

that they were absolutely the best that Janath could afford. However, having my own ship, I was not a very much of a ship. particularly concerned with these, other than that I am always interested in ships of all descriptions. Not far from where I stood was the entrance to a ramp leading down into the palace. Realizing that only through boldness might I succeed, I walked directly to the ramp and entered it. As I rounded the first turn, I was appalled to see that the ramp passed directly through a guardroom. Upon the floor, fully a score of warriors were stretched upon their sleeping silks and I did not dare to pause. I must keep on. Perhaps I could pass them without arousing their curiosity.

I had had but a brief glimpse of the room before I entered it, and in that glimpse I had seen only men apparently wrapped in sleep, and an instant later, as I emerged into the room itself, I saw that it contained only those whom I had first seen. No one within it was awake, but I heard voices in an adjoining room. Hurrying quickly across the apartment, I entered the ramp upon the opposite side. I think my heart had stood still as I strode silently across that room among those sleeping men,

for had a single one of them awakened, he would have inevitably known that I was no fellow member of the guard. Farther down within the palace itself, I should be in less danger, for so great as the number of retainers in the palace of Ajad that no one may know them all by sight. So that strange and unfamiliar faces are almost as customary as they are upon the avenues of a city.

My plan was to try to reach the tower room in which Tavia had been confined, for I was positive that, from my position in the flyer, I could not see the entire interior, and it was just possible that Tavia was there. Owing to my position in the flyer, Owing to the construction of my ship, I had been unable to attract her attention

without raising a hatch and taking the chance of revealing my presence, which would have, I felt, jeopardized tavia's chances for escape far too greatly to warrant my doing so. Perhaps I should have waited until night. Perhaps I was over-anxious, and in my zeal might be running far greater risks than were necessary. I thought of these things now, and perhaps I abraded myself, but I had gone too far now to retreat.

I was properly in for it whatever might follow. As I followed the ramp down to different levels, I tried to discover some familiar landmark that might lead me to the East Tower, and as I emerged into a corridor at one of the levels, I saw almost directly in front of me a door which I instantly recognized. It was the door to the office of Yosino, the keeper of the Keys. "'Good,' I thought. Fate certainly has led me here.

Crossing to the door I opened it and stepped quickly within the room, closing the door behind me. Yosina was sitting at his desk. He was alone. He did not look up. He was one of those arrogant men, a small man with a little authority, who liked to impress his importance upon all inferiors. Therefore, doubtless, it was his way to ignore his visitors for a moment or too. This time he made a mistake. After quietly locking the door behind me, I crossed to the door at the opposite end of the room

and bolted it, too. It was then that, doubtless, compelled by curiosity, Yosino looked up. At first, he did not recognize me. What do you want? He demanded gruffly. You, Yosino, I said. He looked at me steadily for a moment with growing astonishment. Then, with his eyes,

wide, he leaped to his feet. You! He screamed, By Isis, no! You are dead! I have returned from the grave, Yosino. I have come back to haunt you, I said. What do you want?

He demanded. Stand aside. You are under arrest. Where is Tavia? I asked. How do I know? He demanded. You are keeper of the keys, Yosino.

Who should know better than you where the prisoners are? "'Well, what if I do know? I shall not tell,' he said. "'You shall tell Yosino, or you shall die,' I warned him. He had walked from behind his desk and was standing not far from me, when, without warning and with far greater salarity than I gave him credit for possessing, he snatched his long sword from its scabbard and was upon me. I was forced to jump backward quickly to avoid his first cut, but when he swung the second time my own sword was out and I was on my guard.

Yosino proved himself no mean antagonist. He was clever with the sword and he knew that he was fighting for his life. I wondered at first why he did not call for help, and then I came to the conclusion that it was because there were no warriors in the adjoining room, as there had been upon my previous visit to Yosino's quarters. We fought in silence, only the din of metal upon men. reflecting the deadliness of the combat. I was in a hurry to be done with him, and I was pressing him closely when he resorted to a trick

which came near to proving my undoing. I had backed him up against his desk and thought that I had him where he could not escape. I could not see his left hand behind him, nor the heavy vase for which it was groping, but an instant later I saw the thing flying straight at my head, and I also saw the opening which Yosino made in the instant that he had cast the missile, for so occupied was he with his aim that he let his point drop. Stooping beneath the vase, I sprang into close quarters, driving my sword through the heart of Yosino. As I wiped the blood from my blade upon the hair of my victim, I could not repress a feeling of elation that it had been my hand that had cut down

the seducer of Fayo, and in some measure avenge the honor of my friend, Nour Ann. Now, however, was no time for meditation. I heard footsteps approaching in the corridor without, and hastily seizing the harness of the corpse, I dragged it toward the panel which hid the entrance to the secret corridor that led to the room in the east tower, that familiar corridor where I had passed happy moments alone with Tavia. With more haste than reverence,

I dumped the corpse of Yosino into the dark interior, and then, closing the panel after me, I groped my way through the darkness toward the tower room, my heart high with the hope that I might find Tavia still there. As I approached the panel at the tower end of the corridor, I could feel my heart beating rapidly, a sensation to which I was unaccustomed and which I could not explain. I was positive that I was an excellent physical condition,

and while it is not at all unusual that surprise or imminent danger causes the heart of some men to palpitate, even though they may be endowed with exceptional courage, yet for my part I had never experienced such a sensation, and I must admit that I was deeply mystified. The anticipation of seeing Tavia again soon caused me to forget the unpleasant sensation, and as I stopped behind the panel my whole mind was occupied with pleasurable consideration of what I hoped awaited me beyond.

The longed-for reunion with this best of friends. I was on the point of springing the catch and opening the panel, when my attention was attracted by voices from the room beyond. I heard a man's voice and that of a woman, but I could understand no words. Cautiously, I opened the panel sufficiently to permit me to view the interior of the apartment. The scene that met my gaze sent the hot fighting blood surging through my frame. In the center of the room, a young warrior in rich trappings had Tavia in his grasp and was dragging her across the room toward the doorway.

Tavia struggled, striking at him. "'Don't be a fool,' snarled the man. "'Hajosis has given you to me. You will lead a better life as my slave than most free women live.' "'I prefer prison or death,' replied Tavia. Faya was standing helplessly at one side, her eyes filled with compassion for Tavia. It was obvious that she could do nothing to defend her friend,

for the trappings of the warrior proclaimed him of high rank, but just what that rank was I did not discern at the time, for I was not interested. In a bound I was in the center of the room, and seizing the warrior roughly by the shoulder, I hurled him backward so heavily that he fell sprawling to the floor. I heard gasps of astonishment from both Fayo and Tavia, and my name breathed in the soft accents of the latter.

As I drew my sword, the warrior scrambled to his feet, but did not draw. "'Fool! Idiot! Nave!' he shrieked. "'Do you not realize what you have done? Do you not know who I am?' "'In a moment it will be who you were,' I told him in a low voice. "'On guard.' "'No,' he cried, backing away. "'You wear the harness in the middle of a warrior of the guard.

"'You cannot dare draw your sword against the son of Hatch Ozas. "'Back, fellow, I am Prince Hage Alt.' "'I could pray to Isis that you might be Hadjosis himself,' I replied. "'But at least there will be some recompense in the knowledge that I have destroyed his spawn. "'On guard, you fool, unless you wish to die like a Sorak!' He was still backing away, and now he looked about him with every evidence of terror written upon his weak countenance. He espied the panel door that I had inadvertently left open,

and before I could prevent, he had darted through and closed it behind him. I leaped in pursuit, but the lock had clicked, and I did not know where to find the mechanism to release it. "'Quick, fail!' I cried. "'You know the secret of the panel? Open it for me. We must not permit this fellow to escape, or he will sound the alarm, and we shall all be lost.' Fail ran quickly to my side and placed her thumb upon a button cleverly hidden in the ornate carving of the wooden paneling that covered the wall.

I waited in breathless expectancy, but the panel did not open. Fayao pushed frantically again and again, and then she turned to me with a gesture of helplessness and defeat. "'He has tampered with a lock upon the other side,' she said. "'He is a clever rogue, and he would have thought of that.' "'We must follow,' I said. And raising my longsword, I struck the panel a heavy blow that would have shattered much thicker planking, but I only made a scratch upon it, tearing away a little

piece scarce thicker than a fingernail. But the scar that I had made revealed the harrowing truth. The panel was constructed of Ferrandus, the hardest and lightest metal known to Barsoomians. I turned away. It is useless, I said, to attempt to pierce Forandus with cold steel. Tavy had crossed to us and was standing in silence, looking up into my face. Her eyes were bathed with unshed tears, and I saw her lips tremble. Hadron, she breathed. You have come back from the dead. Oh, why did you come?

For this time they will make no mistake. You know why I came, Tavia, I told her. Tell me, she said very soft and low. For friendship, Tavia, I replied. For the best friend that a man ever had. At first she seemed surprised, and then an odd little smile curved her lips. I would rather have the friendship of Hadron of Hastor, she said, than any other gift the world

might give me. It was a nice thing for her to say, and I certainly appreciated it, but I did not understand that little smile. However, I had no time then in which to solve riddles. The problem of our safety was the all-important question, and then it was that I thought of the vial in my pocket-pouch. I looked quickly about the room. In one corner I spied a pile of sleeping silks and furs.

Something there might answer my purpose. The contents of the vial might yet give us all freedom if I had but time enough. I ran quickly across the room and searched rapidly until I found three pieces of fabric that were at least better suited to my purpose than any of the others. I opened the pocket pouch to withdraw the vial, and at the same instant I heard the pounding of running feet and the clank and clatter of arms. Too late. They were already at the door. I closed my pocket pouch and waited. At first it was in my mind to take them on in combat as they entered, but I put that idea aside as worse than useless,

since it could result in nothing but my death, whereas time might conjure an opportunity to use the contents of the vial. The door swung open. Fully fifty warriors were revealed in the corridor without. A padwar of the guard entered, followed by his men. men. "'Surrender,' he commanded. "'I have not drawn,' I replied. "'Come and take it.' "'You admit that you are the warrior who attacked the prince Hage Alt?' he demanded. "'I do,' I replied.

"'What have these women to do with it? "'Nothing. I do not know them.' "'I followed Hajalt here because I thought that it would give me the opportunity that I have long sought to kill him. "'Why did you want to kill him?' demanded the Padua. What grievance have you against the prince? None, I replied.

I am a professional assassin, and I was hired by others. Who are they? he demanded. I laughed at him, for I knew that he knew better than to ask a professional assassin of Barsoom such a question as that. The members of this ancient fraternity are guided by a code of ethics, which they scrupulously observe, and seldom, if ever, can anything persuade? or force one of their number to divulge the name of his principle. I saw Tavie's eyes upon me, and it seemed to me that there was a little questioning expression

in them, but I knew that she must know that I was lying, thus to protect her and fail. I was hustled from the chamber, and as I was being conducted along the corridors and down the ramps of the palace, the Padwar questioned me in an endeavor to learn my true identity. I was greatly relieved to discover that they did not recognize me, and I hoped that I might continue to escape recognition, not that it would make any difference in my fate, for I realized that the diarist would be inflicted upon one who had attempted to assassinate the prince of the House of Hage-Osses. But I was afraid that, were I to be recognized, they might accuse Tavia of complicity in the attack upon Hage-Alt, and that she would be made to suffer accordingly.

Recently, I found myself in the pits again, and by chance in the very cell that Nuran and I had occupied. I experienced almost the sensations of a homecoming, but with variations. Once again I was alone, fettered to a stone wall. My only hope, the vile which they had overlooked, and which still reposed at the bottom of my pocket-pouch. But this was no time or place to use its contents, nor had I the requisite materials at hand even had I been unfettered. I was not long in the pits this time before warriors came,

and, unlocking my fetters, conducted me to the great throne-room of the palace, where Hage Osses sat upon his dais, surrounded by the high officers and functionaries of his army and his court. Hage Alt, the prince, was there, and when he saw me being led up toward the throne, he trembled with rage. As I was halted in front of the jed, he turned to his son. "'Is this the warrior who attacked you, Hajjalt?' he asked. "'This is the scoundrel,' replied the younger man. "'He took me by surprise, and would have stabbed me in the back had I not managed to outwit him.' "'He drew his sword against you,' demanded Hajosus, against the person of a prince.

"'He did, and he would have killed me with it, too, as he did kill Yosino, whose corpse I found in the corridor that leads from Yosino's office to the tower. So they had found the body of Yosino. Well, they would not kill me any debtor for that crime than for menacing the life of the prince. At this juncture, an officer entered the throne room, rather hurriedly. He was breathing rapidly as he stopped at the foot of the throne. He was standing right beside me, and I saw him turn and look quickly at me, his eyes running rapidly up and down me between head and feet.

Then he addressed the man upon the throne. Hajosus, Jed of Chaneth, he said, I came quickly to tell you that the body of a warrior of the hangar-guard was just found within the Jed's hangar. His harness had been stripped from him and his weapons, while strange harness and strange weapons were left beside his corpse. And as I approached your throne, Hage-Osses, I recognized the harness of my dead warrior upon the bowels.

body of this man here. And he pointed an accusing finger at me. Hadjosis was scrutinizing me very carefully now. There was a strange look in his eyes that I did not like. It betoken half-recognition, and then of a sudden I saw the dawning of full recognition there, and the jet of Janath swore a loud oath that resounded through the great throne-room. "'Breath of Isis!' he shouted. "'Look at him! Do you not know him? He is the spy from Jahar who called himself Hadron of Hastor. He died the death. With my own eyes I saw him, and yet he is back here in my palace murdering my people and threatening my son.

But this time he shall die. Hadjosis had arisen from his throne, and with upraised hands that seemed to claw the air above me, he appeared like some hideous corful pronouncing a curse upon its victim. But first we shall know who sent him there. He did not come of his own volition to kill me and my son. Behind him is some malignant mind that yearns to destroy the Jed of Chaneth and his family. Burn him slowly, but do not let him die until he has divulged the name. Away with him.

Let the fire be hot, but slow. End of Chapter 11. Chapter 12. of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 12 The Cloak of Invisibility

As Hageosis, Jed of Chenet pronounced sentence of death upon me, I knew that whatever I might do to save myself must be done at once. For the instant that the guards laid hold upon me again, my final hope would have vanished, for it was evident that the torture and the death would take place immediately.

The warriors forming the guard that had escorted me from the pits were lined up several paces behind me. The dais upon which Hage Osses stood was raised but a little over three feet above the floor of the throne room. Between me and the Jed of Chaneth, there was no one, for as he had sentenced me, he had advanced from his throne to the very edge of the platform. The action that I took was not delayed as long as it has taken me

to tell it. Had it been, it could never have been taken, for the guards would have been upon me. Instantly the last word fell from his mouth, my plan was formulated, and in that instant I leapt cat-like to the dais, full upon Hageosa's Jed of Chanath. So sudden, so unexpected was my attack that there was no defense. I seized him by the throat with one hand, and with the other I snatched his dagger from its sheath, and raising it above him, I shouted my word warning in a voice that all might hear. Stand back, or Hajosus dies, I cried. They had started to rush me, but as the full import of my threat came home to them,

they halted. It is my life or yours, Hajosus, I said, unless you do what I tell you to do. What? he asked, his face black with terror. Is there an ante-room behind the throne? I asked. Yes, he replied. What of it? "'Take me there alone,' I said. "'Command your people to stand aside.' "'And let you kill me when you get me there?' he demanded trembling.

"'I shall kill you now if you do not,' I replied. "'Listen, Hachosus, I did not come here to kill you or your son. What I told the Padwar of the Guard was a lie. I came for another purpose, far transcending in importance to me than the life of Hageosis or that of his son. Do as I tell you, and I promise that I shall not kill you. Tell your people that we are going into the ante-room, and that I promise not to harm you if we are left alone there for five zats. About fifteen minutes. He hesitated. Make haste, I said. I have no time to waste. And I let the point of his own dagger touch his throat. Don't, he screamed, shrinking back. I will do whatever you say. Stand back.

"'Stand back, all of you!' he shouted to his people. "'I am going into the ante-room with this warrior, and I command you upon pain of death not to enter there for five zats. At the end of that time come, but not before!' I took a firm hold upon Hage Osa's harness between his shoulders, and I kept the point of his dagger pressed against the flesh beneath his left shoulder-blade as I followed him toward the ante-room. while those who had crowded the dais behind the throne fell back to make an aisle for us.

At the doorway I halted and turned toward them. Remember, I said, Five full zats and not a towel before! Entering the ante-room, I closed and bolted the door, and then, still forcing Hajosus ahead of me, I crossed the room and closed and bolted the only other door to the chamber. Then I pushed the jed to one side of the room. "'Lie down here upon your face,' I said.

"'You promise not to kill me,' he wailed. "'I shall not kill you unless they come before the five zats are up, and you do otherwise than as I bid you so as not to delay me. I am going to bind you, but it will not hurt you.' With poor grace he lay down upon his belly, and with his own harness I strapped his arms together behind his back. Then I blindfolded him and left him lying there. As I had first entered the room, I had taken in its contents with a single, quick glance,

and I had seen there precisely the things that I most needed, and now that I had disposed of Hage-Osses, I crossed quickly to one of the windows and tore down a part of the silk hangings that covered it. It was a full length of fine, light silk, and very wide, since it had been intended to hang in graceful foals as an underdrape with heavier hangings. At the ornate desks where the Jet of Chanth signed his decree, I went to work. First I took the vial from my pocket pouch and unstoppered it. Then I watered the silk into a ball, and because of its wonderful fineness, I could compress it within

my two hands. Fastening the ball of silk into a loosely compressed mass with strips torn from another hanging, I slowly poured the contents of the vial over it, turning the ball with the point of Hage Oss's dagger. Remembering Fortak's warning, I was careful not to let any of the contents of the vial come in contact with my flesh, and I could readily see why one had to be careful, as I watched the ball of silk disappear before my eyes. Knowing that the compound of invisibility would dry almost as rapidly as it impregnated the silk, I waited only a brief instant after emptying about half the contents of the vial upon the ball. Then groping with my fingers, I found the strings that held it into its roughly spherical

shape and cut them, after which I shook the silk out as best I could. For the most part, it was invisible, but there were one or two spots that the compound had not reached. These I quickly daubed with some of the liquid remaining in the vial, which I now restoppered and replaced in my pocket pouch. So much dependent upon the success of my experiment that I almost feared to put it to the test. But it must be tested, and there could be only a few zats or remaining before the warriors of Hage Osses would burst into the antechamber.

By feeling alone, I draped the silk over my head, so that it fell all about me. Through its thin and delicate meshes, I could see objects at close range quite well enough to make my way about. I crossed to Hage Osses and took the blind from his eyes, at the same time stepping quickly back. He looked hurriedly and affrightedly about him. "'Who did that?' he demanded, and then Hage-Osses, and then Hage-O-Sept. half to himself. He is gone. For a moment he was silent, rolling his eyes about in all directions, searching every nook and corner of the apartment. Then an expression that was part hope and part relief came to his eyes. "'Quick!' he shouted in a loud voice. "'The guard! He has escaped!'

I breathed a sigh of relief. If Hage Osses could not see me, no one could. My plan had succeeded. I dared not return to the throne-room and make my escape that way along the corridors with which I was familiar, for I could already hear the rush of feet toward the ante-room door, and I was well aware that, although they could not see me, they could feel me, and that, unquestionably, in the rush, my mantle of invisibility, or at least a portion of it, would be torn from me, which would indubitably spell my doom. I ran quickly to the other doorway and unbolted it, and as I opened it, I looked back, at Hageosis.

His eyes were upon the doorway, and they were wide with incredulity and horror. For an instant I did not realize the cause, and looked quickly behind me to see if I could see what had caused Hachosis fright. And then it dawned upon me, and I smiled. He had seen and heard the bolt shot, and the door opened as though by ghostly hands. He must have sensed a vague suspicion of the truth, for he turned quickly toward the other door and screamed a warning in a high falsetto voice. "'Do not enter!' he cried,

"'until the five zats are up! "'It is I who commands! "'Hajosis! The Jed!' Closing the door after me, and still smiling, I hastened along the corridor, searching for a ramp that would carry me to the upper levels of the palace from which I could easily locate the guard-room

and the hangar where I had left my ship. The corridor I had entered led directly to the royal apartments. At first it was a little bit of the royal apartments. was difficult to accustom myself to my invisibility, and as I suddenly entered an apartment in which there were several people, my first impulse was to turn and flee. But though I had stepped directly into the view of one of the occupants of the room and at a distance of little more than five or six feet without attracting his attention, although his eyes were apparently directly upon me, my confidence was quickly restored. I continued on across the room

as nonchalantly as though I had been in my own quarters in Helium. The Royal apartment seemed interminable, and though I was constantly seeking a way out of them into one of the main corridors of the palace, I was instead constantly stumbling into places where I did not care to be and where I had no business, sometimes with considerable embarrassment, as when I entered a cozy private apartment in the women's quarters at a moment when I was convinced they were not expecting a strange gentleman. I would not turn back, however, for I had no time to lose, and cross the same. crossing the room, I followed another short corridor only to leap from the frying-pan

into the fire. I had entered the forbidden apartment of the Jedara herself. It is a good thing for the royal lady that it was I, and not Hage-Osses, who came thus unexpectedly upon her, for her position was most compromising, and from his harness I judged that her good-looking companion was a slave. In disgust I retreated, for there was no other exit from the apartment, and presently I stumbled entirely by accident upon one of the main corridors of the palace, a busy corridor filled with slaves, warriors and couriers, with men, women, and children passing to and fro upon whatever business called them, or perhaps seated upon the carved benches that lined the walls. I was not yet accustomed to my new and surprising state

of invisibility. I could see the people about me, and it seemed inevitable that I'm must be seen. For a moment I had hesitated in the doorway that had led me to the corridor. A slave girl, approaching along the corridor, turned suddenly toward the doorway where I stood. She was looking directly at me, yet her gaze appeared to pass entirely through me. For an instant I was filled with consternation, and then, realizing that she was about to collide with me, I stepped quickly to one side. She passed by me, but it was evident that she sensed my presence, for she paused and looked quickly about, an expression of surprise in her eyes. Then to my immense relief she passed on through the doorway.

She had not seen me, though doubtless she had heard me as I stepped aside. With a feeling of renewed confidence I now joined the throng in the corridor, threading my way in and out among the people to avoid contact with them, and searching diligently all the while for the entrance to a ramp leading upward. This I presently discovered, and it was not long thereafter that I reached the upper level of the palace, where a short search brought me to the guardroom at the foot of the ramp leading to the royal hangers. Idling in the guardroom, the warriors then off-duty were engaged in various pursuits. Some were cleaning their harness and polishing their metal.

Two were playing at Jatain, while others were rolling tiny numbered spheres at a group of numbered holes, a fascinating game of chance called Yano, which is, I present, assume, almost as old as Barsoomian civilization. The room was filled with the laughter and oaths of fighting men. How alike are warriors the world over? But for their harness and their metal, they might have been a detachment of the palace guard at Helium. Passing among them, I ascended the ramp to the roof where the hangers stood. Two warriors on duty at the top of the ramp almost blocked my further progress. It would be a narrow squeeze to pass between them, and I feared detection. As I paused, I could not but overhear their conversation.

"'I tell you that he was struck from behind,' said one. "'He never knew what killed him.' And I knew that they were talking about the guardsman I had killed. "'But from whence came his assassin,' demanded the other. "'The Padwar believes it may have been a fellow member of the guard. There will be an investigation, and we shall all be questioned. It was not I, said the other. He was my best friend.

Nor was it I. He had a way with women. Perhaps. My attention was distracted, and their conversation terminated by the footsteps of a warrior running rapidly up the ramp. My position was now most precarious. The ramp was narrow, and the man coming from behind might easily bump into me. I must, therefore, pass the sentries immediately and make my way to the roof.

There was just sufficient room between the warrior at my left and the sidewall of the ramp for me to pass through, if he did not step back, and with all the stealth that I could summon, I edged myself slowly behind him, and you may rest assured that I breathed a sigh of relief when I had passed him. The warrior ascending the ramp had now reached the two men. "'The assassin of the hangar sentry has been discovered,' he said. "'He is none other than the spy from Jahar who called himself Hadron of Hastur.' and who, with the other spy, Nur-Anne, was sentenced to die the death.

Through some miracle he escaped, and has returned to the palace of Hajosus. Besides the hangar's entry, he has slain Yosino, but he was captured after attacking the prince, Hajalt. Again he has escaped, and he is now at large in the palace. The Padwar of the Guard has sent me to direct you to redouble your watchfulness. Great will be the reward of him who captures Hadron of Hastor, dead or alive. "'By my metal, I'd like to see him try to escape this way,' said one of the centuries. "'He'll never come here by daylight.' I smiled as I walked quickly toward the hangar.

To reach the roof without disarranging my robe of invisibility was difficult, but I finally accomplished it. Before me lay the empty roof. No ship was in sight, but I smiled again to myself, knowing well that it was there. I looked about for the eye of the periscope that would reveal the craft's presence to me, but it was not visible. However, that did not concern me greatly, since I realized that it might be turned in the opposite direction. It was only necessary for me to walk to where I left the ship, and this I did, feeling

ahead of me with extended hands. I crossed the roof from one side to the other, but found no ship. That I was perplexed goes without saying. I most certainly knew where I had left the ship, but it no longer was there. Perhaps a wind had moved it slightly, and with this thought in mind I searched another section of the roof, but with equal disappointment. By now I was truly apprehensive, and thereupon I set about a systematic search of the roof until I had covered every square foot of it, and was convinced, beyond doubt, that the worst

of disasters had befallen me. My ship was gone. But where? Indeed, the compound of invisibility had its drawbacks. My ship might be, and probably was, at no great distance from me, yet I could not see it. A gentle wind was blowing from the southwest. If my ship had risen from the roof, it would drift in a northeasterly direction. But though I strain my eyes toward that point of the compass,

I could discern nothing of the tiny eye of the periscope. I must admit that for a moment I was well nigh discouraged. It seemed that always when success was about within my grasp, some maligned fate snatched it from me. But presently I shook this weak despondency from me, and with squared shoulders face the future and whatever it might bring. For a few moments I considered my position in all its aspects and sought to discover the best solution of my problem.

I must rescue Tavia, but I felt that. that it would be useless to attempt to do so without a ship. Therefore, I must have a ship, and I knew that ships were just beneath me in the royal hangars. At night, these hangars would be closed and locked, and watched over by sentries in the bargain. If I would have a ship, I must take it now, and depend upon the swiftness and boldness of my act for its success. Royal flyers are usually fast-flyers, and if the ships of Hajosus were no exception to this General Barsoomian rule, I might hope to outdistance pursuit could I but pass the hangar sentry. Of one thing I was certain. I could not accomplish that by remaining upon the roof of the

hangar. And so I cautiously descended, choosing a moment when the attention of the sentries was directed elsewhere, for there was always danger that my robe might blow aside, revealing my limbs. Once on the roof again, I slipped quickly into the hangar, and inspecting the ship, I selected one that I was sure would carry four with ease, and which, from its lines, gave token of considerable speed. Clambering to the deck, I took my place at the controls. Very gradually I elevated the ship about a foot from the floor. Then I opened the throttle wide. Directly ahead of me, through the open doorways of the hangar, the sentries were standing upon the opposite side of the room. As the ship leaped into the sunlight, they voiced simultaneously,

a cry of surprise and alarm. Like brave warriors, they sprang forward with drawn longswords, and I could see that they were going to try to board me before I could gain altitude. But presently one of them halted wide-eyed and stood aside. "'Blood of our first ancestor!' he cried. "'There is no one at the controls!' The second man had evidently discovered this simultaneously,

for he too shrank aside, and with whirling propeller I shot upward from the royal hangar, of the jet of Janath. But only for an instant were the two sentries overwhelmed by astonishment. Immediately I heard the shriek of sirens and the clang of great gongs, and then, glancing behind, I saw that already they had launched a flyer in pursuit. It was a two-man flyer, and almost immediately I realized that it was far swifter than the one I had chosen.

And then to make matters even worse for me, I saw patrol boats arising from hangers located elsewhere upon the palace roof. That they all saw my ship and were converging upon it was evident. Escape seemed impossible. Each way I turned, a patrol boat was approaching. Already I had been driven into an ascending spiral. My eyes constantly alert for any avenue of escape that might open to me. How hopeless it looked!

My ship was too slow. My pursuers too many. It would not be long now, I thought. and at that very instant I saw something off my port bow at a little greater altitude that gave me one of the greatest thrills I had ever experienced in my life. It was only a little round eye of glass, but to me it meant life and more than life, for it might mean also life and happiness for Tavia, and of course, for Sonoma Torah. A patrol boat coming diagonally from below was almost upon me,

as I drew my flyer beneath that floating eye, judging the distance, so nicely that I just had clearance for my head beneath the heel of my own ship. Locating one of the hatches, which were so constructed, that they could be opened either from the inside or the out, I scrambled quickly into the interior of the Jama, as Fortak had christened it. Closing the hatch and springing to the controls, I rose quickly out of immediate danger. Then, standing to one side, I watched my former pursuers. I could read the consternation in their faces as they came alongside the Royal Flyer that I had stolen, and realized that it was unmanned. Not having seen either me or my ship, they must have been hard put to find any sort of an explanation

for the phenomenon. As I watched them, I found it constantly necessary to change my position, owing to the number of patrol boats and other craft that were congregating. I did not wish to leave the vicinity of the palace entirely, for it was my intention to remain here until after dark, when I should make an attempt to take Tavia and Fayo aboard the Jama. I also headed in my mind to reconnoiter the East Tower during the day, and tried to get into communication with Tavia, if possible. It was already the fifth zode. In fifty zats, three hours, the sun would set. I wish to initiate my plan of rescue as soon after dark as possible, as experience had taught me that plans do not always develop as smoothly in execution as they do in contemplation.

A warrior from one of the patrol ships had boarded the royal craft that I had purloined and was returning it to the hangar. Some of the ships were following and others were returning to their stations. A single patrol boat remained cruising about, and as I watched it, I suddenly became aware that a young officer standing upon its deck had to spy the eye of my periscope. I saw him pointing toward it, and immediately thereafter the craft altered its course and came directly toward me. This was not so good, and I lost no time in moving to one side, turning the eye of my periscope away from them so that they could not see it or follow me.

I moved a short distance out of their course, and then swung my periscope toward them again. To my astonishment, I discovered that they too had altered their course and were following me. Now I rose swiftly and took a new direction, but when I looked again the craft was bearing down upon me, and not only that, but she was training a gun on me. What had happened? It was evident that something had gone wrong, and that I was no longer clothed in total invisibility, but whatever it was, it was too late now to rectify it even if I could. I had but a single recourse, and I prayed to my first ancestor that it might not now be too late to put it into execution.

Should they fire upon me, I was lost. I brought the Jama to a full stop, and sprang quickly aft to where the rear rifle was mounted on a platform just within the Aft turret. In that instant, I had occasion to rejoice in the foresight that had prompted me to rearrange the projectile's property against the necessity for instant use in such an emergency as this. Selecting one, I jammed it into the chamber and closed the breech lock. The turret, crudely and hastily constructed though it had been, responded to my touch, and an instant later my sight covered the approaching patrol vessel,

and through the tiny opening provided for the sight, I witnessed the effect of my first shot with four-tax disintegrating ray-rifle. I had used a metal disintegrating projectile, and the result was appalling. I loved a ship, and it tore a ship. my heart to see that staunch craft fall apart in mid-air, as its metal parts disappeared before the disintegrating ray. But that was not all, as wood and leather and fabric sank with increasing swiftness toward the ground.

Brave warriors hurtled to their doom. It was horrifying. I am a true son of Barsoom. I joy in battle. Armed conflict is my birthright, and war the gold of my ambition. But this was not war. It was murder. I took no joy in my victory, as I had when I laid Yosino low in mortal combat, and now, more than ever, was I determined that this frightful instrument of destruction must in

some way be forever banned upon Barsoom. War with such a weapon, completely hidden by the compound of invisibility, would be too horrible to contemplate. Navies, cities, whole nations could be wiped out by a single battleship thus equipped. The mad dream of Fort Tack, might easily come true, and a maniac yet rule all barsoom. But mediation and philosophizing were not for me at this time. I had work to do, and though it necessitated wiping out all Janath, I proposed doing it. Again the sirens and the gongs raised their wild alarm. Again patrol boats gathered. I felt that I must depart until after nightfall, for I had no stomach to again be forced to turn

that deadly rifle upon my fellow men. while any alternative existed. As I started to turn back to the controls, my eyes chanced to fall upon one of the stern ports, and to my surprise I saw that the shutter was raised. How this occurred, I do not know. It has always remained a mystery. But at least it explained how it had been possible

for the patrol boat to follow me. That round port-hole moving through the air must have filled them with wonder, but at the same time it was a clue to follow, and though they did not understand it, they, like the brave warriors that they were, followed it in the line of their duty. I quickly closed it, and after examining the others and finding them all closed, I was now confident that, with the exception of the small eye of my periscope, I was entirely surrounded by invisibility, and hence under no immediate necessity for leaving

the vicinity of the palace, as I could easily maneuver this ship to keep out of the way of the patrol-boats that were now again congregating near the Royal Hanger. I think they were pretty much upset by what had happened, and evidently there was no unanimity of opinion as to what should be done. The patrol ships hovered about, evidently waiting orders, and it was not until almost dark that they set out in a systematic search of the air above the city. Nor had they been long at this before I understood their orders as well as though I had read them myself. The lower ships moved at an altitude of not over 50 feet above the higher buildings.

Two hundred feet above these moved the second line. The ships at each level cruised in a series of concentric circles and in opposite directions, thereby combing the air above the city so closely that no enemy ship could possibly approach. The air below was watched by a thousand eyes. At every point of vantage, sentries were on watch, and upon the roof of every public building guns appeared as if, by magic. I began to be quite apprehensive that even the small eye of my periscope might not go undetected,

and so I dropped my ship into a little opening among some lofty trees that grew within the palace garden, and here I waited some twenty feet above the ground. My periscope completely screened from view, unseen, and in consequence myself unseeing, until the swift knight of Barsoom descended upon Janath. Then I rose slowly for my leafy retreat. Above the trees I paused to have a look about me through the periscope. Far above me were the twinkling lights of the circling patrol boats, and from a thousand windows of the palace shone other lights.

Before me rose the dark outlines of the east tower, silhouetted against the starry sky. Rising slowly, I circled the tower until I had brought the drama opposite Tavia's window. My ship carried no lights, of course, and I had not switched on any of the lights within her cabin, so that I felt that I might with impunity raise one of the upper hatches, and this I did. The Jama lay with her upper deck a foot or two beneath the sill of Tavia's window.

Before venturing from below, I replaced my cloak of invisibility about me. There was no light in Tavia's room. I placed my ear close against the iron bars and listened. I could hear no sound. My heart sank within me. Could it be that they had removed her to some other part of the palace? Could it be that Haj alt had come and taken her away? I shuddered at the mere suggestion,

and cursed the luck that had permitted him to escape my blade. With all those eyes and ears straining through the darkness, I feared to make the slightest sound, though I felt that there was little likelihood that the open hatch would be noticed in the surrounding darkness, Yet I must ascertain whether or not Tavia was within that room. I leaned close against the bars and whispered her name. There was no response.

"'Tavia!' I whispered, this time much louder, and it seemed to me that my voice went booming to high heaven in tones that the dead might hear. This time I heard a response from the interior of the room. It sounded like a gasp, and then I heard someone moving, approaching the window. It was so dark in the interior

that I could see nothing, but presently I heard a voice close to me. Hadron! Where are you? She had recognized my voice. For some reason I thrilled to the thought of it. Here at the window, Tavia, I said. She came very close. Where? she asked.

I cannot see you. I had forgotten my robe of invisibility. "'Never mind,' I said. "'You cannot see me, but I will explain that later. "'Is Fayo with you?' "'Yes.' "'And no one else? No.' "'I am going to take you with me, Tavia. You and Fayao.

"'Stand aside well out of line of the window, "'so that you will not be hurt while I remove the bars. "'Then be ready to board my ship immediately.' "'Your ship?' she said. "'Where is it?' "'Never mind now. There is a ship here. Do just as I tell you. Do you trust me? With my life Hadron, forever, she whispered.

Something within me saying, it was more than a mere thrill. I cannot explain it, nor did I understand it, but now there were other things to think of. Stand aside quickly, Tavia, and keep Fayo away from the window until I call you again. Dimly I could see her figure for a moment. and then I saw it withdraw from the window. Returning to the controls, I brought the forward turret of the ship opposite the window, upon the bars of which I trained the rifle. I loaded it and pressed the button.

Through the tiny sight aperture, and because of the darkness, I could see nothing of the result, but I knew perfectly well what had happened. And when I lowered the ship again and went on deck, I found that the bars had vanished in thin air. "'Quick, Tavia!' I said. "'Come!' With one foot upon the deck of the flyer, and the other upon the sill of the window, I held the ship close to the wall of the tower, and as best I could I held the cloak of

invisibility like a canopy to shield the girls from sight as they border the jama. It was difficult and risky business. I wished I might have had grappling hooks, but I had none, and so I must do the best I could, holding the cloak with one hand and assisting Tavia to the sill with the other. "'There is no ship,' she said in a slightly frightened tone. "'There is a ship, Tavia,' I said. "'Think only of your confidence in me, and do as I bid.' I grasped her firmly by the harness where the straps crossed upon her back.

"'Have no fear,' I said, and then I swung her out over the hatch and lowered her gently into the interior of Phaja was behind her, and I must give her credit for being as courageous as Tavia. It must have been a terrifying experience to those two girls to feel that they were being lowered into thin air a hundred feet above the ground, for they could see no ship, only a darker hole within the darkness of the night. As soon as they were both aboard, I followed them, closing the hatch after me. They were huddled in the darkness on the floor of the cabin,

weak and exhausted from the brief ordeal through which they had just passed, but I could not take the time then to answer the questions with which I knew their heads must be filled. If we pass the watchers on the roofs and the patrol boats above, there would be plenty of time for questions and answers. If we did not, there would be no need for either. End of Chapter 12 Chapter 13 of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

This Libravox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 13. Tull Axtar's Women With propellers moving only enough to give us headway, we move slowly and silently from the tower. I did not dare to rise to the altitude of the circling flyers, for fear of almost inevitable collision, owing to the limited range of visibility permitted by the periscope. And so I held to a course that carried me only above the roof of the roof

of the lower part of the palace, until I reached a broad avenue that led in an easterly direction to the outer wall of the city. I kept well down below the roofs of the buildings, where there was little likelihood of encountering other craft. Our only danger of detection now, and that was slight indeed, was that our propeller might be overheard by some of the watchers on the roofs. But the hum and drone of the propellers of the ships above the city must have drowned out whatever slight sound or slowly revolving blades gave forth. And at last, we came to the gate at the end of the avenue, and rising to top its battlements, we passed out of Chaneth into the night beyond. The lights of the city and of the circling patrol boats above grew fainter

and fainter as we left them far behind. We had maintained absolute silence during our escape from the city. But as soon as our escape appeared assured, Tavia unlocked the floodgates of her curiosity. Fayo's first question was relative to Nur-Anne. Her sigh of relief held as great assurance of her love for him as could words have done. The two listened in breathless attention to the story of our miraculous escape from the death. Then they wanted to know all about the Jama, the compound of invisibility, and the disintegrating ray with which I had dissolved the bars from their prison window. Or was it until their curiosity had been appeased that we were able to discuss our plans for the

future? I feel that I should go at once to Jahar, I said. Yes, said Tavia in a low voice. It is your duty. You must go there first and rescue Sonoma Torah. If there was only some place where I might leave you. and Fayo in safety, I should feel that I could carry on this mission with far greater peace of mind, but I know of no other place than Jama, and I hesitate to return there and let Fort

Tack know that I fail to go immediately to Jahar as I had intended. The man is quite insane. There is no telling what he might do if he learns the truth, nor am I certain that you too would be safe there in his power. He trusts only his slaves, and he might easily become obsessed with him. than hallucination that you are spies. You need not think of me at all, said Tavia, for no matter where you might find a place to leave us,

I should not remain. The place of the slave is with her master. Do not say that, Tavia, you are not my slave. I am a slave girl, she replied. I must be someone's slave. I prefer to be yours. I was touched by her loyalty, but I did not like to think of Tavia as a slave.

Yet, however much I might loathe the idea, the fact remained that she was one. "'I give you your freedom, Tavia,' I said. She smiled. "'I do not want it. And now that it is decided that I am to remain with you, she had done all the deciding, I wish to learn all that I can about navigating the Jama,

for it may be that in that way I may help you.' Tavia's knowledge of aerial navigation made the task of instructing her simple indeed. In fact, she had no trouble whatsoever in handling the craft. Fayao also manifested an interest, and it was not long before she too took her turn at the controls, while Tavia insisted upon being inducted into all the mysteries of the disintegrating ray rifle. Long before we saw the towers of Tull Axtar's capital, we cited a one-man scout-flyer, painted the ghastly blue of Jahar, and then far to the right and to the left we saw others. They were circling slowly at a great altitude.

I judged that they were scouts watching for the coming of an expected enemy fleet. We passed below them, and a little later encountered the second line of enemy ships. These were all scout cruisers, carrying from ten to fifteen men. Approaching one of them quite closely, I saw that it carried four disintegrating ray rifles, two mounted forward and two aft. As far as I could see in either direction, these ships were visible, and if, as I presumed, they formed a circle entirely about Jahar, they must have been numerous indeed. Passing on beyond them, we presently encountered the third line of Jaharian ships. Here were stationed huge battleships, carrying crews of a thousand

and men and more, and fairly bristling with big guns. While none of these ships was as large as the major ships of helium, they constituted a most formidable force, and it was obvious that they had been built in great numbers. What I had already seen impressed me with the fact that Tull Axtar was entertaining no idle dream in his contemplated subjection of all Barsoom. With but a fraction of the ships I had already seen, I would guarantee to lay waste all of Barsoom, provided my ships were armed with disintegrating ray rifles, and I felt sure that I

had seen but a pitiful fraction of Tull Axtar's vast armament. The sight of all these ships filled me with the direst forebodings of calamity. If the fleet of helium had not already arrived and been destroyed, it certainly must be destroyed when it did arrive. No power on Earth could save it. The best that I could hope, had the fleet already arrived, was that an encounter with the disintegrating ray rifles of the first line might have proved sufficient warning to turn the balance of the fleet back. Far behind the line of battleships I could see the towers of Jaha rising in the distance, and as we reached the vicinity of the city,

I descried a fleet of the largest ships I have ever seen, resting upon the ground just outside the city wall. These ships, which completely encircled the city wall that was visible to us, must have been capable of accommodating at least ten thousand men each, and from their construction and their light armaments, I assume them to be transports. These doubtless were to carry the hordes of hungry Jaharian warriors upon the campaign of loot and pillage, that it was planned should destroy a world. Contemplation of this vast armada prompted me to abandon all other plans,

and hasten at once to helium, that the alarm might be spread and plans be made to thwart the mad ambition of Tall Axtar. My mind was a seething cauldron of conflicting urges. Both duty and honor presented conflicting demands upon me. Countless times had I risked my life to reach Jahar for but a single purpose, and now that I had arrived I was called upon to turn back for the fulfillment of another purpose. A larger and more important one, perhaps, but I am only human, and so I turned first to the rescue of the woman that I loved, determined immediately thereafter to throw myself wholeheartedly into the prosecution of the other enterprise that duty and inclination demanded of me.

I argued that the slight delay that would result would in no way jeopardize the greater cause. While should I abandon Sonoma Torah now, there was little likelihood that I would ever be able to return to Jahar to her sucker. With the great ghastly blue fleet of Jahar behind us, we topped the city's walls and moved in the direction of the palace of the Jeddak. My plans were well formulated. I had discussed them again and again with Tavia, who had grown up in the palace of Tall Axtar.

At her suggestion, we were to maneuver the Jama to a point directly over the summit of a slender tower, upon which there was not room to land the flyer, but through which I could gain ingress to the palace at a point close to the quarters of the women. As we passed through the three lines of Jaharian ships, protected by our coating of the compound of invisibility, so we passed the sentries on the city wall, and the warriors upon watch in the towers and upon the ramparts of the palace of the Jeddak. And without incident worthy of note, I stopped the Jama just above the summit of the tower that Tavia indicated.

In about ten Zats, approximately thirty-three-year-old. minutes, it will be dark, I said to Tavia. If you find it impractical to remain here constantly, try and return when dark has fallen, for whether I am successful in finding Sonoma Torah, I shall not attempt to return to the Jama until night has fallen. She had told me that there was a possibility that the women's quarters might be locked at sunset, and for this reason I was entering the palace by daylight, though I should have much preferred not to risk it until after nightfall. Tavia had also assured me that if I once entered the women's quarters, I would have no difficulty

in leaving, even after they were locked, as the doors could be opened from the inside. The precaution of locking being taken, not for fear that the inmates would leave the quarters, but to protect them against the dangers of assassins and others with evil intent. Adjusting the robe of invisibility about me, I raised the forward keel-hatch, which was directly over the summit of the tower that had once been used. used as a lookout in some distant age, before newer and loftier portions of the palace had rendered it useless for this purpose." "'Good-bye and good luck,' whispered Tavia.

"'When you return, I hope that you will bring your Sonoma Torah with you. While you are gone, I shall pray to my ancestors for your success.' Thanking her, I lowered myself through the hatch to the summit of the tower, in which was set a small trap-door. As I raised this door, I saw below me the top of the ancient ladder that long-dead warriors had used, and which evidently was seldom, if ever, used now, as was attested by the dust upon its rungs. The ladder led me down to a large room in the upper level of this portion of the palace, a

room that had doubtless originally been a guard-room, but which was now the receptacle for odds and ends of discarded furniture, hangings, and ornaments. as it was with specimens of the craftsmanship of ancient Jahar, together with articles of more modern fabrication, it would have made a most interesting room to explore. Yet I passed through it with nothing more than a single searching glance for living enemies. Closely following Tavia's instructions, I descended two spiral ramps, where I found myself in a most ornately decorated corridor, opening upon which were the apartments of the women of Tall Axtar. The corridor was long, stretching away fully a thousand sophads to a great arched window at the

far end, to which I could see the waving foliage of trees. Many of the countless doors that lined the corridor on either side were open or ajar, for the corridor itself was forbidden to all but the women and their slaves, with the exception of Tall Axtar. The foot of the single ramp leading to it from the level below, was watched over by a guard of picked men, composed exclusively of eunuchs. And Tavia assured me that short shrift was made of any adventurous spirit who sought to investigate the precincts above. Yet here was I, a man and an enemy, safely within the forbidden territory.

As I looked about me in an attempt to determine where to commence my investigation, several women emerged from one of the apartments and approached me along the corridor. They were beautiful women, young and richly trapped, and from their light conversation and their laughter, I judged that they were not unhappy. My conscience pricked me as I realized the mean advantage that I was taking of them, but it could not be avoided. And so I waited and listened, hoping that I might overhear some snatch of conversation that would aid me in my quest for Sonoma Torah.

But I learned nothing from them other than that they referred to Tullaxdar contemptuously as the old Zididhar. Some of their references to him were extremely personal, and none was complimentary. They passed me and entered a large room at the end of the corridor. Almost immediately thereafter, other women emerged from other apartments, and followed the first party into the same apartment. It soon became evident to me that they were congregating there, and I thought that perhaps this might be the best way in which to start my search for Sonoma-12.

Torah. Perhaps she, too, might be among the company. Accordingly, I fell in behind one of the groups, and followed it through the large doorway and a short corridor, which opened into a great hall that was so gorgeously appointed and decorated as to suggest the throne-room of a jet-hack. And, in fact, such appeared to have been a part of its purpose, for at one end rose an enormous, highly-carved throne. The floor was of highly polished wood. in the center of which was a large pool of water. Along the sides of the room were commodious benches,

piled with pillows and soft silks and furs. Here it was that tall Axtar occasionally held unique court, surrounded solely by his women. Here they danced for him. Here they disported themselves in the limpid waters of the pool for his diversion. Here banquets were spread, and to the strains of music, high revelry persisted long into the night. As I looked about me at those who had already assembled, I saw that Sonoma Torah was not among

them, and so I took my place close to the entrance where I might scrutinize the face of each who entered. They were coming in droves now. I believed that I have never seen so many women alone together before. As I watched for Sonoma Torah, I tried to count them, but I soon gave it up as hopeless, though I estimated that fully fifteen hundred women were congregated in the great hall when at last they ceased to enter. They seated themselves upon the benches about the room, which was filled with a babble

of feminine voices. There were women of all ages and of every type, but there was none that was not beautiful. The secret agents of Tull Axtar must have combed the world for such an aggregation of loveliness as this. A door at one side of the throne opened, and a file of warriors entered. At first I was surprised, because of the world. Tavey had told me that no men other than Tull Axtar ever were permitted upon this level. But presently I saw that the warriors were women dressed in the harness of men,

their hair cut and their faces painted, after the fashion of the fighting men of Barsum. After they had taken their places on either side of the throne, a courtier entered by the same door, another woman masquerading as a man. Give thanks, she cried. Give thanks! The Jeddak comes! Instantly the women arose, and a moment later, Tull Axtar, Jeddak of Jihar, entered the hall, followed by a group of women disguised as courtiers.

As Tull Axtar lowered his great bulk into the throne, he signaled for the women in the room to be seated. Then he spoke in a low voice to a woman courtier at his side. The woman stepped to the edge of the dais. The great Jeddak dains to audits. you individually with his royal observation. She announced in stilted tones, "'From my left you will pass before him one by one. In the name of the Jeddak, I have spoken.' Immediately the first woman at the left arose and walked slowly past the throne,

pausing in front of Tall Axtar long enough to turn completely about, and then walked slowly on around the apartment and out through the doorway beside which I stood. One by one in rapid succession, the others followed her. The whole procedure seemed meaningless to me. I could not understand it, then. Perhaps a hundred women had passed before the jeddak and come down the long haul toward me, when something in the carriage of one of them attracted my attention as she neared me,

and an instant later I recognized Sonoma Torah. She was changed, but not greatly, and I could not understand why it was that I had not discovered her in the room previously. I had found her. After all these long months I had found her, the woman I loved. Why did my heart not thrill? As she passed through the doorway, leading from the Great Hall, I followed her and along the corridor to an apartment near the far end, and when she entered, I entered behind her. I had to move quickly, too, for she turned immediately and closed her. the door after her. We were alone in a small room, Sonoma Tora and I. In one corner were her

sleeping silks and furs. Between two windows was a carved bench upon which stood those toilet articles that are essential to a woman of Barsum. It was not the apartment of a Jedara. It was little better than the cell of a slave. As Sonoma Tora crossed the room listlessly toward a stool which stood before the toilet bench. Her back was toward me, and I dropped the robe of invisibility from about me. Sonoma Torah, I said in a low voice. Startled, she turned toward me.

Hadron of Hastur, she exclaimed. Or am I dreaming? You are not dreaming, Sonoma, Torah. It is Hadron of Hastor. Why are you here? How did you get here? It is impossible. No man.

Men but tall Axtar are permitted upon this level. Here I am Sonoma Tora, and I have come to take you back to Helium, if you wish to return. Oh, name of my first ancestor, if I could but hope, she cried. You may hope, Sonoma Tora, I assured her. I am here, and I can take you back. I cannot believe it, she said. I cannot imagine how you gained entrance here. It is madness to think that two of us could leave without being detected.

I threw the cloak about me. Where are you, Tanhadron? What has become of you? What has happened? cried Sonoma Tora. This is how I gained entrance, I explained. This is how we shall escape. I remove the cloak from about me. What forbidden magic is this? she demanded, and as best I might in few were. I explained to her the compound of invisibility and how I had come by it. "'How have you fared here, Sonoma Torah?' I asked her. "'How have they treated you?'

"'I have not been ill-treated,' she replied. "'No one has paid any attention to me.' I could scent the wounded vanity in her tone. "'Until to-night I had not seen Tal-Axtar. I have just come from the hall where he holds court among his women.' "'Yes,' I said. "'I know. I was there. "'It was from there that I followed you here.'

"'When can you take me away?' she asked. "'Very quickly now,' I replied. "'I am afraid that it will have to be quickly,' she said. "'Why?' I asked. "'When I passed Tal-Axtar, he stopped me for a moment, "'and I heard him speak to one of the courtiers at his side. "'He told her to ascertain my name and where I was quartered.

The women have told me what happens after Tal-Axtar has noticed one of us, and I am afraid. But what difference does it make? I am only a slave. What a change had come over the haughty Sonoma Torah. Was this the same arrogant beauty who had refused my hand? Was this the Sonoma Torah who had aspired to be a Jedara? She was humbled now.

I read it in the droop of her shoulders, in the trembling of her lips, in the fear-haunted light that shone from her eyes. My heart was filled with compassion for her, but I was astonished and dismayed to discover that no other emotion overwhelmed me. The last time that I had seen Sonoma Tora, I would have given my soul to have been able to take her into my arms. Had the hardships that I had undergone so changed me? Was Sonoma Tora, a slave, less desirable to me than

Sonoma Torah, daughter of the rich Torhatan? No, I knew that could not be true. I had changed, but doubtless it was only a temporary metamorphosis, induced by the nervous strain which I was undergoing, consequent upon the responsibility imposed upon me, by the necessity for carrying word to helium in time to save her from destruction at the hands of Tal-Axtar, to save not only helium, but a world. It was a grave responsibility. How might one thus burdened have time for thoughts of love? No, I was not myself, yet I knew that I still loved Sonoma Torah. Realizing the necessity for haste, I made a speedy examination of the room and discovered that I could easily affect Sonoma Torres rescue by taking her through the window,

just as I had taken Tavia and Fayo from the East Tower at Chaneth. Briefly but carefully, I explained my plan to her, and bid her prepare herself while I was gone that there might be no delay when I was ready to take her aboard the Jama. And now, Sonoma Torah, I said, for a few moments, goodbye. The next that you will hear will be a voice at your window, but you will see no one nor any ship. Exinguish the light in your room and step to the sill. I will take your hand. Put your trust in me then, and do as I bid. "'Good-bye, Hadron,' she said.

"'I cannot express now in adequate words the gratitude that I feel, but when we are returned to Helium, there is nothing that you can demand of me that I shall not grant you, not only willingly, but gladly.' I raised my fingers to my lips and had turned toward the door once a nomadora laid a detaining hand upon my arm. "'Wait,' she said, "'someone is coming.'

Hastily, I resumed my cloak of invisibility and stepped to one side of the room, as the door leading into the corridor was thrown open, revealing one of the female courtiers of Tull Axtar in gorgeous harness. The woman entered the room and stepped to one side of the doorway, which remained open. The Jeddak! Tull Axtar! Jadak of Jihar! She announced.

A moment later Tull Axtar entered the room, followed by half a dozen of his female courtiers. He was a gross man with repulsive features, which reflected a combination of strength and weakness, of haughty arrogance, of pride, and of doubt, an innate questioning of his own ability. As he faced Sonoma Tora, his courtiers formed behind him. They were masculine-looking women, who had evidently been selected because of this very characteristic. They were good-looking in a masculine way, and their physique suggested that they might prove a very effective bodyguard for the Jeddak. For several minutes, Tall Axtar examined Sonoma Torah with a praising eyes.

He came closer to her, and there was that in his attitude which I did not like, and when he laid a hand upon her shoulder I could scarce restrain myself. "'I was not wrong,' he said. "'You are gorgeous. How long have you been here?' She shuddered but did not reply. "'You are from Helium?' "'No answer.'

"'The ships of Helium are on their way to Jahar.' He laughed. "'My scouts bring word that they will soon be here. They will meet with a warm welcome from the great fleet of Tallax-Star.' He turned to his courtiers. "'Go,' he said, "'and let none return until I summon her.' They bowed and retired, closing the door.

after them, and then Tallaxstar laid his hand again upon the bare flesh of Sonoma Tori's shoulder. "'Come,' he said, "'I shall not war with all of Helium. With you I shall love. "'By my first ancestor, but you are worthy the love of a jeddak.' He drew her toward him. My blood boiled, so hot was my anger that it boiled over, and without thought of the consequences, I let the cloak fall from me. End of Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Of a Fighting Man of Mars

By Edgar Rice Burroughs This Libervox recording is in the public domain Chapter 14 The Cannables of U-Gor As I dropped the cloak of invisibility aside I drew my longsword And as it slithered from its sheath Tull Axtar heard and faced me

His craven blood rushed to his heart and left his face pale at the side of me. A scream was in his throat when my point touched him in warning. Silence! I hissed. Who are you? he demanded. Silence! Even in the instant my plans were formed. I made him turn with his back toward me, and then I disarmed him, after which I bound him securely and gagged him. "'Where can I hide him, Sonoma Torah?' I asked.

"'There is a little closet here,' she said, pointing toward a small door in one side of the room, and then she crossed to it and opened it, while I dragged Talak Star behind her and cast him into the closet. None too gently, I can assure you. As I close the closet door, I turned to find Sonoma Tora white and trembling. "'I am afraid,' she said. "'If they come back and find him thus, "'They will kill me.' "'His courtiers will not return until he summons them,' I reminded her.

"'You heard him tell them that such were his wishes, his command.' She nodded. "'Here is his dagger,' I told her. "'If worse comes to worst, you can hold them off by threatening to kill Tall Axtar.' But the girl seemed terrified. She trembled in every limb, and I feared that she might fail if put to the test. How I wish that Tavia was here! I knew that she would not fail,

and in the name of my first ancestor, how much depended upon success! I shall return soon, I said, as I groped about the floor for the robe of invisibility. Leave that large window open, and when I return, be ready. As I replaced the cloak about me, I saw that she was trembling so that she could not reply.

In fact, she was even having dimple. difficulty in holding the dagger, which I expected momentarily to see drop from her nerveless fingers. But there was naught that I could do but hasten to the Jama and try to return before it was too late. I gained the summit of the tower without incident. Above me twinkled the brilliant stars of a Barsoomian night, while just above the palace roof hung the gorgeous planet Jasum, Earth. The Jama, of course, was invisible, but so great a little, but so great Great was my confidence in Tavia, that when I stretched a hand upward, I knew that I should feel the keel of the craft, and sure enough I did. Three times I rapped gently upon the forward hatch,

which was the signal that we had determined upon before I had entered the palace. Instantly the hatch was raised, and a moment later I had clambered aboard. "'Where is Sonoma Tora?' asked Tavia. "'No questions now,' I replied. we must work quickly. Be ready to take over the controls the moment that I leave them. In silence she took her place at my side, her soft shoulder touching my arm, and in silence I dropped the jama to the level of the windows in the women's quarters. In a general way, I knew the location of Sonoma Torah's apartment,

and as I moved slowly along I kept the periscope pointed toward the windows, and presently I saw the figure of Sonoma Torah upon the ground, glass before me. I brought the jama close to the sill, her upper deck just below it. "'Hold her here, Tavia,' I said. Then I raised the upper hatch a few inches and called to the girl within the room. At the sound of my voice she trembled so that she almost dropped the dagger, although she must have known that I was coming and had been awaiting me.

"'Darkin your room,' I whispered to her. I saw her stagger across to a button that was set in the wall, and an instant later the room was enveloped in darkness. Then I raised the hatch and stepped to the sill. I did not wish to be bothered with the enveloping folds of the mantle of invisibility, and so I had folded it up and tucked it into my harness, where I could have it instantly ready for use in the event of an emergency. I found Sonoma Tori in the darkness, and so weak with terror was she, that I had to

lift her in my arms and carry her to the window, where, with Fayo's help, I managed to draw her through the open hatch into the interior. Then I returned to the closet where Tall Axstar lay bound and gagged. I stooped and cut the bonds which held his ankles. Do precisely as I tell you, Tall Axstar, I said, or my steel will have its way yet, and find your heart. It thirsts for your blood, Tallax-Star, and I have difficulty in restraining it. But if you do not fail me, perhaps I shall be able to save you yet. I can use you, Tallax-Star, and upon your usefulness to me depends your life. For dead, you are of no value to me. I made him rise and walk to the window, and there I assisted him to the sill. He was terror-stricken when I tried

to make him step out into space, as he thought. But when I stepped up to to the deck of a Jama ahead of him, and he saw me apparently floating there in the air. He took a little heart, and I finally succeeded in getting him aboard. Following him I closed the hatch and lighted a single dim light within the hull. Tavia turned and looked at me for orders. Hold her where she is, Tavia, I said. There was a tiny desk in the cabin of the Jama, where the officer of the ship was supposed to keep his log, and attend to any other records or reporced.

that it might be necessary to make. Here were writing materials, and as I got them out of the drawer in which they were kept, I called Fayo to my side. "'You are of Jahar,' I said. "'You can write in the language of your country?' "'Of course,' she said. "'Then write what I dictate,' I instructed her.

She prepared to do my bidding. "'If a single ship of helium is destroyed,' "'I dictated, "'Tul Axtar dies.' Now signet, Hadron of Hastor, Padwar of Helium. Tavia and Fayo looked at me, and then at the prisoner. Their eyes wide in astonishment, for in the dim light of the ship's interior, they had not recognized the prisoner.

Tall Axar! breathed Tavia incredulously. Tannhadron of Hastor, you have saved Helium and Barsoom to-night. I could not but note how quickly her mind functioned. with what salarity she had seen the possibilities that lay in the possession of the person of Tull-Axtar, Jeddak of Jhaar. I took the note that Fayo had written, and returning quickly to Sonoma Torres' room, I laid it upon her dressing-table.

A moment later I was again in the cabin of the Jama, and we were rising swiftly above the roofs of Jhaar. Morning found us beyond the uttermost line of Jaharian ships, beneath which we had passed, guided by their lights. Evidence to me that the fleet was poorly officered, for no trained man, expecting an enemy in force, which showed lights aboard his ships at night. We were speeding now in the direction of Far Helium, following the course that I hoped would permit us to intercept the fleet of the warlord in the event that it was already bound for Jihar as Tull Axtar had announced. Sonoma Torah had slightly recovered her poise and control of her nerves.

Tavia's sweet solicitude for her welfare touched me deeply. She had soothed and quieted her, as she might have soothed and quieted a younger sister, though she herself was younger than Sonoma Tora. But with the return of confidence, Sonoma Tora's old haughtiness was returning, and it seemed to me that she showed too little gratitude to Tavia for her kindliness, but I realized that that was Sonoma Tora's way, that it was born in her, and that doubtless deep in her heart, she was fully appreciative and grateful.

However that may be, I cannot but admit that I wished at the time that she would show it by some slight word or deed. We were flying smoothly, slightly above the normal altitude of battleships. The destination control compass was holding the Jama to her course, and after all that I'd passed through, I felt the need of sleep. Faeo, at my suggestion, had rest, it earlier in the night. And as all that was needed was a lookout to keep a careful watch for ships, I entrusted this duty to Fayo. And Tavia and I rolled up in our sleeping silks and furs,

and were soon asleep. Tavia and I were about midship. Fayao was forward at the controls, constantly swinging the periscope to and fro, searching the sky for ships. When I retired, Sonoma Tora was standing at one of the starboard ports looking out into the night, while tall Axtar lay down in the stern of the ship. I had long since removed the gag from his mouth, but he seemed too utterly cowed even to address us, and lay there in morose silence, or perhaps he was asleep, I do not know. I was thoroughly fatigued, and must have slept like a log from the moment that I lay down, until I was suddenly awakened by the impact of a body upon me.

As I struggled to free myself, I discovered to my chagrin that my hands had been deftly bound while I slept, a feat that had been rendered simple by the fact that it is my habit to sleep with my hands together in front of my face. A man's knee was on my chest, pressing me heavily against the deck, and one of his hands clutched me by the throat. In the dim light of the cabin I saw that it was tall Axtar, and that his other hand held a dagger. Silence, he whispered, if you would live, make no sound. And then to make assurance, doubly sure, he gagged me and bound my ankles. Then he crossed quickly to Tavia and bound her, and as he did so, my eyes moved quickly about the interior of the cabin in search of aid.

On the floor, near the controls, I saw fail lying bound and gagged as was I. Sonoma Tora crouched against the wall, apparently overcome by terror. She was neither bound nor gagged. Why had she not warned me? Why had she not? come to my help. If it had been Tavia who remained unbound instead of Sonoma Tora, how different would have been the outcome of Tull Axtar's bid for liberty and revenge? How had it all happened? I was sure that I had bound Tull Axtar so securely that he could not possibly have freed himself, and yet I must have been mistaken, and I cursed myself for the carelessness that had upset all my plans and that might easily eventually spell the doom of helium.

Having disposed of Feo, Tavia, and me, Tullaxar moved quickly to the controls, ignoring Sonoma Tora as he passed by her. In view of the marked terror that she displayed, I could readily understand why he did not consider her any menace to his plans. She was as harmless to him free as bound. Putting the ship about, he turned back toward Jahar, and though he did not understand the mechanism of the destination control compass and could not cut it out,

this made no difference as long as he remained at the controls. The only effect that the compass might have being to return the ship to its former course should the controls be again abandoned while the ship was in motion. Presently he turned toward me. I should destroy you Hadron of Hastor, he said, had I not given the word of a jeddak that I would not? Vagely I wondered to whom he had given his word that he would not kill me, but other and more important thoughts were racing through my mind,

crowding all else into the background. Uppermost among them, of course, were plans for regaining control of the Jama, and secondarily apprehension as to the fate of Tavia, Sonoma, Torah, and Feo. Give thanks for the magnanimity of Tull Axtar, He continued, "'who exacts no penalty for the affront you have put upon him. "'Instead, you are to be set free. "'I shall land you.'

He laughed. "'Free! "'I shall land you in the province of U-Gur!' There was something nasty in the tone of his voice which made his promise sound more like a threat. I had never heard of U-Gur, but I assumed that it was some remote province. from which it would be difficult or impossible for me to make my way either to Jahar or Helium.

Of one thing I was confident that Tull-Axtar would not set me free any place that I might become a menace to him. For hours the Jama moved on in silence. Tull-Axtar had not had the decency or the humanity to remove our gags. He was engrossed with the business of the controls, and Sonoma Tora, crouching against the side of the cabin, never spoke. Nor once in all that time did her eyes turn toward me. What thoughts were passing in that beautiful head? Was she trying to find some plan by which she might turn the tables upon Tull-Axtar,

or was she merely crushed by the hopeless outlook, the prospect of being returned to the slavery of Jhahar? I did not know. I could not guess. She was an enigma to me. How far we traveled or in what direction I do not know. The night had long since passed, and the sun was high when I became aware that Tall Axtar was bringing the ship down.

Presently the purring of the motor ceased, and the ship came to a stop. Leaving the controls, he walked back to where I lay. "'We have arrived in U-Gur,' he said. "'Here I shall set you at liberty. But first, give me the strange thing that rendered you invisible in my palace.' "'The cloak of invisibility.' How had he learned of that? Who could have told him?

There seemed but one explanation, but every fiber of my being shrank even from considering it. I had rolled it up into a small ball and tucked it into the bottom of my pocket pouch, its sheer silk permitting it to be compressed into a very small space. He took the gag from my mouth. "'When you return to your palace at Jahar,' I said, "'Look upon the floor beneath the window

"'in the apartment that was occupied by Sonoma Torah. "'If you find it there, you are welcome to it. "'As far as I am concerned, it has served its purpose well.' "'Why did you leave it there?' he demanded. "'I was in a great hurry when I quit the palace, "'and accidents will happen. "'I will admit that my lie may not have been very clever, "'but neither was Tal Axtar, and he was deceived by it.'

Grumbling, he opened one of the keel hatches, and very unceremoniously, dropped me through it. Fortunately, the ship lay close to the ground, and I was not injured. Next he lowered Tavia to my side, and then he himself descended to the ground. Stooping, he cut the bonds that secured Tavia's wrists. "'I shall keep the other,' he said. "'She pleases.' And somehow I knew that he met Fayo. This one looks like a man, and I swear that she would be as easy to subdue as a she-bant.

I know that type. I shall leave her with you. It was evident that he had not recognized Tavia as one of the former occupants of the women's quarters in his palace, and I was glad that he had not. He re-entered the Jama, but before he closed the hatch, he spoke to us again. I shall drop your weapons when we are where you cannot use them against you. me. And you may thank the future Jadara of Jhaar for the clemency I have shown you. Slowly the Jama rose. Tavia was removing the cords from her ankles, and when she was free

she came and fell to work upon the bonds that secured me. But I was too dazed, too crushed by the blow that had been struck me, to realize any other fact than that Sanumatora, the woman I loved, had betrayed me. For I fully realize now what anyone but a fool would have guessed before, that Tull-Axtar had bribed her to set him free by the promise that he would make her Jadara of Jahar. Well, her ambition would be fulfilled, but at what a hideous cost. Never, if she lived for a thousand years, could she look upon herself or her act with ought but contempt and loathing, unless she was far more degraded than I could possibly believe. No, she would suffer. Of that I was sure.

that thought gave me no pleasure. I loved her, and I could not even now wish her unhappiness. As I sat there upon the ground, my head bowed in misery, I felt a soft arm steal about my shoulders, and a tender voice spoke close to my ear. My poor Hadron! That was all. But those few words embodied such a wealth of sympathy and understanding that, like some miraculous balm, they soothe the agony of my turn. tortured heart. No one but Tavia could have spoken them. I turned, and taking one of her little hands in mine, I pressed it to my lips. "'Loved friend,' I said, "'Thanks be to all my ancestors that it was not you.

I do not know what made me say that. The words seemed to speak themselves without my volition, and yet when they were spoken, there came to me a sudden realization of the horror that I would have felt had it been Tavia who had betrayed me. I could not even contemplate it without an agony of pain. Impulsively, I took her in my arms. Tavia, I cried, promise me that you will never desert me. I could not live without you.

She put her strong young arms about my neck and clung to me. Never this sight of death, she whispered, and then she tore herself from me, and I saw that she was weeping. What a friend! I knew that I could never again love a woman, but what cared I for that if I could have Tavius friendship for life? We shall never part again, Tavia, I said.

If our ancestors are kind and we are permitted to return to Helium, you shall find a home in the house of my father and a mother in my mother. She dried her eyes and looked at me with a strange, wistful expression that I could not fathom. and then, through her tears, she smiled. That odd, quizzical little smile that I had seen before, and that I did not understand any more than I understood a dozen of her moods and expressions, which made her so different from other girls,

and which I think helped to attract me toward her. Her characteristics lay not at all upon the surface. There were depths and undercurrents which one might not easily fathom. Sometimes when I expected her to cry, she laughed. And when I thought that she should be happy, she wept. But she never wept as I have seen other women weep, never hysterically, for Tavia never lost control of herself, but quietly, as though from a full heart rather than from overwrought nerves,

and through her tears there might burst a smile at the end. I think that Tavia was quite the most wonderful girl that I had, had ever known, and as I had come to know her better and see more of her, I had grown to realize that despite her attempt at Manish Disguise, to which she still clung, she was quite the most beautiful girl that I had ever seen. Her beauty was not like that of Sonoma Torah, but as she looked up into my face now, the realization came to me quite suddenly, and for what reason I do not know that the beauty of Tavia far transcended that of Sonoma Tora, because of the beauty of the soul, that shining through her eyes transfigured her whole countenance.

Tall Axtar, true to his promise, dropped our weapons through a lower hatch of the Jama, and as we buckled them on, we listened to the rapidly diminishing sound of the propellers of the departing craft. We were alone and on foot in a strange and doubtless and unhospitable country. Ugore, I said. I have never heard of it.

Have you, Tavia? Yes, she said. This is one of the outlying provinces of Jihar. Once it was a rich and thriving agricultural country, but as it fell beneath the curse of Tull Axtar's mad ambition for manpower, the population grew to such enormous proportions that Uyghur could not support its people. Then, cannibalism started. It began justly with the eating of the officials that Tull Axtar had sent to enforce his cruel decrees. An army was dispatched to subdue the province, but the people were so numerous that they conquered the army and ate the warriors. By this time their farms were ruined. They had no seed,

and they had developed a taste for human flesh. Those who wished to till the ground were set upon by bands of roaming men and devoured. For a hundred years they have been feeding upon one another, until now it is no longer a populous province, but a wasteland, and a wasteland, and inhabited by roving bands, searching for one another that they may eat. I shuddered at her recital. It was obvious that we must escape this accursed place as rapidly as possible.

I asked Havia if she knew the location of Uyghur, and she told me that it lay southeast of Jihar, about a thousand hads and about two thousand hads southwest of Xanator. I saw that it would be useless to attempt to reach helium from here. Such a journey on foot, if it could be accomplished at all, would require years. The nearest friendly city toward which we could turn was Gathal, which I estimated lay some seven thousand hods almost due north. The possibility of reaching Gathal seemed remote in the extreme,

but it was our only hope, and so we turned our faces toward the north and set out upon our long and seemingly hopeless journey toward the city of my mother's birth. The country about us was rolling. with here and there a range of low hills, while far to the north I could see the outlines of higher hills against the horizon. The land was entirely denuded of all but noxious weeds,

attesting the grim battle for survival waged by its unhappy people. There were no reptiles, no insects, no birds. All had been devoured during the century of misery that had lain upon the land. As we plotted onward through this desolate and depressing waste, We tried to keep up one another's spirit as best we could, and a hundred times I had reason to give thanks that it was Tavia, who was my companion, and no other. What could I have done under like circumstances burdened with Sonoma Tora?

I doubt that she could have walked a dozen hods, while Tavia swung along at my side with the lithe grace of perfect health and strength. It takes a good man to keep up with me on a march, but Tavia never lagged. nor did she show signs of fatigue more quickly than I. We are well-matched, Tavia, I said. I had thought of that, a long time ago, she said quietly. We continued on until almost dusk without seeing a sign of any living thing, and were congratulating ourselves upon our good fortune

when Tavia glanced back, as one of us often did. She touched my arm and nodded toward the rear. "'They come,' she said simply. I looked back and saw three figures upon our trail. "'They were too far away for me to be able to do more than identify them as human beings. It was evident that they had seen us, and they were closing the distance between us at a steady trot. "'What shall we do?' asked Tavia. "'Stand and fight, or try to elude them until night falls.'

"'We shall do neither,' I said. "'We shall elude them now, without exerting ourselves in the least. How? She asked. Through the inventive genius of Fortak and the compound of invisibility that I filched from him, splendid! exclaimed Tavia.

I had forgotten your cloak. With it, we should have no difficulty in eluding all dangers between here and Gathol. I opened my pocket pouch and reached in to withdraw the cloak. It was gone, as was the vial containing the remainder of the complex, I looked at Tavia, and she must have read the truth in my expression. You have lost it? she asked.

No, it has been stolen from me, I replied. She came again and laid her hand upon my arm in sympathy, and I knew that she was thinking what I was thinking, that it could have been none other than Sonoma Tora who had stolen it. I hung my head. And to think that I jeopardized your safety, Tavia, to save such as she. Do not judge her hastily, she said.

We cannot know how sorely she may have been tempted, or what threats were used to turn her from the path of honor. Perhaps she is not as strong as we. Let us not speak of her, I said. It is a hideous sensation, Tavia, to feel love turned to hatred. She pressed my arm. Time heals all hurts, she said, and some day you will find a woman worthy of you, if such a one exists.

I looked down at her. If such a one exists, I mused, but she interrupted my meditation with a question. Shall we fight or run, Hadron of Hastor? she demanded. I should prefer to fight and die, I replied, but I must think of you, Tavia. Then we shall remain and fight, she said. "'But Hadron, you must not die.' There was a note of reproach in her tone that did not escape me, and I was ashamed of myself for having seemed to forget the great debt that I owed her for her friendship.

"'I am sorry,' I said. "'Tavia, I could not wish to die while you live.' "'That is better,' she said. "'How shall we fight? "'Shall I stand upon your right or upon your left?' "'You shall stand behind me, Tavia,' I told her. While my hand can hold a sword, you will need no other defense. A long time ago after we first met, she said,

You told me that we should be comrades in arms. That means that we fight together, shoulder to shoulder, or back to back. I hold you to your word, Tandhadron of Hastur. I smiled, and though I felt that I could fight better alone than with a woman at my side, I admired her courage. Very well, I said, Fight at my right, for thus you will be between two swords. The three upon our trail had approached us so closely by this time

that I could discern what manner of creatures they were. And I saw before me naked savages with tangled, unkempt hair, filthy bodies, and degraded faces. The wild light in their eyes, their snarling lips exposing yellow fangs, their stealthy, slinking carriage, gave them more of the appearance of wild beasts than men. They were armed with swords which they carried in their hands, having neither harness nor scabbard.

They halted at a short distance from us, eyeing us hungrily, and doubtless they were hungry, for their flabby belly suggested that they went often empty and were then gorged when meat fell to their lot in sufficient quantities. Tonight these three had hoped to gorge themselves. I could see it in their eyes. They whispered together in low tones for a few minutes, and then they separated and circled us. It was evident that they intended to rush us from different points simultaneously.

"'We'll carry the battle to them, Tavia,' I whispered. When they have taken their positions around us, I shall give the word, and then I shall rush the one in front of me and try to dispatch him before the others can set upon us. Keep close beside me so they cannot cut you off. Shoulder to shoulder until the end, she said. End of Chapter 14. Chapter 15 of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libravox recording is in the public domain.

Chapter 15. The Battle of Jihar Glancing across my shoulder, I saw that the two circling to our rear were already further away from us than he who stood facing us, and realizing that the unexpectedness of our act would greatly enhance the chances of success. I gave the word.

"'Now, Tavia,' I whispered, and together we leap forward at a run straight forward the naked savage facing us. It was evident that he had not expected this, and it was also evident that he was a slow-witted beast, for as he saw us coming, his lower jaw dropped, and he just stood there, waiting to receive us. Whereas, if he had had any intelligence, he would have fallen back to give

his fellows time to attack us from the rear. As our swords crossed, I heard a savage growl from behind, such a growl as might issue from the throat of a wild beast. From the corner of my eye, I saw Tavia glanced back. And then, before I could realize what she intended, she sprang forward and ran her sword, through the body of the man in front of me as he lunged at me with his own weapon. And now, we leaned together, we face the other two who were running rapidly toward us, and I could assure you that it was with a feeling of infinite relief that I realized that the odds were no longer so greatly against us. As the two engaged us, I was handicapped at first by the necessity of constantly keeping an eye

on Tavia, but not for long. In an instant I realized that a master's way of my master's way. her hand was wielding that blade. Its point wove in and out past the clumsy guard of the savage, and I knew, and I guessed he must have sensed, that his life lay in the hollow of the little hand that gripped the hilt. Then I turned my attention to my own antagonist. These were not the best swordsmen that I have ever met, but they were far from being poor swordsmen. Their defense, however, far excelled their offense, and this, I think, was due to two things. things, natural cowardice, and the fact that they usually hunted in packs, which far outnumbered

the quarry. Thus, a good defense only was required, since the death-blow might always be struck from behind by a companion of the one who engaged the quarry from in front. Never before had I seen a woman fight, and I should have thought that I should have been chagrined to have when fighting at my side, but instead I felt a strange thrill that was partly pride, and partly something else that I could not analyze. At first, I think, the fellow-facing Tavia did not realize that she was a woman, but he must have soon, as the scant harness of Barsoom hides little, and certainly did not hide the rounded contours of Tavia's girlish body. Perhaps, therefore, it was surprised that was his undoing, or possibly, when he discovered

her sex, he became overconfident, but at any rate, Tavia slipped her point into his heart just an instant before I finished my man. I cannot say that we were greatly elated over our victory. Each of us felt compassion for the poor creatures, who had been reduced to their horrid state by the tyranny of cruel Tull Axtar, but it had been their lives or ours, and we were glad that it had not been ours. As a matter of precaution, I took a quick look about us as the last of our antagonists fell, and I was glad that I had, for I immediately discern three creatures crouching at the top of a low hill, not far distant.

"'We are not done yet, Tavia,' I said. "'Look!' and pointed in the direction of the three. "'Perhaps they do not care to share the fate of their fellows,' she said. "'They are not approaching.' They can have peace if they want it as far as I am concerned. I said, Come, let us go on. If they follow us, then we'll be time enough to consider them.

As we walked on toward the north, we glanced back occasionally, and presently we saw the three rise and come down the hill toward the bodies of their slain fellows, and as they did so, we saw that they were women and that they were unarmed. When they realized that we were departing, had no intention of attacking them. They broke into a run, and uttering loud, uncanny shrieks, raced madly toward the corpses.

How pathetic, said Tavia sadly. Even these poor degraded creatures possess human emotions. They too can feel sorry at the loss of loved ones. Yes, I said, Poor things, I am sorry for them. Fearing that in the frenzy of their grief, they might attempt to avenge their fallen mates, we kept a close eye upon them,

or we might not have witnessed the horrid sequel of the fray. I wish that we had not. When the three women reached the corpses, they fell upon them, but not with weeping and lamentation, they fell upon them to devour them. Sickened, we turned away and walked rapidly toward the north, until long after darkness had descended. We felt that there was little danger of attack

at night, since there were no savage beasts in a country where there was nothing to support them, and also that it was reasonable to assume that the hunting men would be abroad by day rather than by night, since at night they would be far less able to find quarry or follow it. I suggested to Tavia that we rest for a short time and then push on for the balance of the night, find a place of concealment early in the day, and remain there until night had fallen again, as I was sure that if we followed this plan, we would make better time and suffer less exhaustion by traveling through the cool hours of darkness

and at the same time would greatly minimize the danger of discovery and attack by whatever hostile people lay between us and Gathal. Tavia agreed with me, and so we rested for a short time, taking turns at sleeping and watching. Later we pushed on, and I am sure that we covered a great distance before dawn, though the high hills to the north of us still looked as far away as they had upon the previous day. We now set about searching for some comfortable place of concealment where

we might spend the daylight hours. Neither of us was suffering to any extent from either hunger or thirst, as the ancients would have done under like circumstances, for with the gradual diminution of water and vegetable matter upon Mars during countless ages, all her creatures were, have by a slow process of evolution been enabled to go for long periods without either food or drink, and we have also learned so to control our minds that we do not think of food or drink until we are able to procure it, which doubtless greatly assists us in controlling the cravings of our appetite. After a considerable search, we found a deep and narrow ravine, which seemed a most favorable place in which to hide, but scarcely had we entered it,

when I chanced to see two eyes looking down upon us from the summit of one of the ridges that flanked it. As I looked, the head in which the eyes were set was withdrawn below the summit. That puts an end to this place, I said to Tavia, telling her what I had seen. We must move on and look for a new sanctuary. As we emerged from the ravine at its upper end, I glanced back, and again I saw the creature looking at us, and once again he tried to hide himself from us. As we moved on, I kept glancing back, and occasionally I would see him, one of the hunting men of U-gore.

He was stalking us as the wild beast stalks its prey. The very thought of it filled me with disgust. Had he been a fighting man stalking us merely to kill, I should not have felt as I did. But the thought that he was stealthily trailing us because he desired to devour us was repellent. It was horrifying. Hour after hour, the thing kept upon our trail. Doubtless, he feared to attack because we outnumbered him,

or perhaps he thought we might become separated, or lie down to sleep, or do one of the number of things that travelers might do that would give him the opportunity he sought. But after a while, he must have given up hope. He no longer sought to conceal himself from us, and once, as he mounted a low hill, he stood there silhouetted against the sky, and throwing his head back, he gave voice to a shrill, uncanny cry that made the short hairs upon my neck stand erect. It was the hunting cry of the wild beast calling the pack to the kill.

I could feel Tavius shudder and press more closely to me, and I put my arm about her in a gesture of protection, and thus we walked on in silence for a long time. Twice again the creature voiced his uncanny cry, until at last it was answered ahead of us and to the right. Again we were forced to fight, but this time only two, and when we pushed on again it was with a feeling of depression that I could not shake off, depression for the utter hopelessness of our situation. At the summit of a higher hill than we had before crossed I halted.

Some tall weeds grew there. "'Let us lie down here, Tavia,' I said. "'From here we can watch. "'Let us be the watchers for a while. "'Sleep, and when night comes we shall move on.' She looked tired, and that worried me. But I think she was suffering more from the nervous strain of the eternal stalking than from physical fatigue.

"'I know that it affected me, and how much more might it affect a young girl than a trained fighting man?' She lay very close to me, as though she felt safer thus and was soon asleep, while I watched. From this high vantage point I could see a considerable area of the country about us, and it was not long before I detected figures of men prowling about like hunting bands, and often it was apparent that one was stalking another. There were at least a half a dozen such visible to me at one time.

I saw one overtake his prey and leap upon it from behind. They were at too great a distance from me for me to discern accurately the details of the encounter, but I judged that the stalker ran his sword through the back of his quarry, and then, like a hunting bath, he fell upon his kill and devoured it. I do not know that he finished it, but he was still eating when darkness fell. Tavia had had a long sleep, and when she awoke she reproached me for having permitted her to sleep so long and insisted that I must sleep. From necessity, I have learned to do with little sleep

when conditions are such that I cannot spare the time, though I always make up for it later, and I have also learned to limit my sleep to any length of time that I choose, so that now I awoke promptly when my allotted time had elapsed, and again we set out toward Far Gathal. Again this night, as upon the preceding one, we moved unmolested through the horrid land of U-Gur, and when morning dawned we saw the high hills rising close before us.

Perhaps these hills mark the northern limits of U-Gur, I suggested. I think they do, replied Tavia. They are only a short distance away now, I said. Let us keep on until we have passed them. I cannot leave this a cursed land behind me too soon. Nor I, said Tavia, I sicken at the thought of what I have seen. We had crossed a narrow valley and were entering the hills

when we heard the hateful hunting cry behind us. Turning, I saw a single man moving across the valley toward us. He knew that I had seen him, but he kept steadily on, occasionally stopping to voice his weird scream. He heard an answer come from the east, and then another and another from different directions. We hastened onward, climbing the low foothills that led upward toward the summit far above,

and as we looked back we saw the hunting men converging upon us from all sides. We had never seen so many of them at one time before. Perhaps if we get well up into the mountains we can elude them, I said. Tavia shook her head. At least we have made a good fight, Hadron, she said. I saw that she was discouraged, nor could I wonder, yet a moment later she looked up at me and smiled brightly. "'We still live, Hadron of Hastor,' she exclaimed.

"'We still live, and we have our swords,' I reminded her. As we climbed, they pressed upward behind us, and presently I saw others coming through the hills from the right and from the left. We returned from the low saddle over which I had hoped to cross the summit of the range, for hunting men had entered it from above and were coming down toward us. Directly ahead of us now loomed a high peak, the highest in the range as far as I could see, and only there, up its steep side,

were there no hunting men to bar our way. As we climbed, the sides of the mountain grew steeper, until the ascent was not only most arduous, but sometimes difficult and dangerous. Yet there was no alternative, and we pressed onward toward the summit, while behind us came the hunting men of Uyghur. They were not rushing us,

and from that I felt confident that they knew that they had us cornered. I was looking for a place in which we might make a stand, but I found none, and at last we reached the summit, a circular, level space, perhaps a hundred feet in diameter. As our pursuers were yet some little distance below us, I walked quickly around the outside of the table-like top of the peak. The entire northern face dropped sheer from the summit for a couple of hundred feet,

definitely blocking our retreat. At every other point the hunting men were ascending. Our situation appeared hopeless. It was hopeless, and yet I refused to admit defeat. The summit of the mountain was strewn with loose rock. I hurled a rock down at the nearest cannibal. It struck him upon the head and sent him hurtling down the mountainside, carrying a couple of his fellows with him.

Then Tavia followed my example, and together we bombarded them. But more often we scored misses than hits, and there were so many of them, and they were so fierce and so hungry, that we did not even stem their advance. So numerous were they now that they reminded me of insects, crawling up there from below, huge, grotesque insects that would soon fall upon us and devour us. As they came nearer, they gave voice to a new cry that, I had not heard before. It was a cry that differ from the hunting call, but was equally as terrible. "'There war cry,' said Tavia.

"'On and on with relentless persistency the throng swarmed upward toward us. We drew our swords. It was our last stand. Tavia pressed closer to me, and for the first time I thought I felt her tremble. "'Do not let them take me,' she said. "'It is not death that I fear.' I knew what she meant, and I took her in my arms. I cannot do it, Tavia, I said. I cannot. You must, she replied in a firm voice. If you care for me even as a friend, you cannot let these beasts take me alive. I know that I choke then, so that I could not reply,

but I knew that she was right, and I drew my dagger. Goodbye, Hadron. My Hadron! Her breast was bared to receive my dagger. Her face was upturned toward mine. It was still a brave face with no fear upon it, and oh, how beautiful it was! Impulsively, guided by a power I could not control,

I bent and crushed my lips to hers. With half-closed eyes, she pressed her own lips upward more tightly against mine. Oh, Isis! She breathed as she took them away, and then, They come, strike now, Hadron, and strike deep. The creatures were almost at the summit. I swung my hand upward that I might bury the slim dagger deeply in that perfect breast.

To my surprise, my knuckles struck something hard above me. I glanced upward. There was nothing there. Yet something impelled me to feel again, to solve that uncanny mystery even in that instant of high tragedy. Again I felt above me. By Isis, there was something there. My fingers passed over a smooth surface, a familiar surface.

It could not be, and yet I knew that it must be. The Jama! I asked no questions of myself, nor of fate at that instant. The hunting men of Uyghur were almost upon us, as my groping fingers found one of the mooring rings in the bow of the Jama. quickly I swung Tavia above my head. "'It is the Jama! Climmed to her deck!' I cried. The dear girl, as quick to seize upon the fortuitous opportunities as any trained fighting man,

did not pause to question, but swung herself upward to the deck with the agility of an athlete. And as I seized the mooring-ring and drew myself upward, she had lay flat upon her belly, and reaching down assisted me, nor was the strength in that slender frame unequal to the task. The leaders of the horde had reached the summit. They paused in momentary confusion when they saw us climb into thin air and stand there, apparently just above their heads. But hunger urged them on, and they leaped for us, clambering upon one another's back and shoulders to seize us and drag us down.

To almost gain the deck as I fought them all back, single-handed, while Tavia had raised a hatch and leaped to the controls. Another foul-faced thing reached the deck upon the opposite side, and only chance revealed him to me before he had run his sword through my back. The Jama was already rising, and I turned to engage him. There was little room there in which to fight, but I had the advantage in that I knew the extent of the deck beneath my feet, while he could see nothing but thin air.

I think it frightened him, too, and when I rushed him he stepped backward out into space, and with a scream of terror, hurtled downward toward the ground. We were saved, but how, in the name of all our ancestors, had the Jama chance to be at this spot? Perhaps Tull Axtar was aboard.

The thought filled me with alarm for Tavia's safety, and with my sword ready, I leaped through the hatchway into the cabin, but only Tavia was there. We tried to arrive at some explanation of the miracle that had saved us, but no amount of conjecture brought forth anything that was at all satisfactory.

She was there when we needed her most, said Tavia. That fact should satisfy us. I guess it will have to for the time being at least, I said, and now, once more, we can turn a ship's nose toward helium. We had passed but a short distance beyond the mountains when I sighted a ship in the distance, and shortly thereafter another and another, until I was aware that we were approaching a great,

fleet moving toward the east. As we came closer, I described the hulls painted with the ghastly blue of Jihar, and I knew that this was Tull Axtar's formidable armada. And then we saw ships approaching from the east, and I knew that it was the fleet of helium. It could be no other. Yet I must make certain. And so I sped in the direction of the nearest ship of this other fleet until I saw the banners and penins of helium floating from her upper works, and the battle insignia of the warlord painted upon her prow. Behind her came the other ships, a noble fleet moving to inevitable doom.

A Jaharian cruiser was moving toward the first great battleship as I raced to intercept them and bring one of my rifles into action. I was forced to come close to my target, as was the Jaharian cruiser, since the effective range of the disintegrating ray rifle is extremely limited. Everything aboard the battleship of Helium was ready for action, but I knew why they had not fired a gun. It has ever been the boast of John Carter, warlord of Barsoom, that he would not start a war.

The enemy must fire the first shot. If I could have reached them in time, he would have realized the fatal consequences of this magnanimous and chivalrous code, and the ships of Helium, with their long-range guns, might have annihilated Jahar's entire fleet before it could have brought its deadly rifles within range. But fate had ordained otherwise, and now the best that I could hope

was that I might reach the Jaharian ship before it was too late. Tavia was at the controls. We were racing toward the blue cruiser of Jihar. I was standing at the forward rifle. In another moment we should be within range. And then I saw the great battleship of Helium crumbled in mid-air. Its wooden parts dropped slowly toward the ground, and a thousand warriors plunged to a cruel death upon the barren land beneath.

Almost immediately the other ships of Helium were brought to a stop. They had witnessed the catastrophe that had engulfed the first ship of the line, and the commander of the fleet had realized that they were menaced by a new force of which they had no knowledge. The ships of Tall Axtar, encouraged by this first success, were now moving swiftly to the attack. The cruiser that had destroyed the great battleship was in the lead, but now I was within range of it. Realizing that the blue protective paint of Jahar would safeguard the ship itself against the disintegrating ray, I had rammed home a cartridge of another type in the chamber, and swinging the muzzle of the rifle

so that it would rake the entire length of the ship, I pressed the button. Instantly the men upon the deck dissolved into thin air. Only their harness and their metal and their weapons were left. Directing Tavi to run the Jama alongside, I raised the upper hatch and leaped to the deck of the cruiser, and a moment later I had raised the signal of surrender above her. One can imagine the consternation aboard the nearer ships of Jahar as they saw that signal flying from her forward mast,

for there were none sufficiently close to have witnessed what actually tried. transpired aboard her. Returning to the cabin of the Jama, I lowered the hatch and went at once to the periscope. Far in the rear of the first line of Jaharian ships, I could just discern the royal insignia upon a great battleship, which told me that Tull Axtar was there, but in a safe position. I should have liked to reach his ship next, but the fleet was moving forward toward the ships of Helium, and I dared not spare the time. By now the ships of helium had opened fire, and shells were exploding about the leading ships of the Jaharian fleet.

Shells so nicely timed that they could be set to explode at any point up to the extreme range of the gun that discharges them. It takes nice gunnery to synchronize the timing with the target. As ship after ship of the Jaharian fleet was hit, the others brought their big guns into action. temporarily, at least, the disintegrating-ray rifles had failed, but that they would succeed I knew if a single ship could get through the Heliomatic line, where among the great battleships she could destroy a dozen in the space of a few minutes. The gunnery of the Jaharians was poor. Their shells usually exploded high in the air before they reached their target,

but as the battle continued, it improved. Yet I knew that Jihar never could hope to defeat Helium with Helium's own weapons. A great battleship of Tull Axtar's fleet was hit three times in succession, almost alongside of me. I saw her drop by the stern, and I knew that she was done for. And then I saw her commander rush to the bow and take the last long dive, and I knew that there were brave men in Tull Axtar's fleet, as well as in the fleet of Helium. But Tull Axtar was not one of them, for in the distance I could see his flagship racing toward Jahar. Despite the cowardice of the Jeddak, the great fleet pushed on to the attack.

If they had the courage, they could still win, for their ships outnumbered the ships of helium ten to one, and as far as the eye could reach, I could see them speeding from the north, from the south and from the west, toward the scene of battle. Closer and closer the ships of helium were pressing toward the ships of Jahar. In his ignorance, the warlord was playing directly into the hands of the enemy. With their superior marksmanship and twenty battleships protected by the blue pane of Jihar, helium could wipe out Tull Axtar's great Armada. Of that I was confident. And with that thought came in inspiration. It might be done, and only Tandran of Hastur could do it.

Shells were falling all about us. The force of the explosions rocked the Jama until she tossed and pitched like an ancient ship upon an ancient sea. Again and again were we perilously close to the line of fire of the Jahari and disintegrating ray rifles. I felt that I might no longer risk Tavia thus, yet I must carry out the plant that I had conceived. It is strange how men change, and for what seemingly trivial reasons. I had thought all my life that I would make any sacrifice for helium, but now I knew that I would not sacrifice a single hair of that tousled head for all barsoom. This, I soliloquized, is friendship.

Taking the controls, I turned the bow of the Jama toward one of the ships of Helium that was standing temporarily out of the line of fire, and as we approached her side, I turned the controls back over to Tavia, and raising the forward hatch, sprang to the deck of the Jama, raising both hands above my head in a signal of surrender in the event that they might take me for a Jaharian. What must they have thought when they saw me apparently floating upright upon thin air? That they were astonished was evident by the expressions on the faces of those nearest to me

as the Jama touched the side of the battleship. They kept me covered as I came aboard, leaving Tavia to maneuver the Jama. Before I could announce myself I was recognized by a young officer of my own Umak. With a cry of surprise he leaped forward and threw his arms about me. of Hastor, he cried, have I witnessed your resurrection from death? But no, you are too real, too much alive to be any wraith of the other world. I am alive now, I cried, but none of us will be, unless I can get word to your commander.

Where is he? Here, said a voice behind me, and I turned to see an old Adwar, who had been a great friend of my father's. He recognized me immediately, but there was no time even for grief. readings. Warning the fleet that the ships of Jihar are armed with disintegrating ray rifles that can dissolve every ship as you saw the first one dissolve. They are only effective at short range. Keep at least a hard distance from them, and you are relatively safe. And now, if you will give me three men and direct the fire of your fleet away from the Jaharian ships on the

south of their line, I will agree to have twenty ships for you in an hour, ships protected by the blue of Jahar in which you may face their disintegrating ray rifles with impunity. The Adwar knew me well, and upon his own responsibility, he agreed to do what I asked. Three paduars of my own class guaranteed to accompany me. I fetched Tavia aboard the battleship, and turn her over to the protection of the old Odwar, though she objected strenuously to being parted from me. "'We have gone through so much together, Hadron of Hastor,' she said. let us go on to the end together. She had come quite close to me and spoken in a low voice that none might overhear.

Her eyes, filled with pleading, were upturned to mine. I cannot risk you further, Tavia, I said. There is so much danger, then, you think? She asked. We shall be in danger, of course, I said. This is war, and one can never tell. Do not worry, though. I shall come back safely.

"'Then it is that you fear that I shall be in the way,' she said. "'And another can do the work better than I?' "'Of course not,' I replied. "'I am thinking only of your safety.' "'If you are lost, I shall not live. I swear it,' she said. "'So if you can trust me to do the work of a man, let me go with you instead of one of those.' I hesitated.

"'Oh, Hadron of Hastor, please do not leave me here without you, she said. I could not resist her. Very well then, I said, come with me. I would rather have you than any other. And so it was that Tavi replaced one of the paduars on the Jama, much to the officer's chagrin. Before entering the Jama, I turned again to the old Odwar.

If we are successful, I said, a number of Tull Axtar's battleships will move slowly toward the helium line beneath signals of surrender. Their crews will have been destroyed. Have boarding parties ready to take them over. Naturally, everyone aboard the battleship was intensely interested in the Jama, though all that they could see of her was the open hatch and the eye of the periscope. Officers and men lined the rail as we went aboard our invisible craft,

and as I closed the hatch, a loud cheer rang out above me. My first act thoroughly evidenced my need of Tavia. for I put her at the after turret in charge of the rifle there, while one of the paduars took the controls and turned the prow of the Jama toward the Jaharian fleet. I was standing in a position where I could watch the changing scene upon the ground glass beneath the periscope, and when a great battleship swung slowly into the miniature picture before me,

I directed the padwar to lay a straight course for her, but a moment later I saw another battleship moving abreast of her. This was better, and we changed our course to her. passed between the two. They were moving gallantly toward the fleet of Helium, firing their big guns now and reserving their disintegrating ray rifles for closer range. What a magnificent sight they were, and yet how helpless. The tiny, invisible Jama, with her little rifles, constituted a greater menace to them than did the entire fleet of Helium. On they drove, unconscious of the inevitable fate bearing down upon them.

"'Sweep the starboard ship from stern to stern,' I called Atavia. "'I will take this fellow on our port.' And then, to the paduard at the controls, "'Half speed!' Slowly we passed their bows. I touched the button upon my rifle, and through the tiny sighting aperture, I saw the crew dissolve in the path of those awful rays, as the two ships passed.

We were very close, so close, that I could see the expressions of consternation and horror on the faces of some of the warriors as they saw their fellows disappear before their eyes. And then their turn would come, and they would be snuffed out in the twinkling of an eye, their weapons and their metal clattering to the deck. As we dropped a stern of them, our work completed. I had the Padua bring the Jama about and alongside one of the ships which I quickly boarded, running up the signal of surrender.

With the death of the officer at her controls she had fallen off with the wind, but I quickly brought her up again, and setting her at half-speed, her bow toward the ships of helium, I'd lock the controls and left her. Returning to the Jama, we crossed quickly to the other ship, and a few moments later, it too was moving slowly toward the fleet of the warlord, the signal of surrender fluttering above it. So quickly had the blow been struck that even the nearest ships of Jihar were some time in realizing that anything was amiss. Perhaps they were unable to believe their own eyes

when they saw two of their great battleship surrender before having been struck by a single shot. But presently the commander of a light cruiser seemed to awaken to the seriousness of the situation, even though he could not fully have understood it. We were already moving toward another battleship when I saw the cruiser speeding directly toward one of our prizes, and I knew that it would never reach the fleet of helium if he boarded it,

a thing which I must prevent at all costs. His course would bring him across our bow, and as he passed I raked him with the forward rifle. I saw that it would be impossible for Jama to overtake this swift cruiser, which was moving at full speed, and so we had to let her go her way. At first I was afraid she would ram the nearer prize, and had she hit her squarely at the rate that she was traveling,

the cruiser would have plowed halfway through the hull of the battle, battleship. Fortunately, she missed the great ship by a hair, and went speeding on into the midst of the fleet of Helium. Instantly, she was the target for a hundred guns. A barrage of shells was bursting about her, and then there must have been a dozen hits simultaneously, for the cruiser simply disappeared, a mass of flying debris. As I turned back to our work, I saw the havoc being wrought by the big guns of helium upon the enemy ships to the north of me. In the instant that I glanced I saw three great battleships take the final dive, while at least four others were drifting helplessly with the wind,

but other ships of that mighty armada were swinging into action. As far as I could see, they were coming from the north, from the south, and from the west. There seemed no end of them, and now at last I realized that only a miracle could give victory to helium. In accordance with my suggestion, our fleet was holding off. concentrating the fire of its big guns upon the nearer ship of Jahar, constantly seeking to keep those deadly rifles out of range. Again we fell to work, to the grim work that the God of Battle had allotted to us. One by one, twenty great battleships surrendered their deserted decks to us, and as we worked

I counted fully as many more destroyed by the guns of the warlord. In the prosecution of our work, we have been compelled to destroy at least half a dozen small craft, such as scout-flyers and light cruisers, and now these were racing erratically among the remaining ships of the Jiharian fleet, carrying consternation and doubtless terror to the hearts of Tull Axtar's warriors, for all the nearer ships must have realized long since that some strange new force had been loosed upon them by the ships of helium. By this time we'd work so far behind the Jihari in first line that we could no longer see the ships of Helium, though bursting shells attested the fact that they were still there.

From past experience I realized that it would be necessary to protect the captured Jaharian ships from being retaken, and so I turned back, taking a position where I could watch as many of them as possible, and it was well that I did so, for we found it necessary to destroy the crews of three more ships before we reached the battle line of helium. Here they had already manned a dozen of the captured battleships of Jahar, and with the banners and pennons of helium above them, they had turned about and were moving into action against their sister ships. It was then that the spirit of Jahar was broken.

This, I think, was too much for them, as doubtless the majority of them believed that these ships had gone over to the enemy voluntarily with all their officers and crews, for few, if any, could have known that the latter had been destroyed. Their jeddak had long since deserted them. Twenty of their largest ships had gone over to the enemy, and now protected by the blue of Jihar and manned by the best gunners of Barsoom were plowing through them, spreading death and destruction upon every hand. A dozen of Tull-Axtar ships surrendered voluntarily,

and then the others turned and scattered. Very few of them headed toward Jahar, and I knew by that that they believed that the city must inevitably fall. The warlord made no effort to pursue the fleeing craft. Instead, he stationed the ships that we captured from the enemy, more than 30 all told now, entirely around the fleet of helium, to protect it from the disintegrating ray rifles of the enemy in the event of a renewed attack,

and then, slowly, we moved on Jihar. End of Chapter 15 Chapter 16 of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 16. Despair Immediately after the close of the battle, the warlord sent for me, and a few moments later, Tavia and I stepped aboard the flagship. The warlord himself came forward to meet us.

I knew, he said, that the son of Hadd Ertar would give a good account of himself. He and him could scarcely pay the debt of gratitude that you have placed upon her today. "'You have been to Jihar. Your work today convinces me of that. May we with safety approach and take the city?' "'No,' I replied, and then briefly I explained the mighty force that Tull Axtar had gathered, and the armament with which he expected to subdue the world. "'But there is a way,' I said. "'And what is that?' he asked. "'Send one of the captured Jaharian ships with the flag of truce, "'and I believe that Tull Axtar will surrender.

"'He is a coward. "'He fled in terror when the battle was still young. "'Will he honor a flag of truce? "'If it is carried aboard one of his own ships, "'protected by the blue paint of Jahar, I believe that he will,' I said. "'But at the same time I shall accompany the ship in the invisible Jama. "'I know how I may gain entrance to the palace.' I have abducted Tall Axtar once, and perchance I may be able to do it again.

If you have him in your hands, you can dictate terms to the nobles, all of whom fear the terrific power of the hungry multitude that is held in check now only by the instinctive terror they feel for their jeddak. As we waited for the former Jaharian cruiser that was to carry the flag of truce to come alongside, John Carter told me what had delayed the expedition against Jihar for so many months. The Major Domo of Torhatan's palace, to whom I had entrusted the message to John Carter, and which would have led immediately to the descent upon Jihar, had been assassinated while on his way to the palace of the warlord.

Suspicion, therefore, did not fall upon Tall Axtar, and the ships of helium scoured Barsoom for many months in vain search for Sonoma Torah. It was only by accident that Caltaven, the slave, who had overheard my conversation with the Major Domo, learned that the ships of Helium had not been dispatched to Jihar, for a slave ordinarily is not taken into the confidences of his master, and the arrogant Torhatan was of all men least likely to do so. But Caltavern did hear eventually,

and he went himself to the warlord and told his story. "'For her services,' said John Carter, "'I gave him his freedom, and as it was apparent from his demeanor that he had been born to the nobility in his native country, though he did not tell me this, I gave him service aboard the fleet. He has turned out to be an excellent man, and recently I have made him a d'war. Having been born in Janath and served in Cobol, he was more familiar with this part of Barsoom than any other man in Helium. I therefore assigned him to duty with the navigating officer of the fleet, and he is now aboard the flagship.

I had occasion to notice the man immediately after Sonoma Torah's abduction, I said, and I was much impressed by him. I am glad that he has found his freedom and the favor of the warlord. The cruiser that was to bear the flag of truce was now alongside. The officer in command reported to the warlord, and as he received his instructions, Tavia and I returned to the Jama. We had decided to carry on our part of the plan alone, for if it became necessary to abduct Tall Axtar again,

I had hoped also that I might find Fayo and Sonoma Tora, and if so, the small cabin of the Jama would be sufficiently crowded without the addition of the two Padwars. They were reluctant to leave her, for I think they had had the most glorious experience of their lives during the short time that they had been aboard her, but I gained permission from the warlord for them to accompany the cruiser to Jahar. Once again Tavia and I were alone. Perhaps this will be our last cruise aboard the Jama, I said.

I think I shall be glad to rest, she replied. You are tired, I asked. More tired than I realized until I felt the safety and security of that great fleet of helium about me. I think that I am just tired of being always in danger. I should not have brought you now, I said. There is yet time to return you. to the flagship. She smiled. You know better than that, Hadron, she said. I did know better. I knew that she would not leave me. We were silent for a while as the Jama slid through the air

slightly astern of the cruiser. As I looked at Tavia's face, it seemed to reflect a great weariness, and there were little lines of sadness there that I had not seen before. Presently she spoke again in a dull tone that was most unlike her. own. I think that Sonoma Torah will be glad to come away with you this time, she said. I do not know, I said. It makes no difference to me whether she wishes to come or not. It is my duty to fetch her. She nodded. Perhaps it is best, she said. Her father is a noble and very rich. I did not understand what that had to do with it, and not being particularly interested for a in either Sonoma Torah or her father, I did not pursue the conversation. I knew that it was

my duty to return Sonoma Torah to Helium, if possible, and that was the only interest I had in the affair. We were well within the sight of Jihar before we encountered any warships, and then a cruiser came to meet ours which bore the flag of truce. The commander of the two boats exchanged a few words, and then the Jaharian craft turned and led the way toward the palace of Tall Axtar. It moved slowly, and I forged on ahead, my plans already made, and the Jama, being clothed with invisibility, needed no escort. I steered directly to that wing of the palace which contained the women's quarters,

and slowly circled it, by periscope on a line with the windows. We had rounded the end of the wing in which the great hall lay where Tall Axtar held court with his women, when the periscope came opposite the windows of a gorgeous apartment. I brought the ship to a stop before it, as I had before some of the others which I wished to examine, and while the slowly-moving periscope brought different parts of the large room to the ground-glass plate before me, I saw the figures of two women, and instantly I recognized them. One was Sonoma Torah, and the other, Fayo, and upon the figure of the former hung the gorgeous trappings of a Jedara. The woman I had loved had achieved her goal, but it caused me no pang of her.

jealousy. I searched the balance of the apartment, and finding no other occupant, I brought the deck of the jama close below the sill of the window. Then I raised a hatch and leaped into the room. At sight of me, Sonoma Tora arose from the divan upon which she had been sitting and shrank back in terror. I thought that she was about to scream for help, but I warned her to silence. And at the same instant, Fayo sprang forward, and seizing Sonoma Tora's arm, clapped a palm over her mouth. A moment later I had gained her side. The fleet of Jahar has gone down to defeat before the ships of Helium, I told Sonoma Torah, and I have come to take you back to your own country.

She was trembling so that she could not reply. I had never seen such a picture of abject terror, induced, no doubt, by her own guilty conscience. I am glad you have come, Hadron of Hastur, said Fayo, "'For I know that you will take me too.' "'Of course,' I said. "'The Jama lies just outside that window. "'Come, we shall soon be safe aboard the flagship of the warlord.' "'While I had been talking, I had become aware of a strange noise

"'that seemed to come from a distance, "'and which rose and fell in volume, "'and now would appear to be growing nearer and nearer. "'I could not explain it. "'Perhaps I did not attempt to, "'for at best I could be only mildly interested. I had found two of those whom I sought. I would get them aboard the Jama, and then I would try to locate Tall Axtar.

At that instant the door burst open, and a man rushed into the room. It was Tall Axtar. He was very pale, and he was breathing hard. At sight of me he halted and shrank back, and I thought that he was going to turn and run, but he only looked fearfully back through the open door, and then he turned to me trembling. They're coming! He cried in a voice of terror. They will tear me to pieces.

Who is coming? I demanded. The people! he said. They have forced the gates, and they are coming. Do you not hear them? So that was the noise that had attracted my attention, the hungry hordes of Jahar searching out the author of their misery. The Jama is outside that window, I said. If you will come aboard her as a prisoner of war,

I will take you to the warlord of Barsoom. "'He will kill me, too,' wailed Tallax-Star. "'He should,' I assured him. He stood looking at me for a moment, and I could see in his eyes and the expression of his face the reflection of a dawning idea. His countenance lightened. He looked almost hopeful. "'I will come,' he said. "'But first, let me get one thing to take with me. It is in yonder cabinet.' "'Hasen,' I said.

He went quickly to the cabinet, which was a tall affair reaching from the floor almost to the ceiling, and when he opened the door it hid him from our view. As I waited, I could hear the crash of weapons upon levels below, and the screams and shrieks and curses of men, and I judged that the palace guard was holding the mob, temporarily at least. Finally I became impatient. "'Hasen tall axedar,' I called. But there was no reply.

Again I called him, with the same result, and then I crossed the room to the cabinet, but Tall Axtar was not behind the door. The cabinet contained many drawers of different sizes, but there was not one large enough to conceal a man, nor any through which he could have passed to another apartment. Hastily I searched the room, but Tall Axtar was nowhere to be found. Then I chanced to glance at Sonoma Tora. She was evidently trying to attract my attention, but she was so terrified that she could not speak. With trembling fingers she was pointing toward the window.

I looked in that direction, but I could see nothing. What is it? What are you trying to say, Sonoma Torah? I demanded as I rushed to her side. Gone, she managed to say. Gone! Who is gone? I demanded.

Tallax-Star. Where? What do you mean? I insisted. The hatch of the Jama. I saw it open and close. But it cannot be possible. We have been standing here looking.

And then a thought struck me that left me almost dazed. I turned to Sonoma Tora. The cloak of invisibility? I whispered. She nodded. Almost in a single bound I crossed the room to the window and was feeling for the deck of the Jama. It was not there.

The ship had gone. Tall Axtar had taken it, and Tavia was with him. I turned back and crossed the room to Sonoma Tora. A cursed woman! I cried. Your selfishness, your vanity, your treachery has jeopardized the safety of one whose footprints you are not fit to touch. I wanted to close my fingers upon that perfect throat. I yearn to see the agony of death upon that beautiful face.

But I only turned away, my hands dropping. at my sides, for I am a man, a noble of Helium, and the women of Helium are sacred, even such as Sonoma Torah. From below came the sounds of renewed fighting. If the mob broke through, I knew that we should all be lost. There was but one hope for even temporary safety, and that was the slender tower above the women's quarters. Follow me, I said curtly. As we entered the main corridor, I caught a glimpse of the interior of the Great Hall where Tull Axtar had held court. It was filled with terrified women. Well, they knew what the fate of the women of a jeddak would be at the hands of an infuriated mob. My heart went out to them, but I could

not save them. Lucky, indeed, should I be, if I were able to save these two. Crossing the corridor, we ascended the spiral ramp to the storeroom, where, after entering, I took the precaution to bolt the door. Then I ascended the ladder toward the trap-door at the summit of the tower, the two women following me. As I raised the trap and looked about me, I could have cried aloud with joy. For circling low above the roof of the palace was the cruiser flying the flag of truce. I apprehended no danger of discovery by Jahari and warriors, since I knew that they were all well-occupied below, those who were not fleeing for their lives. And so I sprang to the summit of the tower and hailed the cruiser in a voice that they might well hear above the howling of

a mob. An answering hail came from the deck of the craft, and a moment later she dropped to the level of the tower roof. With the help of the crew I assisted Fayo and Sonoma Tora aboard. The officer in command of the cruiser stepped to my side. Our mission here is fruitless, he said. Word has just been brought me that the palace has fallen before the onslaught of a mob of infuriated citizens. The nobles have commandeered every craft upon which they could lay hands and have fled. There is no one with whom we can negotiate a piece. No one knows what has become of Tall Axtar. I know, I told him, and then I narrated what had happened in the apartment of the Jadara. We must pursue him, he said. We must

overtake him and carry him back to the warlord. Where shall we look? I asked. The Jama may lie within a dozen sofans of us, and even so we could not see her. I shall search for him, never fear, and some day I shall find him. But it is useless now to try and find the Jama. Let us return to the flagship of the warlord. I do not know that John Carter fully realized the loss that I had sustained, but I suspect that he did, for he offered me all the resources of helium in my search for Tavia. I thanked him, but asked only for a fast ship.

one in which I might devote the remainder of my life in what I truly believe would prove a futile search for Tavia, for how could I know where in all wide Barsum Tull Axtar would elect to hide? Doubtless, there were known to him many remote spots in his own empire where he could live in safety for the balance of his allotted time on Bersum. To such a place he would go, and because of the Jama no man could see him pass. There would be no clue by which to follow him. him, and he would take Tavia with him, and she would be his slave. I shuddered, and my nails sank into my palms at the thought. The warlord ordered one of the newest and swiftest flyers of Helium to be brought alongside the flagship. It was a trim craft of the semi-cabin type

that would easily accommodate four or five in comfort. From his own stores he had provisions and water transferred to it, and he added wine from tarth and jars of the famous honey of Dussar." Sonoma Tora and Fayao had been sent at once to a cabin by the warlord, for the deck of a man-of-war on duty is no place for women. I was about to depart when a messenger came saying that Sonoma Tora wished to see me. I do not wish to see her, I replied. Her companion also begged that you would come, replied the messenger.

That was different. I had almost forgotten Fahoe, but if she wished to see me I would go. go, and so I went at once to the cabin where the two girls were. As I entered, Sonoma Torah came forward and threw herself upon her knees before me. "'Have pity on me, Hadron of Hastor!' she cried. "'I have been wicked, but it was my vanity and not my heart that sinned. Do not go away. Come back to Helium and I will devote my life to your happiness.

Torhatan, my father, is rich. The mate of his only child may live forever in luxury. I am afraid that my lips curled to the sneer that was in my heart. What a petty soul was hers. Even in her humiliation and her penitence, she could see no beauty and no happiness greater than wealth and power. She thought that she was changed, but I knew that Sonoma Tora never could change.

Forgive me, Tandran, she cried, Come back to me, for I love you. Now I know that I love you." "'Your love has come too late, Sanoma Tora,' I said. "'You love another?' she asked. "'Yes,' I replied. "'The Jadar of some strange countries you have been through,' she asked. "'A slave girl,' I replied.

Her eyes went wide in incredulity. She could not conceive that one might choose a slave girl to the daughter of Torhatan. "'Impossible,' she said. "'It is true, though,' I assured her. "'A little slave-girl is more desirable to Tanhadron of Hastur than is Sonoma Torah, the daughter of Torhatan.' And with that I turned my back upon her and faced Fayo. "'Good-bye, dear friend,' I said.

"'Doubtless we shall never meet again. But I shall see to it that you have a good home in Hastor. I shall speak to the warlord before I leave and have him send you directly to my mother. She laid her hand upon my shoulder. "'Let me go with you, Tandhadron,' she said, "'for perhaps while you are searching for Tavia you will pass near Jama.' I understood instantly what she met, and I reproached myself for having even temporarily forgotten N'er Anne.

"'You shall come with me, Fayo,' I said, and my first duty shall be to return to Jama and rescue Nouran from poor old Fort-Tac. Without another glance at Sonoma Tora, I led Fayo from the cabin, and after a few parting words with the warlord we boarded my new ship, and with friendly farewells in our ears, headed west toward Jama. Being no longer protected by the invisibility compound of Fort Tach, or the disintegrating ray-resisting paint of Jahar, We were forced to keep a sharp lookout for enemy ships, of which I had but little fear if we

sighted them in time, for I knew that I could outdistance any of them. I set the destination control compass upon Jama and opened the throttle wide. The swift Barsoomian night had fallen. The only sound was the rush of thin air along our sides, which drowned out the quiet purring of our motor. For the first time since I had found her again in the quarters of the Jadar at Jhaar, I had an opportunity to talk with Fayo, and the first thing I asked her was for an explanation

of the abandonment of the Jama after Tull Axtar had grounded Tavia and me in U-Gor. It was an accident, she said, that threw Tull Axtar into a great fit of rage. We were headed for Jahar when he sighted one of his own ships, which took us aboard as soon as they discovered the identity of the Jeddak. It was at night, and in the confusion of boarding the Jaharian war,

warship, Tull Axtor momentarily forgot the Jama, which must have drifted away from the larger craft the moment that we left her. They cruised about searching for her for a while, but at last they had to give it up, and the ship proceeded toward Jahar. The miracle of the presence of the Jama at the top of the peak, where we had so providentially founded in time to escape from the hunting men of U-Gur, was now no longer a miracle. The prevailing winds in this part of Barsoom are from the northwest at this time of the year. The Jama had merely drifted with the wind and chanced to lodge upon the highest peak of the range. Feo also told me why Tull Axtar had originally abducted Sonoma Tora from Helium.

He had had his secret agents at Helium for some time previous, and they had reported to him that the best way to lure the fleet of Helium to Jihar was to abduct a woman of some noble family. He had instructed them to select a beautiful one, and so they had decided upon the daughter of Torhatan. But how did they expect to lure the fleet of Helium to Jhaar if they left no clue as to the identity of the abductors of Sonoma Torah? I asked. They left no clue at the time because Tall Axtar was not ready to receive the attack of helium, explained Fayo. But he had already sent his agents where to to drop a hint as to the whereabouts of Sonoma Torah, when John Carter learned through other

sources the identity of her abductors. So it all worked out the way Tull Axtar had planned. I said, except the finish. We passed the hours with brief snatches of conversation and long silences, each occupied with his own thoughts. Fayos doubtless a mixture of hope and fear, but there was little room for hope in mind. The only pleasant process was a moment of the only pleasant prospects that lay before me lay in rescuing Nur-Anne, and reuniting him and Fayo. After that, I would take them to any country to which they wish to go, and then return to the vicinity of Jihar and prosecute my hopeless search. I heard what you said to Sonoma Torah in the cabin of the flagship, said Fayo, after a long

silence, and I was glad. I said a number of things, I reminded her. To which do you refer? You said that you loved Tavia, she replied. I said nothing of the kind. I rejoined rather shortly, for I almost loathe that word. But you did, she insisted. You said that you loved a little slave girl, and I know that you love Tavia. I have seen it in your eyes. You have seen nothing of the kind. Because you are in love, you think that everyone must be. She laughed. "'You love her, and she loves you.'

"'We are only friends, very good friends,' I insisted, "'and furthermore, I know that Tavia does not love me.' "'How do you know?' "'Let us not speak of it any more,' I said, "'but though I did not speak of it, I thought about it. "'I recalled that I had told Sonoma Tora "'that I loved a little slave girl, "'and I knew that I had Tavia in my mind at the time,

but I thought that I had said it more to wound Sonoma Tora than for any other purpose. I tried to analyze my own feelings, but at last I gave it up as a foolish thing to do. Of course I did not love Tavia. I love no one. Love was not for me. Sonomator had killed it within my breast, and I was equally sure that Tavia did not love me. If she had, she would have shown it, and I was quite sure that she had never demonstrated any other feeling for me than the finest of comradeship. We were just what she had said we were, comrades in arms, and nothing else. It was still dark when I saw the gleaming white palace of Fort Tack, shining softly in the moonlight far below us. Late as it was, there were lights

in some of the rooms. I had hoped that all would be asleep, for my plan was. I had hoped that all would be asleep, for my plans depended upon my ability to enter the palace secretly. I knew that Fort Tack never kept any watch at night, feeling that none was needed in such an isolated spot. Silently, I dropped the flyer until it rested upon the roof of the building where Nur-Anne and I had first landed, for I knew that there I would find a passage to the palace below. "'Wait here, the controls fail,' I whispered.

"'Nur Anne and I may have to come away in a hurry, and you must be ready.' She nodded her head understandingly, and a moment later I had slipped quietly to the roof and was approaching the opening that led down into the interior. As I paused at the top of the spiral ramp, I felt quickly of my weapons to see that each was in its place. John Carter had fitted me out anew. Once more I stood in the leather and metal of helium, with a full complement of the of weapons such as belonged to a fighting man of Barsoom. My long sword was of the best steel,

for it was one of John Carter's own. Beside this, I carried a short sword and a dagger, and once again a heavy radium pistol hung at my hip. I loosened the ladder in its holster as I started down the spiral ramp. As I approached the bottom, I heard a voice. It was coming from the direction of Fortax Laboratory, the door of which opened upon the corridor at the the bottom of the ramp. I crept slowly downward. The door leading to the laboratory was closed. Two men were conversing. I could recognize the thin, high voice of Fortak. The other voice was not that of Nouran, and yet it was strangely familiar. "'Ritches beyond your dream,' I heard the second man say. "'I do not need riches,' cackled Fortakled. "'Hay-you, presently, I shall all. "'I shall all. "'I shall all. "'I shall all. "'I shall all. "'I shall all. "'Presently, "'I shall all. "'I shall all. "'Presently, "'I shall

own all the riches in the world! You will need help. I could hear the other man say in a pleading tone. I can give you help. You shall have every ship of my great fleet. That remark brought me up upstanding. Every ship of my great fleet. It could not be possible, and yet...

Gently I tried the door. To my surprise, it swung open, revealing the interior of the room. Beneath a bright light stood Tall Axtar. Fifty feet from him, Fort Tak was standing behind a bench upon which was mounted a disintegrating ray rifle aimed full at Tall Axtar. Where was Tavia? Where was Nouran?

Perhaps this man alone knew where Tavia was, and Fortak was about to destroy him. With a cry of warning, I leaped into the room. Tall Axtar and Fort Tack looked at me quickly, surprised large upon him. their countenances. Hey-oh! screamed the old inventor. So, you have come back! Naive! In great! traitor! But you have come back only to die!

Wait! I cried, raising my hand. Let me speak. Silence! screamed for attack. You shall see till Axtar die. I hated to kill him without someone to see. someone to witness his death agony. I shall have my revenge on him first, and then on you. Stop! I cried.

His finger was already hovering over the button that would snatch Tal-Axtar into oblivion, perhaps with the secret of the whereabouts of Tavia. I drew my pistol. Fortak made a sudden motion with his hands and disappeared. He vanished as though turned to thin air by his own disintegrating rays, but I knew what had happened. I knew that he had thrown a mantle of invisibility around himself,

and I fired at the spot where he had last been visible. At the same instant, the floor opened beneath me, and I shot into utter darkness. I felt myself hurtling along a smooth surface, which gradually became horizontal, and an instant later I shot into a dimly lighted apartment, which I knew must be located in the pits beneath the palace. I had conned to my pistol as I fell, and now, as I rose to my feet, I thrust it back into its

holster. At least I was not unarmed. The dim light in the apartment, which was little better than no light at all, I discovered came from a ventilator in the ceiling, and that, aside from the shaft that had conducted me to the cell, there was no other opening in the wall or ceiling or floor. The ventilator was about two feet in diameter, and led straight up from the center of the cellar. of the ceiling to the roof of the building, several levels above. The lower end of the shaft was about two feet above my fingertips when I extended them high above my head. This avenue of escape then was useless, but alas, how tantalizing. It was maddening to see daylight, and an open avenue to the outer world just above me and be unable to reach it. I was glad that the sun had

risen, throwing its quick light over the scene, for had I fallen here, and had I fallen here, and I was fallen here in utter darkness, my plight would have seemed infinitely worse than now, and my first ancestor knew that it was bad enough. I turned my attention now to the chute through which I had descended, and I found that I could ascend it quite a little distance. But presently it turned steeply upward, and its smoothly polished walls were unscalable. I returned to the pits. I must escape. But now, as my eyes became accustomed to the dim light, I saw strewn about the floor that which snatched away my last hope and filled me with horror. Everywhere upon the stone flagging were heaps and mounds of human bones, picked clean by gnawing rats. I shuddered as I

contemplated the coming of night. How long before my bones too would be numbered among the rest? The thought may be frantic, not for myself, but for Tavia. I could not die. I must not die. I must live until I had found her. Hastily, I circled the room, searching for some clue to hope, but I found only rough-hewn stone set in soft mortar. Soft mortar. With realization, hope dawned anew. If I could remove a few of these blocks and pile them one on top of the other, I might easily reach the shaft that terminated in the ceiling above my head.

Drawing my dagger, I fell to work, scraping and scratching at the mortar about one of the stones in the nearest wall. It seemed slow work, but in reality I had loosened the stone in an incredibly short time. The mortar was poor stuff and crumbled away easily. As I drew the block out, my first plan faded in the light of what I saw in front of me. Beyond the opening, I saw a corridor at the foot of a spiral ramp leading upward, and from somewhere above daylight was filtering down. I knew that if I could remove three more of those stones before I was detected,

I could worm my body through the opening into the corridor beyond, and you may well believe that I worked rapidly. One by one, the blocks were loosened and removed, and it was with a feeling of exultation that I slipped through into the corridor. Above me rose a spiral ramp. Where it led, I did not know. but at least it led out of the pits. Cautiously, and yet without any hesitation, I ascended.

I must try to reach the laboratory before Fort Tack had slain Tall Axtar. This time I would make sure of the old inventor before I entered the room, and I pray to all my ancestors that I should be in time. Doors, leading from the ramp to various levels of the palace, were all locked, and I was forced to ascend to the roof. As it chanced, the wing upon which I found myself was more or less detached, so that at first glance I could see no way whereby I could make my way from it to any of the adjoining roofs.

As I walked around the edge of the building hurriedly, looking for some means of descent to the roof below, I saw something one level below me that instantly charged my attention. It was a man's leg protruding from a window, as though he had thrown one limb across the sill. A moment later I saw an arm emerge, and the top of a man's head and his shoulders were visible as he leaned out. He reached down and up, and I saw something appear directly beneath him that had not been there before, and at the same instant I caught a glimpse of a girl, lying a few feet further down, and then I saw the man slide over the sill quickly, and dropped down and disappear, and all that lay below me was the flagging of a courtyard.

But in the brief instant I knew precisely what I had seen. I had seen Tal-Axar raised the hatch of the Jama. I had seen Tavia lying bound on the floor of the ship beneath the hatch. I had seen Tull-Axtar enter the interior of the craft and close the hatch above his head. It takes a long while to tell it when compared with the time in which it actually transpired, nor was I so long in acting as I have been in telling. As the hatch closed, I leapt. End of Chapter 16.

Chapter 17 of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This Libervox recording is in the public domain. Chapter 17. I find a princess. It would be as unreasonable to aver that I fully visualize the outcome of my act as I leaped out into space with nothing visible between me and the flagstones of the courtyard forty feet below, as it would be to assume that I acted solely upon unreasoning impulse. There are emergencies in which the mind functions with inconceivable salarity.

Perceptions are received, judgments arrived at, and reason operates to a definite conclusion all so swiftly that the three acts appear simultaneous. Thus must have been the process in this instance. I knew where the narrow walkway upon the upper deck of the Jama must lie in the seemingly empty space below me, for I had jumped almost the instant that the hatch had closed. Of course, I know now, and I knew then that it would have been a dangerous feat and difficult of achievement even had I been able to see the Jama below me. Yet, as I look back upon it now, there was nothing else that I could have done. It was my one, my last chance to save Tavia from a face of

worse than death. It was perhaps my last opportunity ever to see her again. As I jumped then, I should jump again under like conditions, even though I knew that I should miss the Jama. For now as then, I know that I should rather die than lose Tavia. Although then I did not know why, while now I do. But I did not miss. I landed squarely upon my feet upon the narrow walkway. The impact of my weight upon the upper deck of the craft must have been noticeable to tall Axtar, for I could feel the Jama drop a little beneath me. Doubtless he wondered what had happened, but I do not think that he guessed the truth.

However, he did not raise the hatch as I hoped he would, but instead he must have leaped the controls at once, for almost immediately the Jama rose swiftly at an acute angle, which made it difficult for me to cling to her, since her upper deck was not equipped with harness rings. By grasping the forward edge of the turret, however, I managed to hold on. As Tullax-Tar gained sufficient altitude and straightened out upon his course, he opened the throttle wide, so that the wind rushing by me at terrific velocity seemed momentarily upon the point of carrying me from my precarious hold and hurtling me to the ground far below.

Fortunately, I am a strong man. None other could have survived that ordeal, yet how utterly helpless I was. Had Tull Axtar guessed the truth, he could have raised the afterhatch and had me at his mercy, for though my pistol hung at my side, I could not have released either hand to use it. But doubtless Tull Axtar did not know. Or if he did, he hoped that the high speed of the ship would dislodge whoever or whatever it might have been that he felt drop upon it. I had hung there but a short time before I realized that eventually my hold must weaken and be torn loose. Something must be done to rectify

my position. Tavia must be saved, and because I alone could save her, I must not die. Straining every few, I dragged myself further forward, until I lay with my chest upon the turret. Slowly, inch by inch, I wormed myself forward. The tubular sheeding of the periscope was just in front of me. If I could but reach that with one hand, I might hope to attain greater safety. The wind was buffeting me, seeking to tear me away. I sought a better hold with my left forearm about the turret, and then I reached quickly forward with my right hand,

and my fingers closed about the sheathing. After that it was not difficult to stretch apart of my harness about the front of the turret. Now I found that I could have one hand free, but until the ship stopped I could not hope to accomplish anything more. What was transpiring beneath me? Could Tavia be safe even for a brief time in the power of Tull-Axtar? The thought drove me frantic.

The Jama must be stopped, and then an inspiration came to me. With my free hand I unsnapped my pocket-pouch from my harness, and drawing myself still further forward, I managed to place the open pouch over the eye of the periscope. Immediately, Tall Axtar was blind. He could see nothing. Nor was it long before the reaction that I had expected and hoped for came. The Jama slowed down and finally came to a stop. I had been lying partially upon the forward hatch,

and now I drew myself away from and in front of it. I hoped that it would be the forward hatch that he would be the forward hatch that he would open. It was the closer to him. I waited, and then, glancing forward, I saw that he was opening the ports. In this way, he could see to navigate the ship, and my plan was blocked. I was disappointed, but I would not give up hope. Very quietly, I tried the forward hatch, but it was locked upon the inside. Then I made my way swiftly and silently to the after-hatch. If he should start the jama again, at full speed now, doubtless I should be lost, but I felt that I was forced to risk the chance.

Already the Jama was in motion again as I laid my hand upon the hatch cover. This time I was neither silent nor gentle. I heaved vigorously and the hatch opened. Not an instant did I hesitate, and as the Jama leaped forward again at full speed, I dropped through the hatchway to the interior of the craft. As I struck the deck, Tull-Axtar heard me, and, wheeling from the controls to face me, he recognized me. I think I never before beheld such an expression of mingled astonishment, hatred, and fear as convulsed his features.

At his feet lay Tavia, so quietly still that I thought her dead, and then Tull-A-Th-Tar reached for his pistol and eye for mine, but I have led a cleaner life than Tull-A-Star had. My mind and muscles coordinate with greater celerity than can those of one who has wasted his fiber in dissipation. Point-blank I fired at his putrid heart, and Tullak-Star, Jeddak, and Tyrant of Jihar, lunged forward upon the lower deck of the Jama, dead. Instantly I sprang to Tavie aside and turned her over.

She had been bound and gagged, and for some unaccountable reason, blindfolded as well, but she was not dead. I almost sobbed for joy when I realized that. How my fingers seemed to fumble in their haste to free her! Yet it was only a matter of seconds ere it was done, and I was crushing her in my arms. I know that my tears fell upon her upturned face as our lips were pressed together,

but I am not ashamed of that. And Tavia wept too and clung to me, and I could feel her dear body tremble. How terrified she must have been, and yet I knew she had never shown it to Tall Axtar. It was the reaction, the mingling of relief and joy at the moment that the despair had been blackest. In that instant, as our hearts beat together and she drew me closer to her, a great truth dawned upon me.

What a stupid fool I had been! How could I ever have thought that the sentiment that I entertained for Sonoma Torah was love? How could I ever believe that my love for Tavia had been such a woman? weak thing as friendship. I drew her closer, if such were possible. My princess, I whispered. Upon Barsoom, those two words spoken by man to maid have a peculiar and unalterable significance, for no man speaks thus to any woman that he does not wish for wife. No, no, sobbed Tavia. Take me, I'm yours, but I'm only a slave girl. Tand had a pastor cannot mate with such.

Even then, she thought only of me and my happiness, and not of herself at all. How different she was from such as Sonoma Torah! I had risked my life to win a clot of dirt, and I had found a priceless jewel. I looked her in the eyes, those beautiful, fathomless wells of love and understanding. I love you, Tavia, I said. tell me that I may have the right to call you, my princess. Even though I be a slave, she asked. Even though you are thousand times less than a slave, I told her.

She sighed and snuggled closer to me. My chieftain, she whispered in a low, low voice. That, as far as I, Tandhadron of Hastor is concerned, is the end of the story. That instant marked the highest pinnacle to which I may ever hope to achieve. But there is more that may interest those who have come thus far with me upon adventures that have carried me halfway around the southern hemisphere of Barsoom. When Tavia and I could tear ourselves apart, which was not soon, I opened the lower hatch and let the corpse of Tull Axtar find its last resting place upon the barren ground below.

Then we turned back toward Jama, where we discovered that earlier in the morning, Nuran had come to one of the roofs of the palace and been discovered by Fai'o. When Nuran had learned that I had entered the palace just before dawn, he had become apprehensive and instituted a search for me. He had not known of the coming of Tullaxar, and believed that the jeddak must have arrived after he had retired for the night. Nor had he known how close Tavia had been, lying bound in the Jama close beside the palace wall.

His search of the palace, however, had revealed the fact that Fort Tack was missing. He had summoned his slaves and a careful search had been made, but no sign of Fort Tack was visible. It occurred to me then that I might solve the question as to the whereabouts of the old scientist. Come with me, I said to Nur-Anne. Perhaps I can find Fortak for you. I led him to the laboratory. There is no use searching there, he said. We have looked in a hundred times today. A glance will reveal the fact that the laboratory is deserted. Wait, I said, let us not be in too much of a hurry. Come with me. Perhaps yet I may disclose the

whereabouts of four-attack. With a shrug he followed me as I entered the vast laboratory, and walked toward the bench upon which a disintegrating rifle was mounted. Just back of the bench, my foot struck something that I could not see, but that I had rather expected to find there, and stooping I felt a huddled form beneath a covering of soft cloth. My fingers closed upon the invisible fabric, and I drew it aside. There, before us on the floor, lay the dead body of Fort Tack, a bullet-hole in the center of his breast. Name of Isis! cried Nouran. Who did this? I, I replied. And then I told him what had happened in the laboratory as the last night waned.

He looked around hurriedly. Cover it up quickly, he said. The slaves must not know. They would destroy us. Let us get out of here quickly. I drew the cloak of invisibility over the body of four attack again. I have work here before I leave, I said. What? he demanded.

Help me gather all of the disintegrating ray shells and rifles into one end of the room. What are you going to do? he demanded. I am going to save a world. "'I said.' "'Then he fell to and helped me, and when they were all collected in a pile at the far end of the laboratory, I selected a single shell, and returning to the rifle mounted upon the bench, I inserted it in the chamber,

closed the block, and turned the muzzle of the weapon upon that frightful aggregation of death and disaster. As I pressed the button, all that remained in Jama a Fort-Tax dangerous invention disappeared in thin air, with the exception of the single rifle, for which there remained no ammunition. With it had gone his model of the flying death, and with him the secret had been lost. Nuran told me that the slaves were becoming suspicious of us, and as there was no necessity of risking ourselves further, we embarked upon the flyer that John Carter had given me,

and taking the Jama in tow set our course toward helium. We overtook the fleet shortly before it reached the twin cities of greater helium and lesser helium, and upon the deck of John Carter's flagship, we received a welcome and a great ovation, and shortly thereafter there occurred one of the most remarkable and dramatic incidents that I have ever beheld. We were holding something of an informal reception upon the forward deck of the great battleship. Officers and nobles were pressing forward to be presented, and numerous were the appreciative eyes that admired Tavia.

It was the turn of the dwar, Cal Taven, who had been a slave in the palace of Torehatan. As he came face to face with Tavia, I saw a look of surprise in his eyes. "'Your name is Tavia?' he repeated. "'Yes,' she said, "'and yours is Taven. They are similar.' "'I do not need to ask from what country you are,' he said.

"'You are Tavia of Chaneth.' "'How do you know?' she asked. "'Because you are my daughter,' he replied. "'Tavia is the name your mother gave you. "'You look like her. By that alone I should have known my daughter anywhere.' Very gently he took her in his arms, and I saw tears in his eyes and hers too as he pressed his lips against her forehead, and then he turned to me.

They told me that the brave tan hadron of Hastor had chosen to mate with a slave girl, he said, but that is not true. Your princess is in truth a princess, the granddaughter of a jed. She might have been the daughter of a jed had I remained in Janath. How devious are the paths of fate! How strange and unexpected the destinations to which they lead! I had set out upon one of these paths with the intention of marrying Sonoma Torah at the end. Sonoma Torah had set out upon another in the hopes of marrying a jeddak.

At the end of her path she had found only ignominy and disgrace. At the end of mine, I had found a princess. End of Chapter 17 The End of A Fighting Man of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.