BOOK 1. THE ANCIENT DEADChapter 1No matter how instinctively gregarious one may be there are times whenone longs for solitude. I like people. I like to be with my family, myfriends, my fighting men; and probably just because I am so keen forcompanionship, I am at times equally keen to be alone. It is at suchtimes that I can best resolve the knotty problems of government intimes of war or peace. It is then that I can meditate upon all thevarious aspects of a full life such as I lead; and, being human, I haveplenty of mistakes upon which to meditate that I may fortify myselfagainst their recommission.When I feel that strange urge for solitude coming over me, it is myusual custom to take a one man flier and range the dead sea bottoms andthe other uninhabited wildernesses of this dying planet; for thereindeed is solitude. There are vast areas on Mars where no human foothas ever trod, and other vast areas that for thousands of years haveknown only the giant green men, the wandering nomads of the ocherdeserts.Sometimes I am away for weeks on these glorious adventures in solitude.Because of them, I probably know more of the geography and topographyof Mars than any other living man; for they and my other adventurousexcursions upon the planet have carried me from the Lost Sea of Korus,in the Valley Dor at the frozen South to Okar, land of the blackbearded Yellow Men of the frozen North, and from Kaol to Bantoom; andyet there are many parts of Barsoom that I have not visited, which willnot seem so strange when there is taken into consideration the factthat although the area of Mars is like more than one fourth that ofEarth its land area is almost eight million square miles greater. Thatis because Barsoom has no large bodies of surface water, its largestknown ocean being entirely subterranean. Also, I think you will admit,fifty-six million square miles is a lot of territory to knowthoroughly.Upon the occasion of which I am about to tell you I flew northwest fromHelium, which lies 30 degrees south of the Equator which I crossed aboutsixteen hundred miles east of Exum, the Barsoomian Greenwich. North andwest of me lay a vast, almost unexplored region; and there I thought tofind the absolute solitude for which I craved.I had set my directional compass upon Horz, the long deserted city ofancient Barsoomian culture, and loafed along at seventy-five miles anhour at an altitude of five hundred to a thousand feet. I had seen somegreen men northeast of Torquas and had been forced up to escape theirfire, which I did not return as I was not seeking adventure; and I hadcrossed two thin ribbons of red Martian farm land bordering canals thatbring the precious waters from the annually melting ice caps at thepoles. Beyond these I saw no signs of human life in all the fivethousand miles that lie between Lesser Helium and Horz.It is always a little saddening to me to look down thus upon a dyingworld, to scan the endless miles of ocher, mosslike vegetation whichcarpets the vast areas where once rolled the mighty oceans of a youngand virile Mars, to ponder that just beneath me once ranged the proudnavies and the merchant ships of a dozen rich and powerful nationswhere today the fierce banth roams a solitude whose silence is unbrokenexcept for the roars of the killer and the screams of the dying.At night I slept, secure in the knowledge that my directional compasswould hold a true course for Horz and always at the altitude for whichI had set it--a thousand feet, not above sea level but above theterrain over which the ship was passing. These amazing littleinstruments may be set for any point upon Barsoom and at any altitude.If one is set for a thousand feet, as mine was upon this occasion, itwill not permit the ship to come closer than a thousand feet to anyobject, thus eliminating even the danger of collision; and when theship reaches its objective the compass will stop it a thousand feetabove. The pilot whose ship is equipped with one of these directionalcompasses does not even have to remain awake; thus I could travel dayand night without danger.It was about noon of the third day that I sighted the towers of ancientHorz.The oldest part of the city lies upon the edge of a vast plateau; thenewer portions, and they are countless thousands of years old, areterraced downward into a great gulf, marking the hopeless pursuit ofthe receding sea upon the shores of which this rich and powerful cityonce stood. The last poor, mean structures of a dying race have eitherdisappeared or are only mouldering ruins now; but the splendidstructures of her prime remain at the edge of the plateau, mute buteloquent reminders of her vanished grandeur--enduring monuments to thewhite-skinned, fair-haired race which has vanished forever.I am always interested in these deserted cities of ancient Mars. Littleis known of their inhabitants, other than what can be gathered from thestories told by the carvings which ornament the exteriors of many oftheir public buildings and the few remaining murals which havewithstood the ravages of time and the vandalism of the green hordeswhich have overrun many of them. The extremely low humidity has helpedto preserve them, but more than all else was the permanency of theirconstruction. These magnificent edifices were built not for years butfor eternities. The secrets of their mortars, their cements, and theirpigments have been lost for ages; and for countless ages more, longafter the last life has disappeared from the face of Barsoom, theirworks will remain, hurtling through space forever upon a dead, coldplanet with no eye to see, with no mind to appreciate. It is a sadthing to contemplate.At last I was over Horz. I had for long promised myself that some day Ishould come here, for Horz is, perhaps, the oldest and the greatest ofthe dead cities of Barsoom. Water built it, the lack of water spelledits doom. I often wonder if the people of Earth, who have water in suchabundance, really appreciate it.I wonder if the inhabitants of New York City realize what it would meanto them if some enemy, establishing an air base within cruising radiusof the first city of the New World, should successfully bomb anddestroy Croton Dam and the Catskill water system. The railroads and thehighways would be jammed with refugees, millions would die, and foryears, perhaps forever, New York City would cease to be.As I floated lazily above the deserted city I saw figures moving in aplaza below me. So Horz was not entirely deserted! My curiosity piqued,I dropped a little lower; and what I saw dashed thoughts of solitudefrom my mind--a lone red man beset by half a dozen fierce greenwarriors.I had not sought adventure, but here it was; for no man worthy of hismetal would abandon one of his own kind in such a dire extremity. I sawa spot where I might land in a nearby plaza; and, praying that thegreen men would be too engrossed with their engagement to note myapproach, I dove quickly and silently toward a landing.Chapter 2Fortunately I landed unobserved, screened by a mighty tower which rosebeside the plaza I had selected. I had seen that they were fightingwith long-swords, and so I drew mine as I ran in the direction of theunequal struggle. That the red man lived even a few moments againstsuch odds bespoke the excellence of his swordsmanship, and I hoped thathe would hold out until I reached him; for then he would have the bestsword arm in all Barsoom to aid him and the sword that had tasted theblood of a thousand enemies the length and breadth of a world.I found my way from the plaza in which I had landed, but only to beconfronted by a twenty-foot wall in which I could perceive no opening.Doubtless there was one, I knew; but in the time that I might waste infinding it my man might easily be killed.The clash of swords, the imprecations, and the grunts of fighting mencame to me distinctly from the opposite side of the wall which barredmy way. I could even hear the heavy breathing of the fighters. I heardthe green men demand the surrender of their quarry and his tauntingreply. I liked what he said and the way he said it in the face ofdeath.My knowledge of the ways of the green men assured me that they wouldtry to capture him for purposes of torture rather than kill himoutright, but if I were to save him from either fate I must act quickly.There was only one way to reach him without loss of time, and that waywas open to me because of the lesser gravitation of Mars and my greatEarthly strength and agility. I would simply jump to the top of thewall, take a quick survey of the lay of the land beyond, and then dropdown, long-sword in hand, and take my place at the side of the red man.When I exert myself, I can jump to incredible heights. Twenty feet isnothing, but this time I miscalculated. I was several yards from thewall when I took a short run and leaped into the air. Instead ofalighting on the top of the wall, as I had planned, I soared completelyover it, clearing it by a good ten feet.Below me were the fighters. Apparently I was going to land right intheir midst.So engrossed were they in their sword play that they did not notice me;and that was well for me; as one of the green men could easily haveimpaled me on his sword as I dropped upon them.My man was being hard pressed. It was evident that the green men hadgiven up the notion of capturing him, and were trying to finish himoff. One of them had him at a disadvantage and was about to plunge alongsword through him when I alighted. By rare good luck I alightedsquarely upon the back of the man who was about to kill the red man,and I alighted with the point of my sword protruding straight below me.It caught him in the left shoulder and passed downward through hisheart, and even before he collapsed I had planted both feet upon hisshoulders; and, straightening up, withdrawn my blade from his carcass.For a moment my amazing advent threw them all off their guard, and inthat moment I leaped to the side of the red man and faced his remainingfoes, the red blood of a green warrior dripping from my point.The red man threw a quick glance at me; and then the remaining greenmen were upon us, and there was no time for words. A fellow swung at meand missed. Gad! what a blow he swung! Had it connected I should have beenas headless as a rykor. It was unfortunate for the green man that it didnot, for mine did. I cut horizontally with all my Earthly strength, whichis great on Earth and infinitely greater on Mars. My longsword, its edgeas keen as a razor and its steel such as only Barsoom produces, passedentirely through the body of my antagonist, cutting him in two."Well done!" exclaimed the red man, and again he cast a quick glanceat me.From the corner of my eye I caught an occasional glimpse of my unknowncomrade, and I saw some marvelous swordsmanship. I was proud to fightat the side of such a man. By now we had reduced the number of ourantagonists to three. They fell back a few steps, dropping theirpoints, just for a breathing spell. I neither needed nor desired abreathing spell; but, glancing at my companion, I saw that he waspretty well exhausted; so I dropped my point too and waited.It was then that I got my first good look at the man whose cause I hadespoused; and I got a shock, too. This was no red man, but a white manif I have ever seen one. His skin was bronzed by exposure to the sun,as is mine; and that had at first deceived me. But now I saw that therewas nothing red-Martian about him.His harness, his weapons, everything about him differed from any that Ihad seen on Mars.He wore a headdress, which is quite unusual upon Barsoom. It consistedof a leather band that ran around the head just above his brows, withanother leather band crossing his from right to left and a second fromfront to rear. These bands were highly ornamented with carving and setwith jewels and precious metals. To the center of the band that crossedhis forehead was affixed a flat piece of gold in the shape of aspearhead with the point up. This, also, was beautifully carved andbore a strange device inlaid in red and black.Confined by this headdress was a shock of blond hair--a most amazingthing to see upon Mars. At first I jumped to the conclusion that hemust be a thern from the far south-polar land; but that thought Idiscarded at once when I realized that the hair was his own. The thernsare entirely bald and wear great yellow wigs.I also saw that my companion was strangely handsome. I might saybeautiful were it not for the effeminateness which the word connotes,and there was nothing effeminate about the way this man fought or themighty oaths that he swore when he spoke at all to an adversary. Wefighting men are not given to much talk, but when you feel your bladecleave a skull in twain or drive through the heart of a foeman, thensometimes a great oath is wrenched from your lips.But I had little time then to appraise my companion, for the remainingthree were at us again in a moment. I fought that day, I suppose, as Ihave always fought; but each time it seems to me that I have neverfought so well as upon that particular occasion. I do not take greatcredit for my fighting ability, for it seems to me that my sword isinspired. No man could think as quickly as my point moves, always tothe right spot at the right time, as though anticipating the next moveof an adversary. It weaves a net of steel about me that few blades haveever pierced. It fills the foeman's eyes with amazement and his mindwith doubt and his heart with fear. I imagine that much of my successhas been due to the psychological effect of my swordsmanship upon myadversaries.Simultaneously my companion and I each struck down an antagonist, andthen the remaining warrior turned to flee. "Do not let him escape!"cried my comrade-in-arms, and leaped in pursuit, at the same timecalling loudly for help, something he had not done when close to deathbefore the points of six swords. But whom did he expect to answer hisappeal in this dead and deserted city? Why did he call for help whenthe last of his antagonists was in full flight? I was puzzled; buthaving enlisted myself in this strange adventure, I felt that I shouldsee it through; and so I set off in pursuit of the fleeing green man.He crossed the courtyard where we had been engaged and made for a greatarchway that opened out into a broad avenue. I was close behind him,having outstripped both him and the strange warrior. When I came intothe avenue I saw the green man leap to the back of one of six thoatswaiting there, and at the same time I saw at least a hundred warriorspouring from a nearby building. They were yellow-haired white men,garbed like my erstwhile fighting companion, who now joined in thepursuit of the green man. They were armed with bows and arrows; andthey sent a volley of missiles after the escaping quarry, whom theycould never hope to overtake, and who was soon out of range of theirweapons.The spirit of adventure is so strong within me that I often yield toits demands in spite of the dictates of my better judgment. This matterwas no affair of mine. I had already done all, and even more than couldhave been expected of me; yet I leaped to the back of one of theremaining thoats and took off in pursuit of the green warrior.Chapter 3There are two species of thoat on Mars: the small, comparatively docilebreed used by the red Martians as saddle animals and, to a lesserextent, as beasts of burden on the farms that border the greatirrigation canals; and then there are the huge, vicious, unruly beaststhat the green warriors use exclusively as steeds of war.These creatures tower fully ten feet at the shoulder. They have fourlegs on either side and a broad, flat tail, larger at the tip than atthe root, that they hold straight out behind while running. Theirgaping mouths split their heads from their snouts to their long,massive necks. Their bodies, the upper portion of which is a dark slatecolor and exceedingly smooth and glossy, are entirely devoid of hair.Their bellies are white, and their legs shade gradually from the slatecolor of their bodies to a vivid yellow at the feet, which are heavilypadded and nailless.The thoat of the green man has the most abominable disposition of anycreature I have ever seen, not even the green men themselves excepted.They are constantly fighting among themselves, and woe betide the riderwho loses control of his terrible mount; yet, paradoxical as it mayappear, they are ridden without bridle or bit; and are controlledsolely by telepathic means, which, fortunately for me, I learned manyago while I was prisoner of Lorquas Ptomel, jed of the Tharks, a greenMartian horde.The beast to whose back I had vaulted was a vicious devil, and he tookviolent exception to me and probably to my odor. He tried to buck meoff; and, failing that, reached back with his huge, gaping jaws in aneffort to seize me.There is, I might mention, an auxiliary method of control when theseugly beasts become recalcitrant; and I adopted it in this instance,notwithstanding the fact that I had won grudging approval from thefierce green Tharks by controlling thoats through patience andkindness. I had time for neither now, as my quarry was racing along thebroad avenue that led to the ancient quays of Horz and the vast deadsea bottoms beyond; so I laid heavily upon the head and snout of thebeast with the flat of my broadsword until I had beaten it intosubjection; then it obeyed my telepathic commands, and set out at greatspeed in pursuit.It was a very swift thoat, one of the swiftest that I had everbestrode; and, in addition, it carried much less weight than the beastwe sought to overtake; so we closed up rapidly on the escaping green man.At the very edge of the plateau upon which the old city was built wecaught up with him, and there he stopped and wheeled his mount andprepared to give battle. It was then that I began to appreciate themarvelous intelligence of my mount. Almost without direction from me bemaneuvered into the correct positions to give me an advantage in thissavage duel, and when at last I had achieved a sudden advantage whichhad almost unseated my rival, my thoat rushed like a mad devil upon thethoat of the green warrior tearing at its throat with his mighty jawswhile he tried to beat it to its knees with the weight of his savageassault.It was then that I gave the coup de grace to my beaten and bloodyadversary; and, leaving him where he had fallen, rode back to receivethe plaudits and the thanks of my newfound friends.They were waiting for me, a hundred of them, in what had probably oncebeen a public market place in the ancient city of Horz. They were notsmiling. They looked sad. As I dismounted, they crowded around me."Did the green man escape?" demanded one whose ornaments and metalproclaimed him a leader."No," I replied; "he is dead."A great sigh of relief arose from a hundred throats. Just why theyshould feel such relief that a single green man had been killed I didnot then understand.They thanked me, crowding around me as they did so; and stiff they wereunsmiling and sad. I suddenly realized that these people were notfriendly--it came to me intuitively, but too late. They were pushingagainst me from all sides, so that I could not even raise an arm, andthen, quite suddenly at a word from their leader, I was disarmed."What is the meaning of this?" I demanded. "Of my own volition I cameto the aid of one of your people who would otherwise have been killed.Is this the thanks I am to receive? Give me back my weapons and let mego.""I am sorry," said he who had first spoken, "but we cannot--dootherwise. Pan Dan Chee, to whose aid you came, has pleaded that wepermit you to go your way; but such is not the law of Horz. I must takeyou to Ho Ran Kim, the great jeddak of Horz. There we will all pleadfor you, but our pleas will be unavailing. In the end you will bedestroyed. The safety of Horz is more important than the life of anyman.""I am not threatening the safety of Horz," I replied. "Why should Ihave designs upon a dead city, which is of absolutely no importance tothe Empire of Helium, in the service of whose Jeddak, Tardos Mors, Iwear the harness of a war lord.""I am sorry," exclaimed Pan Dan Chee, who had pushed his way to my sidethrough the press of warriors. "I called to you when you mounted thethoat and pursued the green warrior and told you not to return, butevidently you did not hear me."For that I may die, but I shall die proudly. I sought to influence LanSohn Wen, who commands this utan, to permit you to escape, but in vain.I shall intercede for you with Ho Ran Kim, the jeddak; but I am afraidthat there is no hope.""Come!" said Lan Sohn Wen; "we have wasted enough time here. We willtake the prisoner to the jeddak. By the way, what is your name?""I am John Carter, a Prince of Helium and Warlord of Barsoom," Ireplied."A proud title, that last," he said; "but of Helium I have neverheard.""If harm befalls me here," I said, "you'll hear of Helium if Heliumever learns."I was escorted through still magnificent avenues flanked by beautifulbuildings, still beautiful in decay. I think I have never seen suchinspiring architecture, nor construction so enduring. I do not know howold these buildings are, but I have heard Martian savants argue thatthe original dominant race of white-skinned, yellow-haired peopleflourished fully a million years ago. It seems incredible that theirworks should still exist; but there are many things on Mars incredibleto the narrow, earthbound men of our little speck of dust.At last we halted before a tiny gate in a colossal, fortress-likeedifice in which there was no other opening than this small gate forfifty feet above the ground. From a balcony fifty feet above the gate asentry looked down upon us."Who comes?" he demanded, although he could doubtless see who came, andmust have recognized Lan Sohn Wen."It is Lan Sohn Wen, Dwar, commanding the 1st Utan of The Jeddak'sGuard, with a prisoner," replied Lan Sohn Wen.The sentry appeared bewildered. "My orders are to admit no strangers,"he said, "but to kill them immediately.""Summon the commander of the guard," snapped Lan Sohn Wen, andpresently an officer came onto the balcony with the sentry."What is this?" he demanded. "No prisoner has ever been brought intothe citadel of Horz. You know the law.""This is an emergency," said Lan Sohn Wen. "I must bring this manbefore Ho Ran Kim. Open the gate!""Only on orders from Ho Ran Kim himself," replied the commander of theguard."Then go get the orders," said Lan Sohn Wen. "Tell the Jeddak that Istrongly urge him to receive me with this prisoner. He is not as otherprisoners who have fallen into our hands in times past."The officer re-entered the citadel and was gone for perhaps fifteenminutes when the little gate before which we stood swung outward, andwe were motioned in by the commander of the guard himself."The Jeddak will receive you," he said to the dwar, Lan Sohn Wen.The citadel was an enormous walled city within the ancient city ofHorz. It was quite evidently impregnable to any but attack by air.Within were pleasant avenues, homes, gardens, shops. Happy, carefreepeople stopped to look at me in astonishment as I was conducted down abroad boulevard toward a handsome building. It was the palace of theJeddak, Ho Ran Kim. A sentry stood upon either side of the portal.There was no other guard; and these two were there more as a formalityand as messengers than for protection, for within the walls of thecitadel no man needed protection from another; as I was to learn.We were detained in an ante room for a few minutes while we were beingannounced, and then we were ushered down a long corridor and into amedium size room where a man sat at a desk alone. This was Ho Ran Kim,Jeddak of Horz. His skin was not as tanned as that of his warriors, buthis hair was just as yellow and his eyes as blue.I felt those blue eyes appraising me as I approached his desk. Theywere kindly eyes, but with a glint of steel. From me they passed to LanSohn Wen, and to him Ho Ran Kim spoke."This is most unusual," he said in a quiet, well modulated voice. "Youknow, do you not, that Horzans have died for less than this?""I do, my Jeddak," replied the dwar; "but this is a most unusualemergency.""Explain yourself," said the Jeddak."Let me explain," interrupted Pan Dan Chee, "for after all theresponsibility is mine. I urged this action upon Lan Sohn Wen."The Jeddak nodded. "Proceed," he said.Chapter 4I couldn't comprehend why they were making such an issue of bringing ina prisoner, nor why men had died for less, as Ho Ran Kim had remindedLan Sohn Wen. In Helium, a warrior would have received at leastcommendation for bringing in a prisoner. For bringing in John Carter,Warlord of Mars, a common warrior might easily have been ennobled by anenemy prince."My Jeddak," commenced Pan Dan Chee, "while I was beset by six greenwarriors, this man, who says he is known as John Carter, Warlord ofBarsoom, came of his own volition to fight at my side. From whence hecame I do not know. I only know that at one moment I was fightingalone, a hopeless fight, and that at the next there fought at my sidethe greatest swordsman Horz has ever seen. He did not have to come; hecould have left at any time, but he remained; and because he remained Iam alive and the last of the six green warriors lies dead by theancient waterfront. He would have escaped had not John Carter leaped tothe back of a great thoat and pursued him."Then this man could have escaped, but he came back. He fought for asoldier of Horz. He trusted the men of Horz. Are we to repay him withdeath?"Pan Dan Chee ceased speaking, and Ho Ran Kim turned his blue eyes uponme. "John Carter," he said, "what you have done commands the respectand sympathy of every man of Horz. It wins the thanks of their Jeddak,but-" He hesitated. "Perhaps if I tell you something of our history,you will understand why I must condemn you to death." He paused for amoment, as though in thought.At the same time I was doing a little thinking on my own account Thecasual manner in which Ho Ran Kim had sentenced me to death had rathertaken my breath away. He seemed so friendly that it didn't seempossible that he was in earnest, but a glance at the glint in thoseblue eyes assured me that he was not being facetious."I am sure," I said, "that the history of Horz must be mostinteresting; but right now I am most interested in learning why Ishould have to die for befriending a fighting man of Horz.""That I shall explain," he said."It is going to take a great deal of explaining, your majesty," Iassured him.He paid no attention to that, but continued. "The inhabitants of Horzare, as far as we know, the sole remaining remnant of the once dominantrace of Barsoom, the Orovars. A million years ago our ships ranged thefive great oceans, which we ruled. The city of Horz was not only thecapital of a great empire, it was the seat of learning and culture ofthe most glorious race of human beings a world has ever known. Ourempire spread from pole to pole. There were other races on Barsoom, butthey were few in numbers and negligible in importance. We looked uponthem as inferior creatures. The Orovars owned Barsoom, which wasdivided among a score of powerful jeddaks. They were a happy,prosperous, contented people, the various nations seldom warring uponone another. Horz had enjoyed a thousand years of peace."They had reached the ultimate pinnacle of civilization and perfectionwhen the first shadow of impending fate darkened their horizon--theseas began to recede, the atmosphere to grow more tenuous. What sciencehad long predicted was coming to pass--a world was dying."For ages our cities followed the receding waters. Straits and bays,canals and lakes dried up. Prosperous seaports became deserted inlandcities. Famine came. Hungry hordes made war upon the more fortunate.The growing hordes of wild green men overran what had once been fertilefarm land, preying upon all."The atmosphere became so tenuous that it was difficult to breathe.Scientists were working upon an atmosphere plant, but before it wascompleted and in successful operation all but a few of the inhabitantsof Barsoom had died. Only the hardiest survived--the green men, thered men, and a few Orovars; then life became merely a battle for thesurvival of the fittest."The green men hunted us as we had hunted beasts of prey. They gave usno rest, they showed us no mercy. We were few; they were many. Horzbecame our last city of refuge, and our only hope of survival lay inpreventing the outside world from knowing that we existed; therefore,for ages we have slain every stranger who came to Horz and saw anOrovar, that no man might go away and betray our presence to ourenemies."Now you will understand that no matter how deeply we must regret thenecessity, it is obvious that we cannot let you live.""I can understand," I said, "that you might feel it necessary todestroy an enemy; but I see no reason for destroying a friend. However,that is for you to decide.""It is already decided, my friend," said the Jeddak. "You must die.""Just a moment, O Jeddak!" exclaimed Pan Dan Chee. "Before you passfinal judgment, consider this alternative. If he remains here in Horz,he cannot carry word to our enemies. We owe him a debt of gratitude.Permit him then to live, but always within the walls of the citadel."There were nods of approval from the others present, and I saw by hisquickly darting eyes that Ho Ran Kim had noticed them. He cleared histhroat. "Perhaps that is something that should be given thought," hesaid. "I shall reserve judgment until the morrow. I do so largelybecause of my love for you, Pan Dan Chee; inasmuch as, because it wasdue to your importunities that this man is here, you must sufferwhatever fate is ordained for him."Pan Dan Chee was certainly surprised, nor could he hide the fact; buthe took the blow like a man. "I shall consider it an honor," he said,"to share any fate that may be meted to John Carter, Warlord ofBarsoom.""Well said, Pan Dan Chee!" exclaimed the Jeddak. "My admiration for youincreases as does the bitterness of my sorrow when I contemplate thealmost inescapable conviction that on the morrow you die."Pan Dan Chee bowed. "I thank your majesty for your deep concern," hesaid. "The remembrance of it will glorify last my hours."The Jeddak turned his eyes upon Lan Sohn Wen, and held them them forwhat seemed a full minute. I would have laid ten to one that Ho Ran Kimwas about to cause himself further untold grief by condemning Lan SohnWen to death. I think Lan Sohn Wen thought the same thing. He lookedworried."Lan Sohn Wen," said Ho Ran Kim, "you will conduct these two to thepits and leave them there for the night. See that they have good foodand every possible comfort, for they are my honored guests.""But the pits, your majesty!" exclaimed Lan Sohn Wen. "They have neverbeen used within the memory of man. I do not even know that I can findthe entrance to them.""That is so," said Ho Ran Kim, thoughtfully. "Even if you found themthey might prove very dirty and uncomfortable. Perhaps it would bekinder to destroy John Carter and Pan Dan Chee at once.""Wait, majesty," said Pan Dan Chee. "I know where lies the entrance tothe pits. I have been in them. They can easily be made most comfortable.I would not think of altering your plans or causing you immediately thedeep grief of sorrowing over the untimely passing of John Carter andmyself. Come, Lan Sohn Wen! I will lead the way to the pits of Horz!"Chapter 5It was a good thing for me that Pan Dan Chee was a fast talker. BeforeHo Ran Kim could formulate any objections we were out of the audiencechamber and on our way to the pits of Horz, and I can tell you that Iwas glad to be out of sight of that kindly and considerate tyrant.There was no telling when some new humanitarian urge might influencehim to order our heads lopped off instanter.The entrance to the pits of Horz was in a small, windowless buildingnear the rear wall of the citadel. It was closed by massive gates thatcreaked on corroded hinges as two of the warriors who had accompaniedus pushed them open."It is dark in there," said Pan Dan Chee. "We'll break our neckswithout a light."Lan Sohn Wen, being a good fellow, sent one of his men for sometorches; and when he returned, Pan Dan Chee and I entered the gloomycavern.We had taken but a few steps toward the head of a rock hewn ramp thatran downward into Stygian darkness, when Lan Sohn Wen cried, "Wait!Where is the key to these gates?""The keeper of the keys of some great jeddak who lived thousands ofyears ago may have known," replied Pan Dan Chee, "but I don't.""But how am I going to lock you in?" demanded Lan Sohn Wen."The Jeddak didn't tell you to lock us in," said Pan Dan Chee. "He saidto take us to the pits and leave us there for the night. I distinctlyrecall his very words."Lan Sohn Wen was in a quandary, but at last he hit upon an avenue ofescape."Come," he said, "I shall take you back to the Jeddak and explain thatthere are no keys; then it will be up to him.""And you know what he will do!" said Pan Dan Chee."What?" asked Lan Sohn Wen."He will order us destroyed at once. Come, Lan Sohn Wen, do not condemnus to immediate death. Post a guard here at the gates, with orders tokill us if we try to escape."Lan Sohn Wen considered this for a moment, and finally nodded his headin acquiescence. "That is an excellent plan," he said, and then hedetailed two warriors to stand guard; and arranged for their relief,after which he wished us good night and departed with his warriors.I have never seen such courteous and considerate people as the Orovars;it might almost be a pleasure to have one's throat slit by one of them,he would be so polite about it. They are the absolute opposites oftheir hereditary enemies, the green men; for these are endowed withneither courtesy, consideration, nor kindness. They are cold, cruel,abysmal brutes to whom love is unknown and whose creed is hate.Nevertheless, the pits of Horz was not a pleasant place. The dust ofages lay upon the ramp down which we walked. From its end a corridorstretched away beyond the limits of our torchlight. It was a widecorridor, with doors opening from it on either side. These, I presumed,were the dungeons where ancient jeddaks had confined their enemies. Iasked Pan Dan Chee."Probably," he said, "though our jeddaks have never used them.""Have they never had enemies?" I asked."Certainly, but they have considered it cruel to imprison men in darkholes like this; so they have always destroyed them immediately theywere suspected of being enemies.""Then why are the pits here?" I demanded."Oh, they were built when the city was built, perhaps a million yearsago, perhaps more. It just chanced that the citadel was built aroundthe entrance."I glanced into one of the dungeons. A mouldering skeleton lay upon thefloor, the rusted irons that had secured it to the wall lying among itsbones. In the next dungeon were three skeletons and two magnificentlycarved, metal bound chests. As Pan Dan Chee raised the lid of one ofthem I could scarce repress a gasp of astonishment and admiration. Thechest was filled with magnificent gems in settings of elaborate beauty,specimens of forgotten arts, the handicraft of master craftsmen who hadlived a million years ago. I think that nothing that I had ever seenbefore had so impressed me. And it was depressing, for these jewels hadbeen worn by lovely women and brave men who had disappeared into anoblivion so complete that not even a memory of them remained.My reverie was interrupted by the sound of shuffling feet behind me. Iwheeled; and, instinctively, my hand flew to where the hilt of a swordshould have been but was not. Facing me, and ready to spring upon me,was the largest ulsio I had ever seen.These Martian rats are fierce and unlovely things. They are many leggedand hairless, their hide resembling that of a new-born mouse inrepulsiveness. Their eyes are small and close set and almost hidden indeep, fleshy apertures. Their most ferocious and repulsive features,however, are their jaws, the entire bony structure of which protrudesseveral inches beyond the flesh, revealing five sharp, spadelike teethin each jaw, the whole suggesting the appearance of a rotting face fromwhich much of the flesh has sloughed away. Ordinarily they are aboutthe size of an Airedale terrier, but the thing that leaped for me inthe pits of Horz that day was as large as a small puma and ten times asferocious.As the creature leaped for my throat, I struck it a heavy blow on theside of its head and knocked it to one side; but it was up at once andat me again; then Pan Dan Chee came into the scene. They had notdisarmed him, and with short-sword he set upon the ulsio.It was quite a battle. That ulsio was the most ferocious and mostdetermined beast I had ever seen, and it gave Pan Dan Chee the fight ofhis life. He had knocked off two of its six legs, an ear, and most ofits teeth before the ferocity of its repeated attacks abated at all. Itwas almost cut to ribbons, yet it always forced the fighting. I couldonly stand and look on, which is not such a part in a fight as I liketo take. At last, however, it was over; the ulsio was dead, and Pan DanChee looked at me and smiled.He was looking around for something upon which he might wipe the bloodfrom his blade. "Perhaps there is something in this other chest," Isuggested; and, walking to it, I lifted the lid.The chest was about seven feet long, two and a half wide and two deep.In it lay the body of a man. His elaborate harness was encrusted withjewels. He wore a helmet entirely covered with diamonds, one of the fewhelmets I had ever seen upon Mars. The scabbards of his long-sword, hisshortsword, and his dagger were similarly emblazoned.He had been a very handsome man, and he was still a handsome corpse. Soperfectly was he preserved that, in so far as appearances went, hemight still have been alive but for the thin layer of dust overlyinghis features. When I blew this away he looked quite as alive as you orI."You bury your dead here?" I asked Pan Dan Chee, but he shook his head."No," he replied. "This chap may have been here a million years.""Nonsense!" I exclaimed. "He would have dried up and blown awaythousands of years ago.""I don't know about that," said Pan Dan Chee. "There were lots ofthings that those old fellows knew that are lost arts today. Embalming,I know, was one of them. There is the legend of Lee Um Lo, the mostfamous embalmer of all time. It recounts that his work was so perfectthat not even the corpse, himself, knew that he was dead; and uponseveral occasions they arose and walked out during the funeralservices. The end of Lee Um Lo came when the wife of a great jeddakfailed to realize that she was dead, and walked right in on the jeddakand his new wife. The next day Lee Um Lo lost his head.""It is a good story," I said, laughing; "but I hope this chap realizesthat he is dead; because I am about to disarm him. Little could he havedreamed a million years ago that one day he was going to rearm TheWarlord of Barsoom."Pan Dan Chee helped me raise the corpse and remove its harness; and wewere both rather startled by the soft, pliable texture of the flesh andits normal warmth."Do you suppose we could be mistaken?" I asked. "Could it be that he isnot dead?"Pan Dan Chee shrugged. "The knowledge and the arts of the ancients arebeyond the ken of modern man," he said."That doesn't help a bit," I said. "Do you think this chap can bealive?""His face was covered with dust," said Pan Dan Chee, "and no one hasbeen in these pits for thousands and thousands of years. If he isn'tdead, he should be."I quite agreed, and buckled the gorgeous harness about me without moreado. I drew the swords and the dagger and examined them. They were asbright and fine as the day they had received their first polish, andtheir edges were keen. Once again, I felt like a whole man, so much isa sword a part of me.As we stepped out into the corridor I saw a light far away. It was gonealmost in the instant. "Did you see that?" I asked Pan Dan Chee."I saw it," he said, and his voice was troubled. "There should be nolight here, for there are no people."We stood straining our eyes along the corridor for a repetition of thelight.There was none but from afar there echoed down that black corridor ahollow laugh.Chapter 6Pan Dan Chee looked at me. "What," he asked, "could that have been?""It sounded very much like a laugh to me," replied.Pan Dan Chee nodded. "Yes," he agreed, but how can there be a laughwhere there is no one to laugh?" Pan Dan Chee was perplexed."Perhaps the ulsios of Horz have learned to laugh," I suggested with asmile.Pan Dan Chee ignored my flippancy. "We saw a light and we heard alaugh," he said thoughtfully. "What does that convey to you?""The same thing that it conveys to you," I said: "that there is someone down here in the Pits of Horz beside us.""I do not see how that can be possible," he said."Let's investigate," I suggested.With drawn swords we advanced; for we did not know the nature nor thetemper of the owner of that laugh, and there was always the chance thatan ulsio might leap from one of the dungeons and attack us.The corridor ran straight for some distance, and then commenced tocurve. There were many branches and intersections, but we kept to whatwe believed to be the main corridor. We saw no more lights, heard nomore laughter. There was not a sound in all that vast labyrinth ofpassageways other than the subdued clanking of our metal, theoccasional shuffling of our sandalled feet, and the soft whisperings ofour leather harnesses."It is useless to search farther," said Pan Dan Chee at last. "We mightas well start back."Now I had no intention of going back to my death. I reasoned that thelight and the laugh indicated the presence of man in these pits. If theinhabitants of Horz knew nothing of them; then they must enter the pitsfrom outside the citadel, indicating an avenue of escape open to me.Therefore, I did not wish to retrace our steps; so I suggested that werest for a while and discuss our future plans."We can rest," said Pan Dan Chee, "but there is nothing to discuss. Ourplans have all been made for us by Ho Ran Kim."We entered a cell which contained no grim reminders of past tragedy;and, after wedging one of our torches in a niche in the wall, we satdown on the hard stone floor."Perhaps your plans have been made for you by Ho Ran Kim," I said, "butI make my own plans.""And they are-?" he asked."I am not going back to be murdered. I am going to find a way out ofthese pits."Pan Dan Chee shook his head sorrowfully. "I am sorry," he said, "butyou are going back to meet your fate with me.""What makes you think that?" I asked."Because I shall have to take you back. You well know that I cannot leta stranger escape from Horz.""That means that we shall have to fight to the death, Pan Dan Chee," Isaid; "and I do not wish to kill one at whose side I have fought andwhom I have learned to admire.""I feel the same way, John Carter," said Pan Dan Chee. "I do not wishto kill you; but you must see my position--if you do not come with mewillingly, I shall have to kill you."I tried to argue him out of his foolish stand, but he was adamant. Iwas positive that Pan Dan Chee liked me; and I shrank from the idea ofkilling him, as I knew that I should. He was an excellent swordsman,but what chance would he have against the master swordsman of twoworlds? I am sorry if that should sound like boasting; for I abhorboasting--I only spoke what is a fact. I am, unquestionably, the bestswordsman that has ever lived."Well," I said, "we don't have to kill each other at once. Let's enjoyeach other's company for a while longer."Pan Dan Chee smiled. "That will suit me perfectly," he said."How about a game of Jetan?" I asked. "It will help to pass the timepleasantly.""How can we play Jetan without a board or the pieces?" he asked.I opened the leather pocket pouch such as all Martians carry, and tookout a tiny, folding Jetan board with all the pieces--a present fromDejah Thoris, my incomparable mate. Pan Dan Chee was intrigued by it,and it is a marvelously beautiful piece of work. The greatest artist ofHelium had designed the pieces, which had been carved under hisguidance by two of our greatest sculptors.Each of the pieces, such as Warriors, Padwars, Dwars, Panthans, andChiefs, were carved in the likeness of well-known Martian fighting men;and one of the Princesses was a beautifully executed miniature carvingof Tara of Helium, and the other Princess, Llana of Gathol.I am inordinately proud of this Jetan set; and because the figures areso tiny, I always carry a small but powerful reading glass, not alonethat I may enjoy them but that others may. I offered it now to Pan DanChee, who examined the figures minutely."Extraordinary," he said. "I have never seen anything more beautiful."He had examined one figure much longer than he had the others, and heheld it in his hand now as though loath to relinquish it. "What anexquisite imagination the artist must have had who created this figure,for he could have had no model for such gorgeous beauty; since nothinglike it exists on Barsoom.""Every one of those figures was carved from life," I told him."Perhaps the others," he said, "but not this one. No such beautifulwoman ever lived.""Which one is it?" I asked, and he handed it to me. "This," I said, "isLlana of Gathol, the daughter of Tara of Helium, who is my daughter.She really lives, and this is a most excellent likeness of her. Ofcourse it cannot do her justice since it cannot reflect her animationnor the charm of her personality."He took the little figurine back and held it for a long time under theglass; then he replaced it in the box. "Shall we play?" I asked.He shook his head. "It would be sacrilege," he said, "to play at a gamewith the figure of a goddess."I packed the pieces back in the tiny box, which was also the playingboard, and returned it to my pouch. Pan Dan Chee sat silent. The lightof the single torch cast our shadows deep and dark upon the floor.These torches of Horz were a revelation to me. They are most ingenious.Cylindrical, they have a central core which glows brightly with a coldlight when exposed to the air. By turning back a hinged cap and pushingthe central core up with a thumb button, it becomes exposed to the airand glows brightly.The farther up it is pushed and the more of it that is exposed, themore intense the light. Pan Dan Chee told me that they were inventedages ago, and that the lighting results in so little loss of matterthat they are practically eternal.The art of producing the central core was lost in far antiquity, and noscientist since has been able to analyze its composition.It was a long time before Pan Dan Chee spoke again; then he arose. Helooked tired and sad. "Come," he said, "let's have it over with," andhe drew his sword."Why should we fight?" I asked. "We are friends. If I go away, I pledgemy honor that I will not lead others to Horz. Let me go, then, inpeace. I do not wish to kill you. Or, better still, you come away withme. There is much to see in the world outside of Horz and much toadventure.""Don't tempt me," he begged, "for I want to come. For the first time inmy life I want to leave Horz, but I may not. Come! John Carter. Onguard! One of us must die, unless you return willingly with me.""In which case both of us will die," I reminded him. "It is very silly,Pan Dan Chee.""On guard!" was his only reply.There was nothing for me to do but draw and defend myself. Never have Idrawn with less relish.Chapter 7Pan Dan Chee would not take the offensive, and he offered very littlein the way of defense. I could have run him through at any time that Ichose from the very instant that I drew my sword. Almost immediately Irealized that he was offering me my freedom at the expense of his ownlife, but I would not take his life.Finally I backed away and dropped my point. "I am no butcher, Pan DanChee," I said. "Come! put up a fight."He shook his head. "I cannot kill you," he said, quite simply."Why?" I asked."Because I am a fool," he said. "The same blood flows in your veins andhers. I could not spill that blood. I could not bring unhappiness toher.""What do you mean?" I demanded. "What are you talking about?""I am talking about Llana of Gathol," he said, "the most beautifulwoman in the world, the woman I shall never see but for whom I gladlyoffer my life."Now, Martian fighting men are proverbially chivalrous to a fault, butthis was carrying it much further than I had ever seen it carriedbefore."Very well," I said; "and as I don't intend killing you there is no usegoing on with this silly duel."I returned my sword to its scabbard, and Pan Dan Chee did likewise."What shall we do?" he asked. "I cannot let you escape; but I on theother hand, I cannot prevent it. I am a traitor to my country. I shall,therefore, have to destroy myself."I had a plan. I would accompany Pan Dan Chee back almost to theentrance to the pits, and there I would overpower, bind, and gag him;then I would make my escape, or at least I would try to find anotherexit from the pits. Pan Dan Chee would be discovered, and could facehis doom without the stigma of treason being attached to his name."You need not kill yourself," I told him. "I will accompany you to theentrance to the pits; but I warn you that should I discover anopportunity to escape, I shall do so.""That is fair enough," he said. "It is very generous of you. You havemade it possible for me to die honorably and content.""Do you wish to die?" I asked."Certainly not," he assured me. "I wish to live. If I live, I may someday find my way to Gathol.""Why not come with me, then?" I demanded. "Together we may be able tofind our way out of the pits. My flier lies but a short distance fromthe citadel, and it is only about four thousand haads from Horz toGathol."He shook his head. "The temptation is great," he said, "but until Ihave exhausted every resource and failed to return to Ho Ran Kim beforenoon tomorrow I may do nothing else but try.""Why by noon tomorrow?" I asked."It is a very ancient Orovaran law," he replied, "which limits theduration of a death sentence to noon of the day one is condemned todie. Ho Ran Kim decreed that we should die tomorrow. If we do not, weare not in honor bound to return to him."We set off a little dejectedly for the doorway through which we wereexpected to pass to our doom. Of course, I had no intention of doingso; but I was dejected because of Pan Dan Chee. I had come to like himimmensely. He was a man of high honor and a courageous fighter.We walked on and on, until I became convinced that if we had followedthe right corridor we should long since have arrived at the entrance. Isuggested as much to Pan Dan Chee, and he agreed with me; then weretraced our steps and tried another corridor. We kept this up until wewere all but exhausted, but we failed to find the right corridor."I am afraid we are lost," said Pan Dan Chee."I am quite sure of it," I agreed, with a smile. If we weresufficiently well lost, we might not find the entrance before the nextnoon; in which event Pan Dan Chee would be free to go where he pleased,and I had a pretty good idea of where he pleased to go.Now, I am no matchmaker; nor neither do I believe in standing in theway to prevent the meeting of a man and a maid. I believe in lettingnature take her course. If Pan Dan Chee thought he was in love withLlana of Gathol and wished to go to Gathol and try to win her, I wouldonly have discouraged the idea had he been a man of low origin or of adishonorable nature. He was neither. The race to which he belonged isthe oldest of the cultured races of Barsoom, and Pan Dan Chee hadproved himself a man of honor.I had no reason to believe that his suit would meet with any success.Llana of Gathol was still very young, but even so the swords of some ofthe greatest houses of Barsoom had been lain at her feet. Like nearlyall Martian women of high degree she knew her mind. Like so many ofthem, she might be abducted by some impetuous suitor; and she wouldeither love him or slip a dagger between his ribs, but she would nevermate with a man she did not love. I was more fearful for Pan Dan Cheethan I was for Llana of Gathol.We retraced our steps and tried another corridor, yet still noentrance. We lay down and rested; then we tried again. The result wasthe same."It must be nearly morning," said Pan Dan Chee."It is," I said, consulting my chronometer. "It is almost noon."Of course I didn't use the term noon; but rather the Barsoomianequivalent, 25 xats past the 3rd zode, which is 12 noon Earth time."We must hurry!" exclaimed Pan Dan Chee.A hollow laugh sounded behind us; and, turning quickly, we saw a lightin the distance. It disappeared immediately. "Why should we hurry?" Idemanded. "We have done the best we could. That we did not find our wayback to the citadel and death is no fault of ours."Pan Dan Chee nodded. "And no matter how much we may hurry, there islittle likelihood that we shall ever find the entrance."Of course this was wishful thinking, but it was also quite accuratethinking. We never did find the entrance to the citadel."This is the second time we have heard that laugh and seen that light,"said Pan Dan Chee. "I think we should investigate it. Perhaps he whomakes the light and voices the laugh may be able to direct us to theentrance.""I have no objection to investigating," I said, "but I doubt that weshall find a friend if we find the author.""It is most mystifying," said Pan Dan Chee. "All my life I havebelieved, as all other inhabitants of Horz have believed, that the pitsof Horz were deserted. A long time ago, perhaps ages, some venturesomemen entered the pits to investigate them. These incursions occurred atintervals, and none of those who entered the pits ever returned. It wasassumed that they became lost, and starved to death. Perhaps they, too,heard the laughter and saw the lights!""Perhaps," I said.Chapter 8Pan Dan Chee and I lost all sense of time, so long were we in the pitsof Horz without food or water. It could not have been more than twodays, as we still had strength; and more than two days without waterwill sap the strength of the best of men. Twice more we saw the lightand heard the laughter. That laugh! I can hear it yet. I tried to thinkthat it was human. I didn't want to go mad.Pan Dan Chee said, "Let's find it and drink its blood!""No, Pan Dan Chee," I counselled. "We are men, not beasts.""You are right," he said. "I was losing control.""Let's use our heads," I said. "He knows always where we are, becausealways he can see the light of our torch. Suppose we extinguish it, andcreep forward silently. If he has curiosity, he will investigate. Weshall listen attentively, and we shall hear his footfalls." I had itall worked out beautifully, and Pan Dan Chee agreed that it was aperfect plan. I think he still had in mind the drinking of thecreature's blood, when we should find it. I was approaching a pointwhen I might have taken a drink myself. God! If you have never sufferedfrom hunger and thirst, don't judge others too harshly.We extinguished the torch. We each had one, but there was no use inkeeping both lighted. The light of one could have been raised to abrilliancy that would have blinded. We crept silently forward in thedirection that we had last seen the light. Our swords were drawn. Threetimes already we had been set upon by the huge ulsios of these ancientpits of Horz, but at these times we had had the advantage of the lightof our torch. I could not but wonder how we would come out if one ofthem attacked us now.The darkness was total, and there was no sound. We clung to our weaponsso that they would not clank against our metal. We lifted our sandalledfeet high and placed them gently on the stone flooring. There was noscuffing. There was no sound. We scarcely breathed.Presently a light appeared before us. We halted, waiting, listening. Isaw a figure. Perhaps it was human, perhaps not. I touched Pan Dan Cheelightly on the arm, and moved forward. He came with me. We made nosound--absolutely no sound.I think that we each held his breath.The light grew brighter. Now I could see a head and shoulder protrudingfrom a doorway at the side of the corridor. The thing had the contourof humanity at least. I could imagine that it was concerned over oursudden disappearance. It was wondering what had become of us. Itwithdrew within the doorway where it had stood, but the lightpersisted. We could see it shining from the interior of the cell orroom into which the THING had withdrawn.We crept closer. Here might lie the answer to our quest for water andfor food.If the THING were human, it would require both; and if it had them, weshould have them.Silently we approached the doorway from which the light streamed outinto the corridor. Our swords were drawn. I was in the lead. I feltthat if the THING had any warning of our approach, it would disappear.That must not happen. We must see IT. We must seize IT, and we mustforce IT to give us water--food and water!I reached the doorway, and as I stepped into the opening I had amomentary glimpse of a strange figure; and then all was plunged intodarkness and a hollow laugh reverberated through the Stygian blacknessof the pits of Horz.In my right hand I held the long-sword of that long dead Orovaran fromwhose body I had filched it. In my left hand I held the amazing torchof the Horzians.When the light in the chamber was extinguished, I pushed up the thumbbutton of my torch; and the apartment before me was flooded with light.I saw a large chamber filled with many chests. There was a simplecouch, a bench, a table, bookshelves filled with books, an ancientMartian stove, a reservoir of water, and the strangest figure of a manmy eyes had ever rested upon.I rushed at him and held my sword against his heart, for I did not wishhim to escape. He cowered and screamed, beseeching his life."We want water," I said; "water and food. Give us these and offer us noharm, and you will be safe.""Help yourselves," he said. "There is water and food here, but tell mewho you are and how you got here to the pits of ancient Horz, dead Horz--dead for countless ages. I have been waiting for ages for some one tocome, and now you have come. You are welcome. We shall be greatfriends. You shall stay here with me forever, as all the countlessothers have. I shall have company in the lonely pits of Horz." Then helaughed maniacally.It was evident that the creature was quite mad. He not only looked it,he acted it. Sometimes his speech was inarticulate gibber; often it wasbroken by meaningless and inopportune laughter--the hollow laugh thatwe had heard before.His appearance was most repulsive. He was naked except for the harnesswhich supported a sword and a dagger, and the skin of his malformedbody was a ghastly white--the color of a corpse. His flabby mouth hungopen, revealing a few yellow, snaggled fangs. His eyes were wide andround, the whites showing entirely around the irises. He had no nose;it appeared to have been eaten away by disease.I kept my eye on him constantly while Pan Dan Chee drank; then hewatched him while I slaked my thirst, and an the while the creaturekept up a running fire of senseless chatter. He would take a word likecalot, for instance, and keep repeating it over and over just as thoughhe were carrying on a conversation.You could detect an interrogatory sentence by his inflection, as alsothe declarative, imperative, and exclamatory. All the time, he keptgesturing like a Fourth of July orator.At last he said, "You seem very stupid, but eventually you mayunderstand. And now about food: You prefer your ulsio raw, I presume;or shall I cook it?""Ulsio!" exclaimed Pan Dan Chee. "You don't mean to say that you eatulsio!""A great delicacy," said the creature."Have you nothing else?" demanded Pan Dan Chee."There is a little of Ro Tan Bim left," said the THING, "but he isgetting a bit high even for an epicure like me."Pan Dan Chee looked at me. "I am not hungry," I said "Come! Let's tryto get out of here." I turned to the old man. "Which corridor leads outinto the city?" I asked."You must rest," he said; "then I will show you. Lie down upon thatcouch and rest."I had always heard that it is best to humor the insane; and as I wasasking a favor of this creature, it seemed the wise thing to do.Furthermore, both Pan Dan Chee and I were very tired; so we lay down onthe couch and the old man drew up a bench and sat down beside us. Hecommenced to talk in a low, soothing voice."You are very tired," he said, over and over again monotonously, hisgreat eyes fixed first upon one of us and then upon the other. I feltmy muscles relaxing.I saw Pan Dan Chee's lids drooping. "Soon you will be asleep,"whispered the old man of the pits. "You will sleep and sleep and sleep,perhaps for ages as have these others. You will only awaken when I tellyou to or when I die--and I shall never die. You robbed Hor Kai Lan ofhis harness and weapons." He looked at me as he spoke. "Hor Kai Lanwould be very angry were he to awaken and find that you have stolen hisweapons, but Hor Kai Lan will not awaken. He has been asleep for somany ages that even I have forgotten. It is in my book, but whatdifference does it make? What difference does it make who wears theharness of Hor Kai Lan? No one will ever use his swords again; and,anyway, when Ro Tan Bim is gone, maybe I shall use Hor Kai Lan. Maybe Ishall use you. Who knows?"His voice was like a dreamy lullably. I felt myself sinking intopleasant slumber. I glanced at Pan Dan Chee. He was fast asleep. Andthen the import of the THING'S words reached my reasoning mind. Byhypnosis we were being condemned to a living death! I sought to shakethe lethargy from me. I brought to bear what remained to me of my willpower. Always my mind has been stronger than that of any Martianagainst whose mind I have pitted it.The horror of the situation lent me strength: the thought of lying herefor countless ages collecting the dust of the pits of Horz, or of beingeaten by this snaggled toothed maniac! I put every ounce of my willpower into a final, terrific effort to break the bonds that held me. Itwas even more devastating than a physical effort. I broke out intoviolent perspiration. I felt myself trembling from head to feet. WouldI succeed?The old man evidently realized the battle I was making for freedom, ashe redoubled his efforts to hold me. His voice and his eyes wrappedthemselves about me with almost physical force. The THING was sweatingnow, so strenuous were its endeavors to enthrall my mind. Would itsucceed?Chapter 9I was winning! I knew that I was winning! And the THING must have knownit, too; for I saw it slipping its dagger from the sheath at its side.If it couldn't hold me in the semblance of death, it would hold me inactual death. I sought to wrench myself free from the last weakeningtentacles of the THING'S malign mental forces before it could strikethe fatal blow that would spell death for me and the equivalent ofdeath for Pan Dan Chee.The dagger hand rose above me. Those hideous eyes glared down intomine, lighted by the Hellish fires of insanity; and then, in that lastinstant, I won! I was free. I struck the dagger hand from me and leapedto my feet, the good longsword of Hor Kai Lan already in my hand.The THING cowered and screamed. It screamed for help where there was nohelp, and then it drew its sword. I would not defile the fine art of myswordsmanship by crossing blades with such as this. I recalled itsboast that Pan Dan Chee and I would sleep until it awoke us or it died.That alone was enough to determine me--I would be no duelist, but anexecutioner and a liberator.I cut once, and the foul head rolled to the stone floor of the pits ofHorz. I looked at Pan Dan Chee. He was awakening. He rolled over andstretched; then he sat up and looked at me, questioningly. His eyeswandered to the torso and the head lying on the floor."What happened?" he asked.Before I could reply, I was interrupted by a volley of sound comingfrom the chamber in which we were and from other chambers in the pitsof Horz.We looked quickly around us. Lids were being raised on innumerablechests, and cries were coming from others the lids of which were helddown by the chests on top of them. Armed men were emerging--warriorsin gorgeous harness. Women, rubbing their eyes and looking about themin bewilderment.From the corridor others began to converge upon the chamber, guided byour light."What is the meaning of this?" demanded a large man, magnificentlytrapped. "Who brought me here? Who are you?" He looked around him,evidently bewildered, as though searching for some familiar face."Perhaps I can enlighten you?" I said. "We are in the pits of Horz. Ihave been here only a few hours, but if this dead thing on the floorspoke the truth some of you must have been here for ages. You have beenheld by the hypnotic power of this mad creature. His death has freedyou."The man looked down at the staring head upon the floor. "Lum Tar O!" heexclaimed. "He sent for me--asked me to come and see him on animportant matter. And you have killed him. You must account to me--tomorrow. Now I must return to my guests."There was a layer of dust on the man's face and body. By that I knewthat he must have been here a long time, and presently my surmise wassubstantiated in a most dramatic manner.The awakened men and women were forcing their way from the chests inwhich they had been kept. Some of those in the lower tiers were havingdifficulty in dislodging the chests piled on top of them. There was agreat clattering and tumult as empty chests toppled to the floor. Therewas a babel of conversation.There were bewilderment and confusion.A dusty nobleman crawled from one of the chests. Instantly he and thelarge man who had just spoken recognized one another. "What is thematter with you?" demanded the latter. "You are all covered with dust.Why did you come down? Come! I must get back to my guests."The other shook his head in evident bewilderment. "Your guests, Kam HanTor!" he exclaimed. "Did you expect your guests to wait twenty yearsfor you to return.""Twenty years! What do you mean?""I was your guest twenty years ago. You left in the middle of thebanquet and never returned.""Twenty years? You are mad!" exclaimed Kam Han Tor. He looked at me andthen at the grinning head upon the floor, and he commenced to weaken. Icould see it.The other man was feeling of his own face and looking at the dust hewiped from it. "You, too, are covered with dust," he said to Kam HanTor.Kam Han Tor looked down at his body and harness; then he wiped his faceand looked at his fingers. "Twenty years!" he exclaimed, and then helooked down at the head of Lum Tar O. "You vile beast!" he exclaimed."I was your friend, and you did this to me!" He turned then to me."Forget what I said. I did not understand. Whoever you may be, permitme to assure you that my sword is always in your service."I bowed in acknowledgment."Twenty years!" repeated Kam Han Tor, as though he still could notbelieve it."My great ship! It was to have sailed from the harbor of Horz the dayfollowing my banquet--the greatest ship that ever had been built. Nowit is old, perhaps obsolete; and I have never seen it. Tell me--did itsail well? Is it still a proud ship?""I saw it as it sailed out upon Throxeus," said the other. "It was aproud ship indeed, but it never returned from that first voyage; norwas any word ever heard of it. It must have been lost with all hands."Kam Han Tor shook his head sadly, and then he straightcned up andsquared his shoulders. "I shall build another," he said, "an evengreater ship, to sail the mightiest of Barsoom's five seas."Now I commenced to understand what I had suspected but could notbelieve. It was absolutely astounding. I was looking at and conversingwith men who had lived hundreds of thousands of years ago, whenThroxeus and the other four oceans of ancient Mars had covered what arenow the vast desert wastes of dead sea bottom; when a great merchantmarine carried on the commerce of the fair-skinned, blond race that hadsupposedly been extinct for countless ages.I stepped closer to Kam Han Tor and laid a hand upon his shoulder. Themen and women who had been released from Lum Tar O's malicious spellhad gathered around us, listening. "I am sorry to disillusion you, KamHan Tor," I said; "but you will build no ship, nor will any ship everagain sail Throxeus.""What do you mean. he demanded. "Who is to stop Kam Han Tor, brother ofthe jeddak, from building ships and sailing them upon Throxeus?""There is no Throxeus, my friend," I said."No Throxeus? You are mad!""You have been here in the pits of Horz for countless ages," Iexplained, "and during that time the five great oceans of Barsoom havedried up. There are no oceans. There is no commerce. The race to whichyou belonged is extinct.""Man, you are mad!" he cried."Do you know how to get out of these pits?" I asked--"out into thecity proper--not up through the-" I was going to say citadel but Irecalled that there had been no citadel when these people had beenlured to the pits."You mean not up through my palace?" asked Kam Han Tor."Yes," I said, "not up through your palace, but out toward the quays;then I can show you that there is no longer a Throxeus.""Certainly I know the way," he said. "Were these pits not builtaccording to my plans!""Come, then," I said.A man was standing looking down on the head of Lum Tar O. "If what thisman says is true," he said to Kam Han Tor, "Lum Tar O must have livedmany ages ago. How then could he have survived all these ages? How havewe survived?""You were existing in a state of suspended animation," I said; "but asfor Lum Tar O--that is a mystery.""Perhaps not such a mystery after all," replied the man. "I knew LumTar O well. He was a weakling and a coward with the psychologicalreactions of the weakling and the coward. He hated all who were brave andstrong, and these he wished to harm. His only friend was Lee Um Lo, themost famous embalmer the world had ever known; and when Lum Tar O died,Lee Um Lo embalmed his body. Evidently he did such a magnificent job thatLum Tar O's corpse never realized that Lum Tar O was dead, and went righton functioning as in life. That would account for the great span of yearsthat the thing has existed--not a human being; not a live creature, atall; just a corpse the malign brain of which still functioned."As the man finished speaking there was a commotion at the entrance tothe chamber. A large man, almost naked, rushed in. He was very angry."What is the meaning of this?" he demanded. "What am I doing here? Whatare you all doing here? Who stole my harness and my weapons?"It was then that I recognized him--Hor Kai Lan, whose metal I wore. Hewas very much excited, and I couldn't blame him much. He forced his waythrough the crowd, and the moment he laid eyes upon me he recognizedhis belongings."Thief!" he cried. "Give me back my harness and my weapons!""I'm sorry," I said; "but unless you will furnish me with others, Ishall have to keep these.""Calot!" he fairly screamed. "Do you realize to whom you are speaking?I am Hor Kai Lan, brother of the jeddak."Kam Han Tor looked at him in amazement. "You have been dead over fivehundred years, Hor Kai Lan," he exclaimed, "and so has your brother. Mybrother succeeded the last jeddak in the year 27M382J4.""You have all been dead for ages," said Pan Dan Chee. "Even thatcalendar is a thing of the dead past."I thought Hor Kai Lan was going to burst a blood vessel then. "Who areyou?" he screamed. "I place you under arrest. I place you all underarrest. Ho! the guard!"Kam Han Tor tried to pacify him, and at least succeeded in getting himto agree to accompany us to the quays to settle the question of theexistence of Throxeus, which would definitely prove or disprove theunhappy truths I had been forced to explain to them.As we started out, led by Kam Han Tor, I noticed the lid of a chestmoving slightly. It was raised little by little, and I could see twoeyes peering out through the crack made by the lifting of the lid; thensuddenly a girl's voice cried, "John Carter, Prince of Helium! May myfirst ancestor be blessed!"Chapter 10Had my first ancestor suddenly materialized before my eyes, I could nothave been more surprised than I was to hear my name from the interiorof one of those chests in the pits of Horz.As I started to investigate, the lid of the chest was thrown aside; anda girl stepped out before me. This was more surprising than my firstancestor would have been, for the girl was Llana of Gathol!"Llana!" I cried; "what are you doing here?""I might ask you the same question, my revered progenitor," she shotback, with that lack of respect for my great age which has alwayscharacterized those closest to me in bonds of blood and affection.Pan Dan Chee came forward rather open-mouthed and goggle-eyed. "Llanaof Gathol!" he whispered as one might voice the name of a goddess. Theroomful of anachronisms looked on more or less apathetically."Who is this person?" demanded Llana of Gathol."My friend, Pan Dan Chee of Horz," I explained.Pan Dan Chee unbuckled his sword and laid it at her feet, an act whichis rather difficult to explain by Earthly standards of conduct. It isnot exactly an avowal of love or a proposal of marriage. It is, in away, something even more sacred. It means that as long as life laststhat sword is at the service of him at whose feet it has been laid. Awarrior may lay his sword at the feet of a man or a woman. It meanslifetime loyalty. Where the object of that loyalty is a woman, the manmay have something else in mind. I am sure that Pan Dan Chee did."Your friend acts with amazing celerity," said Llana of Gathol; but shestooped and picked up the sword and handed it back to Pan Dan Chee hiltfirst! which meant that she was pleased and accepted his offer offealty. Had she simply refused it, she would have left the sword lyingwhere it had been placed. Had she wished to spurn his offer, she wouldhave returned his sword to him point first. That would have been thefinal and deadly insult. I was glad that Llana of Gathol had returnedPan Dan Chee's sword hilt first, as I rather liked Pan Dan Chee. I wasparticularly glad that she had not returned it point first; as thatwould have meant that I, as the closest mate relative of Llana ofGathol available, would have had to fight Pan Dan Chee; and I certainlydidn't want to kill him."Well," interrupted Kam Han Tor, "this is all very interesting andtouching; but can't we postpone it until we have gone down to thequays."Pan Dan Chee bridled, and laid a hand on the hilt of his sword. Iforestalled any unseemly action on his part by suggesting that Kam HanTor was wholly right and that our private affairs could wait until thematter of the ocean, so vital to all these other people, had beensettled. Pan Dan Chee agreed; so we started again for the quay ofancient Horz.Llana of Gathol walked at my side. "Now you may tell me," I said, "howyou came to be in the pits of Horz.""It has been many years," she began, "since you were in the kingdom ofOkar in the frozen north. Talu, the rebel prince, whom you placed uponthe throne of Okar, visited Helium once immediately thereafter. Sincethen, as far as I have ever heard, there has been no intercoursebetween Okar and the rest of Barsoom.""What has all that to do with your being in the pits of Horz?" Idemanded."Wait"' she admonished. "I am leading up to that. The general beliefhas been that the region surrounding the North Pole is but sparselyinhabited and by a race of black-bearded yellow men only.""Correct," I said."Not correct," she contradicted. "There is a nation of red menoccupying a considerable area, but at some distance from Okar. I amunder the impression that when you were there the Okarians themselveshad never heard of these people."Recently there came to the court of my father, Gahan of Gathol, astrange red man. He was like us, yet unlike. He came in an ancientship, one which my father said must have been several hundred years old--obsolete in every respect. It was manned by a hundred warriors, whoseharness and metal were unknown to us. They appeared fierce and warlike,but they came in peace and were received in peace."Their leader, whose name was Hin Abtol, was a pompous braggart. He wasan uncultured boor; but, as our guest, he was accorded every courtesy.He said that he was Jeddak of Jeddaks of the North. My father said thathe had thought that Talu held that title."'He did,' replied Hin Abtol, 'until I conquered his country and madehim my vassal. Now I am Jeddak of Jeddaks of the North. My country iscold and bleak outside our glazed cities. I would come south, lookingfor other lands in which my people may settle and increase.' "My fathertold him that all the arable lands were settled and belonged to othernations which had held them for centuries."Hin Abtol merely shrugged superciliously. 'When I find what I wish,'he said, 'I shall conquer its people. I, Hin Abtol, take what I wishfrom the lesser peoples of Barsoom. From what I have heard, they areall weak and effete; not hardy and warlike as are we Panars. We breedfighting men, in addition to which we have countless mercenaries. Icould conquer all of Barsoom, if I chose.' "Naturally, that sort oftalk disgusted my father; but he kept his temper, for Hin Abtol was hisguest. I suppose that Hin Abtol thought that my father feared him, hiskind often believing that politeness is a sign of weakness. I know heonce said to my father, 'You are fortunate that Hin Abtol is yourfriend. Other nations may fall before my armies, but you shall beallowed to keep your throne. Perhaps I shall demand a little tribute fromyou, but you will be safe. Hin Abtol will protect you.' "I do not know howmy father controlled his temper. I was furious. A dozen times I insultedthe fellow, but he was too much of an egotistical boor to realize that hewas being insulted; then came the last straw. He told Gahan of Gathol haddecided to honor him by taking me, Llana of as his wife. He had alreadybragged that he had seven!"'That,' said my father, 'is a matter that I cannot discuss with you.The daughter of Gahan of Gathol will choose her own mate.' "Hin Abtollaughed. 'Hin Abtol,' he said, 'chooses his wives--they have nothingto say about it.' "Well, I had stood about all I could of the fellow;and so I decided to go to Helium and visit you and Dejah Thoris. Myfather decided that I should go in a small flier manned by twenty-fiveof his most trusted men, all members of my personal Guard."When Hin Abtol heard that I was leaving, he said that he would have toleave also--that he was returning to his own country but that he wouldcome back for me. 'And I hope we have no trouble about it,' he said,'for it would be too bad for Gathol if she made an enemy of Hin Abtolthe Panar, Jeddak of Jeddaks of the North.' "He left the day before Iset out, and I did not change my plans because of his going. As amatter of fact, I had been planning on this visit for some time."My ship had covered scarce a hundred haads on the journey towardHelium, when we saw a ship rise from the edge of a sorapus forest aheadof us. It came slowly toward us, and presently I recognized its ancientlines. It was the ship of Hin Abtol the Panar, so-called Jeddak ofJeddaks of the North."When we were close enough it hailed us, and its captain told us thatsomething had gone wrong with their compass and they were lost. Heasked to come alongside that he might examine our charts and get hisbearings. He hoped, he said, that we might repair his compass for him."Under the circumstances there was nothing to do but accede to hisrequest, as one does not leave a disabled ship without offering aid. AsI did not wish to see Hin Abtol, I went below to my cabin."I felt the two ships touch as that of the Panar came alongside, and aninstant later I heard shouts and curses and the sounds of battle on theupper deck."I rushed up the ladder, and the sight that met my eyes filled me withrage. Nearly a hundred warriors swarmed over our deck from Hin Abtol'sancient tub. I have never seen greater brutality displayed by even thegreen men. The beasts ignored the commonest ethics of civilizedwarfare. Outnumbering us four to one, we had not a chance; but the menof Gathol put up a most noble fight, taking bloody toll of theirattackers; so that Hin Abtol must have lost fully fifty men before thelast of my brave Guard was slaughtered."The Panars threw my wounded overboard with the dead, not evenvouchsafing them the coup de grace. Of all my crew, not one was leftalive."Then Hin Abtol swaggered aboard. 'I told you,' he said, 'that HinAbtol chooses his wives. It would have been better for you and forGathol had you believed me.' "'It would have been better for you,' Ireplied, 'had you never heard of Llana of Gathol. You may rest assuredthat her death will be avenged.' "'I do not intend to kill you,' hesaid."'I shall kill myself,' I told him, 'before I shall mate with such anulsio as you.' "That made him angry, and he struck me. 'A coward aswell as an ulsio,' I said."He did not strike me again, but he ordered me below. In my cabin Irealized that the ship was again under way, and looking from the port Isaw that it was heading north--north toward the frozen land of thePanars."Chapter 11"Early the following morning, a warrior came to my cabin. 'Hin Abtolcommands that you come at once to the control room,' he said."'What does he want of me?' I demanded."'His navigator does not understand this ship or the instruments,' thefellow explained. 'He would ask you some questions.' "I thoughtquickly. Perhaps I might frustrate Hin Abtol's plans if I could have afew minutes with the controls and the instruments, which I knew as wellas we know the face of a loved one; so I followed the warrior above."Hin Abtol was in the control room with three of his officers. His facewas a black scowl as I entered. 'We are off our course,' he snapped,'and during the night we have lost touch with our own ship. You willinstruct my officers as to these silly instruments that have confusedthem.' With that, he left the control room."I looked around the horizon in every direction. The other ship wasnowhere in sight. My plan was instantly formed. Had the other ship beenable to see us, it could not have succeeded. I knew that if this shipon which I was prisoner ever reached Panar I would have to take my ownlife to escape a fate worse than death. On the ground I might also meetdeath, but I would have a better chance to escape."'What is wrong?' I asked one of the officers."'Everything,' he replied. 'What is this?' "'A directional compass,' Iexplained; 'but what have you done to it? It is a wreck.' "'Hin Abtolcould not understand what it was for, which made him very angry; so hestarted taking it apart to see what was inside.' "'He did a good job,'I said, '-of taking it apart. Now he, or another of you, should put ittogether again.' "'We don't know how,' said the fellow. 'Do you?' "'Ofcourse not.""'Then what are we to do?' "'Here is an ordinary compass,' I told him.'Fly north by this, but first let me see what other harm has beendone.' "I pretended to examine all the other instruments and controls,and while I was doing so, I opened the buoyancy tank valves; and thenjammed them so that they couldn't be closed."'Everything is all right now,' I said. 'Just keep on north by thiscompass. You won't need the directional compass.' I might have addedthat in a very short time they wouldn't need any compass as far asnavigating this ship was concerned. Then I went down to my cabin."I knew that something would happen pretty soon, and sure enough itdid. I could see from my porthole that we were losing altitude--justdropping slowly lower and lower--and directly another warrior came tomy cabin and said that I was wanted in the control room again."Once more Hin Abtol was there. 'We are sinking,' he told me--a factthat was too obvious to need mention. 'I have noticed that for some time,'I said."'Well, do something about it!' he snapped. 'You know all about thisship.' "'I should think that a man who is thinking of conquering all ofBarsoom ought to be able to fly a ship without the help of a woman,' Isaid."He flushed at that, and then he drew his sword. 'You will tell us whatis wrong,' he growled, 'Or I'll split you open from your crown to yourbelly.' "'Always the chivalrous gentleman,' I sneered; 'but, evenwithout your threat, I'll tell you what is wrong.' "'Well, what is it?'he demanded."In fiddling around with these controls, either you or some equallystupid brute has opened the buoyancy tank valves. All you have to do isclose them. We won't sink any lower then, but we'll never go anyhigher, either. I hope there are no mountains or very high hillsbetween here and Panar.' "'Where are the valves?' he asked."I showed him."They tried to close them; but I had made such a good job of jammingthem that they couldn't, and we kept right on dropping down toward theocher vegetation of a dead sea bottom."Hin Abtol was frantic. So were his officers. Here they were, thousandsof haads from home--twenty-five men who had spent the greater parts oftheir lives in the glazed, hothouse cities of the North Polar lands,with no knowledge, or very little, of the outside world or what natureof men, beasts, or other menaces might dispute their way toward home. Icould scarcely refrain from laughing."As we lost altitude, I saw the towers of a city in the distance to thenorth of us; so did Hin Abtol. 'A city,' he said. 'We are fortunate.There we can find mechanics to repair our ship.' "'Yes,' I thought; 'ifyou had come a million years ago, you would have found mechanics. Theywould have known nothing about repairing a flier, for fliers had notbeen invented then; but they could have built you a stanch ship whereinyou could have sailed the five seas of ancient Barsoom,' but I saidnothing. I would let Hin Abtol find out for himself."I had never been to Horz; but I knew that those towers rising in thedistance could mark only that long dead city, and I wished the pleasureof witnessing Hin Abtol's disappointment after he had made the long anduseless trek.""You are a vindictive little rascal," I said."I'm afraid I am," admitted Llana of Gathol; "but, in this instance,can you blame me?"I had to admit that I could not. "Go on," I urged. "Tell me whathappened next.""Will we never reach the end of these abominable pits!" exclaimed KamHan Tor."You should know," said Pan Dan Chee; "you have said that they werebuilt according to your plans.""You are insolent," snapped Kam Han Tor. "You shall be punished.""You have been dead a million years," said Pan Dan Chee. "You shouldlie down."Kam Han Tor laid a hand upon the hilt of his longsword. He was veryangry; and I could not blame him, but this was no time to indulge inthe pleasure of a duel."Hold!" I said. "We have more important things to think of now thanpersonal quarrels, Pan Dan Chee is in the wrong. He will apologize."Pan Dan Chee looked at me in surprise and disapproval, but he pushedhis sword back into its scabbard. "What John Carter, Prince of Helium,Warlord of Barsoom, commands me to do, I do," he said. "To Kam Han TorI offer my apology."Well, Kam Han Tor graciously accepted it, and I urged Llana of Gatholto go on with her story."The ship dropped gently to the ground without incurring furtherdamage," she continued, "Hin Abtol was undecided at first as whether totake all his men with him to the city or leave some to guard the ship.Finally he concluded that it might be better for them all to remaintogether in the event they should meet with a hostile reception at thegates of the city. You would have thought, from the way he spoke, thattwenty-five Panars could take any city on Barsoom."'I shall wait for you here,' I said. 'There is no reason why I shouldaccompany you to the city.' "'And when I came back, you would be gone,'he said. 'You are a shrewd wench, but I am just a little bit shrewder.You will come with us.' "So I had to tramp all the way to Horz withthem, and it was a very long and tiresome tramp. As we approached thecity, Hin Abtol remarked that it was surprising that we saw no signs oflife--no smoke, no movement along the avenue which we could seeparalleling the plain upon which the city faced, the plain that hadonce been a mighty ocean."It was not until we had entered the city that he realized that it wasdead and deserted--but not entirely deserted, as we were soon todiscover."We had advanced but a short distance up the main avenue when a dozengreen warriors emerged from a building and fell upon the Panars. Itmight have been a good battle, John Carter, had you and two of thewarriors of your guard been pitted against the green men; but thesePanars are no warriors unless the odds are all on their side. Of coursethey outnumbered the green men, but the great size and strength and thesavage ferocity of the latter gave them the advantage over such weakfoemen."I saw but little of the light. The contestants paid no attention tome. They were too engrossed with one another; and as I saw the head ofa ramp close by, I dodged into it. The last I saw of the engagementrevealed Hin Abtol running at the top of his speed back toward theplain with his men trailing behind him and the green men bringing upthe rear. For the sublimation of speed, I accord all honors to thePanars. They may not be able to fight, but they can run."Chapter 12"Knowing that the green men would return for their thoats and that Imust, therefore, hide, I descended the ramp," Llana went on. "It ledinto the pits beneath the city. I intended going in only far enough toavoid discovery from above and to have a head start should the greenmen come down the ramp in search of me; as I knew they might--theywould not quickly forego an opportunity to capture a red woman fortorture or slavery."I had gone down to the end of the ramp and a short distance along acorridor, when I saw a dim light far ahead. I thought this worthinvestigating, as I did not wish to be taken unexpectedly from behindand, perhaps, caught between two enemies; so I followed the corridor inthe direction of the light, which I presently discovered wasretreating. However, I continued to follow it, until presently itstopped in a room filled with chests."Looking in, I saw a creature of most horrid mein--""Lum Tar O," I said. "The creature I killed.""Yes," said Llana. "I watched him for a moment, not knowing what to do.A lighted torch illuminated the chamber. He carried another in his lefthand. Presently he became alert. He seemed to be listening intently; thenhe crept from the room.""That must have been when he first heard Pan Dan Chee and me," Isuggested."I presume so," said Llana of Gathol. "Anyway, I was left alone in theroom. If I went back the way I had come, I might run into the arms of agreen man. If I followed the horrid creature I had just seen, I woulddoubtless be in just as bad a fix. If I only had a place to hide untilit would be safe to come out of the pits the way I had entered!"The chests looked inviting. One of them would provide an excellenthiding place. It was just by the merest chance that the first one Iopened was empty. I crept into it and lowered the lid above me. Therest you know.""And now you are coming out of the pits," I said, as we started up aramp at the top of which I could see daylight."In a few moments," said Kam Han Tor, "we shall be looking upon thebroad waters of Throxeus."I shook my head. "Do not be too disappointed," I said."Are you and your friend in league to perpetrate a hoax upon me?"demanded Kan Han Tor. "Only yesterday I saw the ships of the fleetlying at anchor off the quay. Do you think me a fool, that you tell methere is no longer any ocean where an ocean was yesterday, where it hasbeen since the creation of Barsoom? Oceans do not disappear overnight,my friend."There was a murmur of approval from those of the fine company of noblesand their women who were within earshot. They were loath to believewhat they did not wish to believe and what, I realized, must haveseemed an insult to their intelligence.Put yourself in their place. Perhaps you live in San Francisco. You goto bed one night. When you awaken, a total stranger tells you that thePacific Ocean has dried up and that you may walk to Honolulu or Guam orthe Philippines. I'm quite sure that you wouldn't believe him.As we came up into the broad avenue that led to the ancient sea frontof Horz, that assembly of gorgeously trapped men and women looked aboutthem in dumfounded astonishment upon the crumbling ruins of their onceproud city."Where are the people?" demanded one. "Why is the Avenue of Jeddaksdeserted?""And the palace of the jeddak!" exclaimed another. "There are noguards.""There is no one!" gasped a woman.No one commented, as they pushed on eagerly toward the quay. Beforethey got there they were already straining their eyes out across abarren desert of dead sea bottom where once the waters of Throxeus hadrolled.In silence they continued on to the Avenue of Quays. They simply couldnot believe the testimony of their own eyes. I cannot recall everhaving felt sorrier for any of my fellow men than I did at that momentfor these poor people."It is gone," said Kam Han Tor in a scarcely audible whisper.A woman sobbed. A warrior drew his dagger and plunged it into his ownheart."And a our people are gone," said Kam Han Tor. "Our very world isgone."They stood there looking out across that desert waste; behind them adead city that, in their last yesterday, had teemed with life and youthand energy.And then a strange thing happened. Before my eyes, Kam Han Torcommenced to shrink and crumble. He literally disintegrated, he and theleather of his harness. His weapons clattered to the pavement and laythere in a little pile of dust that had been Kam Han Tor, the brotherof a jeddak.Llana of Gathol pressed close to me and seized my arm. "It ishorrible!" she whispered. "Look! Look at the others!"I looked about me. Singly, in groups of two or three, the men and womenof ancient Horz were returning to the dust from which they had sprung--"Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust!""For all the ages that they have lain in the pits of Horz," said PanDan Chee, "this disintegration has been going slowly on. Only Lum TarO's obscene powers gave them a semblance of life. With that removedfinal dissolution came quickly.""That must be the explanation," I said. "It is well that it is so, forthese people never could have found happiness in the Barsoom of today--a dying world, so unlike the glorious world of Barsoom in the fullflush of her prime, with her five oceans, her great cities, her happy,prosperous peoples, who, if history speaks the truth, had finallyoverthrown all the war lords and war mongers and established peace frompole to pole.""No," said Llana of Gathol, "they could never have been happy again.Did you notice what handsome people they were? and the color of theirskins was the same as yours, John Carter. But for their blond hair theymight have been from your own Earth.""There are many blond people on Earth," I told her. "Maybe, after allthe races of Earth have intermarried for many ages, we shall develop arace of red men, as has Barsoom. Who knows?"Pan Dan Chee was standing looking adoringly at Llana of Gathol. He wasso obvious that it was almost painful, and I could see that it annoyedLlana even while it pleased her."Come," I said. "Nothing is to be gained by standing here. My flier isin a courtyard nearby. It will carry three. You will come with me, PanDan Chee? I can assure you a welcome in Helium and a post of somenature in the army of the jeddak."Pan Dan Chee shook his head. "I must go back to the Citadel," he said."To Ho Ran Kim and death," I reminded him."Yes, to Ho Ran Kim and death," he said."Don't be a fool, Pan Dan Chee," I said. "You have acquitted yourselfhonorably. You cannot kill me, and I know you would not kill Llana ofGathol. We shall go away, carrying the secret of the forgotten people ofHorz with us, no matter what you do; but you must know that neither of uswould use our knowledge to bring harm to your people. Why then go back toyour death uselessly? Come with us."He looked straight into the eyes of Llana of Gathol. "Is it your wishthat I come with you?" he asked."If the alternative means your death," she replied; "then it is my wishthat you come with us."A wry smile twisted Pan Dan Chee's lip, but evidently he saw a ray ofhope in her noncommittal answer, for he said to me, "I thank you, JohnCarter. I will go with you. My sword is yours, always."Chapter 13I had no difficulty in locating the courtyard where I had landed andleft my flier. As we approached it, I saw a number of dead men lying inthe avenue. They were sprawled in the grotesque postures of death. Someof them were split wide open from their crowns to their bellies. "Thework of green men," I said."These were the men of Hin Abtol," said Llana of Gathol.We counted seventeen corpses before we reached the entrance to thecourtyard.When I looked in, I stopped, appalled--my flier was not there; butfive more dead Panars lay near where it had stood."It is gone," I said."Hin Abtol," said Llana of Gathol. "The coward abandoned his men andfled in your flier. Only two of his warriors succeeded in accompanyinghim.""Perhaps he would have been a fool to remain," I said. "He would onlyhave met the same death that they met.""In like circumstances, John Carter would have been a fool, then," sheshot back.Perhaps I would, for the truth of the matter is that I like to fight. Isuppose it is all wrong, but I cannot help it. Fighting has been myprofession during all the life that I can recall. I fought all duringthe Civil War in the Confederate Army. I fought in other wars beforethat. I will not bore you with my autobiography. Suffice it to say thatI have always been fighting. I do not know how old I am. I recall nochildhood. I have always appeared to be about thirty years old. I stilldo. I do not know from whence I came, nor if I were born of woman asare other men. I have, so far as I know, simply always been.Perhaps I am the materialization of some long dead warrior of anotherage. Who knows? That might explain my ability to cross the cold, darkvoid of space which separates Earth from Mars. I do not know.Pan Dan Chee broke the spell of my reverie. "What now?" he asked."A long walk," I said. "It is fully four thousand haads from here toGathol, the nearest friendly city." That would be the equivalent offifteen hundred miles--a very long walk."And only this desert from which to look for subsistence?" asked PanDan Chee."There will be hills," I told him. "There will be deep little ravineswhere moisture lingers and things grow which we can eat; but there maybe green men, and there will certainly be banths and other beasts ofprey. Are you afraid, Pan Dan Chee?""Yes," he said, "but only for Llana of Gathol. She is a woman--it isno adventure for a woman. Perhaps she could not survive it."Llana of Gathol laughed. "You do not know the women of Helium," shesaid, "and still less one in whose veins flows the blood of DejahThoris and John Carter. Perhaps you will learn before we have reachedGathol." She stooped and stripped the harness and weapons of a dead Panarfrom his corpse and buckled them upon herself. The act was more eloquentthan words."Now we are three good sword arms," said Pan Dan Chee with a laugh, butwe knew that he was not laughing at Llana of Gathol but from admirationof her.And so we set out, the three of us, on that long trek toward far Gathol--Llana of Gathol and I, of one blood and two worlds, and Pan Dan Cheeof still another blood and of an extinct world. We might have seemedill assorted, but no three people could have been more in harmony witheach other--at least at first.For five days we saw no living thing. We subsisted entirely upon themilk of the mantalia plant, which grows apparently without water,distilling its plentiful supply of milk from the products of the soil,the slight moisture in the air, and the rays of the sun. A single plantof this species will give eight or ten quarts of milk a day. They arescattered across the dead sea bottoms as though by a beneficentProvidence, giving both food and drink to man and beast.My companions might still have died of thirst or starvation had I notbeen with them, for neither knew that the quite ordinary looking plantswhich we occasionally passed carried in their stems and branches thislife-giving fluid.We rested in the middle of the day and slept during the middle portionof the nights, taking turns standing guard--a duty which Llana ofGathol insisted on sharing with us.When we lay down to rest on the sixth night, Llana had the first watch;and as I had the second, I prepared to sleep at once. Pan Dan Chee satup and talked with Llana.As I dozed off, I heard him say, "May I call you my princess?"That, on Barsoom, is the equivalent of a proposal of marriage on Earth.I tried to shut my ears and go to sleep, but I could not but hear herreply."You have not fought for me yet," she said, "and no man may presume toclaim a woman of Helium until he has proved his metal.""I have had no opportunity to fight for you," he said."Then wait until you have," she said, shortly; "and now good-night."I thought she was a little too short with him. Pan Dan Chee is a nicefellow, and I was sure that he would give a good account of himselfwhen the opportunity arose. She didn't have to treat him as though hewere scum. But then, women have their own ways. As a rule they areunpleasant ways, but they seem the proper ways to win men; so I supposethey must be all right.Pan Dan Chee walked off a few paces and lay down on the other side ofLlana of Gathol. We always managed to keep her between us at all timesfor her greater protection.I was awakened later on by a shout and a hideous roar. I leaped to myfeet to see Llana of Gathol down on the ground with a huge banth on topof her, and at that instant Pan Dan Chee leaped full upon the back ofthe mighty carnivore.It all happened so quickly that I can scarcely visualize it all. I sawPan Dan Chee dragging at the great beast in an effort to pull it fromLlana's body, and at the same he was plunging his dagger into its side.The banth was roaring hideously as it tried to fight off Pan Dan Cheeand at the same time retain its hold upon Llana.I sprang close in with my short-sword, but it was difficult to find anopening which did not endanger either Llana or Pan Dan Chee. It musthave been a very amusing sight; as the four of us were threshing aroundon the ground, all mixed up, and the banth was roaring and Pan Dan Cheewas cursing like a trooper when he wasn't trying to tell Llana ofGathol how much he loved her.But at last I got an opening, and drove my short-sword into the heartof the banth. With a final scream and a convulsive shudder, the beastrolled over and lay still.When I tried to lift Llana from the ground, she leaped to her feet."Pan Dan Chee!" she cried. "Is he all right? Was he hurt?""Of course I'm all right," said Pan Dan Chee; "but you? How badly areyou hurt?""I am not hurt at all. You kept the brute so busy it didn't have achance to maul me.""Thanks be to my ancestors!" exclaimed Pan Dan Chee fervently. Suddenlyhe turned on her. "Now," he said, "I have fought for you. What is youranswer?"Llana of Gathol shrugged her pretty shoulders. "You have not fought aman," she said, "-just a little banth."Well, I never did understand women.